novelnext Chapter 32 Roya's Skull Crushing and Burning! Monster Awards: The Seven Deadly Sins of Arden [2
Chapter 32 Roya's Skull Crushing and Burning! Monster Awards: The Seven Deadly Sins of Arden [2
Chapter 32 Roya's Skull Crushing and Burning at the stake! Monster Awards: The Seven Sins of the Demon: Arden [Two-in-one, please subscribe!]
The storm has passed, and the sunlight shines like the moon.
The yellow Sand Guardian, carrying a Mica Dragon, slowly descended from the outer edge of the storm cloud and stepped onto the soft sand.
But Mr. Shepherd, whose feet were dangling in the air inside the mica dragon's cavity, did not land, and all he could see was still darkness.
Considering Arden's strength and quirks, Mr. Mu Long became cautious in his wording, even though his life was hanging by a thread.
"Mr. Arden should be in the phlogiston sun. He's a very nice person, but he rarely shows his face. You can ask him."
From Mr. Mu Long's cautious tone, Roya could deduce that Arden's strength might be even greater than he had previously imagined.
"Lingjue died suddenly, Mica Dragon was turned against you, and you even knelt down before the enemy in the void. The factory owner hasn't appeared yet, he's probably already escaped."
It's said that it's illogical for the old to appear after the young ones are defeated. The real reason is that they're afraid the enemy is too strong and both the old and the young will be wiped out in one fell swoop. So they send the young ones to test and wear down the enemy first. When they find that the enemy is too strong to defeat, the old ones will no longer appear.
The smaller ones naturally became cannon fodder and consumables.
I was simply curious about Arden; I didn't intend to hunt him down.
If you don't have the guts to speak up, you don't deserve to live.
Having said all that, Mr. Mulong also felt resentment towards Arden for not helping him in his time of need. He gritted his teeth and whispered, "The Arden of the past was a handsome and valiant man like Captain Roya. He always had a wind-up raven on his shoulder. He was averse to women, and he didn't eat human flesh or dragon crystals. He practiced strict abstinence. Even Lingjue admired him. We all called him a monk."
"A clockwork raven?"
Luo Ya suddenly realized that the flock of crows in the storm clouds was likely related to this wind-up crow.
"Yes, it's the Wind-Up Raven, like a watcher forcing Mr. Arden to maintain his ascetic life—until one day, a colonel from afar named Roger from the Kingdom came to the factory and challenged Mr. Arden by name."
"Colonel Rogge?"
Is Colonel Rogge here too?
Roya suddenly frowned; he seemed to understand why Arden wanted to catch the blue dragonfly.
Mr. Mulong gritted his teeth and maintained his elegant kneeling posture, without relaxing in the slightest as he began to speak.
"You're right to know him! In my opinion, Colonel Rogge is a mechanical fanatic. He is a fifth-order superhuman, with 60% of his body modified into prosthetics. He has a built-in fifth-order micro steam engine, multiple lightweight weapons attached to his body, and a micro differential engine on his back for auxiliary control. He can simultaneously draw his sword, fire a gun, and throw a punch—he is simply the most perfect human-machine fusion I have ever seen."
"When did this happen?"
"More than twenty years ago. Fortunately, Mr. Arden's physique was even more mechanical. He easily defeated Colonel Rogge with his physical strength alone, smashed his built-in steam engine, severely injured his core, causing him to be demoted, and dismantled his miniature difference engine."
Luo Ya frowned; this was somewhat beyond his comprehension.
In his view, even without the built-in engine and the micro-difference engine, Colonel Rogge, who only possessed third-order extraordinary abilities, was still a man who could withstand two blows from Wendell and survive, making him ridiculously strong among his peers.
How strong must a fifth-tier superhuman, relying solely on physical strength, be to easily defeat a fully armed fifth-tier Colonel Rogge?
If this is true, Arden is unlikely to flee.
"Did Mr. Arden pay any attention to the difference engine that Colonel Rogge was carrying at the time?"
