Chapter 516: The Wrath of the Gods?

The crude-made gun has low precision, but great power!

Within a certain range, it's extremely fierce!

Tang Luo is currently within that fiercely ranged area, not dodging or evading.

Zhou Heiya was very clever, immediately dropping to the ground, rolling to the side, and rolling behind the thick table to avoid being turned into a sieve by stray bullets.

Although everyone aimed at Master Xuanzang, the bullets wouldn't obediently fly toward the target just because of their aim.

The gunfire was loud, coming fast and disappearing fast—actually just "one sound" from start to finish.

The six people who rushed in, each with a gun, only managed to fire one shot each before being blown apart in the head by the "returned" bullets.

A large group collapsed.

Heiya cautiously glanced, confirmed no immediate danger, then grabbed Luo Ke's corpse and hurled it outward, shouting loudly: "Luo Ke is already dead—are you planning to fight us Black Crow Caravan to the death, dying together?"

The voice carried out.

The group rushing over slowed their movements slightly.

But many still had ferocious expressions, charging forward recklessly.

Luo Ke's loyal retainers were still quite numerous.

"Damn it!"

Heiya loudly cursed, seeing a black, shiny object thrown in from the doorway.

A homemade fragmentation grenade.

The imagined explosion didn't occur—this was a dud—but seconds later, several more were thrown in.

Sound and vibration—Heiya felt his ears about to go deaf, his vision swam, and he couldn't stand up.

Fortunately, he felt no other pain—Luo Ke's table was truly thick.

If he hadn't fired first, he might have lasted a bit longer.

Probably—anyway, Heiya couldn't gauge the true strength of this "Xuanzang Divine Buddha."

He couldn't even comprehend how the opponent achieved those feats, attributing it solely to the Buddha's mighty power.

It was a being similar to humans yet utterly beyond human reach.

Things calmed down slightly.

Heiya poked his head out and saw Tang Xuanzang walk out of the door, the grenade that had turned the room into chaos unable to even nick his robe's corner.

Just like the bullets that day when they first met, all were blocked by an invisible force.

Taking a deep breath, Heiya understood why so many in the wasteland became fanatical followers of the Buddha.

In the wasteland, power is everything.

Tang Luo, representing power, walked out of the house; soon, the outside chaos—gunfire, shouts of killing, roars—completely subsided.

Heiya also walked out of the house.

He saw a vast number of people collapsed outside, with about ten or so still standing around, guns in hand, afraid to move.

The Gatling gun by the reservoir had also been pushed over.

The gunner standing nearby had a ferocious expression, gritted his teeth, and likewise dared not fire.

Naturally, Tang Luo was among this group.

He had a head of white hair, spotless and clean, with a creature resembling neither cat nor dog, a mangy beast, crouched on his shoulder, his hands hanging naturally.

His expression bore a hint of nonchalance.

Anyone who saw him would feel he didn't belong in the wasteland.

He should be in the deep recesses of the steel city or steel fortress built by major powers, or even higher and farther—such as the "Buddha's Land" that no one could reach.

The outer ring of these people consisted of the inhabitants of Hope Land.

Some were numb, some anxious, some wore manic grins, ready to erupt at any moment.

The atmosphere on the scene was extremely tense.

The corpses on the ground and the flowing bloodstains reminded Hope Land's people that reckless action would exact an extremely painful price.

"We didn't come to destroy Hope Land—this is just a misunderstanding," Heiya said.

The two subordinates he brought were killed the moment gunfire erupted.

Their counterattack also took down two people.

"Luo Ke couldn't have children; he wanted Dai Lei Si, the woman of the Black Oil Camp leader, and wanted us to use this woman to exchange for an A-rank travel permit granted by the gods."

Heiya shouted loudly, "You know this is impossible—we refused, Luo Ke planned to kill us to silence us, that's all."

"Now it's your turn to choose: die with us Black Crow Caravan in Hope Land, or stop here and live together."

As he spoke, gunfire already came from outside.

Accompanied by some screams.

"I'm fine! Don't kill indiscriminately!"

Heiya roared loudly, his voice carrying far.

The sporadic gunfire over there instantly stopped; the Black Crow Caravan continued approaching but ceased firing.

Not long after, members of the Black Crow Caravan arrived with weapons.

"Boss... why did you kill them?" someone asked.

"To silence us—he thought we'd leak news to the Black Oil Camp for gain," Heiya said.

Previously, no one noticed Luo Ke was this much of a lunatic; apparently, long-term infertility twisted this guy's mind.

After all, this guy truly had the "throne" of Hope Land at home needing an heir.

"You wouldn't?" someone countered.

"Hell no!" Heiya spat, spat out thick phlegm, "I just want the permit—now that I have it, I'm leaving. Why invite trouble?"

"Perhaps you could ally with the Black Oil Camp..."

