Chapter 51: Sunset Red Squad
Leaving the headquarters of the Holy Healing Church, Su Xiao dragged his weary body toward an inn in the city.
Half an hour later, in a room on the third floor of Locke's Inn, Su Xiao lit a cigarette. After a full meal, the warm sensation in his stomach made him drowsy.
Deafening snoring came from the room next door. Lying in bed, Su Xiao extinguished his cigarette.
"Bubu, go tell Amu to stop snoring."
Su Xiao glanced at the vibrating water glass on the nightstand. Amu's snoring in deep sleep was comparable to a mild earthquake.
Bubu Wang grunted, stretched its legs, indicating it had no way to deal with Amu's snoring. Amu usually didn't snore when sleeping, but every time Su Xiao helped Amu with his 'treatment,' he would snore for a few days.
"So noisy, can't a person get some peaceful sleep?"
Melody's irritated voice came from outside the door, followed by knocking on the next room. Soon, Melody's voice gradually lowered, and faintly, one could hear: 'Sorry for disturbing your sleep, no no no, it's no trouble, you go back to sleep.'
Amid the faint sounds, Su Xiao gradually fell into deep sleep. Although somewhat risky, if he didn't rest properly, his body wouldn't hold up. The day after tomorrow, he still had to head south.
Su Xiao slept for nearly 20 hours. When he woke up, he felt refreshed. The dull pain in his left arm was gone. With his physical condition and deep sleep, the recovery of his stamina was considerable.
On the wooden table in the room, various gun parts were neatly arranged. D·Assassination and the Duke of Annihilation had both been disassembled, and Melody was curiously examining them nearby.
"Are we going witch-hunting again?"
Melody was very enthusiastic about witch-hunting, mainly because of the large sum of gold coins she had obtained after the fall of Westport.
"That's right."
Su Xiao removed the silencer from D·Assassination and began cleaning the gunpowder residue inside.
"Where this time? When it comes to knowledge of witches, even in the south, I know some information the Holy Healing Church doesn't."
"Is that so? Then let's go south."
"..."
Melody froze.
"I was just joking earlier. You were too, right? Yes, definitely. Hahaha, you have a great sense of humor, I never noticed before... Waa~ I don't want to."
Melody's voice was almost tearful. She was still young, had never experienced love, and didn't want to die.
"That was your suggestion. As a partner, I have to respect your opinion."
"Great Witch Hunter, please spare this weak woman. Go south? That's the Witch Kingdom, a kingdom with no commoners, only witches."
"More witches mean more gold coins for you."
"Suddenly, I've lost interest in gold coins."
"..."
Su Xiao glanced at Melody, and she immediately wilted.
"Really, we're going south?"
After the initial panic, Melody squinted her eyes, smiling like a vixen. Through her time with Su Xiao, she had learned he wouldn't do anything without a plan. A human forbidden zone like the south, even if Su Xiao was now a Blood Hunter, he wouldn't go there lightly.
"Perhaps."
"I knew it."
Melody breathed a long sigh of relief. Though still vaguely uneasy, she still didn't believe Su Xiao would go south to hunt witches.
The next morning, in the third-floor meeting room of the Holy Healing Church headquarters, still at the severely worm-eaten square table.
Sitting on a wooden chair, Su Xiao was adjusting something, occasionally putting on wireless earphones to listen carefully. Bubu Wang crouched by his feet.
Carmen sat opposite, smiling. He had experienced a late-life spring yesterday, finally untying a knot that had weighed on his heart for over a decade. After all, this trip south was likely a one-way journey.
With a creak, the wooden door to the meeting room opened. A one-eyed old man walked in. This old man was as sturdy as a bear. The shotgun slung over his back could no longer be called a gun; it was a small-caliber cannon.
"Josephia, I heard you were lectured by your daughter again recently?"
"Hmph, she's just an adopted daughter. I should have let her freeze to death on the street."
The bear-like old man Josephia snorted coldly, found a seat at random, and sat down. It was clear his relationship with Carmen wasn't harmonious—at least on the surface. In reality, the two had fought side by side for most of their lives.
"Quite lively."
A 'middle-aged man' entered the meeting room. Although he didn't look like an old man, his hair was already gray. Among the three old men, he was actually the oldest.
