Auerbach: The Crimson Cradle, Part One

The night draped Durkes City's southern coast in silence. Waves gently caressed the docks, and the bright moon cast its glow upon the sparse patrols. Du City's night was as peaceful as any other.

Du Chen arrived at Turam's Lifeline, the former haunt of the Merfolk, riding his Precious Lotus Scripture. He gazed into the distance at the intertwined branches and leaves of Little Duding amidst the seaweed, and the cave entrance they concealed. His Wind and Thunder Dual Wings slowly manifested, his nerves taut to the extreme!

Their opponent this time was a Fiery Thunder Cannon, powerful enough to obliterate Margaret with a single shot. One blast, and no one present would escape utter annihilation!

Du Chen lightly tapped the soft, small beast by his ear. Through his Battle Soul, he commanded, “Number Three War Zone, target spotted!” To ensure constant communication this time, the Pontiff had provided nine extremely precious Mirya Beasts. The special ability of these small beasts wasn't particularly powerful, but they possessed the invaluable trait of long-distance communication. Thus, each commander of the nine War Zones received a Mirya Beast. They would first speak to their Battle Soul, which would then relay the message via the Mirya, enabling crucial instant communication!

“Number Six War Zone, target spotted!”

“Number Nine War Zone, target spotted!”

...

Messages poured in one after another. However, there was a long silence from Number Eight War Zone, which the Pontiff had tasked Ferdinand with overseeing, along with a Thunder Cannon. After a considerable wait, a voice finally reported, “Number Eight War Zone has not spotted its target. Requesting Tyran Beast to re-calibrate!”

The Pontiff’s calm voice resonated, “The Tyran Beast has re-calibrated. The ambush location for Number Eight War Zone was miscalculated. The target has appeared amidst the reef cluster twelve miles southeast of your position. Proceed immediately to infiltrate and ambush. All other units, remain on standby, awaiting a coordinated assault!”

All strategies had been painstakingly devised by Liana and Phil, but they were mortals, not deities. In the end, after all nine Venerables of the Scarlet Army appeared, four entire War Zones had mistaken ambush locations. Thankfully, two Tyran Beasts were on site to assist; otherwise...

The Pontiff boomed, “All targets are locked! Report attack readiness!”

“Number Three is ready to attack at any moment!”

“Number One is ready to attack at any moment!”

“Number Five...”

After confirming that all units were prepared, the Pontiff suddenly chuckled, “Esteemed colleagues, I am currently at Battle God Square on Hot Spring Mountain. In three minutes, I shall ascend the throne and be crowned Divine Emperor! Calibrate your pocket watches, everyone. The attack commences in two minutes. The current time is 5:57 AM...” Finishing his words, a hint of resolve leaked into the Pontiff’s tone, “Although the Hot Spring Mountain’s defensive array has been activated, it can only withstand the simultaneous barrage of three Thunder Cannons. This means if more than six of you fail, I, Sama, will be reduced to dust...”

Of the nine War Zones, at least six could not fail. Under such stringent conditions, everyone felt an immense pressure. Yet, the Pontiff insisted on using himself as The Bait to deceive the Scarlet Army, and personally sit upon the highest throne. No one could dissuade him!

The Pontiff suddenly roared, “If I fall, Francis will assume command of the overall situation and continue the assault on the Scarlet Army!”

Du Chen paused, then immediately stated, “Should I falter here, Madam Xerxes will take over my command!”

Phil was even more direct, “If I perish, the officer of Number Four War Zone will assume all command!” Number Four War Zone was under the jurisdiction of the Requiem Death Knights, but their identity, to the Pontiff, was merely ‘Du Chen, the Divine’s friends,’ so Phil refrained from calling them by name!

One by one, these ‘last wills’ were relayed. But when it reached Number Eight War Zone, there was a halt.

