Chapter 401 Miller, the Wind-loving
After checking that all the zombies had "died again", the four continued to move towards the foggy mountain top.
"This evening, several headless monsters suddenly appeared in the Sea Breeze Church in Bansy Harbor, along with flying heads detached from their bodies. We quickly addressed these anomalies and later discovered Jace, his head and body separated, dead in the prayer hall. We found a letter of complaint on him.
"Based on the report and the traces at the scene, we determined that Jace was killed by Bishop Miller, who colluded with the cultists and intended to revive the tradition of worshiping the 'Weather God.' Oh, Jace was a pastor of the Sea Breeze Church. He was very brave, but unfortunately he trusted the wrong person and tried to report himself to the cult leader Miller..."
Thinking of the poor headless priest in the church, Angel nodded and observed a second of silence for him.
The forty-year-old captain of the Mandated Punishers, Dodge, said as he handed the seal in his hand to another team member beside him. The latter took it and his hand began to tremble immediately, but soon recovered and his expression changed slightly.
Angel discovered that the glove on Dodge's hand, where he had handed over the sealed object, was torn and the skin was a little charred. It was obvious that this wooden staff that could summon powerful lightning could cause considerable damage to the user.
"Seeing his plan exposed, Miller fled the Sea Breeze Church. He and the cultists kidnapped several local residents and tourists and disappeared. A thick fog soon enveloped the entire port, and more monsters appeared within. Using special methods to locate them, we found them on this mountain. He and the cult members are likely continuing their ritual of human sacrifice in the cave above."
As he spoke, Dodge pointed in a direction in the thick fog.
Sure enough, combining divination with the clues from these Mandated Punishers, it can be confirmed that Donna and Cecil have both become part of the sacrifice, but I don't know if it will be their turn...
After climbing over a ridge toward the location pointed by the captain of the Mandated Punishers, a hidden cave appeared before the four of them.
"It's right here."
A young Mandated Punisher pulled out a palm-sized compass from his windbreaker, took a look at it, and said.
It seems this is what they call the "positioning method"... Angel just glanced at it and looked away, to avoid these sensitive and irritable Punishers from suspecting that he had any improper thoughts about the Sealed Artifact.
After confirming the target, the three Mandated Punishers quickly formed a formation of one in front and two behind. Captain Dodge walked in front, guarding with a gun. The young man holding the compass and another bald man followed behind, one holding the compass and the other holding the "lightning staff". It was clearly a battle formation that had been trained for a long time.
This made Angel seem redundant, so she simply walked in front and used her dark vision to look inside the cave.
It was small, damp, and had a faint stench of decay... mixed with the smell of blood. Was it fresh blood?
She held a gun in one hand and was ready to use the "Knight Bracelet" to transform into a melee weapon with the other. She crouched down and stepped into the dark cave first. The three Mandated Punishers followed carefully behind her. No one spoke, only the sound of light footsteps.
Angel suddenly discovered that the Punishers did not carry lanterns and the battle just now was also carried out in the dark. She herself had dark vision, but she did not notice the abnormality at the first time.
Was it some sealed artifact that gave them dark vision?
As a former Night Watcher, she had seen information in internal documents about the Church of the Storm's "Sailor" pathway up to Sequence 7, "Navigator." This information stemmed from exchanges between the three major churches and was not comprehensive, likely containing hidden secrets.
If it wasn't the potion's own power, but the effect of a certain seal, then this team carried a total of three seals... Was it because of an emergency, or because the rules and regulations of the Mandated Punishers were different from those of the Night Watchers?
In her career as a Nighthawk, she had only witnessed one operation in which multiple Sealed Artifacts were carried out - to prevent the evil god in Megose's belly from descending upon Tingen.
This gave her a bad feeling.
Thinking about it, Angel continued to walk quietly into the depths of the cave. She could feel the eyes of the Punishers team behind her lingering on her from time to time. It was obvious that they were not completely at ease with this "outsider".
After dealing with Bishop Miller and the cultists, maybe I will be their next target... she thought secretly.
After walking in the darkness for about two minutes, and advancing probably hundreds of meters, a ray of light finally appeared on the road ahead. It was a flickering candlelight, and the stench of decay and blood in the air became thicker.
Rustling——
An incomprehensible whisper, as if it did not belong to any common language, came from the depths. It was like a mixture of voices from different people, and the tone gradually rose and became more passionate.
There is no doubt that if you go further, you will reach the altar for worshiping the "God of Weather".
Angel glanced back and saw the three Mandated Punishers also tightened their weapons and nodded at her.
The next second, Angel's figure disappeared into the cave as if wiped out. The Mandated Punishers, holding pistols and seals, rushed forward in an offensive formation.
————
"Next."
Miller whispered the order as he stood beside the blood-covered altar, watching as strands of blood flowed into the intricate patterns and symbols beside the altar, staining them dark red.
The believer next to him was wearing a hood and his face could not be seen, but after hearing the order, he swiftly dragged the female corpse, which had been drained of blood, off the altar and threw it aside.
Ceremonial candles on candlesticks around the cave illuminated the cave and the two other bodies on the ground.
The three deceased were all young women who were quite popular among local men. Bishop Miller of Sea Breeze Church could even call out their names, so he chose them as priority for this sacrifice.
Donna, bound hands and feet with thick hemp rope, collapsed in the corner of the cave. Blinking, she tried to squeeze back the tears as she took in the hooded cultists and Bishop Miller, who commanded them. Miller, clad in a dark blue bishop's robe embroidered with the symbol of the storm, had easily gained the young woman's trust outside the restaurant. But after just a few minutes of interaction, he inexplicably lost consciousness and was led into the fetid cave along with Cecil...
