New Gods of North America

Wayne's problems seemed to be no problem at all for an expert like Inissa.

Inissa answered without hesitation, "That depends on the grade of the holy water, as well as the realm and rank of the Beyonder itself."

"The holy water is the high-end stuff that Pastor Hake brought, but there's only a little bit, not a large amount."

Wayne also pointed to the dried blood and said, "If it's a human, let's assume it's this guy."

Inessa thought for a moment:

"If it was a low-level Beyonder in the Darkness Realm who was already close to collapse, then drinking the high-level holy water would likely cause him to be injured like this. After all, the body's internal defenses are much more fragile than the skin."

Then she added:

“How much damage holy water can cause depends mainly on its level, who it is used on, and what part of the body it touches. It has little to do with the amount used.

"If the opponent's body can resist, then no matter how large the dosage is, it will be useless, and vice versa."

Got it. The key is whether you can break through the defense.

It's like letting someone touch your shoulder with their hand.

If the force is not strong enough, a short time is called stroking, and a longer time can only be called massage.

No matter how much more time is added, the skin won't be broken.

But if you take out the needle, it might draw blood.

Inessa thought about it again:

“However, under normal circumstances, holy water is unlikely to cause particularly large or decisive damage. It is mainly used to identify or weaken Beyonders in non-holy realms, which are what the church calls ‘fallen ones’.

“Even if they accidentally drank the holy water and found something wrong, the Beyonders would usually vomit it out instinctively, and would not hold it in and vomit blood like this.

"If the main blood vessel was burned by accident, it might cause a lot of bleeding, but that would not match the shape of the large pool of blood here."

uncertain.

If there are two priests and an exorcist present, and the strength of the two is unknown, and the other party knows that there must be something wrong with him...

If it were me,

He would probably hold the holy water in his mouth and then secretly find a place to spit it out, or he might force himself to swallow it right there and then.

No matter what, it's better than being beaten to death on the spot.

Inissa, you are an exorcist with such strong firepower that you can blow up other people's houses accidentally.

They will never understand the thinking of those of us who follow our hearts.

Wayne told Inissa that he sprinkled holy water on the barbecue last night and his own speculation.

Inissa was convinced:

"Why did you do this? Have you long suspected that there was a Beyonder with a hidden identity among those who attended the dinner at the mayor's house last night?"

Forehead……

Wayne was speechless.

You can't say that you just wanted to eat spicy food and happened to eat it by accident.

So Wayne changed the subject, "This is not important. But considering the current situation, is my guess reasonable?"

Inessa nodded. "Although there is no conclusive evidence, there is indeed such a possibility."

Wayne acted like an expert:

"Since it's possible, let's check it, even if it's just to rule out wrong answers.

"Anyway, there is a guy who can be hurt like this by holy water. We can find out if we try it on everyone who had dinner at the mayor's house last night."

Haha, it’s because you can’t even handle medium spicy food.

What a coincidence.

———

As an old acquaintance of the townspeople and the elected sheriff,

Some things are actually not difficult for Wayne to do.

"Good morning, Mayor. This is a slice of cheese sprinkled with salt water. Try it and see if this way of eating is worth promoting."

…

"Hey, Uncle Sam, try this."

…

"Madam William, this is holy water brought from St. George's Cathedral. It is said that drinking it can strengthen the Holy Spirit's blessing on believers... That's enough, you don't have to drink so much. I have to save some for others."

…

Some are even easier than you might think.

Wayne didn't say anything. Tony, who was wiping glasses behind the counter of the tavern, saw him hand over a glass, took it and drank it all, then frowned, "Why is it water?"

Wayne: "This is for checking your teeth. Open your mouth and let Miss Inessa check if you have any cavities."

…

"I'm thirsty, Wayne, can you pass me the bottle of water in your hand so I can take a sip?" Mr. Henry stood on the ladder and did routine maintenance on his beloved boxcar - in the West, compared to the common covered wagons, this thing was considered a "luxury car".

Wayne: "This is high-end stuff, I can only give you a sip."

…

"Wayne, I just heard from Mrs. William that you are helping the pastor distribute holy water to the believers? Where is my share?"

