Chapter 712: “Divine Favor”
Unable to fight back, my right hand holding the gun was bitten. My left hand attempting to draw my repeating crossbow would take too long, enough time for the wolf to bite off my hand. Don’t let this wolf’s appearance fool you; it’s actually a low-level magical beast.
Similarly, spells like Life Drain, Plague of Maggots, and Poison Mist Technique would take too long to be fatal or force it to let go. I had no time to think and instinctively used Hellfire.
“Awooooo…” The wolf that bit my hand was struck on the forehead by my fireball. The Hellfire burned through its skull, and it died with a scream.
I didn’t have time to worry about exposing my mage identity. It didn’t matter now anyway. My right hand was bleeding, but not too deeply. I continued firing at the surrounding wolves, repelling their continuous assaults, as they were more dangerous.
With the magical beasts in a frenzy, everyone’s pressure increased. Tandri was unable to dodge and was headbutted by the rampaging Wild Boar King. He raised his greatsword to block, but the immense force sent him flying five to six meters, crashing to the ground.
Seeing the troublesome human fall, the Wild Boar King excitedly stomped the floor a few times, snorting air from its nostrils.
Familiar with the Wild Boar King’s habits, Tandri knew this was its preparatory move before charging. If he didn’t stand up and dodge, he would soon face a charge capable of collapsing brick walls.
However, he couldn’t stand up. His body ached from the impact. The Wild Boar King was already strong, and it felt even stronger after becoming enraged. A casual flick of its head felt like being hit by a heavy hammer, and his hand could barely hold the greatsword.
He could only try to roll away. Just as the Wild Boar King prepared to charge, numerous thorns suddenly emerged from the ground, entangling its legs.
The Wild Boar King tried to exert its strength but was suddenly halted, losing its balance. It tripped under its own massive weight and the inertia from its great force, falling into the thorn bushes. However, its thick hide prevented the thorny bushes from doing much harm.
“Thanks, you saved me.” Tandri, propping himself up with his sword, managed to stand up and thanked Milti, who had just tripped the Wild Boar King with thorns.
“Be careful, that Shrieking Shaman has enraged the magical beasts. This greatly increases their aggressiveness, but it further reduces his control over them,” Milti warned.
But he didn’t have much control to begin with. With the magical beasts now swarming into the village and attacking indiscriminately, he didn’t care if the village was destroyed.
“Master! Priest! Please have mercy! Make the magical beasts stop, my home is over there!” Even the priest’s supporters ran up to him, crying and begging.
“Silence! If you want the magical beasts to leave, then go and kill those heretics. The magical beasts will naturally not need to fight in your village anymore!” the priest shouted.
He was actually deceiving the villagers. He could no longer control the enraged magical beasts, and even if the enemies were eliminated, these magical beasts would simply target the villagers next.
“But, how can we possibly defeat them? They are so strong!” The villagers watched as we each battled magical beasts, exclaiming that they were invincible.
The priest’s eyes darted, and he suddenly had an idea. “Heh heh, that’s simple too. I will bestow upon you the grace of the Dark Gods, so you can protect your homes yourselves.”
“Really? Are you truly willing to bestow Divine Favor upon us?” the villagers asked ecstatically. The priest was clearly the culprit behind the village’s destruction, yet they were easily incited by his words, directing their hostility and hatred towards us, despite us doing nothing.
“Of course, come, do not resist. This is a blessing bestowed upon you by the Gods. Our benevolent Father loves all worldly people!” He spread his arms wide dramatically, and his staff began to flicker with a verdant light.
In an instant, the surrounding darkness was stirred. I felt as if a great rift had opened in the void, leaking an incomparably terrifying aura and a lot of unknown energy.
The energy was incredibly chaotic, as if it were born from a fusion of the most primitive and violent magical power with the Filthy emotions and desires deep within the human heart. It was far more terrifying than the pure darkness or Undead aura I had encountered before.
Then, as the priest swung his staff down, a large amount of this chaotic energy surged into the villagers. Their expressions instantly turned ecstatic. “I feel it! Power, power is entering me!”
It was a joke. These villagers had no idea what they were experiencing or what they would become. Not only ordinary people like them, but even someone like Older Brother Jayad or myself couldn’t withstand this energy without mutating!
As expected, their joyous laughter turned into terrified screams the next moment. “Ahhh! It hurts, it hurts so much! It’s so itchy! It’s so hot! Master Priest, wh-what is happening?!”
Some villagers had been envious of their experience, wanting to receive the Gods’ favor and were eagerly preparing to beg for it. But seeing the fate of those who had, they immediately retreated. I didn’t believe anyone who witnessed this would still want to join them.
“Quiet! This is a necessary trial, and also our benevolent Father’s affection! Do not move!” The priest seemed to be enduring great pressure himself. What he said was useless; the villagers could no longer escape even if they wanted to.
If I could shoot him in the forehead now, I could surely kill him. Unfortunately, I’m currently entangled with the wolves and cannot break free. I’ve been secretly weakening these magic wolves with Life Drain, and they’ll collapse soon.
“Hmph! Hmph humph! Ahhhhhh!” Amidst their painful cries, the villagers’ bodies underwent a terrifying mutation. Their muscles rapidly grew developed, bulged, then blistered and festered.
Tentacles, limbs, and chitin emerged from the broken pustules. Some grew horns on their heads, some’s hands turned into pincers, and others’ feet became hooves.
Finally, they were unrecognizable. No two looked alike, like products of random mutation. The only similarity was that their bodies were all sickly green and festering everywhere.
“Abandone! Those are products of excessive corruption by chaotic energy, completely uncontrollable mutations, abandoned by the Chaos Gods!” Milti shouted loudly.
Information flooded my mind. So this energy was the infamous Chaos, one of the main components and sources of demons.
These Abandone had completely lost their minds, now only able to wail in pain, but that didn’t mean the Shrieking Shaman couldn’t control them.
“Go! Servants of the Gods! Kill them!”
