Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 252 He Said He Was Coming
Guanchao Island is located at the foot of the ring-shaped mountain.

A dozen or so of the second priest's subordinates stood in a pavilion next to the resort hotel.

Two trusted confidants squatted together, lit cigarettes, and talked in hushed tones.

The one missing an ear on his left was the first to speak, "I wonder what kind of people those are..."

Another person with slanted eyes said disdainfully, "Survivors, huh? Don't you see how many people have come up to Guanchao Island? At least tens of thousands. The outside world has probably been flooded. This is the last pure land."

"And there's New Eden."

"Pshaw, there's no such thing as a pure land. If there really is, it's probably Guanchao Island right here on our feet."

Hearing this, the man with missing ears twitched. He subconsciously glanced at the others and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was paying attention to their conversation. He muttered under his breath, "Can't you think before you speak? If the Second Priest hears this, he'll turn us into living dead."

A flicker of apprehension crossed his slanted eyes. "Have you ever eaten the divine stone?"

The man with missing ears panicked. "What do you mean?"

"No, I was just asking. It seems that 90% of the people in New Eden have eaten the Divine Stone."

"Haven't you eaten it before?"

The two were silent for a moment.

"Anyway, I didn't feel there was anything wrong with the divine stone when I marked it."

The man with the slanted eyes reluctantly stubbed out his cigarette butt on the ground and spat. "Let's not talk about this anymore. Have all the survivors who participated in the sacrifice been gathered?"

"The three or four hundred survivors should be heading this way."

"Why are they dying so quickly this time? We think we still had over two thousand people left the next day after our last incident?"

"There were already few people, and then disaster struck right at the beginning. A huge flood came ashore, and we don't know what kind of strange things came up with it."

"With such a commotion, didn't you go check what it was?"

"I have slanted eyes," he asked curiously.

"Whatever, it's not my responsibility anyway. There's food, drink, and women on the island, and even if the sky falls, there are a few priests to hold it up."

"Hey, your women are really nice. How about I trade you mine?"

"Someone is coming!"

The man with missing ears instantly composed himself and looked into the distance.

A figure came running. Although the ground was muddy, there wasn't a single mud spot on his trousers. He was wearing an ill-fitting jacket and carrying a backpack made from a canvas bag, which swayed as he ran.

At the beginning of the sacrificial ceremony, Liu Chang's journey went quite smoothly.

Avoid crowded places, rely on jungle survival experience, and seek survival cautiously.

After eating a few fruits, it was fortunate enough to evolve a divine grace that could manipulate temperature, which manifested as the ability to quickly freeze the surface of water.

Having divine grace is like having a safety net.

Whether they join the New Eden or escape Guanchao Island, they now have the initiative.

Moreover, having this ability will make things much easier in the jungle.

The poisonous insects and the damp rain could no longer pose a threat to him.

Just as he was about to dig a hole in a tree, he suddenly heard a burst of gunfire and then saw a short, stocky man holding an assault rifle, frantically slaughtering the survivors in the jungle.

This excessive amount of fruit terrified him, and he dared not even think of resisting. He then fled eastward with the remaining fruit.

Then, to his despair, he discovered that there were more armed soldiers hunting down the priests to the east.

Liu Chang had no choice but to bite the bullet and run back.

He killed two priests who tried to ambush him on the way and obtained their sacred stones.

The sacred stone was given to them by New Eden before the start of the sacrifice, and its purpose was to be eaten.

In addition, the sacred stone also serves a positioning function.

Liu Chang was worried that there was something wrong with the divine stone, so he didn't eat it. While collecting the divine stone, he encountered a terrifying woman.

He moved through the jungle as if it were flat ground, slicing the flower snake into pieces with a single wave of his bare hand.

He was relentlessly pursued by that terrifying woman, with nowhere to run or escape. If she hadn't accidentally disturbed a strange tree and gotten entangled in it, he wouldn't have been able to escape alive.

Then he received news that the ritual had ended and rushed to the center of the island.

From a great distance, you can see the people of New Eden standing in front of you.

The man with slanted eyes glanced at the man with slanted eyes next to him and asked, "How many?"

"Three, but I didn't eat them."

"Sooner or later, how strong are they?"

"He has received divine favor, and being the first to arrive, he must be one of the best. I want him."

"A great start!"

……

When Liu Chang stepped forward, Que Er glanced at him and smiled faintly.

"Congratulations on receiving divine grace. As someone favored by the gods, you can now come with us up the mountain to participate in the actual ritual."

