Chapter 188: The Dawn Breaks [Two-In-One]
by xennovel“For Freedom!”
The cry pierced the sky, echoing through the palace and spreading across the capital! The deep night couldn’t hide the crowd surging toward the castle.
Under the huge spotlight from the airship, the crowd looked small yet dense, but their erupting power was truly terrifying.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the airship, intended as an airborne firepower point, didn’t unleash fearsome fire; instead, it illuminated the path for the advancing crowd.
“Charge!”
In the deafening roar, the human sea surged into the castle, launching a bold challenge against their old rulers! “Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Suddenly, gunfire erupted.
Those shots, filled with disdain and vengeance against oppression and exploitation, like sparks gathered, completely ignited the capital of Infir.
The crackling gunfire quickly spread from the palace to the entire city.
At the steam train station, the post office, the office building, the security office… in all key places, fierce gunfire broke out.
The whole city was completely awakened!
Later, history books recorded this scene: At three o’clock in the morning, fireworks suddenly rushed into the sky, illuminating the entire city and awakening it. History turned a new page at that moment.
Rowell didn’t know how history would record them.
At present, his eyes were red, holding a bayonet rifle, with only one thought to destroy all enemies.
He was caught in the crowd rushing into the castle, and every figure in knight’s attire stimulated him to instinctively pull the trigger.
“Bang bang bang!”
Amidst the harsh gunfire, some of his companions fell, others emitted painful screams, but more charged desperately!
Rowell rushed into the luxurious corridor, a large number of enemies poured in from the ceiling and the garden surrounding the corridor.
Cold mechanical limbs, boiling blood steam, and dark caliber truths freely released their glory in the narrow corridor!
“Thud!”
A steam warrior suddenly cut into the battlefield from an unknown angle, bringing Rowell down to the ground.
“Roar!”
Rowell bared his teeth and roared, his arm suddenly bent backward, revealing a dark cannon at the enemy’s neck and firing with a roar.
Bang! Bloody chunks from the explosion showered him.
Rowell didn’t have time to marvel at killing an enemy, his bull-like eyes frantically searched for enemy silhouettes in the blood mist.
Screams, blood mist, cannon blasts, despair… One by one, flowers of sin bloomed in the madness of killing!
Gradually the mixed clamor became quiet.
“Huff… huff…”
Breathing heavily, Rowell followed the crowd out of the building and into the castle’s inner courtyard.
What was called a “city” was actually a “palace” architecture.
It stood five stories high, perfectly square, with columns encircling it, and every corner adorned with exquisite carvings, depicting the colors of people’s blood and sweat.
—It was none other than the Infir Emperor’s sleeping palace.
At this moment, more and more armed personnel gathered in front of the sleeping palace, all bloody and fierce, eyes full of hope and surprise.
Reaching here meant they were one step away from their ultimate mission goal.
They eagerly awaited.
But why wasn’t the team advancing? Countless people instinctively looked to the front of the team, toward the Emperor’s sleeping palace.
On the second-floor balcony, the Infir Emperor Yarvis, wearing ancient regal attire, long-sleeved robe reaching past his knees, with a draping cloak adorned with gold and jewels, looked solemn and noble.
Holding a scepter inlaid with countless gems, his gaze was hateful towards the armed personnel of the Strike and Raise Movement gathered before the sleeping palace, with no hint of fear in his expression.
However, contrary to his calm, his noble queen and attendants all looked at the crowd gathered before the sleeping palace with faces full of fear.
Before the sleeping palace, the remaining troops loyal to the royal family formed a defensive formation, ready to resist to the death!
“Yarvis, abdicate voluntarily, relinquish power, and I can give you a dignified curtain call! Otherwise, the guillotine awaits as your final destination.”
Ben Keming stood at the forefront of the team, looking up at the Infir Emperor Yarvis, making one last surrender appeal.
It’s not because he’s merciful! Nor is it because he wants to flaunt before seizing victory!
On the contrary, he just doesn’t want to expend too much elite in an inevitable victory.
According to intelligence, although all elite troops of the Infir Empire were dispatched to the front line, the royal family still controlled a strong force.
Strangely, Ben Keming never managed to uncover this force.
This made him a bit apprehensive.
Now that the capital is almost entirely under his control, as long as Yarvis announces abdication or dies, the news will spread.
The industrial nouveaux riches secretly joining the Strike and Raise Movement would immediately seize local power, thus fully liberating the Infir Empire.
