With the Burning Corps' timely reinforcements arriving on the scene, Scavenger surged into the fray brandishing his deadly claws, turning the entire battle into a one-sided massacre in an instant.
Everyone got a complete demonstration of how terrifyingly dominant Brother Scavenger was when riding a winning wave.
Charging head-on carried the risk of getting riddled like a honeycomb.
When it came to ambushes and pursuit, however, he was simply in his element. With a casual sweep of his claws, the zealots blocking his way were torn clean in two.
Bathed in blood, his predatory instincts blazing, Scavenger's amber pupils gleamed with bloodlust.
"Hahaha! Awesome!"
Still not satisfied, he threw his head back and let out an exhilarated howl, the deafening roar rippling outward in shockwaves through the smoke.
"Roaaar!"
The surrounding zealots winced in agonizing pain, reflexively clapping their hands over their ears.
Perhaps the drug's effects were wearing off; pain and fear finally caught up to them.
Gazing at the beast drenched in blood, those once fearless eyes gradually filled with terror.
"M-monster!"
"Aaargh!"
"Stay back! No—"
Covered by the hail of bullets raining from the sky, Scavenger plunged into the crowd once more with flashing claws.
In just a few breaths, severed limbs littered the ground, and thirty to forty corpses lay strewn haphazardly outside the palisade gate.
Seeing the enemy's heavy casualties, the villagers behind the low wall surged with morale.
Crouched behind cover alongside the villagers, Wo Xiang Jingjing shouted excitedly toward Scavenger's back.
"Nice work, brother!"
With that, he turned to the villagers around him and began spouting pure nonsense with a solemn, deadpan expression.
"The Great Horned Deer God has visited divine retribution upon these arrogant wretches! It's time to offer our loyalty and valor to the deity who protects us! Hit them hard!"
Infected by that relentless fervor, the last traces of timidity and cowardice vanished from the villagers' eyes.
Roaring with sky-high momentum, everyone grabbed their weapons, vaulted over the low wall, and charged in pursuit of the fleeing zealots.
"Ooooh!"
Even though, to this day, none of them actually knew what their religion was called or what its doctrines even were...
Looking up at the aircraft raining steady fire from above and the devastating casualties among his zealots below, the gray-robed preacher's face was plastered with terror.
"Scatter and take cover!"
"Don't turn your back to that lizard—"
"Nobody retreat! Hold the line!"
Screaming hysterically, he bolted for his life toward the adjacent forest.
The intel was dead wrong!
This place wasn't just a small settlement of two or three hundred people like the locals claimed; the depths behind it were far murkier than he could have ever imagined!
If nothing else, a deathclaw wearing an exoskeleton was horrifying enough on its own!
He had to report this to the Bishop immediately!
The missionary task had been tossed completely to the back of his mind; right now, he only wanted to get as far away from this hellish battlefield as possible...
Scrambling frantically through the woods, paying no heed to the vines and branches lashing his face, he ran until he lost track of time before bracing a hand against a tree trunk, gasping for air.
"Damn it..."
He had finally gotten away!
With the gunfire behind him fading until it was virtually inaudible, relief crept into his chest. He straightened up, ready to keep moving.
Yet the moment he looked up, the color drained from his face, and his newly relaxed heart leaped straight into his throat.
Standing right before him was a suit of power armor, resting an exceptionally long sniper rifle across its shoulder as though it had been waiting for him for ages.
Though the helmet and visor obscured the person's expression, he could sense a half-amused smirk directed right at him.
"If I were you, I'd pick another direction."
...
The battle concluded quickly.
The zealots' resistance was undeniably fierce.
Ordinary marauders would have scattered to the four winds after taking such brutal casualties, but these zealots stubbornly fought on until barely twenty remained.
And half of those survivors were missing arms or legs.
Flicking the bits of meat and blood clinging to his claws, Scavenger looked at Qiangren Suonan, who had popped up out of nowhere, and couldn't help asking, "Where the hell were you just now?"
Having been absent from the action for so long, Qiangren Suonan felt a bit sheepish. He coughed lightly and said, "Ahem... I had my little rat bros dig a tunnel to plant explosives under their feet... but it looks like we won't be needing them after all."
