Chapter 616: Distortion
While Wayne enthusiastically began setting up high explosives around the house with his men, Inessa and Lina also arrived at the scene.
Inessa's group also had two Agents transferred from Willie's subordinates, while Lina's intelligence team did not show up at all.
However, Lina didn't come alone; she had mixed with Merlin's monks as planned, and when she returned, she was accompanied by two monks.
Anyone unfamiliar with the situation might have thought she looked more like someone from the Cathedral at first glance...
"Feathered Serpent?!"
After a brief understanding of the situation, Inessa and Lina's reactions were quite consistent with Merlin's; they both felt that the guy in the house was highly suspicious and should not be allowed to live.
Inessa thoughtfully explained to Wayne: "Feathers are one of the common symbols of deities in the 'death' domain. If it's a Feathered Serpent, then the indication is even clearer and more certain—the images of many mythical creatures are actually summarized by people based on the influence of specific types of deities or extraordinary abilities, not all of them are products of imagination.
"Extraordinary abilities that naturally manifest as a Feathered Serpent are very rare. This person is likely influenced by the Silent Sect's worshipped Feathered Serpent god, Coatle, and after receiving 'divine favor,' their extraordinary abilities have either been enhanced or undergone a mutation."
Wayne had heard of this in his archaeology class at the academy, and was slightly surprised, "Isn't the Feathered Serpent a native deity image of the South New Continent?"
How did it get involved with "people with Windsor accents" and "hidden organizations of the Old Continent"?
Was it like domestic sales turning into exports and then re-imported from there?
"It," Inessa emphasized slightly, "The Frankish people were the first to develop the South New Continent, and back then, they circulated many indigenous cultural products of the New World back to the Old Continent as spoils of war. 'Coatle' is the result of the Old Continent people re-transliterating it from the Frankish language; it's not its original true name, but in the rituals of some hidden organizations, this name seems to be able to attract its attention.
"Like many deities, as their true names change and as the sects that worship holy spirits distort their images, their characteristics also seem to undergo fundamental changes. While the original Feathered Serpent god of the South New Continent also had connotations of 'death and rebirth,' it was actually more inclined towards the 'nature' domain overall, whereas some hidden organizations in the Old Continent, based on their stereotypes of 'feathers' and 'snakes,' firmly believe it is a deity of the 'death' domain, and they particularly emphasized this point during its re-propagation.
"In short, the simultaneous appearance of Old Continent accent, 'death' domain, and 'Feathered Serpent' basically allows for a preliminary judgment that this attacker is likely related to the Silent Sect. Perhaps he is a member of them, or a believer in their sectarian doctrine."
Hmm...
Wayne briefly let his imagination run wild, secretly wondering if the fundamentalist Feathered Serpent believers and the Feathered Serpent believers who were forced to become "death gods" would fight each other to the death over doctrinal differences.
However, the priority right now was to blow up the Sailor Gang's house first... ah, no, it was to catch that attacker first and determine whether he had any direct connection with those problematic rats.
Wayne thought for a moment, "Is the Silent Sect a hidden organization that is keen on spreading plagues?"
"Yes. But that statement isn't entirely accurate... The Silent Sect advocates sacrificing through death to gain Coatle's blessings. They have committed many evil deeds even in the Windsor Kingdom. Spreading plagues is a common 'method' they use, but it's not the only thing they do."
Understood, then let's get down to business quickly.
They couldn't just cooperate with Merlin to catch the bad guy, only for the Sailor Gang to not get their lesson.
Lina didn't listen to the popular science at first, but instead ran off to participate in the placement of the high explosives.
Now she also came over, raising her hand to point in the direction of the house: "Peter found that guy, probably on the second floor in this position. But he's very wary, hiding near the center, so it's probably hard to directly injure him from the outside wall."
"Can Peter handle him directly?" Wayne asked.
Lina refused decisively, "Better not. If this guy really has something to do with Coatle, it would be troublesome for Peter to bite something dirty."
Wayne was surprised, "It can descend too?"
"Not necessarily a descent, it could also be carrying the aura of that feathered snake or something." Lina thought for a moment and gave an analogy, "It's probably like encountering a rabid, diseased wild dog; you can try to kill it, but you shouldn't eat its meat, and you should avoid being infected by it during the confrontation. So it's best not to use this type of extraordinary material; everyone usually trades it for contributions or something."
That's a pity; Wayne had originally thought this guy could provide Inessa with a few more injections...
Then Wayne thought of something even more exciting, "When I was helping Connal with first aid just now, I absorbed some extraordinary power that might be pollution. Will there be any side effects?"
"Let me see."
Upon hearing this, Inessa gestured for Wayne to cooperate with her for a check-up. She first examined Wayne's hand, which he had used for direct contact, and then pinched Wayne's chin, observing his complexion and eyes from side to side.
It must be said that the posture felt a little strange, but Inessa quickly drew a conclusion. She let go of his hand and breathed a slight sigh of relief: "There are no signs of infection at the moment, perhaps that person's connection with Coatle is not that close. But your purification ability is truly... special. Be careful, if you always do this, you could easily be polluted by unknown higher existences."
Wayne felt a little embarrassed under her gaze, but his expression remained calm, "Connal's condition didn't look too good at the time, so I could only handle it as an emergency."
Although that stuff tasted extremely salty, it didn't feel as bloating as the previous few times, and Wayne felt pretty good about himself.
After all, from an evolutionary perspective, spiritual intuition is also a type of intuition; if it thinks "it's edible," then it should be fine... right?
Lina, observing Wayne's expression, patted him on the shoulder knowingly, "Drink more holy water lately. You love that stuff anyway."
You're slandering me! What decent person loves chili water? Even when eating vinegar, you dip dumplings in it!
Wayne hadn't even retorted when "Slingshot" walked over, interrupting the partners' brief respite, "The high explosives have all been set. Should we light them now?"
"Mm." Wayne quickly nodded, preparing to re-enter work mode.
Inessa picked up her custom bolt-action rifle and walked to the designated firing point, and Lina also prepared to go to the other side to guard.
Then the latter quickly turned back secretly, her expression looking a little sly, "I secretly mixed in a few fireworks just now; the effect should be quite good when it explodes later. I estimate that these gangsters in the Dock Area will all know how arrogant you are by tomorrow."
Oh, you're going a bit too far... What do you mean "I'm arrogant"? This clearly represents the solemnity and authority of the Cathedral and the City Hall, which must not be offended.
Unfortunately, "Slingshot" and his team were already ready, and it was certainly too late to add fireworks temporarily.
Soon, the fuse burned to its end, and with a resonant "boom--" a huge noise erupted around the house, smoke and debris instantly splattered everywhere, the ground seemed to subtly vibrate, and the house also trembled accordingly.
Amidst the subsequent "whoosh--whoosh--bang! bang!" declarations in the sky, the main structure of the house remained relatively sturdy, but after the outer wall of the first floor rapidly collapsed, the outer wall of the second floor and parts of the roof gradually crumbled as well.
Before the rising dust had fully settled, Merlin's side was the first to stir:
"Here! That guy ran out!"
