Chapter 235
"Do-Jin!"
Ye-Jin approached the fallen Do-Jin. He stood precariously, barely able to support himself with his sword.
Ye-Jin unleashed her divine power.
"Don't move! I'm drawing a h-healing array!" Ye-Jin shouted.
Her hands trembled, hindering the drawing process. Ye-Jin was more talented in blessings and miracle replication than healing. Even if she tried to use blessings or miracle replication now, it seemed like it would work as she wished.
"Cough...! Hoo... ugh...!"
Do-Jin coughed while Ye-Jin drew her healing array. With each cough, a hunk of blood flew from his mouth and fell to the ground.
Splish, splash.
With trembling hands, Ye-Jin finally completed the healing array. However, she couldn't determine what exactly she needed to heal. There were no visible external injuries, but seeing him coughing up blood suggested there might be internal ones.
"Hold on a moment."
Ye-Jin swiftly lifted Do-Jin's shirt, revealing his abdomen decorated with dark bruises. He was in critical condition. While the wounds weren’t fatal, he would most likely have to spend several weeks in the hospital even if she managed to heal him. What on earth caused such extensive damage to his body?
"...What happened to you?"
"I...ouup."
"Don't force yourself to talk if you need to," Ye-Jin said with a choked voice.
Do-Jin, supporting himself with his sword, weakly spoke while looking at the Cult Leader approaching from a distance. "I got punched in the face."
Quite literally, he had been punched in the face. Seeing that the Cult Leader wasn't controlling the weather, Do-Jin thought that the Cult Leader was being careless or perhaps had lost the power to bend the atmosphere to his will. Or perhaps the Cult Leader would at least attempt to negotiate for the sake of the Voodooists.
However, after getting punched, Do-Jin realized that the Cult Leader wasn’t careless or weak-hearted. Rather, the Cult Leader just didn’t feel the need to use his strange ability to control the weather or manipulate fire and water.
Not a lot of manpower had been deployed to suppress the mercenary corp. The ones dispatched on the mission were the Trinitas Crusader Order, the Holy See's direct Crusader Order, and a few clergymen who came by themselves. The number of men totaled to one platoon at most. It was a lot of men in terms of subduing a single mercenary corp, but the story changed upon the Cult Leader’s appearance.
"Ye-Jin... take out the radio. We need to issue a retreat order..."
"Radios were only supplied to the crusaders. You don’t have one on you?"
"...Damn it,” Do-Jin muttered and gripped his sword.
He started walking unsteadily in the direction of the barrack tent. Ye-Jin stopped in the middle of drawing her healing array.
"Come here! Why are you moving in your condition? Do you have a death wish?"
"I'm not going to die. I'm not that badly hurt."
"You'll die, you crazy son of a bitch!" Ye-Jin yelled angrily, then cleared her throat and spoke again. "...Just stay still until I finish healing you. It'll be faster that way."
"We need to issue a retreat order right away... Otherwise, we'll all be dead. We'll be wiped out."
"Alright, then I'll go and tell them to retreat. So...”
"Do you think they will listen to you?" Do-Jin said, raising his head.
Crusaders ignored priests and paladins, just as priests ignored the crusaders and paladins, and paladins ignored the crusaders and priests. They might listen if someone like Joseph gave them orders, but they wouldn’t even bat an eyelash if Ye-Jin issued them commands.
Do-Jin continued to walk, using his sword as a staff. "I have to go."
"...If we give the retreat order, what then? Do you think the Cult Leader will just let us go?"
"It's okay. I'll fight and buy us some time. They won't be able to pursue us then."
Do-Jin was in a state where he could barely walk, and yet he made it seem as if it were obvious that he would fight the Cult Leader. Meanwhile, Ye-Jin finished drawing the healing array. The light of healing enveloped Do-Jin.
Thanks to Ye-Jin's healing, Do-Jin could feel his steps becoming a little lighter. However, the burning pain in his abdomen remained.
"...How are you going to fight with a body like that?"
Do Jin gripped his sword and answered Ye-Jin’s question. "I can fight."
Thanks to the healing, he no longer needed to rely on his sword to support his body to walk. Then, he saw the Cult Leader’s approaching figure in the distance.
