Chapter 15 Far Below Expectations

The difficulty of crossing the Fourth Area was far lower than Hank had anticipated. They barely encountered any decent resistance. Even Feng Bujue and Kuangzong Jianying hadn't expected it to be so easy.

There weren't many residents in the Fourth Area of ​​Shenyou Village to begin with, only a few hundred people. Every single one of them cherished their lives, and as soon as the village alarm sounded, they all closed their doors and hid. The number of guards was around a hundred, with sixty percent of their manpower scattered in various outposts and checkpoints, and only a small number performing patrol duties. Even if communication between the guards was unhindered, they wouldn't have the ability to organize any effective interception measures. They only had that many people, and there were no rapid response units or similar organizations. Faced with Feng Bujue and his companions, these invaders who acted swiftly and possessed monstrous combat power, the sporadic resistance was nothing more than window dressing.

Kou Ben, residing in the temple, received the news of the invaders in the first instance and issued the order to sound the alarm. If Feng Bujue and the others weren't just three people, but three hundred, Kou Ben would probably have already announced his surrender. But at this moment, he wasn't too worried. After all, he held "divine power" in his hands. Just three invaders; as long as they dared to enter the temple, they would definitely never return.

In just ten minutes, the three arrived less than a thousand meters from the temple. The wreckage of this half-sunken interstellar spacecraft had been transformed beyond recognition into a huge palace, but the original outline was still there. Reaching this distance, Feng Bujue could make out some of the details.

"I thought the 'temple' you were talking about was something special... it turns out it's just a spaceship," Feng Bujue laughed. "In that case, the last few questions are also answered."

"Spaceship..." Hank asked suspiciously, "...what is that?"

"Oh, right, you don't have that concept," Feng Bujue said. "Simply put, it's a giant, sealed cabin that can fly into space."

"I see... Kou Ben told us that the temple is a creation of the gods, only for the children of the gods to live in. Those who enter the temple without permission will be cursed to death," Hank said.

Feng Bujue had already figured out the cause and effect at this point. He explained, "Don't bother delving into nonsense like gods and curses. According to my speculation, this spaceship should have been built by ancient humans, or what you now call outsiders, hundreds of years ago. I don't know what happened to your Earth, but it was nothing more than environmental reasons or war... that forced humanity to migrate into space, and some people were left behind for various reasons. Your ancestors were those who couldn't leave." He licked his lips. "Perhaps this spaceship was what they rode in, and it crashed here due to a malfunction; or maybe they discovered the wreckage of this spaceship and then settled in this place. As for what version of history the Kou Ben family told you after seizing power, I don't know. Anyway, religious stories are all pretty much the same, shamelessly fabricating tales and attributing everything to miracles."

"Crazy Brother... if you talked like this outside the game, you would offend a lot of people," Kuangzong Jianying said.

"Those who are offended by me can find a corner to kneel down and pray to their god to strike me dead with lightning," Feng Bujue said.

As the three spoke, they had already arrived in front of the temple. At the entrance of the temple, about forty guards were standing in a row, preparing to meet the enemy. They held up gravity shields, forming a human wall, and the anti-gravity launchers in their hands were all aimed, with metal cannonballs suspended in front of them.

"This situation is rare. I have an area-of-effect skill that consumes energy, but I haven't had the opportunity to use it. Now is a good time to try it out," Kuangzong Jianying laughed.

"Swordsaint Storm?" Feng Bujue immediately asked.

"Uh... no," Kuangzong Jianying replied.

"Oh, then whatever," Feng Bujue's expression indicated that he had lost interest in the skill.

[Name: Ittoryu. Ekko Bird]

[Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, disappears after one use]

[Skill Category: Combat]

[Effect: A long-range slash launched with a single arm, creating a wave of sword energy to attack a group of enemies. The move is powerful and of medium speed (can only be activated when using a sword-type weapon).]

[Consumption: Stamina 300]

[Learning Requirements: Combat Specialization D, Level 15 or above]

[Remarks: This move was created by a famous Santoryu swordsman born on Singles' Day. Looking back many years later, it turns out that this guy just randomly gave a name to a long-range slash.]

