Chapter 1326: Chapter 1325: Incendiary Bomb

King Wickcliff found it difficult to understand the situation unfolding before him, but whether he could comprehend it or not, this inexplicable scene was happening on this fallen land and was altering the fate of many.

The Holy Dusk Combat Group, electing for a nighttime assault under the dark winter sky, rose like a mighty rock in the dark waves, withstanding the raging tides and halting an almost determined fate, beginning to gradually reverse the tide of the entire battlefield.

Hundreds upon hundreds of fully armed White Knights and nuns stepped onto the battlefield, starting their cleansing with heavy Burners and Holy Light Impact Cannons against the remaining monsters near the Steel Church, while heavy tanks rolled out from the church’s arsenal to rapidly form an additional barrier in front of the church and Falm Fortress. These tanks had undergone special modifications, with their main guns swapped for higher-output Burners, and more powerful barrier devices installed beneath their armor plating — though this additional power consumption made these tanks less enduring than their general-use comrades, it was evident that the technical priests of this combat group had anticipated this.

The spire atop the great cathedral opened up, drawing the heavy steel armor into the roof below, revealing a massive Magic Crystal inside the spire, transforming the entire church into a Magic Web Nexus on this battlefield, as powerful magic power began to blanket the defensive line. All rune devices — whether on the barrier-forming tanks or the White Knights and nuns clearing the remaining enemies — glowed brighter than before.

A White Knight, not equipped with a Burner, came out of the darkness carrying a heavy warhammer on his shoulder. He walked through blazing flames and the remnants left by the aberrations, making his way directly to the barrier where Wickcliff and others took shelter.

A roaring aberration abruptly rose from the darkness, dragging its broken body toward this towering and burly priest. The White Knight casually swung the warhammer in his hand as if placing it down casually, accompanied by a mechanical clinking sound, and instantly smashed the pouncing beast into the ground with the heavy hammer, then the impact device discharged, directly grinding it into pulp on the stone.

"This is Amir Crit, Leader of the Holy Dusk Combat Group. We brought medical personnel," the burly White Knight said, holding the long handle of the mechanical warhammer in one hand while taking an iron-shelled Prayer Book from his waist with the other. The cover of the Prayer Book bore the emblem of his combat group and ID badge, "I’m glad to see there are still survivors on this defensive line — please lower the barrier, you need medical assistance."

Wickcliff paused for a moment, then reacted. Although the incredible scene before him still confused his mind, he quickly took action, grasping the hilt of the broken longsword with his remaining left hand. Accompanied by a buzzing sound, the fragments of the shattered blade quickly restored and reassembled into the form of a longsword, and the barrier surrounding the survivors rapidly dissipated.

Looking down at the seemingly restored sacred sword in his hand, the King of the Augari People couldn’t help but sigh softly — while the broken fragments could be restored into a blade, the residual energy within the sword and its intricate structure from Gondor’s time could no longer be replenished. This sword had fulfilled its historical mission; from now on, it belonged only in a display case.

Yet, he looked up again at the chaotic battlefield and the "priests" before him, suddenly feeling that some things too were destined for history, as this world’s current state was truly unlike what he once knew...

"You must be King Wickcliff, praise the Holy Light — we nearly arrived too late.

" A robust voice emerged from beneath the White Knight’s helmet, interrupting Wickcliff’s sighs. The burly priest before him took off his helmet, revealing a middle-aged man with a thick beard and mustache. He then turned to glance at the battlefield’s edge, where aberrations continued to pour from a distant mountain pass. Yet the cathedral’s mighty firepower and the ground troops deployed from within had sealed most of the breaches on the battlefield, and the sky swarmed with Dragon Cavalry Fighters, maintaining aerial superiority by channeling firepower toward the mountain pass, which reassured him and sparked a confident spirit across his face.

"Rest assured, these vile and blasphemous creatures won’t break through this mountain pass again. We’ve brought two flying fortresses and ample ground forces, and Sister Marian is also quite adept at cleansing heresies with fire," the high-ranking priest called Amir said to Wickcliff with a nod, "We’ll rebuild the line before dawn."

