Chapter 1183: Sacrifice
"Here it is," Sir Youlong said in a hushed voice.
The party observed the surroundings cautiously by looking through the ventilation duct. They found themselves in a large plant, where a few overhead bridge cranes were hanging on either side of the wall. Below lay nothing but some dilapidated machine tools and rusty conveyor belts covered in dust. Apparently, the plant owner had removed every piece of usable equipment before he had shut the plant down.
The empty factory, however, was now lit by several torches, with their dazzling, greenish-white flames dancing around in the darkness. These torches were set in a circle, and there were around twenty distorted shadows in the middle.
"Are those shadows our targets?" asked Luo Hua.
"Most likely," one of the traditional martialists replied. "I can sense their fluctuating power, which tells me that these people are at the last stage of transitioning."
The last stage referred to a stage where the humans would completely lose their humanity and consciousness, thus becoming corrupted puppet. Fallen Evils at this stage only acted on their instincts like animals, as they lost all the communication ability they once had.
"They used to be... martialists?"
"Not necessarily. Although there were some fallen martialists according to the a.s.sociation"s records, generally speaking, amateurs are more p.r.o.ne to corruption."
"It"s my first time seeing a living Fallen Evil, but regardless, a martialist lack of self-discipline and proactivity is, in every aspect, useless," Luo Hua snorted with utmost contempt. "Pathetic... they don"t deserve the Force of Nature. Captain, let"s do this."
"Wait a minute," Sir Youlong stopped Luo Hua calmly. "It appears that more Fallen Evils are coming here. Wait until they"ve all gathered so that we can kill them all in one go. But, don"t you feel that this is strange? These Fallen Evils are all in their last stages. Why didn"t they go kill the amateurs? Why did they come here? I have a feeling that things aren"t as simple as we thought. Perhaps, we should first find out their intentions rather than killing them all outright."
While everyone was exchanging opinions, Roland stole a glance at Fei Yuhan.
That unexpected "Your Majesty" seemed to be still ringing in his ears.
Within a few seconds, turbulent emotions had flooded through Roland. He had not been so perturbed by someone over the past few years since his ascendence to the throne.
At first, Roland had thought it was Elena calling him and he had almost responded, but he had swallowed his words at the last minute. If Fei Yuhan was really Elena"s incarnation, she would not have introduced herself in the first place and taken the seat beside him so carefreely.
The abrupt change from joy to disappointment was almost as painful as the grief itself. As he recollected himself in the next few minutes, he soon figured out why Fei Yuhan had addressed him like this. Garcia had told him that martialists were usually acute observers, particularly for those gifted ones. As Fei Yuhan had attended the party held by the Clover Group, she must have overheard his conversation with the witches.
The next question was — how much did Fei Yuhan know about him?
Roland judged that she probably did not know much at this stage, considering how she was still testing him. At least, she didn"t know anything about the other world yet. However, this was alarming to Roland, since no one would want to know that he was only fictional and only existed in dreams. Once the secret about this Dream World was known to someone, the consequences would be disastrous.
Garcia was right. He needed to be extra cautious when dealing with Fei Yuhan.
"Mhm? Look, the new Fallen Evil... looks a little different than the others." At that moment, a voice from the headset interrupted Roland"s train of thought. "It seems that it"s commanding the other Fallen Evils."
Roland took off his goggles and looked toward the center of the plant through the ventilation. He saw a group of Fallen Evils slowly walk in while carrying three cargo containers, all the while at the command of a man in a suit.
"Are they the Fallen Evils who have yet to completely lose their minds?" Sir Youlong mumbled in bewilderment. "What are they playing at?"
Several traditional martialists frowned. Compared with transformed Fallen Evils, those still in transitioning period were normally more difficult to deal with. At that stage, compa.s.sion and empathy had escaped them, but the dark side of human nature, such as subterfuge and shrewdness, remained. Typically, these Fallen Evils used to be well-established martialists.
"Shh — " Fei Yuhan suddenly spoke. "Be quiet. Something"s in those containers."
Everyone held their breath immediately.
After a while, Fei Yuhan said heavily, "There are people… inside."
"What?"
"I heard someone crying and pleading. It seems like they"re gagged."
"You"re saying that there are civilians in those containers?" Sir Youlong asked in surprise. "I"ve never seen anything like this before in the a.s.sociation"s records. Fallen Evils do kill often, but they don"t really pick on common people."