Seeing this old man, Su Xiao was somewhat surprised. When he had redeemed Melody from prison, he had seen this old man once. At that time, the old man was snoring loudly, drunk. If he remembered correctly, he was a prison guard.
Gurgle, gurgle...
The old guard had just sat down when he raised his bottle and took several big gulps, letting out a burp.
"Just waiting for Gunter. He shouldn't be late. Haven't seen him in a long time..."
Carmen had barely finished speaking when a gaunt old man pushed the door open and entered.
"Gunter, long time no see... Eh~"
Carmen was about to greet him when he noticed something was off about Gunter.
"Huh?"
Gunter looked at Carmen in confusion, his eyes clearly dazed. The drunk old man beside him chuckled and pulled the shotgun off Josephia's back.
"Gunter, catch."
As he spoke, the drunk old man tossed the shotgun. In that instant, Gunter's gaze was no longer vacant but became exceptionally sharp. He caught the shotgun with one hand.
Witch Grave·Gunter—this was what the witches called him. It wasn't just Gunter; the other three old men also had their own titles, all earned through bloodshed.
The drunk old man was: Chest Splitter·Clofield.
The one-eyed old man: Blood Splatter Bear·Josephia.
As for Holy Councilor Carmen, the witches called him: Bone Stripper·Carmen.
Witch Grave, Chest Splitter, Blood Splatter Bear, Bone Stripper—from these titles, one could see how much shadow these four had cast over the witches. These titles weren't self-proclaimed; the witches had named them.
The most ruthless of the four was Witch Grave·Gunter. Older witches all knew one thing: it was better to die in battle than to fall into the hands of Witch Grave. That was worse than death.
But the former Witch Grave now suffered from senile dementia. Fortunately, it didn't seem severe. When he gripped the shotgun, his eyes noticeably brightened.
Looking at these four old men, Bubu Wang's dog face twisted. Carmen was a cripple, Josephia was one-eyed, Clofield was a drunkard, and Gunter had dementia. This Sunset Red Squad going to hunt the Doom made Bubu Wang feel their prospects were grim.
However, a few minutes later, Bubu Wang dismissed that thought. The four old men might not have the stamina of their youth, but they had more experience and weren't afraid of death.
"Old comrades, this trip south might be a one-way journey."
"Mm."
"As long as there's wine on the road, no problem."
"While I'm still clear-headed, dying in the south is more glorious than dying of old age."
Clearly, none of these four were afraid of death. Pure suicide squads weren't frightening; it was experienced, goal-oriented suicide squads that were terrifying.
"Alright, let's go see the Pope. There are some things we need to discuss with him."
Carmen picked up a cloth bag and walked out.
The group moved through Holy Healing City without attracting much attention. There was no farewell ceremony. Forty minutes later, in a stone house on the city wall.
A stern-faced middle-aged man sat upright in the stone house. Beside him sat a young man, who seemed distracted, thinking about other things.
"That's basically it. Laurent, we're off."
Carmen and the other three old men sat opposite the middle-aged man. Hearing Carmen address the middle-aged man by his first name, the young man was momentarily stunned. Clearly, he didn't recognize Carmen. Or rather, given his status, he couldn't access Carmen. Carmen rarely left the Holy Healing Church headquarters, and they were in different power systems. Moreover, the power system the young man belonged to wasn't hereditary. This young man couldn't inherit his father's power unless he was very capable.
"Be careful on the road."
The middle-aged man was none other than the Pope of the Holy Healing Church, the leader of another power system within the church. As for the young man beside him, he was his son, still underage.
After Carmen and the other three met up with Su Xiao, they quickly left the city. On the carriage, Melody's face was pale. She had originally thought Su Xiao was joking about going south, but just a few minutes ago, she had seen the Pope of the Holy Healing Church! This didn't seem like a joke at all. The Pope himself had come to see them off. It really seemed they were going south.
Above the city wall, the Pope gazed into the distance at the two carriages slowly moving away. The young man beside him was full of confusion.
"Father, these people going south—though brave, isn't it just suicide..."
"Watch your words."
The Pope glanced at his eighth son and finally just shook his head.
"When they were in their prime, you were still in swaddling clothes. Not everyone craves fame. Remember these people. What they are doing is something we lack the courage to do and cannot accomplish. Moreover, among them is a witch hunter that even Holy Councilor Carmen calls a monster. Hard to imagine."