Clockwork Bride

Page 269

The remaining Night Axe warriors realized that the fox-spirit ninja's close-combat abilities were formidable, so they immediately distanced themselves, formed a battle formation, and unleashed various dark calamities such as gales and floods. Even Momiji was finding it difficult to fight back—she might be a ninja like Sekiro, but definitely not a ninja like the Hokage. She was truly not good at energy clashes in matches.

As for Gustav, Dolly, and the crocodile whose hands have been chopped off... they now see their usual Clark Kent and Diana Prince suddenly tear off their coats, become Superman and Wonder Woman, and then fight against the Doomsday Legion.

And they aren't even Batman; they're probably just Robin, or at most Green Arrow.

What else could Robin do besides stare in disbelief?

Oh, they should hurry up and run so they don't cause trouble for Superman and Wonder Woman.

So Gustav quickly stopped the bleeding from the crocodile's severed arms, then led them on a run, escaping back into the dark factory tunnels, leaving this god-like battle far behind.

Dolly ran, panting and wailing, "Fenrir and Jade, are gods?! Why?!"

"There's no point in worrying about this now," Gustav said calmly. "We were definitely caught up in the political struggle of the gods by accident. Anyway, the job was fake, and no one died this time. As long as we escape, the gods won't spend too many resources hunting us down. As long as we're alive, we can always fight another day."

He was probably right about 80%. Whatever the reason a minor war god would be hiding in the factory machine room with a squad of Night Axe warriors, and why they'd even brought the [All-Round] team beforehand; and why Fenrir and Xiaoyu, two gods, would be mixed in with their mercenary group—it was all definitely some strange divine political intrigue. In any case, it had nothing to do with them, mere mortal mercenaries.

As long as they escape the factory, the experienced driver and the vehicle will be waiting outside. Once they're in the car and running away, the Protoss shouldn't care about them anymore. After a few days of rest and recovery, the [All-Round] team can continue. They still have tomorrow! They still have a chance!

Following the route they had taken, Gustav had already spotted the valve leading to the drainage channel—without wasting any time, Dolly immediately rushed over to use magic to disarm the valve. This would only take a little time, two or three minutes at most.

Once you pass through the valve and enter the drainage channel, you can run straight out of the factory even with your eyes closed!

...However, just as Dolly was halfway through solving the puzzle, Gustav suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He turned around and looked into the bottomless tunnel, but saw nothing at all.

"Dolly, quickly open the passage. Crocodile, go and see..."

At this point, Gustav suddenly hesitated, because the crocodile's hands had already been severed. Sending him back to investigate now, if there were any problems, would be sending him to his death.

However, the crocodile immediately saw through the captain's thoughts and hesitation. Without saying a word, he forcefully flexed his muscles, and two sharp bone spurs, as big as bayonets, grew wildly from the severed arm.

The factory's dark tunnels lacked even basic lighting, let alone infrared illumination. No matter how bio-modified one's eyes were, they couldn't see anything in complete darkness. So Gustav could only watch helplessly as the crocodile, bony claws raised, walked into the darkness…

...and then I never saw him again.

Two minutes later, Dolly finally managed to open the valve.

But at the same time, they suddenly heard footsteps coming from the dark tunnel behind them.

Dolly and Gustav turned back, hoping, even praying, that they would see a crocodile. Unfortunately, no god answered their prayers.

Two Night Axe warriors emerged slowly from the tunnel, one after the other. The warrior behind carried a two-meter-long bio-preservation box on his shoulder, sealed away for some unknown reason. The warrior in front carried the head of a crocodile. His skull had been cleaved in two by a single sword strike; he was beyond saving and utterly dead.

Gustav and Dolly quickly fled down the sewers. But what could mortals possibly do now?

“The Lord is still fighting that wolf. You should kill them first. The bodies should remain in this factory as evidence.”

The Night Axe warrior carrying the box said to the one in front of him, "I don't know how they, who have no heads, can speak."

Upon hearing this, the lead warrior immediately raised his black sword and slashed at the heads of the mercenaries.

