Chapter 424: A Battle of Wills and Bullets

“I’m just a criminal?”

“That’s all?”

The short-haired woman’s words stirred a strange feeling in the Priest, leaving his expression tinged with resignation.

He deeply disliked her remark—and the condescension it carried.

Hearing that two of his colleagues had fallen into Qinggang’s clutches only fueled the simmering anger inside him, an anger reminiscent of a lion provoked. Yet, his manners compelled him to remain polite even when facing Qinggang’s Ability Users.

But was it possible that his courtesy received no reply at all?

His mood darkened, and his gaze grew chillingly cold.

……

On the bridge across, Chen Jing showed no sign of carelessness. Behind her sunglasses, her eyes remained fixed on the Priest.

Yet the Priest was alert, giving her no chance to lock eyes.

From him, she sensed a dangerously charged aura, and in that instant, she swiftly drew her gun.

“Swish…”

The Priest reacted immediately. As Chen Jing jerked her gun free, he stepped back quickly, positioning the silver suitcase as a shield.

However, Chen Jing’s quick draw had distracted him, while the real threat came from behind.

From behind, a sudden crunch of withered weeds broke the silence.

It was as if a cold and sinister presence was rapidly closing in on his back.

It was the one who had been tailing him—all the way from that tiny village. He’d been patient, holding off on any action against her. She too had been patient, knowing her strength alone was no match for him, and waited until just before the stone bridge to join her allies for a pincer attack…

A smile briefly crossed the Priest’s face as he quickly declared, “Collecting the price of your wish.”

“Take a bullet from me.”

……

Without a second glance, he suddenly flung his double-barreled shotgun onto his shoulder and fired behind him.

“Boom!”

A woman’s shadow burst forth, a bullet tearing through her torso.

Only then could her features be discerned—a woman in her twenties with exquisitely done makeup.

Qinggang Ability User, the Godly Woman.

“What kind of ability is that?”

The short-haired woman on the bridge was visibly shocked when the Priest fired.

The Godly Woman, who had always been meticulous, had kept her distance despite following the Priest for so long—even cooperating briefly earlier by using his movements as cover for her own shot…

But who would have thought that the Priest would wound her without even glancing in her direction?

It appeared as if the Godly Woman had leaned toward his gun muzzle of her own accord.

Panicking, she quickly manipulated her trigger, unleashing three rapid shots.

Clearly, she wasn’t a Spider-type Ability User, yet her aim was unnervingly precise. At under thirty meters from the Priest, all three bullets flew unerringly toward his chest and abdomen, designed solely for lethality.

Though labelled as a capture, no one dares hold back when facing the knights of the Technology Church.

“Snap!”

At the same moment Chen Jing fired, a high school–aged drunkard sitting on a nearby bridge pier stood up. She gently set down her thermos behind the pier—apparently wary of stray bullets—and intertwined her delicate fingers into a hand gesture.

“Die, you little wretch!”

……

Simultaneously, an elementary school student on the bridge quickly clutched his notebook.

He then leapt up and darted to a safer spot.

“Bang!”

In precise sync with the actions on the bridge, a sudden gunshot resounded from afar.

It came from the Gecko, concealed in the shadows and firing his gun.

……

In the blink of an eye, the Priest was besieged by multiple attacks.

Without even looking, he fired backward and immediately hit someone.

It was because he was collecting his due reward.

When he sensed someone trailing him, he had accepted that person’s wish to follow him.

According to his logic, he could reclaim the price owed by his follower.

Since the other party was repaying a debt, no matter how he fired, they were bound to be hit.

But as soon as that shot left his barrel, an uneasy premonition gripped him.

Although heavy objects thudded behind him, they were quickly followed by another crunch of withered weeds. As he twisted to dodge incoming bullets from the bridge, he looked back to see a neatly made-up woman scrambling quickly into the weeds.

The woman had been hit but was not dead yet.

At that moment, the scenery around him began to blur and distort.

It was as if the real world was fading, revealing a vivid red realm that gradually swallowed him whole.

This was the work of a power that twisted one’s senses.

A bullet, seemingly from nowhere, turned exceptionally wicked and aimed directly for his groin.

There was no doubt that this bullet came from a Spider-type Ability User.

And a particularly despicable, treacherous Spider-type at that!

……

The Priest took a deep breath.

Amidst the barrage of simultaneous assaults, he remained unshaken.

In truth, he had sensed the incoming attacks well before they hit. It just took time to snap his fingers and utter a few words—making it seem as if he reacted only after the onslaught began.

He swiftly raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Then he shouted, “Wish denied!”

“Snap!”

……

At the sound of that snap, every trajectory around him shifted.