Originally, he had planned to get on the front lines and trade fire, but unfortunately, the one-meter-tall wall completely blocked his entire rat body.
In hindsight, digging a tunnel was a terrible idea anyway. Not only did the enemy lack a fixed defensive line, but by the time he finally dug halfway there, his allies were already mopping up the battlefield.
Scavenger Lv99: "Holy shit, you sneaky camper!"
Qiangren Suonan gave him a sideways glare. "Tch, you have the nerve to call me a camper? You're the damn tank and you didn't initiate the team fight—you were hiding in the backline! You dare lecture me?"
Just as Scavenger was about to shoot back, Jingjing walked over carrying a rifle, glancing left and right.
"Where's the gray-robed guy? Did either of you see him?"
Scavenger blinked, then slapped the back of his head.
"Damn it! The boss got away!"
Hardly had the words left his mouth when a booming voice called out from nearby.
"He didn't get far."
Scavenger whipped his head around to see Lao Bai clad in power armor, leading a group of nine out of the nearby woods.
The gray-robed preacher was currently being held by Ye Shi.
Kicking the preacher's backside and watching him stumble forward, Ye Shi said with a grin, "You call this thing a boss? At best, he's an elite mob."
Having taken a boot to the ass, the preacher had no idea what the soldier behind him was saying, nor did he dare resist, merely scrambling up from the ground in trembling terror.
"Ye Shi! Lao Bai!!" Looking at those familiar faces, Scavenger grinned with excitement.
Not only Lao Bai and Ye Shi, but Kuang Feng, Fang Chang, and Jieyan were all here too!
"Haha, long time no see!"
Patting Brother Scavenger's shoulder, Lao Bai smiled and continued, "Looks like we made it just in time."
Walking through the collapsed palisade gate toward Wo Xiang Jingjing, Qin Baitian, mayor of Dust Town, nervously eyed the heavily armed soldiers.
"Excuse me, who might these gentlemen be...?"
Wo Xiang Jingjing cleared his throat softly and pulled him aside.
"Those distinguished gentlemen are Primarchs."
Qin Baitian stared at him blankly.
"Pri... Prim-what?"
"You can think of them as the Emperor's biological sons," Wo Xiang Jingjing babbled with utter straight-faced nonsense. "Whether it's the Great Horned Deer God or the Great Horned Rat... strictly speaking, they are all servants of the Emperor."
Deeply shaken, Qin Baitian nodded.
"I see..."
It looked like a few more statues would have to be added to the ancestral shrine...
...
Under Wo Xiang Jingjing's direction, the villagers of Dust Town began cleaning up the battlefield, with Qiangren Suonan's band of rat underlings scurrying up to assist.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Scavenger, Lao Bai turned his gaze to the terrified preacher.
This man gave off a completely different vibe compared to the Apostle they had captured from the Bone Chewer tribe earlier.
Back then, that old man's mouth was harder than rock; they hadn't extracted any useful information before he killed himself in his cell.
This guy, on the other hand, looked like someone who had joined halfway, probably not even fully believing the Church of the Torch's dogma himself.
Simply put, an opportunist within their ranks.
Evidently, expanding too fast wasn't always a good thing.
Opening his visor, Lao Bai stared into the preacher's eyes and said, "From now on, I ask, you answer. Don't waste my time. Got it?"
Swallowing hard, the preacher nodded, his face pale green as he stammered, "G-got it."
"Good. If you take more than two seconds to think, I'll assume you're lying," Lao Bai said with a nod, continuing crisply, "Your name?"
"Zhang Zhengyang."
"Age?"
"Thirty-one..."
"Sex?"
"...Male."
"Rank?"
"Apostle."
"Who sent you?"
"Luo—"
A syllable slipped out by reflex. He tried to choke it back, but it was already too late.
Lao Bai's gaze bored into him sharply as he pressed, "Luo what?"
Zhang Zhengyang swallowed hard and said, "Luo Qian... He's the Forerunner of Jinhe City."