321: Monster Battle!

In her more than four hundred years of demonic life, Hongye Qiuhua has witnessed countless powers.

She is an ancient god, a descendant of Mara, and a yokai (a type of Japanese yokai) who exists between life and death (a characteristic shared by many Japanese yokai).

Being caught between life and death isn't necessarily a good thing. Even if two normally incompatible energies converge within the same person, they won't directly superimpose or cooperate; in fact, they'll mostly conflict. This is why most living gods don't easily attempt to control the power of death. This is also why most companies assign the specialized field of the underworld to a separate god.

Those who can successfully combine and utilize the opposing forces of life and death are almost always either great magicians (such as Professor Albion) or extremely powerful deities (such as Mitra, who established the cycle of reincarnation).

Momiji is, of course, neither. However, having existed for hundreds of years, experienced death and resurrection, and undergone the enhancements of Hayden and Angela over the past two years, Momiji is still able to manage these two powers, preventing them from devouring each other. She can still walk between light and shadow—just like the profession of ninja itself.

Therefore, Momiji is familiar enough with both the undead and the living to know how to kill them.

After extracting the heart of the second Night Axe Warrior, Hongye realized that her mission wasn't to fight these War Gods to the death. In addition, she was really worried about Hayden's situation, so she took the opportunity to slip away.

Previously, Fenrir transformed back into a giant wolf and rammed the minor god opposite into the adjacent chamber. In the midst of the fierce battle, it's unclear where he ended up. Momiji followed the traces of destruction, searching all the way, and the more she searched, the more alarmed she became.

It's important to understand that while Smoke Mirror Corporation's bio-factories may appear rudimentary, they are actually the most crucial basic production facilities in every city. Therefore, the structures of these factories are meticulously reinforced. Living factories formed from flesh and blood may sound fragile, but they are actually extremely resilient. Generally speaking, unless directly attacked by a true god, the walls of these bio-factories cannot be penetrated. If the Protoss were to simply fight inside the factory, it wouldn't suffer serious damage. From the very beginning of the design and manufacturing process, Smoke Mirror Corporation had already considered both external attacks and internal destruction of the factories.

Furthermore, even if the factory's biological walls are damaged, its flesh and blood tissue will regenerate rapidly. This is because the biological factory is a living entity, constantly absorbing the power of the earth's veins and blood sacrifices; it is a life form as powerful as a god, only it has neither intelligence nor the ability to move.

However, this principle no longer applies today.

In her more than four hundred years of demonic life, Hongye has witnessed countless powers.

She grew up by the side of Emperor Mara and later witnessed Fudo Myoo slaying Mara in a world-shattering battle. When she worked as a corporate ninja for the Mithra Group, she personally experienced many terrifying battles. Although she didn't participate in the previous Battle of Neo-Yato (nor was she capable of doing so), she knew how horrific that battle was.

Hongye knew the power of the gods and how they fought. Yet, the battle before her still frightened her.

Because the gods and beasts that roam the earth are now fighting each other in this factory of flesh and blood.

The silver-white giant wolf Fenrir and the black, unnamed giant god are locked in battle.

When Hongye arrived at the chamber, she saw Fenrir leap up and pounce on the enemy. Hayden's heart beast, transformed into a giant wolf, was a colossal creature. Even within the factory, considering space constraints, this wolf was a full five meters tall. Five meters might not sound like much, but its gaping maw could easily fit an entire person, and each fang was like a sharp longsword. It leaped into the chamber, its feet stomping on the ground, creating an earthquake-like impact. The flesh and bones on the chamber floor, which should have been able to withstand artillery bombardment, caved in and shattered with a single kick.

He is a wolf born from the steel jungle, a wolf that tears through all shackles. His selfless pounce carries immense force, like a meteorite impact, like the hammer of a raging god.

However, the lesser god opposite—the black-clad war god—withstood Fenrir's attack. He was able to match Hayden's beast avatar!