"Fuck off!" Hei Ya raised his gun. "To kill you lot, does this old man still need to ally with the Black Oil Camp? Our Black Crow Caravan is wiped out, and Master Xuanzang alone could bury you all in the ground!"

A long silence fell.

Everyone was recalling what had just happened.

It was a one-sided slaughter, and the slaughterer hadn't even moved from where he stood.

A god's or buddha's bestowal?

Some people thought of a possibility — only a god or buddha could bestow this kind of terrifying power.

Still need an A-Class Pass...

This Master Xuanzang is a true big shot from the "Steel City"!

He possesses a "super weapon" bestowed by a god or buddha, far beyond imagination.

A Saint? A Divine Envoy?

Or an even higher level, someone even closer to the gods and buddhas?

"You've killed quite a few people."

"Are these people worth money? Not talents, right?" Hei Ya said.

In the wasteland, talent doesn't refer to people with formidable combat strength — when it comes down to it, once weapons are discarded, everyone is more or less the same.

True talents are "technical personnel," people who possess knowledge and techniques others haven't mastered.

There are also special troop types cultivated by major powers, like sniper sharpshooters and such.

Those lying dead on the ground were just a bunch of hired thugs, and thugs are dirt cheap.

Their deaths affect Hope Settlement less than the destruction of the guns in their hands would.

"Take the A-Class Pass and go." Someone lowered the gun in their hand.

First one, then a second, a third — soon most people had lowered their muzzles.

Only a few people in concealed spots still kept their muzzles raised.

"Lower them." Hei Ya said.

The Black Crow Caravan's people also lowered their guns.

This potential massacre was thus defused. After a bit of time, Hei Ya found the god-bestowed A-Class Pass, took the agreed-upon water, and left.

Of course, paying "money" was out of the question — just treat it as a bit of compensation.

The Hope Settlement people had no objections either; a bit of water, it didn't hurt or itch at all.

During this, someone hinted to Hei Ya, hoping he'd act to help them seize the leader's position.

Hei Ya righteously refused. Joke's on them — he has no way to command or order Tang Luo.

The god-bestowed pass is stainless steel, about the size of a business card, its four corners rounded arcs that won't cut the hand.

Printed on it are the rank, "God-Bestowed," and a serial number.

This technology counts as "core technology" in the wasteland; no ordinary power can replicate it.

Plus with the serial number, forgery is basically impossible.

Tang Luo glanced at it twice, casually put the pass away, adjusted the seatback and lay down, eyes closed as if already asleep.

Actually he was contacting Zhu Bajie and the others.

The intel the other two sides gathered was much the same as Tang Luo's.

Aside from the Yellow-Robed King Haotian Yudi and the Great Sun Radiance Buddha that Tang Luo knew of.

There were also gods and buddhas like the Red Lotus Great Sage — seven or eight in total.

These gods and buddhas reside "above" the wasteland; only their deeds are heard, their persons never seen, their forms hard to glimpse.

Yet they don't follow the path of becoming gods through incense and worship — quite strange, making one curious just who is doing what.

Ao Yulie played the wasteland's great do-gooder, dedicated to the activity of "hero saving the beauty."

Why save only beauties?

Because the wasteland has a saying: "There are no good people in the wasteland."

Even a seemingly innocent child might kill you for food.

So saving people, of course you save the ones pleasing to your own eye — as for backlash, Ao Yulie saves without seeking reward and doesn't fear backlash.

Zhu Bajie, meanwhile, completely hid his tracks, following behind Tang Luo's designated journey-to-the-west quartet.

After these four left the Giant Rat Nest, their luck improved too.

They're developing nicely now, have even gathered a batch of underlings to form their own power, marching grandly toward the major powers' location seeking a way to complete the mission.

This development wasn't beyond Tang Luo and company's expectations.

You have to understand, though these four kowtowed on the spot when they met, it's not that they're weak — it's that Tang Luo is too strong.

All four are Third Stage or above in strength.

Such strength is already quite remarkable, enough to traverse most regions of the wasteland.

With their strength it's very easy to attract a batch of followers.

Even if they encounter an unsolvable problem, Zhu Bajie will assess the situation and may secretly lend a hand.

The situation is still uncertain; to prevent those originally sneaky gods and buddhas from vanishing in a puff of smoke, it's best to keep a low profile.

Ao Yulie's hero-saving-beauties is only within a certain degree.

Not transforming into a dragon and descending with thunder from the heavens.

"Can this be removed?" Opening his eyes, gaze landing on the Gatling in the driver's cabin, Tang Luo asked.

"Huh?"

Hei Ya, who was driving, froze for a moment.

The Black Crow King's cab was still relatively quiet, unlike the other vehicles which had no glass; thick glass blocked out much of the noise from outside.

There was no need to speak loudly.

"I'm talking about this Gatling gun," Tang Luo said.

"Sure," Black Crow nodded.

"Then can you give it to me?" Tang Luo continued asking.

