Chapter 1 The Difficulty of the Fourth Area

The difficulty of crossing the fourth area was far lower than Hank had expected. They encountered almost no decent resistance. Even Feng Bujue and Kuang Zong Jian Ying hadn't anticipated it would be so easy.

Originally, there weren't many residents in the fourth area of God's Grace Village, only a few hundred people. Every one of these guys cherished their lives a great deal. As soon as the village alarm sounded, they all closed their doors and hid. The number of guards was about a hundred, with sixty percent of them scattered in various outposts and checkpoints, and only a small portion engaged in patrol duties. Even if the guards had unobstructed communication, they wouldn't have been able to organize any effective interception measures. There were only so many of them, and there was no rapid reaction force or similar organization. Facing intruders like Feng Bujue and his companions, who were swift and had monstrous combat power, sporadic ambushes were just for show.

Kou Ben, residing in the temple, received the news of the outsiders' intrusion at the first possible moment. It was he who gave the order to sound the alarm. If Feng Bujue and his companions weren't just three people, but three hundred, Kou Ben probably would have already announced his surrender. But at this moment, he wasn't too worried. After all, he held "divine power" in his hands. As long as those three intruders dared to enter the temple, they definitely wouldn't leave alive.

In a short ten minutes, the three arrived less than a thousand meters from the temple. The wreckage of the half-sunken interstellar spaceship had been transformed beyond recognition into a huge palace. However, the original outline was still there. Reaching this distance, Feng Bujue was able to see some of the details.

"I thought the 'temple' you were talking about was something else... Turns out it's just a spaceship," Feng Bujue said with a smile. "So, the last few questions are also answered."

"Spaceship..." Hank said in confusion, "...what's that?"

"Oh, right, you don't have that concept," Feng Bujue said. "Simply put, it's a giant sardine can that can fly into space."

"I see... Kou Ben told us that the temple is a creation of the gods, and only children of the gods can live there. Anyone who enters the temple without permission will be cursed to death," Hank said.

Feng Bujue had already figured out the whole story at this point. He explained, "Don't bother delving into nonsense like gods and curses. According to my speculation, this spaceship was probably built by ancient humans, who you now call outsiders, hundreds of years ago. I don't know what happened to your Earth, but it was probably environmental reasons or war... that forced humans to migrate into space. And some people stayed behind for various reasons. Your ancestors were the part that couldn't leave." He licked his lips. "Perhaps this spaceship was the one they were traveling on, and it crashed here due to a malfunction; or perhaps they discovered the wreckage of this spaceship and then settled in this place. As for what version of history the Kou Ben family told you after they seized power, I don't know. Anyway, religious stories are all the same routine, shamelessly talking nonsense and attributing everything to miracles."

"Brother Feng... if you talked like this outside the game, you'd offend a lot of people," Kuang Zong Jian Ying said.

"Those who are offended by me can find a corner to kneel down and pray for their god to strike me dead with lightning," Feng Bujue said.

As the three spoke, they had already arrived in front of the temple. At the entrance of the temple, about forty guards were standing in a row, preparing to meet the enemy. They held gravity shields, forming a human wall, and metal cannonballs were suspended in front of their anti-gravity launchers, all aimed at the target.

"This situation is rare. I have a group attack skill that consumes energy, but I haven't had a chance to use it. Now's a good time to try it," Kuang Zong Jian Ying said with a smile.

"Sword Saint Storm?" Feng Bujue immediately asked.

"Uh... no," Kuang Zong Jian Ying replied.

"Oh, then do whatever," Feng Bujue's expression showed that he had lost interest in the skill.

[Name: Ittoryu. Ekko Bird]

[Skill Card Attributes: Active Skill, disappears after one use]

[Skill Category: Combat]

[Effect: A long-range slash launched with one arm, creating a wave of sword energy for a group attack. The move is powerful and of medium speed (can only be activated when using sword-type weapons)]

[Consumption: Stamina 300]

[Learning Requirements: Combat Specialization D, Level 15 or above]

[Remarks: This move was created by a famous Santoryu swordsman born on Singles' Day. Years later, it seems that this guy just randomly gave a name to a long-range slash.]

