Chapter 178: Soul Crucible
"Whether it's framing someone or not, checking into it is never a problem."
Franca still remembered the vengeful looks of the gangsters as they faced death when their military camp's lost supplies were tracked down—
"It was them! They were the ones who gave us the stuff to sell!"
"So you were just saying you plan to retaliate by stalking them?" The muscular man narrowed his eyes, seeing right through the little crooks' schemes, "And you still have the guts to mess with the military's spokesperson?"
If this isn't framing, then what is? When did these small-time thugs from Black Street get so bold?
"...emmmm" Bearded Jonathan was stunned, "Fake! They're all fake! They're not spokespersons for the military!"
See! Just as I thought! Lies!
Contradicting statements, falling apart without being attacked.
The muscular man sneered contemptuously, "If their identities are fake, then why did you say it was them who gave you the bullets to sell?"
"It's true! It was really them who told us to sell the bullets!" Jonathan blurted out in panic, his words starting to slur.
"Pfft!" The cold light flashed, and a head fell to the ground, "Babbling nonsense!" Your journey continues at empire
A chilling glint flickered in the muscular man's eyes as he turned to the others, "You, tell me, who provided you the goods?"
To these rotten elements from the outside world, the muscular man had not a trace of mercy; these scum could die by the hundreds, and no one would care one bit.
Hearing their self-contradictory accusations and attempts to frame others even at the brink of death, he completely ran out of patience.
Such people deserved to be killed!
Anyway, it wasn't just him aligned with both Black Street and the military camp; even if one channel was cut, another could be started anew.
Kill!
His underlings fell silent, exchanging glances involuntarily, their wide eyes filled with confusion—how could they answer this?
To tell the truth means death; were they expected to fabricate a story on the spot?
Seeing the conniving looks flickering in the eyes of his subordinates, the muscular man's impatience grew.
Scum!
Having been out for a while, there hadn't been much of the special oil for attacking demons left on him, so he could use them to replenish his supply!
The muscular man stretched out his hand, and ripples immediately appeared in the space before his palm. An apparatus forged entirely of black steel slowly emerged from the turbulent space.
Once at least half of it had materialized, the muscular man violently pulled it out—
A bronze-like furnace, square in shape.
The Soul Furnace, a special creation that burns the souls of sinners to obtain precious oils used to combat demons.
The only thing that can truly harm those high-dimension demons that mortals can hardly comprehend are the substances obtained by sacrificing souls.
Even a mortal without the talent for Spiritual Energy, in facing death's agony, emits a soul scream filled with pain, possessing sufficient Spiritual Energy potency.
If they from the Heretical Arbitration House wanted to combat demons, they often had to be more demonic than the demons, more spiritual than Spiritual Energy!
Inside the Arbitration Place, a large, never-ceasing furnace constantly burned countless sinners' souls to provide the institution's enforcers with the oils they needed for daily combat against demons. Similarly, enforcers who were out on long-term missions and had a certain level of authority were also allowed to carry a smaller furnace for convenient local sourcing.
The muscular man, who had benefited from being under the young lady's care, was using this contraption for the first time; not having had a chance before, he somewhat regretted it.
Now, it was an excellent opportunity to use it.
"Ah~ah!"
"Ahh ahh"
Thugs thrown next to the furnace, entering the flames that seared their souls, let out agonized screams that pierced the depths of their beings. The fire did not burn their flesh, yet the torment of the heat was far more unbearable than any corporal punishment.
Franca, somewhat unable to bear watching the scene, moved away to use her Spiritual Energy to block her ears.
Some who worship demons may still be kind-hearted, while others, even though human, can be revolting.
Knowing some of their backgrounds, Franca also deeply loathed these people, but she could hardly bear to watch this torture based on the soul, feeling helpless.
This was both a punishment for the sinners and an arsenal that allowed humans to possess the power to combat the demons.
In the presence of real demons descending from high-dimension spaces, if it weren't for this special material supplied by souls, even the enforcers from the Arbitration House would struggle to gain an advantage.
Fortunately, the souls of ordinary thugs were impoverished and their will weak; they could not endure the burning of the soul flames for too long.
The soul was burned to ashes, and the body that lost its soul's dominion slumped to the ground.
The burly man picked up the crucible from the ground, using a special glass bottle to carefully catch a pool of slightly yellow and somewhat viscous liquid that flowed out from it.
"Just this little bit." Disappointment was clearly written all over his face.
"I'll keep it safe," Franca snatched it over in a flash.
"..." The burly man moved his lips, wanting to refuse, but he couldn't.
...
Since those hoodlums mentioned these guys before dying, coming over to take a look didn't seem to be a problem.
Even if they weren't suspects, they still needed to put a "good person" stamp on them.
Franca watched the three somewhat strange fellas with great interest, eager to see what exactly they intended to do.
...
"Make a few more, it's always better to be over-prepared."
"Indeed... it's better to be safe than sorry."
Kuang Xin and Dai Lian, in high spirits, prepared traps, planning to give those NPCs daring to covet Yanzi a little shock from the players.
The sky gradually darkened, and Gong Yan, with her arms drawn in, hands covering her arms, asked, "Is it getting a bit cold for anyone else?"
A sense of danger prickled their skin like needles, and Kuang Xin instinctively looked in a certain direction—
Under the dimming sky, green ghostly lights floated through the forest like drifting fireflies...
"Fuck! They're here!"
Old foes! The wolves are upon us!
"Stop digging, damn it, get ready to fight!"
Times had changed; experienced in facing this old foe, their hands still stained with the blood of wolves that hadn't fully dried, these beasts now reappeared before them.
Aside from the timing of their appearance not being quite right, they weren't particularly afraid.
"Haven't killed you guys in so long you couldn't wait to come and die, huh!" Kuang Xin dual-wielded battle axes, valiantly like an ancient War God.
"Lead them into the traps! Lead them into the traps!" Dai Lian hopscotched anxiously behind him, the bigger the gorilla's muscles grew, the lower his IQ seemed to become.
Two fists are hard to beat four hands, a good man can't fight off a pack of wolves, you're not invincible yet!
Give him a few more months, and he'd probably dare to charge at those Bug Race, orcs, demons, and other disaster creatures alone!
...
Watching the chaotic scene, Franca, hidden in the shadows, pursed her lips lightly.
It seemed these people had experience dealing with wolf packs; there shouldn't be any danger.
And these traps, were they set up for these wild wolves?
When power was insufficient, indeed, external aids were needed.
But even when lacking strength, they still undertook this "arduous" task... just because it was beneficial to the people?
During her time wandering Black Street, she had heard that someone had been quietly clearing out many wolves from Black Forest, significantly reducing the number of "missing" cases among the nearby commoners.
This wasn't a difficult task, yet few were willing to do it.
Without an employer to pay a bounty, such tasks are often left undone.
At this moment, it seemed...
"Is this also their doing?"
Was it their own initiative or an order from their mysterious boss they mentioned?
Franca blinked, increasingly interested in the leader behind this organization.
The fight went on for quite some time...
Watching the three who were still somewhat experienced, ending the battle and gasping for air, Franca stepped forward with her hands behind her back, "Let's go, step out and have a chat with them..."