Chapter 296: The Farmer and the Electricity Thief (Part 3)
"It seems these people can't see the runes on the holy artifacts," William thought inwardly.
On the other side, Austin shook his head helplessly: "Many Holy Clergy Members have already lost their lives because of this, sigh..."
William narrowed his eyes: "Out of the people who arrived here previously, did not a single one manage to escape?"
Since Jolan was able to transmit information to the outside, there should be a way.
Austin still shook his head: "As far as I know... no. I have already been to three areas, and most of the Holy Clergy Members there were brutally murdered."
"Even if you survive, you have to consider the food shortage." He took out a container woven from hay as he spoke, which contained a mixture of bugs and dirt.
"After Holy Power becomes ineffective, people with lower theological ranks must resume eating."
"But where is there any food in this godforsaken place? So we can only collect some bugs to barely scrape by."
"If we're lucky, we might pick up a dying crow or two..."
William opened his mouth slightly, not expecting the situation of these Holy Clergy Members to be so miserable.
"You mentioned other Sweepers just now. Is there more than one of this kind of monster?"
"That's right, the areas here are like a maze, and each place has a different Sweeper," Austin said.
"Some of them can spew diseased venom, some can throw homing hand axes, and some can even teleport..." He had a lingering look of fear. "But no matter which one, they are all very troublesome. As long as they appear, there will definitely be casualties."
William frowned slightly: "Some of these monsters look very much like humans. Are they creatures that originally existed here? Is it really completely impossible to communicate with them?"
Regarding this point, Austin expressed that he was unclear. He merely stated that these monsters were like killing machines, harboring a deep thirst for blood.
Subsequently, he brought up the generators again.
"To leave the current area, you must light up all three generators in the location, and lost holy relics are the items that can provide them with energy..."
According to Austin, their main task every day was to search for these holy artifacts in this area.
As soon as they gained something, they would immediately head to the vicinity of the generators.
But not all holy relics would work.
To truly and continuously light up those three machines, one must possess a holy relic of at least a hundred-year vintage; lacking even a single year wouldn't do.
And when holy relics below this quality were placed into the generators, the previously mentioned special abilities would appear.
Faster movement speed, early warning of danger, and even ocular powers capable of finding special terrain... "...No one knows where this ability comes from, but this is one of the few methods that can be used to counter the Sweepers."
William rubbed his chin. It seemed these lost holy relics were the key to solving the problem. Then, he realized another issue.
"Lighting up these generators will only open the gate to another area, but aren't there Sweepers there too? Since that's the case, why..."
Austin smiled bitterly: "There is no other way."
"These areas will produce magma that destroys everything at regular intervals, and only Sweepers can endure that kind of environment."
"And between the two areas behind the gate, there is a buffer zone; that is the only safe zone. We can only survive if we reach there within the stipulated time, and then a new round begins..."
William frowned.
This was simply a morbid escape game, driving people into despair step by step.
"...But there is also a rumor. It's said that behind a certain gate lies a passage to truly escape this place." Austin felt a sense of longing.
"Although I've never seen it, this is at least a hope."
"When will the regional magma appear next?" William quickly grasped the main point.
"Generally, it's on a five-day cycle, and today is already the third day."
"Time is a bit tight..." William thought inwardly.
But Austin delivered another piece of bad news: "So far, we haven't even lit up a single generator, and we haven't even found a hundred-year vintage holy relic."
Speaking of this, he had a helpless face.
"With every area change, the Sweepers inside might also change..."
New enemies meant the unknown, which meant all past experiences could become invalid.
"To figure out the characteristics of the Sweepers, we must come into close contact with them, and this requires filling the gap with human lives..."
According to Austin's account, their team originally had over a hundred Holy Clergy Members, but now only a dozen or so remained.
"This is also our first time encountering this Chainsaw Butcher, and we lost several more people because of it, which is why our progress has been slowed."
Austin said, patting the young man named Dylan from earlier.
"We are all very sad about Winnie's death, but right now, you are the only one who can deal with that monster. We cannot let her sacrifice be in vain."
Dylan's eyes instantly reddened upon hearing this, and his fists were clenched tightly.
Lynn quietly whispered in William's ear: "The relationship between those two... was not ordinary."
Although she didn't state it explicitly, William already understood.
In this kind of place where one could lose their life at any moment, so-called rules weren't important at all.