The guards didn't waste any more words with the intruders. When the three arrived within a firing range of about fifty meters, under the command of a guard captain, they all used their launchers.

Dozens of cannonball-like metal blocks came swiftly, and Kuang Zong Jian Ying's move was also launched in response.

He swung his arm in a diagonal slash, and a tangible sword aura burst out, sweeping forward. The metal blocks that were shot towards them were bounced away as if they had hit a wall of air in mid-air. The wave of sword energy didn't lose any momentum, and instantly pounced on the battle line formed by the guards.

Clang, clang, clang... the sound of metal shields being knocked away and falling to the ground rose and fell, followed by the shouts and exclamations of the guards. Except for the few people standing on the sides of the formation who were lucky enough to escape, the guards in the middle were simply knocked over like bowling pins by this move, completely collapsing.

"Ah... there's no chance to show off," Feng Bujue said as he led the way into the temple.

The interior of the temple was no different from an ordinary duplex mansion. In addition to the men of the Kou Ben family, they also had to provide lodging for the women who came to receive "baptism." There were also many servants living in the temple. These servants were mostly older women whose beauty had faded. They had entered the Kou Ben family when they were young, but had no children. After many years, when Kou Ben had lost interest in their bodies, they could only "serve" the family of the Son of God in this way.

The space inside this interstellar spaceship was quite vast and complex. If Kou Ben intentionally hid, it would be really difficult to find him. Fortunately, Hank knew where to find this "Son of God." In this situation, York Kou Ben would definitely run to the "Chamber of Divine Will," a place they absolutely forbade outsiders from entering.

God's Grace Village held large-scale gatherings irregularly, depending on the circumstances. During the gatherings, the Kou Ben family would use some "rituals" (such as healing sick people or predicting solar and lunar eclipses in advance) to display "miracles" in front of the villagers, and convey the latest "will of heaven." This was also a means of consolidating their rule. Every so often, the Kou Bens had to remind these slaves that the authority of the Son of God family was inviolable and unquestionable.

These rituals naturally needed an audience, but the plaza in front of the temple couldn't accommodate everyone in the village. Therefore, only "chosen" villagers could come to watch the ceremony in person. The selection mechanism was actually very simple. Most of the people who were fortunate enough to watch the ceremony were randomly selected from the first and second areas. Letting these people witness the power of the Son of God and then embellish their stories when they returned would have an excellent propaganda effect.

Hank had seen a "miracle" once before. Although he had never entered the temple, he knew the general location of the "Chamber of Divine Will." That room could be seen from outside the temple by looking up (it was one floor below the command tower of the interstellar spaceship). Each time, the Son of God would come out of the Chamber of Divine Will and stand on a platform high above to display various miracles and announce various decrees.

The three moved upward, searching for a path. There was no obstruction on this path, because there were no guards left in the temple. Even if there were, they couldn't stop them. Before long, the door to the Chamber of Divine Will appeared before them. And in the corridor in front of the door, there was still someone standing.

"This is York Kou Ben's brother, Havis Kou Ben," Hank said.

Havis was half a head shorter than Hank, fat, and carefree. His face was shiny with oil. When he saw the three, he showed no fear. He opened his mouth and said, "Lowly commoner, do you know what you're doing?" He glared at Hank, revealing a sinister smile. "Do you know how serious the crime you've committed is?"

Hank ignored him completely, raised his launcher, and directly fired the prepared ammunition. The basketball-sized metal block shot towards Havis at high speed, but the other party didn't dodge or avoid it. He raised his left arm and used his palm to catch it.

With a bang, the sound of the metal block hitting Havis's palm was like hitting an iron wall. The metal fell to the ground.

"Hmph, do you want to challenge the power of God?" Havis sneered.

"No wonder you dare to stand here," Feng Bujue sneered as well. "Your body has been mechanically modified, right?"

He casually exposed Havis's so-called "divine power," and the latter's face instantly became very ugly.