Ferdinand, Number Three of the Eminence Project, was responsible for this War Zone and seething with resentment. *Damn it, it was only five minutes ago that I understood the Pontiff’s intention in assigning me to ambush here with a Thunder Cannon... What should I do? Without being able to consult Marshal Bonis, should I assist the Pontiff in protecting Battle God Isle, or deliberately fail and let the Pontiff perish?*

Ilan’s words from the other day echoed in his ears, “The Violet-Bloods desperately need the knowledge from Battle God Isle to enrich their minds...” Ferdinand gritted his teeth and bellowed, “If I fall, Godfather Bairu will assume all command!”

*Forget it, Battle God Isle now belongs to the Violet-Bloods. I, Dean Ferdinand, cannot allow it to be destroyed!*

In a sense, at this very moment, the Red-Bloods and Violet-Bloods were joining forces to combat the Mystic Artifacts, the nine Venerables of the Scarlet Army!

The Pontiff stood atop Hot Spring Mountain, taking a deep breath under the watchful gazes of countless saluting figures. He looked towards the Divine Emperor’s throne at the highest point and calmly ordered through his Battle Soul, “Communications ended. Begin!”

...

Phil had once said that the nine Venerables of the Scarlet Army had two forms—humanoid and cannon! These two forms differed, and so did the power of the nine Venerables of the Scarlet Army!

In their humanoid form, the Scarlet Army could not fire their cannons. Their strength derived from Battle Qi Inheritance. In short, the power of the humanoid Venerables depended on whose Battle Qi they inherited! And the Scarlet Army had secretly pilfered so many divine corpses, making it highly probable they had inherited the Battle Qi of several thirteenth or fourteenth-tier masters. Thus, while humanoid Scarlet Army couldn't fire cannons, they were still rare, peerless experts!

As for the nine Venerables of the Scarlet Army in their true cannon forms... needless to say, if you dared to give them a chance to fire, annihilation was guaranteed!

Therefore, there were two opportunities to deal with the Scarlet Army—either eliminate the humanoid Scarlet Army before they could revert to their true forms, or, if they had already reverted, destroy their cannon bodies *before* they fired!

Du Chen, clutching his pocket watch, flew into the cave at Turam's Lifeline. Inside, a large man in black robes was muttering to himself, appearing somewhat strange. In fact, he was communicating with the other Venerables, confirming final preparations before the commencement.

Without a word, Du Chen used his Precious Lotus Scripture to scoop up Liana and the two children, completely ignoring Anya’s look that said, "A Master disdains to avoid battle." He swallowed them and the Precious Lotus Scripture into his belly. He, Andy, Flaying, and Deboning positioned themselves at four corners, Andy at the forefront, coldly staring at the large man before them, silently calculating the time!

“Phew, good thing Phil knew the Scarlet Army possessed long-range communication. She suggested we strike simultaneously, otherwise, moving separately and startling one might lead to all of us meeting a nameless end!”

Du Chen spoke blandly, glancing at the large man's eyes. Then, he suddenly transmitted a Secret Technique message with a chuckle, “We hit the jackpot! Blood-red eyes... it’s Retoya, the Scarlet Army’s second-highest master! He’s inherently cruel and bloodthirsty, having absorbed the abilities of a fourteenth-tier general of the Fiendkind from yesteryear. Not an easy foe!”

Flaying gave a cold smirk. “Francis, you should be thinking right now how lucky we are not to have encountered Leiming, who inherited Battle Qi nearing the culmination of Battle God's Path!” He then glanced back at Deboning. “Brook, you’re the weakest here. Are you afraid to die?”

Deboning laughed proudly, “Having followed Young Master for so many years, become a Grand Pontiff, and earned a title, I, Brook, have lived a full life!”

Du Chen crouched on the Precious Lotus Scripture, his legs and core tensed, ready to charge. He said coldly, “Retoya is still in human form, so we execute Plan A... Five, Four, Three, Two... Strike!”

Retoya was reporting to Leiming, preparing for a joint bombardment of Battle God Isle at daybreak. But halfway through his words, without warning, Leiming’s voice on the other end of the communication suddenly roared, “Not good, the plan...”

