Chapter 173: Cannibals
William was expressionless as he steered the car straight into the person.
Bang!
A figure rolled over the roof to the rear, and a crack appeared on the windshield.
The car momentarily lost control.
William gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, trying to keep the front steady.
The violent impact threw Nina forward instantly, and Jake's upper body almost rushed into the driver's seat.
William tapped the brakes repeatedly.
After sliding for a distance, the car finally came to a steady stop.
"OMG! We hit someone." Nina panted, her face full of panic.
Jake also glanced out the rear windshield; sure enough, a person was lying on the ground not far away.
"Father..." He turned his head.
But he found the former taking out a pair of binoculars from his cloth bag and looking around.
Jake and Nina looked at each other, doubts revealing in their eyes.
"We have to go check on that person," Nina said.
She pulled the door handle but found it locked.
"Father... William." Nina's throat rolled.
At this time, there were only the three of them nearby. Plus, the priest beside them kept observing the surrounding environment, which made her vaguely guess the former's thoughts.
"According to Virginia law, hit-and-run will not only send the car owner to prison, but passengers might also bear liability for compensation."
Nina spoke tentatively, then looked at Jake with pleading eyes.
She came to this ghost place to make money; she certainly didn't want to get into any trouble.
Jake obviously understood the former's meaning and joined in the persuasion.
"Lord above, I am a clergy member; how could I do such immoral things?" William showed a harmless smile.
"Your action of locking the door and observing the surroundings is not convincing at all!!" The two roared inwardly.
Click.
The three opened the doors and got out.
Jake and Nina ran towards that person first.
William pulled out the car key, ensured the doors and windows were locked, and then walked towards the two.
On the way, he seemed to glance intentionally or unintentionally in one direction.
"Hey! Are you okay?" Nina was somewhat at a loss.
She wanted to check the injury of the person on the ground but was afraid of making it worse.
In a dilemma, Nina's tone was somewhat urgent.
"Why didn't you avoid him?"
Just now there was clearly a chance to avoid, but this priest drove straight into him.
Jake also looked puzzled.
"With the manufacturing level of this car, a sharp turn at high speed would cause the front to lose control instantly. We would be the ones injured then."
William looked calm.
"Besides, you don't know if a car will suddenly rush out from the side or rear. Once collided, it would cause a greater disaster."
These words sounded somewhat selfish. Normally, slowing down should be the first thing to do.
The reason why William didn't do so was, of course, intentional.
Nina and Jake opened their mouths but finally said nothing.
Indeed, thanks to the priest, the two were safe and sound at this moment.
"Finished, we'll have to pay a lot of money now." Nina sounded disappointed.
Seeing no movement from the person on the ground for a long time, she had prepared for the worst.
"This car is insured, but I guess he, and his family, won't need it," William said flatly.
"Hey! Father, you are too cold-blooded!" Jake said in a uniquely tonal voice.
Nina's eyes were also a bit angry; she didn't expect the priest to be such a person.
"Jake, help me hold him; I'll check for breathing." She decided not to argue with the priest anymore.
Jake nodded and leaned down immediately.
But immediately after, he felt a huge force on the back of his neck, and then his whole body was pulled away.
"What the f..."
Jake was about to curse, but in the next moment, he saw the person on the ground suddenly get up.
Messy hair, sharp teeth stained with dark yellow filth, deformed and ugly face.
This sudden scene startled Jake.
"Mamma Mia!" he exclaimed.
Immediately after, he saw a shoe appear from behind, stomping heavily on that face.
Bang!
A dull thud came from the ground.
Then this ugly guy groaned in pain.
Cold sweat seeped from Jake's forehead.
Just now this person attacked suddenly and intended to bite his neck.
If he hadn't been pulled away, he couldn't imagine what would have happened.
"Th... thanks." Jake looked at the priest aside.
Then he suddenly realized something.
From stopping the car until now, this priest seemed very hostile to the person on the ground, and the timing of saving him just now was also just right.
"Father William, you knew something was wrong with this person long ago?" Jake asked carefully.
"Ah, sort of." William threw out several holy artifacts around the cannibal, then took out a rope.
"What is the origin of this... monster?" Jake looked curious.
"Locals call them 'Mountain Men,' monsters that feed on human flesh," William said.
Hearing this, both of them were startled.
"Father William, actually you could have told us directly." Nina tucked her hair.
William looked at the two upon hearing this, then recalled the classic "Disbelief" scenes in American horror movies.
He shook his head: "Words have no persuasive power, but 'Facts' teach people instantly."
"Since you are going to participate in wilderness survival, this advice is given to you for free."
Jake and Nina savored this sentence, and a moment later, both felt it made sense.
In that situation just now, if Father William said there was a problem with the person on the ground, they would definitely think it was an excuse for the priest to escape.