"You..." Wickcliff finally regained his speech, though his first thought was of the aberrations surging through the kingdoms, spreading southward, and the comrades on another frontline, "Wait, where did you come from? What’s happening in Ruby City?"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty," Amir instantly raised his hand to stop the excited words of the Human King. "The Empire’s main force is currently stationed in Ruby City. Sister Marian and I received a message from Great Chieftain Camilla there before rushing here to assist."

"Main force...this isn’t your main force?" Wickcliff paused, casting a peculiar gaze at the impressive might of the cathedral and another floating fortress in the sky. His lips twitched as if to say more, but the entire scene was suddenly interrupted by violent quakes originating from the mountain pass nearby.

He immediately looked up toward the gap — once fortified with triple walls built by both humans and elves, of course now reduced to ruins by siege cannons wielded by the monstrosities — and the scene unfolding in the breach left the Human King wide-eyed.

He saw a sea of towering figures, the ’monsters,’ the most formidable magic creations within the aberration Legion. Among them crawled numerous malformed giants akin to four-limbed mutants, bearing grotesque, swollen pouches on their backs that spewed purple-black toxic smoke, contaminating the entire battlefield.

"Beware those crawling creatures!" Wickcliff immediately shouted, "The gases they emit are not only poisonous but also rapidly corrode and brittle any armor and walls — the outer walls of Falm Fortress were destroyed by these creatures combined with the monsters’ artillery!"

"It seems the commanders behind these monsters are reluctant to admit defeat," Amir too caught sight of the hideous and menacing synthetic monsters. His face revealed unabashed disdain and scorn before pressing a spot near his heavy armor’s collar, activating a communication device that glowed between his shoulder and collar, "Sister Marian, we need ’Purgatory’ incendiaries. We can’t allow more monsters across this mountain pass."

"Understood, Purgatory Incendiaries," a young female voice emerged from the communication device, "Cleansing will begin shortly."

The ground defensive cathedral wasn’t fighting alone — a flying fortress of the Holy Dusk Combat Group maintained its airborne stance, providing crucial cover for ground forces. Deep within this flying fortress, which housed a church and a holy chamber, a young nun with long golden hair stood before a steel-cast pulpit, watching the developments on the surface battlefield.

Behind this young nun, where the pulpit should have been, stood a massive mechanical apparatus composed of a humming base and a vertical crystal tube. At this moment, the tube’s alloy protective shell lay open, presenting a clear view inside: it contained a faint yellowish biotic solution, in which floated a giant Synthetic Brain. Numerous cables and nerve fibers extended from the brain, buried deep within the walls and support pillars under covert engineering, connecting to both the cathedral and the anti-gravity platform at its base.

Within the cathedral’s prayer hall, nuns and priests paid attention to their respective control terminals. The long hall, theoretically meant for religious ceremonies, was filled with softly glowing Magic Conduction Platforms and floating holograms. On one set of holograms, the continuously emerging aberration Legion from the distant mountain pass was clearly visible.

"Leader Amir needs support," the blonde nun Marian said to the control console. "Prepare the Purgatory Incendiaries."

"Understood," a neutral synthetic voice immediately responded from above the pulpit, as the Main Brain submerged within the crystal tube subtly shifted, releasing a string of bubbles. "Preparing Purgatory Incendiaries..."

Under the cathedral, a small armory was activated. Prefabricated components prepared in advance were taken out from individually isolated compartments and installed into the loading slots of the launcher with the cooperation of manual and mechanical devices— specially processed cylindrical shells, twelve highly sealed internal tanks, a fragmentation diffusion device, and specially formulated alchemy fire oil. These elements were rapidly assembled into a terrifying bomb nearly two meters in diameter, and finally, the mechanical arm directly controlled by the Main Brain took the ignition core of this terrifying weapon from an obsidian compartment.

An artificially created, instinct-driven, short-lived living fire elemental was temporarily confined in a specially designed crystal ball.

In the surveillance footage transmitted by the Main Brain, Sister Marian quietly watched the mechanical arm insert the constantly agitated, near-out-of-control elemental creature into the "crew compartment" of the Purgatory Incendiary.