"I remember Mr. Arden saying to Colonel Rogge: 'Unless you can give it a soul, you can't be my match.'"
"What did the colonel say?"
Colonel Rogge, quite surprised, retorted to Mr. Arden: "Do you have a soul?"
"Um?"
"After this exchange of souls, we realized that Mr. Arden was not human, but a genie disguised as a human."
Perhaps, at that time he was not yet considered a cunning and ruthless individual. To avoid revealing his identity, he often stayed indoors in the solar-powered room and did not go out.
""
Guiyan————
Inside the yellow Sand Guard cockpit.
Luo Ya's heart skipped a beat!
Once again, he felt the gears of fate turning.
In this way, Arden's Extraordinary Factory, like his three-person Skyhunting Team, has gathered the three calamities of the Empire: the Demon, the Phantom, and the Spirit.
"Robots are not afraid of death, but the cunning one is—that's why Arden hasn't appeared yet."
In Roya's view, the three calamities of the Empire have something in common.
The Demonic Aura is born from the corruption of superhumans who devour humans. It can digest humans into mutated black blood energy, or demonic energy.
The ghost spirit was originally a burning spirit. After devouring and digesting the blood and energy of humans, it also merged with the remnants of human souls, gradually forming human intelligence.
Guiyan, originally a machine with a high computing power differential machine, will control the machine to harvest human heads to enhance computing power after the program goes wrong, or implant human flesh and organs into itself.
What they have in common is that they directly harvest human bodies and souls, which is why the Empire listed them as the Three Calamities.
The greatness of empires lies in the fact that, in theory, they only harvest human labor, surplus value, and faith.
What makes us human is our adherence to a shared belief in a moral standard that dictates our life and death.
Once this line is crossed, one is no longer human.
With bottom-line constraints in place, at least most people are still human.
In Roya's view, quantity equals power, and the power of the majority of people is enough for humanity to maintain civilization even when the end of the world comes.
While the Three Calamities were extremely terrifying, they fought independently and lacked collective organization. They could only wreak havoc on the people and ultimately could not shake the empire's rule. On the contrary, they strengthened the empire's cohesion.
If it weren't for the Three Calamities, Roya felt the empire would have collapsed long ago.
In his view, there is something even more dangerous than the three calamities, called: the Omnic Crisis.
This is his domain.
He is the industrial Cthulhu standing at the pinnacle of mechanics.
He was the strict father of all the cunning and treacherous ones, including Arden!
That's why he dared to team up with the demons and spirits.
As people approach death, their words become more eloquent. As Mr. Mulong lay dying, he gradually came to understand spiritual perception and Arden.
His tone also became more melancholic.
"Colonel Rogers' words seemed to have touched Mr. Arden's soul. After the colonel left, Arden wanted to completely break free from the control of the machine and have a true soul."
According to Lingjue, it is meaningless to accumulate computing power if you want to possess a human soul. As human beings, we must have seven emotions and six desires.
Love is hard to obtain; you have to start with desire.
Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust—all are indispensable.
Since then, I have never seen Mr. Arden leave the Sun House again, but every day large quantities of food, treasure, artwork, rare spirit materials, and handsome men and beautiful women are delivered into the Sun House.
Is there anything about handsome men?
Luo Ya thought to himself, "If I clear my name, I'll become weaker. Arden is finished."
In fact, he preferred Arden, who was tough and devoid of human emotions and desires!
Because Arden would be controlled by him and become a puppet.
What a pity!
The Guiyan has no supernatural abilities; its combat power depends entirely on its mechanical design, materials, firepower configuration, and the differential control of its awakened soul.
Therefore, Roja was not worried that Arden might launch a sneak attack on him.
Even with armor, maintaining the same posture for a long time can be uncomfortable.
Suddenly, Roya had a change of heart: "Very good, you've cooperated well. I've decided to give you the chance to say a last sentence of no more than thirty characters!"
