Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 623: Section 438: John Wick (4)

Chapter 623: Section 438: John Wick (4)

Mrs. Spotty stopped at the top of a small hill, lashing her tail from side to side as a warning to Malin that she had spotted something.

Malin carefully approached the hilltop and saw a small encampment with a pot set up, where eight humanoid creatures were bustling about.

Yes, humanoid creatures.

To call these swollen, pus-filled beings human would truly be a stretch.

"They’re Nagoth cultists, how could these maniacs be here?" Clovis confirmed the target through her scope, puzzled by the cultists’ location, "We are still far from the deer with rot disease, aren’t we?"

"Almost 500 meters in a straight line. This camp might be a lookout post. Fio, Lorrin, circle the camp to see if there’s any hidden sentries," Malin ordered, as two tendrils of the World Tree Sapling began their encompassing move, one to the left and one to the right.

Clovis reported from her position that she couldn’t confirm the visible targets’ gender, their features were entirely obliterated by copious boils, and their sleeveless linen clothing covered their traits.

"Stop looking, or you’ll get sty in your eye," Lillim consoled.

"Can’t we just go over there and kill them all?" Matilda asked Malin.

"What if a hidden sentry spots us and someone manages to escape? Wait a moment, and then we can bag them all at once."

"Hmm... you’re right." When choosing between biding her time to catch them all at once and rushing in to risk someone escaping, Matilda didn’t hesitate to choose the former. Paladins disliked inaction in the face of evil, but if it meant waiting a little longer to annihilate it completely, a paladin would be very satisfied to do so.

After ten minutes, Malin noticed Fio rising from the grass, "They’ve killed two sentries and confirmed there are no others."

"So we can make our move now?" Matilda was eager.

"Yes, remember to spare the cowards’ lives; we need them to find out the location of their main encampment."

Malin arranged for Clovis and Lillim to provide fire support from the hilltop, Mrs. Spotty and Mana as the defense, then he, with Matilda and Maya in tow, descended the hill from the rear, moving close to the encampment along the creek separating the hill from the flatland.

· We see you.

Malin received the communication from Clovis and gave a thumbs-up over his shoulder.

· Someone is coming with a bucket.

Maya dived into a bush, Matilda leaned against a shrub at the edge of the thicket, and Malin set down his rifle, pulling out his pistol with an integrated suppressor and a dagger, and lay down on the opposite side of the grass.

The Nagoth devotee was completely oblivious to the danger around him, clumsily descending the slope to fetch water from the stream.

Malin confirmed the absence of boils on its back and signaled Melo to start. The World Tree’s tendril strangled the cultist, covering both mouth and neck; as Malin kneed its hollowed knee, forcing it to kneel, a plastic rope swiftly bound the cultist’s hands behind him.

Grabbing its collar and yanking back, as it fell backward, Malin produced another long rope, securing its legs as well.

Matilda struck the cultist on the head with the butt of her gun; as it wobbled from the blow, Melo released its grasp, and Malin stuffed a large wad of cloth into the cultist’s mouth, then secured it with plastic rope, tying it tightly.

"Continue the approach," Malin said, leading the way up the path.

· Malin, you fire first.

· No problem, we’ll approach from the left.

After saying this, Malin led the two women around the camp from the left, using trees and bushes as cover, soon arriving near the encampment.

"What’s going on, why is Dosen taking so long to fetch water?" Someone in the camp asked.

"Dosen... Ah, look, there’s Dosen."

Another commented.

Malin, hiding behind a tree, watched as the illusion carrying a water bucket climbed the slope, staggering a bit to make it appear more convincing.

"Dosen, don’t spill the water!"

The cultists had no clue that their colleague in the distance was just a mirage, and as they let down their guard, Malin leaned out halfway, his Type 81 rifle firing a sustained burst, dropping two cultists by the pot.

Maya’s controlled short bursts remained a strict three-round burst. Malin could see the bullet’s impact, with the third shot blowing the Dwarv’s head apart.

The pair working on a deer was taken down simultaneously, likely by Lillim and Clovis.

By the time the remaining two cultists screamed and tried to flee, Matilda’s shotgun roared to life. The first Hollow Point Bullet struck the Gnome, instantly transforming the unfortunate creature into something unspeakable.

The second round of buckshot caught the fleeing human, turning him into a bloody mess.

"Clear," Malin announced after giving each cultist on the ground a final shot with his pistol, then poured a mixture of Holy Water and salt into their pot.

Returning to the creek, they had the World Tree Saplings carry the captive back, and Malin decided to head back to the starting point with the women—the captive’s will didn’t seem strong, and it appeared they might be able to extract some information from him, which was better than blindly searching the woods.

When they returned to the starting hunting camp with the captive, Duke Brice and the others were still there. Seeing Malin’s return with the ’local specialty,’ they all expressed a certain degree of surprise.