63. Decisive (Asking for monthly votes~)

Black, dense mist suddenly surged out of the sofa where Hobart was sitting, wrapping around him tightly like twisting, intertwined black snakes. Blood-red lines and mysterious symbols lit up across the walls of the entire room.

Then, these lines slowly "peeled" away from the interior of the walls, seeping into the surrounding air like living creatures. They spread and curved toward the spot where Mann and Hu Weifeng were standing, filling the air around them in the blink of an eye.

The moment Hobart tore off his mask, Hu Weifeng glared at him intently, sending his psychic energy surging like a tidal wave toward the retired believer, slowly submerging him.

Hobart's gaze instantly became vacant, leaving him completely devoid of any intent to resist or fight. However, those mist-snakes dragged his body into the ocean of complex red lines.

When Hu Weifeng instinctively probed his psychic energy into the region drifting with red lines, he immediately felt a scorching, burning sensation.

"Ah." The young man gritted his teeth and took a few steps back. "He's not the one controlling this formation. There are others here. Damn Ren Shizhi, he definitely betrayed us."

Glancing around at the formation embedded in the air, he immediately shouted to Mann:

"Forget the formation, let's go!"

But just as he shouted those words, two devil worshippers appeared from the direction they had entered, and two more slowly walked down the stairs. Dazzling blue-green magical auras overflowed around all of them—mind-shielding spells and demonic energy barriers.

This array and these spells had been specifically prepared for Hu Weifeng and Mann. If encountered without preparation, a telepath's abilities would always win by surprise, leaving victims clueless about how to counter them.

Yet, once targeted in advance, psychic individuals became exceptionally vulnerable.

"Were you sent by Ren Shizhi?" Hu Weifeng roared, while quietly gesturing to Mann to indicate that he was preparing something.

Mann did not speak, instead extending his telekinetic power toward the four devil worshippers. As it merged into the red lines, he too felt the burning sensation.

However, Mann could distinctly feel that he was holding his ground.

Blood Hand merely sneered as he looked at them:

"Are you two the troublemakers?"

As he spoke, his hands were dyed red with blood flowing from his sleeves, and he made a distant gripping gesture toward Mann. At the same time, the shadows beneath the feet of the two devil worshippers at the entrance transformed into tentacle-like shapes, surging frantically toward Hu Weifeng's feet.

"Don't struggle. If you don't, maybe I'll leave you half your life." Blood Hand flashed a malicious smile at Mann.

Mann felt something clutch at his limbs...

And grip tightly onto the third layer of telekinetic armor he had just constructed.

Boom!

Right at that moment, Mann suddenly heard a silent, deafening roar, as if countless hoofed beasts were stampeding past his side.

Mann noticed that Hu Weifeng's eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins, the red lines in the surrounding air were violently disturbed, and all four devil worshippers fell into a momentary trance, their protective auras becoming unstable.

Normally, Qin Lan could have seized this fleeting moment to turn the tide, but she was not here now. Therefore, Hu Weifeng knew all too well that he could only buy a few seconds.

Straining his remaining strength, he said hoarsely to Mann:

"You go first, just run..."

Bang!

Hobart, who had just broken free of control and intended to lend a hand, watched as four heads simultaneously burst apart like watermelons, splattering blood and brain matter all over the room.

Stunned, he looked at Mann and the scene before his eyes, mechanically wiping the blood off his face in a daze.

Mann looked at Hobart and said:

"Don't worry, I'll clean this up."

That was the truth; he had to erase the evidence.

These devil worshippers were not like the beast-men he had encountered underground; they were ordinary mortals of flesh and blood. Therefore, even without Hu Weifeng's psychic shock just now, Mann would have at most spent a bit more time probing and maneuvering.

Most importantly, all four believers excelled in psychic-level powers and possessed no physical mutations or enhancements. Sending them to deal with Mann, whose mental fortitude was exceptionally resilient, was practically a waste of resources.

Had they known Mann also possessed telekinesis and prepared differently in advance, this battle might have held some suspense.

But in battle, there are no ifs.

The outcome was already decided.

Hu Weifeng stared at Mann in utter shock, his eyes blood-red.

Mann stated:

"Memory deletion."

Puzzled, Hu Weifeng asked:

"This is also memory deletion?"

Without changing expression, Mann replied:

"Of course, just a different application of the same ability."

Hobart raised his hands to signal that he had given up resistance:

"I was forced..."

Mann said to him gently:

"It's fine. As long as you tell the truth, I'll let you live.

"First, tell me what is going on here."

Hobart immediately shouted:

"It's Huang Qingfeng!

"He sent his subordinate Ren Shizhi to hire several devil worshippers who hold a grudge against the Coordination Bureau to kill you. This whole thing was definitely instigated by Huang Qingfeng!"

Hu Weifeng looked entirely baffled:

"Why would he do that? That's simply digging his own grave."

Hobart explained:

"I don't know what these politicians are thinking, but if you're willing, I can turn state's evidence and report him. I have proof..."

Mann interrupted:

"I have a few questions. If you give me satisfactory answers, you will live."

Hobart nodded frantically:

"I will definitely tell you everything I know."

Hu Weifeng looked at him with some surprise:

"We can't just casually..."

Mann ignored him:

"Do you know the status of saints within the Church?"

"Saints?" Hobart said, looking somewhat puzzled. "That depends specifically on the purity of their souls. Of course, that's the Church's official stance. As a member of the Ascetic Order, I know very well that degree of purity is merely a special method for gauging soul strength.

"They claim that the purer one is, the stronger they become after ascending as an angel.

"But the reality is the opposite."

Mann continued:

"What about a saint guarded by two two-winged angels?"

Hobart's expression turned serious:

"Only saints capable of transforming into four-winged angels receive the protection of their peers."

Both Hu Weifeng and Hobart, present in the room, vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Mann asked:

"Then, what if I killed a certain saint's guardian angels and was consequently placed on a rather insignificant suspect list? How would one resolve that problem?"

Silence.

A terrifying truth dawned upon their hearts.

Intense shock and reverence surfaced on Hobart's face:

"You are the Wing-Clipper!

"Ever since the saint attack incident four years ago, demon worshippers in the neighboring states have always whispered about your legends. All of us hold your deeds from four years ago in high esteem.

"Wait...

"You aren't going to silence me, are you?"

He suddenly realized something.

"I can erase memories," Mann reassured him. "So as long as your answers satisfy me, no one will remember this. You don't have any problem with that, do you?"

He turned to look at Hu Weifeng.

The young man said with a serious expression:

"You just saved my life."

Hobart replied earnestly:

"The Ascetic Order can help you. There is a couple of living demons in East New State who are very prominent within the Ascetic Order. They are important members of the order, and they are the reason why I am here.

"We are the enemies of the angels, and we are your friends."