Mr. Mulong panicked instantly.
My legs are trembling.
□ Speaking without thinking.
"No, I really have a talent for mechanics. I'm a neurocontrol expert who can help you build an invincible whale ship. I'm also the one who..."
Snapped!
"Exactly thirty characters."
The yellow-clad guard clenched his fist tightly.
Mr. Mulong felt a sudden white light before his eyes.
The skull was fractured.
Brain matter splattered.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The upper half of his body, above the burning heart, turned into strips of flesh.
On the deck of the Wide Area Silence.
A bewitching, dark aura, which had been waiting for a long time, suddenly rose into the air and entered the body of the Mica Dragon.
In the blink of an eye, it devoured most of Mr. Mulong's body, every drop of blood, and every piece of flesh.
Only some splattered brain matter remained for the bloodthirsty worms to devour their master.
The Yellow Sand Guard drew his iron fist.
The Mica Dragon then spat out the group and shrunk into human form.
She transformed into a blue-dressed girl with dragon horns, like Emile, except that she had shrunken mica dragon wings on her back, and her bright eyes had changed from blue to red.
The red pupils reflected the shattered skulls scattered on the sand.
Fragrance petals flutter and fall among the bones.
"How pathetic."
At this moment, the Spinosaurus also flew to the side of the Yellow Sand Guard.
Prince Tali hurriedly disembarked, clutching his shattered skull, its brains devoured by bloodthirsty worms, and wailed, "Uncle Will, it's my fault, I couldn't save you!"
Roya comforted him, "You did very well, Your Highness. Without the decisive and continuous bombardment, I would not have had the chance to kill Mr. Shepherd Dragon."
[”
'
Prince Tali paused, then turned to look at Delnov, who was following closely behind.
Delnov spread his hands helplessly: "It was Your Highness who gave the order."
"you----"
Prince Tali's round face, which resembled Mr. Mulong's but was fuller, gradually became ferocious.
I want to cry without tears.
He wanted to be angry but couldn't.
Luo Ya patted his shoulder with a kind gesture, his iron hand seemingly merciless.
"It's okay, I can be your uncle."
A devastated Prince Tali roared at Roya, "Give me back my armor!"
Roya calmly replied, "Give me back the Spinosaurus!"
Prince Tali tilted his head to the side:
"???"
Startled, Delnov quickly nodded his thanks to Roya and hurriedly sent the prince back to the airship.
Only he knew that if Roya hadn't remotely saved the Spinosaurus, the ship would have been swallowed up by the sand locust swarm long ago.
Therefore, one can only nod to express gratitude, rather than say thank you in person.
Once this gives them a reason to accuse them, as a hunter, Roya might actually have designs on the Spinosaurus!
This is His Highness's only remaining asset.
Roya didn't want to reveal his bloodline connection ability in public, so he gave up and turned to ask the new version of Emil, "Do you need a name?"
Emil crossed her arms, glanced sideways at the glass capsule of the yellow sand guard, and straightened her slender knees.
"Emile is my very name!"
Luo Ya felt that this personality was quite similar to Emil's; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to blend in so easily, and there was no need to distinguish between them.
"Very good, Emil. Next, you will go aboard the Spinosaurus to take command, and be responsible for rescuing all the child trainees and White-bearded Scallops from the desert—not one less!"
Finally, blow up all the underground bunkers.
Emil, with her red eyes, frowned slightly: "Do you want to save the scallop, or the child?"
"The scallop is a reward for you. I remember there should be a lot of your soft tissue and slime inside."
"it is good."
Emil flashed by, so fast that he left an afterimage, and instantly disappeared into the Spinosaurus, giving Delnov quite a fright.
After understanding the situation, Delnov breathed a sigh of relief and immediately cooperated with Emil to do everything possible to save the child.
Immediately, Roya sent the mangled bodies of Ron and his sister Beyond to the medical bay of the Wide Silence for temporary recuperation.