He then looked at Dylan again: "Just now you said only this brother can deal with it, meaning..."
Austin nodded: "Dylan has Bone Manifestation. In this space, the physical practice progress still remains..."
William immediately understood.
"It seems I'm not the only one like this."
Thinking of this, he stood up.
"Everyone, time is tight right now. We must hurry and find a hundred-year vintage holy artifact. For the upcoming operations, I might need the help of this Mr... Dylan."
But as soon as his voice fell, dissenting voices arose from the surroundings.
"This isn't the Vatican. It doesn't seem to be your turn to be the leader."
"Yeah, if you can use a teleportation holy relic to take us out, that's another story."
"If you want to be the shot-caller, you must at least prove your worth. I don't want to die in vain."
"..."
Even Dylan stared coldly at William.
After all, from the other party's perspective, Lynn indeed only brought back a stranger and lost her good friend Winnie.
"No insolence!" Austin stopped the crowd.
"Father William is only trying to help. To escape this godforsaken place, everyone must work together."
He leaned closer as he spoke.
"Father William... is there really no way to use that teleportation holy relic?"
William's eyes flickered, thinking inwardly: "It seems this Bishop Austin still harbors a strong hope of escaping this place."
But outwardly, he still shook his head: "I have already tried, otherwise I would have used it long ago."
Hearing this, obvious disappointment flashed across Austin's face.
"Since that's the case, then brother, don't put on these airs of a 'Church Envoy'," one person said.
"Obey orders and do things as required; only then will you be qualified to receive food."
The atmosphere of the scene was somewhat stiff for a moment.
William's face was calm.
Although this person spoke harshly, judging from their current situation, it was understandable.
However, William neither needed to consider food supplies nor planned to wait slowly.
But before he could speak, Lynn beat him to it: "Earlier, Father William stalled Bubba the Butcher for 30 minutes, which is why I was able to escape."
As soon as her voice fell, low gasps of surprise sounded all around.
"Is this true? He also has Bone Manifestation?"
"That monster is so fast, even Dylan can only hold on for a few minutes."
William smiled slightly and immediately stated the characteristics of Bubba the Butcher that he had observed.
Austin's eyes instantly lit up: "This information is very important. I didn't expect you really held on for so long."
He paced back and forth.
"This way, we can reduce the number of people coming into contact with the Butcher and focus more energy on finding holy relics."
Austin stopped in front of William, his tone exhilarating: "Father William, welcome to join us."
Not long after, at the edge of a certain cornfield.
"Look, that is the generator," Austin said.
William followed the direction he pointed and sure enough, he found a dark red piece of mechanical equipment.
Its design looked old. There was a depression on the main body, and a very long metal pipe extended upwards, connecting to four light bulbs at the top.
At this moment, all these light bulbs were extinguished.
"As long as you place the lost holy relic into the groove, you can light up the bulbs at the top," Austin explained in a low voice.
"If it is a hundred-year vintage holy artifact, it can keep the bulbs lit constantly; otherwise, they will only last for a period of time."
"The main task today is to search around this generator to see if we can find any lost holy artifacts."
William nodded upon hearing this.
He looked around; the vicinity was almost entirely farmland, without any obstacles in between.
Once Bubba the Butcher appeared, they could only rely on the cornstalks to hide, which was too high a risk.
He looked at the few people beside him and immediately spoke: "Gathering together like this is very dangerous. If we really run into that monster's chainsaw, multiple people might be injured at once."
Austin nodded: "You are very thoughtful. I was just about to have them spread out."
"Merely spreading out is not enough." William pointed around.
"Based on my previous contact with that monster, I judge that the heartbeat sound is very likely an early warning. And right now we have many people, which can be perfectly utilized."
Austin and Lynn looked at each other, not quite understanding.
"Have everyone spread out a bit more. Once someone hears the heartbeat, they can warn the others in advance."
"But..." Austin showed a look of hesitation, "Wouldn't that also alert the Butcher?"
William pointed at the crows on the distant wall: "As long as we agree on a secret signal and imitate their sounds, it will be fine."
"These crows are creatures native to the Land of the Holy War. The Butcher must be accustomed to their sounds by now."
As soon as his voice fell, both Austin and Lynn's eyes lit up.
William said: "However, this hasn't been verified after all. Once danger is encountered, the person giving the warning must still flee immediately."
