Death by Talking Too Much
On the watchtower.
Upon witnessing this scene, Lu Yuan made a decisive decision.
He picked up the Communication Crystal and connected to Xi Wading's channel:
"Captain Xi Wading, have Alice retreat, I'm about to fire."
A deep voice came from the other end of the Xi Wading:
"Clear."
On the battlefield.
Upon receiving the order, Xi Wading swung his giant blade, forcing the high priest to take a step back.
"Alice, retreat!"
Without hesitation, Alice braced herself against the ground with her warhammer and leaped backward several meters.
Xi Wading followed closely behind, his golden figure instantly creating distance.
The high priest watched them retreat and let out a cold laugh.
"You want to leave now?"
"It's too late."
The outline of the colossal object behind him became increasingly clear, and it was about to take shape.
The Blood Marsh spread like a living thing, trying to catch up with Alice and Xi Wading.
Just then...
The sound of cannons rang out.
Two black beams of light tore through the rain and hurtled straight toward the High Priest!
The high priest didn't even turn around.
With a casual flick of a tentacle, the liquid in the Blood Marsh instantly condensed into a crimson shield wall.
Boom!!
The two cannon shots struck the shield wall, scattering sparks, but failed to penetrate the barrier.
The high priest turned his head, his dead-fish eyes fixed on the watchtower.
"Two cannons?"
His tone was dismissive.
"I've already said, even if they fire two more shots, it won't do anything..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
Because at the very same instant that both artillery shells hit the shield wall.
On the watchtower.
Lu Yuan had already turned the hands of his Pocket Watch.
Click.
The world seemed to slow down in his eyes.
The two cannon shots collided with the firelight of the blood shield, like elongated threads that slowly unfurled.
The high priest turned his head as slowly as if he were swimming in water.
His lips moved, uttering each word, but it had nothing to do with Lu Yuan, because he couldn't hear it and didn't want to hear it.
In that extended moment, Lu Yuan's movements were as fast as lightning.
His fingers flew across the control panel, adjusting the angles of the remaining four cannon barrels.
The third door is locked.
The fourth door is locked.
The fifth door is locked.
The sixth gate is locked.
Four jet-black cannon muzzles were all aimed at the high priest.
Lu Yuan pressed his finger against the rune.
Fire.
From the high priest's perspective.
He just blocked two shells.
The blood shield was still there; the taunt was only halfway through.
Then.
Four black beams of light arrived one after another.
There is no interval.
There was no panting.
Before the first shot could even be reacted to, the second shot had already arrived.
Before the second shot could be blocked, the third and fourth shots came at the same time.
Quick.
That's too fast.
It happened so fast that he didn't even have time to reassemble his blood shield.
The high priest's pupils suddenly contracted.
"No!"
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
Four artillery shells hit their targets in succession.
Including the previous two shots, six black beams of destructive light exploded on the high priest.
The explosion engulfed everything in flames.
The Blood Mire Formation collapsed in the shockwave, scattering dark red liquid in all directions before rapidly evaporating.
The colossal object that was forming vanished, like mist blown away by the wind.
The Song of the Deep Sea came to an abrupt end.
The smoke of battle has cleared.
The high priest... was still standing.
But he was no longer Human Form.
The Deep Blue robe was blown to pieces, revealing a scaly body underneath.
One of the tentacles was blown off, and blue blood gushed out.
There was a huge hole in his chest, through which you could see his wriggling internal organs.
He... he's still alive.
"Good... very good..."
The high priest let out a hoarse laugh, his voice tinged with madness.
He raised his head, his dead fish-like eyes looking in the direction of the watchtower.
"Since you won't let me leave..."
His remaining tentacle pierced his own chest.
"Then let's go see Mother together!"
On the watchtower.
Lu Yuan saw the high priest's actions.
He didn't know what the other person wanted to do.
But he knew.
I now wield a powerful Alchemical Cannon, and the villain died from talking too much.
The finger pressed down on the rune again.
The cannon barrel wasn't fully cooled yet, and the runes became abnormally hot according to the barrel's temperature, burning his fingers until they turned red.
But Lu Yuan did not let go.
Fire.
Six more black beams of light shot out!
From the high priest's perspective.
His tentacles had just grasped the black heart.
That heart filled with eyes.
The strength given by a mother.
Once detonated, everything within a hundred meters will be dragged into the embrace of the Deep Sea.
Then he saw it.
Six black beams of light roared in once more.
Aiming at his body, aiming at the heart in his hand.
"No... no...!"
The high priest crushed the heart at the last moment.
But at the same time, boom!!!
The artillery fire hit.
The black heart shattered in the explosion, its eyes spinning wildly for a moment before going completely dark.
The high priest let out a piercing wail.
That wasn't physical pain.
Rather... it was the loss of something extremely important.
Just then, a giant golden blade slashed down from the side!
Xi Wading!
This is the moment he's been waiting for.
The giant blade, wreathed in golden light, aimed straight for the high priest's neck.
The high priest wriggled, trying to avoid it.
But his strength rapidly diminished as his heart shattered, and his movements became incredibly sluggish.
Puff.
The blade pierced the flesh.
The high priest's head flew off.
In his cloudy eyes, the last traces of resentment and fear remained.
He never understood it until his death.
Why didn't the person on that watchtower give him any chance to catch his breath?
Why not wait until he finished speaking?
Why... do things differently from the norm?
The headless body swayed twice before collapsing to the ground with a thud.
The blue blood gushed out, but was quickly diluted by the rain.
Alice charged in from the other side, raising her warhammer high and slamming it down onto the corpse.
One time.
Two times.
Three times.
She didn't stop until the body had completely turned into a pile of rotten flesh.
"Death confirmed."
Alice was breathing heavily, her voice hoarse.
Xi Wading sheathed his giant blade, and the golden light began to fade.
He looked in the direction of the watchtower and nodded slightly.
That was an acknowledgment of Lu Yuan.
On the watchtower.
Lu Yuan loosened his Pocket Watch, breathing slightly heavily.
My fingers were half-cooked from the runes connecting to the cannon barrel, and they burned with a sharp pain.
But he couldn't care less about any of that.
[Sanity: -3, 29/70]
The grayish-white characters at the edge of his vision flickered, reminding Lu Yuan that his pitiful rationality had slipped a little further.
Lu Yuan looked down at the battlefield in the distance.
The high priest's body was completely still.
That black heart... shattered into pieces.
Lu Yuan let out a long breath; thankfully, the cannon was powerful enough.
The rain is still falling.
But the battle was already over.
The Night Watcher began clearing the battlefield and collecting the corpses of the grey-robed men.
The soldiers of the Holy Armor Army were exhausted, and the golden light had completely dissipated, but their eyes still shone with an indomitable spirit.
Xi Wading walked toward the box wrapped in black cloth, frowned upon touching it, and then picked it up.
"The decapitation is complete. This is an extra bonus; keep it at your base for safekeeping."
His voice was devoid of any emotion.
Alice dragged her warhammer to the remains of the high priest and looked down at them for a while.
She thought of her brothers who had died in the attacks a few days earlier.
"Brothers... your revenge has been avenged."
Her voice was very soft, as if she were talking to herself.
As her emotions subsided, Alice raised her head, her gaze passing over the ruins of the warehouse and looking towards the inner city.
The sky over there was still flashing with an eerie light, and although the huge black shadow had become much more blurred, it had not completely disappeared.
"I wonder how things are going with Old Morgan."