“Steam Legion?”
Gus asked suspiciously, “What’s that?”
“It was an army of rebels gathered in the water network in the south.
Grey raised her chin slightly, with pride, if not craziness, on her face. “Gus, you don’t know yet, but the reign of the Fist God over this world is coming to an end. Although most of the towns in the north are still adhering to the ancient and backward ‘Iron Fist Path’, in the south, where the water network is dense and the trade is prosperous, all kinds of hydraulic machines and steam engines have been popular for a long time. More and more people believe in the power of ‘mechanics and steam’. They have even established their own army and are preparing to fight a final battle against the Fist God’s Temple, which is the ‘Steam Legion’!”
“This—this is impossible!”
Gus blurted out, his face pale.
Ever since he discovered the secrets of his sister and his father, Gus had been avoiding a question.
It was a conflict of belief between him and his sister.
While they were on their way, they were interrupted by ‘Lightning Fiend’ Lu Qingchen. The two of them avoided the topic tacitly.
But right now, however hard they tried to fool themselves, it was impossible for them to discriminate against their bloody beliefs.
“Sister, don’t be so obstinate and keep making mistakes.”
Gus tried his best to persuade him. “The path of the iron fist is the only truth in the world. The so-called ‘mechanical power’ and ‘steam power’ are just tricks of the devil. With the blessing of the Fist God, the power of the Fist God is invincible. The so-called ‘steam army’ is just a lie made up by the crazy believers who are trying to corrupt more people!
“You’re wrong, Gus.”
There was no way that Grey would give in to her brother when it came to beliefs. She said coldly, “The facts are right in front of us. Do you think that my father or I alone can build such an enormous steam laboratory below our house and produce such precise tubes, machines, and steam balls?
Gus was slightly surprised.
He had never thought about it before. But now that he thought about it carefully, it did not seem possible.
“All the experiment equipment and equipment, as well as the methods to polish and assemble the precise machines, including the methods to prepare pure high-pressure steam, were brought from the south by the believer of the Divine Steam Cult and the machine that my father hunted down.
Grey explained, “Judging from the technology of making such things, it is apparently not something that can be polished in a shabby workshop but in a large-scale workshop or even a factory. There must be an enormous force behind the gears, bearings, tubes, and steam balls.
“As for the power of steam and machinery, you’ve experienced it yourself just now. With the serial crossbow in your hand, you blew up dozens of ferocious birds in one breath. This is not something that you can do with your bare hands, is it?
For a moment, Gus felt that the two serial crossbows that he had put on his waist were as hot as burning steel and were about to leave a mark of sin on his flesh.
His face was pale. He felt that he had betrayed the Fist God and had fallen into the abyss without him knowing.
“It’s not like that!”
He argued loudly, “Blades, swords, and bolts are all external objects after all. Indulging in their power will only lead to reliance and inertia. They will gradually paralyze the limbs, weaken the body, corrupt the brain, and turn people into slaves—this is definitely not the way of the strong!”
“I don’t know what the real path of the strong is. I only know that, if the crossbow had not been blessed by the devil, the two of us would’ve fallen off the cliff into pieces.
Grey said, “I would rather be a slave to a living, breathing tool than a dead ‘expert’.
“Sister—”
For a moment, Gus could not think of any rebuttals. He felt that his sister was right when she said that he was born with no talent in fist arts and that he would always be a loser when he died because he was too focused on the path of iron fists. It was possible that only the power of machines and steam could give him a new lease on life. However, he suddenly felt that it was an unforgivable sin to have such outrageous thoughts. He could not stand up and accept the teachings of his uncle and his parents, who were both priests of the Temple of Fist Arts.
But now that his father had fallen, and his mother might’ve been killed, there was no way that Gus could make up his mind. He could only brace himself and say, “Even if the steam army in the south does exist, they are just a bunch of mobs that cannot withstand a single blow. As long as the army of the Fist God Hall arrives, they will certainly be crushed and annihilated!
Grey sneered in disdain, “Hehe. Don’t underestimate the power of machinery and steam. Think about how I killed Qin Yong in the day. If all the soldiers of the Steam Legion had a mechanical crossbow and a compressed air cannon, how many experts of the Temple of Fist would have been able to annihilate them?”
Gus straightened his neck and said, “The experts of the Fist God Hall are all like my uncle. They are at least a hundred times stronger than Qin Yong!
“Of course,” Grey said, “there are also machines and steam weapons that are hundreds of times more powerful than those in my hands. They are enough to smash the old world ruled by the Fist God and shatter the so-called belief that the Fist God has been deceiving the world for ten thousand years!
Such outrageous words that should have been struck by lightning had never even crossed Gus’s mind, let alone his own.
The young man was dazed as if he had been struck by lightning. He was shivering in anger and fear, while his eyes were darting between his sister and Lu Qingchen, as if Lu Qingchen, the devil, had lured his sister into depravity.
“Brother Gus, can you not look at me like that?”
Lu Qingchen had been studying the ants on the ground as if it were none of his business, but he turned a deaf ear to the sister and brother’s argument. It was not until he could not avoid Gus’s furious eyes that he opened his hands and said innocently, “Let me repeat myself. I have nothing to do with the ‘steam devil’, and I did not plant the belief of ‘mechanical power’ in your sister’s brain. So, please, don’t stare at me in such a way, will you?”
“But you must know the truth.
Gus mumbled, “Even if you are not a steam devil, you are a devil from hell after all. You must know the truth of the world!”
“Uh…”
Lu Qingchen scratched his head and said, “Well, I do know a thing or two.”
“Then, tell us who is right and who is wrong in my sister’s belief and what the truth of the world is!”
Gus gnashed his teeth. “The path of iron fists and the force of machinery and steam. Who is the truth?”
“Is the question important?”
Lu Qingchen shrugged. Suddenly, he pointed at the ground and exclaimed, “Look, ants. Two teams of ants are fighting!”
As he expected, two groups of ants from different nests were engaged in an intense ‘war’ over the scraps of food.
“Ants?”
Gus was dazed for a moment. He said angrily, “The path of iron fists, the power of machines and steam, and the truth of the world are of course important. At the very least, they are more important than the fighting of ants, aren’t they?”
“That may be the case in your eyes, but in my eyes, your beliefs, your illusions, your love and hate, your conflicts of interest, your loyalty and betrayal, your ambitions and hopes, everything is no different from ants fighting. After all, I am a god from a higher dimension. That’s how awesome I am.”
Lu Qingchen smiled and said, “As for the truth of the world, I suggest that you keep it to yourself. Otherwise, it will not change anything and will only add to your pain and trouble.
