New Gods of North America.

Chapter 620 Exclusion
Late at night, Wayne and his team had returned to the workshop. The members who had been cursed at the scene and had undergone emergency treatment were helped to rest one by one.
After escorting everyone to their destination, Inessa changed into the hunting attire of a seasoned hunter and prepared to set off again. In addition to the necessary equipment, she also wore a bird-beak mask.

The bird-beak mask was not an extraordinary item; it was simply used to conceal the face and alter the voice.

In civilized society, people consider it inappropriate for a woman to wear pants in public instead of a skirt. However, the Hunter Association's hunting suits are based on "tradition" and practicality, and are only customized for hunters whose strength and contributions meet the corresponding conditions. In fact, they are not gender-specific. Therefore, to avoid unnecessary worldly troubles, wearing a mask has become a custom for senior female hunters in the association.

As the person responsible for guarding the house and preventing any sneak attacks tonight, Lina quickly noticed the commotion on Inessa's side: "You're leaving now? Aren't you going to rest a little longer?"

“It’s okay to skip sleep occasionally,” Inessa’s voice sounded a little muffled, her gender ambiguous. “That member of the Tranquility Cult tonight seemed very skilled. He’s probably not the one conducting the rituals, but more like a frontline ‘enforcer.’ Judging by his rank, this setup should be considered a high-level team within their cult. If possible, I still hope to discover more ritual moments as soon as possible to confirm their action plan.”

Lina didn't try to persuade her further, and instead pulled a small roll of paper from her bag: "Be careful. These are the addresses of two residences and a safe house for the intelligence team in the dock area. If necessary, you can contact them for cooperation, or go there to rest."

Inessa took the things and sat down in the driver's seat of the carriage. "You be careful too. The Tranquility Cult may not be very strong in a direct confrontation, but their curses are often troublesome and can easily cause additional losses. If we find anything amiss, it may be necessary to arrange for someone to stay behind at the workshop after dawn."

"No problem. The plantation is far from the city. If any suspicious persons are spotted, I can have the owls airdrop high explosives over there. I'll try my best to keep them away. It's even more convenient during the day. Crows are more vigilant than hunting dogs when guarding the house; they even harass their own people."

"That's good. You might also need to keep an eye on Wayne's condition. His rank isn't high, and he doesn't seem to be a follower of the Holy Spirit or any deity. 'Koyatl' is, after all, a high-ranking being. The curse that broke out earlier seemed to be influenced by Him. Even if it was just a projected phantom, we can't underestimate Him as an ordinary evil spirit. Wayne healed so many people in one go, and his method was close to absorption. He might be enriched and infected."

Lina nodded upon hearing this, her eyes darting around slightly. "Speaking of which, it's quite amazing. In my observation, in the Kansas region and around their towns, it seems that no faith other than the Church of the Holy Spirit is widely spread. I've never seen Wayne pray to anyone, yet he remains completely unaffected by 'Koyatl.' Wild extraordinary beings are most prone to problems in this regard."

“Perhaps it’s related to his habit of drinking holy water, but it’s always better to be cautious. Some extraordinary individuals carry the residual influence of higher beings as they ascend to higher ranks. If it’s not dealt with in time, the longer it goes on, the deeper the influence becomes, and the more troublesome the problem tends to be.” Inessa paused for a moment, then continued, “As for the spread of the secret faith around Blackrock Town…”

"What? You've discovered something?" Lina asked curiously.

“No, you’ve always been more perceptive than me in this regard. I just thought of that high-ranking evil spirit we encountered near Blackrock Town, but its level shouldn’t be high enough to suppress the influence of ‘Koyatl’…”

As Inessa finished speaking, she raised the reins in her hand. "Anyway, just to be safe, you should keep a close eye on things lately. If nothing's wrong, that would be even better; perhaps it really is the Holy Spirit protecting you."

"Don't worry. The sage has only remained silent about the influence of what appears to be the Holy Spirit. Under normal circumstances, if another superior being were to exert influence near me, I would be aware of it in time."

"Ah."

With a flick of the reins, the carriage slowly began to accelerate. Inessa recalled the situation in the Blackrock Town area, her thoughts even wandering back to a time before that.

"In the vicinity of Blackrock, Kansas, there is likely a cult plotting a bloody sacrifice in an attempt to summon a powerful evil spirit..."

Apart from the cave where the superior evil spirit was discovered earlier, there are no other suspected sacrificial relics near Blackrock Town, and the basic beliefs of the ordinary townspeople are also very "pure".
To speculate in the worst-case scenario, if the entire Blackrock Town is merely one ritual node within a massive magic array, then the requirements for the ritual presiding person's rank would be far too high, and the consumption involved would be enormous. If such a superior being were to descend, it would likely cause natural disasters or anomalies in the local area, which would be impossible for ordinary people to ignore.