"Hah? Okay." Black Crow nodded vigorously.

Although he didn't understand what the other party wanted a Gatling gun for.

Half an hour later, Black Crow understood when he saw Tang Luo holding the Gatling gun in one hand, completely ignoring that terrifying recoil and leaving a terrifying trail of bullet marks on the ground.

"So few bullets?" Tang Luo asked after test-firing, planning to keep a low profile and appear as an "Assault Firepower Hand."

"There are some more, but our stock isn't plentiful either."

Black Crow's heart was bleeding; those bullets fired weren't his bullets, they were his life.

"Mm," Tang Luo said, "Buy more next time, not nearly enough."

"... Okay." Black Crow's smile was extremely strained; fortunately his hair was thick, so it couldn't be seen.

The caravan continued on its way.

The disassembled Gatling gun was placed in the back seat, Xiaotian Quan lay beside it.

Half a month later.

Black Crow Caravan's vehicles crossed an obvious marker by the roadside.

That marker was a hand, palm facing up, with a flower suspended above it — the marker of "Heavenly God's Bestowal."

That flower was the Flower of Hope bestowed by the Heavenly Gods, which is to say, various weapons of tremendous power.

Only weapons can allow humanity to gain a foothold in the wasteland, the foundation of gaining a foothold.

Truth lies only within the firing range of the great cannon!

Survival is the same.

Although in the vast majority of cases, the role of these weapons is to kill their own kind, not to eliminate the mutated creatures of the wasteland, to expand territory.

It was said before that the Gods and Buddhas are divided into two camps: "Heavenly Gods" and "Holy Buddhas."

The relationship between them cannot be called enemies, nor can it be called friends; the representative of the Heavenly Gods camp is the Yellow-Robed King, Haotian Jade Emperor.

The human force organized under his command is the Yellow Robe Association.

The Holy Buddha's representative is the Great Sun Radiant Buddha, the human force is the Great Sun Academy.

The Yellow Robe Association and the Great Sun Academy often have friction and conflict, sometimes they also cooperate.

Heavenly God's Bestowal — this name sounds like it leans toward the Heavenly Gods camp, but in reality they are very neutral.

As arms dealers, they will sell weapons to anyone, as long as you can pay the price.

As for which God or Buddha is behind Heavenly God's Bestowal, apart from internal high-level members, no one else knows; it is quite mysterious.

Not long after entering Heavenly God's Bestowal territory, a rumbling sound came from overhead.

Black Crow immediately slammed on the brakes, the entire caravan came to a halt.

Through the not-so-clean glass, looking at the sky, Black Crow's eyes showed fear and envy: "Wrath of God..."

The Wrath of God he spoke of was streaking across the sky, leaving a distinct white trail beneath the thick cloud layer.

"Wrath of God?" Tang Luo's tone was a bit strange.

"Yeah," Black Crow said, "This is a true God and Buddha's bestowal, something humans cannot possibly create or master."

"Is that so?" Tang Luo's tone was noncommittal.

This so-called Wrath of God, he could see clearly — it was distinctly a black fighter jet!

"It shouldn't be this simple..." Tang Luo thought to himself.

If the so-called Gods and Buddhas are just a group of people who have mastered core technology, he would be very disappointed.

Don't forget, this mission location was changed, coordinates provided by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, telling him there were "clues" here — perhaps an old acquaintance, perhaps an old item.

Tang Luo naturally hoped the Gods and Buddhas here would be as powerful as possible.

If they really are the type who mastered core technology and hide away pretending to be gods and ghosts, the harvest would definitely be much smaller.

"Is this Wrath of God the most powerful Heavenly God's Bestowal?" Tang Luo asked.

"No." Watching the Wrath of God completely disappear from sight, Black Crow set off again, shaking his head, "Wrath of God is an important symbol of Heavenly God's Bestowal; this thing, they *do* sell!"

Without a doubt, this indicates that Heavenly God's Bestowal possesses even higher-end weapons.

Then, considering from this aspect, the Gods and Buddhas are most likely also higher-end.

After all, it's a layer-by-layer progressive relationship.

"I see." Tang Luo nodded, slightly relieved, and also a bit expectant.

"That... Master, we'll part ways after dropping you at a nearby settlement." Black Crow said carefully.

This is already within Heavenly God's Bestowal's sphere of influence; wherever the Wrath of God patrols is their territory.

There's no longer any need for Black Crow Caravan to see the Buddha all the way to the West.

Holding an A-Class Pass, just find any settlement — regardless of whether it belongs to Heavenly God's Bestowal — there are a hundred ways to further make contact with Heavenly God's Bestowal.

Zhou Heiya was extremely careful, wishing he could immediately cut ties with Tang Luo; he had absolutely no intention of clinging to a powerful backer.

Heaven knows how deep the vortex behind this person really is.

Get caught up in it and who knows how you'd die.