Forerunners were equivalent to bishops in the Church of the Torch, typically overseeing a diocese, while Apostles were akin to priests or ministers—grassroots operatives whose authority could range from minor to substantial.
These were all official background settings available on the game website.
Not expecting to hook such a big fish, Lao Bai stared at him and probed further, "Where is he?"
"In the Sanctuary."
"Where is that?"
"I..."
Without letting him hesitate, Lao Bai drew a map and threw it down in front of him.
"Mark the location. I'll send people to check. If there's nothing there, you know the consequences."
Beads of sweat the size of peas welled on Zhang Zhengyang's forehead. He lifted his head with a crestfallen expression, looking up at the power armor.
"My lord... I-I truly don't know the exact location of the Sanctuary."
Lao Bai pressed the muzzle against his head.
"You'd better tell the truth. I don't have time for your lies."
Pale with fright, the preacher fell to his knees on the spot.
"My lord, I swear, every word I said is true! The Sanctuary is the Forerunner's hiding place. Aside from him and his closest confidants, nobody knows where it is! I'm not even sure if he's currently around the Jinhe City area."
Lao Bai frowned.
"So he usually just stays hidden in that Sanctuary, issuing orders to you?"
"Yes..." Having confessed this far, Zhang Zhengyang no longer held back and went on, "He said the time was ripe, that the grace of the Na fruit had blanketed this land, and ordered us to bring Jinhe City's survivor settlements into the Church's fold... Dust Town is the only settlement left that hasn't followed Lord Holy Son."
Ye Shi couldn't help chiming in, "So you planned on physically wiping out the people here?"
Zhang Zhengyang stammered, at a loss for words, but didn't dare remain silent, muttering timidly, "I-I planned to persuade them..."
Ignoring his self-serving excuses, Lao Bai kept his gaze locked on him and asked, "One more question. What's the deal with these guys?"
As he spoke, Lao Bai glanced at a zealot not far away who had lost an arm in an explosion, writhing on the ground like an earthworm.
The morbid expression on his face looked nothing like pain.
The man was even rubbing his remaining stump against the dirt, attempting to staunch the bleeding that way without the slightest concern for infection.
"They consumed the Na fruit..." Zhang Zhengyang said, swallowing.
Pulling his gaze back from the zealot, Lao Bai looked at the preacher. "Just consuming Na fruit turns them into this?"
Zhang Zhengyang shook his head vigorously.
"O-of course not. Just eating the Na fruit puts them into a state of 'trance' at most—though they feel no pain, they also lose sensory perception. We inject them with 'holy water,' allowing them to dwell in heaven in a half-dream, half-awake state, obeying our every order without feeling pain or exhaustion... whether in battle or doing labor."
Ye Shi froze for a moment.
"Holy crap, Mosquito's holy water is right here."
Kuang Feng coughed softly.
"...They're obviously two completely different things."
"Where is it?" Fang Chang fixed his eyes on the preacher and said, "Do you have any more of that 'holy water'?"
"Y-yes, I do!"
Under that piercing stare, Zhang Zhengyang frantically reached out a trembling hand, retrieved a metal case from his pocket, and handed it toward Fang Chang.
Fang Chang took it and opened it. Inside was a syringe and six thumb-sized ampoules.
"Just this much?"
"That's all I brought... I don't use it often," Zhang Zhengyang explained nervously.
Naturally, he had eaten Na fruit as well.
Otherwise, let alone preaching, he wouldn't even have been able to survive amidst a horde of infection vectors.
However, he strictly controlled his intake, limiting the "trance" state to three or four times a month and regularly injecting antibiotics to eliminate pathogens harbored in his body.
In this manner, the negative effects of the Na fruit could be minimized, making it bearable even for a mortal human body.
"So these lunatics' combat effectiveness has to be sustained with injections?" Ye Shi stroked his chin and frowned. "Man, that can't be cheap."
"Mass-produced drugs aren't as expensive as you think. Besides..." Fang Chang looked at the preacher. "That 'Qi' is in league with you, right?"
Zhang Zhengyang steeled himself and nodded, speaking with cautious care.
