NOVEL NEXT Chapter 451: Great Ambitions_2
But at the time, the temperature had dropped sharply, turning everything into ice and snow, and no one was leaving the city. People outside probably didn't know about the removal of the Dusk Church within the base unless they had tools like Perception Rings to transmit messages!
Or perhaps, someone from Changhe Base had done something in the past that caused suffering and influenced the reputation of the base...
Wang Tao needed to figure out what exactly was going on.
"Uh, no no! This is just the awe we feel towards the powerful!"
Zhan Xing kept waving his hands.
Wang Tao didn't say anything; he just looked at him.
Sweat immediately broke out on Zhan Xing's forehead, but he didn't change his tune.
Meanwhile, the nearby Ordinary people all bowed their heads, their bodies trembling slightly as though they were very frightened. But Wang Tao could feel their muscles tensed, ready to pounce on him at any moment!
This surprised Wang Tao even more.
He was a Fourth-order Awakener, and these were merely Ordinary people, not even at Level 1. And yet these Ordinary people wanted to attack him? Who gave them the courage?
"Mr. Wang, please don't misunderstand! We haven't seen other people for a long time and we instinctively feel scared when we see strangers. After all, in the Apocalypse, humans themselves are also a threat, as you must know. Of course, I'm not saying you are a threat, I know you are a good person..."
Zhan Xing continued to explain and even tried to present Wang Tao as a good person.
Wang Tao became impatient; he frowned and looked at Zhan Xing.
"We have other matters to attend to, no time to dawdle with you, tell me, why do you harbor such animosity towards me?"
As soon as he said this, Zhan Xing's face changed, and the Ordinary people who had been watching the situation closely immediately burst out, rushing toward Han Rui and Jiang Shixue.
"Capture them!"
Someone shouted.
Zhan Xing also immediately pulled out a dagger and stabbed towards Wang Tao at close range.
Wang Tao made no extra moves, just glanced at Zhan Xing, and instantly, Zhan Xing's body stiffened, and the dagger dropped to the ground.
His eyes seemed unfocused, as if his soul had left him, and he collapsed to the ground, dispirited.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the situation took Wang Tao by surprise.
These Ordinary people charged at Han Rui and the women, and Wang Tao thought they would easily subdue them, but it took the women a couple of moves to get control!
Ordinary people on one side, and a Fourth-order Awakener on the other. Ordinary people managed to exchange a few moves with the Awakeners? Even though Han Rui and her team did indeed intend to avoid harming lives and probably held back a bit, it shouldn't have turned into an even fight with Ordinary people, even if it only lasted two moves.
"These people are unusual! Their strength is immense, comparable to that of second or third-level Ability Users!"
After subduing these people, Han Rui came up to Wang Tao and whispered.
"Oh?"
Wang Tao suddenly realized something, which explained why they could fight with Han Rui and the others for a couple of moves, but then he was perplexed.
Ordinary people with the physical qualities of an Ability User? What was going on?
Wang Tao looked towards Zhan Xing, who was still laying on the ground, not yet awoken. Wang Tao had tried to use as little spiritual power as possible, but Zhan Xing still couldn't handle it.
Then Wang Tao turned his eyes toward the subdued Ordinary people, who were all staring fiercely at him, including the child, as if they bore deep hatred towards Wang Tao.
"Kill us, we won't tell you anything!"
These people were quite tough.
Wang Tao couldn't be bothered to say more and was about to let Jiang Shixue handle it.
Jiang Shixue's [String Puppet] Awakening could make them spill everything, although it would cause some damage to their bodies, but they were asking for it.
Just as Wang Tao was about to let Jiang Shixue take action, he seemed to suddenly think of something, and took out a golden square badge from his backpack and then wore it on his chest.
When Wang Tao turned around, revealing the badge on his chest, the subdued people were about to continue cursing, but their words suddenly stuck.
"You, you..."
"Let's reintroduce myself. I'm a Senior Priest of the Dusk Church. I've just been hiding in the city, so you probably haven't seen me. They are all our own people."
Wang Tao spoke without a flicker of emotion.
The people were somewhat stunned; they never expected Wang Tao to be a member of the Dusk Church!
To let them get a good look at the badge, Wang Tao deliberately walked over to them and had Xiang Hongbin release them.
They rubbed their eyes; indeed, they hadn't seen wrong, it was the genuine badge of a Church Priest – they had their own ways to verify the authenticity of a badge, and however they looked at it, the badge was genuine.
"I'm sorry!"
After being released, they immediately knelt down before Wang Tao.
Wang Tao raised an eyebrow.
He had just spontaneously thought about impersonating a priest of the Dusk Church using their badge. He wasn't sure if these people would recognize it, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to try... and unexpectedly, it worked.
Since it worked, things would be easier moving forward.
Wang Tao directly asked,
"Why do you have such hostility toward me?"
"Oh no, it isn't you we dislike! It's the people from Changhe Base we resent."
The individuals hurriedly explained.
"Why do you harbor hostility toward the people from Changhe Base? I haven't been out for a long time and haven't really interacted with outsiders."
Wang Tao's excuse was a bit flimsy, but these people believed him. Or rather, they would never doubt their superiors.
"It's because Changhe Base sent people to massively hunt us down; they wanted to completely annihilate us! Many of our brothers died at the hands of Changhe Base! We must avenge this..."
Watching this person talk so passionately, Wang Tao was full of questions.
Wait, since when did Changhe Base send people to hunt you down?
Wang Tao was definitely a high-ranking official at Changhe Base now, if something like this had happened, he would definitely know about it.
Moreover, the most important thing was, he had personally destroyed the Dusk Church in the city, and it had only been a few days since the annihilation of the Dusk Church. No one from the city had gone out except them! So, who was it that hunted them?
Could it be a case of mistaken identity, or some misunderstanding or coincidence?
"Were you present when this happened?"
Wang Tao asked, puzzled.
"No, but this matter has spread throughout the church; we all know..."
"Yes! My friend went missing during that conflict..."
"..."
Mentioning this, the several people got very agitated. Even the teenaged child's eyes flashed with the light of hatred.
"My mother was killed in the hunt!"
"Did you see it with your own eyes?"
Wang Tao immediately asked.
"No, an uncle told me..."
"..."
Wang Tao felt like he was starting to understand something, then he asked again:
"When exactly did this hunt take place?"
"It started at the end of January and lasted until it began to snow!"
The people quickly responded.
"..."
Wang Tao's expression remained unchanged, but he was very speechless inside.
He remembered the end of January very clearly because that was the first time he encountered the Giant Eagle.
At that time, after he informed City Hall about the presence of the Giant Eagle, many Ability Users dared not leave their homes. It just so happened to be New Year, so many simply chose to wait until after the festivities to go out.
Moreover, at that time, there was absolutely no news about the Dusk Church in the city; nobody knew of its existence.
Furthermore, although the several individuals here spoke fervently, they had not seen it with their own eyes...
Thus, Wang Tao had reasons to suspect that this so-called "hunt," this "complete annihilation," was all false, a lie fabricated by someone intent on inciting their hatred!
As for who this "someone" might be... there was no need to think, it must be the higher-ups of the Dusk Church.
So the Dusk Church incited hatred against Changhe Base among the survivors outside the city while infiltrating the city internally... the Dusk Church's ambitions were not small indeed!