Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 683: Section 474: 2100 (2)

Chapter 683: Section 474: 2100 (2)

Time regressed to forty minutes earlier.

As the old lady watched the young man who called himself Jack leave with his burly assistant, she gauged the young man moving towards his new target. Observing the gentleman at the door and the so-called artist with a scruffy beard conversing with him, the old lady smiled and shook her head.

"Dear Leonard, that boy has gone to the shop right across from us," she said without turning around.

Her husband then opened the top flap of the coffee table and took out a shotgun from the compartment inside: "That boy is naive and hasn’t seen much of the world; he doesn’t know what he’s up against."

"Exactly, just like our foolish children, who naively believe that everyone in this world is a follower of the Lord of Justice. No, besides us, there are many more pagans, cultists, non-believers, and stupid fools. Such a motley bunch and so many innocents make up this bizarre world," the old lady turned around, caught the shotgun tossed to her by her husband, and felt nostalgic about the good old days with the loaded weapon in hand.

Those were the days when she and he, with firearms in hand, judged the cultists, binding them to the stakes.

"Lena, bring the ammo belt," her husband called as he tossed the shotgun belt her way.

The old lady caught the belt and fastened it around her waist, securing the brass buckle.

Spiritual Energy controlled the coat hanger, causing the overcoat to fall into her hands. Already dressed in men’s clothing, the old lady kicked off her high heels, slipped on the overcoat, put on flat shoes, and then took a dagger from the weapons rack on the wall, hanging the sheathed blade by her waist.

Her husband picked up a short-barreled firearm, a semi-automatic firearm ordered by the Church of Justice from Malin’s workshop. Every retired Judge had one, and now it was about to see action.

He stood up, the old man with somewhat unreliable legs fastened the bullet belt around his waist, then, with his wife’s help, donned the overcoat.

"That boy has left."

Coming to the window and watching the young man leave the scene, the old lady remained silent for a while, "He’s bound to notice something."

"Yes, he will notice something. If Malin had been in Rongma and planned to take action against these fellows, he would have contacted us to avoid any misunderstanding, but the Church didn’t reach out to us," her husband was reflecting.

"They want to resolve everything elsewhere. I’m sad, dear. They think we’ve grown old, unable to walk or hold a gun steady," the old lady said with a touch of sorrow, as to her and him, it was all true.

They had grown old, so old that even the Church didn’t want them to fight on the front lines any longer.

"Don’t be sorrowful, Lena. We are indeed old, and they don’t want us to take any risks, just like we didn’t inform the two old folks from the Caster family back in the day. Times change, and now we’re just like them," the old man said, returning to the sofa to sit, making the sign of the Holy Emblem of the Church in front of his chest.

"But, like the two old folks from the Caster family, we too desire to die in battle at all times. Only that way can we enter the Divine Realm with our heads held high... May the Lord have mercy," the old lady said, peering out the window, holding back the curtain, as if reliving days gone by.

"We’ve alarmed the snake." She saw that man leave the house, following the direction in which the young man had gone.

"It’s normal. This just proves our judgment. There is indeed something off about these strangers. He will follow the young man to see if there are any special circumstances. If he continues checking down the road, it won’t corner them, but if... after inspecting this one street, he chooses to leave, then it proves there’s a problem with this inspection. They intend to keep the guests in this house restricted to this street." The old man paused, and finally sighed, "But I’ve confirmed there’s something odd about that young man now. This sudden assault is aimed to control these tenants, and they will surely choose to leave."

"That man has come back, Leonard. Your reasoning has been confirmed once again," the old lady observed as the man stood at the door, his guests opening it for him and peeking out like a thief with a guilty conscience.

Unfortunately, he did not notice the neighbor spying from behind a nearby window, while the neighbor saw the fear and deceit he displayed.

"They’ve gone in," the old lady reported the situation’s progress with a voice devoid of expression or sentiment.

"Within ten minutes, they will definitely leave," the old man stated and took the Holy Emblem out from inside his collar, kissing it.

Three minutes later, several completely unfamiliar figures emerged from the house.

"New targets, Leonard, you simply didn’t expect whom I saw," the old lady remarked, a reminiscent smile on her face as she watched the lead figure, one of her own kind.

Her husband did not look up but thought for a moment and retrieved a name from his memory: "Our Lady of Deception?"

"Yes, it seems like you remember the follower of the Mimicking Bird from the witch’s Sequence just as well as I do."

"Of course. That witch was the only prey that escaped our hunt, also killing our only child and his friends. I always thought we’d go to our graves with this regret," the old man rose, showing no sign of his prior leg ailment, joining his wife at the window to watch the Sect Hierarch swagger through the streets with her minions.