"That mutant tribe... was the first in the entire Jinhe City diocese to join us."
Fang Chang chuckled coldly.
"And they're the ones who helped you promote that cure-all Na fruit, right?"
Zhang Zhengyang nodded silently.
"Yes..."
Turning his eyes away from him, Fang Chang snapped the syringe case shut, turned to Lao Bai, and said in Mandarin, "The picture is clear now. We have two leads: one is the Forerunner hiding in that 'Sanctuary,' and the other is that mutant tribe numbering over ten thousand... But with just our small force, we won't be able to achieve much. We'll probably need to call in a lot more of our brothers."
Considering that the Church of the Torch's reach in Jinchuan Province likely extended beyond Jinhe City alone, relying solely on the Burning Corps probably wouldn't suffice.
Not to mention they had only dispatched a single hundred-man company here.
Lao Bai nodded, furrowing his brows. "The problem is the Tide... I doubt we can spare many people."
According to the official website's teaser, the scale of this year's Tide would likely surpass previous years. Especially now that Boulder City was part of the Alliance, the pressure on the defensive line was obvious.
Deploying troops on a large scale to Jinchuan Province would likely have to wait until after the Tide.
As they spoke, a new change came over the believers lying on the ground. Beads of sweat began oozing from some of their foreheads, and ecstatic expressions gradually contorted into agony.
Others with more severe injuries went straight into shock.
Noticing the questioning look from the man in power armor, Zhang Zhengyang said nervously, "The Na fruit's effect is wearing off..."
The Na fruit didn't heal injuries; it merely brought an organism into a state of reconciliation with the pathogens clinging to it, coexisting through the binding of hyphae.
Once the effect wore off, the previously docile pathogens bared their vicious fangs.
And what awaited them would be ultimate death.
"We need to keep a few alive."
Lao Bai glanced at Fang Chang and Kuang Feng. "Search their bodies for any Na fruit they might be carrying and stuff them into their mouths."
Fang Chang nodded earnestly. "Got it."
Several players fanned out across the battlefield and quickly turned up some Na fruit from the zealots.
Then, seeking out the zealots who were still breathing, they stuffed the Na fruit into their mouths, regardless of whether their intestines were spilling out.
It actually worked.
A few men whose faces were contorted in agony settled down almost immediately after chewing a couple of times. Others were too critically wounded; shoving Na fruit into their mouths did nothing, leaving them with no choice but to let nature take its course.
Once ground safety was confirmed, a Viper transport landed in the farmland east of Dust Town.
Chen Yutong hopped out of the aircraft shortly after, carrying a toolbox as she walked over to a zealot slumped on the ground.
The man was severely injured; half his abdomen had been torn open, spilling his intestines out onto the ground.
Even though she had seen plenty of wastelander corpses in gruesome states, Chen Yutong couldn't help a chill running down her scalp. Still, holding her breath, she administered a sedative injection, stuffed his intestines back in, and applied hemostatic spray for basic wound dressing.
"This guy is beyond saving. Better to put him out of his misery," Lao Bai remarked, walking up beside her and glancing at the dying man.
Taking a swipe from Scavenger was no joke.
"I'm not a professional doctor; I didn't expect to save his life... This is just emergency first aid," she paused, then added, "I need research subjects."
Lao Bai nodded. "Is there anything you need help with?"
Chen Yutong glanced at the town nearby. "A quiet room would be great. I need to perform a minor operation on him."
"Sure, leave it to me."
Lao Bai tapped his helmet twice with his index finger, briefly passing the researcher's request to Scavenger.
Soon, the giant lizard came ambling over with a wagging tail, pinching two claws together in an OK sign.
"All arranged."
Lao Bai smiled. "Thanks."
"Bah, why stand on ceremony with a brother? I haven't even thanked you guys yet," Scavenger grinned, noticing the female researcher beside him. "And this is?"
"Chen Yutong." Lao Bai introduced her in both the Human Alliance language and Mandarin, then turned to Chen Yutong and said in the Human Alliance language, "This is my friend... His name is a bit unusual. You can just call him Scavenger."
