The city gradually faded away.

The defeated soldiers gradually sailed into the lost night.

When they left, they had already destroyed all the boats on the dock that they could not take away in time.

There were no pursuers.

It was safe for now.

But such temporary safety was as meaningless as the respite before a pig or a sheep being butchered.

The nerves of the fanatics gradually relaxed.

He also had more time to consider the reasons for his failure.

Since they were the most hardcore fanatics, naturally, they would not admit that the ‘True God’ they worshipped was not as good as the ‘False God’ worshipped by the Fist Temple.

On the other hand, Brother Luo Xinglong had been leading them in Qianyuan City for many years. He was wise and wouldn’t make any mistakes.

As for their own beliefs, they were flawless, too. They were all men who were willing to die for the God of Machinery and Steam.

Then, there could only be one reason for the explosion of the steam cannons and their failure.

More and more suspicious, wary, and even hostile eyes turned to Gus and Grey.

The zealots, who were covered in smoke, dust, and blood, were full of neurotic mistrust like wounded wolves. They crouched in the darkness and stared at the saint children and saintesses under the lights, whispering to each other.

“Hey, do you think they are really ‘Holy Sons’ and ‘Holy Virgins’?”

“Is there a mistake somewhere?”

“If they were really ‘Holy Sons’ and ‘Holy Virgins’, why didn’t they reveal any techniques in the battle today and even caused the explosion of the steam cannon?”

“That’s right. Didn’t they beat back all the boxers of Red Gold Town in the forest and beat the priests of the Temple of Fist to a pulp? Why didn’t they fire a single shot today?”

Weird. Very weird!

“Are you kidding me? Are you bluffing, or are you trying to lure us into a trap by sending two fake ‘Holy Sons’ and ‘Holy Virgins’ to our door to steal our secrets so that we will rise up in advance?”

“It’s… possible. Very possible. I’m told that their uncle is a priest of the Temple of Fist and the junior brother of High Priest Luo Tian!”

Dangerous rumors were slithering in the darkness like vipers.

The eyes of more and more zealots were glittering like those of animals.

They might not have believed the rumors, but their morale was low, and they were in panic and confusion. They did not know what was going on, but they needed a place to vent their anger.

Finally, someone lost his cool and stood up.

When someone took the lead, there would be a second, a third, and a tenth. The fanatics staggered toward Gus and Grey like zombies.

The two siblings also smelled the ominous smell in the air. Their hearts could not help but tighten as they turned pale with fright.

Andre, who was in charge of commanding the fleet, shouted at the fanatics to retreat.

You are reading story Forty Millenniums of Cultivation at novel35.com

However, he was only the commander of the squad occupying the dock. There were not many trusted subordinates who were truly convinced by him.

Luo Xinglong’s death was too abrupt. He did not hand over the command of the entire steam army of Heavenly Essence City to anybody else. Right now, there were quite a few leaders in the fleet who were in a similar position to Andre. Many of the leaders of the defeated army had been lost in the city, too. They were scattered soldiers without a leader. In their frustration, they only wanted to vent their fear and anger. They were not willing to listen to anybody else’s command at all.

Right when the fleet of fleeing soldiers was about to explode like a barrel of gunpowder, a shrill whistle suddenly came from the front.

Three crimson lanterns were raised in the lead—a signal that an enemy was coming!

The survivors who were still in shock squinted and looked ahead. They were greatly shocked, as if a bucket of freezing water had been poured into their heads!

Although night had fallen…

But it was brightly lit in front of him.

At some point, a fortress full of torches had been established on the river!

The fortress was based on dozens of large ships that had been locked by iron chains as thick as arms. Wooden planks had been built on them, with mud smeared on the outside and sandbags piled up inside. They were both light and fireproof. It was impossible to break into the fortress on the water with oil or crossbows.

The top of the fortress was packed with soldiers. Behind the shields that were as solid as walls, countless arrows were glittering coldly. Although the Fist God despised weapons, it was the best weapon to deal with the evil Cultivators who worshipped mechanical demons and steam demons.

The city on the water occupied the center of the river. The rivers on the two sides of the river were extremely narrow. A lot of sandbags, chains, and thick trunks had been sunk into the river, blocking the river completely.

Hundreds of torches were lit on both sides of the river, too. Countless archers lined up, ready to kill.

Once the fleet was ready to bypass the cities on the water and take the rivers on both sides, a lot of ships would certainly be tied up by the debris blocking the rivers and become hedgehog-like targets.

Cold killing intent suddenly burst out of the river. The escape route leading to the south where Hope had been turned into a fatal trap leading to the netherworld.

“We’ve been tricked!”

Andre and the remaining soldiers finally came back to themselves.

No wonder High Priest Luo Tian was not in a hurry to hunt them down.

As it turned out, such an ambush had been set up on the river.

Back when they were in Heavenly Essence City, the core disciples of the Machinery Sect and the Divine Steam Sect could’ve broken out of the siege during the chaos and fled into the forest, or they could’ve disguised themselves and dispersed among the civilians, which would’ve been a major nuisance for the investigation and capture of the Fist Hall.

But right now, they had gathered together willingly. There was no way out of the river.

For a moment, sirens were blowing from the ship to the tail. Red lanterns were hanging on all the ships, indicating that they were ready for battle. But the zealots who were illuminated by the redness had lost all hope of victory even if they still had the courage to fight.

“It’s hopeless. We are all doomed. We can’t get out!”

“High Priest Luo Tian has calculated everything. We are doomed!”

“God of Steam, why is this happening? Why have you sent out your enlightenment but not given us the last hope?”

Many fanatics were kneeling on the ground and crying.

Some of the guys whose eyes were bloodshot continued glaring at Gus and Grey, as if they were going to berate the two fake ‘saint sons’ and ‘saint daughters’ for leading them to such a desperate situation.

However, when one of the fanatics lunged at the siblings, he was kicked away by the silent Gus.

There was no telling where the youth got his strength from, but this kick landed on the opponent’s chest with a bone-cracking sound, almost kicking this fanatic into the river.

Then, under the bewildered gazes of the fanatics, Gus took out his ‘Black Tide’ Heavy Vulcan Machine Gun from the basket on his back inch by inch.