Chapter 373: Maybe I Can Try

The Executioner fired just one shot, turning half of Bai She Street into ruins, and dozens of Transcendents died instantly without a sound.

Gazing at the surrounding rubble and the corpses of Transcendents littered everywhere, the priest from the Western Alliance felt his mind go blank, his ears filled with mercury, everything around him seeming unreal.

The priest, ranked 92 on the Combat Power List, was a rare player specializing in Inspiration, with an astonishing Inspiration stat of 70; to match it, he also raised his Will stat to 45.

As an ordinary top-100 player, his understanding of S-rank dungeons was no different from that of other players.

Not just him—over a hundred players entered the Steam Phantom Abyss game, yet fewer than three had prior experience clearing an S-rank dungeon.

Since entering the dungeon, half the dungeon time had passed; aside from the Anti-Magic Bullets that even Transcendents struggled to evade and the smog in Grimlan suppressing his abilities, he felt no real danger.

Even the earlier Invitation Battle posed no threat to him, because he directly joined the Holy Enlightenment Sect through employment, becoming a priest.

This brings us to his transmutation ability: Piety.

Whenever he activated the skill, he could display astonishing piety toward any deity, instantly joining that deity's faction.

With the Piety skill, Zhu Li accepted this "overseas Stilian descendant" without hesitation.

At the investigation meeting held by Glade Alliance that night, Zhu Li even had him attend as the representative of the Holy Enlightenment Sect.

Weeks of calm had given him the illusion that this newly spawned S-rank dungeon was only as difficult as a normal A-rank one.

If he just kept drifting along, avoided stirring trouble, and waited until the dungeon world ended, he could easily leave with the clear-reward safety net.

But the Executioner's single shot shattered this dream.

The suffocating pressure radiating from the Executioner filled him with fear.

In other dungeons, the fear of death would ignite players' rage, prompting many to fight desperately.

But in the Steam Phantom dungeon, players were bound by Steam Rules—all their skills were unusable, even their ultimate transmutation abilities could not be activated.

Facing the Executioner, even if they wanted to resist, all they could do was rush out of cover and engage in hand-to-hand combat using only their physical stats.

Coincidentally, the priest was an Inspiration-specialist with abysmal physical stats—hand-to-hand combat was completely out of the question.

His only hope now was that the Executioner belonged to some Xieshen Sect—he could kneel to the ground the moment the Executioner came for him and use Piety to join rather than fight.

For a priest, this wasn't shameful; since joining the Abyss game, at least four dungeons had seen him survive by joining the boss's side.

As he was weighing which surrender strategy to use, he saw the Executioner open the carriage again, preparing to reload.

Just as the priest frantically sought better cover, three figures attacked the Executioner from three directions.

The three players who struck were Leng Shan, Xiang Jianxing, and Huan Ying.

As players possessing Root Power—the few still capable of action—they knew that if they delayed further and let the Executioner keep firing volleys of bullets, they'd eventually be worn down to death.

Only by launching a full-force assault during the Executioner's skill cooldown could they gain a sliver of hope.

Xiang Jianxing moved fastest—his flying sword flashed golden once, then pierced straight toward the Executioner's chest.

During the final struggle for the Invitation, Xiang Jianxing had witnessed Wu Chang subduing the self-destructing cyborg and remembered that the chest was the cyborg's weakness.

But Long Feng, which had been unstoppable at the Steam Council's stronghold, now had no effect on the Executioner.

The sword tip penetrated less than an inch before being clamped shut by the Executioner's body; thick steam gushed from the wound, halting the sword's advance and extinguishing the filament-like sword qi swirling around the blade.

After Xiang Jianxing came Huan Ying.

This time, Huan Ying was serious—not casual like when he'd been "fishing" before—he drew his massive saber at once.

As he swung the saber, blade shadows piled upon shadows, as if hundreds of blades struck the Executioner simultaneously.

Any other player, facing Huan Ying's strike, might assume only one blade was real and the rest illusions—and would be sliced into mincemeat by the other shadows while parrying the "true" one.

This was Huan Ying's signature technique: Huan Ying Sword Dance—every blade shadow he created was real.

