Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 350 Fierce Battle in the Rain

The rumble of the rain encapsulated them, and in the seemingly abandoned houses, strange figures emerged from windows, alleys, and rooftops. Meanwhile, after Shard and the professor had made their last jump through the window, shadowy figures of local residents also appeared in the street behind them.@@@@

Professor Katja, advanced in years, might not have seen clearly, but Shard could see perfectly well that the faces of those residents were just as grotesque and terrifying as those on oil paintings. They may not have been as pure and terrifying as the captain of the Fishbone Pirate Ship, but they were certainly not normal human beings:

"This old street... Professor, Mr. Scott, you run first. Head in the direction Miss Princess indicated."

As Shard spoke, a silver light arc flew from his hand, slicing off the head of a manservant that had stuck it out through the window they had jumped from.

The head landed on the rain-swept street, spinning grotesquely before stopping at Professor Katja's feet. The eyes remained wide open, displaying a blood-red and eerie fish-like stare that was especially nauseating.

Professor Katja looked at Shard in surprise, her expression revealing a sudden realization:

"So you are... I understand now! Let's go."

The folklore scholar, who had once cooperated with the Church, surely knew of the existence of Circle Sorcerers. The professor grabbed the student who was looking around in terror and ran straight towards the street that was still unblocked.

Princess Lecia stood beside Shard, nodding her head and taking a deep breath. As she casually tossed out a parchment, it caught fire, and faint green light specks fluttered out. Seconds later, the ethereal figure of a forest archer with a quiver on his back appeared beside her.

"The cult organization here is transforming humans into those terrible fish-people."

In the rain, the Princess summed up the situation, controlling the archer to draw the bow and shoot arrows. Green glimmers cut through the curtain of rain, striking precisely through the throat of the fish-faced creature nearest to them, while the others watched in fear.

"Mr. Jude curing the Mermaid's Curse is probably no lie. If one were transformed into a mermaid, the curse might disappear. He used this kind of talk to attract the cursed local Circle Sorcerers, intending to turn them into those hideous things, to prepare more manpower for the Sea Return ritual."

Shard also spoke, standing back to back with Princess Lecia, gently pushing the silver moonlight in his hand forward, the light arc cutting through the rain like a shockwave, bisecting three fish-faced creatures that had rushed out of the abandoned stone houses at the waist.

While these things looked terrifying, aside from being hard to kill and having slightly stronger physiques, they had no particular powers to speak of.

Just as Shard thought this, Princess Lecia suddenly pulled on his arm, making him step back two paces. Almost in the next second, an arrow made of black liquid grazed his face as it flew past.

Both turned to the side alley. Mr. Jude, who had claimed to be fetching antiques upstairs, held a long, dried fish in his hand and looked at them, his phlegm-laden voice piercing through the rain into their ears:

"I originally thought you were really reporters and wanted to transform you into familiars of my Lord. But I didn't expect that the rumor I spread attracted Circle Sorcerers like you. Even better..."

People with fish-like features on their faces were peering from every corner of the street at them, and with a woman's voice whispering in his ear, Shard noticed that among those fish-like creatures, there were at least four Circle Sorcerers hidden.

If this ancient street was a stronghold of the Crimson Cult, then the Circle Sorcerers stationed here would definitely not be limited to one. It was likely that all the residents of this street had been transformed by the cult into dreadful creatures, some living here while others had already infiltrated the city.

"Your companions won't escape either, someone will intercept them. We've had control over this street for hundreds of years, a large ritual from the ground to the high skies ensures that no matter what happens, it won't catch the attention of those outside."

Mr. Jude glanced toward the direction where the two scholars had fled, Princess Lecia pursed her lips, while Shard looked beyond the curtain of rain toward the Peace Chapel in the old district of Coldwater Port. The chapel wasn't very far from here, but even without the so-called ritual, in the stormy weather, the sound of a steam bomb wouldn't have stood a chance of leaving the street.

"Shard, you..."