"We still need to perform sacrifices?"

Liu Chang's face stiffened.

Que Er immediately understood what was going on and smiled, "Don't worry, your ritual is over. As those who have received divine grace, you don't need to participate again."

Liu Chang breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that he was safe.

As the first person to arrive at this sacrificial ceremony, Que Er personally led him up the mountain.

As they walked, he asked, "How does it feel to receive divine grace?"

Liu Changse said, "It's alright."

Que Er was stunned for a moment. It was the first time he had ever seen such a humble God-giver. There was no need for him to put on a show of power.

"you are the first."

Liu Chang touched his nose and smiled wryly. If that terrifying woman were chasing you, you would run faster than me.

As soon as he reached the top of the mountain, Liu Chang witnessed a bizarre scene.

More than three hundred people tightly surrounded an altar, but standing at the front was not a few priests in black robes, but a long-haired young man dressed in black.

The latter merely glanced at him sideways, yet it sent chills down his spine.

The people outside made way for him, leading him all the way to the second priest.

Liu Chang walked over and stopped three meters away from the second priest. Different auras intertwined, making him feel as if he had stepped into a cage of wild beasts.

The second priest glanced at him and frowned slightly. "Eat the divine stone and squeeze out a few drops of blood on the altar, and you're done."

Liu Chang's heart tightened. Did he still have to eat that stuff?

But feeling the threatening gazes, Liu Chang had no choice but to take out the bright red crystal.

Including my own, there are three in total.

"What is this?"

A clear voice came from in front of him, and the young man in a casual black shirt had somehow appeared in front of him.

Liu Chang was just a little nervous, but the Second Priest's pupils suddenly contracted.

He took a half-step back with apprehension, bringing himself closer to death.

"You have so many, you wouldn't mind giving me one, would you?"

Su Huan asked with a smile, but before he could answer, she had already naturally taken one from his hand and put it back in its original position.

Upon seeing this, the second priest hesitated, then gave Su Huan a deep look.

Su Huan examined the so-called divine stone with great interest. It contained energy fluctuations, but it was much more turbid than the energy crystal, as if it had been mixed with something else. He couldn't figure it out for the time being, so he tossed it to Shu Wei behind him.

On the other side, Liu Chang ate the remaining two divine stones, then cut his hand with a knife and squeezed the blood onto the edge of the altar.

"Is this how to activate the altar?"

Su Huan asked curiously.

The high priest nodded. "Yes, it can only be activated with the blood of a divinely favored one."

"Is it."

Su Huan's eyelids twitched slightly.

Feeling the energy continuously draining from his body and the amplified perceptual energy, he used Yu Yue's "Shared Sound Field" to transmit his voice, "Activation conditions: perceptual energy level two or above, which consumes a lot of energy."

While taking notes, Shu Wei asked, "Is blood a necessary condition?"

Su Huan pondered for a moment, "It should be a trigger. Only with this blood can the energy within these people be activated."

"Where's the sacred stone?" "I don't see what it has to do with the ritual."

After thinking for a moment, Su Huan asked the High Priest directly, "Was the divine stone there before?"

Ador replied, "That was done by the Second Priest. He said it could enhance the strength of those blessed by the gods, so his subordinates are all a bit stronger than ours..."

“There was a sound of crystals breaking in his room, so it might be this thing.”

Yu Yue's voice came to Su Huan's ears.

"Oh~"

That's quite interesting.

Su Huan smiled, but only slightly.

As they were talking, a figure was led up from the foot of the mountain.

The second priest turned around abruptly, his eyes gleaming, and said urgently, "Let her come here."

The crowd parted, and a figure completely wrapped in a military raincoat walked through the crowd. His cold, slender vertical pupils swept around the crowd, and when he saw Su Huan and the others, they suddenly stretched and rounded out.

Slightly surprised, "The train conductor?"

Su Huan turned around with a smile and waved, "The kitten arrived quickly."

Upon hearing this, the second priest paused, his expression quickly darkening.

He never expected that the two of them knew each other.

However, he couldn't let such a promising candidate for Grim Reaper slip through his fingers.

Regardless of whether you know the person or not, once they participate in the ritual, that person belongs to you.

Even if your own parents came, it wouldn't help!
"How many divine stones did you obtain?"

The second priest asked coldly.

The meerkat reached into its bosom and pulled out a handful of red crystals of various sizes. Because its hands were too small, the crystals all fell to the ground.

Everyone who witnessed this scene fell silent.

