Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 23 The Iceman
Seeing the walking mechs wreaking havoc, the soldiers on the city walls straightened their backs. The envy they had felt when they saw the knights' superior equipment vanished, replaced by a strong sense of collective honor.

The five soldiers and one walking mech below had finished clearing out the remaining mutated creatures and were preparing to return to the city triumphantly when suddenly someone shouted, "Look! Isn't there someone over there?"

Several soldiers looked in the direction he was pointing, and in the white snowstorm, a black figure suddenly appeared, seemingly slowly approaching.

"Are you a villager?" someone asked.

“I don’t know, it doesn’t feel like it…” Another soldier bit his lip, a sense of unease rising in his heart.

The dark figure stood so straight, tall and thin, yet it stood and walked upright in the wind and snow. And with its appearance, white snowflakes instantly began to dance, turning the sky into a white curtain, which was blown into people's mouths and noses by the gale.

"Who's up there! I'll count to three! If you don't respond, I'll shoot!" the soldier shouted.

Above the city walls, the wind and snow drowned out the sounds below.

Renn frowned. The soldiers should have returned by now, but they seemed to still be outside the door, doing something unknown. The wind and snow were intensifying strangely, making his heart skip a beat.

"Three!" The soldier raised his gun, the chamber already locked.

"Two!" The walking mech raised the crank-type rotary machine gun on its left hand, and the soldier controlling it inside also sensed that something was wrong.

"One!" the soldier roared, flames shooting from his gun.

Before he could finish counting to the third note, an inexplicable pressure compelled him to act, so he pressed the trigger with trembling hands.

The walking mech's crank-driven machine gun began to spew flames. A connecting rod continuously cranked its crank, causing the six barrels to rotate continuously, and the flames at the muzzle almost converged into one ball!
Countless metal particles shot towards the figure in the snowstorm at an extremely high speed. Theoretically, any flesh and blood would be torn apart, but it only paused for a moment before continuing its advance.

Fear overwhelmed reason, and the soldiers roared and opened fire. Although those on the city wall could not see anyone due to the wind and snow, they could hear the gunshots.

"Observer, report the situation!" Ryan grabbed a copper pipe megaphone next to him, the metal pipe behind which led all the way to the top of the watchtower.

"Yes, Governor! I was just about to report! The magic chip shows a high magic reaction over there! The entire area is covered in snow! It's completely unobservable! Neither the evil spirit chip nor the anomaly chip is reacting. Report complete!"

With a grim face, Renn shouted, "Firepower coverage!"

The soldiers drew their guns, while some gripped the cannons on the firing ports. Two rows of dark cannon and machine gun muzzles protruded from the top of the city wall.

The next moment, countless metal pipes spewed out deadly flames! Amid the deafening roar of artillery and gunfire, the white smoke of gunpowder and the wind and snow clashed violently, and flames bloomed in the ice. Human craftsmanship and wisdom were transformed into the most ruthless weapon, with several kilograms of metal being violently shot into that area every second.

But the soldiers below were horrified to see that a solid iron ball cannonball had clearly hit the figure directly, but he only swayed for a few seconds before starting to walk again!
What the hell is that?! That's 32-pound heavy fortress cannon ammunition!
The soldiers below the city wall retreated hastily, trying to get back into the gate, but the gate stood there silently, not opening.

"Do not open the city gates, continue firing!" Renn coldly ordered.

Xilun glanced at the vast expanse of white below and said to the knights behind him, "Fire!" So the seven knights shouldered their rifles and began firing down, joining the barrage.

Among the artillery pieces in Speyside, smoothbore cannons that fire solid shot are few and far between. Most of them are state-of-the-art breech-loading rifled cannons, equipped with cylindrical cone-shaped explosive shells. After the explosive charge detonates, the outer metal layer will turn into countless sharp, high-speed blades that spread out, like the domain of death.

The continuous artillery fire below meant that even if a brigade had charged, they would have been wiped out by now, but no one dared to relax.

Suddenly, a blue tower in the city shone with magical light, and the wind and snow were blown outwards in an instant as if by a giant blower, with large white snow rings being pushed outwards, while the snow in the Speyside was cleared away.

That's a mage!

Xilun turned around abruptly. On that blue tower, a huge crystal shimmered with a magical glow; it was the crystal that had driven away the wind and snow!
But as the snowstorm subsided, the human figure finally appeared—

It was a humanoid figure made entirely of ice. The deep blue ice grew like crystals, but its surface was smooth, with only a few ice crystals piercing through it. Its face had simple, icy features, but they were very simple, as if a child had sculpted it from clay.

Inside his body, countless bullets, shrapnel, and shells were trapped, and ice crystals encased the metal, continuing to grow on it, causing certain parts to look less human.

The artillery fire was still deafening when the soldiers witnessed a 60-pound cone-shaped shell pierce the ice man's body, only causing him to stagger before losing all momentum inside.

Ice crystals quickly enveloped the shell and continued to grow on top of it.

The bizarre scene sent chills down the spines of everyone present. With a grim face, Ryan gave the order to "cease fire."

He looked down, not even glancing at Siren's face, and said, "Bishop, do you think this is a demon?"

“It doesn’t have horns and hooves, does it?” Xiren shrugged.

Raine turned his head, his hostility undisguised: "Then what do you consider to be a demon?"

“It endangers the safety of the people,” Xilun replied.

"So what do you think this guy will do next?" Renn asked with a sneer. "Charge through the city gates and snap your neck, or will he, under your influence, weep and kiss your ring?"

The knights nearby shrank back upon hearing this.

Siren narrowed his eyes: "I don't know, but I think the Governor has a lot of ideas."

“That’s right.” Raine lifted the black general’s coat, which fluttered in the air like a black eagle, revealing muscles that looked like they were cast in steel. He was only wearing a black tight-fitting vest underneath, but his muscles were emitting white mist in the cold wind!

“I’ll go and meet it, Bishop. While you’re still cowering on the city walls, the soldiers of the Empire will take up arms.” Renn strode to the firing port, his boots slamming against the outer wall, and then he shot towards the Iceman like a bullet!

(End of this chapter)