NOVPUBChapter 195: Chapter 194: The Culprit
Chapter 195 -194: The Culprit
Watching as the vanguard team had seized control of the wall area, Woody gave the order to cease artillery fire and for all forces to attack.
At this moment, two steel constructs appeared in the mist—their tops boasted a rotating turret, while the lower half consisted of spider-like multi-legged limbs, with steam spurting from each joint as they moved. If the Paradise players were still here, they would immediately recognize these as the armed constructs encountered on the night of the train robbery.
“What are those?” Woody raised his binoculars and exclaimed in surprise.
But he quickly understood what these two steel beasts were here for.
The constructs fired flames from their turrets in turns, followed by violent explosions from the direction of the mine, and as plumes of black smoke rose among the crowd, along with scattered limbs and severed body parts, the vanguard’s offensive was immediately suppressed.
Though these short-barreled cannons weren’t very powerful, and their impact couldn’t compare to the six-inch naval guns of the city defenders, their rate of fire was astonishing. Every four or five seconds, they could fire a shot, and with a rotating gun on each side of the turret, they nearly prevented the vanguard from raising their heads!
The brick walls of the mine couldn’t stop the army’s artillery attack, and now they also failed to provide cover for the city guards. Many soldiers, forced to hide behind the walls, were immobilized—moving forward would get them swept by gunfire, while standing still would expose them to cannon fire. Being hit by the short-barreled cannon was no different from a six-inch naval gun, with shrapnel spraying that could leave lethal gashes even with a graze.
The most embarrassing thing was that the city guards had almost no means of counterattack.
Their rifles couldn’t penetrate the armored hides of these two steel monsters, and to throw grenades, they had to get closer to the target—a type of assault clearly beyond the soldiers’ bravery.
With two large constructs leading the way, the armed followers of the Heretical Cult emerged one by one from the mist, forming two wings and starting to encircle the immobilized soldiers.
If the stalemate continued, the vanguard would undoubtedly face massacre!
Woody clenched his teeth and could only order a retreat through his signal officer.
“Sound the retreat, let the vanguard pull back outside the wall, artillery target the mine interior!”
Damn it, GaoTian Mining was actually hiding such weapons, and the most hateful part was that he was not completely ignorant of this—as the adjutant, Woody had heard about Gaotian Company and Heigang Security ordering new constructs from the Old Continent to suppress the ignorant miners. He had basically laughed it off, seeing as the lives of the miners had nothing to do with him; these constructs were essentially the same as whips and racks. Back then, he would never have imagined that Gaotian Company would mount cannons on these constructs, turning them into military weapons fit for the battlefield.
“Stop, why retreat? You must send everyone to charge!” someone suddenly called out to the signal officer and then shouted at him, turning his head.
The objector was Ge Wei.
“Sending people now is sending them to their deaths!” Woody said angrily, “Even if you are a Priest of the Mechanical Sect, do not interfere with my command! Once the vanguard and the enemy constructs gain distance, we can use the artillery to destroy those things!”
“What if they retreat back into the mist?” Ge Wei retorted loudly, “The train’s headlights can only reach so far, you have no way to see the entire battlefield. If we pull back now, those dead soldiers will have died for nothing!”
Woody was momentarily at a loss for words. Could the destruction of the rails have also been part of the heretics’ plot?
“But if we send troops now, casualties are sure to increase…”
“So what? We exchange opportunities with lives! You are fighting heretics, not dealing with gangs and pirates in the city!” Ge Wei scorned his thoughts, “The city guards outnumber the enemy by far. As long as the main force encircles them, the two armed constructs won’t be able to cover all angles, and that’s when the soldiers will have a chance to get close!”
After saying this, she whipped her riding crop fiercely against the backside of her mount, “My men are going in. If you dare to fire, I swear Shandela won’t be able to protect you!”
“You—”
Woody’s face turned beet red with anger. The audacity of these believers—be they from a heretical or orthodox religion, not one of them seemed to act with any common sense! He was currently the acting Commander of the city guards. How could he possibly revoke an order once issued?
“My lord… what you mean is…” The messenger looked awkwardly at the adjutant.
Woody watched the Mechanical Sect’s squad charge into battle and after clenching his teeth for a moment, he replied, “…Cancel the artillery fire, let the main force launch the attack.” 𝒏𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
He knew in his heart that the priestess was not joking with him.
If he did give the order to fire and accidentally hurt Mechanical Sect followers, Ge Wei would definitely not let him off the hook.
“Charge!”
“Support the vanguard!”
Upon hearing the charge horn, the main force also began to run, with more than five hundred troops forming a massive assault formation, with the Mechanical Sect at the spearhead.
With the addition of reinforcements, the vanguard, which had been on the verge of collapse, managed to stabilize its position once more.
Ge Wei charged into the mine at the forefront, then jumped off her horse and sprinted to the right, making sure none of the weapon constructs were paying attention to her before she removed the arcane Divine Artifact from her back.
She aimed the long end of Ouroboros at one of the constructs and began with a direct strike equivalent to the energy of an eight-inch cannon—the stored shockwave instantly hit the turret of the construct, bending the steel plate inward like a fist, while searing energy infiltrated the cabin through the structural gaps and spouted from the cannon barrel and hatch, cooking the crew inside to a crisp!
Another construct was circled behind by city guard soldiers who threw grenades, severing its two iron legs, and the lifeless steel beast fell to the ground amidst violent steaming eruptions.
Without their war machines, the cultists didn’t run but fought against the city guards like moths to a flame. Unfortunately, none of these people had the ability to transform into monsters, and in less than ten minutes, they were almost completely annihilated. With that, the city guards finally took control of the entrance to the mine.
…
Boom…
Listening to the faint sound of explosions above, the Divine Envoy removed his hood, revealing his true face.
Even deep under the ground, the vibrations from the shockwaves managed to reach the depths of the mine, and the slowly falling rock dust seemed to recount just how fierce the battle on the surface was.
“Mr. Vance, the city guards have begun their assault on the Huiqiu Mine,” Dehenny reported respectfully, saluting him. “The Heart of God is now open to you. May I take my leave?”
“Are you sure you won’t stay? This is a rare spectacle, and you may only see it once in your lifetime,” Vance White said, eyeing him with interest. “As the mine’s general manager, your contribution deserves such an honor.”
“That… won’t be necessary,” Dehenny said with an awkward smile. “Although I will eventually be embraced by the divinities and share pleasures with all people, before then, I’d prefer to enjoy the pleasures of the individual, especially in a body that does not age.”
“Since you’ve decided not to stay, I won’t insist,” Vance said with a wave of his hand. “Go ahead. We may meet again.”
Upon hearing this, the other man’s smile stiffened a bit, but he managed to conceal his fluctuation in emotions well and saluted the Divine Envoy once more. Then he and his bodyguards boarded the elevator heading to the surface.
At this moment, only Vance White remained in the bottom of the mine.
