Chapter 736: Take It All

Miller and the others reel in place, their ears ringing.

Most of it comes from the deafening blasts of Henwell's two hand cannons.

Inside the enclosed hall, every blast is amplified many times over. Without their extraordinary properties, the others are left dizzy and nauseated.

Even in the open, the report of either hand cannon would be terrifying.

Hence the name Death's Roar.

With the last statue knight destroyed, the Anti-Magic Formation in the hall begins to weaken, though it does not disappear entirely.

Miller and the others recover only a fraction of their extraordinary properties. They can sense and stir the fighting spirit within them, but still cannot project it beyond their bodies.

The Lady of Calamity activates her runic ward. Alex, a mixed-blood, also begins reconnecting with her extraordinary power.

Henwell feels the pressure on the power of his two locks ease considerably.

He can now bring out the strength of an ordinary professional at the peak of the Iron Rank.

Alex empties out everything taken from the secret chamber, then looks at Henwell.

The message is obvious. She wants Fate Rail back.

Henwell walks over with a grin, pulls both support poles from a stretcher, and digs out several more components.

He tosses the whole bundle to the couple. "I took it apart to make it easier to carry. You don't mind, do you?"

"You..."

Alex starts forward to rebuke him, but Steve stops her.

Steve bows slightly to Henwell. "Thank you for your consideration. I can tell that you were very careful when you dismantled the weapon and did not damage it in any way."

"I assume you were hoping to learn something from it."

"Well? Did you make any progress? If you wish, I can explain how Fate Rail works."

Henwell's smile vanishes. He stares coldly at the blindfolded man.

Henwell had deliberately tried to provoke the couple, hoping they would give him an excuse to attack.

Unfortunately, the blindfolded man reacted quickly and gave him no opportunity to make trouble.

Steve now begins assembling his weapon with painstaking care.

Alex is still angry, but she no longer tries to provoke Henwell.

She takes her twin hammers from her pack and begins putting on her special armor.

Henwell tosses his longsword to Doyle, who stands rigidly nearby. "You showed some courage. That choice saved your life."

"This weapon is yours. Train hard from now on. And if you're willing, you can come work for me."

Doyle merely bows in thanks, offering no immediate answer to Henwell's offer.

Henwell turns to Miller, who is still staring blankly. "Go collect the longswords here."

"They're all valuable. They'll be worth studying when we return."

"At the very least, they're superb weapons. They'd make fine collectibles."

"My manor happens to be short on decorations with a little history behind them."

The Lady of Calamity cuts in. "Henwell, you cannot take every weapon. The seal will collapse if you do."

"You may take no more than half of the longswords. The rest must remain here to hold the seal and prevent incursions from other planes."

"I doubt you want a demon army suddenly appearing on the continent. It would interfere considerably with your plans."

Henwell shrugs and points to the five longswords in the inner ring. "I can take these, can't I?"

The Lady of Calamity nods lightly. "As long as you are not afraid of the trouble they may bring."

Henwell chuckles. "Trouble? Trouble is the one thing I never lack. A little more won't make any difference."

"What do we do next?"

"Once we open the inner seal, is there another trial?"

"A guardian from the old gods' faction isn't going to jump out and test us again, is it?"

The Lady of Calamity shakes her head. "No. Once it opens, the passage downward will be revealed."

Henwell can already guess why the Lady of Calamity knows this place so well, but now is not the time to confront her about it.

Of the ten longswords in the outer seal, one goes to Doyle, leaving four more that Henwell can take.

Adding the weapons from the inner seal brings Henwell's haul to nine longswords and a staff made from an unknown material.

All of these weapons are remarkable. They were, at the very least, equipment used by Domain Masters, and they remain exceptional despite the erosion of time.

As Henwell said, whether they are used to analyze their alloy composition or simply kept as collectibles, they are excellent specimens.

Henwell tests one of the longswords from the inner ring. Its shape, length, and weight closely resemble his Dusk Greatsword, so it settles naturally into his grip.

Miller and the others carry the remaining swords on their backs. Even Abbas is made to carry one.

The Lady of Calamity claims the unknown staff and promises Henwell sufficient compensation afterward.

After a moment's thought, Henwell tosses the Death's Roar strapped to his right thigh to Daisy. "Catch. This thing is extremely powerful."

"It also has vicious recoil, so be careful when you use it. Don't force yourself."

He then pulls a bandolier from his pack and hands it to Daisy.

Cradling the large hand cannon, she happily runs her fingers over the marks on its surface.

The battle has shown Henwell that wielding two guns adds little to his combat effectiveness.

When fighting with a melee weapon, only his left hand has an opportunity to draw and fire a gun.

In the future, a Thunder Hand Cannon will be issued as a single weapon, not as a pair.

Henwell has also realized that in close combat, there is no need to push the Thunder Hand Cannon's power to the absolute limit.

Reducing its power appropriately will make it easier to control.

In battle, the hand cannon is mainly used for an opening shot at point-blank range, followed by the occasional shot whenever an opportunity appears.

In the brief openings of close combat, raw power matters less than choosing the right moment and the right target.

Used well, a single shot can kill the enemy.

Fired at the wrong moment, it may instead put the wielder at a disadvantage.

Reducing the Thunder Hand Cannon from a Knight's full-force strike to an ordinary one would also ease the strain on the gun body and make room for a larger cylinder.

The three-round cylinder could be expanded to four or even five rounds, giving it the form of a conventional revolver.

Lower power would also reduce the cost, making widespread issuance far more practical.

Elite troops, however, such as his Lord Iron Guards, are another matter.

They could easily use a Thunder Hand Cannon with a three-round cylinder, and it would be an asset in battle.

Henwell commits these conclusions to memory and tells the Lady of Calamity that he is ready.

Henwell leaves his armor off. Unless he wears the Nightwind Armor, ordinary battle armor offers him little protection.

His body is already tougher than extraordinary armor. Rather than burden himself with useless armor, he is more agile without it.

The Lady of Calamity climbs the stone pile. At its summit, she grips the staff in both hands and begins chanting a low, obscure incantation.

The pile slowly sinks inward, its stones merging into a statue ten meters tall.

The robed statue looks exactly like the Lord of Calamity depicted in the mural. This must be the idol's original form.