*What plan?* Retoya had no time to hear. Leiming was under attack, and he was about to face the same fate. Almost the instant Leiming gave his warning, a dazzling Golden Lotus descended from above, swift beyond compare, so fast that Retoya’s fourteenth-tier Battle Qi had no time to react. In a flash, he was sealed alive within the Lotus!

Immediately following, four figures appeared out of thin air. Deboning, instead of looking at Retoya, raised his Blade of Vanishing Moon's Deadwater and cleaved through the ceiling of the cave. Without stopping, he continued to hack upwards, quickly creating a skylight in the deep-sea cavern! Below this cave was Turam’s Lifeline, while above it lay ordinary rock. With Deboning’s speed and power, he instantly punched through the cave, and surging seawater poured in. “Open!” Deboning bellowed, forcefully pushing the inflowing seawater back, all the way to the surface, forming a vacuum tunnel in the vast ocean that allowed starlight and moonlight to penetrate the cave...

As for Retoya, he was trapped beneath the inverted Lotus. Du Chen exerted his full strength to constrict the Lotus, intending to transform him into a tattoo on his body, much like how Little Duding was once imprisoned, sealing Retoya within the mysterious inner space of the Lotus! But Retoya roared furiously, his Battle Qi expanding, somehow forcing the shrinking Lotus to inflate again. With a mighty shake, he cast the Lotus aside!

*How powerful! This Retoya, though not as strong as Margaret, is certainly not someone to be dealt with by a single person!*

Du Chen dared not hesitate. The moment the Lotus was flung away, he waved his hand, and Fifth Brother Dus, like a pile of mud, was thrown out! *“Splat!”* Dus, utilizing the speed of wind and thunder, sloppily enveloped Retoya! “Heh, Fifth Brother’s got him tied up! Come on, beat him to death!”

Just then, moonlight streamed through the tunnel Deboning had created. Snow Wolf barely managed to transform. Ignoring Dus, who was still clinging to Retoya, his wolf claws howled, unleashing a torrential storm of attacks upon Retoya. Almost simultaneously, Du Chen’s various Arcane Artifacts and Steve’s Shooting Star Rain all hammered down on Retoya!

Retoya, encased in a sticky, unpleasant substance, felt deeply disgusted. His body also bore several fresh wounds, but this brief respite was enough for him to grasp the situation...

“You think you can kill me?!” Retoya sneered grimly, his external Battle Qi pulsing three times—*Boom, Boom, Boom!*—the continuous violent tremors instantly shattered Dus. Following this, he raised his hand and lunged towards the slower Steve!

But just then, the shattered sticky substance pulsed, re-forming and flying up again. With a *splat*, it once more splattered onto Retoya, gluing his limbs and giving Steve a safe escape, as well as providing Du Chen and Andy time to launch their next offensive!

“Heh heh, Fifth Brother’s alive again! Dying isn’t exciting enough, why don’t you hit harder?!”

With the Precious Lotus Scripture advanced to the Seventh Trigram, Dus was no longer the unfortunate fellow who needed seven or eight days to recover. Moreover, he had simulated the human vocal system well enough to both disgust Retoya and provoke him with curses!

This slimy, dirty, limp thing utterly revolted Retoya, yet it couldn't be killed, couldn't be cursed into submission, and could even resurrect itself from mere fragments... Retoya raged, but for a moment, he had no solution, his movements hampered by Dus.

After Steve narrowly escaped again with Dus’s help, he urgently said, “This won't work! We can't break through a fourteenth-tier Battle Qi defensive shield!”

With Dus’s assistance, Retoya had already endured hundreds of heavy blows, especially to vital areas like his head and chest. Yet, despite all this, he only sported faint scratches. Yes, not bloodstains, but scratches. While Mystic Artifacts could assume human form, their mechanical core meant they couldn't bleed!

Du Chen nodded slightly. “Dus, stick to him tightly! Eldest Brother, Andy, Plan B!”

