My Abyss Survival Diary

Chapter 72 Leap of Faith

The hot air balloon basket was suspended less than two meters above the edge of the large cavity, with the iron chains taut from the hooks on the rock wall, pulling the entire basket slightly tilted.

An old woman with a full head of silver hair, disheveled and frizzy, emerged from the hanging basket, like a dandelion seed scattered by the wind.

Her face was covered in wrinkles, her eyes were sunken, and she wore a greasy dark gray coat with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing two forearms covered in age spots but with firm muscles.

"Get up here now if you don't want to die! Stop dawdling!"

Ignoring Professor Loris's objections, Klein grabbed him by the collar, lifted the still-coughing old man from the ground, and dragged him under the basket.

Professor Lorris's legs went weak and he couldn't get his foot on the edge of the basket. Klein bent down and lifted him up with both hands. The old man reached the edge of the basket, but the silver-haired old lady grabbed him by the back of his collar and threw him into the basket.

"Next!"

Simon gripped Andrei's monk's robe, his eyes fixed on the outlines that were becoming clearer through the mist.

Steam armor pressed in from three directions simultaneously, two on the left and two on the right, flanking from both sides. Grayish-white steel plates appeared in the white mist, and the holy hammer emblem on the shoulder armor was worn away by the mist, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

The Sister of the Holy Hammer arrived first!

Simon raised the gun in his right hand and pressed it against Andrei's temple, the metal barrel brushing against his burned skin.

"One more step and he'll die!"

But the nuns did not stop; their charge did not even pause for a moment, and the lead nun had already rushed to within a few steps of Simon.

The holy hammer was raised above her head and then brought down with great force. At the critical moment, Simon could only use the hostage as a human shield and push her out. After all, they were both members of the church. The nun's movements were instantly deflected, and the powerful holy hammer did not smash Andrei's head directly, but instead hit the ground nearby.

A slender figure flashed past Simon. Flani nimbly leaped onto the open ground, her two pistols already drawn from her waist and held in her hands, the muzzles of both guns raised to shoulder level.

Elphis once said that Flani was the one in charge of fighting in the Cave Thief's team.

boom--

The first shot, a specially made bullet, spun out of the barrel, passed through the water mist, and precisely pierced the peephole of the foremost armor.

The bulletproof glass through the peephole shattered, cracking in a spiderweb pattern from the center.

The head of the armor jerked back, and the nun stretched out her left hand to cover her peephole.

Frani took a deep breath and fired a second shot into the peephole of another nun's left eye. The nun was caught off guard and the bullet got stuck in the bulletproof glass.

The momentum of their charge slowed slightly. They knew that Flannery's excellent marksmanship would pose a deadly threat to them. After a brief exchange of sign language, the wounded nun removed her helmet, revealing a full head of silver hair and a face brimming with anger.

The nuns with intact peepholes provided cover in front, while those with damaged peepholes were positioned behind, ready to repair them at any time.

Their pace quickened, and steam burst forth from the vents, its hissing sound drowning out the crackling of the flames.

Frani fired both guns simultaneously. The bullets struck her breastplate, exploding on the steel plates and leaving white marks. The steel plates of the armor were too thick for pistol bullets to penetrate.

She aimed at the peephole and fired the fourth and fifth shots! The leading nun had anticipated that she would fire and dodged in time. The bullets grazed her helmet, sparks flying, but were not hit by the peephole.

"Hey! Look here!"

Simon tucked the pistol back into his waistband and pulled the piece of flesh, wrapped in cloth, from his backpack as evidence of the crime.

It would be foolish to confront the steam armor head-on; now, he has no choice but to pull out his last trump card.

He raised it above his head and waved it at the four armored figures that were approaching. He even deliberately discarded the sticky cloth to show them the special, dark red flesh that served as evidence of his crime.

“If I take one more step forward, I’ll throw this piece of meat into the Great Hollow.” He calmly stared at his pursuers. “Even if it falls to the second level, the cave raiders will still get it. That’s not the outcome you want, is it?”

The four armored figures stopped simultaneously, their feet slamming into the ground at the same time, and four pairs of eyes through the observation holes stared intently at the cloth bag in Simon's hand.

The flesh of the hungry angels, evidence of their sins; that is their target.

The hot air balloon's ropes were taut, the chains slipped off the hooks on the rock face, and the silver-haired old lady bent over to turn down the burner valve. The orange-red flames slowly diminished, and the hot air balloon began to descend gradually.

Simon didn't look back, but he had everything under control in the hot air balloon. He gently nudged Flannery's shoulder, signaling her to jump.

"Then what are you going to do?" Flannery still held up her two guns, refusing to retreat.

Simon turned to her and whispered something in her ear.

If they wanted to escape unscathed from the empire's encirclement, this was the only way.

"Are you serious?" Flannery's eyes widened, unable to believe what he was saying.

"Hey, you're not really going to do this, are you?!" Brienne cried out from inside the birdcage.

After a brief moment of thought, Florian chose to trust him. She turned around, ran two quick steps, and leaped smoothly into the hanging basket.

The hot air balloon gradually descended, enveloped in water mist. The basket slowly disappeared, and the airbag was swallowed by the water mist until it vanished completely.

Facing a whole team of Holy Hammer Sisters, and the impure healers arriving one after another, heavy footsteps echoed incessantly.

He was always insignificant in their presence; the holy hammer, the chainsaw sword, the flame and poison sprayer—each could take his life.

Simon straightened his back, just as he had many days ago when he first came into the abyss.

The hunched, white figure slowly passed by the steam-powered armor, and the old priest, the guardian of the abyss, appeared before Simond once again.

"I've seen you, child, you've impressed me deeply," the old priest said in a hoarse voice. "I've heard Andrei tell you about your deeds, and your legend will forever remain on this floor, in the hearts of each and every one of us."

He extended that terrifying mechanical arm, the hydraulic hand that had once crushed people's heads.

"Sinner, this is your last chance. Give me the flesh that serves as evidence of your sins."

"I'll say it one last time: I've never been a sinner."

Simon began to back away...

The old priest's eyes widened in anger. He anticipated Simon's next move, and the mechanical arm shot out like a hunting viper, instantly grabbing Simon's smoked burqa!

The burqa had become extremely fragile after being scorched by the flames, and Simon easily broke free, leaving only a piece of blackened cloth in the old priest's hydraulic grip.

"Stop him!" the old priest commanded. "Fire! Kill him outright!"

Countless guns exploded instantly, bullets leaving their barrels, but Simon had already stepped onto the edge of the great void.

"No, no, no!" Brienne screamed.

He jumped straight down from the huge hole!