The Sorin Giant Tree can summon Treants using Druid spells and arm them as artillerymen. Magicians can summon Arcane Servants and use them as laboratory assistants (sometimes also as experimental materials). Elemental Mages from various factions can summon or create basic elemental creatures to serve as servants or henchmen—thus, it was entirely logical for the Empire’s weapon production line to summon a living fire elemental as the ignition core and amplification unit of the incendiary bomb. It makes complete sense.

Princess Rebecca’s wisdom on the path of the "fireball" is indeed convincing.

"Purgatory Incendiary assembly complete, ready to launch," the voice of the Main Brain sounded on the Pulpit, interrupting Sister Marian’s brief contemplation.

"Permission to launch—may the Holy Light protect its shell and the combustion agent tanks."

The mechanism roared into operation, opening a dark launching port on the side of the aerial platform. Accompanied by the hum of rail acceleration and a series of shimmering light flows, a conspicuous pale cyan mass separated from the cathedral base into the dark night sky. It gracefully traced a parabolic curve and plunged into the mountain pass in the northeast.

Shells split mid-air, and the twelve tanks exploded in the air before the bomb hit the ground, splashing the alchemy solution sufficiently in the air. Subsequently, a brilliant flame erupted from the center of the bomb’s impact point, suddenly illuminating the entire mountain in a blood-like red hue—at the very core of that fiery cloud, another explosion occurred, spreading and burning the flames further.

A vaguely enormous figure stood up from the fiery cloud, frenziedly scattering flames in all directions it could sense. The artificial elemental environment allowed this terrifying and uncontrollable summoned creature to grow rapidly within seconds, and before its lifespan exhausted and disintegrated, this artificial purgatory was enough to incinerate everything on the surface.

White Knight Commander Amir watched from afar as the elemental giant raged at the mountain pass, observing the night sky becoming as bright as day. He suddenly mused, "I heard that cursing before launching a Purgatory Incendiary can increase its power and burn range by twenty-five percent... This probably isn’t true..."

Standing beside him, Wickcliff seemed a bit dazed and didn’t quite catch the high priest’s murmur and couldn’t help but ask, "What did you say?"

"Ah... nothing," Amir responded, slightly waving his hand, then observed the human soldiers being examined by nuns and knights, his expression a bit serious, "It’s not a good environment here; any wounded who can be moved are best transferred to the church... Also, we suspect that there might be other survivors in this area, and I will send search parties to inspect the nearby ruins to hopefully rescue as many people as possible..."

Wickcliff shot an odd glance at the high priest: "You guys... really are medical personnel?"

"Of course," Amir was slightly dumbfounded by the question, looking at the prayer book in his hand and then at the church nearby and the nuns aiding the wounded, "What makes us not look like doctors?"

Wickcliff glanced at the warhammer in Amir’s hands, then at the firing ports of the Burners from the surrounding church and the mechanical gauntlets in the nuns’ hands, unable to help but twitch his mouth twice: "Honestly, you guys don’t look like medics at all..."

As they spoke, a young nun approached a fallen warrior nearby. The fallen warrior, looking at the beautiful woman before him, briefly forgot she was a cleric and couldn’t help praising her: "Oh, lovely lady, I am indeed lucky! Do you have a beloved? Do you have time..."

The nun, however, did not wait for him to finish, and with a blank expression, asked, "Half anesthesia or full anesthesia?"

The warrior was taken aback, "Uh... full anesthesia..."

In the next second, he saw a fist covered by mechanical structures rapidly enlarge before him—this was the last scene he saw before losing consciousness.

"Fist anesthesia," the nun nodded, motioning for a junior nun to take over, then turned to another wounded soldier, "Half anesthesia or full anesthesia?"

The nearby wounded soldier swallowed, daring not to speak frivolously like the soldiers before: "Half... half anesthesia..."

"No half anesthesia." "Bang!"

Wickcliff stared in disbelief at the scene.

Amir had to explain, "Part of the nun’s Holy Light application devices are in the gauntlets..."

"But I’m sure I just heard... never mind, I believe you."

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