The drunkard, who had planned to distort the Priest’s senses and drag him into a red, illusory world, suddenly furrowed her brows.

She felt her concentration wane abruptly.

She had been ready to pull him into that illusion, but then some influence disrupted her.

It was as if she forgot what she intended to do at that very moment.

Or perhaps she suddenly felt sure she would fail, leaving her disheartened.

This loss of focus meant she couldn’t unleash her power.

Meanwhile, the bullet aimed at the Priest’s groin, meticulously planned to be inescapable, found no target. Instead, it ricocheted off his side and burrowed into the soil.

That bullet had failed to shatter the Priest’s wish.

Chen Jing’s three bullets, meant for the Priest, similarly deviated from their calculated paths.

All three struck the soil beside him, splattering mud.

A bizarre sensation surged within Chen Jing.

She suddenly wondered—had she aimed at him or merely at the ground?

She was shocked into doubting her very purpose when she fired.

……

Having dodged the barrage, the Priest now wore a smile.

His eyes bore into his opponents with the ease of an adult watching a child, as he casually snapped his fingers once more.

“Boom…”

A spray of iron shot out from the muzzle, targeting two women and a child on the bridge. With no cover, no one could escape.

But after a cacophony of ‘pa-pa’ sounds, as the smoke cleared, no one on the bridge was injured.

Instead, several onlookers around began to show expressions of sheer terror.

The Priest realized that there had been no one on the bridge at all—someone had tricked him into thinking a group was waiting there.

Could that be the high school drunkard’s doing?

Had she manipulated his vision into believing opponents were on the bridge?

Unperturbed, he casually tossed aside his shotgun and cradled the silver suitcase in both hands.

He then asked, “Tell me, what is it that can make you trade your soul?”

……

“Snap!”

Before he could even open the suitcase or finish his question, another bullet whistled through the air.

Ratatat!

Bullet after bullet rained down from someone hiding in the distance.

Those using sniper rifles seldom manage a continuous barrage.

The recoil and slightest movement would normally throw off their aim.

Yet this shooter treated his sniper rifle like an automatic weapon—each bullet perfectly precise.

Most astonishing of all, every shot was dead-on accurate.

At that moment, the Priest sensed something—although nothing was visibly there, it felt as if a pair of blood-red eyes were watching him, as if an expert in hypnosis were attempting to undermine his reason.

Yet, he could not pinpoint her in his vision.

Meanwhile, behind him, the crunch of withered weeds resumed—the sound of the person who had been hit by his first shot.

……

Those on the stone bridge, including Chen Jing and the others, dared not lower their guard.

After the first wave of attacks missed entirely, they immediately launched a second assault.

From afar, the Gecko kept firing relentlessly with his sniper rifle, using its power and pinpoint accuracy to distract the Priest.

Meanwhile, Chen Jing strode forward confidently.

Right behind her, the drunkard maximized her abilities to conceal Chen Jing from sight.

Even though Chen Jing charged toward the Priest, he couldn’t see her—allowing her to steal a glance at his eyes.

For Chen Jing, there were two ways to subdue an opponent.

A handshake coupled with eye contact worked best.

But when physical contact wasn’t possible, mere eye contact could be just as effective.

Of course, the closer the distance, the better.

The most crucial factor now was the Godly Woman.

At this moment, her clothes at the front were shredded—the bullet from the shotgun having torn them apart.

She had taken that near-fatal hit only because beneath her fashionable attire she wore a thick bulletproof vest.

Her frame was already slight, and few could imagine how skinny she’d become without it.

Although the vest had saved her life in this dire moment, the Godly Woman’s anger was clearly ignited. After a brief pause, she sprang to her feet, hands on her hips, took a deep breath, and began to curse:

“Damn you, son of a bitch! Screw your weapon! Watch out or your whole family is toast…”

“Watch it or even the weeds will prick your feet…”

“Next thing, you’ll be choked on your own spit…”

……

The venomous barrage of curses was so relentless that it was hard to imagine such words uttered by a woman of such refined style.

The Priest thought that even a rustic old lady wouldn’t curse as vehemently as she did.

Her insults carried no real physical threat—no measurable attack on his body or mental strength.

Yet, as he absorbed her curses, the Priest suddenly felt mentally disoriented.

He tried to ignore the barrage, but her crisp enunciation and rhythmic cadence forced every word into his consciousness, even guiding his thoughts along with her senseless imprecations.

When she cursed the extinction of his entire family, he barely reacted—after all, he was an orphan, and such a curse meant nothing to him.

It did, however, leave him with an unmistakable sense of loss.

But when she threatened that even a single weed could impale his foot, he instinctively lifted his foot, as if the barren wasteland below had turned into a field of nails.