The guards didn't waste any more words with the intruders. When the three reached a range of about fifty meters from them, under the order of a guard captain, they all used their launchers together.

Dozens of cannonball-like metal blocks arrived swiftly, and Kuangzong Jianying's move was launched in response.

He swung his arm in a diagonal slash, and a tangible sword energy surged out, sweeping forward. The incoming metal blocks were deflected as if they had hit an air wall in mid-air, and the momentum of the sword wave didn't diminish at all, instantly rushing towards the battle line formed by the guards.

With a series of clanging sounds, the sounds of metal shields being knocked away and falling to the ground rose and fell. Along with them were the cries and exclamations of the guards. Except for the few standing on both sides of the line who managed to escape, the guards in the middle were like bowling pins, knocked down and scattered by the move, collapsing into disarray.

"Ah... there's no opportunity to show off at all," Feng Bujue said as he led the way into the temple.

The interior of the temple wasn't much different from a typical duplex mansion. In addition to the men of the Kou Ben family, they also had to provide accommodation for the women who came to receive "baptism." There were also many servants living in the temple. These servants were mostly old and faded women. They entered the Kou Ben family when they were young, but had no children. After many years, when Kou Ben had lost interest in their bodies, they could only "serve" the family of the children of God in this way.

The space of this interstellar spacecraft was quite vast and complex. If Kou Ben intentionally hid, it would be really difficult to find him. Fortunately, Hank knew where to find this "child of God." In this situation, York Kou Ben would definitely run to the "Hall of Divine Decree," a place they absolutely forbade outsiders from entering.

Shenyou Village would hold large-scale gatherings from time to time, the specific frequency depending on the situation. During the gatherings, the Kou Ben family would use some "rituals" (such as healing the sick or predicting solar and lunar eclipses) to demonstrate "miracles" in front of the villagers and convey the latest "decrees from heaven." This was also a means of consolidating rule. Every so often, the Kou Bens had to remind these slaves that the authority of the family of the children of God was not to be offended or questioned.

Such rituals naturally required an audience, but the square in front of the temple couldn't accommodate the entire village, so only "selected" villagers could come to watch the ceremony. The selection mechanism was actually very simple. Most of the people who were fortunate enough to watch the ceremony were randomly selected from the First and Second Areas. Letting these people witness the power of the children of God and then exaggerate it when they went back could achieve an excellent propaganda effect.

Hank had seen a "miracle" once before. Although he had never entered the temple, he knew the approximate location of the "Hall of Divine Decree." That room could be seen from outside the temple (it was one floor below the command tower of the interstellar spacecraft). Every time, the child of God would come out from the Hall of Divine Decree and stand on a platform high up to display various miracles and announce various decrees.

The three searched their way upwards, and there was no obstruction on this path, because there wasn't a single guard left in the temple. Even if there were, they couldn't stop them. Before long, the door to the Hall of Divine Decree appeared before their eyes. And in the corridor in front of the door, there was someone standing.

"This is York Kou Ben's brother, Haweizi Kou Ben," Hank said.

Haweizi was half a head shorter than Hank, plump, and easygoing, with a shiny face. He saw the three of them without any fear. "You lowly commoner, do you know what you're doing?" he said as he glared at Hank, revealing a sinister smile. "Do you know how serious the crime you've committed is?"

Hank ignored him completely, raised his launcher, and directly fired the prepared ammunition. The basketball-sized metal block rushed towards Haweizi at high speed, but the other party didn't dodge or evade, instead raising his left arm and using his palm to catch it.

With a bang, the sound of the metal block was as if it had hit an iron wall, but in reality, it hit Haweizi's palm and fell to the ground.

"Hmph, do you think you can challenge God's power?" Haweizi sneered.

"No wonder you dare to block us here," Feng Bujue also responded with a sneer. "Your body has been mechanically modified, right?"

He lightly punctured Haweizi's so-called "divine power," and the latter's face instantly became very unsightly.