They looked at each other in confusion when suddenly, the commander of the Fallen Evils yelled, "It"s time, children! The divine will is approaching, and G.o.d is waiting for the sacrifices!"
"Grrrrr — " all the other Fallen Evils growled.
"Come. Let the power return to its source and let the Oracle grace continent with his presence once more!"
"Grrrr—"
"We"ll be reborn with the destruction of this world! Surrender everything to G.o.d. Let"s offer our sacrifice!"
The Fallen Evils produced an ear-splitting roar.
"d.a.m.n it, we have to act. Now," Sir Youlong said through clenched teeth. Although he had never heard Fallen Evils would perform human sacrifice or please the so-called G.o.d like some cults, they could not let innocent civilians die. In fact, as the mission of the Martialist a.s.sociation was protecting the world, it was more important to save lives than annihilating the Fallen Evils. "Let"s stay as close to the containers as possible to prevent these monsters from approaching them. It"s OK to let one or two go. I believe the other team will finish them off!"
Fei Yuhan nodded expressionlessly and darted out first.
The others followed at her heels and dashed toward the enemies.
The deserted plant was instantly stirred!
Caught unprepared, the Fallen Evils collapsed under the impact of the Force of Nature and paralyzed when their cores were detached from their bodies.
Roland was the last to act. He followed his team members while at the same time hiding his ability carefully. This was not his first time fighting Fallen Evils, so he was much more experienced than the others. Unlike those awakened martialists possessed of the Force of Nature, Roland did not need to throw himself into a fierce battle. Fallen Evils would immediately lose their power upon touching him and be at his mercy. Roland did not wish to touch those detached red cyclones either, otherwise everyone would see numerous cores rise into the air of their own accord.
Meanwhile, the bug on Roland"s shoulder trembled slightly, which indicated that Phyllis and the other witches had arrived. Supported by his witches, Roland felt more and more confident. He did not employ specific combat techniques, but he killed more Fallen Evils than anyone else except Fei Yuhan.
As the other team members were all focused on the containers, and Roland had been super cautious, n.o.body discovered his secret ability.
They soon reached the containers. Only a few of them were injured.
By that time, half of the Fallen Evils had been killed.
"Well, that"s easier than I thought," Luo Hua said as he shook off the blood on his hands, s.n.a.t.c.hed the lock, and broke it in half. "The a.s.sociation should have issued me a hunting license as well. Hey, don"t be afraid. The Martialist a.s.sociation is here to help — "
Luo Hua stopped dead.
The other members all took a step back.
There were dozens of people tied to several metal posts, their eyes blinded and mouths sealed, who groaned with fear in one of the containers. A cyclone suspended in midair above each of them.
Roland felt all the hair at the back of his neck stood up.
He suddenly remembered what Garcia had told him several months ago.
"These cyclones are where Fallen Evils gain their power. They"re signs of corruption. Once a person is corrupted, he loses his Force of Nature. If we don"t store away these cyclones, they"ll infect other people. Ordinary people will instantly lose their minds upon a single touch."
"Are you saying... that they can be transferred to multiple people?"
"That"s why some people are collecting them. That"s exactly what they"re thinking. Are they not afraid that they"ll destroy this world?"
"So... the Fallen Evils have been preparing over the past half a year just for this moment?"
Roland whipped his head around and stared at the leader of the Fallen Evils.
He dressed like a butler, wearing a pair of monocled spectacles, with his hair combed all the way to the back of his head. His suit crisp and his white gloves spotless. However, his face was now contorted with rage.
"We don"t necessarily need you to complete this human sacrifice. However, the more victims, the better. Don"t you think so?" With these words, he snapped his fingers.
The cyclones above the containers instantly dropped.
"No—!"
Luo Hua attempted to untie the prisoners. However, as they were so tightly packed in the container that it was impossible to rescue them without touching the suspending cyclone.
"Kill them, now!" a traditional martialist shouted.
"But... these are all civilians..." Luo Hua muttered.
Within a few seconds, those ordinary people had completed their transition to new Fallen Evils. Although they were not as strong as Fallen Evils that transformed from martialists, with so many of them, it was still quite dangerous.
The Fallen Evils then swarmed out of their container, and Luo Hua was soon drowned by the wave of the enemies.