The Choir, the upper echelon of the Healing Church.
Unlike Laurence, who sought the power of blood echoes, they accidentally discovered a way to communicate with the power of the Universe during their research into the great isz chalice.
However, they still belonged to the Healing Church. Besides those high-ranking Choir members who could place their hands on their heads and unleash Spells like a celestial maiden scattering flowers, the Healing Church still had other grassroots forces.
Wielding staffs, nearly three meters tall, and wearing white masks—these were the fodder forces within the Healing Church.
At least, after Goki arrived in Yharnam and encountered the Night of the Hunt, none of the Healing Church mobs Goki saw possessed sanity; every single one had completely succumbed to the madness of the hunt, constantly attacking Goki, the outsider.
No one knew why these Healing Church members had grown so tall.
Perhaps the blood of a Great One caused them to undergo a mutation similar to the Beast Scourge, or perhaps Yharnam truly had a giant race eight feet tall, but the fact was, these people were genuinely very tall and large.
"Heh, as expected, if you're going to copy, copy the whole set. Even the grunt mobs are copied."
In the dim underground catacombs, Goki held Nightingale in a princess carry, looking at the tall "giants" in gray trench coats who were striding towards him.
They held giant metal scepters in one hand and lanterns that emitted starlight for illumination in the other. Their faces were completely hidden by masks, and their clothes were emblazoned with the symbol of the Unification Sect.
And on their bodies, Goki smelled a strong scent of blood and a twisted power—during the half-month of purges, he had smelled this nauseating odor countless times.
"Just now, we were also attacked by these people. We dealt with a few of them. It seems their reinforcements have arrived. Even Goliath people wouldn't be this tall, unless they were Wendigo…"
Beside him, Shining silently drew her "staff" again, frowning as she looked at these fearless enemies. Then she shook her head, causing the shimmering, coral-like long horns on her head to sway.
"No, if they were Wendigo, I would have died just now—their bodies are exceptionally tough, almost impervious to pain, so a single fatal blow is necessary."
In Terra, there indeed existed various tall and mighty races that surpassed the average height of Earth humans. The Goliath, mentioned by Shining, were a common type of muscular Sarkaz.
The Wendigo, to which Patriot belonged, were also as massive as the white-faced figures before them, but their population was sparse, and serving as foreign mercenaries for the Ursus had depleted their manpower. If dozens of Wendigo truly came, even Skadi wouldn't be able to stop them and would only be able to flee.
"No, rest assured, these are just grunt mobs. Focus on increasing your attack power; we must use very heavy attacks to break them, and a more effective attack method is—"
Goki looked at the monsters, who said nothing but constantly accelerated, charging towards the group of people, and explained with a smile to Shining.
Though called grunt mobs, they were actually not easy to deal with. Their robust physiques—meaning light super armor—prevented light attacks from staggering these "pretty boys," causing them to endure Goki's attacks and land a heavy blow on him!
When Goki first went to the Church District, he was directly chased by these mobs all the way to the Yharnam Chapel—they really only attacked Goki, the outsider, completely ignoring the old woman lying on the ground! How infuriating!
However, Goki later discovered these monsters' weakness.
That was—their attack wind-ups were too long! They could easily be Gun Countered!
Bang————
When a church member approached Goki and Nightingale, slowly raised the metal scepter in his hand, and slammed it towards him, a roar echoed through the underground catacombs.
Goki still held Nightingale in a princess carry, but in the hand supporting her long black legs, a long spear with a sharp blade appeared.
After one shot, the tall enemy instantly knelt to the ground. Holding the girl in his arms did not affect Goki's hunting efficiency at all. He supported Nightingale with one hand and picked up the metal spear with the other, directly thrusting it into the giant's vital spot.
[Rifle Spear
A bizarre weapon crafted by the workshop heretics, the Powder Keg hunters. It is a weapon that combines both gun and spear forms.
It should be an imitation of a lost weapon from Cainhurst.
Other than being the only bizarre weapon with an attached gun, it has no other special features.]
However, that was special enough—having a gun meant it could Gun Counter, and that had nothing to do with game mechanics!
Among the legacy the Knight King left him, besides various potions, there was also Goki's "Powder Keg Hunter Badge."
This item was useless to the Knight King, but in Goki's hands, it could directly transform into a terrifying weapon.
He even asked Maria, the future Operator, to bring her Master to help him craft several replicas to save 4000 blood echoes. They were very convenient, as he could replace them when they wore out.
Of course, compared to the Rifle Spear, there was another super-powerful weapon—but using it on such grunt mobs would be overkill.
The giant's massive body crashed to the ground, yet not a single drop of blood flowed out. Instead, it transformed into a flash of light, completely dissipating into the air, leaving no clothes behind.
"This is… an illusion, a materialized illusion. The enemy has already begun to interfere with reality!"
Goki's eyes glowed with a pale light. He quickly confirmed the truth about these enemies—these were not humans, nor were they related to any race.
These things were entirely composed of Great One power! They were pure illusions.
"Hmm, Goki, they all turned to ash… It's a bit unsatisfying."
Soon, all the giant grunt mobs were cleared out by Skadi as if she were mowing grass. Under her immense strength, these monsters could barely maintain their integrity and were easily reduced to flying ash.
This feeling of punching cotton made Skadi feel like she had strength but nowhere to use it.
However, even though the battle was exceptionally easy, Goki's expression was solemn enough. He knew that even though he had never slowed down his investigation during this period, everyone's pace had to quicken.
In this ancient tomb, a mad and ancient entity was slowly awakening—and the stable real world was about to be twisted.
Still holding Nightingale tightly, Goki took the lead, guiding everyone deeper into the catacombs, while also questioning Shining beside him.
"Nona Shining, I think it's time for you to introduce this cult—I believe you know more than I do, otherwise, you wouldn't be hunted by them."
Upon hearing Goki's words, Shining hesitated for a moment, but then she heard Nightingale's somewhat resentful tone.
"Shining—it's already come to this."
But she finally made up her mind and slowly began to speak.
"The Unification Sect is not just a local organization—whether it was the Witch King of Leithanien's fallen tower, or the Confessarius of Kazdel, they were all once their allies."
Her brown eyes emitted a faint golden glow. Shining seemed to recall some unpleasant memories.
"They… are all madmen who sought the power of gods, betraying humanity and betraying the world."
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