The Void Pathfinder from the Demon Hunter World

Clancy Manor.

It was an hour after McAllen left.

McAllen was honest and really left.

Marvin even went to the eastern hillside for a walk and finally confirmed that he had indeed left, so he could proceed to the next step.

The enemy did not use that kind of mental attack ability last time, maybe because it was not painful enough, or maybe because the distance was too far.

Marvin guessed that the latter was more likely.

According to McAllen's recollection, the last time they attacked the manor, they confronted the cultists head-on, about 150 meters away from the magic circle in the small square and about 200 meters away from the main building.

This distance is actually quite far.

In the wasteland, when two gangs of looters fought, the distance between the two sides was basically about 50 meters, and any further was completely blind.

According to McAllen's description, that kind of mental attack is a range attack that can affect all creatures within the attack range at the same time.

Cultists and cult priests are immune to this attack, or they are crazy and mental attacks are ineffective.

Then according to the current situation of this world, this range attack must be a circle with the caster as the center, and all creatures within this circle will be affected.

Could it be like throwing a grenade, throwing the mental power to a distance to affect the target location and the surrounding creatures?

Absolutely impossible.

Throwing a ball of mental power like throwing a grenade, and maintaining the concentration and aggressiveness of the mental power.

This requires a very high level of control ability, which is definitely a high-end technology. It is a skill that is impossible to be born in this world without magic, and even the high-level warlocks of the Demon Hunter Continent cannot do it.

So is it a multi-point attack on multiple targets at a long distance?

Even more impossible, that is a more sophisticated operation than a range attack.

McAllen and his team did not see the caster before they were attacked by the mental attack, and they did not see the caster in the previous sniper battle between the two.

Either the caster is afraid of bullets and dare not come out, or the caster cannot move.

The caster does not necessarily have to be a person. The totem pole in the square may be a priest who is afraid of death in the cult, or it may be a special item in the building.

If the caster is a magic circle or totem pole in the square, the range of influence is a circle with the totem pole as the center, with an estimated radius of 150 meters.

If the caster is in the building, the radius of the circle is about 200 meters.

Marvin's next plan is to determine where the caster is while killing more enemies.

It's easy to deal with that totem pole, just smash it with one shot.

Because it's easy, the totem pole is probably not.

You can think that the cultists are crazy, but you can't think they are fools.

Why didn't you smash the totem pole directly last time?

Isn't there still a small probability? What if something unexpected happens after it's smashed?

He has the ability to run away, but there is no guarantee that McAllen will not get into trouble...

It has been almost two hours since the two attacked, and the manor has returned to peace.

There are about 3 hours before dusk, so there is plenty of time.

It's still the west hillside. He is more familiar with the terrain here. He changed to another closer sniper point and Marvin set up the sniper rifle again.

He put the crosshairs on the machine gunner on the roof again, slowed his breathing, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

He moved the crosshairs down a little, aimed at the heavy machine gun on the roof, and pulled the trigger again.

…

In the largest room on the third floor of the main building, there were all kinds of skeletons of all sizes piled up in the corners and tables, including deer, bears, death claws, moles, etc. The most were human skulls.

The fire flickered in the gasoline barrel in the corner, reflecting the red graffiti on the wall, which looked like a human or a monster. The whole was in human form, with a pair of huge compound eyes and feather-like antennae on the head, and two pairs of moth wings spread out behind.

The high priest had just scolded the two priests under his command, closed the door, and slowly sat on the throne made of roots and bones in the center of the room.

27 believers died, and he was really angry. More than half a month of hard work was in vain again.

First, the Mothman taught the Illuminati, then a group of guys in blue jumpsuits sneaked into the "Lucky Mine" and killed a group of believers. After that, they finally established a base here and repelled the looters. In the end, which force targeted them again?

He just wanted to recruit some believers to offer to the great God. What did he do wrong? Why is the whole world targeting him?

The high priest slowly took off the antler skull mask, and the swaying firelight illuminated his profile, an ordinary, wooden face, with a little scarlet pupil in the black eyeball.

The black lines were like blood vessels, crossing the lower half of the face and extending into the collar. A stream of dark red light flowed in the black lines, flickering.

