50: Chapter 50 If it can fly, then break its wings first.
"Roar——!!!"
The Ogre scrambled up from the ground.
Although that shot had blown apart its shoulder, it wasn't fatal.
That terrifying regenerative ability kicked in once more; granulation tissue intertwined wildly at the wound, and the shattered bone began to knit back together at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It was furious.
It had roamed this hunting ground called Earth for thousands of years, waking up every twenty-three years. It had always been the one eating humans; when had it ever been hunted as prey?
And the one attacking it was a human cub not even as tall as its thigh!
It spread its wings, the tattered membranes shivering in the moonlight.
It was going to take flight.
It would snatch this damned brat from the air, drag him back to its cellar, peel his skin, pull his tendons, and turn him into the most exquisite human-skin wind chime.
As long as it reached the sky, it would be invincible.
It bent its legs slightly, preparing to launch itself into the air.
"Trying to run?"
A cruel curve tugged at the corners of Qin Ming's mouth.
Boom!
This shot struck precisely at the joint of the Ogre's newly spread left wing.
Splat!
A sound like smashing a tomato with a hammer rang out.
The wing, connected only by thin membranes, could not withstand a point-blank blast of that caliber.
The entire left wing exploded into a spray of mangled flesh and bone shards, leaving only a scrap of skin still attached to its back, dangling and looking utterly miserable.
"Awoo!!!"
The Ogre had only leaped half a meter when it instantly lost its balance, falling back to the ground with a heavy thud like a kite with a broken string.
It tried in panic to use its other wing to maintain balance.
Click.
Qin Ming pulled the bolt with an expressionless face.
This riot shotgun, modified by the System, seemed to have its magazine connected to an interdimensional armory.
Boom!
The second shot.
A mist of blood exploded from the base of its right wing.
This shot shattered the main bone directly.
The Ogre had completely turned into a flightless chicken.
It lay on the ground, the two massive wounds on its back spurting blood frantically; its pride-and-joy regeneration speed could not keep up with such destructive impacts.
"A rare moving target; it would be a shame if it flew away."
Qin Ming said, walking forward slowly.
Every step he took landed in sync with the chaotic rhythm of the Ogre's heartbeat.
Father Andoni, lying on the ground, was completely stunned.
He had been hunting this kind of monster for twenty years, always cautiously, setting traps, and using holy water and exorcism incantations to circle them.
He had never imagined that such creatures from hell could be "educated" using such simple, brutal, physical methods.
"This... this is impossible..."
Antoni muttered to himself, "That is an ancient Ogre; its skin is bulletproof..."
"Bulletproof?"
Qin Ming scoffed, performing another stylish one-handed reload.
"That's just because your caliber isn't big enough, or your faith isn't 'physical' enough."
The Ogre now felt true fear.
It looked at the approaching youth, the halo behind his head burning its eyes painfully.
It tried to retreat, its claws digging into the asphalt and leaving deep gouges.
It opened its mouth, wanting to let out a threatening screech.
Whoosh!
A black crossbow bolt tore through the air.
It plunged precisely into the Ogre's open mouth, piercing its tongue and nailing the scream that hadn't yet been released back down its throat.
"This arrow is coated with poison dart frog extract."
An indifferent female voice came from behind Qin Ming.
Wednesday Addams walked over with an expressionless face, holding a military crossbow that looked somewhat oversized in her hands.
She glanced at the priest on the ground, then at Qin Ming.
"Although I wanted to see if its digestive fluids could dissolve bone, since you want to farm points, I don't mind helping you finish it off."
She skillfully reloaded the crossbow.
"Thanks, but I don't need it."
Qin Ming had already walked to within three meters of the Ogre.
The Ogre was now on the verge of death, tortured by the crossbow bolt and gunshot wounds, but its grey-white eyes still flickered with a malicious light.
Qin Ming looked down at the monster lying on the ground.
"Goodbye, ugly."
Qin Ming pressed the muzzle of the gun against the Ogre's wrinkled forehead.
"In your next life, remember not to eat school buses."
Boom!
The final shot.
The Ogre's entire skull exploded like a watermelon.
There was no thrilling battle of three hundred rounds.
Only a one-sided crushing and execution.
【Killed Adult Ogre (Jeepers Creepers)】
【Obtained Points: 100】
Listening to the pleasant notification sound in his mind, Qin Ming felt great.
He put the gun away, and the massive shotgun instantly vanished into thin air.
Then, he looked at the priest who had completely turned to stone.
"Alright, Father."
Qin Ming flashed a harmless smile, his delicate little face full of innocence and purity.
The priest lifted his head dazedly.
Behind his head, the solid golden halo did not extinguish with the end of the battle; instead, it appeared even more blinding and scorching against the darkness of the surrounding environment.
The halo rotated slowly, emitting a low-frequency hum similar to high-voltage current flowing through the air.
That was a miracle.
An absolute miracle.
Antoni had studied at the seminary for forty years, read thousands of ancient texts, and seen countless so-called "enchantments" and "exorcisms," but he had never seen such a concrete manifestation of holy power.
It required no blessing of faith, no guidance of incantations.
It was just there, tyrannically illuminating every inch of the sinful corners.
"My... God..."
Antoni reached out with trembling hands, his fingertips stained with his own blood and mud, wanting to touch the hem of the youth's clothes, but stopped in mid-air, afraid of dirtying him.
"Are you... the Son of God?"
The priest's voice was hoarse and broken, carrying a fanaticism born from surviving a desperate situation.
"Did the Vatican send you? No, that's not right... The Vatican doesn't have this kind of power... This is an apocalypse..."
Qin Ming looked down at the old man who was almost groveling at his feet.
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, he tilted his head slightly to look at Wednesday, who was standing a few meters away, preparing to use a scalpel to cut samples from the Ogre's corpse.
The two exchanged a glance.
Qin Ming: 【I'm about to start posturing. Unrelated personnel, please stand back.】
Wednesday: 【Received. Please begin your performance.】
The eldest daughter of The Addams Family cooperatively put away her scalpel, folded her hands in front of her, stepped back three paces with an expressionless face, and even gave a perfunctory little bow, making a "please" gesture.
Even in a crime scene covered in blood, her movements remained as elegant as if she were attending a New Year's ball in Vienna.
Qin Ming turned his head and looked back at Father Andoni.
"I also didn't expect to meet someone who knows their stuff in this wasteland forgotten by God."
Qin Ming spoke.
His voice was no longer the crisp tone of a youth, but rather intentionally deepened, combining with the humming of the halo behind his head to produce an ethereal feeling with its own built-in reverb.
He slowly raised his right hand.
In the center of his palm, a sphere of pure, milky-white holy light began to coalesce.
The light was soft and warm, completely different from the violent gunfire just moments ago.
"You ask who I am?"
Qin Ming took a step forward, his soles stepping on the Ogre's viscous black blood, yet not a speck of filth stained them.
Qin Ming pointed at the ground beneath his feet, a look of compassionate yet cold indifference curving his lips, "You usually call me—Judgment."
Father Andoni's pupils contracted violently.
Judgment.
This word carried too heavy a weight in theology.
"This world is too dirty, Father."
Qin Ming sighed, like a neat freak feeling a headache after seeing a room full of trash.
"It reeks everywhere, and everywhere there are these pests crawling out from the cracks of hell." He pointed at the headless corpse, "God is a bit busy and doesn't have time to personally deal with the filth of these sewers."
"So, He sent me."
Qin Ming leaned down, his black-and-white eyes staring straight at Father Andoni.
"The filth of this world requires a thorough cleansing."