Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 514 The Angel Descends
Negotiations broke down, and the toughest challenges began.

Although Li Wei did not find any evidence to bring back, what he had seen so far was enough for him to make a clear judgment about the current Holy Bishop.

Moreover, for Li Wei, this matter has become very simple.

He no longer needs to consider whether a “small group” of bishops has been misled or is acting for their own political interests. It is clear that these clergy are faithful believers, devoutly devoted to the God they believe to be God, and acting in accordance with His will.

In other words, there is no sectarian conflict or internal conspiracy involved. It is simply a matter of the Holy Lord's devout followers acting in accordance with His ways—or at least that's what they believe.

For Li Wei, the problem would be much easier to solve.

After all, the weapon of criticism can never compare to the criticism of weapons. He was too lazy to engage in a three-hundred-round war of words with the other party here—if you're so capable, you should first defeat the gun in my hand!

As for whether this was treasonous, Li Wei didn't consider it, nor was he worried. After all, he already knew some things about the gods from the Holy Maiden and the Goddess of Night. The most important point was that the power of faith absorbed by the gods would cause certain changes to themselves.

The Holy Bishops were able to become the largest religion on this continent because they had forged a consensus among the people. It is conceivable that this consensus was not like the one depicted in the murals of this underground sanctuary; otherwise, these guys wouldn't be secretly doing this kind of thing down there.

In other words, they themselves knew that this matter was something that could not be brought to light and could not be exposed to the world.

That raises a problem.

Logically, having absorbed a vast amount of faith, the Holy Lord should have developed in the direction most people expected. But the reality is clearly different. The old man said it was the Holy Lord's will—but was it truly the Holy Lord's will?
If so, then what is the current mental state of the Holy Lord?

If not, then what exactly is this holy lord they worship?
Li Wei didn't believe that every clergyman who came to the underground sanctuary would believe this nonsense. Even Elizabeth was pale and quite shocked. He and Katie completely ignored these absurd theories. Therefore, if these clergymen came down, saw this, and then calmly said, "Let me join the ranks of those serving the Holy Lord,"... Li Wei felt that there was really something wrong with that.

So where are those who disagree with their dogma?

Li Wei felt that the answer to this question was almost obvious.

In that case, what he needs to do is quite simple.

The engine roared.

The Night Raven roared into the air, looking down at the ground. It then saw that the clergy who had been on the ground had vanished, replaced by a thick shadow that slid swiftly across the floor.

Night Raven raised its right-hand mech rifle and launched an attack on the rapidly moving black shadow.

"Bang bang bang bang bang!!"

A series of gunshots rang out, followed by plumes of smoke and dust. But the shadow was faster than expected. It swiftly slid up the wall and then disappeared into the huge, upright eye of all knowledge in the very center of the mural.

The next instant, the eye slowly opened, and one of its blood-red pupils coldly stared at the Night Raven flying in the air.

Then…

"Splash splash splash splash!"

On either side of the All-Seeing Eye, wings that originally looked like stone sculptures began to tremble, and as fragments of stone fell from above, pairs of wings slowly unfolded from the depths of the wall.

However! This was completely different from the image of angels with white feathers that Li Wei and his companions had seen in the ancient texts!
Its wings were covered in withered flesh and blood. Although they were indeed covered with white feathers, they did not cover the entire wing. Instead, it looked like a poultry suffering from some kind of skin disease, with feathers scattered here and there. In the areas not covered by feathers, there were bulging, beast-like pupils.

"Whoa, I knew this thing was terrifying!"

Seeing this, Katie couldn't help but cry out, and when Levi met the monster's gaze, he had a very bad premonition. He quickly accelerated, maneuvering the Night Raven upwards!
"—————————!!!"

Almost simultaneously, the eyes on the monster's wings suddenly widened, and then beams of red light emerged from them, shooting towards the Night Raven!
The streaks of red light crisscrossed, forming a vast net that completely enveloped the Night Raven. However, just as the Night Raven was about to be struck by these rays, it suddenly accelerated, grazing past them at an unimaginable speed, and then sped towards the exit. "Damn, is this thing a demon or some kind of modified monster?!"

As Li Wei piloted the Night Raven, he couldn't help but complain. The monster's attack had startled him; he had never seen such a bizarre monster, much less encountered such an exaggerated attack pattern. Luckily, he could still pilot the Night Raven; otherwise, he would probably have had to rely on [Shadow Shift] to escape.

"Hey? Mr. Li Wei, aren't we going to fight?"

However, some people here are still dissatisfied with this.

"If we're going to fight, we shouldn't fight here!"

The underground sanctuary wasn't very large, which greatly hampered movement. Aside from anything else, the enemy's beam-emitting eyes alone were enough to be a nuisance. If he were trapped down there, Levi would have no choice but to surrender. But once outside…

Countless shimmering red dots emerged from the darkness. The Night Raven turned again, dodging the rays flying from below, while Levi quickly reconnected to the Eye of the Sky.

"Calling Sky Eye, prepare for air strike! Coordinates 125.563! Launch in three seconds!"

"Roger that!"

After giving the order, Li Wei stared intently at what was in front of him. At this moment, the Night Raven had almost flown out of the underground sanctuary in front of them, and Li Wei could even see the dome of the church ahead.

Then-----

"boom!!!"

Before Li Wei, the heavy church dome instantly shattered, turning into huge boulders that crashed down. The Night Raven, however, darted left and right, like a slippery eel, darting through the gaps in the debris, before bursting through the opening and once again appearing above the church.

However, before Li Wei could properly appreciate the blue sky and white clouds in front of him, a sudden sense of crisis made him quickly dodge again. Almost at the same time that Li Wei left the huge gap, a bright red beam of light shot out from it and shot straight into the sky!

"boom-------!!!"

A bright red beam of light shot straight into the sky, forming a huge cross shape in the air. The intense, scorching energy scattered and roared in all directions, as if it could ignite even the air itself.

The entire church was completely destroyed by this attack; when the pillar of light disappeared, its upper part was almost entirely gone.

Then, Li Wei saw the all-knowing eye with three pairs of wings fly out of the hole and continue to stare at him.

"I was hoping it might spare my life, but it seems unlikely."

“That, that’s a vengeful angel.”

At this moment, Elizabeth seemed to come to her senses and spoke in a trembling voice.

"Its eyes are fixed on the sinners of this world, and it will punish them mercilessly... No one can escape the pursuit of the angel of retribution..."

"This monster infected with chicken plague? And it's called an angel?"

Li Wei gave a soft hum.

Then the Night Raven raised its hands, ready for battle.

"Then I'll see just how capable this angel is!"

(End of this chapter)