Chapter 294: The Farmer and the Electricity Thief (Part 1)
Not long ago.
Just as the group stepped into the void fissure, they were swept up by a powerful cluster of light and plummeted rapidly in a certain direction.
During this time, William also saw other Holy Clergy Members; their situations were similar to his.
Originally, the clusters of light were heading in roughly the same direction.
But halfway through, the power within the void passage suddenly became extremely unstable.
The light clusters carrying the Holy Clergy Members were scattered, flying off in different directions.
Not only that, just before crashing into the ground, the light cluster William was in suffered another impact.
As a result, he was jolted out, separated from the two nuns, and finally plunged into a patch of dense fog.
Fortunately, only the process was perilous; William did not suffer any substantial physical harm.
After brushing the dirt off his clothes, he finally began to take in his surroundings.
"Where is this..."
William looked around and found himself standing in a farmland. The withered, yellow cornstalks were much taller than a grown adult and grew in dense patches across the field, making it impossible to tell directions.
Aside from that, the raised ridges of the field and the faint smell of fertilizer in the air...
These sights briefly made William suspect that he had transmigrated yet again.
"Is this the Land of the Holy War?"
He scanned the area but found nothing related to the Church, nor did he see those guys from the Wings of Vengeance.
Thinking of this, he suddenly reached for the backpack behind him.
"The holy artifacts are all here, but..." William quickly narrowed his eyes.
At this moment, most of the holy artifacts he had brought had lost their Holy Power.
No! More accurately, they were restricted by some kind of force.
Only that hundred-year vintage holy artifact was still emitting a faint glow. It seemed that items of this caliber inherently possessed a certain level of special resistance.
William carefully tucked the holy relic away; this was his life-saving trump card.
Subsequently, he opened bottles of Holy Water of various vintages. The contents were still there and showed no signs of pollution.
However, the spirit particles within them seemed to have been sealed by an isolation magic array, unable to interact with this space.
The other holy artifacts exhibited the same situation.
And William himself experienced a similar anomaly.
Right now, the Holy Power within his body remained stagnant. No matter how he tried to drive it, the power gave no response.
William frowned tightly.
This meant that if he encountered evil spirits or demons next, he would have lost his means to deal with them.
He then tried to use Holy Arts, but the situation remained unchanged.
Fortunately, the physical strength he had gained after practicing the "Skin" stage was still there; otherwise, he would have truly been reduced to an ordinary human.
Only now did William truly comprehend the danger of this place.
Regardless of what status, background, or powerful strength one possessed outside, none of it made any difference here.
But there was still some good news.
William looked at the text surfacing before his eyes; his system panel still existed.
Although abilities like [Envoy of Sin] couldn't be confirmed since there was no target to use them on right now.
But the power of [Divine Eye Seal] was still active, which was how William discovered the anomalies within himself and the holy artifacts.
He looked around. In the mid-air far away, there were many different energy fluctuations.
Those were exactly countless tiny runes composed of spirit particles, just difficult to discern their structures due to the distance.
But this at least proved one thing—supernatural power indeed existed in this space.
William put the holy artifacts back into his bag.
Although the goal this time was to rescue people and find the "Ten Commandments Stele," the useful information at hand was simply too scarce to know where to begin.
Therefore, William decided to explore the nearby area first. If he could run into other Holy Clergy Members, he might be able to find some useful clues.
Having made up his mind, he set off in the direction of a spirit particle fluctuation.
Along the way, there were new discoveries.
Besides the cornstalks visible everywhere, William also passed by some wooden cabins.
However, these houses had been abandoned for a long time. Aside from some red wooden lockers inside, there was nothing else, and even the wooden floorboards had split open.
Various signs indicated that this place seemed to be a farm.
But it was somewhat different from the farms William knew.
For example, he also saw many wooden walls at the edge of the cornfield.
These things formed a small campsite, and at the entrance passage lay wooden pallets taller than a person.
Inside the campsite, there were campfires burning, but there were no traces of human habitation around, making it look extremely out of place.
But what caught William's attention the most was another object inside the campsite—an iron meat hook.
The main body of this thing was divided into two parts.
One was a wooden post, over two meters high, carved with some meaningless patterns.
The remaining part was a giant iron hook. It was pitch-black all over, with faint traces of dark red remaining on the surface, looking like some kind of torture device.
Above the iron hook, there were claw-like appendages, looking very much like spider legs.
William didn't know what this thing was used for, but from his perspective, he could see a black beam of light emerging from the top of the iron hook, extending all the way to the sky above.
And up there, a massive expanse of pitch-black dense fog was entrenched, looking extremely mysterious.
Just as he was planning to study it, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside the campsite.
He narrowed his eyes and immediately slipped into a red wooden locker nearby.
A moment later.
Two nuns wearing black robes appeared outside the campsite.
