The North American Gourmet Demon Handbook

"Perhaps, you are right. At this moment, it is my destined death." The Martyr of Dusk said, and the holy light on his body that had originally calmed down began to surge, surging and chaotic.

"Go to hell, heretic!" The Martyr finally smiled. He wanted to detonate his own holy light and kill Li Shanze together.

At the same time, Kate's voice chanting the spell was heard.

Li Shanze still held his throat. If Kate's spell was too late, he would have to invalidate the Twilight Martyr's self-destruction.

Fortunately, with Kate's serious and cold voice, a pair of sacred shackles appeared on the martyr.

"Those who are corrupted by sin will be put into a cage of brazen thorns; and those who boast of their authority will be bound in the fetters of the Holy Name."

When the last syllable was pronounced, the holy light on the Martyr's body was also tightly bound by the sacred shackles, and could not leak out at all.

By the time the holy light on his body was suppressed and the large holy candle dimmed, it was completely dark.

"Sorry, you acted too late. It's past dusk and now it's night." Li Shanze pointed to the stars in the sky and smiled at the Twilight Martyr.

The crows circling in the sky quietly landed under the cover of night and began to peck at the dead bodies.

"Heretic! Shameful betrayal! You actually tampered with the sacred poem!" This was the first time that the Martyr behaved so inappropriately.

He accused Kate fiercely, "Sure enough, Mr. Paul Fitzgerald is right. You are on the road to apostasy! Kate Mackenzie!"

"It's ridiculous for me to be accused of apostasy by you." Kate was indifferent to the accusation of the martyr and even smiled disdainfully.

"The martyr was born in 1970 in Khorog, a city on the Pamir Plateau in the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. He was raised in an environment of Shia Islam."

"After graduating from high school in 1988, I was recommended to a military academy in Leningrad because of my excellent academic performance and good physical condition. I majored in intelligence and investigation, and I always maintained my Shia faith."

"After graduating from military school with excellent grades in 1990, I joined the Soviet State Security Committee (KGB). After a year of rigorous training, I was about to be assigned to a grassroots department in Moscow, but the Soviet Union collapsed."

"From that point on, my smooth sailing life took a sudden turn for the worse. With the KGB in disarray, I lost my job and livelihood. To survive, I joined a mafia organization comprised primarily of Russian and Central Asian members. It quickly became known for its bloodshed, and was responsible for the 'Ashes of St. Petersburg' tragedy."

"Because he killed too many people in the gang, he attracted attention and was eventually assassinated by his enemies. He faked his death, changed his name, and in 1919, disguised himself as a Catholic and joined the Inquisition."

"The most proud action of the Inquisition was the 'Venice Trial' in 1915, which 'cleaned up' the Orthodox Christians who had flocked to Venice due to the civil war in the former Yugoslavia."

"Am I right? Dusk Martyr, or should I call you by your real name, Mr. Rahim Gafarov?"

Li Shanze was speechless after hearing this magical resume.

My goodness, Muslims trained by the KGB in the former Soviet socialist countries joined the Catholic Inquisition and led the massacre of Orthodox Christians - this is simply astonishing.

No wonder old knight Loganfield gnashed his teeth in hatred when he mentioned these non-Catholic "conservative" priests.

It would be fine if they didn't believe in God, but the Inquisition is filled with pagans.

The Catholic Church must believe in God.

No wonder this guy wanted to pull me to blow myself up just now because of a disagreement. It turns out it was because of his Muslim background. It’s a pity that he didn’t shout Allahhu Akbar in due time.

"Impossible! The Intelligence Department has been completely paralyzed. It's impossible for them to find my resume." Rahim Gafalov said in disbelief.

"It's true that the Vatican's intelligence office can't find your resume," Kate said slowly. "But please don't forget, Mr. Rahim Gafarov, I'm not only a Grand Knight of the Church, but also an FBI agent."

The old knight Loganfield, who had been feeling refreshed because he had killed many of the "conservative" lackeys, was now gritting his teeth.

The old knight pointed at Rahim Gafarov with shaking hands and asked Kate in disbelief, "What? Have those bastards now allowed these pagans to steal the Lord's power?"

Kate sneered, "Compared to these pagans, heretics, and Jews who have infiltrated the Vatican, these atheist priests who simply don't believe in the existence of God are indeed true conservatives."

"How can we destroy the church with these insects!" The old knight's chest heaved violently, and his hands trembled as he pressed the consecrated bullets into the magazine one by one.

"I'll go find that old bastard Paul Fitzgerald right now--" The old knight changed his mind halfway through his words.

He looked at Li Shanze and said, "I'm afraid I can't give you all the money in that bag. I need a plane ticket to Rome."

Good man, you are trying to kill insects and shoot the sun.