Miss Cecil...
She looked at the female bodyguard lying with the three corpses. Her eyes were closed, her breathing was weak, and there were several deep wounds on her body that could be seen to the bone. It seemed that she had been cut by a sharp weapon. Although it was not fatal, blood was already flowing all over the floor.
Those were the wounds Cecil had sustained from his attempts to resist these mysterious cultists.
During the journey of just a few days, Donna met the ugly but delicious fishman, the beautiful and mysterious mermaid lady, and the huge skeleton "messenger" that was nearly four meters tall. The seed of "occultism" has been planted in her heart. Perhaps one day in the future, this seed will take root and sprout, prompting her to actively contact hidden knowledge and change her life.
But unexpectedly, when this "mysterious journey" was only halfway through, these cultists shattered Donna's fantasy with strange and evil whispers, body-tearing wind blades, and ancient bloody sacrifices.
"Siren... No, Sister Angelica, Uncle Sparrow, please come and save me... It would be fine if it's that pirate, he seems to have a 3,000 pound bounty on his head..."
Unable to bear watching Cecil bleed to death, Donna looked away and prayed silently.
"That's it."
An emotionless voice came from above her head, and two hooded cultists came forward, looking at her with cold eyes.
The next second, Donna felt her body lifted into the air, and like a lamb to be slaughtered, she was pulled up by two men with hemp ropes tied up her hands and feet, and placed on the blood-stained altar.
Four other believers in matching attire knelt around the altar. Seeing the new offerings ready, they lowered their heads and began to pray in an unknown language. Their voices echoed and overlapped in the dark but spacious cave, soon turning into increasingly passionate sentences.
Donna, whose heart was gradually consumed by despair, began to struggle subconsciously, but two believers quickly held her down. One of them picked up the ritual dagger beside the altar, raised the weapon that was stained with the blood of three people, and was about to perform another living sacrifice.
"Cough, cough—"
He suddenly felt an itchy throat and couldn't help coughing.
The more he coughed, the more out of breath he became. His throat seemed to be filled with phlegm, and his young lungs were like old bellows, pumping with a "huh, huh" sound, trying to inhale some fresh air.
With a clang, the ritual dagger fell beside the altar, but no one noticed it. The six hooded cultists all experienced similar situations. Their devout prayers turned into continuous coughing, coughing up mouthfuls of thick phlegm, and then dark red blood clots.
Miller also felt an itchy throat and a tightness in his chest. He first looked at the believers who were coughing in confusion, and then immediately realized that this was not a common winter cold, but an attack!
The air is full of disease-causing toxins!
His eyes changed from light brown to dark red, and his bishop's robe rose and bulged from the bottom, with a strong wind surging from inside. These winds were controlled by him, sweeping quickly through the cave, and finally blowing towards the exit in the flickering candlelight.
"Cough, cough!"
He coughed a few times to cough up the phlegm, and felt his throat becoming more itchy, and his attempt to control the strong wind was interrupted.
No, this isn't a toxin, it's a germ that's directly inside my body...
Swish——
A white light flashed before him, and a bone blade suddenly appeared from mid-air and slashed towards the "Wind-loving One".
————
Angel waited until the disease took effect, until the cultists collapsed to the ground, and Bishop Miller lost some of his fighting ability, then he emerged from his invisible state, and the bracelet turned into a long blade, slashing at the opponent.
At the same time, three Mandated Punishers rushed in from the cave exit. They quickly assessed the situation inside the cave. Captain Dodge raised his hand and fired a shot, knocking down a hooded cultist beside the altar. The bald man holding the "Lightning Staff" summoned a thin lightning bolt. Unlike the thick lightning bolt when used outdoors, it shot directly at the nearest cultist.
Snap——
When the lightning struck the target and burned it black, Bishop Miller narrowly avoided Angel's sneak attack. He avoided the important parts of his torso, but his left arm had a deep scar that could be seen to the bone. Blood spurted out and landed on the altar of the "Weather God" that he was preparing to sacrifice.
The pain made his dark red eyes flash, and a strong wind surged out from under him again, blowing in all directions, forcing Angel to retreat temporarily, and at the same time extinguishing the candles beside the altar.
The cave was suddenly dark.
This is actually more beneficial to me and the Mandated Punishers... Angel smiled secretly, and chased after them against the strong wind, slashing with a knife, but the nimble Bishop Miller dodged it again.
Can he see in the dark too?
Angel reacted and stopped trying to fight in close combat. Instead, she quickly summoned strands of invisible silk threads and wrapped them around Miller. She knew that the "Sailor" path had some means of unleashing tremendous power, but even delaying him for a second or two would be enough.
Swish——
The silk thread wrapped around Miller's body, leaving marks on his dark blue bishop's robe.
"For the gods, cough, give everything!"
The cult leader suddenly shouted loudly, and his body under the bishop's robe swelled up like an inflatable balloon, almost making Angel think that he was going to use his own flesh and blood as a bomb like the "Rose Bishop" to kill everyone present.
But the next moment, the cultists beside the altar who were scorched by electricity, knocked down by bullets, and suffocated by pneumonia shouted at the same time, stretched out their hands, grabbed their own heads, and pulled them up as if controlled by an external force, tearing off their heads.
They were all connected by a bloody esophagus and slowly floated in the air.
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