The high priest rubbed the skull mask in his hand with his fingers. This was a sacred object brought out from the deepest part of the "Lucky Mine", the "power" given to him by the "God".

...

Before the nuclear war, on a cloudy morning, the Silver Bridge in the west of Appalachia collapsed without any warning.

The bridge was packed with cars going to work at the time, and the collapse caused dozens of casualties. Many people claimed that they saw a human-shaped black shadow standing on the top of the bridge's steel frame before the bridge collapsed. The black shadow also had wings like a big moth. Note ①

Everyone was panicked when the bridge collapsed, and no one noticed when the black shadow disappeared.

The legend of the Mothman began from then on.

Fanatics who believed in the existence of the Mothman gradually gathered in the town of Point Plain next to the Silver Bridge, and built a Mothman Museum and a Mothman statue. This town gradually became the base camp of Mothman believers. Note ②

Even the Mothman believers were divided into several factions. Some believed that the Mothman was kind and appeared before the collapse of the Silver Bridge to warn people not to go on the bridge; some believed that the Mothman was evil and the collapse of the Silver Bridge was caused by the Mothman... The factions were happy to copy each other.

The legend of the Mothman did not disappear. More and more people claimed to have witnessed the Mothman, and the legend became more and more bizarre.

More believers gathered in the town, and the townspeople who were annoyed moved away from Point Plain.

More people in West Virginia only regarded it as an urban weird story that could be used to relieve boredom. After all, they had to make money to support their families.

A few years later, several people who claimed to be able to communicate with the Mothman emerged among the Mothman believers. They were called wise men by the believers.

One day, the wise man Charles claimed to have received a warning from the Mothman that there would be a fire and a flood that would destroy the world, and hoped that he would lead the people to move and avoid the disaster.

But the warning did not specify when the disaster would come, nor did it say where to hide.

The wise man Charles naturally believed it. He ran around and shouted loudly, hoping that people would believe him and point out places where they could avoid the disaster.

At this time, the shadow of nuclear war had already enveloped the world. Regardless of whether they believed in Charles's prediction or not, everyone was in a state of panic.

People still believed in themselves more and ignored Charles's prediction.

The nonsense fire and flood were obviously nuclear bombs!

There are actually four shelters in the Appalachian region, and the most well-known one among the people is Shelter No. 76.

But Shelter No. 76 is prepared for the elites, and these mud-legged miners can't get in.

So people each think of ways, some dig air-raid shelters at home; some plan to hide in familiar mines; and some lie down completely, whatever they want.

Finally, Charles the Wise received another warning from the Mothman, and obtained a clear time and place.

He followed the instructions and took his believers to hide in the "Lucky Mine" and sealed the entrance of the mine.

The nuclear war broke out and the world was destroyed, but the Mothman believers were not buried alive because of the excellent supporting structure of the mine.

However, countless nuclear explosions "awakened" the unknown existence sleeping deep underground.

It cannot be said to be awakened, the mysterious creature did not wake up completely, but occasionally it could murmur and whisper.

The whispers superimposed with unknown information passed through the soil and rocks, slowly affecting the Mothman believers in the mine.

After many years, the believers who had completely exhausted their supplies had to open the mine and began a difficult journey of survival in the wasteland under the leadership of the new wise man.

Slowly, some people began to lose their minds or became crazy.

The whispers of unknown creatures and the desperate wasteland made more than half of the believers lose their minds, and the Mothman believers split.

The Dim Ones drove the Enlightened out of the "Lucky Mine" with their numerical superiority and desperate spirit.

Following the guidance of the whispers, they used the tools in the mine to dig down and finally found their true god, a humanoid creature lying on its side in the cave.

They worshiped, they prayed, and according to the instructions of the "true god", they threw animals, people and even weak companions into the cave.

These sacrifices, whether they were still alive or not, would lie quietly around the creature and gradually rot.

Mark Thomas was one of the sacrifices.

His father was originally the technical supervisor of the Lucky Mine. He hid in the mine with the believers to avoid the disaster, but eventually died of illness, and then his mother starved to death.

Mark inherited his father's craftsmanship and became a repairman in the mine, barely surviving.

When the believers split, he was forced to stay in the mine by the Dim Ones, continued to be oppressed, and had to repair tools for them.

After the Dim Ones finally met the true god, he was useless and was knocked unconscious and thrown into the cave.

