Steam Tyrant, Hunting Gods

Roya's consciousness gradually sank into the oxygen-deprived swamp.

On the verge of annihilation, at the edge of nothingness, suddenly, his five senses entered a silver ocean shrouded in mist, and he floated on the surface of the sea.

A holy white light pierced through the fog above the sea!

At the heart of the flowing holy light, a naked, voluptuous woman with silver hair, her body only covered by flowers and white snakes, slowly walked towards him on invisible steps.

A halo above its head, like an angel, hovered low in the sky before Roya, who looked up at it but could not reach it.

Her silver hair cascaded down like a waterfall, moving without wind, like a soft, burning flame.

Her bare upper body had full, smooth, and sacred lines, and her skin had a warm, pearly luster.

A slender white snake, its scales shimmering with the cold light of the moon, coiled docilely between her slender waist and long legs, its head resting peacefully on her shoulder.

The colorful clusters of flowers, which conceal sensitive areas, seem to be formed from light and dew. The petals are crystal clear and emit a refreshing yet alluring fragrance.

In Roja's view, the woman's tall, voluptuous figure was similar to Wendell's, but her facial features appeared blurry and unfamiliar.

In a daze, Luo Ya saw a pair of eyes that reflected endless flowers, breathtakingly beautiful and not to be defiled.

She emanated an indescribable, boundless, and tender love, like a warm tide, which gradually submerged Luo Ya's remaining consciousness and dispelled the cold fear brought on by suffocation.

Compared to Wendell, who presented a cold and aloof demeanor, the woman before him seemed to possess a gentleness that embraced all things and melted away the hardest ice, carrying a maternal warmth that could easily smooth out the deepest wrinkles of the soul and accept all the fragility and unbearable aspects of the world.

Luo Ya guessed that he was in a near-death state due to the combined pressure of hallucinogenic toxins and suffocation.

The woman before him seemed to be Wendell incarnate, sent to save him.

"You are...?"

"Congratulations, young man, your kiss has awakened the great goddess of love, Ishtar."

The silver-haired goddess smiled slightly, her voice like the harmony of a harp and a wind chime, each word carrying a strange rhythm that rippled through the mist.

Luo Ya was taken aback.

Who is Ishtar?

He only knows Wendell!

Strangers shouldn't appear in a dying dream...

Luo Ya suddenly became alert:

Where is Wendell now?

"You are in Wendell's dream. Wendell is my alias, and Ishtar is my dormant true self."

"You've got it wrong. I need you to wake me up and save me, not the other way around!"

"Our meeting is the choice of the highest destiny. I will become your wife and help you awaken the most powerful extraordinary ability, so that you will no longer have to take risks."

Luo Ya felt that every word the woman said resonated with him.

Wendell would never do that...

Mechanical connection, start!

In an instant, his divine sense enveloped the steam-powered flying armor controlled by Wendell and the gauntlet on his right hand.

He saw that Wendell's blood energy was violently impacting the scale switches he had just stitched up...

The stitches groaned under the strain, and a few tiny sparks of electricity flickered and danced at the junction of metal and flesh, as if it were about to completely disintegrate at any moment.

Luo Ya understood.

What he was seeing was not his dying dream, but the other side that Wendell had been suppressing.

He was indeed pulled into Wendell's dream, but the dream's owner was not Wendell.

Coincidentally, Roya wasn't particularly satisfied with Wendell either.

Too indifferent, yet adventurous, and prone to losing control...

He likes gentle, family-oriented women.

Having more friends means having more options!

He asked with excitement and reverence:

"Great Ishtar, what do you need me to do?"

The tenderness in Ishtar's eyes instantly turned direct and seductive. She slightly opened her arms and spoke softly:

"Take off Wendell's clothes and do what you're supposed to do."

Luo Ya was slightly taken aback, remained silent for a while, and then suddenly asked:

"Do we have to take off the armor too?"

"certainly."

Ishtar's answer was resolute, carrying an air of unquestionable authority.

Worried about frightening Roya, she quickly added gently:

"I am the Holy Maiden of Love and Desire, you need not be afraid of me. If I wanted to harm you, you wouldn't be alive today."

Luo Ya felt that taking off his clothes was fine, but removing his armor was still too early.

"I'm a slow-burning man, can you give me some time?"

Ishtar frowned slightly.

Beneath that sacred gentleness, a hint of impatience seemed to flicker.

But it was quickly overshadowed by a holy and elegant demeanor.

She floated closer, almost enveloping Roya with holy light, the fragrance of flowers and white snakes.

"Wendel is a fragment of my soul, and also a shackle. She is indifferent by nature and willing to become a demon to save the world. One day she will kill you... You are the one destined to break free of these shackles. As long as you remove her armor and help me regain my former power, we will reach the Land of True Dragons in just one day!"

