Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 661 War begins!
Click, click! Click
With a series of mechanical sounds, the dense array of mechanical locking mechanisms behind the gate snapped shut one by one, the latches pinning the gate firmly to the ground.

The entire hall fell silent instantly.

People looked at the locked door with some confusion, then gradually focused their attention on Hela, who was slowly walking forward in the hall.

Tap, tap, tap.
Each step she took made a metallic clanging sound. Her face and body were devoid of any flesh or blood; extremely precise mechanical structures, like countless worms, moved slowly across her body.

People on both sides instinctively made way for her, and immediately a mechanical priest in a red robe followed.

Gaia looked around warily and noticed that from the seemingly inconspicuous pipes and hidden doors, believers of the Mechanical Sanctuary were rapidly pouring out, carrying various complex firearms and weapons.

"Followers of the Spirit of Machines, devout warriors of the Sanctuary!"

As Hela walked, she spoke loudly. At this moment, the people in the banquet hall finally realized that something was wrong. Some looked around in a panic, looking for an exit, while others stepped forward to question her, but were forced back by the dark muzzle of a gun.

Hela stopped in her tracks. She had walked to the wall facing the main entrance of the banquet hall, where a thick curtain was spread out on the wall.

Hela turned around, her face, composed of steel and gears, cold as ice, the power furnace on her chest spinning rapidly, its crimson color like a volcano about to erupt.

Zoe and Gaia exchanged a glance and slowly backed away, trying not to attract attention.

But soon, their steps froze.

Not only the two of them, but the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

Behind Hela, the enormous curtain fell.

The dark muzzle of the cannon was revealed behind it.

A cannon muzzle almost the size of an entire wall.

Zoe swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, "Gaia, you're still being conservative. They didn't plant any bombs; they just put the entire banquet hall right in front of a cannon."

Gaia's eye twitched.

"Warriors of the Sanctuary, for the sacred machines, for the spirit of the machines, annihilate the enemies of the Sanctuary!"

A piercing metallic scraping sound emanated from the dark muzzle, followed by a muffled hum, as if a machine was slowly starting up and beginning to operate.

The mechanical priests, who had already surrounded the crowd, drew their weapons and aimed them at the guests.

"Damn it, this is a rebellion! You have betrayed the great candlelight!"

A priest shouted angrily, but a bullet ripped open his skull, and the candlelight did not protect him.

The gunshots seemed to signal the start of the battle, and fighting instantly broke out throughout the hall.

The mechanical priests were numerous and armed with firepower, so they should have been able to easily crush the enemy.

However, most of those surrounded were high-ranking members of the Candlelight Society, who were often extraordinary individuals.

In an instant, at least a dozen people simultaneously unleashed their extraordinary powers.

A hail of bullets rained down, and the mortals frantically lay prone on the ground, while most of the last group of Candlelight Church priests who had entered remained standing.

"How dare a mortal flame compete with the brilliance of a candle?"

The old man at the front suddenly slammed his scepter down, and an unseen force surged around him. The mechanical priests noticed him and opened fire on him.

The spinning bullets stopped in front of him, unable to advance an inch.

But this was his limit. Soon, the scepter he held in one hand became a two-handed effort, until finally he was struggling to support it. "What are you still hesitating for? Attack!"

The surrounding Candlelight Cult members echoed their agreement, but they couldn't break through the Mechanical Sanctuary's firepower in time.

Seeing that the situation was not right, the old man turned his eyes and was about to speak when the entire church suddenly shook.

Bang!

Many mechanical clerks fell to the ground.

Another dull thud followed. Zoe and Gaia, lying on the ground, exchanged a glance, both puzzled: "Wasn't this caused by the Mechanical Sanctuary?"

"It doesn't seem like this is a Candlelight Vigil tactic, does it?"

Indeed, the tremors caused some mechanical cultivators to fall, and the firepower immediately weakened.

Several Candlelight monks seized the opportunity and charged towards the mechanical priests!
One of them rushed halfway when he suddenly slipped and staggered. By the time he regained his balance, several dark gun barrels were already pointed at him.

He immediately tried to activate the Investigator's supernatural powers to block the bullet, but the next moment, a look of horror appeared on his face.

The fall had caused his arm to cramp, and the physical abnormality prevented him from concentrating on influencing the Sea of ​​Ignorance. Instead, he was swept away by the tide in the sea and lost his anchor.

His ability was momentarily delayed, and most of the bullets were blocked, but a few still managed to blast into his body.

He stared blankly at the bloodstains on his chest, then slowly collapsed.

Unfortunately, the bullet pierced his heart.

Aside from that unlucky fellow, the remaining investigators successfully charged into the Mechanicus's lines, like a hot knife cutting into butter, instantly turning into a bloody mess.

[Investigator] has almost no weaknesses and is also very good at head-on combat, which here refers to combat against other superhumans.

But when it comes to ordinary people, it's a one-sided massacre.

He didn't need a weapon; he simply stretched out his hand, which passed through the red priest's robe, parted the flesh, and grasped a heart that was still pounding.

He casually crushed it, along with the hot blood squeezed out, and splattered it onto the faces of a group of believers nearby. The next moment, the [Investigator] rushed over and forcefully crushed a path of flesh and blood through it.

The believers of the Mechanical Church nearby immediately turned their guns around and pulled the triggers without hesitation, completely disregarding the fact that there were still many friendly forces on the other side.

The situation immediately deteriorated into chaos.

Zoe and Gaia carefully lay on the ground, now hiding under the table, looking out at the battlefield.

"So, who do you think will win?"

"The Candlelight Society, I suppose. They may be few in number, but their fighting strength is truly formidable. The Mechanical Sanctuary's firepower has gradually thinned out, and look at their weapons."

Gaia pointed to the muskets in the hands of the mechanical priests.

"Although it looks like a weapon capable of rapid fire, it's actually just a bunch of barrels and triggers stacked together. Essentially, it's like binding several guns together. It's not even as advanced as Jeremiah's old duckbill musket. They'll run out of bullets very quickly!"

"They shouldn't lack supplies here, right?"

"Not necessarily. I think these people are just stalling for time. The giant cannon over there should be ready to fire soon. This sound doesn't sound right!"

She pointed to the cannon muzzle on the wall.

(End of this chapter)