Each shadow was formed by Huan Ying using his Fast-Slow Root Power to temporarily solidify his sword qi; within an instant, he swung over a hundred times, then adjusted the speed of each strike via Root Power, causing the seemingly false sword qi and the final true strike to land on the target simultaneously.

Without prior knowledge of Huan Ying's ability, even players ranked in the top fifty of the Combat Power List could easily be killed on first encounter.

The strength of Huan Ying Sword Dance lay in its indistinguishable real-illusion mix and dense strikes—but both aspects were largely ineffective against the Executioner.

The sword qi Huan Ying unleashed was denser than the filament-like qi around Long Feng's blade, yet still limited; once struck by the Executioner's steam, most of it dissipated.

The remaining qi had lost its sharpness; when it struck the Executioner, it carved countless shallow dents into his surface, making him look like he'd been battered from brand-new to battlefield-worn—but in truth, it caused no real pain or injury, not even as deep as Xiang Jianxing's single thrust.

The strongest, solid strike among them was blocked by the Executioner's serrated long knife.

Just as Huan Ying was about to shift his stance, he saw the Executioner's left hand writhing—transforming the two-meter-long spear into a short, thick cannon barrel.

With a burst of flame, countless tiny bullets shot out from the barrel.

Shit.

Huan Ying reacted instantly, shifting his technique and dodging using his Fast-Slow Root Power.

But he was far too close to the Executioner; the bullets, wrapped in steam and unaffected by his abilities, made evasion too late.

Xiang Jianxing couldn't tell how deep the wound was—he only saw a burst of blood mist in the air, then Huan Ying turned into a flickering light and staggered away from Bai She Street.

The last to strike was Leng Shan. After Xiang Jianxing and Huan Ying's probing, he realized that with Steam Rules protecting him, dispersed energy attacks could barely harm the Executioner's core.

So he compressed his energy to its limit, forming a slender ice spike twenty centimeters long; using Huan Ying's attack as cover, he slipped in during the Executioner's reloading gap, slipped through the opening Xiang Jianxing had made, and drove the spike inside.

The ice spike pierced the Executioner's body—his Cold Root Power erupted; the Executioner froze solid, his body stiffened, and a layer of ice shell formed over his surface.

Leng Shan's strike left nothing reserved—he used full power; even a fully burning boiler of a Transcendent steam engine would freeze solid if pierced by this.

If this had been any other steam cyborg or Steam Council member—even with Steam Rules protection—they'd have been turned into ice statues.

But the Executioner was different—he had consumed and fused with the Jack-of-All-Trades, granting him extraordinary vitality.

Before Leng Shan could press his advantage and prepare his next strike, he saw the gears inside the Executioner beneath the ice shell begin to turn slowly.

The Executioner was adapting to the extreme cold generated by Leng Shan's Root Power at an unbelievable speed.

Even Leng Shan, for a moment, was at a loss—if the Executioner fully adapted and broke free, and Huan Ying had fled, he and Xiang Jianxing stood little chance of victory.

They had only two options now: one, fight to the death, unleash all their abilities, and try to kill the Executioner before he broke free.

The second option was strategic retreat—to regroup with He Ping and others; with He Ping and Shen Zhi She, two top-ranked players, joining them, facing the Executioner would become far easier.

But the cost would be heavy casualties among the Transcendents and key figures on Bai She Street.

Weighing the two outcomes, since Leng Shan was pressed for time, the scales didn't even waver—they tipped completely toward option one.

Let the Daoist die, not this poor Daoist; he briefly froze the Executioner, buying everyone time—whether they escape now depends on their fate.

He pulled the flying sword from the Executioner's chest and tossed it backward to Xiang Jianxing; no words were exchanged, and the two departed swiftly, in perfect unison.

As they passed down an alley, a man in a priest's robe suddenly burst out, shouting:

"Big bosses, take me with you!"

Leng Shan frowned and reached out to freeze the fellow before him and toss him back where he came from.

The priest hurriedly said: "I know where there are good horses!"

Leng Shan changed his motion, patted the priest on the shoulder, and said: "Lead the way."

Under the priest's guidance, the three found the police department's carriage yard, where the priest unloaded three horses from the Sacred Qi Church's carriage.

To demonstrate his value, the priest added:

"The Sacred Qi Church's horses are specially trained—they never weaken even during the Great Stench, absolutely top-grade steeds."