This top-down armed coup was a strategy he carefully considered, reported to Akide, and received approval.
Now he needs to preserve his strength for the next turmoil and gradually control the whole country to resist the Falai Dynasty’s invasion.
“I’ve seen your portrait, Ben Keming.”
The Infir Empire Emperor Yarvis looked down at Ben Keming.
“I have to admit, your actions surprised me, but do you really think you can overthrow the great Infir Empire?”
Upon hearing this, Ben Keming frowned, a sense of unease growing in his heart.
“The entire capital, except for this building in front of you, is occupied by my brothers. Yarvis, you have no chance to resist. I give you ten seconds to think! If you resist stubbornly, don’t blame us for using our steel guns to seize power!”
“Roar—”
The armed personnel gathered before the sleeping palace roared in unison.
The remaining guards gathered in front of the palace were intimidated by the roar and instinctively took a step back.
On the second-floor open-air balcony of the sleeping palace, the queen and attendants turned pale under this roar.
“Hahaha…”
Unexpectedly, Emperor Yarvis suddenly burst into laughter.
Amid countless astonished gazes, he said mockingly, “Is the entire capital really under your control? Is the Original God Church not present?”
Ben Keming’s face suddenly changed.
“Crack!”
A lightning bolt cutting from the east to the west of the capital sky suddenly ripped through the horizon!
In an instant, it lit up the ancient castle like daylight.
Also exposing everyone’s expressions.
“A bunch of damn wretches, ungrateful ingrates! Without the royal family, without the great Original Gods, you’ll be devoured by endless sea monsters! The empire shelters you, yet you still think you haven’t received enough!”
Yarvis began to scold:
“If you want more pennies, why not work hard? You’re all lazy like pigs, wanting loads of pennies for little effort. Why don’t you ask the soldiers fighting on the front line, the warriors battling sea monsters on ironclad ships?”
“Do you think following Ben Keming can lead you to the legendary Utopia?”
“No! Raising wages will inevitably increase product prices. If products don’t sell, your work will be meaningless!”
Under Yarvis’s angry rebuke, “Boom!” The delayed thunderous roar was heart-shaking.
“Brothers…” Ben Keming’s eyebrows twitched, about to launch a full-scale attack.
Unexpectedly, before the order could be given, the world suddenly dimmed.
In the pitch-black night sky, rolling clouds abruptly appeared, with lightning coursing through them, illuminating both the clouds and the palace castle.
“You think breaking into my sleeping palace can force me to relinquish power? What a delusion! You know nothing of power!”
“My power can only be stripped by the great Gods!”
“Remember, divine right! My power comes from the great Four Primordial Gods!”
Yarvis spread his arms with a fanatical expression.
“Boom!”
Raging electric snakes shimmered from the clouds, constructing a lightning barrier around the sleeping palace! This sight left the armed personnel of the Strike and Raise Movement utterly shocked.
In their understanding, no one could control lightning!
It’s a domain only gods could touch! “Brothers, don’t be fooled by these; it’s just new technology!” Ben Keming shouted at the crucial moment, stabling the crowd.
“New technology? Hahaha, pull the trigger, see if the great Four Primordial Gods still favor you rebels!”
Yarvis laughed wildly.
At this moment, the armed personnel before the sleeping palace exchanged glances, faces showing suspicious terror.
Unknowingly, many aimed at the sky and pulled the trigger.
The expected gunfire did not occur!
They were met with only the click of the firing pin!
“Click! Click!”
More and more people attempted to shoot.
However, every weapon failed, every firearm turned ineffective!
—Because the Divine Runes engraved on the firearms and even the bullets failed.
“You’re all blasphemers; the Four Primordial Gods will forever abandon you, so sad and pathetic, hahaha…”
Yarvis laughed more manically.
He even laughed until he cried, bending over with laughter.
“What’s happening?”
“Have the Four Primordial Gods abandoned us?”
“No, no, no, how could the gods abandon us?”
The armed personnel before the sleeping palace were utterly terrified.
They realized all their weapons were ineffective, including a significant portion of mechanical limbs!
In other words, anything involving hot weapons turned into scrap metal, while cold weapons remained as loyal as ever.
Yet how could these be used against the Infir royal family? One squad armed with Gatling guns could wipe them all out! Despair spread wildly! Fear choked their hearts!