"It's time to settle the score."
The yellow sand guard flashed and arrived in the center of the sky island.
Only then did they realize with astonishment that the white-robed beast tamer apprentices and the black-robed mage apprentices neither fled nor resisted.
Instead, they all knelt on the sand, chanting prayers.
What he was reciting was the "Conversion Bible"!
The yellow sand guardian, suspended a hundred meters in the air, resembled a god, looking down upon everyone.
Including the white-robed guide whom Roya had met, there were a total of eighteen people.
Four of them were second-tier extraordinary beings, and the rest were first-tier extraordinary beings; there were no ordinary people among them.
"If prayer were useful, I wouldn't be a hunter."
The Yellow Sand Guard's merciless iron hand is ready with its flamethrower.
"Die for all children!"
As soon as Luo Ya finished speaking, the sky brightened dramatically, as if the sun were shining overhead.
In an instant, the sky island became brighter than the scorching midday sun!
Everyone looked up.
The phlogiston sun, which was originally located above the sacred mountain, is now plummeting downwards.
Passing through tornado tunnels and storm clouds, suspended above the desert, overlooking the yellow sand guardians.
The eighteen people saw the sun in their hearts, and their eyes were filled with tears.
"Mr. Arden!"
"Lord Arden, Lord Arden has come to our rescue!"
"Lord Arden, please slay the demon hunter!"
For the first time, the sun shone on the desert island.
Only the shadow cast by the yellow sand guards enveloped the eighteen people who were praying.
Luo Ya felt a burning sensation on his back, but his tone was icy cold.
"No matter how bright the sun shines, it cannot illuminate your darkness. What can deliver you is not the sun—but fire."
Despite the oppressive force, Roya abruptly activated the flamethrower.
The gushing flames formed a straight beam, like a crimson sword, slashing towards the eighteen people dressed in white and black.
Screams, cries for help, wails, burrowing into the ground, scattering in all directions, weeping and chanting scriptures —
However, their sun neither saved them, nor took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the Yellow Sand Guard, nor did it stop the Spinosaurus from digging for shells.
They simply watched as the eighteen people were swallowed by the sea of fire.
Whether they were dressed in black or white, they all perished in the flames and turned to ashes.
Only after the flames died down and the desert fell silent did a human voice emerge from the phlogiston sun hanging above the yellow sand guardian: "This difference engine is quite old—I never expected it could be repaired to this extent. Could it have acquired a true soul?"
Roya turned to look at the Wide Area Silence.
Seeing that Ishtar was about to make a move, he quickly reminded her not to act unless her life was in danger.
The yellow sand guardian slowly turned around and looked up at the sun.
Luo Ya was blinded by the white light.
He then casually put on anti-glare goggles.
"And you, Mr. Arden, instead of fleeing, you come to see me. Where is your will to live?"
"I like your arrogance, which doesn't match your abilities!"
The phlogiston solar panel door roared open!
A giant black shadow plummeted down, its body shrouded in dazzling white light, and lunged towards the yellow sand guard.
The speed was so fast that it left an afterimage as it cut through the white light.
Luo Ya is not afraid of speed.
The speed of mental probing via mechanical connection is instantaneous.
Yellow-level sand guards moved ahead of schedule.
He dodged to the side.
They barely managed to avoid it.
Unexpectedly!
The dark figure, while diving at high speed, suddenly flipped over and changed course halfway, performing a high-flying kick that resulted in a handstand!
He kicked the yellow sand guard into the desert.
Like water falling from a mountain peak, dust and sand gradually rise and fly.
Luo Ya felt dizzy.
Is this the mobility of a fifth-order machine?
No wonder there was no sneak attack from behind just now.
That's called a sneak attack!
Fortunately, the yellow sand guard's outer armor was strong enough, and the impact of falling into the sand dunes had a shock-absorbing effect. Although he looked disheveled, he was not seriously injured.
The yellow sand guard leaped out of the sand pit on the mountaintop.