The three mounted up, and Leng Shan said: "Stick close to us, don't fall behind."

The three galloped toward the outer edge of Bai She Street, and Leng Shan said:

"We have at most half a minute before the Executioner fully breaks free from the freeze—we must find a safe place." Xiang Jianxing suddenly remembered something and said: "The Gray Church Slums! There's a special ability there that can resist the steam rules of the instance dimension."

"When we met before, He Ping said that no matter who's chasing us, if we enter the slums, Lady Xiao En will guarantee our safety."

Leng Shan frowned: "Lady Xiao En? The wife of a nobleman, a native of this dimension?"

Xiang Jianxing nodded. "That's what He Ping said."

Leng Shan had no time to hesitate; he immediately said: "Trust He Ping—we're heading to the Gray Church Slums!"

In Grimlan West District, inside Judge Gasco's estate.

The Conservatives always gathered at this estate to plan their dirty work, and afterward met here too; within Conservative and land aristocrat circles, it was called the Aristocratic Council.

But now, the land aristocrats' representatives in the council had completely collapsed; under the assault of the Arcane Knights, they hadn't even had time to resist before being easily overrun.

Conservative members who came to discuss were taken by Arcane Knights into private rooms, fed truth serum, and interrogated.

The underlings, the enforcers, were bound hand and foot, gagged, thrown into carriages, and later sent directly to the Anquan Force for exile overseas.

As for the players who joined the Conservatives, after Wu Chang learned of Gun God's disappearance, he didn't mistreat the other players—only sent men to detain them and bring them back to the secret Anquan Force.

Once things settled, they could pay bail to gain freedom.

Those who could produce sufficient benefits would be released, completing a main quest; those who couldn't pay ransom would remain imprisoned until the main quest ended.

With matters now settled, Wu Chang asked Raven, who had just exited the interrogation room:

"What's the result?"

Raven shook his head slightly. "They've said everything they could—Brook even admitted he had an affair with Gasco's wife last weekend—but none admitted to launching an assassination against Prime Minister Rong."

"As for the Industrialists Association, it seems to have been a coincidence."

"The Conservatives who came here are all deeply rooted followers of the Holy Lord Church; they deeply resent Rong and the Queen's reforms of the Sacred Qi Church, and look down on the Quiet Church entirely."

Wu Chang shrugged and asked: "If we exposed their confessed crimes under Stilan law, what sentences would they face?"

Raven sneered. "Gasco himself is the Chief Justice—eighty percent of all judges in Stilan are his men. What sentence do you think he'd hand down?"

"Besides, the crimes they plotted mostly targeted ordinary civilians, not key figures or treason—nowhere near capital punishment."

"Even if Gasco didn't use his connections, all it would take is proving poor mental state, and the worst they'd get is temporary detention—or outright acquittal."

Wu Chang sighed. "I originally wanted to give Lan Di and the Queen face—hand them over to the law."

"But if we let them get such light sentences, won't everyone think our Arcane Knights' dignity is as flimsy as Stilan's law—something anyone can trample? Their judges can discard their dignity, but I still have mine."

He waved to the Arcane Knight in charge of interrogations.

"Go find some hemp ropes in the estate—strong ones, able to bear weight. These noble lords aren't light; don't let them break their necks."

Then he turned to Raven and said:

"When we return and pass through Westminster District, pick a good spot, hang them on the streetlamps—make it flashy. Tomorrow morning, let everyone passing through Westminster see them."

"Let the hidden watchers in Grimlan know—the Arcane Knights don't coddle them."

After handling the Conservatives, Wu Chang led the Arcane Knights back to No. 6 Bai She Street.

As they passed the Garden Square before Bai She Street, the convoy paused briefly, leaving over a dozen swaying sun dolls hanging from the square's streetlamps before continuing toward Bai She Street.

Several hundred meters from Bai She Street, Wu Chang's expression turned solemn; he signaled the convoy to slow down and everyone to stay alert.

He sniffed the air and smelled gunpowder and blood.

The convoy slowly entered Bai She Street—and immediately saw the street as if riddled by bullets.

Everywhere one looked, corpses of transcendent beings lay scattered.