Chen Yutong stared blankly at Scavenger and nodded. "Hello..."
Compared to his name, she found his appearance far more bizarre.
"Greetings to you as well, esteemed lady," Scavenger said with a wide grin, glancing at the half-dead captive on the ground and speaking politely. "Need me to carry this guy onto the operating table for you?"
Lao Bai gave a soft cough. "Don't cause trouble. With a pinch from those claws of yours, whatever breath he has left will be snuffed out instantly."
"Tch!"
Scavenger rolled his eyes, unable to stop the surge of envy in his heart.
Son of a bitch!
These damn human players all had romantic partners, one after another, while he remained a bachelor to this day—even Neko wouldn't spare him a second glance.
Hah, just you wait!
Once he developed a physique like Yong Shi—or even that monstrous build of Mother Deathclaw—he'd make every deathclaw in the world kneel before him and sing praises of surrender!
"Um... he can speak?"
Watching Scavenger walk off into the distance, Chen Yutong finally couldn't hold back her curiosity and turned to Lao Bai standing beside her.
She had indeed heard rumors that the Alliance had certain mutants tamed by the Administrator capable of human speech.
At first, she had dismissed those rumors as ordinary folk hero-worship of a charismatic leader, but who would have thought there really was a talking deathclaw!
This was her first time witnessing it in reality!
"He can not only speak, but he's also a resident of the vault," Lao Bai said with a smile. "On the wasteland, what weird thing haven't you seen? You'll get used to it."
Chen Yutong nodded dazedly.
A long time ago, she had heard that a certain southern vault was conducting research on transferring human consciousness into other organisms.
Could it be that they actually succeeded?
Rationally speaking, rather than a lizard learning to speak, she leaned toward believing that this was a human mind wrapped in a lizard's skin.
A sparkle of genuine interest gradually lit up Chen Yutong's eyes.
Things were getting more and more intriguing...
...
Boulder City Hall.
Sitting in his office, Chu Guang received a combat report from the south via Xiao Qi.
The Burning Corps advance detachment, which arrived at Dust Town at two o'clock this afternoon, had engaged in fierce combat with zealots of the Church of the Torch.
During the operation, the players killed a total of ninety-two zealots and captured eleven. Friendly casualties consisted of nine villagers, six of whom were already out of life-threatening danger, while player casualties were zero.
Among the eleven captives, one was an Apostle of the Church of the Torch.
According to intelligence obtained from interrogating that Apostle, the Church of the Torch was expanding its influence across Jinchuan Province.
The specific motive remained unknown.
Furthermore, according to the Apostle's confession, the Church of the Torch had reached some form of cooperative partnership with the local mutant faction.
Aside from the modest settlement of Dust Town—which housed only two to three hundred households—the entirety of Jinhe City had been incorporated into the Church of the Torch's domain.
With this missionary effort thwarted, the next force sent might very well be mutant troops.
To guard against retaliation from the Church of the Torch, the Burning Corps had mobilized local residents to construct additional fortifications and traps around the town's perimeter.
Meanwhile, Corps Commander Lao Bai expressed a request for reinforcements in the battle report.
Jinhe City had become the front line of conflict between the Alliance and the Church of the Torch.
At present, the Church of the Torch's foundation in the area remained unstable, sustained only by pharmaceuticals and transactional deals. Now was undoubtedly the optimal moment to purge the Church's influence from the region.
If a medical remedy could be found to reverse the effects of the Na fruit, the local mutant tribe eradicated, and the locals guided back to normal lives cultivating safe crops through proper methods, there was still hope of saving Jinhe City's survivors.
Soil contaminated by the Na fruit wasn't beyond salvation; according to Heya's research findings, purging it with fire was sufficient.
Reading through the report in his hands from beginning to end, Chu Guang frowned and sank into deep thought.
Nothing mentioned in the report was wrong, and he agreed that right now was indeed the ideal opportunity. The problem, however, lay in the Tide arriving two months from now.
If things continued down this path, he might well have to fight a two-front war...
"Talk about awful timing."
Chapter 559