With that, Du Chen once again sealed Retoya within a Precious Lotus Scripture. Just as Retoya was about to expand his Battle Qi again, a second Lotus Scripture enveloped the first. Immediately following, the Sands of the Hourglass wrapped both Lotus Scriptures, along with Dus and Retoya inside. Du Chen then shielded his entire body with the Water Veil Shield, held up his Fire Lotus Lantern, and used the Lantern's momentary burst of power to propel all the Arcane Artifacts, forcibly lifting Retoya off the ground!

“Andy, Eldest Brother!”

At Du Chen’s call, Andy pulled the layered Retoya from above, while Steve helped Du Chen push from below. The three combined their strength, forcing Retoya through the tunnel Deboning had just created, sending him soaring into the sky!

Where was the sky above Turam's Lifeline? Simple: Durkes City’s southern dock, where Dud had hidden his vast army!

Reaching the sky, Du Chen felt Retoya within the Arcane Artifacts stirring, about to break free. He bellowed, “Dud!!!!”

On the dock, someone immediately responded, “Subterranean Charge formation, Blazing Kirin Wings!”

In an instant, the dock, previously dotted with only a few sparse patrols, underwent a dramatic transformation. Dud’s Subterranean Charge Battle Formation, capable of concealing tens of thousands of troops, activated. A full thirty thousand Beastkin slave troops surged from underground onto the dock. This was thanks to Du City’s economic boom in recent years, which had led to the construction of two massive commercial cargo docks. Otherwise, such a colossal army couldn't have been deployed within the city limits!

As soon as the thirty thousand troops appeared, they immediately assembled into formation. Aliza led the front lines. With him at the forefront, hundreds of vanguard Beastkin warriors erupted in raging flames. The fire spread, and the thirty thousand strong army seemed to transform into a towering, awe-inspiring mountain of fire!

“Iron Wall Thunder of Fleeting Clouds and Flashes, six heavy strikes! Target: the Lord’s Lotus!”

At Dud’s Military Edict, issued from an unknown location, the flames on the soldiers soared, becoming a crimson-blue cloud in the sky. Then, with the speed of lightning, six bolts of thunder shot towards Retoya!

Du Chen breathed a sigh of relief. He grabbed Steve and Andy, retreating to rendezvous with Deboning, who had flown up from the sea. *Damn it, is fourteenth-tier really that strong? I'll gang up on you! Even a Divine Emperor can be severely wounded by a gang-up, so I refuse to believe you can escape Dud’s army formation!*

The crackling lightning first struck Du Chen's Arcane Artifacts. Dus, controlling from within, saw the army's thunder arrive, chuckled, and ordered all Arcane Artifacts to fly away, while he himself remained clinging to Retoya. Retoya, seeing the lightning formed by thirty thousand men directly above him, his expression changed instantly. He roared, intending to shatter Dus and escape!

But he didn't need to shatter Dus; Dus had already been turned to dust by Dud's lightning. Immediately after, the lightning descended upon the inescapable Retoya...

“Aargh!!”

Retoya’s agonizing scream echoed across the vast sea, startling countless residents of Durkes City. But immediately, city defense forces, appearing from nowhere, maintained order, keeping everything within an acceptable range...

Seeing Retoya utterly trapped by the lightning, with no hope of escape, Du Chen finally let out a long, genuine breath. “Damn it, we were lucky to encounter Retoya before he transformed into his cannon form. I wonder how things are elsewhere!”

Others were fighting for their lives, so Du Chen didn't want to distract them with the Mirya Beast. He looked back at the vast sea, noting that most areas were calm. Only in the southeast did a dazzling light flare, striking towards Battle God Isle... Du Chen sighed faintly, “Someone failed. I wonder if it was Bairu or the Five Families of Fallen Gods; they are both in that direction.”

Flaying’s cold, dark eyes stared at Retoya. “Fortunately, only one failed. The Hot Spring Mountain’s defensive array should hold!”

Du Chen turned his attention back to his own battle, focusing on Retoya, who was entangled in lightning and beginning to show fine cracks across his body. A faint smile played on his lips. The moment Retoya truly shattered, he would immediately rush to aid the Requiem Death Knights!