Inesha shook her head slightly, clearing her mind of distractions. The probability of some scenarios was so extremely low that there was no need for unfounded suspicion.

She endured the gradually diminishing damage and effects of the curse, feeling the slight loosening of the Exorcist Association's restraints on her body, and focused her thoughts back on the dock area map in her mind.

The large-scale sacrificial rituals of the Tranquility Cult involve many different array arrangements. Generally speaking, they often form symbolic images such as ouroboros, round-headed crosses, hourglasses, and gates to the underworld, signifying "death," "resurrection," or "eternity."

Assuming that cabin is one of the nodes, there are still many possibilities to eliminate...

"...Mr. Schwartz, please forgive my late-night visit, but that Wayne has really gone too far."

“I have already instructed my men not to obstruct the work of the City Sanitation Committee, but he has repeatedly and deliberately sent people to our territory to conduct investigations. Not only did he arrest a group of our sailors and tie them up in the small square for public humiliation, but tonight he even arranged for people to blow up our disguised warehouse that we used to temporarily store some sensitive goods.”

"If I hadn't cleared the place out in time and evacuated the people in advance, I'm afraid you would have suffered huge losses just tonight."

The gang leader, who had rushed from the docks to the manor overnight, was seething with rage, while the banker opposite him, dressed in comfortable pajamas, expressionlessly sipped the hot tea that the butler had promptly brought over.

After a short while, the teacup was placed back on the elegant saucer, and Mr. Schwartz asked casually, "How many people did he send?"

The gang leader seemed surprised by the question, and after a moment's thought, quickly answered:
"They split into two groups. The first group seemed to have around ten people, and the second group had at least twenty. According to what you told me before, this means that all of his men were mobilized. You didn't see how arrogant they were. They blew up the warehouse and set off a lot of fireworks at the same time, as if they were just waiting for our people to come and clash with them, and then they would probably be ambushed by the second group on the spot."

“He must be itching to get going.” Mr. Schwartz still seemed confident. The trial for the murder of the journalist was about to begin. Although some members of his detective agency had recently been assisting the prosecutor in prosecuting gang members, the prosecutor, mindful of this relationship, had repeatedly delayed the indictment, citing too many cases and incomplete evidence. But it couldn't be delayed for long. Once the verdict was announced, he would essentially be in jail, and the collapse of his detective agency would only be a matter of time.

The gang leader clearly didn't see it that way: "But now he's using the city hall's authorization to arrest and publicly humiliate gang members in the dock area. If he can blow up our warehouse tonight, he might blow up our dock tomorrow. Even if he and his men are gone, our Sailors' Gang's prestige in the dock area will definitely be greatly damaged. If other gangs have other ideas, it could very well affect some of your business."

The teacup was picked up again, and Mr. Schwartz gently blew on the hot tea: "You came so late just to have me listen to your complaints?"

"of course not!"

The gang leader felt he had laid enough groundwork before humbly changing the subject, "I've spoken with O'Sullivan of the Erlan Gang, and he's willing to join us in secretly teaching that Wayne a lesson, so he and his men will suffer before going to jail."

Mr. Schwartz frowned slightly: “This is not the way of civilized people. He has some connections in Richmond, and some relationships with the Beaton and Fisk families. If it’s not handled cleanly enough, it could easily lead to accidents.”

“I’m not questioning your decision.” The gang leader bent his neck even lower. “But gangs have their own way of surviving. If we don’t respond, the Sailors Gang will lose its deterrent power, and every time we transport goods, someone will probably spy on us, which will be even more troublesome.”

Mr. Schwartz didn't bother refuting the guy's nonsense. These gangsters were just short-sighted and arrogant: "The entire upper class of Richmond knows you're one of my men. Are you trying to embarrass me by attacking them now?"

The gang leader quickly added, "You don't need to worry too much. They've offended more than just us in the dock area these past few days. Judging by their current investigation methods, I estimate they'll soon have provoked all the gangs. Then we'll strike secretly and make sure he loses most of his men before he goes to jail."

Mr. Schwarz finished off the half-cup of hot tea late at night, and stood up thoughtfully.

In Richmond, there were indeed some gentlemen who had reservations about Wayne and the Beaton family. Giving them a little warning beforehand might earn them more goodwill. Without looking back, he began walking towards his bedroom.

“I haven’t heard you mention any of this. This was all your own idea, it has nothing to do with me. Tomorrow a ship carrying Frankish goods will dock. You can leave a few cases of wine, go and get some pistols, and then throw them away after you’ve used them. Just say that the cases of wine were stolen, and someone will take care of it.”

"Yes! Thank you, Mr. Schwarz."

This guy's been managing the sailors' gang for several years now, hasn't he? If he's still capable, keep him for another two years; if he's not, just replace him.
Gang members are often like this; they tend to get arrogant and become too opinionated if they sit in the same position for too long.

(End of this chapter)