The princess, completely drenched, glanced at Shard; her red hair clung to her face, making her look quite a mess:

"Do you know what you're going to do?"

Shard nodded:

"Understood, but we need to buy some time to give us a chance to escape."

A rush of wind came from behind, and Mr. Jude, remembering the sharp moonlight he'd seen earlier, immediately turned and used the salted fish to block. To his surprise, it wasn't the moonlight that split the rain and the air but something resembling a playing card:

"What?"

The salted fish, capable of blocking energy, was unexpectedly sliced into two by a playing card, astonishing Shard. He thought it was a relic, not an alchemical item.

Immediately after, the Outlander, still a dozen steps away from catching his prey, directed the moonlight to slash at Mr. Jude's head.

As the middle-aged man continued to run, the Ring of Fate appeared behind him. The Guardian Spirit Rune flickered, and full body armor entwined with seaweed materialized out of thin air, blocking the moonlight's attack.

The cumbersome armor slowly moved toward Shard as if to intercept him. But Shard closed in quickly, sword raised. His two-handed great sword, carrying enormous force, cut straight down, splitting the metal armor in two, its severed surface smooth and clean.

"Oh!"

Mr. Jude running ahead suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood; the arcane technique's backlash almost sent him stumbling to the ground.

The second Spirit Rune "Sea Return" lit up, its desecrating spiritual light gushing out, causing Shard, who was catching up in the rain, to suddenly struggle to breathe:

"Underwater Breathing."

The arcane technique's effect was specifically countered, allowing Shard to continue his approach with the two-handed sword in hand. Mr. Jude no longer fled, clutching his chest and gasping for air. He turned to face Shard:

"Do you think I'm afraid of you just because I'm blind?"

The Four-Ring Sorcerer's Ring of Fate emerged completely, with the runes "Guardian," "Merman," and "Priest" simultaneously lighting up. The flickering silver light made the middle-aged man seem as if he had grown taller on the spot. His face grew closer to the terrifying look of a painting, and with both hands, he gathered the rainwater, shaping the liquid into a slender rapier and a shield bearing the pattern of a mermaid.

A gunshot rang out; it was Shard firing his revolver, which had decent water resistance. Mr. Jude took the shot without flinching, but then he perceived the sound of rushing air on both sides and thus stabbed the incoming playing card with his rapier, while the shield in his other hand blocked another card.

Blind, he did not see Shard, leveraging the lingering power of the curse, leap above him.

"Ha!"

The sword light fell, and the body, along with splashes of blood, dropped onto the uneven alley ground. The silver great sword vanished from Shard's hand, and the blood clinging to the blade left more marks on the hem of his trousers.

Knowing he faced a Low Ring, it was why Shard dared to chase after him. It wasn't a fair fight: if the other could have seen that the attacks from both sides were mere playing cards, he would never have chosen to abandon his frontal defense.

Gunshots rang out from behind again, and Shard instinctively dodged. Just then, a whole squad of Circle Sorcerers appeared behind the alley. Without bothering to deal with the two fish-like creatures who had shot at him, he leapt with great force onto the roof of a house by the alley and quickly disappeared into the rain.

Scattered gunfire followed, and in Kazem Lane, the distinctive golden glimmer of Divine Arts appeared. Shard faintly heard the voices of the squad of Church Ring Sorcerers rushing from behind:

"Look, I knew for sure there'd be merfolk who knew how to use guns!"

Heading east across two streets, Shard successfully spotted Princess Lecia and the carriage. The coachman and the two scholars had severe eye injuries, only the maid in the carriage was lucky to be unharmed.

Shard jumped down from the rooftop, using the momentum from his landing to crouch, then with a spring, he agilely leaped through the carriage window into the interior:

"Get moving... oh!"

Then he collided with the blind men inside the carriage.

Neither the maid nor the Princess could attend to the wails coming from the carriage; together, they steered the carriage carrying everyone along the rain-drenched streets, racing furiously into the distance.