The man with slanted eyes twitched at the corner of his mouth. "How many the hell are there?"

After sensing it for a moment, the man with missing ears stammered, "Forty-six, many of which are secondary or even tertiary fusions."

"More than forty people have been killed in just half a day?!"

Their voices were low, but they still reached the ears of those around them.

Looking at the meerkat's weak appearance, everyone's eyes were filled with disbelief.

The second priest took a deep breath, his voice trembling, "Quickly, eat it all, then squeeze some blood onto the altar."

"Once you complete the ritual, you will likely receive the next stage of divine grace. When I become the High Priest, you can take over the position of the Third Priest!"

What New Eden, what Tribute? Where is the grandeur of becoming a general on an armed train?

The meerkat's gaze fell on the train conductor behind it.

The latter lowered his head slightly, as if lost in thought.

"Wait a moment!"

A loud shout came from down the mountain.

A short, stocky man came running up the mountain, panting. He was carrying a gun in one hand and a cloth bag in the other. From a distance, he threw the bag over. The bag landed on the ground and scattered a pile of red crystals.

The meerkat stared at the crystals, its eyes wide. Although it didn't count them, it knew there were definitely more than its own.

Are we going to lose?

As for the second priest, he was almost flushed, looking at Lao Wu's round face with more passion than he would at a lover.

I thought the meerkat had struck gold, but I never expected there to be another expert among them!

"It's over, the score is tied at one to one."

Seeing that Su Huan knew meerkats, A Duo thought that her side had gained a powerful general, and her horns on her head turned pink with excitement.

But with the appearance of Lao Wu, he became dejected again.

"Use whatever methods you have quickly, or it will be too late..."

Su Huan ignored her and instead spoke quietly with Shu Wei.

"Director Xu agrees with your guess. The danger is minimal; we can give it a try. As for the red crystal, it's likely a product of the 'Manufacturer.'"

"Okay, let's try it."

Su Huan walked toward the altar and stepped onto the first step.

"What are you doing?!"

The three priests let out an angry shout.

It instantly attracted everyone's attention.

Upon seeing Su Huan ascending the steps, a commotion immediately erupted.

Ado said anxiously, "You are not the High Priestess yet, you can't go up!"

The second priest turned around and saw Su Huan, who had already climbed the third step. His eyes turned red with anger. That was his spot!

"Outsider, you are blaspheming!"

The high priest was also taken aback. "The ritual hasn't started yet, there's no use in you going up now."

There were only three steps in total. In the time it took to say two sentences, Su Huan was already standing at the top. He sat down in the chair without any politeness, and curled his lips in slight disdain. This chair was far inferior to his orange cat sofa.

"It's just blood, no problem."

Su Huan waved his hand dismissively, but as he thought about what was about to happen, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

The giraffe looked at the train conductor's lips and suddenly felt a pang in its heart.

He scurried up the altar and hid behind Su Huan.

The meerkat and Lao Wu reacted quickly.

Seeing a group of people fill the altar, the second priest roared in anger, "Kill these blasphemers!"

Su Huan looked at the crowd of people crammed behind him, somewhat speechless.

"Useless. Let He Jie make a fuss."

Shu Wei's expression tightened. "He said he's here."

Bai Lu asked in a panic, "What's here?"

"boom--"

A dark shadow, faster than lightning, suddenly flashed before my eyes.

The more than three hundred people who were preparing to rush onto the altar suddenly erupted into chaos.

Blood, flesh and bones, rocks, plants...

Everything at the center of the impact point was equally engulfed by the explosion in that instant.

The terrifying sound wave swept over everything around it, even shattering the stone altar.

A'duo was so frightened that her hair stood on end. She grabbed the high priest beside her and rushed towards the altar, ignoring any blasphemy, and hid behind Su Huan.

"It's quite powerful."

In the train conductor's dark eyes, a tiny spark ignited, like a blooming datura flower, frantically devouring the crowd.

The air pressure, carrying rocks, swept across the area once more.

"It's just a little crooked."

A chilling barrier of lightning and a vacuum appeared before the altar.

With the train conductor as the dividing line, the ground shook violently in front of the altar.

After the altar, all was calm.

Yu Yue intercepted all the sounds.

A moment later, the smoke slowly dissipated.

A pit 1.2 meters deep and 50 meters in radius appeared in front of the altar.

Various charred limbs slowly ooze dark red liquid from the deep pit.

The giraffe stared at the deep pit beneath its feet, completely stunned.

"Is this how you use a howitzer?"

(End of this chapter)