"Sister Lynn, this place is so remote, there couldn't possibly be any lost holy artifacts here," one of them lowered her voice and said.
"Winnie, the scattered locations of the holy artifacts are not fixed. Harlan previously found an eight-year vintage holy artifact in a dirt mound," the nun called Lynn spoke.
"Lost holy artifacts... Lynn..." William narrowed his eyes, pondering inwardly.
Before long, the two figures quietly sneaked into the campsite.
"It really is her." William's eyes lit up.
Through the slats, he saw a familiar face; the other party was exactly the nun who had traded clues about the Saint's Remains with William before.
"What a pity... it's just an ordinary campsite, not even a generator here," Winnie was slightly disappointed.
"But at least the terrain here is good," Lynn said, scanning the surroundings.
"An L-shaped corridor, plus two windows. If we encounter a Sweeper, our chances of survival are very high."
Winnie also nodded: "It's just that the surroundings are relatively open, with no other obstacles. If we really want to escape, we can only dive into the cornfield."
Inside the wooden locker, William listened, growing increasingly confused.
"Sweeper, generators, obstacles... what exactly are they talking about..."
At this time, Lynn spoke again: "Hurry up and search the perimeter. If we don't find a wooden chest, we evacuate."
"Although this place is remote, a Sweeper might still pass by."
"Okay!"
The two immediately began searching the campsite.
The nun named Winnie walked toward the outer walls, while Lynn walked straight toward the wooden locker where William was hiding.
Just as the latter was pondering whether to show himself, a sound similar to an electric drill suddenly rang out in the distance.
Outside the wooden locker, Lynn instantly dropped to the ground, her face full of terror.
Thump... Thump-thump... At the same time, William also faintly heard a heartbeat.
This sound came from far to near. At first, it was just a slow beat, but then it grew faster and faster, and the sound became clear, as if it was right next to his ear, giving an extremely strong sense of urgency.
William frowned tightly, judging the direction the sound was coming from.
At this time, Winnie also returned from the outside. She crouched on the ground, crawling towards Lynn on her hands and knees.
"I found some medical supplies," she displayed a small bag in her hand, printed with a white cross logo.
But Lynn's heart sank: "Oh no."
Seeing Winnie's puzzled expression, the former explained in a low voice: "If a Sweeper is chasing other surviving Holy Clergy Members, that person will definitely use the terrain here to escape."
"Once the other party discovers there's an opened wooden chest here, they will definitely suspect there are others around."
She bit her lip as she spoke.
"This way, the other party might use us to draw the Sweeper's attention."
Winnie opened her mouth wide: "What... what do we do then? Should we run now?"
By this time, the heartbeat sound was extremely close, and the sharp mechanical revving sounded again.
"It's too late!"
Lynn suddenly pulled Winnie over, crouching against a wall with a window.
It happened to be directly opposite the wooden locker.
In the next moment, a man covered in blood and filth vaulted in through the window.
As he landed, a chainsaw hacked into the window sill behind him.
Clatter-clatter-clatter... The chainsaw stopped running as a result.
"Ugh... Ah..."
The man didn't dare to linger, hurriedly running to one side, completely failing to notice the two nuns by his feet.
After he left, a bright red light shone through from the outside of the window.
Immediately after, a tall figure appeared there.
A deathly pale leather mask, a bright yellow butcher's apron stained with blood and filth, and... a massive chainsaw.
William immediately recognized the other party—Bubba, the Chainsaw Killer from Texas.
"Could this be his farm..."
But before he could think further, a large foot suddenly stepped through the window.
Seeing this, Lynn and Winnie trembled all over. They covered their mouths tightly, not daring to make the slightest sound.
Taking only a second, this butcher vaulted through the window.
But he didn't leave immediately; instead, he stood rigidly in place.
The red light shone directly onto the wooden locker, and the rapid heartbeat was suffocating.
William even felt that the other party was staring right at him.
Just as he was preparing to do something, Bubba opposite him moved.
However, he headed in the completely opposite direction from that man.
Vrrrr— The sound of the chainsaw rang out again, and the massive body actually dashed out in an instant.
Accompanied by a miserable scream, the man from earlier fell to the ground.
However, the other party didn't die immediately, but crawled forward with all his might.
But such speed obviously couldn't facilitate an escape.
A large foot stepped on the man's back, and then the chainsaw was revved.
"No... I can't die here... Who is nearby! Please save me!"
Despair flashed in the man's eyes.
Hearing a squelch, the chainsaw pierced through the man's chest, and a spray of bloody gore splattered onto the ground.
"Ahhhhh—"
A heart-wrenching scream echoed across the sky.
That man died almost instantly, but the chainsaw monster still didn't stop.
Inside the wooden locker, William took a deep breath.
He knew this was the best time to escape.
Otherwise, once those two nuns made a noise while fleeing, the wooden locker he was in would become extremely conspicuous.
