Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1474: Eradicating Evil
Early in the morning, on the balcony of the Minute Church, a person is raising her fingers, her thumb and forefinger forming a square shape in front of her eyes. Some fungi have spread between her fingers, forming a translucent membrane, and dark lines have outlined a pattern.

She slowly turned the angle as if observing the entire city through a telescope, and the pattern between her fingers changed accordingly.

Among the Plague Apostles, many are adept at hiding, but few can remain concealed under the constant surveillance of various colonies. After all, no matter how well one acts, those who can continue performing when alone are mostly rather insane.

"Twenty-five, not a bad number."

Lu Ning loosened her fingers, and the bacteria disappeared in her palm. Then she turned and went downstairs, picked up a first-aid kit and a ceremonial sword she had chosen from the church, and went to the cafeteria to drag Vanessa out.

Vanessa was still yawning, so she quickly splashed cold water on her face, then picked up her weapon and followed them outside the church.

“You said you wanted to learn how to kill the Plague Apostle, so I will teach you. But killing and saving people are not the same kind of pressure, and I hope you are mentally prepared.”

"Understood, so how do we—"

“Plague”.

Lu Ning spread her fingers, and a green veil of fungi drooped down from between them, forming a map of the Clockwork River area.

“You can use it in any way you figure it out, without worrying that it’s some kind of plague or something; there’s a fundamental difference between them.”

Vanessa nodded quickly.

"According to feedback from various places, there are twenty-five plague apostles in the Clockwork River District. You may be more familiar with them, but I hope you won't let old ties with these people hold you back."

"Yes! But... Pharmacist, why are there so many plague apostles?"

"Chaos is a state that easily breeds Plague Apostles. The current war in a nation is the perfect time to create them, and the same is true in Violet City. Some people believe that as long as they become Plague Apostles, they won't be caught by the terrible plague or die from it. But these people often forget that if they do that, they will encounter something far more terrible than the plague—"

Lu Ning turned her head and glanced at Vanessa.

"--us."

A group of knights had already assembled on a grassy field not far away, their young faces filled with excitement.

The first location was a cluster of shacks by the river.

There are many such shacks in the Clockwork River district, mostly temporary residences for people who have just arrived in Violet City. The shack builders rent these houses out cheaply, and because they are near the river and have a water source, there are still quite a few people coming. However, now, most of these people can only huddle in their shacks waiting for the church to lift the blockade.

When a group of church knights stormed in, even some people who were chatting and relaxing outside were frightened and hid back inside. Lu Ning didn't even glance at the group and went straight to the shed where her target was.

“My approach is somewhat different from that of Burial Pivot, Vanessa.” Lu Ning drew her ceremonial sword and with a gentle swing, the sharp, snowy light enveloped the blade, transforming it into a longsword with a chilling aura.

This immediately caught Vanessa's attention. She had already completed half of her spell studies and naturally understood that this was probably a status spell.

Lu Ning reached out and pulled on the door. The shacks here didn't have locks; the residents just made do with whatever they could find, like sticks. Lu Ning yanked the door open, then rushed into the shack like a ghost. A scream rang out, followed by the sound of a sword blade slicing through flesh.

Vanessa had already drawn her gun and rushed in, only to see that the target had been beheaded by Lu Ning, and the cup in his hand was gradually dissipating.

“But there’s not much difference.” Lu Ning pointed her sword at the head that still bore the look of terror. “The Burial Pivot will blow up the house along with everyone inside to prevent any resistance and further damage. I will rush in to make a final check to see if my assessment of this person is correct. But you have to remember, the biggest requirement for this method is that you have overwhelming strength over the target, the kind that won’t cause any surprises.”

"I know..."

"Okay, you're next."

"Huh?" Vanessa was taken aback.

"Never killed anyone?" Lu Ning glanced at her. Vanessa's forehead was already sweating; she did look very nervous.

