Free Web NovelChapter 175: Chapter 175: Expert in Dealing with Heretics_1
Accompanied by the gunfire, the Grey Robed Nun toppled backward as if forcefully pushed from the front. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Rebecca was confident she had hit the enemy’s vitals, but there was no helping it, had she not fired first, it would have been her lying on the ground.
It was a cloudy day, and the village road was unlit, but that nun had clearly seen her—either the foe possessed a special constitution or, like them, had used similar black magic or consumed some Magic Potion.
The other junior Judges also acutely captured the nun’s recent actions and the weapon in her hand, immediately returning fire while seeking cover.
At the moment Rebecca’s first shot struck, the man looking like a priest suddenly grabbed the falling nun with a strength and reaction speed completely discordant with his age, dragging her in front of him as a human shield. Hence, the four shots that followed all hit the nun, and afterward, the man forcefully pushed her away and slipped into the alley they had just emerged from.
"Inquisition Bureau! Come out! Don’t make futile resistance!" Rebecca took cover near a low wall, aiming her gun at the alley entrance.
Her words were part of a routine procedure, and from the nun’s behavior just now, she could sense that the likelihood of the enemy surrendering without a fight was probably slim.
However, the encirclement was tightening. The fleeing members of the cult were likely being chased by both Victor’s squad and the group positioned at site C of Rebecca’s team; cornering them at this alley entrance was merely a matter of time.
Rebecca was somewhat relieved that the village was not densely populated and that they had evacuated some of the villagers near the stakeout spot in advance; otherwise, it wouldn’t be easy to fight without restraint.
At that moment, she faintly heard a woman’s voice from across: "[May you continue to walk this world, as in life.]"
Rebecca immediately recognized those words... a spell, a necromancy spell!
The nun who had just been shot dead suddenly twitched, then began to rise from the ground. Rebecca decisively switched to another gun and fired another shot at the corpse.
The body, manipulated by necromancy, collapsed like a marionette with cut strings, struggling on the ground for a few moments but unable to rise again.
"The enemy has a necromancer, switch to Exorcism Bullets!" Rebecca commanded.
The standard equipment of a Judge typically includes two sidearms, one loaded with regular bullets and the other with "Mage Killer" Exorcism Bullets.
Exorcism Bullets can directly interrupt a caster’s spell and seal their Magic Power when used on the caster, and they can also achieve a certain effect when used on the target of the spell. Firing at a corpse can’t completely block the effects of necromancy, but it can prevent the opponent from continuing to manipulate the body.
The Judges calmly switched their firearms, while the long-range shotgun lookouts and snipers swiftly switched their ammunition. The target’s use of black magic was completely within their expectations—in fact, it was better; they were experts in dealing with such adversaries.
In terms of objective combat strength, Judges actually couldn’t compare to Great Witches or vampire princes who could fight off hundreds single-handedly.
A Great Witch like Daili, an S-class fugitive, could easily massacre a militia unit numbering in the hundreds with her black magic, whereas even a superior Judge like Aiden Galahad would find it difficult to contend with such a number of armed individuals.
But the fully armed senior Judge had the opportunity to exploit the weak point of black magic and take down the Great Witch. Their skills and equipment were specialized to deal with such opponents, and Rebecca alone could push Presia into a corner where she had to use her trump card.
In the realm of mortals, there often isn’t absolute strength or weakness. By using wisdom and seizing weaknesses, such disparities can often be overturned.
From the necromancy the adversary had just used, the Judges had also extracted additional information: although the adversary could use necromancy, they were not an expert in this field. Animating corpses is a very basic form of necromancy. If it were a decently skilled necromancer of the righteous path, they should be able to use more effective attacking methods like "Wraith’s Howl" or "Corpse Explosion".
However, as the Judges were changing their guns, the opposition also changed their strategy.
Suddenly seven nuns filed out from the alley, four in white robes and three in grey. They charged straight towards the location where Rebecca and her team were positioned, seemingly intending to break through before more people arrived to surround them.
Rebecca gasped sharply and shouted loudly, "Fire! Fire!"
The Judges immediately opened fire, and several of the White Robed Nuns leading the charge fell. Rebecca remembered that the spy’s report had indicated these White Robed Nuns were responsible for maintaining the church’s "preaching activities" and were not combatants.
After being surrounded by the Inquisition, these unarmed nuns voluntarily became human shields, apparently resigning themselves to death.
Thanks to the sacrifice of their companions, the Grey Robed Nuns behind them managed to close the distance and retaliated with flintlock guns and crossbows during the firing gaps of the Judges.
Rebecca used a low wall as cover to dodge the shooting, but another subordinate Judge was grazed by a bullet and cursed aloud.
Rebecca peeked out again to fire her gun, knocking down one of the Grey Robed Nuns, but as she watched them close in, she realized they had underestimated the enemy.
Before taking action, they had estimated that the number of people needed to maintain this church stronghold was between ten and twenty-five, and that there would be no more than fifteen combatants. Thus, a squad of forty led by two senior Judges should have been more than sufficient.
However, the way this operation was unfolding, it seemed that all of these fifteen or fewer combatants were fearless fighters willing to die. Given the same conditions, soldiers who aren’t afraid of death and those who are afraid have vastly different combat effectiveness.
In her urgency, Rebecca drew a few strokes with her finger on the low wall serving as her cover and then cast the black magic "Fog", which she was quite adept at. A grayish-white mist quickly spread out all around them.
This magic would simultaneously cut down the visibility for both friends and foes, but Rebecca and the teammates she had chosen could still faintly discern the outlines of people and buildings in the fog, whereas the enemy nuns could only see a white expanse. Deprived of their sight, the nuns fired wildly in the fog, unable to find their targets.
Learning advanced black magic not only required talent but also a significant mental effort. The institution of the Inquisition itself didn’t highly regard the use of black magic, so Judges like them usually only learned some simple and convenient black magic as a tool for combat rather than studying powerful offensive spells to bombard their opponents like witches and necromancers did.
To avoid revealing her own position with gunshots in the fog, Rebecca bent low as she emerged from cover, drew her sword as silently as possible, and stealthily approached a nun. She then swiftly slit the nun’s throat with her blade, killing the enemy while preventing her from making any noise. Another Judge seized the moment to kill the remaining nun with a hunting rifle.
But before they had time to breathe a sigh of relief for blocking the enemy’s break out, suddenly there were gunshots and screams coming from the alley.