"Hmm... without the support of this era's biological technology, it's impossible to complete this kind of modification with just mechanical engineering knowledge," Feng Bujue pondered. "This means that you not only have the technology recorded on this interstellar spacecraft, but you can also acquire external civilizations. It seems... the priests who helped you complete this body have all been silenced, right?"

"There are plenty of those kinds of people. Anyway, the information is in our hands. Who is qualified to learn and how much they learn is up to us to decide," Haweizi snorted. "Outsiders, even if you know some things that these lowly commoners don't, don't be too proud. You won't leave here alive, and no one in this village will believe your lies."

"Sigh..." Feng Bujue sighed, "You're so stupid it makes me want to cry..."

Clang—

A flash of cold light, and a steel knife was already in his hand.

Feng Bujue held the knife in his right hand and raised his gun in his left. He fired continuously as he advanced, but as he raised the gun, Haweizi had already raised his hand to protect his head, and crouched down, roaring like a beast and charging forward. The bullets poured down on him, sounding like they were hitting a wall.

The close-quarters combat between the two could only be described as tragic. Haweizi didn't know how to fight at all. His fighting skills were much worse than Feng Bujue's. To put it simply, he was the type who had never eaten pork and hadn't even seen a pig run. He waved his arms randomly as if swimming while fighting...

Feng Bujue only took two steps back, raised his knife to meet him twice, and cut off both of Haweizi's arms. Moreover, he didn't use much force at all. Most of the force came from Haweizi himself.

"How is this possible?" Haweizi looked at his severed arms in shock. He didn't feel much pain, but he was very surprised that his iron arms could be cut off.

"I can't even bear to watch," Kuangzong Jianying shook his head. "Looking at your movements, you've never been in a fight since you were a child, have you?"

Feng Bujue suddenly remembered something and laughed, looking up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. "Ha... 'Even my father never hit me'... is that the setting?"

Kuangzong Jianying also laughed, "Famous lines are ruined by guys like you who use them inappropriately."

Feng Bujue put away his gun and approached Haweizi step by step with the steel knife in hand, "Alright, let's see how your divine power actually works."

Because he had no arms and was overweight, Haweizi lost his balance after only a few steps back and fell to the ground. "What... what are you going to do..."

Feng Bujue ignored his words and just said to himself, "You raised your hand to defend as soon as I raised my gun, which means you recognize guns. You covered your head, which indicates that that part is completely non-mechanical..." As he spoke, he inserted the knife into the other's thigh. The effect of [Robots Must Die] was equally effective against this kind of creature with mechanically modified bodies. With the power bonus, penetrating its defense was simply a matter of course.

"Your limbs seem to have been quite thoroughly modified. You don't feel much pain anymore, do you..." Feng Bujue pulled out the knife and inserted it into the other's chest again.

Haweizi gasped in shock, but after the knife entered his chest, he still didn't die. He was just having trouble breathing and couldn't speak.

"Sure enough, the cardiopulmonary function has also been modified," Feng Bujue said. "As expected of the Kou Ben family, you were fully prepared. Even if a major disaster occurs one day, causing problems with the village's air filtration, you don't have to worry, because you can survive in the atmosphere without protective suits." He then stepped on Haweizi's round belly, and this time the other party clearly showed a painful expression.

"Hmph... the digestive system hasn't been modified, huh? No wonder. If it had been modified, you should have eight-pack abs," Feng Bujue laughed. "I guess the reproductive system hasn't been modified either, because it's related to enjoyment, so you're unwilling to give it up..." He moved the tip of the knife to the other's abdomen.

Although Haweizi couldn't make a loud sound from his throat, he was still desperately trying to shout, and frantically shaking his head in horror, as if begging Feng Bujue not to kill him.

"Don't worry, just kidding," Feng Bujue said as he put away the knife. "Since there's no machinery inside, stabbing it won't give me any skill points, and I'll just get a knife full of fat and shit for nothing. How disgusting."

Haweizi couldn't understand what the other party was saying, but he felt like this meant he was going to be spared.

Unfortunately, in the next second, Feng Bujue took out a pipe wrench from his bag and looked at Haweizi's forehead with a murderous, deranged gaze...