To confront the giant wolf, he stretched out his body. The seams of his black combat suit opened, making his entire body appear larger. His radiant glow, like the dim light of the sun, intensified, making him even more conspicuous in the darkness, appearing more majestic and imposing than any mortal.

The two clashed instantly. The giant wolf's sharp teeth bit into the black war god's left arm, the force capable of penetrating buildings and tearing apart thick adamantite. Centered on the force of the collision, the factory's fleshy floor cracked and spread, even altering the terrain.

But another power, a power even greater than Fenrir's, was constantly emanating from the Black God of War. Fenrir struggled, trying to chew up his left arm, but to no avail. Instead, the Black God of War straightened up, aimed at the giant wolf's head, and slammed his right fist down!

boom!

The power of that divine punch was so great that even when the aftershocks reached the distant red leaves, the great demon couldn't help but tremble. Keep in mind that in ancient times, she was a great demon of the same caliber as Shuten-dōji and Tamamo-no-Mae, and had witnessed battles between powerful deities before.

Logically speaking, a battle between two minor gods shouldn't have frightened Hongye at all. In other words, this battle has become something completely "illogical"!

When the black-clad warrior punched Fenrir in the head, the earth-shaking power was already the most unreasonable thing ever!

The overwhelming force caused Fenrir to lose his balance and stumble several times. Before he could recover, the black-clad warrior's second punch followed, landing squarely on his wolf nose. The shockwave alone shattered the factory floor and blasted Fenrir into a crater.

Then the black-clad warrior grabbed a giant conveyor pipe in the room that was even bigger than himself, tore it in half, and used it like a baseball bat to beat Fenrir.

This isn't some profound or ingenious martial art, but rather the power of a war god—the kind of power that every warrior would envy and admire, the strength to beat monsters with their bare fists! This power, this superb physique, is exactly what every warrior desires!

At the critical moment, Fenrir's reaction speed far exceeded their expectations. He transformed into wind to dodge the Black God of War's attack, and the astonishing power of the storm actually reflected the God of War's heavy blow back, shattering the factory's flesh and equipment in his face. The little God of War staggered back a few steps, but quickly regained his balance. A crimson spear appeared in his hand, and he thrust it back towards the giant wolf's heart.

There were no special sound or light effects; it was simply two monsters fighting each other, yet it also resembled ancient hunters battling wild beasts—utterly primitive and extremely savage. However, the scale of their savage struggle was also divine, like a myth from a primitive tribe being reenacted!

Every moment, the entire factory is shaking as if by an earthquake of magnitude eight due to this fight. Furthermore, Fenrir is steadily retreating under the Black God of War's onslaught. Despite his tenacious counterattacks, it's clear the prey cannot defeat the hunter.

Hongye watched their battle from afar, seeing Fenrir gradually losing ground, feeling anxious yet unsure what to do. Even if she joined in to help, defeating a combat-type minor god was still unlikely; she might even cause Fenrir more trouble. Besides, this mysterious minor war god from the Smoke Mirror Company possessed for some reason exceptionally powerful strength.

She knew that if Hayden's true form were here, the probability of defeating a minor combat god would be quite high. However, Fenrir was merely an avatar of Hayden, and far removed from his true form, its power greatly diminished. If Hayden's true form were here... hmm?

Thinking about this, Hongye suddenly felt something was strange. Although Hayden's main body wasn't here, he had another clone on duty at the factory's security center. At first, the factory might not have known someone had infiltrated, but now that it had turned into a monster battle for two minutes, how could they still not know?

In the blink of an eye, just as Hongye's mind raced, she saw a pale man's figure slowly rise from the darkness behind the Little War God. He was tall and thin, like a skeleton; his blood-red eyes gleamed in the darkness, his pupils as narrow as a cat's; his nose was flat like a snake, with nostrils that were just two thin slits.

"abracadabra"

Therefore, his name is Fudimo.

There is no green laser, because this is not Harry Potter, but it is indeed a powerful spell from ancient Aramaic, meaning "destroy this thing"—anything that could be disease, disaster, poison, drought, or even an enemy standing in front of you.