"Sorry, I blamed you wrongly just now; I hope you can forgive me." Nina lowered her head, looking like she made a mistake.
"Correcting mistakes is a rare quality."
William nodded.
"In that case, here is a second piece of advice."
Nina raised her head curiously but was suddenly pulled over by the priest.
In the next moment, a roar suddenly came from behind her.
Immediately after, an axe slashed down beside her.
The sharp axe blade grazed past her cheek; Nina even saw the dried blood on it.
At this moment, Nina could hardly breathe.
Thud!
A small pit was smashed into the asphalt road, revealing the owner of the axe.
Dirty denim overalls, equally ugly face.
Jake shouted and rushed over, trying to knock the opponent down with his shoulder.
But the Mountain Man didn't move at all. Instead, a sharp pain came from Jake's shoulder; he felt like he hit a wall.
A growl came from the Mountain Man's throat.
It pushed casually, and Jake lost his balance. Immediately after, it gripped the axe again.
Jake fell to the ground, retreating backward in horror.
Taking advantage of the gap when the opponent raised the axe again, William appeared in front of the cannibal instantly.
He kicked the former's wrist, forcing the opponent to drop the weapon.
Then William wrapped the rope around the Mountain Man.
The former intended to resist but found that the human in front of him had great strength.
It couldn't move and could only watch as the opponent tied it up and then pinned it to the ground.
William stepped on the Mountain Man's face, then extended two fingers.
"At any time, do not ignore the situation behind you."
Nina and Jake gulped.
Both realized that this priest in front of them seemed to have an extraordinary origin.
After some effort, William dragged the two Mountain Men to the roadside.
Then he drove the car to the side and set up multiple layers of defensive magic arrays nearby.
The two people aside had never seen such a posture; they just felt William looked quite mysterious and didn't even dare to mention moving on.
William placed a small cloth bag on the ground; after unfolding it, there were some metal tools inside.
"Before I start, do you have anything to say?" He looked at the two Mountain Men.
In the original work, these monsters showed certain communication skills.
If these two in front of him were the same, maybe he could find out some information about the primeval dense forest.
But the Mountain Men on the ground just kept roaring, like wild beasts.
"Have you seen her?"
William placed Jenny's photo in front of them again, but the result was still the same.
Finally, he used [Atonement Persuasion], and this time there was a harvest.
The Mountain Man who held the axe earlier kept signaling the forest aside.
William looked in that direction; indeed, some special energy lingered there, which he had discovered when parking.
And deeper places seemed to be covered by a layer of smoke, which even he couldn't see through.
"Is the person in the photo still alive?" William asked again.
But the Mountain Man had no memory of this.
Not only these, when William tried to ask the other party to be his guide, the Mountain Man also showed panic.
"These guys' brains seem to have been restricted in some way," William thought to himself.
A moment later, he took back the photo; obviously, no other valuable content could be asked from these two Mountain Men.
But William wouldn't purify them either.
He picked up a dagger from the ground.
Then, under the shocked gazes of Nina and Jake, he stabbed it into the arm of one of the Mountain Men.
With a squelch, blood gushed from the wound.
But the Mountain Man showed no pain, just kept roaring.
William stirred the dagger back and forth.
From the skin to the muscle tissue below, and then to the bone, he turned the Mountain Man's body inside out.
This process indeed yielded some gains.
There was a faint dark power flowing inside these Mountain Men.
It was these things that made them ignore pain and possess very great strength, even able to heal wounds briefly.
During his research, the Mountain Man's wound was healing constantly.
However, William could purify these powers with only three-year vintage holy artifacts.
He frowned in thought.
These monsters were not as tricky as described in the commission.
At the same time, Mountain Men were not without weaknesses.
Although they had strong bodies, as long as some important joints were destroyed, they could lose their mobility.
If they lost important organs, these monsters would also die.
William pulled out the dagger inserted in the Mountain Man's head, and the latter soon stopped breathing.
Aside, the other Mountain Man let out a painful howl.
"Oh? Actually has emotional consciousness."
William took out a black cloth and wiped the dirt off the dagger.
Blargh!
Nina knelt on the ground vomiting.
To prepare for today's wilderness survival show, she specially ate her fill before going out, but at this moment, she returned it all.
Jake also looked unbearable but finally suppressed the churning in his stomach.
The two stared at William as if looking at a monster.
It is said that the Church promotes mercy and peace, but this person in front of them didn't touch it at all!
Remaining so calm in the face of bloody scenes, is this priest really from the Church?
Rather than a priest, this person looks more like a murderer!
Thinking of this, Nina and Jake were shocked inside; both had a bad premonition.
Just at this time, that priest turned his head.
Indifferent eyes, holding a dagger, just finished dissecting a living... monster!
"Please! Don't kill me!"
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