Yet, the weeds remained just that—mere weeds. They wouldn’t turn into nails or wound his foot.

That brief distraction, however, cost him dearly.

His nerves tensed, triggering an unwelcome surge of saliva. His throat constricted—yet he found himself unable to swallow.

For he heard her warn that he’d choke on his own spit.

He feared that if he swallowed, he might truly choke.

……

Though the absurdity of the moment surged within him, why should he waste energy on such trivial curses?

Still, in the heat of battle, questioning this only served to further scatter his focus.

He had almost finished asking his question and was about to open the silver suitcase when he hesitated for a split second.

By the time he recovered, distant sniper shots had begun to rain down—an unseen pair of eyes now fixed upon him.

In the ensuing chaos, several forces converged upon him from all directions, leaving him no escape.

“Huff…”

In desperation, the Priest used the silver suitcase to shield himself from the incoming cold bullets and quickly crouched down, tucking as much of his body behind the briefcase as possible. Then, he snapped his fingers with lightning speed.

A string of syllables burst forth almost simultaneously: “Wish granted!”

“And distorted!”

As soon as these words left his mouth, an invisible force field enveloped him, extending three to four meters around.

……

“Pa-pa…”

From afar, three more bullets streaked forward—two striking the silver suitcase, sending sparks flying.

But the third bullet abruptly veered toward the Priest’s back.

Unexpectedly, it slammed into the Godly Woman’s shoulder as she was cursing.

“Bang!”

The bullet exploded in a burst of blue electrical arcs, blasting the Godly Woman violently away.

Fortunately, the special bullets were designed to combat Mental Monsters—their explosive power amplified against such foes.

However, when they struck a human, their impact was diminished, only rattling one’s mental strength.

Consequently, the Godly Woman’s shoulder wasn’t blown off; instead, a bloodied crater marred her flesh. The flickering blue sparks left her dazed and overwhelmed, and she soon collapsed into unconsciousness.

At that moment, the entire scene around them shifted.

Chen Jing’s silhouette suddenly appeared just a few meters in front of the Priest.

Earlier, the drunkard’s power had shrouded her, making her invisible to him.

But now, that force had vanished, leaving Chen Jing exposed before his eyes.

Simultaneously, the elementary student on the bridge vanished without a trace.

It seemed that the drunkard’s power had been diverted from Chen Jing to the child.

“What is going on?”

Everyone was taken aback, utterly baffled by the turn of events.

……

A low chuckle escaped him.

At that moment, the Priest abruptly lifted his head from behind the silver suitcase and fixed his bloodshot gaze on Chen Jing.

There was a smug glint in his eyes.

He reached behind his cloak, producing a miniature submachine gun with its dark barrel now aimed squarely at Chen Jing’s face.

Flashing a grin, he fired rapidly.

“Uh oh…”

Chen Jing was visibly startled.

With less than three meters between them, the incoming bullets threatened to tear through her.

Not being a Spider-type Ability User, even her agile moves couldn’t help her dodge a hail of bullets.

Her heart pounded furiously—as if she were about to close her eyes and await her fate.

“Snap!”

Thankfully, at that moment, a cold bullet from afar struck the Priest’s suitcase with a heavy thud.

It was the Gecko.

Even from a distance, his grasp on the situation had sent a chill down the Priest’s spine.

Without hesitation, he fired to rescue him.

Yet, after several misfires, his doubts had grown.

This shot wasn’t aimed at the Priest himself, but directly at his silver suitcase.

Surprisingly, it hit its target.

The instant the bullet collided with the suitcase, a burst of blue sparks erupted. The force shook the Priest violently, causing the submachine gun’s stray bullets to veer off, missing Chen Jing.

Seizing the moment, the drunkard lunged forward, grabbed Chen Jing, and they tumbled down to the riverbed.

“Whoosh!”

The Priest’s face flushed with anger as he sprang to his feet, his eyes burning red.

He bellowed, “I reject every one of your wishes!”

In that moment, the invisible force around him expanded further, distorting even the air near his body.

Sniper shots continued to echo from afar, yet all the bullets merely grazed his feet, sparking tiny flashes.

The Priest then strode swiftly to the riverbed, his expression hard and cold as he resumed his suppressive fire.

……

“His power is his wish…”

“A power that both fulfills and distorts wishes to create conditions in his favor…”

From beneath the riverbed, a few more bullets soared upward, targeting the Priest who stood amidst the hail of gunfire.

Yet every bullet curiously veered away, making him appear almost miraculous.

It was then that the drunkard, seemingly coming to her senses, roared in frustration.

But by that time, her shout was laced with utter helplessness.