Had their death poses not all been identical, Wu Chang might have thought the Arcane Knights had been isolated by old transcendent organizations and secretly fought a battle without even being invited.

Bai She Street was horrific, but the most severely damaged site was the police department.

Wu Chang and the others entered the police department and found it littered with corpses—numerous officers and secret police dead.

Unlike the fighting outside, these ordinary dead mostly bore knife wounds—gutted, disemboweled, killed with extreme cruelty.

Following the blood trail inward, they saw the shattered doors of the conference room and Chancellor Glad, nailed to the wall.

Wu Chang clicked his tongue—he knew the players' logic was right.

Fighting for the premiership through public opinion and political maneuvering was useless—only those who survived could become prime minister.

Now, both Glad and Gasco—the two top contenders—were already out of the race; Lan Di's competition pressure plummeted.

Few survivors remained in the police department; after the upheaval, even those who lived were mostly mentally broken, babbling incoherently.

Wu Chang still followed his intuition and found a hidden Clock Tower mage, finally understanding what had happened.

While they were away, the serial killer who roamed Grimlan's nights, hunting transcendent beings, grew impatient with his slow pace and directly attacked Bai She Street.

The transcendent beings tried to resist but were slaughtered one-sidedly by the Executioner, with no chance to fight back.

To be precise, there had been initial resistance—three transcendent beings had struck, briefly freezing the Executioner into an ice statue.

But when the transcenders believed everything was over and let their guard down, the Executioner broke free from the freeze and resumed killing.

He slaughtered not only the remaining transcenders on Bai She Street but also stormed the Police Bureau and killed Acting Prime Minister Glade, who was attending an investigation meeting there.

Based on survivors' descriptions and the attack patterns of the three perpetrators, Wu Chang deduced they were none other than Leng Shan, Xiang Jianxing, and Phantom.

From the Executioner's prior actions and survivors' descriptions of him, he must be a member of the Steam Council.

Leng Shan and Xiang Jianxing appearing here, willing to expose their undercover identities just to fight the Executioner, could not possibly have been protecting Glade.

More likely, they were being hunted by the Executioner, came secretly to the Anquan Force for help, and ended up leading the monster right to them.

They joined forces with Phantom, realized they were outmatched, and fled; the Executioner, since he'd come this far, took the opportunity to eliminate Glade, then continued chasing Leng Shan and Xiang Jianxing.

As long as Xiang Jianxing hadn't lost his memory, facing the Executioner's pursuit, they would likely flee toward the Grey Church Slums.

There was still time.

Wu Chang commanded his True Self to speak to the Clay Doll: "Lend me your car—I'm going to save them."

The Clay Doll handed over control of the vehicle, concerned:

"The Executioner is extremely dangerous. Let us go with you."

True Self shook his head: "No need. You stay behind to protect Sir Xiao En."

The Executioner possesses a wide-area lethal skill; ordinary transcenders struck by it are instantly killed. Bringing other players along wouldn't help—they'd only distract him and force him to protect them.

True Self climbed into the Clay Doll's car, floored the accelerator, and raced toward the Grey Church Slums.

Meanwhile, Leng Shan, Xiang Jianxing, and the Priest were still five hundred meters from the Grey Church Slums.

Five hundred meters would normally be short, but now it felt like an impassable chasm—behind them, the Executioner's thick fog had caught up.

Worse still, the horses they rode had been killed by long-range sniping.

Through the fog, though they could not discern the Executioner's form, they clearly felt they had been locked onto.

It seemed impossible to cross these five hundred meters unharmed.

Leng Shan took a deep breath, his gaze hardening as he made his decision.

He said to Xiang Jianxing: "I'll hold off the Executioner. You're faster—ride your sword into the slums and see if you can ask Lady Xiao En for help."

Xiang Jianxing knew the risk: "The Executioner's attack range is extreme. If we split up, he'll pick us off one by one. Let's fight together while retreating—we might still make it into the slums together."

As the two argued, the Priest nervously gazed toward the slums, uncertain which way to go.

When his eyes caught the faint outline of the Grey Church through the mist, a sudden insight struck him—he sensed something.

Before Leng Shan could speak again, he cautiously raised his hand and said:

"Maybe I can try crossing these last five hundred meters."

(End of Chapter)