Roya thought to himself, "Wendel's body has been corrupted by demons, yet he still retains such a pure and holy heart..."

She has such a kind heart!

"Arriving in the Land of the True Dragon in a day? That's so boring. Compared to the result, I value the process more. In Eastern narratives, this is called a journey of self-cultivation through eighty-one tribulations."

"There's no time for you to enjoy the process, Roya!"

A crack appeared in Ishtar's gentle mask, and his tone carried a hint of icy intimidation.

"You have desecrated my sacred and inviolable purity. Once Wendell awakens, it will be your death... Only I, the Saintess of Love and Desire, can save you."

The more anxious Ishtar became, the calmer Roya remained.

"Why did you choose me, great saintess of love and desire? What do you need me to do?"

"Only you can remove this armor... Perhaps someone in this world can break it with force, but only you can remove it without harming my body!"

Ishtar seemed annoyed by the questions; a fleeting, unnatural expression crossed her holy, indistinct face, only to be quickly covered by perfect composure.

Luo Ya knew his own limitations very well.

In reality, the armor was connected to Wendell's flesh and blood, and their blood and energy were fused together. He could not completely break through the mechanical connection. This time, he relied on the iron worm corpses to indirectly stitch it together.

"That's strange. Is there something special about me?"

Fuck you!

You're handsome, isn't that enough?

Beneath Iztar's flawless, holy face, a silent roar emanated from the depths of his soul.

As for why Wendell chose this ordinary-looking Eastern boy, it was one of the very few secrets that she was unable to see because her soul had taken over this body and her remaining instinctive will had forcibly shielded it at the cost of her life.

Only today did she witness for the first time the abilities Roya displayed—

They precisely located the key dragon scale within Wendell's gauntlet, bypassed Wendell's blood energy restriction spell, and perfectly stitched together the broken dragon scale simply by controlling the remains of the horsehair worm into the gauntlet.

This ability itself may not be earth-shattering, but it is truly unique to Wendell!

Ishtar coughed lightly twice to cover up her true feelings, quickly regaining her majestic, holy, and gentle demeanor.

"Ahem, it is fate, beyond words. Unfasten my armor and embrace destiny, young man!"

Luo Ya always felt that the goddess in front of him was a stereotypical image of a goddess, like a soulless replica.

Even so, guided by the Holy Spirit's philosophy of making many friends, Roya decided to give her a chance.

"Since you say you are my destined wife, is it alright if I don't remove the armor, but only remove other parts?"

"..."

The holy light on Ishtar's face froze instantly.

Like a crack suddenly appearing on exquisite porcelain, that perfect expression showed obvious signs of collapse for the first time.

Shock, disbelief, and then a raging fire gathered in the dazzling flowers in his eyes.

Luo Ya shook his head helplessly:

"Look, you're in such a hurry... I'm just a slow starter. How about I remove the flowers and white snakes from your body first, and we have a Platonic love affair in our dreams?"

Ishtar's holy face instantly turned black, and the holy light twisted into a swirling black mist.

Black mist permeated the flowers and white snake, rapidly spreading throughout the body until it reached the entire dream.

She huddled up.

The long-brewing rage, brimming with the extreme shame and indignation of being mocked by ants, burst forth from Iztar's mouth with a piercing shriek, like a thousand shattered crystals—

"roll!"

……

Luo Ya suddenly opened his eyes.

Only flickering firelight could be seen.

It felt as if my head had been struck by an invisible battering ram, and my soul felt as if it were being torn apart by this roar of divine wrath.

Like a drowning person breaking through the water's surface, they were pulled back from the suffocating illusion of imminent death in one breath!

His lungs burned with pain, greedily devouring the cold, bloody internal energy emanating from Wendell.

He looked down at Wendell, who was lying in the steam airplane.

Her cold, exquisitely beautiful, and peaceful face was devoid of any color.

However, her lips, which were originally beautifully shaped, were now mangled and bloody, with swollen and purple edges, like petals ravaged by a storm.

"Ahem, Wendell, you've done a great job... It's just that the other you in the dream has a bit of a temper, you need to change that."

The firelight flickered, and the feeling of suffocation returned.

Taking advantage of the situation, Luo Ya blew the whistle and activated the emergency rescue mode.

At the other end of the cave, the blue dragonfly, having finished burning the mushroom-shaped hole, suddenly launched itself into a swift flight.

Transforming into a swift blue lightning bolt, it accurately struck the gondola beneath the airship, which was nestled against the cave wall and covered in thick mycelium and moss!

The blue dragonfly landed gracefully.

As soon as it landed, the cramped chest cavity opened automatically, and a pair of mechanical arms grabbed Luo Ya's waist without saying a word, swallowing him whole into the cockpit.