Instead, they saw atop the opposite sand dunes atop a giant monster, its flesh and parts scattered across the ground, howling in pain, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
Upon noticing the yellow-clad Sand Guard staring at him from the opposite side, his tone hardened as he asked, "Impressive armor. Are you Colonel Rogge's apprentice?"
Only then did Roja see Mr. Arden's true colors.
Compared to the handsome man on the lampshade, they are not exactly different people, but rather they are separated by species.
Its entire body is composed of deformed flesh and mechanical parts!
It is five meters tall and weighs in tons.
A ring of human heads hung around what could barely be called the neck, connected to the inside of the mountain of flesh by flexible nerve tubes.
The gluttonous creature's enormous mouth and sparse, yellow teeth dripped sticky liquid, while its large and small eyeballs adorned it like ornaments.
Its body was inlaid with various writhing human organs, gears missing their axles, twisted copper tubes, nerve tubes of varying thicknesses, and all sorts of pre-modern wind-up artworks.
The body was riddled with seams, emitting murky, putrid steam, barely maintaining the sewn-up human form.
They are just like those strange people in the mountaintop dojo who are consumed by desire.
On the shoulder of the plant, which was covered with a cluster of blue dream purple magic mushrooms, a wind-up crow perched, constantly pecking at the meat.
Luo Ya's eyes were opened.
The cluster of Blue Dream Purple Mushrooms on his shoulder was merely a decoration, as if it were a trophy from defeating Colonel Rogge.
In the instant he was kicked, Roya discovered that inside the bloated monster's body was a fifth-order micro steam engine and a high-computing-power micro difference machine.
It turns out to be a magnetic differential engine composed of tens of millions of vibrating magnetic sand particles!
Playing with magnetic field rotation in the steam age, no wonder you're so capable!
Roya had nothing to say.
In terms of computing power alone, this magnetic difference machine is not as powerful as the pigment difference machine on the Blue Dragonfly, but it seems to have a pre-set mechanical program that is macroscopically complex and microscopically elegant and simple.
Due to the short contact time, Luo Ya was unable to analyze the specific function of this program, and could only speculate that it was probably related to combat.
In Luo Ya's view, even the magnetic sand difference machine is theoretically difficult to achieve the computing power foundation needed to form a strange machine.
He therefore speculated that Arden's transformation into the monstrous might have originated from this ingenious pre-programmed mechanism.
Arden's core is simply an engineering miracle!
As the strict father of the engineering marvel, Rojas observed Arden's eyes, physique, and spirit without making a sound.
His two blood-qi connections might be discovered, but the mechanical connection he acquired during his transmigration remains undiscovered.
"Colonel Rogge and I only traded the difference engine."
Luo Ya spoke slowly.
"His inability to forcibly take you away proves that he is also incapable of being your teacher."
The incredibly magnetic baritone voice was completely unaffected by the stitched-up, enormous body.
Roya remembered that if it weren't for Wendell, he would have been taken away by Colonel Rogge.
"Could it be that you also want to be my mentor?"
Arden burst into laughter without warning, causing the monster's body to sway back and forth, its flesh and blood trembling, and its parts flying off.
"In this world, some people want to become machines, while some machines want to become people. Isn't that interesting?"
suddenly!
The crow on his shoulder stopped pecking at the meat and turned to stare at him.
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Arden suddenly reached out and grabbed the wind-up raven.
It was stuffed into the gluttonous maw in an instant, and crunched away!
A pair of crimson raven eyes burst open in the mouth, releasing blood.
A pair of cloudy eyes slowly opened above his head, then suddenly focused, staring at Roya in the cockpit of the yellow Sand Guard.
"This desert was once a cemetery."
The teacher told me to stay here and wait for my gravedigger.
I'm talking nonsense! This isn't my burial place, it's my birthplace!
So many years have been wasted; I have never reached the pinnacle of bliss like this before.
I say, humans, you really know how to reward yourselves!
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