CHAPTER 557: CHAPTER 522: BARRAGE FIRE

Following the female knight into the battlefield, Fulvio finally realized what was causing the oppressive feeling he had sensed earlier.

It was a swollen, corrupted human, but its body had expanded beyond the limits of normalcy.

Even hunched over, it was over three meters tall, its decaying, swollen body resembling a giant’s, with festering pustules continuously bursting and flowing with foul, toxic liquid...

From any angle, this looked like the creation of an evil mage that only appears in fantasy stories.

But Fulvio knew clearly that this was a "blessing" from a certain Evil God.

"Everyone pay attention! This is a plague giant corpse from the Sect of the Swollen Mother. Beware not to touch the venom on it, which is highly corrosive and can spread disease. Everyone use breathing masks! Try to use ranged weapons and fire to attack!" As a Judgment Knight, Fulvio promptly advised others on how to deal with the enemy in front of them, as their years of interactions with various Evil God sects had equipped them with a comprehensive counter-strategy.

After Fulvio provided the relevant information about the enemy ahead, their team immediately pulled out breathing masks from their sides and wore them on their faces.

However, the White Wolf Knights who had already donned their steam knight armor were an exception, as the armor itself was equipped with air filtration functionality, allowing the helmet to serve as a breathing mask naturally.

As the first to wear the steam knight armor and rush to the forefront as the White Wolf Knight, the female knight immediately lifted her handheld rapid-fire cannon, firing a shot at the massive living corpse.

For Fulvio, a Judgment Knight, this point-blank cannon attack somewhat exceeded his expectations.

Though upon arriving in the Northern Territory, the church quickly prepared steam knight armor for them, it was still following the traditional Judgment Knight configuration for their equipment.

Despite being equipped with ranged weapons like multi-barreled heavy machine guns, the main weapon of Judgment Knights’ steam knight armor remained a greatly enlarged two-handed heavy sword or bastard sword paired with a shield.

This setup is, of course, not meant for use on the battlefield but is specifically designed for the combat environment faced by Judgment Knights.

Based on the church’s years of experience, the conventional battle weapons favored by secular knights often have limited effectiveness in the combat environments Judgment Knights face.

In comparison, the bastard sword, better suited for indoor environments or narrow areas, can perform quite effectively.

Thus, the Judgment Knights have no qualms about the equipment provided by the church, not even Perfikot has expressed any opinions on the matter.

This has led to the Judgment Knights having no experience of what it’s like to have a comrade wielding a cannon beside them in battle.

The power of the 75mm handheld rapid-fire cannon isn’t overwhelming but remains a 75mm caliber artillery, producing a considerable boom and shockwave upon firing. Originally intending to protect the female knight, Fulvio was staggered by the blast, with his ears ringing from the cannon’s boom.

Fortunately, as a Judgment Knight, Fulvio’s combat experience and physical resilience quickly allowed him to regain his balance and swiftly adjust his stance, holding a shield before him and wielding his sword warily as he watched the smoke and dust obscure the target ahead.

Fulvio was vigilant, naturally following his past combat experience, knowing that obscured vision by smoke often makes it difficult to determine the enemy’s status, thus inviting ambushes.

Meanwhile, the female knight and other White Wolf Knights were well familiar with this; they did not pause to observe the effects of the cannon blast but continued firing without hesitation, with three more steam knights joining the cannon fire.

In total, four handheld rapid-fire cannons, each firing three shells.

This is one tactical protocol of the steam knights: when encountering targets with formidable defenses or large builds, they should swiftly and effectively concentrate fire, burying the enemy with overwhelming firepower rather than recklessly charging in for a melee.

The proof is in the results; it’s indeed a highly effective tactic.

By the time the female knight fired the second shot, they had already noticed dark-red blood mist stirred within the smoke, indicating the target was severely wounded.

Yet, the White Wolf Knights still followed tactical protocol, unleashing twelve shells in total, with each knight still having two rounds left in their magazines.

If the target wasn’t eliminated, they could concentrate fire for another round.

However, as the smoke cleared, they knew it was no longer necessary.

Because the once terrifying plague giant corpse was blasted into fragments, unable to even find any larger remains.

Almost all turned into palm-sized shards, evenly scattered within a 20-meter radius of the crater.

Witnessing this scene, Fulvio’s eyes slightly twitched, having never seen such a spectacle before.

Despite the church’s wealth and ability to equip various weapons, it was limited to cold weapons or a few heat weapons, as the church was not allowed to possess artillery.

Hence, even though Fulvio was a seasoned veteran knight, he had never seen such concentrated cannon fire in action.

But he had to admit, it really worked!

In the past, facing a plague giant corpse like this, a Judgment Knight would need one or two companies to eventually kill it with some casualties and risk being infected by its disseminated plague toxins.

The subsequent handling would be troublesome due to such a large plague source, requiring immediate incineration even post-kill.

Yet, incinerating such a massive body was clearly not easy. Just setting up enough wood to burn would need several carts of logs.

Now, however, just one concentrated cannon volley not only blasted it apart but shattered the body into scattered little chunks, making the clean-up far simpler.

"These corpses must be incinerated and purified to prevent the spread of contamination; even the soil here must be sprinkled with holy water to treat polluted areas." Though he wasn’t much help in combat, Fulvio certainly stood as an expert in handling the aftermath.

He not only reminded the White Wolf Knights of how to proceed but personally guided them on how to burn quickly and effectively.

Soon, with the efforts of the accompanying City Guard, the fragments were effectively dealt with, while the White Wolf Knights and Fulvio maintained full armor, advancing toward the settlement where the plague giant corpse appeared.