Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 533 Thankfully the train wasn't delayed

"Uh, I'm sorry, Ms. Gwen, I mean, could you please buy us some time? See if you can suppress it. If not, please return immediately, and I'll think of another way."

Hodge realized something was wrong, but there was nothing he could do; the soldiers, without rest, probably wouldn't be able to hold on any longer.

Gwen grabbed the Gatling gun and hurried away. She rushed to the left, then awkwardly raised the gun, roughly aiming at the skeletons ahead.

Da da da da da da da da!
The gun barrel spun rapidly, and the bullets, trailing flames, hurtled towards the enemy, instantly turning rows of skeletons into dust.

"hiss"

Gwen stared in disbelief at the heavy machine gun in her hand, then her eyes gradually brightened.

"This thing is more exciting than a longsword!"

Each time the handle is turned a certain distance, the bullets in the Gatling gun will fly out. Gwen thought about it for a while and felt that as long as she turned it fast enough, the gun's rate of fire would also become fast enough.

She tried it out and found that what she had figured out was indeed correct, so she suddenly increased the speed of her hands, and bullets poured out like a rainstorm.

Further away, Hodge frowned as he listened to Gwen's increasingly rapid firing rate.

"With her firing like that, did she have time to reload? I remember she didn't seem to have many bullets with her."

With no time to think too much, Hodge entered the expeditionary force, checked the soldiers' condition and remaining supplies, gave some instructions to the squad leader, and then looked back at the fog with some concern.

Ash's gunfire was almost continuous, and the roar of the dragon's breath can be heard occasionally, but the fog behind them was still visibly getting closer. Gwen on the left didn't seem to have too many problems. Her firing speed was astonishing, and she probably had a special way of loading ammunition.

The soldiers had rested for a while, and they should be able to march for a while longer without much trouble. Hodge was about to give the order when he suddenly froze in place.

A loud whistle rang out in the air.

The train is here.

"Hahaha! That's great, that's great!!! Hahahaha!"

Hodge almost jumped up, laughing and gesturing wildly. He had been under a lot of pressure along the way. Fortunately, the train arrived in time. Although the expeditionary force had not yet reached its limit, the situation was quite critical.

The long whistle sound quickly turned into a rhythm of varying lengths. The armored train in the distance had already spotted them and was transmitting Morse code through the varying lengths of the whistle.

"Sir, they're asking us what happened?"

"Make them stop immediately! Tell them to prepare for battle!"

The soldier raised a flashlight, a byproduct of Hughes's research on cameras, a mixture of materials that could explode and emit a blinding light for a short time.

Adding some passivating chemicals allows it to emit intermittent light signals, which are quite useful for transmitting messages over medium distances.

The approaching train was clearly stunned. It took them a while to respond, and then as it approached the expeditionary force, it began to slow down. Sparks flew from the wheels of the steam locomotive, and with a piercing sound, the train successfully came to a stop on the tracks.

The machine gun bunker on the top of the train has been erected, and the fixed position of the Dragon's Breath Cannon has been guarded. The Dragon's Breath Cannon can now be operated by ordinary people on the train. Apart from its short range and limited angle due to its semi-fixed position on the train, it has no major drawbacks.

Before the train had even come to a complete stop, the doors opened. After confirming that these were the expeditionary force, the guards on board immediately made way for Hodge's men to board. Hodge practically rushed onto the train, clinging on before it had even come to a full stop. He found the driver and immediately said:

"I am Hodge, commander of the Second Guards Company directly under Archbishop Alexei. According to the Expeditionary Force's emergency response regulations, I am now in command of this train. Immediately change course and proceed to the military camp to the south!"

The train conductor and the stoker next to him were taken aback, then immediately stood up, bowed, and agreed. They then grabbed wrenches and rushed toward the train carriage.

To turn the train back, they need to use the locomotive at the rear of the train; they need to get there quickly.

Hodge rushed to the whistle and personally sounded it to inform Ash of the situation.

Shovelful after shovelful of coal was added to the combustion chamber, the water in the boiler gradually boiled, the steam engine sang happily, the piston slid rapidly, the flywheel spun and pulled the train, and the armored train slowly began to move.

The white mist in the distance continued to approach, and the skeletons writhed rapidly on the northern wasteland, looking eerie and twisted, like maggots scalded with boiling water.

The fixed firing positions on the train roof immediately opened fire, with multiple heavy machine guns crisscrossing to create a full-scale fire coverage. No matter how fast the skeletons regenerated, they could only be held in place. Before long, the train's speed also increased, and now even without firing, they could not catch up.

Watching the skeletons continue their futile pursuit into the distance, Hodge felt a strange sense of exhilaration. Sitting on the armored train, he felt no fear whatsoever; the warmth of the steel gave him a sense of security.

—There was even an urge to drive over bones.

Of course, remembering the endless white mist that followed the skeletons, he managed to control his thoughts.

Most of the expeditionary soldiers collapsed to the ground. Just moments before, they had felt their strength returning and were preparing to continue their march, but now that energy had dissipated, they were completely exhausted. Lying on the ground like fish out of water, they gasped for air.

That's when the feeling of exhaustion finally surfaced.

They escaped successfully!

The relief of escaping death brought smiles to their faces, and they looked at their comrades and burst into laughter.

The expeditionary force that had been accompanying them poured some water for them, and as they watched the white mist recede into the distance, they all inquired about the situation.

Ash and Gwen had already returned to the car. Ash came back after hearing the horn, but Gwen couldn't understand the horn, so Ash carried her back.

"When I found her, she was firing wildly."

Ash glanced at Gwen and spoke.

“Oh, right, I actually wanted to ask that too.” Hodge suddenly remembered, his gaze falling on the heavy machine gun in Gwen’s hand.

"Gwen, how do you manage to reload when you're firing so fast?"

The expeditionary force's standard Gatling gun used magazines, which, although large in capacity, had a terrifying rate of fire. Gwen's firing method meant she wouldn't have time to reload—her gunfire never stopped.

Gwen paused for a moment, then spoke:

"Reload? What ammo? Does this gun even need reloading?"

(End of this chapter)