Chapter 183: Target Located
Gideon pulled away the cloth blindfold covering Jenny's eyes.
The girl lowered her head. Compared to the photograph, she looked even more striking in person—fair skin, delicate features, and a quiet grace that stood in stark contrast to the blood-soaked scene around them.
Jenny also glanced at the priest before her.
Seeing that he was a young, handsome man—and recalling their earlier contact—she quickly turned her head away. Yet after a moment, she couldn't help sneaking a few glances back at him.
"Are you injured? Or were you forced to take any drugs or poison?"
Gideon asked while untying the ropes around her wrists and ankles.
If she couldn't move freely, he would have to switch to his backup plan.
Fortunately, aside from being dirty and disheveled, Jenny showed no signs of physical distress.
Gideon nodded, signaling for her to hide in the nearby woods, while he quietly moved toward the boiling pot.
Looking at the cooked flesh inside, his brows knitted together.
He desperately wanted to destroy the entire pot—but for now, it still had a use.
"Rest in peace, suffering soul.
With your mortal remains, I shall cleanse these evildoers.
May you depart with my blessing. Amen."
Gideon traced a cross over his chest and silently recited a prayer for the dead.
Almost instantly, a soft white glow bloomed within the pot.
A man's soul drifted upward from the steam—his expression twisted at first, then gradually calming under the blessing.
Carried by the rising heat, the spirit ascended into the distant sky.
After watching it fade away, Gideon took out two bottles of thirty-year holy water from inside his coat, popped the corks, and poured them into the pot.
---
On the hillside,
Leia's forehead was already slick with sweat.
The mountain men roared incessantly, drawing closer with every moment. She had no idea what they were saying and could only keep threatening them to hold them at bay.
During this time, she noticed Gideon's actions and immediately understood his plan.
One of the mountain men tilted its head slightly, as if sensing something amiss.
And there was the priest—pouring something into the pot.
If this continued, he would be discovered.
Leia didn't dare hesitate. She shouted the first dramatic line that came to mind:
"Even if the whole world stands against me, I will fight to protect you—this is what it means to be a companion!"
As she spoke, she swung her cross-shaped longsword, kicking up a spray of dirt that struck the mountain man who had been turning its head.
The provocation worked.
With furious howls, the mountain men charged up the slope.
Leia remembered Gideon's final instruction before leaving—when things go wrong, run.
Red light wrapped around her legs.
With a thunderous bang, she shot forward like a cannonball, cracking the ground beneath her feet.
The mountain men screeched and gave chase, their speed shockingly close to hers.
---
Gideon froze for a moment.
He had heard Leia's declaration as well.
"So she's actually that loyal…"
He rubbed his nose, feeling a faint twinge of guilt.
After finishing the "preparation," and with the camp now completely deserted, he placed several holy relics around the area as contingencies.
Only then did he return to the wooden rack.
But Jenny was still lying there.
"What's wrong?" Gideon asked, thinking something had happened.
"I… I haven't walked in a long time," Jenny said softly, pointing at her legs, embarrassed.
Gideon immediately understood.
He turned around without hesitation. "I'll carry you."
She had been captured over ten days ago—there was no doubt she had suffered greatly during that time.
He was also aware of certain implications, but tactfully chose not to bring them up.
"You're thinking that I survived all these days because I ate… that kind of meat, aren't you?"
Her gentle voice reached his ear.
"We'll talk about it once we're out," Gideon replied calmly.
"I didn't eat it."
Jenny pulled a necklace from around her neck. Hanging from it was a small hollow metal sphere.
"This was my mother's keepsake. It allows a person to survive without food—but only for one month. After that, all the missing nourishment has to be made up."
Her tone carried a hint of stubborn pride.
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
Anyone who possessed such an item clearly didn't come from an ordinary background.
Neither Jenny nor Jack were simple hikers.
"You've suffered enough," Gideon said gently. "Let's go home."
"…Mm."
Jenny answered softly, tightening her arms around his neck.
With a few swift movements, Gideon leapt up into the treetops.
"Thank you… I'm not too heavy, am I?" Jenny whispered.
"Much lighter than this bag of holy relics," Gideon replied, patting his pack.
He then extended his senses outward.
Before long, he detected the mountain men in one direction.
They were carrying an infant—the very one he had handed to Leia.
Gideon narrowed his eyes.
Just behind them, he sensed Leia's presence as well.
"Looks like she has a few tricks of her own," he thought quietly.
Below, a female mountain men cradled the infant in her arms and pried its mouth open with a finger.
Before long, she pulled out clumps of mud and bits of twigs.
"…Mew?"
The female mountain men was clearly irritated.
After returning to the camp, they quickly gathered around the cooking pot, still unaware that Jenny was gone.
The one in charge of cooking portioned out the food, and the creatures sat around a long table.
What followed made Gideon freeze in surprise.
