Chapter 117: Eradication

The moment Gu Mingde gave his order, all the agents started moving, but they did not charge in all together. Instead, one group moved in first, and after they were a distance away, another group followed. This way, each team provided cover for the other.

After covering some distance, the first group would stop to observe the situation before continuing. Each time, they would leave a clear mark, so the other groups could follow them and they would be easy to remove after the operation.

Chen Chuan’s group moved last. The others moved really quickly, so when it was time for Chen Chuan’s group to start moving, the first group had already entered the hamlet.

They had moved cautiously in the beginning, but to their surprise, the entrance was unguarded. The hamlet residents did not set up any defense.

They found many residents gathered in the empty space in front of the old temple. With their backs turned to the entrance, they kowtowed to the temple. One of them was dressed like a shaman and had his arms spread wide open while chanting in a strange manner. The drummers were the more bizarre ones, though: They hit the leather drums with their heads. The entire scene was absolutely crazy and ridiculous.

But it was precisely because of this fervent atmosphere that the residents did not notice anyone entering their hamlet.

The agents perked up and praised Chen Chuan for his judgment. Moving into the hamlet while the residents were making their offering was indeed the best time. Their operation became much simpler because of it.

The agents nodded at each other and spread out slowly to find suitable locations. When the group after them arrived, a little over twenty agents were in the hamlet. They lifted their crossbows and started shooting at the residents.

Based on the Flying Head Cult gathering spots they had cracked down previously, these people had been exposed to the Flying Heads’ influence for too long, and there was no way to save them. They would also attack all those who were not followers with berserk rage, so they could not show any mercy.

When the residents at the back collapsed, the ones in the front finally realized that something was wrong and turned around to stare at the agents with bloodshot eyes. Then, with enraged shouts, they charged.

It was useless. As more agents came in, they spread around the empty space and moved forward in an arc. They did not care about keeping quiet anymore, so they drew their guns and started shooting.

Some of the agents at the rear even had rifles and nets so that they could fend against Flying Heads, which could fly out of the temple at any moment. In an instant, the hamlet was filled with the sound of gunshots.

But even when all the followers before the temple were gunned down, they did not see a single Flying Head. The agents immediately went forward and fired finishing shots at the followers. Then, two of them went to the entrance of the old temple to look inside. The moment they did that, they stopped moving and fell on the ground.

Their teammates were shocked. Just as they were about to go help them, the ones behind them grabbed them and hissed, “Don’t go!”

A moment later, the agents at the back watched with shock and terror as the two agents climbed up with bloodshot eyes. They drew knives from their belts and tried stabbing the closest agents.

Fortunately, there was no order to their attacks, so they were soon pinned down to the ground. Even so, they kept struggling and shouting.

The other agents’ expressions changed as they watched the two agents behaving this way. Even though they knew that the two agents were not affected for now, they did not want to end up like them.

One of the group leaders said, “Let’s move back and wait for Mr. Chen to take care of those things.”

The others agreed to it and retreated far back.

Chen Chuan and his group had already entered the hamlet at this point. When Gu Mingde saw how easily the agents had infiltrated the hamlet without even using smoke bombs, he was quite surprised. “They didn’t leave behind a guard?”

That’s normal. Supernatural beings who drive people insane don’t care about logic. If you don’t have undying loyalty toward them, then you have no loyalty toward them. I’m pretty sure that they would have demanded the heads of all those who didn’t kowtow to them during the offering ceremony, Chen Chuan thought.

He looked around and counted around eighty people dead. Practically all of them were men in their prime. There was not a single woman, child, or elderly. This was not normal for a hamlet, and when he remembered the Flying Heads who flew out earlier, he shook his head.

Just then, an agent ran over and told Gu Mingde about what had happened.

Gu Mingde’s expression turned stern as he turned to Chen Chuan. “What do you think, Mr. Chen?”

“Let me take care of the rest, but there are quite a lot of Flying Heads inside. I might not be able to stop them all by myself. All of you have to be on guard, Captain Gu.”

“As long as our weapons are effective against them, we’ll take them down,” Gu Mingde said.

Chen Chuan believed him. If they could maintain their sanity in front of normal Flying Heads, they would not have a hard time dealing with them. “By the way, could you lend me a few extra guns?”

Gu Mingde took out a gun he had never fired before and handed it to Chen Chuan without hesitation. Then, he motioned to the back, and Pan Zhong as well as another agent at the back came forward to hand their guns to Gu Mingde, who then turned the muzzles downward and handed them over.

Chen Chuan took the guns and tucked them all into the belt around the cloak. Just as he was about to move forward, Gu Mingde called out to him and took out a capsule blister pack from his pocket. “Take this with you too, Mr. Chen.”

Chen Chuan took a look. Those were Tranquility Capsules. The Department of Administrative Affairs’ consultant had suggested the agents get them for the mission. Usually, they could calm their minds if they kept it under their tongues, while if they took them during moments of crisis, they could keep their sanity.

The capsules weren’t useless, per se. They would be good if they were up against one or two Flying Heads. This had been proven true in past cases, but the effects were limited when a person went up against a swarm and the source of the Flying Heads. Still, Chen Chuan took the capsules and said, “Thank you.”

Gu Mingde then said sternly, “Be careful, Mr. Chen. If things go awry, retreat. We’ll think of another way to get rid of them.”