The Cult Leader held a staff in his hands, had a mask on his face, and wore a robe. The man wore a mask to hide his face and a robe to hide his physique. He was trying not to reveal his figure. There must be a clear reason for that.
"I shouldn’t have aimed for his neck. I’m aiming for his mask and robe next."
The Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult was likely to be disguised as a Romanican Church member. Therefore, there was no need to immediately eliminate the Cult Leader here. It would be no different from winning if he could remove the Cult Leader’s mask and cloak to reveal his face and physique.
"...Ye-Jin, bless me. Right now," Do-Jin said, lowering his posture.
As dark clouds covered the previously clear sky, darkness descended upon the ground.
* * *
John, the sniper from the Trinitas Crusader Order, came out of his tent after feeling vibrations. "Um, Do-Jin...?"
As soon as he emerged from the tent, he was met with the sight of Do-Jin leaping toward the Cult Leader. He also witnessed Do-Jin getting sent flying by a punch from the Cult Leader right after.
At first, he couldn’t wrap his head around what had happened. Who was this person who had knocked down Do Jin, second to none in close combat, with one punch? And why did Do-Jin lunge toward this person in the first place?
It was only after the Cult Leader approached and John saw the mask covering his face and the staff in his hand that he understood what was happening.
The Cult Leader was here.
"...Prepare for battle–! It's the Cult Leader–!" John shouted.
With a voice as thunderous as his imposing figure, he woke up the crusaders resting in the barracks tent. Startled by the sudden ground tremors and John's voice, the crusaders grabbed their weapons and scrambled out.
Their wandering gazes quickly converged at a single point: a mask and staff. A man dressed unmistakably as the Voodoo Cult Leader leisurely approached them.
"..."
At that moment, silence fell over the area. The crusaders who saw the Cult Leader had bloodshot eyes. They trembled, unclear emotions coursing through them—they were either shuddering in excitement or fear. Each of them grasped their weapons: guns, swords, and holy artifacts. They didn't say a word and went to their respective positions to get into formation. No one dared to open their mouth.
The Holy See's direct Crusader Order had learned the ‘method of non-communication.’ Their job was to find tasks without communicating and work together to achieve their goals.
John felt a slight discomfort at their appearance. To him, they looked like machines rather than humans.
In a matter of seconds, everyone was in formation. Crusaders who handled firearms like John prepared for shooting from the rear. Crusaders who handled melee weapons such as swords, maces, and spears gathered in the front and stood alert against the approaching Cult Leader.
John placed his finger on the trigger and aimed for the Cult Leader. A suffocatingly deep silence blanketed the area.
John broke the silence. "...Fire!"
Bang, bang!
Dududududu─!
Even before John finished speaking, gunshots rang out simultaneously in a terrifying manner. Dozens of muzzles trained at the Cult Leader glowed white as bullets were launched into the air.
The non-lethal rounds usually used for normal suppression were nowhere to be seen—only lethal iron bullets made for killing rushed toward the Cult Leader.
Silence returned immediately after the consecutive gunshots. The place where the Cult Leader was standing was covered in thick dust and mist. Because of the mist, it was impossible to make out the Cult Leader’s figure. John stared beyond the mist and prepared his next shot.
Whooosh...
Just then, the wind blew, and the mist cleared. Beyond the mist, a black figure appeared. The Cult Leader had not yet fallen. Because the fog hadn’t completely cleared, it was hard to tell if it was because he hadn't fallen despite being shot or if the bullets hadn't hit his body.
The crusaders held their breath, waiting for the fog to dissipate completely. Every time the wind blew, the fog lifted little by little, finally revealing the appearance of the Cult Leader.
The Cult Leader was unharmed. The bullets fired by the crusaders were scattered around his feet. He raised his staff...
Thump!
And he struck it against the ground.
Thud, thud, thud!
As soon as he did so, the trembling grew even stronger. It felt like an earthquake.
The ground shook, and dust and soil flew up, turning into a thick fog that obscured the snipers' vision. The fog wasn’t the only thing blocking the snipers’ sight.