Li Shanze had nothing to say. He originally wanted to give the old knight some advice, but seeing the old knight's determination to fight to the death and leave tonight, he realized that it was useless to say anything.

So Li Shanze casually took out a stack of US dollars from his pocket and handed it to the old knight.

"The Vatican's problems are not just in the Sistine Chapel," Kate said.

"Of course I know, but I'm already old, and I'm afraid I won't see the day when the problem is completely solved." After making up his mind, the old knight smiled with an unusually open-minded smile, "Let me, an old man, take the first step."

After saying that, he raised the stack of money in his hand and waved it to Li Shanze: "Thank you, this is a loan from me. If possible, I will return it to you."

Li Shanze also smiled: "Ah, I look forward to the day when you pay me back."

The old knight finally nodded to Li Shanze and Kate, then left without looking back.

His steps were firm and resounding, startling countless crows that were gnawing on the corpse in the night.

Author's words: Thanks to Polar Bear, Good! Very good!, Book Friend 5257559194, and Wukong for their monthly tickets

Thanks to Qianxiao Anran and Xiaopingguo112633 for their recommendation votes

229 Repentant Monk

After watching the old knight leave, Kate and Li Shanze were silent for a while.

Kate suddenly broke the silence. Pointing at the tightly bound Twilight Martyr she had summoned, she asked Li Shanze, "Li, do you have anything else to ask him?"

Li Shanze was a little tempted, but he still shook his head: "No, I don't think I can pry any useful information out of the former KGB."

After Kate completely subdued the fairy Jennifer Bolton, Li Shanze realized that professional matters should be left to professionals.

To put it bluntly, Li Shanze now felt that his torture technique was very poor, and this martyr was an extremist who wanted to drag him to self-destruct if they had a disagreement.

Li Shanze didn't think he could get any useful information from such a person, so he decided to leave it to Kate.

Kate nodded when she heard this: "Okay."

Then she took out the consecrated Colt M1911 "Confessor" from her waist, cocked the slide, and pointed the gun at the Martyr.

The Twilight Martyr's eyes widened in surprise, and he spoke hastily in a hoarse and unpleasant voice, "You haven't even asked yet, how do you know I won't answer—"

boom.

A holy fire flashed from Kate's gun muzzle.

The blessed bullet pierced the martyr's forehead.

With a thud, this former Soviet gangster from Tajikistan, a Muslim trained by the KGB system, and an executioner of the Catholic Inquisition fell forever in this small village on the outskirts of Philadelphia.

"Eternal Lord, I execute your judgments with the sword of justice. Now I return this soul to the depths of your mysteries, and ask you, in your mercy, to restore its lost image in the eternal morning light. Amen."

After killing the Twilight Martyr, Kate made the sign of the cross over her heart and whispered a prayer.

Li Shanze raised his eyebrows: "I thought you would interrogate him carefully."

It was not surprising that Li Shanze killed the martyr with a clean shot to Kate - since he heard that the old knight Loganfield was going to return to the Vatican, he must have no hope that he would be released if he cooperated.

Since Loganfield left his back to Kate and Li Shanze with confidence, he naturally believed that they would clean up the mess.

This is also one of the reasons why Li Shanze simply gave up asking any information from the martyr.

"He's just a dog kept by some bigwigs in the church. After all, his background isn't that pure. He won't know any useful information." Kate smiled. "The Vatican's Intelligence Office isn't as clueless as he thinks."

"Rather, since he thinks the Vatican Intelligence Agency is in chaos and knows nothing, that just proves he's the one who knows nothing." Kate smiled slyly. "Of course, there's no need for us to waste our time on him."

At this point, Kate's voice softened, "Master, we might as well examine that little bitch of yours some more."

"Are you sure that the retired Archbishop of Boston won't send anyone again?" Li Shanze hugged Kate and whispered in her ear.

"Yes, he has 'retired' after all. Although he still retains the position of cardinal, the power he can mobilize has suddenly become much smaller." Kate was hugged by Li Shanze and rested her head on Li Shanze's shoulder.

"Of course, as an emeritus archbishop, the resources he can mobilize are certainly not limited to a team of executioners."

The two of them hugged each other and whispered, but the topics they talked about were completely unrelated to the moonlit night.

"But they're calling in executioners from the Inquisition to deal with the Grand Knight of the Church, and they're also trying to cover up his past collusion with heretics who practice witchcraft. The fact that they're able to mobilize an entire team of executioners is actually far beyond my expectations."

Having said that, Kate took the initiative to kiss Li Shanze on the corner of his mouth.

"Thanks to the master who, through some unknown method, killed off a group of four executioners and the penitent monk in one fell swoop. Otherwise, today would have been a tough battle."

Li Shanze said disapprovingly, "I see you dealing with these executioners as easily as chopping melons and vegetables. It didn't take much effort, so it wasn't a hard fight at all."

