Chen Lun endured the pain as he watched this unfold, growing even warier of the hand-crossbow-shaped [mysterious object] and bracing for Stuarton to fire again.
But after pulling the trigger once, the fat monk collapsed as if utterly drained, gasping for breath as though starved of oxygen.
The hand crossbow and golden goblet fell to one side, blood slowly spilling from the goblet.
Seeing this, Chen Lun silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Hmm... he's just an ordinary person. The cost of using a [mysterious object] is too great. He can't withstand a second shot.
The thought flashed through his mind, and he lunged toward Stuarton.
Just then, the blood spilled on the ground suddenly boiled, flowing into Stuarton's mouth and nose like rivers converging.
"Urgh... aaaagh!!"
Stuarton's entire body convulsed as though he were suffering unimaginable agony.
Whoosh!
His body suddenly sprang up, launching himself at Chen Lun and overtaking him despite moving second.
Clang! Scrrrape!!
Five jet-black claws slashed across Chen Lun's raised arm, striking sparks against his scales.
"Sinner! You dare attack the Red Apple Cathedral!"
The voice coming from Stuarton's mouth had changed. It sounded like someone else's, aged and deep.
Veins bulged across his face. Only the whites of his eyes remained, and his bared teeth twisted his expression into a vicious grimace.
"Why wouldn't I dare...?"
Chen Lun kicked him away.
"I'll dig up the graves at your cathedral, then burn the whole place down!"
"Heretic!!"
The possessed Stuarton was no longer anything like an ordinary man. He lunged again, flailing his claws like a monster.
As they fought, Chen Lun discovered that his opponent's strength and agility had been forcibly elevated, making him extremely troublesome.
Scrrrape!!
His claws raked the ground, scattering sparks and leaving several deep gouges.
Chen Lun narrowly dodged the claws and thrust out both hands.
His serpentine arms coiled around his opponent's arms, immobilizing those most dangerous claws.
Stuarton frowned, sensing that something was terribly wrong.
Then Chen Lun violently twisted his serpentine arms. Sharp, dark-gold scales sliced through flesh, tearing the claws clean off.
Splurt!
The fat monk staggered back several steps, raising his severed, blood-spurting arms with an ugly expression.
"What kind of supernatural ability is this...?
You damned rat! Whose grave did you dig up? Or was it some kind of Alchemical Potion?"
Watching the fellow spin his theories, Chen Lun chuckled inwardly.
"Once you're dead, you can go down there and ask for yourself."
"You dare blaspheme Rose!?"
Stuarton roared in fury.
"Aaaaagh!!"
He began screaming madly. The skin and flesh peeled off his entire face, and within moments, it had become a bloody, skinless beast's head.
"Truly shameless."
Chen Lun offered his mocking assessment.
"Die!!"
Stuarton attacked again, his speed surging.
The beast's head snapped its jaws shut, bursting the air with a deafening bang.
Chen Lun bent his neck to evade the lethal attack, then turned and smashed a fist into his face.
Bang!!
Stuarton's body lurched sideways.
Chen Lun rose higher and drove an elbow down like a falling warhammer, smashing the back of his head.
Bang!!!
Stuarton hit the ground face-first, shattering a stone slab and sinking deep into it.
His body twitched a few times, then went still.
Chen Lun stared down at the corpse. The crackling sound of bursting bones reached his ears, and an inexplicable sense of danger welled up within him.
He abruptly dodged backward.
The instant after he leaped away, Stuarton's body swelled, then exploded like a bomb!
Boom!!
Blood rained down alongside fragments of bone and viscera, drawing the battle to a close on the cold, desolate street.
Fortunately, Chen Lun had dodged quickly enough to escape the blast.
Otherwise, with a force comparable to real explosives, it would have injured him.
Rumble, rumble...
Stuarton's beastly head, no longer remotely human, rolled to Chen Lun's feet.
Its one remaining eyeball turned, fixing on the cloaked figure with a gaze full of fury and a trace of madness.
"Scum of the History and Ritual Society, this battle is not a defeat for our church, but the prelude to the judgment of you sinners."
"Heh. Then hurry up and come find me..."
Chen Lun nudged the head with the toe of his boot.
Then he stared down into that eyeball, meeting its gaze.
"I'll be waiting in Jadeite Town. If you dare come, I'll splatter your brains all over the ground."
"Damn you! You..."
The beast's head tried to say more, but a kick suddenly sent it flying.
Chapter 24: I'm about to set sail
Stuarton's mutated beast's head flew through the air like a ball.
Then it traced an arc and landed in the nearby river with a splash, disappearing without a trace.
Beneath the night sky, not a single ripple remained.
[You killed Monk Stuarton of the Red Apple Church (possessed by Bishop Newman), gaining 500 experience points.] [Your actions have had far-reaching consequences. The Red Apple Church will regard you as an enemy and hunt you down!]
Chen Lun paid the glaring crimson notification box no heed.
He walked a few steps to where Stuarton had first collapsed, bent down, and picked up the two objects.
[D-grade mysterious object: Golden Goblet] Item description: A goblet specially crafted by the Red Apple Church. Functions in pairs, allowing long-distance communication. Pour fresh virgin blood into the cup to communicate by voice with the holder of its counterpart. Duration: twenty-four hours. Ah, the scarlet brew, the fragrance of a maiden. Let your soul serve as my messenger and deliver my gospel...
Chen Lun frowned slightly as he examined the golden goblet.
He squeezed hard, and the goblet creaked in his hand.
Then the tremendous force seemed to exceed some threshold of its endurance, and it shattered with a bang.
Just like that, a [D-grade mysterious object] was destroyed.
"Phew... hateful thing. No way I'm keeping it!"
Chen Lun had destroyed it not merely because its description was disturbing.
More importantly, it came from the Red Apple Church and was very likely tampered with. It would be trouble if they used it to track him down.
It was of little use to him anyway. Better to destroy it.
The golden fragments in his hand slowly softened, turning into golden sludge.
Their color gradually faded, and they merged into a red ball resembling minced meat.
[Obtained low-sequence flesh-faction mysterious substance.]
Chen Lun stored it in his panel. Together with what he already possessed, he now had four portions.
This substance was extremely precious and useful.
Whether he needed to craft supernatural items, forge artificial [mysterious objects], or advance along a sequence pathway in the future, it would have its uses.
Next, Chen Lun examined the hand crossbow.
[C-grade mysterious object: Tongue of Gluttony] Item description: An old miniature wooden hand crossbow, easy to carry. Serrated patterns are carved into one side of the crossbow, seemingly representing the power of flesh contained within. Requires no bolts. Pulling the trigger fires a Bait Arrow, attracting a Gluttonous Evil Spirit from the Spirit World to devour the target. Seems to have originated from a generous, charitable gourmet.
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