However, the effect was quite good.
The remaining members of the [Wolf Pack] were quickly wiped out by them.
Shawn glanced at the 'Forge' beside him, which contained over 20,000 units of coal.
He promptly stored both the materials and the forge to prevent them from being accidentally affected later.
It seemed the Zealots hadn't noticed Shawn and the others at all.
After all the members of the [Wolf Pack] were killed, they immediately lit torches in the jungle and began clearing out their comrades who had turned into Walkers.
After killing each Walker, they gathered the bodies, poured the diesel they brought, and burned them.
Meanwhile, Shawn took the opportunity to signal Daryl using the torchlight, then circled around to the far rear of the group.
After the firefight, only a dozen or so of them remained.
Hidden behind the shadow of a large tree trunk, Shawn tightened his grip on the knife in his hand.
"They have proven their worth and cleansed themselves of their sins; Elijah will be pleased when he knows."
Shawn, who had originally intended to act immediately, shrank back again upon hearing the name 'Elijah'.
'Elijah?'
Shawn tried hard to recall, but he couldn't remember anyone by that name.
However, through this brief sentence, Shawn generally confirmed his thoughts.
'Another brainwashing organization.'
The person named Elijah was most likely following the 'redemption path,' using it as a core to deceive survivors, bring them under his command, and have them work for him.
'No wonder they don't care about their own people dying; Elijah can brainwash a new batch of these fanatics instantly; they are all consumables.'
Shawn thought to himself.
Furthermore, connecting to the previous text, he also understood why he had no memory of this force's existence.
According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's "Report on the Evolution of Extremist Organizations," it was mentioned that the existence cycle of such extremist organizations rarely exceeds 18 months, with many organizations failing in less than half that time.
The reasons for their collapse are mostly due to resource scarcity or internal power struggles.
Therefore, it is highly possible that by the time Rick and the others passed through North Carolina in the original storyline, these people had already destroyed themselves.
Even without considering resource scarcity and internal power struggles, these fanatics' almost suicidal attack mode would not allow them to survive.
After all, although Shawn didn't know the specific method of Elijah's 'redemption path,' Shawn could be certain that the other party was just an ordinary person and could not truly purify souls or exhibit other abnormal phenomena.
So, conflicts would erupt sooner or later.
This could be seen from Elijah's constant incitement for them to carry out suicidal attacks.
Elijah did not want them to think; he only wanted them to act according to his thoughts.
If one batch was not useful, he would let them 'purify' themselves, and then take the opportunity to recruit and cultivate more members to fill the vacancies.
He would brainwash them with the slogan 'Others are demons' and then use 'purification' as an excuse to forcibly 'rationalize' all the fanatics' atrocities to achieve his unspeakable goals.
Although somewhat reckless, Shawn couldn't help but praise it as 'a good method.'
Judging by the scale of the Zealots constantly pursuing them, the number of people in this organization must be considerable, at least far more than the hundred-person Community of Alexandria.
To achieve this, that Elijah would certainly not be an ordinary person.
Perhaps before the apocalypse, he was just a low-level individual with an inconspicuous identity and status, but after the apocalypse, he also gained a new life, and the harsh environment of the apocalypse instead activated his 'talent.'
Although he could only shine in the early stages of the apocalypse, he was at least much stronger than those survivors who died silently.
Moreover, Shawn even faintly felt that in the original storyline, this Elijah might not have died.
How could such a person die so easily?
Rick and the others' activity range had never been large, just moving back and forth between a few coastal states in the eastern United States, far from revealing the situation in other US states.
Perhaps after Elijah led all his Zealots to their deaths, he either had a change of heart or grew tired of it, so he simply fled to other regions.
However, no matter what, Shawn was going to take care of these remaining dozen or so people tonight.
Shawn held the long blade in a reverse grip, crept behind the last person, and was about to make his move.
But this person seemed to suddenly sense something and turned his head.
Their eyes met, and for a moment, the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Shawn paused his movement because he saw a dark, round, long, and hard object in this person's hand.
A rocket launcher?!
Shawn's pupils constricted, and question marks appeared on his forehead.
The two sides had been fighting so fiercely just now; why didn't they use it earlier??
In an instant, Shawn suddenly remembered the loud roar he heard at the villa.
His consciousness went deep into his thoughts for a brief 0.1 seconds, then returned.
Regardless of whether Daryl and the others noticed, Shawn raised his blade and was about to cut off this person's hand directly.
But in that flash of lightning, this person stared blankly as Shawn's blade came down, seemingly terrified.
However, the instant before the blade was about to strike his wrist, he unhesitatingly pulled the trigger.
He didn't even adjust the direction of the rocket launcher, just kept it pointed at the ground between their feet, and directly fired the rocket.
The rocket spewed scorching flames as it burst from the barrel, and time seemed to slow down at this moment.
Shawn's pupils visibly constricted to pinprick size, and in that instant, all the hairs on his body stood on end, feeling an unprecedented sense of crisis.
It was his first time being attacked up close by heavy firepower, and the feeling was completely different from fighting a Walker horde, even during a Blood Moon.
For the first time, Shawn felt he might die, and he sharply retreated a step!
Whoosh--!
Flames instantly engulfed both of them, soaring into the sky, directly rising several meters.
The blast radius affected at least 5 meters around, and the surrounding grass caught fire, rustling loudly from a strong gust of wind.
The sudden burst of light and tremor startled everyone.
However, where the two had been, only some metal fragments remained; Shawn and the person who fired the rocket disappeared simultaneously, as if directly engulfed and turned into fragments and dust.
But this was only from Daryl and the others' perspective.
In the eyes of the Zealots, the moment they turned back, they just happened to see their own person pull the rocket launcher's trigger.
Just as the fire was about to engulf the two, a solid, fully enclosed metal plate mysteriously appeared in front of Shawn as if flashing, with countless iron blocks piled up in front of him, hard-stopping the attack for Shawn.
Seeing Shawn, who was directly sent flying backward but without much damage, their eyes lit up!
Brighter than the brightest star after the apocalypse!
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