Two minutes later, there were no objects taller than one meter left in front of Murphy.
The scene was so gruesome that Celica wanted to faint halfway through, but ended up covering her eyes and casting a Muffliato spell to ostrich herself.
Meanwhile, Murphy was laughing heartily the whole time.
The spectacle was too insane, and even though she couldn't hear Murphy's laughter, Celica was terrified, huddling into a ball, trembling.
Finally, Murphy had his fill of machine-gunning zombies. He patted Celica and lifted her Muffliato spell. "Stop cowering there, come and look."
"I don't want to see! I don't want to see!"
"Are you sure? This is rare; there are over a hundred ghosts here."
Murphy spoke as he set up a flamethrower at the back of the Jeep.
He planned to burn the pile of corpses soon. The plague bacillus fears high temperatures, so burning is the simplest way to sterilize.
"Ghosts?" Celica peeked out cautiously, opening a small gap between her fingers.
Before her lay a field of corpses, limbs and body parts scattered everywhere, with the flesh of nearly a hundred people spread across the ground like minced meat butchered by a frenzied butcher.
But before Celica could feel nauseated by the sight, she saw pale blue, translucent figures rising from the mutilated remains.
Ghosts.
They were clearly the villagers from before.
So many ghosts? But they weren't wizards in life!
Murphy wasn't surprised. From the zombie dog and the grandparents, he had discovered a ghostly body wrapped under the zombie's skin.
He had suspected that the reason these people could still talk and think was precisely because they were ghosts.
Their physical bodies were like clothes they wore.
This was a combination of ghosts and ghouls, truly fascinating.
But what caused them to become like this was still unknown.
Murphy suspected it had something to do with Joachim Hert.
"Celica, where is Joachim's house?" Murphy asked, ready to confront the dark wizard.
"It's on the south side of the village, next to a big oak tree..."
Before Celica could finish, a spell hit the Jeep, blasting a hole in the trunk.
Murphy turned and saw a figure wrapped in a black robe, wearing a bird-like mask, standing on the roof of the grandparents' house.
He seemed furious, shouting sharply, "What have you done!"
Then another spell came flying. Murphy parried with his wand, using a shield charm, then set up the flamethrower, pressing the switch. High-pressure propane jetted out like a sword, igniting into a spear of flame aimed at the figure.
The figure, having never seen such a thing, instantly disappeared from the roof, reappearing to Murphy's right.
This was a blind spot for the Jeep's mounted weapons. The figure landed and sent another spell, hitting the car door and blasting it out of shape.
But Murphy had already disappeared too.
For a moment, the figure and Murphy were using Apparition to move rapidly between rooftops and the ground, each looking for an opportunity to strike.
Murphy was surprised; the opponent was no ordinary wizard. This method of using Apparition for agile combat was not something an ordinary wizard could do.
And he was more familiar with the village's terrain than Murphy. Continuing like this, Murphy would eventually be caught off guard.
Thinking this, Murphy Apparated back into the car, grabbed his suitcase, and vanished again.
When he reappeared, he held an M32 grenade launcher in his hand, aiming and firing in one fluid motion.
"Boom!" The explosion collapsed the already dilapidated house. Murphy then cast an illusion charm on himself and Apparated to a higher point. "Guide me!"
His wand pointed in a direction. Murphy caught a glimpse of a dark shadow. Without hesitation, he fired another shot.
After another illusion charm and Apparition, Murphy didn't see anyone in the direction his wand pointed. It seemed the figure was also invisible like him.
He didn't use a revealing spell but instead pulled out a heavy, square box from his suitcase, attaching it to the grenade launcher.
It was a state-of-the-art thermal imaging scope, bulky and heavy but representing the pinnacle of current thermal imaging technology.
Through the scope, he saw a figure hiding behind the wall of a house.
Murphy aimed for two seconds and pulled the trigger.
"Boom!"
In the midst of the dust, he saw a black figure being blown to the side.
Without pausing, Murphy Apparated to where the figure had been, not aiming precisely but firing two shots at the predicted landing spot of the figure.
"Boom! Boom!"
"Disapparate!"
Before the smoke cleared, Murphy cast a Vanishing Spell, but no body was found.
He Apparated again, but almost simultaneously, the figure also appeared behind him. "Sandstorm!"
"Bang!" Murphy was hit in the back by the spell, thrown forward, losing his suitcase and even his gas mask.
Pain darkened his vision as he spat blood, barely holding onto his wand.
But he was wearing a bulletproof vest and knew he wasn't fatally wounded. In this critical moment, he rolled over, casting another shield charm.
Bang! The shield charm was hit by a spell, nullifying it. He saw the figure raise his wand again for the next spell.
In a split second, Murphy's hand left his wand, grabbing the Glock 17 at his waist.
Without looking, he pulled the trigger.
The Glock, designed for immediate action without a safety, "Bang bang bang..." Murphy emptied all 17 rounds, forcing the figure to retreat, unable to cast a spell.
Within ten meters, a gun is quick.
Within ten meters, a gun is quick and accurate.
After all, I don't need to chant a spell to shoot.
Murphy stood up, throwing the empty Glock aside, drawing his MP5K submachine gun from his waist.
Now he had a brief moment to aim, so he put the crosshair on the figure's head. With his left hand on the foregrip and right on the trigger, he unleashed 30 rounds in two seconds at a rate of 900 rounds per minute.
The figure was knocked to the ground.
Murphy pressed his aching chest, kicked away the figure's wand, picked up his own, and waved, "C4, come here."
He threw the strapped plastic explosives on the figure lying on the ground, still not getting up, and added a Permanent Sticking Charm.
Then he Apparated into the air. "Art is..."
"Forget it, to hell with it!"
"Boom!"
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