Upon hearing the voice of the newcomer, Hu Peng and his companion’s horror instantly turned into surprise.
It turned out to be their own boss, no wonder he could suppress them so easily.
"Lord Bear told me you guys lost contact, so I came over to check the situation. How’s it going, what are they doing over there?"
Zhang Xiaoman spoke while pointing at a place not far away, where there was an open space serving as a small square, and at this moment, a large group of villagers was gathering.
"Boss, here’s the thing, Dog and I were originally here investigating the issue with the Mutated Black Rats, but as we followed the clues, we discovered one of their strongholds. Those black rats were indeed created by the Plague Church."
Zhang Xiaoman looked ahead upon hearing this; apart from the villagers of this small village, there were also several figures wearing black robes.
His eyesight was extraordinary, as he had already seen the water droplet emblem on the chest of the closest person.
"That’s right, Boss, they seem to be conducting some sort of ritual here. When we arrived, the ritual seemed to have already started. Look at the two bodies on that platform; they must be the people previously used as sacrificial offerings."
Xun You added from the side.
Zhang Xiaoman followed his gaze and saw something resembling a podium with a man and a woman’s body lying upon it.
"These people, have they all gone mad?"
Seeing this scene, he immediately connected everything to the horrific activities of the Evil Sect.
Thinking of this, he closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, they had turned a golden hue.
In an instant, all Dark Energy Fluctuations within a 500-meter radius with Zhang Xiaoman at the center were clearly perceived by him.
"These... are those black stones!"
In Zhang Xiaoman’s line of sight, he saw that inside the three large black boxes in the center of the square, there lay three objects emitting Dark Energy Fluctuations.
All three objects were conical in structure, looking just like the black stones he had seen in Ero before, only these were larger, each over three meters in height.
"To place such dangerous things among the crowd and hold a sacrifice here, what exactly are these people trying to do...?"
Zhang Xiaoman’s expression was grave, as he had guessed certain things.
Suddenly, a series of high-pitched shouts came from the square, and all the villagers raised their hands in a manner suggesting celebration.
Zhang Xiaoman focused his attention and saw a person in a black robe step onto the platform; behind him were two burly men, also shrouded in black robes.
The crowd of villagers below, seeing the three people ascend to the platform, actually started kneeling and bowing their heads in worship.
"Lord Divine Messenger!"
"Lord Divine Messenger!"
"Lord Divine Messenger!"
The crowd worshipped and chanted the title of the person they were addressing.
The man in the black robe at the center raised both hands horizontally, basking in such cheers, before finally gesturing downward to speak:
"Believers of the Makula God, I am His most loyal Angel Envoy! Today, here I will lead you all in offering three sacrifices to Lord Makula and spread His radiance!"
After the man finished his speech, there was another bout of cheers below. The villagers seemed to have lost their minds, raising their hands high and their eyes revealing madness.
As the so-called Divine Envoy’s words fell, a few individuals wearing black robes were seen bringing a Caucasian man bound hand and foot to the scene.
They tied the man to the third stone platform and lifted the bodies from the other two platforms, tossing them through a small window into the black box beside them.
Zhang Xiaoman’s gaze remained unshifted, and the moment the bodies were thrown into the black box, he saw a terrifying change occur inside.
The two bodies came to life upon contact with the black stones, beginning to contort bizarrely, with their limbs seemingly stretched by a strange force. A Dark Energy Fluctuation also started emanating from inside them, and in no time, they were crawling on all fours off the ground.
As soon as the two bodies stood up, they began to violently attack the surrounding walls, making a series of "thud thud thud" noises.
However, the black boxes were exceptionally sturdy, and the two bodies couldn’t get out for the moment, only able to continuously emit shrill screams from within.
Some villagers, upon seeing this, had some of the crazed look fade from their eyes, stepping back fearfully, seemingly wanting to hide behind others.
Another portion of the crowd, however, showed no panic at all. Instead, they grew even more excited, shouting like fanatics.
"They’re creating Mutants!"
Zhang Xiaoman immediately understood the adversaries’ intention; this so-called sacrifice was actually about converting people into Mutants.
What surprised him a bit was that he had thought only the living would be affected by those stones, not expecting that these recently deceased humans could also be susceptible to spiritual pollution.
Or perhaps, these two people were not actually dead but had simply lost too much blood and fallen into a comatose state.
Regardless of the situation now, it showed the evil of this church before him, and Zhang Xiaoman really couldn’t understand why they went to such lengths to create these Mutants.