"Hmm... it's impossible to complete this kind of modification with only knowledge of mechanical engineering and without the support of this era's biological technology," Feng Bujue pondered. "This shows that you not only have the technology recorded on this interstellar spaceship, but you can also obtain outside civilizations. It seems... the priests who helped you complete this body have all been silenced?"

"There are plenty of those kinds of people, anyway. We hold the information, and we decide who has the qualifications to learn and how much they can learn," Havis snorted, and then said, "Outsiders, even if you know some things that these lowly commoners don't, don't be too proud. You won't leave this place alive, and no one in this village will believe your nonsense."

"Alas..." Feng Bujue sighed, "You're so stupid that I want to cry..."

Zheng—

A cold light flashed, and the steel knife was already in hand.

Feng Bujue held the knife in his right hand and raised the gun in his left. He advanced while firing continuously, but when he raised the gun, Havis had already raised his hand to protect his head, bent over, and charged forward with a wild roar. The bullets poured down on him, making a series of bangs as if they were hitting a wall.

The close combat between the two could only be described as tragic. Havis didn't know how to fight at all. His fighting skills were even worse than Feng Bujue's. To put it simply, he was the type who had never eaten pork and had never even seen a pig run. He flailed his arms wildly like he was swimming while fighting...

Feng Bujue just retreated slightly, parried twice with the knife, and cut off both of Havis's arms. He didn't even use much force. Most of the force came from Havis himself.

"How is that possible?" Havis looked at his severed arms in shock. He didn't feel much pain, just surprised that his iron arms could be cut off.

"I can't even watch anymore," Kuang Zong Jian Ying shook his head. "Looking at your movements, you've never been in a fight since you were a kid, right?"

Feng Bujue seemed to have thought of something at this time. He looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, laughed, and said, "Ha... 'Even my dad never hit me'... is that the setting?"

Kuang Zong Jian Ying also laughed, "Famous lines are ruined by guys like you who use them at inappropriate times."

Feng Bujue put away the gun and approached Havis step by step with the steel knife. "Alright, let's see how your divine power actually works."

Because he had no arms and was also obese, Havis lost his balance after taking a few steps back and fell to the ground. "You... what are you going to do..."

Feng Bujue ignored his words and just said to himself, "You raised your hand to defend as soon as I raised the gun, which means you recognize pistols as weapons. You covered your head, which indicates that that part is completely non-mechanical..." As he spoke, he inserted the knife into the other party's thigh. The effect of [Robots Must Die] was also effective against mechanically modified creatures. Under the power bonus, penetrating his defense was no problem at all.

"Your limbs seem to have been thoroughly modified, and you don't feel any pain, right..." Feng Bujue pulled out the knife and inserted it into the other party's chest again.

Havis gasped in shock, but he still didn't die after the knife entered his chest. He was just affected in terms of breathing, and he couldn't speak anymore.

"As expected, cardiopulmonary function has also been modified," Feng Bujue said. "As expected of the Kou Ben family, they have made complete preparations. Even if there is a major disaster one day, causing the air filtration in the village to malfunction, you don't have to worry, because you can survive in the atmosphere without protective suits." He then stepped on Havis's round beer belly, and this time the other party clearly showed a painful expression.

"Hmph... your digestive system hasn't been modified, right? Well, no wonder. If it had been modified, you should have had a six-pack," Feng Bujue said with a smile. "I think your reproductive system probably hasn't been modified either, because it's related to enjoyment, so you don't want to give it up..." He moved the tip of the knife to the other party's abdomen.

Although Havis couldn't make a loud sound from his throat, he still tried desperately to shout and shook his head frantically in horror, as if begging Feng Bujue not to kill him.

"Don't worry, I'm just kidding," Feng Bujue said, already putting the knife away. "Since there's no machinery inside, stabbing it won't give me any skill points, and I'll just get a knife full of fat and shit, how disgusting."

Havis couldn't understand what the other party was saying, but he felt like this meant he was going to be spared.

Unfortunately, the next second, Feng Bujue took out a pipe wrench from his luggage, and with a murderous, morbid look in his eyes, stared intently at Havis's forehead...