Hand in hand, the mountain men actually began praying before the meal.
Even if the Lord heard your prayers, He wouldn't answer them, alright?!
If anyone deserves prayers, it's the food on that table!
After the bizarre ritual ended, the mountain men began eating. Even the infant was given a finger.
But not long after consuming the meat, something went wrong.
The camp erupted with the clatter of overturned bowls and utensils.
The mountain men collapsed to the ground, emitting agonized hisses.
The flesh around their necks shriveled rapidly—some had already begun to disintegrate.
The infant mountain men was affected as well.
Its physical body was too weak; purification spread instantly, and in the blink of an eye it turned to ash.
That soul, unfortunate enough to be born into the wrong body, had committed no evil of its own—
so it suffered no torment.
Eating mud didn't count.
The adult mountain men struggled desperately, but they didn't even know who their enemy was.
Gideon observed calmly from a distance.
They were in a frenzy now—this was not the time to strike.
From another thicket, Leia stared at the scene in shock.
She didn't know what the priest had put into the pot, but given the mountain men' terrifying physiques, ordinary poison should have been useless.
Yet she clearly sensed an exceptionally pure energy.
"…Holy relics."
She quickly grasped the truth—and was even more shaken by it.
These were methods she herself could never achieve.
After a while, every mountain men lay on the ground.
They were forced to expend all their strength resisting the holy power within them—
fail to do so, and they would instantly be reduced to dust.
Only then did Gideon step into the camp.
Several mountain men tried to attack, but they couldn't even stand.
Without hesitation, Gideon drew out his exorcism scripture.
> "In the name of the Father and the Son—
Your Word shaped the world;
Your Light cleanses the filth hidden in the darkest channels…"
As his voice echoed, dazzling light gathered across the camp, accelerating the purification.
Moments later, only skeletal remains were left on the ground.
Leia's eyes shone.
She recognized this—ritual exorcism.
To encounter such a high-ranking cleric here was unbelievable.
But before she could celebrate, dense black mist surged out from the camp.
Gideon frowned.
The mountain men were gone—but this power was clearly flowing in from the forest itself.
He retreated instantly, pulling back to a safe distance.
When he looked again, the black mist coiled around the bones.
Moments later, flesh regenerated over them.
However, these forms were empty—walking corpses without life.
At the same time, the path behind them was swallowed by thick black fog, even blotting out the sky.
Leia quickly appeared beside Gideon.
"What's the plan now?" she asked.
Gideon thought rapidly.
He could purify the mist—but it would take time.
And these reanimated mountain men were clearly more dangerous than before.
Staying here was not an option.
"Do you have any ideas?" he asked, turning to her.
Leia hesitated, then said,
"I have a way out of the forest—but we'll have to pass through the third layer first."
She took out a leaf of unusual shape.
"This is a Guiding Leaf. It points toward the presence of holy spirits."
She indicated the direction the leaf tip was pointing.
"I placed a Sacred Spirit Bone over there. Follow it, and you can leave the forest."
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
She was clearly steering him toward the third layer—for reasons unknown.
But that was where he intended to go anyway.
Before entering the forest, he had already prepared an escape route on the opposite side.
After a brief pause, he nodded.
By now, the mountain men had fully restored their bodies.
Low growls rumbled from their throats as they locked onto the two of them.
Gideon and Leia vanished at once.
Gideon leapt into the treetops, hoisted Jenny over his shoulder, and kicked off hard—
shooting forward like an arrow.
Almost the instant he left, a jet-black claw slammed viciously into the tree trunk.
Crack!
The massive tree split apart, dust billowing through the forest.
"Looks like I'll need to pick up the pace," Gideon muttered, glancing back.
Elsewhere, Leia narrowly avoided an ambush.
She was about to regroup with Gideon when she saw dozens of mountain men closing in.
If she kept moving forward, she'd drag him into the encirclement as well.
After only a moment's thought, she shouted,
"I'll draw them away—meet me in the third layer!"
Without waiting for a reply, she turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.
Red light erupted around her as her speed surged; in a few flashes, she was already far away.
Gideon paused briefly.
She was likely being targeted because of her earlier provocations.
"Head for the altar!" he shouted.
But her figure had already disappeared.
If her goals don't conflict with mine, he thought, I'll help if I can…
Meanwhile, mountain men were closing in on his side as well.
There weren't many, but with Jenny in tow, Gideon couldn't fight freely.
He immediately chose another route and retreated.
According to the spirits' guidance, there should be another altar in that direction.
About ten minutes later—
A black shadow slammed heavily into the ground.
Gideon scanned the area, his eyes lighting up.
At the same time, a patrol of mountain men emerged from the bushes.
The moment they spotted a living human, they screeched and charged.
Behind them, the reanimated mountain men corpses closed in as well.
In an instant, Gideon and Jenny were surrounded.
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