But just then, the sky to the southwest of Du City suddenly darkened, and Battle Qi surged violently. Flaying and Du Chen's expressions changed, and they quickly turned to look. Had something gone wrong with the Requiem Death Knights? But before they could discern the situation there, another anomaly occurred right here!

...

Retoya was glowing with faint electrical currents. A massive crack appeared on his forehead, extending from his left temple to his right jaw, revealing his dark, intricate mechanical structure, gruesome and terrifying! He finally felt the threat of death, and a fear he hadn't experienced in a thousand years surfaced in his heart. *“Am I going to die? Damn it, how do I escape?*”

A flash of inspiration struck Retoya. *“Wait, this is Du City’s southern dock, and our little brother is still here!”*

Thinking this, Retoya, with his last ounce of strength, roared to the sky, “The Fourteenth Trigram Blazing Thunder Cannon, our little brother, are you going to just stand by and watch your Second Brother be blown to bits by lightning!? I am just like you, a Thunder Cannon!”

His voice resonated across the four wilds. Du Chen, however, gave a sinister smile. *Retoya, do you think I’m a fool? Killing you at Du City's gates, how could I possibly overlook The Fourteenth Trigram Blazing Thunder Cannon, which possesses sentience and shares your origins!?*

Earlier, Du Chen had muttered before the battle that the Thunder Cannon had already been protected by Dud’s army formation, and today’s vanguard general was Aliza, not Adams! *Heh heh, without Adams, and with himself hidden, even if that Little Thunder Cannon wanted to save its older brother, it... it doesn't possess the Scarlet Army Venerables' ability to fire on its own. It needs Adams to fire!*

In the backyard of Du City’s Lord's Manor, on Little Duding’s massive main body, The Fourteenth Trigram Blazing Thunder Cannon was tied to the tree trunk, its resentful azure eyes open, looking at the countless arrayed soldiers around it, crying out, “Let me go, let me go! That guy is just like me, I have to save him!”

The soldiers deployed there watched him coldly, no one responding!

The Little Thunder Cannon cried out unwillingly, “You’re all bad, you’re all bad people! Where’s Adams? Adams, get out here!”

Unfortunately, Adams was a hundred miles away at this time, leading troops to protect the newly built Newin River Dam...

“Waaah, you’re all bullying me, you’re all bad guys!” The Little Thunder Cannon wailed, but not a single tear squeezed from its azure eyes, and its body, wrapped in Little Duding’s branches and leaves, was utterly unable to move!

Suddenly, the anomaly from the Requiem Death Knights’ side seemed to extend to Du City’s sky. Everyone’s attention was drawn to Retoya, who was dying high above. No one noticed that the starlight above the Lord's Manor suddenly dimmed. Immediately after, with a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, almost equal to Du Chen’s Wind and Thunder Dual Wings, a black object streaked past the Little Thunder Cannon. This black object then, under the cover of night, flew towards the next location, Du City’s southeast, which was Number Five War Zone!

Only two people sensed the anomaly: one was Andy. As the starlight dimmed, his transformation regressed, and he instinctively knew something was amiss, hurriedly warning Du Chen.

The other was Little Duding. He suddenly felt that the Little Thunder Cannon, which he had tightly entangled, had changed, becoming different... It was a very strange feeling, as if... the helpless Little Thunder Cannon had, in an instant, gained absolute confidence, an absolute way to save its older brother!

After the black object streaked past, the Little Thunder Cannon’s azure eyes suddenly became more nimble and bloodthirsty. “Huh? What’s this... Who cares what it is, haha! Thank you for what you gave me! From now on, I can fire and play without Adams!”

The Little Thunder Cannon roared excitedly, breaking free from Duding’s restraint, and shot like a red bolt of lightning towards the trapped Retoya!

Du Chen, Steve, Andy, Deboning... everyone was utterly shocked!

*Why did The Fourteenth Trigram Thunder Cannon suddenly become stronger, gaining autonomy? Damn it, now is not the time to ponder this question!*

The Little Thunder Cannon soared into the sky, its azure eyes slowly closing, its body suddenly beginning to gather light...