"Damn it, can't you be gentle... no, I need your roughness!"

His body was thrown onto the cold, familiar driver's seat. Before he could fasten the all-around seatbelt, almost by muscle memory, he grabbed the oxygen mask fixed to the cabin wall and slammed it onto his face.

Suddenly turn the valve open!

hiss……

This reminded him of the breath of wind he had just inhaled from Wendell's mouth.

It has a sweet taste with a hint of blood; it can sustain life, but it is definitely not oxygen...

After a brief moment of respite, a strong feeling of exhaustion and hunger washed over me like a tidal wave.

He fumbled around and pulled out a half-empty bottle of thick, fruity beer from the storage compartment next to the driver's seat, then tilted his head back and took a big gulp.

Then, he grabbed a hard, stale-smelling compressed insect biscuit, tore off a piece, and chewed it with difficulty.

The scalding liquid and dry powder mixed together, sliding down the throat and slowly igniting a small warmth in the stomach.

The numbness in my body began to subside, and strength, like a gentle stream, began to flow again through my limbs and bones.

"Phew... I'm finally alive!"

Having regained his basic mobility, Roya's eyes instantly became as sharp as an eagle's.

He immediately piloted the Blue Dragonfly armor and retrieved all the horsehair worm remains from inside the difference engine and from Wendell's body.

Total length...over one kilometer!

It was rolled up with an iron rod and stuffed full of the blue dragonfly's storage compartment.

To others, the remains of horsehair worms may only have meager biological material value.

But for Roya, these iron wires that preserve the distributed mechanical nervous system are the tentacles that allow him to extend a kilometer!

This gives Roya the ability to connect remotely and to perform emergency repairs on machinery without disassembling the casing.

Clearly, its value far exceeds that of the first airship.

"What a pleasant surprise!"

Luo Ya then lit the kerosene lamp in the blue dragonfly's compound eye, instantly illuminating the entire cave.

Cameron's airship is already in his grasp.

The excavator by the gate is part of the ship's machinery.

The cube difference engine is still unclaimed...

Wendell was sleeping peacefully at his feet.

For safety's sake, Roya immediately controlled the Blue Dragonfly and carefully removed Wendell from the steam-powered flying armor.

She was placed in the passenger seat of the Blue Dragonfly and secured firmly with an all-around seatbelt.

The robotic arm moved gently and steadily, as if carrying a rare treasure, as if afraid of disturbing the unstable demonic blood energy within her, which was like a live volcano.

Wendell lay quietly in the passenger seat, like a desecrated ice statue, his bloodied lips particularly glaring in the dim light.

Only after doing all this did Luo Ya finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking around.

The once vibrant cave is now a scorched wasteland.

Below the opposite cave wall, Colonel Rogge's massive, broken body lay curled up against the scorching rocks, barely clinging to life.

The auxiliary armor was damaged in many places, the most shocking of which was the mechanical left leg, which was completely broken off at the knee joint, exposing twisted metal pipes and a miniature boiler emitting steam.

On his back, a large cluster of purple mushrooms that had once parasitized him was completely charred and carbonized by the high temperature, hissing and emitting black smoke mixed with fungal juice and blood, and emitting a nauseating and eerie burnt aroma.

His mouth and nose were covered with congealed black blood clots, and the slight rise and fall of his chest proved that even in an environment of extreme oxygen deprivation, this revolutionary soldier, as resilient as steel, was still stubbornly clinging to life.

"To save someone, or to finish them off, that is the question."

Luo Ya did not make a decision immediately, but continued to look around.

Not far away, the Red Widow's heavily armored cockpit appeared to have been cleaved in two by an invisible giant axe, splitting along the upper edge of the compartment.

The cut was surprisingly smooth and flat, revealing a complex and messy interior of copper pipes, gears, pressure relief valves, and various metal sensor wires.

Inside the cockpit.

Giles and Eamon slumped in their seats.

His face was purple, his eyes were closed, and he was being kept alive by the thin oxygen slowly released from the remaining emergency life support system in the cockpit.

"Red Widow's fuselage materials are much better than Blue Dragonfly's, but I didn't expect it couldn't withstand the Colonel's steam blade... It seems that the Colonel is stronger than I thought, and at the same time, he still has a bit of his original heart left, which is why he barely let the two of them go."

Roya surveyed the entire cave, and apart from the sizzling sounds of burning mushrooms, moss, and mycelium, and the low hum of steam from the Blue Dragonfly Boiler, there was no other sound of living things.

All living beings, except for Roya, had either turned to ashes or fallen into a deep coma.

This scene perfectly illustrates the half-self-deprecating, half-premonitory sigh that Luo Ya uttered after severing the Cloud Vortex Seaweed during his journey through the Cloud Sea—

"As expected, I, the newcomer, ended up shouldering everything."