As soon as he entered the grocery store, the store manager George couldn't wait, and then he gulped down a mouthful of wine, "Thank God! By the way, Wayne, the new anti-rust paint has arrived. I will send it to you later according to the old rules?"

Wayne: "No problem, and bring me two new brushes."

…

The guy who hid his identity might choose to swallow the holy water again, but judging from the large pool of blood, "he" or "she" could hardly avoid having his mouth burned by the holy water.

And as long as there was bleeding, Inissa was confident that she could detect it nearby.

So with Wayne out front tricking people into drinking holy water, and a professional exorcist like Inessa following closely and observing closely, the efficiency and reliability of the detection become quite high.

The names of the people who attended the dinner at the mayor's house last night were crossed out one by one.

In the end, there were only five names left on the list.

Dr. John is not at home today. He is said to be out on a medical visit and we don't know when he will be back. Mr. Fisher, the banker, goes to the mine regularly to check the accounts and may stay for a day or two.

It is easier to deal with these two people who live in the town for a long time. Just wait until they come home and try again.

The remaining three may be a bit troublesome.

Unlike the China where Wayne lived in his previous life, and the old continent of this world,

The governance structure of the Commonwealth of America in the New World is, in a sense, "bottom-up".

Take the development process of a typical western town as an example:

At the beginning,

Usually one or several wealthy people invested money from the American Federation to purchase a large piece of undeveloped land somewhere in the West, obtained permanent ownership of the corresponding land, and settled down to govern it - these people are the so-called "landlords";

Or, it could be a group of ordinary freedmen who each paid a small fee to the federal government and registered their intention, then migrated together to settle in the western lands of their choice and began to reclaim the currently "unowned" wasteland around the settlements.

After reclaiming a limited area of ​​arable land and cultivating it for five consecutive years, they can also officially register with the federal government and obtain permanent ownership of the corresponding land. However, there is a limit to the area of ​​land they are allowed to own permanently.

——These people are the so-called "pioneers" or "farmers" who have successfully pioneered new land.

There is no conflict between these three, and most western towns usually have all of them.

Then, somewhere in the West, landlords, farmers or pioneers whose land was adjacent to each other reached a consensus on mutual assistance and common self-governance, thus forming the initial prototype of the small town.

Then people will select a relatively conveniently located piece of public land, formally apply to build a town and live there, and use it to trade goods or negotiate matters with each other - this area of ​​residents is a "town" in a narrow sense.

The private land that the townspeople already formally own, the arable land that has been registered and is being reclaimed, as well as the public land that has been demarcated for roads and reserved for the construction of public facilities, all add up to one area, which is the management scope of the town.

Later, some people engaged in other industries would gradually come to the town to work, settle down, and open shops, and the town's population would grow.

If other surrounding landowners and farmers are attracted to join in, the new land will be included in the scope of common autonomy, and the total area of ​​the town will gradually expand.

When the population reaches a certain level and the area expands to a certain level, the "town" develops into a "city".

The problem here is,

Farmers and landlords do not necessarily live in the "town". They all have their own farms, estates, plantations, mines, etc.

And on their land, they are the real masters.

According to the Castle Rule, the owner has the right to use deadly force to kill someone on his own land if he believes his life is threatened. Even if the killing is accidental, it is considered "self-defense."

Unless they have solid evidence of guilt.

The last three people on the list, Mr. Stern, Mrs. Taylor and Mr. Greenspan,

It just so happens that they are all big landowners who like to live in mansions on their own land.

The kind that can call dozens of people over to your home in minutes.

As the sheriff of Blackrock Town, Wayne can, under normal circumstances, patrol or enforce the law on their land in accordance with the rules of the town.

But if any of them really have a problem,

Wayne brought Inissa with him, and the two of them ran over to feed them holy water.

That's called "sending".

Ideally,

The other party might transform on the spot, and then Wayne would raise his arm and call out, and the other party's family, servants and slaves would gather together to respond with justice, and everyone would get rid of the evil and fallen person together, and everyone would be happy.

But in fact, it is more likely that

The other people present might have laughed at the same time, or accused Wayne of poisoning, and then pulled out their guns, and Wayne might have died on the spot.

I don’t know if I can wake up again.

Wayne scratched his head. Since it was not convenient to investigate these three people openly, he could only conduct a secret investigation first.