It was about to fire to save its brother!

...

When the Thunder Cannon was in humanoid form, the combat style was no different from fighting human masters; one only needed to be careful not to give it a chance to transform. But what about confronting the terrifying ultimate weapon that was already in its cannon form!?

It was actually quite simple. Phil had said it before: “Once a Thunder Cannon fires, everyone loses all hope of survival! But a Thunder Cannon has a fatal weakness—before it fires, it needs to absorb an enormous amount of elements from its surroundings. If it cannot absorb elements, the Thunder Cannon can only fire blanks!” The need for elements, this characteristic or rather, weakness, was the only chance and method to deal with the true cannon form of the Fiery Thunder Cannon!

Seeing the Little Thunder Cannon suddenly mutate, Du Chen roared, “Create a vacuum around him! Absolutely do not let him come into contact with elements, quickly!” With that, Du Chen unfurled his Wind and Thunder Dual Wings and was the first to lunge towards the Little Thunder Cannon!

Yes, as long as there was a layer of vacuum, isolating the Thunder Cannon from external elements, then the Thunder Cannon could not unleash its world-shattering, terrifyingly destructive power!

All nine War Zones had also prepared for this. For example, the four War Zones carrying four Thunder Cannons would preemptively use their own Thunder Cannons to drain nearby elements, creating a vacuum, and then fire into the sky to vent their power. Or like Phil and Merlinta, whose War Zones were in the ocean, a Marine Divine Beast and a contemporary Sea God could easily drain seawater to create a vacuum... In short, the methods varied, but the essence was one—create a vacuum zone before the Thunder Cannon fires!

Du Chen arrived beside the Little Thunder Cannon in the blink of an eye. The Wind Source hidden within his Wind and Thunder Dual Wings activated, and an immense suction force, forming a hurricane, began to draw all elements from around the Little Thunder Cannon!

However, although Du Chen was fast, the Little Thunder Cannon's sudden arrival was too unexpected, and it had already begun to condense elements halfway through its flight, having gathered considerable energy by now!

Crucially, the Little Thunder Cannon at this moment only sought to save its brother, not to destroy Battle God Isle. Therefore, it only used a single-target locked-on attack mode, which could be brewed in just one or two seconds, locking onto the fiery cloud that was killing Retoya!

One or two seconds...

Such a short time was not enough for Steve and Andy to fly over and help. And no matter how strong Du Chen was, could he really drain all the elements from an entire sky in one or two seconds!?

Retoya laughed heartily, “Brother, Second Brother knew you’d come back!”

“Haha, you’re my brother? Looks like it! Then you’ll have to play with me from now on, alright? Now... Fiery Thunder Cannon, single-target lock-on mode, fire!!!”

*Pfft!*

Like letting out a loud fart, the Little Thunder Cannon blinked its big eyes after firing, then suddenly looked around blankly. “Why did I fire a blank?!”

Du Chen was also stunned. *I... I clearly didn’t drain all the elements, and in the end, I still let the Little Thunder Cannon fire! But why did The Fourteenth Trigram Blazing Thunder Cannon fire a blank?!*

*Someone must have drained all the elements from the entire sky in that instant!*

*Who?! Who else here possesses such an ability?!*

With one shot proving ineffective, Retoya nearly closed his eyes in despair, but quickly reopened them, giving a bitter smile. “Beast Emperor's Unyielding Wall! Only Beast Emperor's Unyielding Wall could have done that... Orbach, you’re not dead yet?”

black-armored, iron-masked and with a reversed halberd on his back, Dud suddenly appeared beside Retoya. “Hmph, seeing that little guy fire, I suddenly remembered... I was burned into this state by you, and then trapped within rocks by you!”

With that, Dud slowly extended his hands, ignoring the lightning, and pressed them onto Retoya’s body. He murmured in a low voice, “Tell me, I should have died in Auerbach Grand Canyon, so why was I burned by you and sealed in Silvermoon Island in the middle of the sea!?”