"Really? The six thugs I found for you disappeared. I didn't investigate, but you must have dealt with them." Lu Ning said while checking the room for any suspicious items she might have missed. "Veronica is still a bit hesitant about this. What about you? If I'm not mistaken..."

“But, Pharmacist, those six people have been confirmed to be extremely heinous criminals, and I’ve spent a lot of time preparing myself mentally.” Vanessa smiled bitterly. “Now you want me to launch a surprise attack like this and strike immediately? I might need to adjust my mindset again.”

"Are you worried about accidentally killing innocent people? There are no innocent people among the Plague Apostles. Accepting the bewitchment of evil gods is a result of their hearts already being on the wrong path. If their minds are firm enough, like Father Petrov of the Church of East, even if they recite the name of the Plague Lord a thousand times in their hearts, it will not have any effect."

“I know, please give me a few minutes, I’ll adjust, I’ll do it!” Vanessa said quickly.

"Okay, you'll have enough time to adjust on the way to the next place."

Lu Ning, sword in hand, went out and instructed a knight to stay behind to inform the residents of the details, and to notify the church patrolling the area to conduct an autopsy and collect the body. She then led her team on their way.

When the next door was violently flung open, Vanessa was the first to rush into the room, her gun pointed at the people inside. There was a young man and woman inside, embracing each other in a panic. Vanessa knew that the apostle inside was the woman—judging from her position, the man had deliberately shielded her from view.

The "Plague" was in her hands. She seemed to be able to communicate with this weapon through her very soul. She was 100% confident that she could shoot through the woman's skull with one shot. However, when she saw this scene, her mind still paused slightly. It was only because of the mental preparation she had made before entering the house that she subconsciously pulled the trigger.

The sound of firing wasn't very loud, and the dust and mist that burst from the muzzle wasn't gunpowder smoke, while the special bullet faithfully pierced through the woman's forehead.

She fell down without making any special movements.

“Aside from being a little fast, there’s nothing wrong.” Lu Ning walked into the room, past the terrified man, and checked the woman’s belongings. She found a pendant around her neck that was turning to ash. “Has she not made her move yet…?”

"The plague apostles cannot resist the temptation to spread the plague. You can understand it as a kind of instinctive 'hunger'. Therefore, it is impossible for any apostle to really lie dormant for several years."

Lu Ning then glanced at the man, and seeing that he didn't seem to be acting strangely, she walked out. Vanessa hurriedly followed her out.

"You didn't make a judgment, did you?" Lu Ning asked.

"Yes, I just kept telling myself I had to shoot..."

“There’s nothing wrong with doing this. I have the time to convince myself, but you may not be at that point yet. Vanessa, eradicating evil completely is a practice that all cardinals follow. We don’t feel there’s anything wrong with direct execution because someone has paid a heavy price for hesitation. These details may not be recorded in detail in the Book of Calamities, but you should be able to sense them.”

Vanessa knew that such things were usually glossed over, but the descriptions of casualties in the subsequent incident summary report were enough to illustrate how dangerous it was.

"Next one, be quick."

After killing two, some plague apostles might get wind of the situation through monsters or other means, and they would escape. Even if Lu Ning could track them down, she wanted to save her energy.

Sure enough, when she killed the fifth person, Lu Ning didn't see anyone when she entered the door, but instead a crossbow bolt was shot at her.

"The garrison..."

The crossbow bolt froze and shattered in mid-air, and the owner of the house was long gone. It was a young man from the guard unit; clearly, he already knew of Lu Ning's actions and had prepared a trap for her.

“A clever trick. But you can remember this, Vanessa, the Plague Apostles’ counterattack. They will try to escape our pursuit by any means necessary.” Lu Ning sneered, revealing the bacterial membrane again and quickly scanning several surveillance positions around her, finding the people who were trying to escape.

He's running towards the garrison, probably seeking refuge? Or maybe he just wants to infect a few people before he dies?
It didn't matter anymore. Lu Ning raised her palm and pointed it in the direction where she had found the person. The person hadn't run far and was still within range—Palm Thunder Ren.