Rowell despondently looked down at his gun-modified arm, then up at the rolling black clouds and the roaring lightning, for the first time doubting the Strike and Raise Movement! Not only Rowell, but at that moment, every armed member of the Strike and Raise Movement was gripped by fear and despair!
They were not afraid of unkillable vampires; they didn’t fear the virtually invincible werewolves;
Nor did they fear the heavily armed mechanical warriors!
They weren’t daunted by hunger, bleeding, iron torture, or even threats against their comrades! They weren’t even afraid of being abandoned by God! Because if God favored them, why not wipe out the damn royals? But at this moment, they were indeed afraid! Without weapons, how could they fight?
Ben Keming, beard bristling, faced the laughing emperor, the anxious brothers, the stormy sky, and the useless weapons, feeling cold in hands and feet!
The movement he fought for, strove for, and struggled for—could it end here?
“Akide!”
Ben Keming instinctively thought of the spiritual leader—Akide.
He turned abruptly, looking around, trying to find Akide.
Although Mr. Akide never participated in the Strike and Raise Movement, he knew Akide never left; he always radiated hot light, leading the movement to victory!
But where is he at this crucial moment?
“Ben Keming, I give you one last chance! Surrender now, and I grant you the position of Industrial Minister, the rank of Earl, and fulfill the demands of the Strike and Raise Movement. Otherwise, don’t blame me for killing everyone!”
Yarvis looked down at Ben Keming, issuing a final ultimatum.
He had to admit Ben Keming was a talent!
The Strike and Raise Movement were arguably the worst crisis the Infir Empire faced since its founding.
He tried everything and still couldn’t resolve it.
Their slogans were terrifyingly destructive!
Such talent, he feared but also appreciated.
If he could recruit him, there might be a chance for expansion and creating achievements far surpassing his ancestors! In reality, today, without his long-ago bribery of the Cardinal and limited borrowing of divine power, the Infir Empire would be in jeopardy! Even if he escaped through tunnels, facing shattered lands and surrounded by enemies, trying to rebuild would be tremendously difficult!
“Industrial Minister? Hahaha…”
Ben Keming looked up at the Infir Emperor and laughed.
“Yarvis, do you think your pathetic bribery can influence me? Brothers, Akide’s thoughts are immortal, workers’ power eternal! Our heads can break, and blood can flow, but we’ll never kneel and wag our tails to the evil royal family!”
“Ridiculous Akide! Don’t think I don’t know, Akide is someone you completely fabricated as a saint! He doesn’t exist in this world! Fools, you’ve all been deceived by Ben Keming; he’s using your power to seize the throne!”
Yarvis roared in fury!
Ben Keming’s refusal infuriated him! He never imagined that with absolute dominance, Ben Keming would rather die than surrender!
This made him feel humiliated.
With Yarvis’s roar, the armed personnel of the Strike and Raise Movement exchanged glances.
Each looked incredulously at Ben Keming.
Not knowing whether to trust him.
Or if trust mattered at this moment? Ben Keming trembled with anger, but now was no time for argument. He looked at the lightning-wreathed sleeping palace and ordered, “Brothers, fix bayonets, charge out!”
“Trying to leave? Dream on! Kill them all!”
Yarvis completely gave up on subduing them. He raised his scepter, giving a final order to the hidden Cardinal.
“Boom!”
The rolling black clouds roared again, and the lightning within them gathered at the cloud’s core.
In a flick of a finger, they formed a giant lightning ball, striking countless plasma tendrils below!
“No!”
Ben Keming roared in despair, blinded by the dazzling light! He instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes. When the dazzling light gradually faded, Ben Keming opened his eyes in horror, looking around.
The hellish scene he anticipated hadn’t appeared.
Before the massive sleeping palace, countless armed personnel exchanged glances, observing their companions, but under the dazzling lightning, everyone was unharmed.
How could this be?
“Darkness has shrouded the earth for too long. I think it’s time for dawn!”
A calm voice, from nowhere, appeared to be right in everyone’s ear.
A beam of light descended, landing on a silhouette, instantly capturing everyone’s attention.
“Akide!”
Ben Keming exclaimed.
The armed personnel looked utterly astonished and shook.
Was he… Akide?
Enveloped in the pillar of light, Akide nodded to Ben Keming, then stepped lightly forward.
The light pillar on him gradually expanded with his steps, first slowly, then faster and faster, and the boundary of light swept across the people’s faces, wildly expanding in all directions.
Like a prairie fire’s edge, burning all weeds, completely changing the land’s color.
Dawn has broken.