Li Shanze was still a little uncomfortable with Kate's sudden flattery.

"That's because you, Master, don't understand that old fox Paul Fitzgerald. He simply underestimated your fighting ability."

However, the Knight said that she never flattered others hypocritically, but only spoke the truth.

"Both I and Mr. Ebenezer Loganfield, who was broken into, are well known to Paul Fitzgerald."

"These two groups of executioners, plus a penitent monk, are probably a surefire way to deal with the two of us. This last group of executioners might have had some hidden cards up their sleeves, but they were all taken out in one go, Master."

"Besides, that penitent monk alone was enough to give us a headache. I didn't even have time to remind the master of his abilities before he killed him."

Having said that, Kate even looked at Li Shanze with some admiration in her eyes.

Being looked at in this way by Kate, the great knight of the church, even Li Shanze couldn't help but feel a little flattered.

Li Shanze asked curiously, "What is a repentant monk? Why does it give you so much trouble?"

"It developed from the church's early system of penitence."

"Irish monasteries once compiled a book of penance, quantifying sins and penances, such as requiring bread thieves to fast for Lent... but they accidentally discovered that devout penitents who committed serious sins would be given stigmata after sincerely completing their penance."

Li Shanze became more curious: "Sacred Mark?"

"It's the five wounds of Jesus that appear on mortals. The Son of God, Jesus, was tied to the cross, wearing a crown of thorns, and pierced through the heart by the Spear of Longinus. The wounds are on the palms of his hands, the insteps of his feet, his right side, and the crown of thorns on his forehead."

“The most famous example is Saint Francis of Assisi – a saint who, of course, found favor with the Lord not through penance but through devout spiritual practice.”

"The piercing wounds on St. Francis' hands and feet, as well as the lacerations on his right ribs, which caused severe pain and bleeding every Friday, have been rigorously verified by the Church and have proven to be completely unintentional. Furthermore, these stigmata can protect St. Francis from all sorts of attacks."

Li Shanze thought of the scar that inexplicably withstood the bullet and nodded.

"In fact, the stigmata fighting method was developed by St. Francis on Mount Ravenna and has been practiced to this day."

"The receipt of the stigmata is often accompanied by an intense spiritual experience. This phenomenon is considered a sign of a deep union with the Passion of Christ."

Li Shanze pondered for a moment and nodded again.

To put it bluntly, it means believing in Christianity to the point of madness.

Anyone who believes in God can experience God's pain. This is also a kind of "violent negotiation between the spirit and the material world."

Considering that this is a world where idealistic forces exist, Li Shanze thinks it is normal for stigmata to appear on devout believers.

"So, the main function of the stigmata is to defend against attacks?"

"Yes, at least neither I nor Lord Loganfield have any means to break the stigma." Having said that, Kate kissed Li Shanze on the corner of his mouth again.

This is not surprising. After all, the stigmata are one of the "Five Wounds of the Son of God". How could the Catholic knights attack the Son of God? In mysticism, there should also be a kind of suppression from a higher level.

After understanding this, Li Shanze also understood why Kate felt that she and the old knight together could not defeat this team of executioners.

Not to mention the four executioners who attacked in perfect coordination, just this one repentant monk was enough to make all the attacks of the two men come to naught.

Since we can only take the beating unilaterally, defeat is only a matter of time.

"So, it's all thanks to the master that we were able to end the battle so smoothly." Kate licked her lips and said excitedly.

"Okay, don't rush to flatter me. Loganfield ran away in a cool manner, but he left a mess for us." Li Shanze sighed.

"Let's go check on the villagers—or rather, the actors—first. Since the people sent by the retired archbishop have arrived, perhaps the wizards and the TV station people will be here soon."

"If this reality show is as famous as you say, and it suddenly went off the air, maybe curious reporters would be arriving soon."

At this point, Li Shanze sighed, "Actually, dealing with the all-pervasive media is the most troublesome thing. You might have to use your FBI authority to suppress this matter."

Kate had a different opinion. She shook her head and said, "No, ordinary reporters can't find this village at all. This village has actually been tampered with."

230 Darkness and Taming

Kate's words aroused Li Shanze's curiosity.

Li Shanze asked in confusion, "What happened to this village? What happened?"

"This village—or more precisely, the film set—is under a spell of cognitive manipulation. Untrained individuals can only find it by taking specialized transportation."

Kate replied.

Li Shanze recalled the shabby and bumpy carriage he and the old knight rode in when they came to this village. It was by no means a comfortable travel experience.

"The Church isn't sure how long this kind of witchcraft has existed. Perhaps these heretics have relied on this secretive method to successfully evade the Church's pursuit for thousands of years."

"Perhaps due to the easing of relations with the church, this type of witchcraft is no longer so secretive. It was only recently discovered by the church in recent years."