A flash of lightning, a dim blue bolt of lightning bypassing houses and trees, struck the fleeing man directly in the heart. Ignoring the screams of people in the street, she continued her examination of the body to confirm death and her search for the suspected plague prototype to confirm the damage.

She and Vanessa, one on each, were killing all the Plague Apostles in the Clockwork River District with extremely high efficiency. This kind of cold-blooded killing was not as good as the mass raids of the Burial Harbor or the positional bombardment of the Kiss Harbor, but Vanessa felt that this was a carefully designed serial killing plan, and the prey being targeted would only die sooner or later depending on the order of the list.

—It's like Death's list.

"Why are you spacing out again? This is the last one. Theoretically, it's my turn, but judging from your position, you should be a good training target."

A minor nobleman, living on the edge of the Clockworks district, had servants and guards. Although he did some work for laborers outside, he was considered quite wealthy in the Clockworks district. Lu Ning, after all, didn't have official authorization from the church to take these people into custody.

“Undoubtedly, they will have some impact on our operations… That’s why I suggest you take a faster approach to this problem,” Lu Ning said to Vanessa.

"Huh? A faster way?"

“There’s no need to observe any formalities with the Plague Apostles,” Lu Ning said, pointing to the small manor about two hundred meters away, indicating to Vanessa. Vanessa understood her meaning almost immediately.

There were no complicated preparations or complex combat techniques that morning; all she witnessed was precise and swift killing. None of these plague apostles had any experience learning magic, and therefore offered little resistance. But for Vanessa, she already knew what the most important thing was.

In her hands, the "wild plague" slowly disintegrated and reconstructed, expanding from a pistol style to a long-barreled shotgun, and began to automatically supplement its scope.

It can only be said that it is worthy of being the true owner. Although Lu Ning can use the various special abilities that this gun brings, she cannot change its appearance. Even if the distribution center changes it into a crossbow for her, she can only use it as a crossbow.

But now Vanessa was just thinking, and the "wild plague" began to transform into a more suitable form in accordance with her thoughts.

"I understand..."

Vanessa walked behind a protruding rock, knelt down, and rested her gun on the stone. The growing slime mold connected with the rock, forming a stable frame. Through the scope, Vanessa saw, in a slightly tinted field of vision, the nobles on the second floor of the manor having their lunch served by servants.

She tapped the side of the gun lightly with her finger, and a newly generated bullet slid into the chamber. In fact, she had never studied shooting at all; her ability to kill those Plague Apostles with headshots was entirely due to the magical connection she had with this gun.

And this time... is no exception.

The autumn wind carried away the bacteria, delivering a message to Vanessa. The scope's markings automatically aligned with the target's head; she only needed to adjust her angle accordingly, brace herself against the butt of the rifle, stabilize herself, and hold her breath—everything proceeded as if she had innately mastered it.

In a moment of stillness, as if the world itself had stopped breathing, Vanessa pulled the trigger. Through the scope, she saw a faint red flower bloom on the man's head before he slumped back in his chair. Those around her only saw her pull the trigger and then exhale a long breath.

Lu Ning dispelled the magic on the ceremonial sword.

"How does it feel?"

"I don't know... I feel very calm right now, is that normal? After all, I've killed quite a few people."

"Quite a few?" Lu Ning glanced at the manor in the distance. Some unrest had already begun, so there was no need to stay any longer. She led her people back. "First of all, the Plague Apostles have no human rights. This was decided jointly by the Church and the Royal Family. Secondly, even if you really treat them as human beings, as long as you are still in the Church, you will definitely kill even more in the future."

"Is this what you're going to teach me today? Efficient killing... and leaving no room for retreat."

"More or less. After all, time is tight, so I can only teach you the most important parts. As for the rest, you'll have to figure it out yourself. I'm leaving for another area this afternoon," Lu Ning said. "I won't be back for at least two days."

"understood."