Perhaps, Mark Thomas was lucky. He woke up and could even listen to the whispers of the "True God" more clearly.

He held the long wooden tentacles of the "True God" and carefully touched his forehead, bowed sincerely and thanked the gods.

He listened to the whispers, stepped over the bones, and walked to the stone pillar on one side of the cave. A human skeleton was tied up on the stone pillar, and a deer horn skull mask was hung on the top of the pillar.

Mark climbed up the pillar, took off the mask, and put it on his face.

At this moment, he was extremely confident. In his remaining little sanity, he still remembered three things: to survive, to avenge his mother who died tragically, and to fully awaken the gods.

The power of the mask made Mark almost invincible. Anyone within 30 meters of him would immediately lose their sanity and completely obey his will.

He let the believers bite the original high priest to death alive, as well as the enemies who had bullied their orphans and widows before.

Not only did he easily fulfill one of his wishes, he also became the new high priest of the Dark Faction.

Mark Thomas was very smart. He modified some of the doctrines so that the believers could still present themselves as the dark sect of the Mothman Cult.

Only he and a few loyal priests could approach the underground cave, and he had to preside over every activity of worshipping the gods.

He had to strictly guard the secret of the true underground god to prevent himself from being replaced by others.

The longer he wore the mask, the better he felt. His body gradually became woody. He would never get sick, was not afraid of radiation, and aged very slowly. Time seemed to have opened a convenient door for him.

His other wish was also fulfilled. He didn't even know how long he could live. One hundred years, two hundred years? Hahahaha...

The high priest with a long life, powerful strength and supreme authority would naturally not go into battle to catch prey himself. He rarely left the lucky mine. Anyway, there were believers to do the work.

In order to ensure his own safety, except for a few confidants, he did not allow any believers to approach him within 10 meters.

Time passed in a flash for a long time...

The sun and the moon were not seen in the mine, and it was unknown how many years had passed. The believers were replaced one after another, and Mark Thomas was still sitting on the throne of the high priest.

One day, a group of people wearing blue jumpsuits and holding sophisticated guns broke into the lucky mine.

Compared with these people, the crazy believers performed worse than the crappy scavengers.

As more and more believers were killed, Mark was terrified.

His body was only woody, not invincible, and it would still hurt if he was shot.

As for whether he would be shot to death, he didn't want to try.

The mask's range of influence was only more than 100 meters at this time, far from reaching the distant enemies.

It could affect a long distance in an open area, but the high priest didn't want to go out and fight with the enemy.

He had also imagined that he could shoot accurately like the cowboys in the story, but reality taught him a truth, "Go to bed, dreams can have anything."

And his arms would be numb and painful if he fired too many guns, and he hated shooting.

There was no way, Mark Thomas fled into the underground cave and prayed to the "true God", hoping that "God" could destroy the enemy.

Over the years, the Dark Cult had also encountered powerful enemies, and he had prayed to God.

Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

When it worked, a big moth with red compound eyes would suddenly appear behind the enemy, easily killing them and saving the defeat.

When it didn't work, it could only rely on the believers to pay with their lives.

And it didn't work most of the time.

The Dark Cult has stumbled to this point.

Fortunately, it worked this time...

Pah, pah, pah, a ball of black fog jumped and teleported in the mine, gradually going deeper.

The sound of popping gunshots was just right, and the boys in the shelter who had the advantage were not alert at all.

Pah, the black fog flashed behind a tall and thin man, and the black fog dissipated instantly, revealing a big upright moth, whose huge compound eyes looked like two round red light bulbs in the dim mine.

The tall and thin man seemed to have sensed something and turned around suddenly.

Bang, puff...

The bullets were basically ineffective when they hit the big moth, and the curled mouthparts ejected and pierced the throat of the tall and thin man.

"Help... uh uh..."

The skin of the tall and thin man quickly lost its blood color and turned gray, and he died.

The leader turned around suddenly, and after seeing the monster that was beyond his common sense, he shouted at the top of his voice: "Behind, focus fire, focus fire!"

The boys in the shelter turned around immediately...

"Fuck!... What the hell is this thing?"

Some people screamed, some were stunned, and some fired without hesitation.