Chen Chuan nodded. “I might need more than a day to take down the Flying Heads. I’ll also need a sacrifice at the usual time for the offering ceremony. Please get an offering ready by then.”

Chen Chuan had already told Gu Mingde all the conditions he needed to win, so Gu Mingde said, “We’ll be sure to get everything ready, Mr. Chen.”

Chen Chuan drew the Frost King Saber and headed into the old temple. The moment he got close, his second self started blurring out, but it was not as bad as he thought it would be. It was about the same as when he was at the foot of the mountain.

He then took out the yellow jade Cheng Zitong had given him and found that its edges had turned slightly darker. By the looks of it, the jade could take some damage for him.

He put it away and headed inside.

Gu Mingde and the rest of the agents watched Chen Chuan disappear into the darkness. Their expressions were grim. The source of the Flying Heads could not be killed by just throwing numerous agents at it. Only an expert could take it out.

Once Chen Chuan was inside, he saw a small tunnel cut through the mountain wall. There were stone slabs covered in cracks around his feet and torches fixed to the walls.

After some eight meters, he saw six people forming two rows. They were positioned shoulder-to-shoulder and were kowtowing while mumbling something. It seemed like they were completely unaware of what was going on outside.

But the moment Chen Chuan stepped into this space, he seemed to have triggered something. All of them jumped to their feet while growling and cursing at him.

Chen Chuan positioned his saber horizontally in front of him and blocked off the entire tunnel. Then, he started pushing the people back.

They kept elbowing each other out of the way to move forward and attack Chen Chuan, which led to them not being able to form a united force. The person in front had limbs that were too short and could not reach Chen Chuan. He could only stagger backward as Chen Chuan continued pushing forward.

After around four meters, Chen Chuan entered the hall of the old temple. He released a wave of refined force that blasted forward, and the six fell back, scattering outward like a fan. Once they fell down, they could not get up. They appeared fine on the surface, but their organs, tendons, and bones were all damaged. They could no longer fight.

Chen Chuan looked around and saw that he was in a spacious, domed building. Whoever built the temple must have used a natural cave and modified it slightly. It was full of holes now, and there were even puddles emitting a foul smell on the ground.

There were also a few large holes above Chen Chuan. Sunlight shone through them. The Flying Heads must have flown out through them.

The place ahead of him should have been where an idol used to sit. A large canopy hung down from above. Behind it was a vague shadow. The Flying Heads were there. Sometimes, one or two of them would fly out into the hall.

On the altar in the front was a pile of pig and goat carcasses, along with things resembling human limbs. A number of Flying Heads were gnawing on them while pushing and shoving at each other. Chen Chuan could see bloody organs on the verge of falling apart hanging off the edge of the altar.

A cold glare appeared in his eyes. He took out his Halberd Pistol and started firing at the Flying Heads. Shocked, they immediately started flying in random directions.

Chen Chuan emptied his magazine in one go and took out the guns Gu Mingde, Pan Zhong, and the other agent had given him to resume firing at the Flying Heads. After emptying all four guns, six Flying Heads were lying dead on the floor.

When the gunshots stopped, the other Flying Heads charged over.

Chen Chuan sucked in a deep breath and threw away the guns. When the Flying Heads were about to reach him and blanket him, a chilly light flashed. It was followed by the sounds of a saber cutting through withered, shriveled skin and bones.

Once the light from the saber faded away, Chen Chuan remained with his saber pointed downward, ready for an upward slash. The Flying Heads that surrounded him had all fallen around him. One of them had turned back in shock, but before it could fly far, it swayed and fell to the floor before splitting in half. Only a bit of its skin and bones at the top of its head remained attached.

Chen Chuan saw his second self blur out even more, but the damage was not too severe. The yellow jade had to be still absorbing damage for him.

Two Flying Heads flew out of the temple. They were only normal Flying Heads, so he was sure that Gu Mingde and the rest could handle them.

Chen Chuan turned his attention to the canopy in front of him before switching out the Halberd Pistol’s magazine. Then, brandishing his saber, he stepped forward.

***

The agents outside were on standby. When they heard strange screeches, they guessed that some Flying Heads might be coming out.

Dozens of firearms of all shapes and sizes, along with crossbows, were directed at the entrance of the old temple. Soon, they saw two black dots charging out. Without Gu Mingde even needing to give any command, they started firing their handguns and even shotguns. The two Flying Heads had nowhere to hide and were blasted to bits the moment they got outside. Even the walls around them were covered in holes. When they fell on the ground, they were unrecognizable.

Gu Mingde took one look at those creatures. If they flew out, that was good news. It meant that things were going smoothly for Chen Chuan.

***

Chen Chuan approached the canopy and heard slurping sounds behind it. He slowly reached out with his saber to push the canopy back. The Flying Head inside immediately stopped chewing and slurping at its food and turned around.

Chen Chuan’s gaze went still from shock.

The Flying Heads he fought earlier had faces that were so terrifying anyone could tell that they were monsters at first glance, but this Flying Head had a sweet, charming woman’s face. It looked like it had walked straight out of a model’s magazine. Its lips were red, its eyes sparkled, while its black hair spilled out on the altar like a waterfall. When it saw Chen Chuan, it turned its clear eyes on him.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep