"What happened to the Elder? Did you kill him?!" a middle-aged man roared furiously.
"He's dead. You can elect a second Elder. My offer still stands: my weapons, for just one million US dollars, and they're yours. Either buy them or let me go. It's that simple," the ugly man sneered.
Everyone looked at each other awkwardly. The fact that he could single-handedly take down the Elder and all those guards proved his immense strength. His clothes were somewhat tattered, showing bullet marks, yet he wasn't killed—was this guy a monster?
The middle-aged man who had just questioned him pondered for a moment. "Alright, but we require paying half upfront, and the other half after a trial period."
The ugly man nodded. "Of course. Now, give me the money first!"
"What should we call you?" The middle-aged man waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to get the money.
"Sadler!" the ugly man sneered.
The leader of the Church of Light! Too bad he isn't Zhang Wuji. Hmm, wrong setting? In fact, the Church of Light was a sect in a certain region, and Sadler was indeed the leader of this church.
In the town, the cleanup was almost complete, with only one area left. There were kidnapped regional council members there; if possible, they should be rescued.
Whoosh! A dark shadow flashed across the sky. A Hunter, slightly larger than an average man, leaped from the rooftop.
Rachel drew the tactical dagger strapped to her calf. With a swift swing, the immense force directly severed the Hunter's head. The valiant Rachel was no mere pretty face; with viral enhancements obtained at a certain cost, she was a superwoman.
"Monsters have appeared! All units, attention! Once a target appears, use heavy firepower!" Rachel immediately issued the command.
At the same time, the various separated teams began calling out. Gunshots constantly rang out, along with the sound of artillery bombardment.
There were many Hunters, and they were quite effective at causing casualties. Almost every time, they took down one soldier before being riddled with bullets themselves.
Chapter 286: This Cult Leader Is Quite Formidable
"The reactionary forces are starting to move, be careful!" the squad leader warned. No sooner had he spoken than his head was shot through.
"Retreat first! Sheila, Parker, both of you rendezvous with me. We'll infiltrate and rescue the regional council members," Rachel called out via her earpiece.
"Received!" both responded simultaneously.
"How did this turn into a rescue mission?" Eddie raised an eyebrow.
"Just got the news. That old geezer Morgan must have reached some agreement with the local officials, and the price is us rescuing their people," Rachel didn't hide anything.
"That old geezer wants to put on a show?" Eddie mused. "After this is over, I want to have a serious talk with you!"
Rachel seemed to think of something and nodded expectantly. "No problem, I'll make sure you're satisfied."
After waiting two minutes, Sheila and Parker arrived, both somewhat out of breath. It seemed that encountering a mixed attack of Hunters and zombies was indeed hard to guard against.
"Move out!" Rachel waved her hand and led the way, ignoring the bullets, always finding a path through the hail of gunfire.
Whoosh! Two grenades flew from the defensive stronghold, heading towards Eddie and the others.
Sheila and Parker quickly found cover to avoid being hit by the grenades. As they hid, they noticed their captain, Rachel, didn't dodge or flinch. She pulled out her sidearm, fired two shots into the air, and detonated the thrown grenades mid-air!
"How is that possible?!" Sheila was shocked. This kind of thing was completely illogical! How accurate would her marksmanship and prediction have to be to hit them?
"Perhaps that's just the captain," Parker also sighed in admiration.
For Rachel, who had been enhanced by the virus, this was a basic operation. If it were Ada or Svetlana, they would likely be even more ferocious, doing even more incredible things.
They stormed all the way to the stronghold's civilian houses. The armed militants here had already been killed. In the courtyard, there was a secret passage leading down. It was now a sprawling network of air-raid shelters. Encountering Hunters here would leave no chance to react.
Unintentionally, one might have their head severed—that was the horror of biological weapons.
Along the way, Rachel displayed her rich combat experience, as if nothing could stump her. Even in the dim light, she could accurately spot hidden Hunters.
Watching all this on the monitor, the middle-aged man was very displeased. "Mr. Sadler, are these the Hunters you said could defeat a special forces unit? I think they're barely stronger than cats."
"The opponent is too strong. I suggest you retreat," Sadler didn't care about the other party's mockery. He only cared about whether he could sell his goods.
This batch of biological weapons was an offering brought by a researcher he had recruited from a certain branch. It was said they could fetch a good price, which was why Sadler was here.
To research parasites that could control humans and animals, one must recruit top scientific talent and ample funding.
Unlike Spencer, who was born into nobility, Sadler was merely the descendant of an ordinary Church of Light follower, a commoner. That's why he tried every possible means to raise funds.
"Are you kidding me? We've already paid, and now you're saying we should retreat?" The middle-aged man furiously pointed his gun at Sadler. "Immediately come up with a good plan, or I'll kill you!"
Sadler sneered. "Come up with a plan? You truly are annoying. In that case, don't blame me for being impolite."
A bloodbath immediately erupted in the monitoring room. Countless people screamed, but they couldn't stop Sadler's slaughter.
Eddie and his group continued to advance through the underground passage. Occasionally, Hunters and some half-finished monsters would appear, all of them dying under his gun.
At this point, everyone split up to search. Rachel went to rescue the kidnapped regional council members, while Eddie followed a certain trail forward, eventually arriving at the exit.
An ugly man was there, directing his followers to transport goods. These goods were refrigerated tanks, each containing Hunters.
"Oh? The annoying Western Federation soldiers have arrived? Is being the world hegemon easy?" Sadler turned his head and said mockingly.
"Sadler?" Eddie frowned. What was this big boss doing here? To call him an old monster was actually a bit of an insult to the term; he was a pathetically weak guy.
Although he didn't perform well in the game, facing him in reality, Eddie could feel a faint, almost imperceptible killing intent. The Sadler before him wasn't as incompetent as he remembered; this was the killing intent of someone who had slain over a hundred people.
Killing intent isn't tangible, but a seasoned warrior can tell just by looking at someone if they're a worthy opponent or if they themselves can withstand them.
"Oh? You know me. Do you want to join and become my subordinate? Do you want to gain true power? Do you crave power?" Sadler began to entice him.
Eddie, however, waved his hand. "Stop that damn nonsense! I don't crave power; I crave the King of Ballers!"
Sadler didn't know what a King of Ballers was, but he shook his head regretfully. "Then you can go to hell!"
He had just been speaking cordially, but the next second, Sadler rushed forward quickly and struck out with a palm. This palm had a force of eight hundred pounds; a direct hit would result in instant death.
Sadler's speed was very fast, but in Eddie's eyes, it was slow. He easily grabbed the other's wrist and twisted. In excruciating pain, Sadler could only follow the twist, flipping in the air.
Eddie seized the opportunity and delivered a kick, directly sending Sadler flying.
Thud! Sadler crashed heavily into a truck, leaving a human-shaped dent in its exterior.
"Very good, you're excellent. Are you interested in joining my church?" Sadler wasn't angry; instead, he was excited, as if he had some strange masochistic tendency.
"I'm not interested in your church. Take your things and get out. Don't show up here again," Eddie waved his hand.
"Heh heh, you're really interesting. You're not one of those hypocrites. Not bad, not bad." Sadler was a bit neurotic. In truth, he didn't want to clash with the man in front of him. The other's strength was clearly not weak, and even if he went all out, he might not be able to defeat him. It was better to call it quits.