"This is already enough!" Austin nodded repeatedly. "Father William, you truly have experience in this area!"
William smiled slightly: "It's not complicated. It's just that you have been in this dangerous environment for a long time, so you didn't think of it for a moment, that's all."
"You're too modest." Austin felt much more confident inwardly and immediately turned to give instructions.
Before long, the dozen or so Holy Clergy Members had already dispersed.
Only William, Austin, and Lynn were left around the generator.
"The locations of lost holy artifacts are not fixed, but the area beside the generator is a priority search area. After all, someone else might have found one and didn't have time to use it..."
Austin explained some search experience, but William looked at a field ridge beside them.
A faint glow emanated from the dirt mound there, making it unusually conspicuous in this area.
The former led Lynn closer to the generator.
William, however, walked towards the glowing spot.
Before long, he indeed dug up a hard object. Picking it up, it was a pitch-black crucifix with a relief sculpture of the Son of God on it.
"Judging from the strength of the spirit particle runes... it seems to be of fifty-year vintage quality." William raised an eyebrow.
If this were outside, it would be a treasure everyone fought over; even he would be tempted.
But in a place like the Land of the Holy War... it was still somewhat lacking.
William stood up.
At this moment, everyone else, including the two beside the generator, was still burying their heads in the search, seemingly finding nothing.
Just as he was about to call out, a crow's caw suddenly rang out in the distance.
"Three short, two long... It's the Butcher!" William's gaze turned sharp.
The others also immediately hid.
Before long, the crowd indeed heard a rapid heartbeat.
At the same time, there seemed to be cries for help.
"Don't chase me! I wasn't sleeping! Take off your mask and look, I wasn't sleeping!!"
"Idiot, this guy isn't an evil spirit."
Two figures suddenly dashed out from the toppled cornstalks.
"It's him." William narrowed his eyes.
Among the two being chased, one of them was exactly Ruen.
But at this moment, this illegitimate son of the Bishop had a panicked face, and even the last trace of confidence from that day had disappeared.
And behind them, Bubba the Butcher had already revved his chainsaw.
"Dodge!" Vera Clouseau shoved Ruen away, retreating to the side herself.
In the next moment, the roaring chainsaw passed between the two.
Ruen rolled on the ground a few times, his whole body aching.
Before he could even stand up, his sister's voice rang out behind him again: "Run!"
He jerked his head back, met with a glaring red light.
Ruen's throat rolled, and for a moment, he couldn't muster any strength in his legs.
And the broad chainsaw had already started up again.
Vrrrr—
The chain roared as it hacked downward, and a sticky, wet sound was quickly heard.
"Sis!" Ruen's pupils trembled.
Vera's figure suddenly appeared before him. Spitting blood, she used her last bit of strength to push Ruen.
"Id... idiot, you are the only one in the family... with double Brands. Only you can make Clou..."
Thud!
Before she could finish, she pitched forward onto the ground.
Ruen froze in place, actually forgetting to move for a moment.
At this time, a massive force suddenly came from his arm, and his entire person was yanked into the cornstalks.
"I-it's you!" Ruen finally recovered, looking at the familiar person in front of him.
William placed a finger over his lips.
Then Ruen realized something and struggled to get up.
But William held him down and whispered: "Don't be anxious, your companion isn't dead yet."
"Not dead?" Ruen looked confused.
Being hacked by a chainsaw at that angle, how could it be possible...
William immediately explained in a low voice: "In this space, unless it's a special circumstance, everyone has two chances to be struck down..."
This was also one of the rules Austin had told him.
In the vast majority of cases, as long as you have never been slashed by a Sweeper before, you will not die no matter how severe the first injury is.
And these monsters will only hang you on a meat hook.
As soon as his voice fell, Bubba the Butcher indeed hoisted Vera onto his shoulder and walked towards a wooden post.
A moment later, a mournful, bloodcurdling scream pierced the sky.
But Ruen actually breathed a sigh of relief.
The fact that his sister could scream so painfully proved William's words were true.
Otherwise, with an injury of that level, it would be impossible to be as "lively" as she was right now.
After recovering, Ruen finally looked at William.
His lips trembled, his eyes brimming with tears.
William was instantly startled and took a step back.
Then Ruen wrapped his whole body around him.
"I finally found you! I haven't dared to close my eyes for a single day during this time; those evil spirits have been constantly tormenting me!" Ruen choked out.
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