Thinking of this, William gently pushed open the locker door.
Lynn opposite him was clearly startled.
After clearly seeing the face of the person inside the locker, a trace of pleasant surprise flashed in her eyes.
William placed a finger over his lips, signaling to leave quietly.
The two nuns nodded, understanding his meaning almost instantly.
William stealthily crept toward a side passage; this was the evacuation route he had planned long ago. Outside connected to the cornfield, and the tall stalks were excellent cover.
The revving sound of the chainsaw masked the footsteps of the three.
Right now, if this monster merely turned its head slightly, it would see three humans crouching on the ground.
"Five meters..."
"Two meters..."
William silently calculated the distance.
Finally, he reached the edge of the farmland.
But at the exact same time, the chainsaw sound abruptly stopped.
With almost zero hesitation, William sprinted into the cornfield with all his might.
Lynn followed closely behind.
Only Sister Winnie, out of curiosity, turned her head back to check the situation.
But what greeted her was a glaring red light.
Vrrrr— The revving sound of the chain awakened her from her stupor, and Winnie scrambled and crawled into the cornfield.
But Bubba the Butcher was obviously faster.
"Winnie!" Lynn exclaimed involuntarily, her pupils instantly widening.
William immediately determined that the other party couldn't be saved.
Just now, he had seen this monster's speed after revving the chainsaw.
Unless it was before he lost his Holy Power, William might have had the confidence to be faster than the other party.
And things turned out exactly as he expected.
Before Winnie could run two steps, Bubba the Butcher caught up to her.
In the moment before the chainsaw closed in, the nun also unfortunately slipped on her feet.
But the expected bloody scene didn't occur. The chainsaw almost grazed right past Winnie's shoulder, only truly stopping several meters away.
William raised an eyebrow.
Relying on the ability of his eyes, he noticed a detail.
"After revving the chainsaw, this monster's ability to change direction seems very limited..."
At this time, Jolan's reminder in his letter echoed in William's mind again—figure out the rules. "I think I understand a bit now..." He narrowed his eyes.
On the other side, Winnie stood up tremblingly, and then found herself completely unharmed.
"Lynn, I..." Her face was full of the relief of surviving a disaster.
"Idiot! Why are you standing there!"
Winnie suddenly heard the shout of that unfamiliar man, and her good friend Lynn also looked anxious.
An ominous premonition instantly arose in her heart.
Before she could react, a shadow had already appeared above her head.
In the vision of the two people opposite her, Bubba the Butcher was only a few centimeters away from Winnie.
Just as the latter was preparing to turn her head, a small mallet stained with blood and filth was raised high.
Subsequently, it smashed ruthlessly onto the top of Winnie's head.
Crack! Winnie's entire forehead caved in, and a smooth pillar of blood flowed down the bridge of her nose.
"Ly..."
Thud! Winnie fell forward, her limbs twitching uncontrollably, but a trace of breath still remained.
"Winnie!" Lynn sobbed, immediately about to charge forward.
But William pulled her back: "Do you want to die too."
"No... no..." Lynn was already on the verge of breaking down.
"Winnie... Winnie has already gone down for the second time. If we don't save her..."
William faintly detected the extra information within this sentence, but there was no spare time to think right now.
And opposite them, Bubba the Butcher revved his chainsaw once again.
William no longer hesitated, forcefully dragging Lynn away.
Almost at the exact moment the two turned around, a harsh, sticky sound came from behind them.
William didn't choose to run in a straight line; instead, he ran in an "S" shaped route, making wide circles while keeping a close eye on the movements behind him.
"Just now at the campsite, you mentioned 'our campsite'. Is it safe there?" he asked aloud.
Lynn aside had long since cried her face messy, but hearing William's question, she still spoke while sobbing.
"It's... relatively safe there. It's some distance from here, but we can't lead the Butcher there."
William instantly understood the other party's meaning—no matter where they went, they might die!
"What a terrible place..."
At this time, the sound the two least wanted to hear rang out again.
The surrounding heartbeat also abruptly quickened.
William yanked Lynn over, changing direction right before he saw the chainsaw.
And the roaring chain indeed hacked down on their previous position a second later.
William didn't make Winnie's mistake.
The very first moment after turning the corner, he pulled Lynn and looked back, running towards the direction they had just come from.
The continuous changes in direction caused Lynn to trip over her own feet, her entire body crashing face-first into William's arm.
Fortunately, there were "cushions" blocking the way in between.
On the other side.
While the two were running back, Bubba the Butcher had just finished his previous attack.
He instinctively drew his hand axe (mallet) and swung it toward the direction the two had turned.
This strike flowed smoothly and was extremely fast.
But a moment later, the hand axe hit nothing but air.
Bubba the Butcher immediately paused for a moment.
He raised his head; there was absolutely no shadow of the two preys in front of him.
Only the cornstalks in the field swaying gently.
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