Bang, the big moth disappeared in a black mist, and the bullets did not hit the monster, but instead shot the thin and tall corpse flying.

The big moth instantly appeared behind the woman, and poof, the sharp mouth pierced the neck.

"Watfuck..."

"This way..."

"Get out of the way!"

The boys in the shelter were in chaos.

"God has come to punish these sinners, long live the Mothman!"

"Long live the Mothman!"

The believers went crazy in an instant, and rushed forward hysterically.

"Retreat, retreat..."

...

Clancy Manor, third floor of the main building.

The high priest stood up, holding the mask and wandering in the dark room with his hands behind his back, thinking about what to do next...

The hunting efficiency around the Lucky Mine is getting lower and lower, and a predator gang has emerged nearby.

The predators wearing red eagle pattern leather jackets are crazier than the believers and are quite difficult to deal with.

Because many believers were killed by the boys in the shelter more than a month ago, the hunting efficiency in their hometown is even worse, and the true god is no longer happy.

As a last resort, the high priest can only go out in person, leading the team along the river all the way north, eliminating the Illuminati who are lingering in the town of Point Plain, killing the scavengers entrenched in Clancy Manor, and establishing two fairly good new bases to continue hunting.

Mark Thomas is just a clever repairman with neither military talent nor management ability.

Fortunately, the believers eat everything, and there are high-end ingredients such as red-eyed moth eggs, otherwise just the problem of eating can kill him.

The longer the believers are affected by the whispers, the less rationality they have left. After about a month, they will become madmen who only follow orders.

The priests can retain some rationality because of the "blessing" of the mask, but they can't think like normal people. All decisions can only be made by the high priest.

Therefore, he can only open two branch bases, otherwise he can't manage them.

Mark Thomas sat back on the bone throne, collected his thoughts, and put on the mask.

There is no shortage of humans around Clancy Manor, but there are no powerful looters. It is very suitable for hunting. The magic circle given by "God" can perform long-distance sacrifices. The effect of the previous period is quite good, and "God" is very pleased.

So, he must protect this manor, otherwise he doesn't know whether "God" will be more angry than last time, and whether he will bring "divine punishment". He doesn't want to die yet.

Bang!

A dull gunshot echoed in the valley, and the high priest heard it clearly in the room.

Even though most of his body had become woody, the corners of his eyes under the mask still twitched.

The damn sniper is back again, who the hell is it! ?

After so many years of controlling the lives and deaths of believers, the high priest has not made much progress in wisdom, but he has become much calmer.

He is now sitting in the sturdy main building, where he will not be shot, and there are more than 20 "loyal" believers nearby to protect him. There are only two enemies, so he is not nervous.

Bang. Another gunshot.

The high priest didn't know who or what was hit, but he was still not in a hurry. He had to judge how many enemies there were.

Without the order of the high priest, the priest would not let the believers rush out.

Bang, the wooden pillars on the small square in front of the main building were broken.

The high priest still sat there without moving. The most important thing outside was the divine magic circle painted with deer blood on the square. Nothing else mattered. A sniper rifle alone could not completely destroy the magic circle.

The gunshots stopped...

...

Note 1: It's true. There was indeed a Silver Bridge incident in West Virginia's history, and 46 people died. If you are interested, you can search on Baidu. The broken Silver Bridge has not been demolished for a long time, and a memorial sign has been erected. The investigation found that the bridge deck design was defective. However, in reality, the bridge collapsed during the rush hour, not the rush hour.

Note 2: Point Pleasant (also known as Pleasant Point, they are the same), because the translation is too long, it was changed. This town is also in West Virginia in reality, and there is really a Mothman statue and a Mothman Museum. In the second half of the 20th century, the United States achieved great industrial development by virtue of its status as a victorious country in World War II and its geographical advantages, which bred too many idle people who had nothing to do after eating. Mothman, aliens, UFOs, Bigfoot, superheroes, etc., are all products of that era. After all, history is too short, and only urban legends can be entertaining. In the same era, anti-intellectualism and conspiracy theories gradually rose among the American people.

The game basically restores the broken bridge, town, museum and Mothman statue, but they are slightly reduced. Moreover, the story writer of Bethesda didn't pay attention to it at all, or he changed the person. The story is bad, and the monsters and mission mechanisms are also bad.