So J.K. Rowling was right, it really is a killing curse, a murder curse. It's just that it's the kind of killing curse that "will kill even gods if they're alive."

Voldemort needed no wand. He pointed his slender right index finger at the back of the Black God of War and unleashed a deadly curse. The curse had no visual effects, but its power was felt even by Red Leaf, who was hiding in the distance. A strange, chilling power made the fur on her tail stand on end.

As for the little war god who was the first to bear the brunt, the effect was even more astonishing.

This curse is invisible and intangible, yet as it swept across the ground and flew away, its powerful force dug a deep trench in the earth, because the factory structure made of flesh and blood would die as soon as it came into contact with the aftershocks of the curse; this magic is silent and colorless, but the black war god who was fighting Fenrir just a second ago swayed after being hit by the curse, and as if his string had been cut, he immediately fell to his knees.

He tried to raise his hand and stand up, but found that his right hand and right foot—his entire right side—were paralyzed and stiff as a stone.

Hayden's new trick is not to be trifled with.

The death curse he had Voldemort perform this time was actually a secret technique he obtained from the goddess Hela (his mother-in-law). In other words, it was also the power of a true god, and extremely insidious and vicious. This curse was invisible, guaranteed to hit within visual range, and ignored physical defenses. Enemies with lower energy than himself would be killed instantly, and even undead creatures would be truly and completely "terminated from existence."

What makes Hela even more malicious is that if the Death Curse hits an enemy stronger than the caster, the effect of "terminating existence" will be immediately adjusted, lowering expectations and focusing on a specific target.

I am a minor deity, you are a major one. I cannot kill you with a single killing curse, but I can concentrate all the power of the killing curse on your right index finger and "kill" that finger. Healing it will take a considerable amount of time. On the battlefield, in the midst of the fiercest battle, suddenly being struck by such a disgusting curse—suddenly losing half a hand or an eyeball, suddenly having a sense "killed," suddenly having a joint paralyzed and stiffened—the situation would become extremely awkward. Even the strong could be killed as a result, and even the dead are not exempt. After all, Hela is a goddess situated precisely between the realms of life and death.

The Black War God, having been struck by a death curse, struggled to his feet on his left leg, only to see a group of factory god employees following behind Voodoo. Clearly, if this dragged on any longer, the battle gods under Goddess Mikt, and even other true gods, would be teleported over.

Despite this, the Black War God, who was about to be ganged up on, didn't seem flustered at all.

"A Rune Master, a giant wolf transformation, and a death curse! Miktikashiva, your situation is quite interesting!"

He threw his head back and laughed, then turned around and started hopping away on one foot!

The action sounded ridiculous at first, but the person in question was a god, a giant of immense strength! His one-legged hopping rampage, no longer lingering in the fight but solely focused on breaking through, only created more chaos. Each leap caused a larger earthquake; each reckless charge smashed through factory facilities and breached walls! The few god-like employees couldn't even stop him, let alone surround him!

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Fenrir quickly fled. If Goddess Mikkuri teleported over and captured him as well, things would really get out of hand!

【Red Leaves, let's slip away now... Red Leaves?】

It was only then that Hayden realized that the red leaves had disappeared!

--------------------------

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

While one side of the factory was engulfed in a cataclysmic battle between gods and monsters, the clandestine activities of several war gods on the other side were not easily noticed.

The two Night Axe warriors were already making their way out of the factory's sewers. One carried a two-meter-long bio-preservation tank on his shoulder, while the other had just hacked down Crocodile, Dolly, and Gustav with his sword. Silently killing mortal mercenaries was easier for them than eating.

"The Lord is under siege and is preparing to retreat. There is not enough time to deal with the traces."

The Night Axe Warrior, carrying the sealed box, said...

"We cannot waste the time our superiors have bought for us. We will proceed with backup plan B."

Regardless, they absolutely had to bring back the sealed bio-terrorist preservation box they were carrying on their shoulders today. That was their primary task for the day... at least that's what their superiors told them.