The earth had split open the moment the Cult Leader struck the ground with his staff. Giant tree roots and weeds spilled forth from the ground. Massive grass and roots swayed as they grew like tentacles. They soon created a massive forest centered around the Cult Leader.
The Cult Leader concealed himself within that forest. John diligently scanned the trees but couldn't see the Cult Leader anywhere. The dust raised the fog, and the enlarged plants hid the Cult Leader. 𝑓𝘳ℯℯ𝔀ℯ𝓫𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓵.𝘤𝘰𝓶
"... K-keep firing!" John shouted.
At this point, they had no choice but to continue shooting. If they kept firing, they would eventually hit the Cult Leader with at least one bullet. The crusaders, following John's command, pulled the triggers in unison.
Bang, bang!
Dududududu─!
The gunshots didn't stop. The bullets hit the tree roots and giant leaves that had risen from the ground. However, they only scratched the roots and leaves of the trees, and the bullets could not penetrate through them.
The forest surrounding the Cult Leader was too thick and resilient. They’d be wasting bullets if they kept firing.
John racked his brain.
What was the Cult Leader thinking? Was he waiting for the crusaders to waste all their bullets before launching a full-scale attack? If that was the case, they should have given the order to stop firing.
No, it might be a trick to try and take advantage of the pause in the rain of bullets to launch an attack...
Ssssssh–!
At that moment, a giant spear-like object flew toward John. He reflexively twisted his waist to avoid it. He momentarily stopped shooting and examined the object that the Cult Leader had thrown at him. He thought it was a spear when it had been flying toward him, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t.
"...A staff?"
It was the staff that the Cult Leader had been holding. He didn't have time to think about why the Cult Leader had thrown the staff toward him.
Thud!
[Ah, you mannerless child...]
The ordinary staff instantly transformed into the shape of a giant snake. The sweet, alluring voice of the snake penetrated John's mind, robbing him of the luxury of wondering why the staff had flown toward him.
Reflexively, John drew the pistol he had on his waist. He aimed the barrel at the giant snake's eyes. He pulled the trigger.
Bang, bang!
Two gunshots rang out, each aimed directly at one of the snake’s eyes. However, the bullets didn’t reach their target and plopped to the ground with dry, hollow sounds.
It wasn't just an ordinary snake. It was an overwhelming and absolute existence that couldn't be dealt with by human strength alone.
Thud.
John let go of the pistol in his hand and slumped down.
Whoosh.
The snake swung its giant tail.
The attack was not aimed at only John. It was an attack that targeted all the snipers in the area.
Smack–!
"Arrrgh...!" John let out a scream as the hit from the snake sent his body flying.
The snake continued to thrash its tail about. John's sniper rifle was crushed by the snake’s massive body.
Other snipers, like John, were hit by the snake's tail and flew away. They dropped their guns and fell to the ground, vomiting blood and sprawled about.
Fortunately, the snipers who managed to dodge the snake's attack shot its eyes with their guns. Some resilient crusaders stood up after eating the blow from the snake’s tail and tried to pierce its scales with their daggers.
However, no bullets harmed the snake. No daggers could pierce the scales as they instead broke.
"Ah, ah...!"
No attack was successful. Even those who took their last stand with guns and daggers lost their will and dropped their weapons. Looking at the terrified crusaders, the snake flicked its tongue.
[It's a shame I can't eat you,] the snake said, licking the faces of the pale crusaders with its long, slender tongue.
The crusaders confronting the Cult Leader with swords, spears, and holy artifacts in front also panicked as they helplessly watched the giant snake overwhelm their comrades in the back. The crusaders in the front ranks were lost, unable to advance due to the Cult Leader or retreat due to the snake.
"..."
Amid excruciating pain and fading consciousness, John realized the Cult Leader's scheme. He had used the snake to suppress the rifle squad located in the rear and block the crusaders’ retreat. Thus, the Cult Leader was luring the crusaders into his territory.
"A-advance! Advance!"
The crusaders in the front feared the giant snake, but they hesitantly moved forward. They had no other choice but to move onward. They looked just like moths drawn to a burning flame, throwing themselves into what would inevitably kill them.
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