The two Night Axe warriors quickly communicated and began walking towards the sewer exit through the opened air valve. However, before they could even step out of the sewer, the second warrior suddenly stopped and collapsed.

A samurai sword emerged from the shadows behind him, piercing his obsidian heart.

In fact, Hongye's actions this time were a bit smarter than Hayden had imagined.

Realizing that staying would only cause trouble, Kureha immediately retreated. She couldn't contribute much in the battle here at Fenrir, and while Voodoo had arrived to help, that didn't mean ninjas couldn't play a crucial role on other battlefields.

Unfortunately, she arrived at the scene a little too late this time.

The remaining warrior carrying the box immediately tried to escape with it, but was also killed by Hongye in a few rounds. A lone warrior god carrying a box and trying his best to protect it was naturally no match for Hongye.

But in doing so, even a fool could see that the box they were willing to protect at all costs was obviously very strange!

Hongye was certainly not foolish enough to open the bio-preservation box directly, but out of curiosity, she couldn't help but take a closer look at the label on the box.

In her more than four hundred years of demonic life, Hongye has witnessed countless incredible things and events.

However, even she was genuinely startled when she saw the label on the box today!

Soon after, the chaos of the day finally subsided. When Hayden saw the label on the box and its contents, he was not only as startled as Hongye, but also realized something terrifying:

Today, through a series of inexplicable coincidences, the Smoke Mirror Company has delivered an unexpected New Year's gift to him.

If Hayden takes advantage of this great gift, he might have the opportunity to take over the entire Smoke Mirror Company in one fell swoop!

The box that the Night Axe Warriors tried to steal from the goddess Mikt's bio-factory certainly contained such a possibility!

322: Alternate Color Version

About a minute later, Fenrir finally shook off the factory's Protoss security guards and caught up with Redleaf. By then, he had transformed back into human form. After all, it was just asking for trouble for a five-meter-tall giant wolf to run around in the factory, and he couldn't really kill Mikt's employees (at least not now).

Meanwhile, Hongye was staring blankly at the bio-preservation box she had snatched from the Night Axe Warrior.

"What happened?"

Fenrir was naturally puzzled when he arrived. However, he quickly noticed the two Night Axe Warriors who had been stabbed to death by the Red Leaf Ninja, and then saw the crocodile head chopped off by the Night Axe Warriors, and Gustav and Dolly lying on their hands. Fenrir's expression immediately turned grim. He rushed over and cast a few spells, but the results were not optimistic.

The crocodile was already dead; after all, not only had his head been chopped off, but his forehead had also been split open vertically, so there was no way to save him.

Dolly and Gustav weren't beheaded, but the Night Axe Warriors were still incredibly ruthless, cleaving them into four pieces. Unable to withstand the monstrous strength of the War Gods, their bodies were instantly compressed to about half their height with a "snap." Even with such a vast difference in strength, this was hardly a way for humans to die.

Even Fenrir, when examining corpses with magic, could hardly bear to look at their remains.

And as he examined it more closely, Fenrir soon discovered something even more disgusting.

With Hayden's increasingly advanced life magic technology over the past few years, he could have tried to save someone even if they were chopped into four pieces, as long as it wasn't too long ago. Although Hayden's resurrection technology was still immature, people who had just died a few minutes ago still had cells and life essence that hadn't yet decayed, so there might have been a chance of saving them.

Fenrir carefully examined the corpses of the crocodile and Dolly, only to discover that their life essence had been completely drained. His heart sank. He cast another spell to investigate, and what he found this time was even more alarming: not only their physical life force, but also the souls of the crocodile and Dolly had been drained!

Who sucked them away? And where did they go? The former is obvious; it must have been the two Night Axe Warriors who were stabbed to death by Red Leaf nearby. The problem is, Fenrir checked them thoroughly but couldn't find Crocodile and Dolly's souls on them. In fact, even the souls of the two Night Axe Warriors themselves were gone.

It's likely that Smoke Mirror Company installed magic on these warrior gods that automatically absorbs their essence and soul after killing them, and even when they themselves are killed, their souls are absorbed and sent to their headquarters or superiors.