Chapter 309 - 306 In The Small Town, Day One.
San Venganza used to be a wonderful place with simple folk customs and great people.
Although it hadn't yet reached the level where people left their belongings outside and didn't lock their doors at night.
However, under the joint management of the sheriff and the mayor, there had been no criminal incidents such as theft and feuds for several years.
It could be predicted that if we were to select the most civilized towns in the west, San Venganza would surely win the first prize.
However, fate often liked to mess with people when they were caught off guard.
One day, the old devil stepped into San Venganza.
He deceived the mayor and bewitched the sheriff.
Aroused the greed of the townspeople and amplified their inner selfishness.
Finally, through a carefully planned plot, he led everyone to the path of depravity and to abandon the God they believed in.
"Three thousand fallen souls were sealed in a contract."
Carter Slade, who was leading a horse, spoke in a deep voice.
"Later, Mephisto ordered me to retrieve the contract for him and open the door to hell."
"I ran away and went into hiding until the Sorcerer Supreme found me."
Carter Slade was a young Texas Ranger.
He was arrested and imprisoned because of his own greed.
In order to gain freedom, he sold his soul to Mephisto and became the Ghost Rider chosen by the other party.
"What about the contract?"
Strange walked into town and kept looking around.
Everything didn't seem as bad as Carter Slade said. The town's residents didn't react too aggressively, except for curious looks at the outsiders.
They all looked so peaceful, not looking like they needed to be saved.
"Mephisto still has it."
The old cowboy said regretfully.
"But he didn't open the door between earth and hell. The Sorcerer Supreme stopped the old devil's plan."
"But in the small town of San Venganza, three thousand souls of the fallen will forever be enslaved by him and will never be freed."
"They were tainted with sin, turned their backs on God, couldn't go to heaven, and couldn't escape from Mephisto's control."
Carter Slade suddenly stopped and looked at this seemingly normal, quiet town and shook his head, "What you see now is just a projection of the chasm of hell."
"The real town of San Venganza has long been ruined and forgotten."
Hearing about that past, Strange's heart was a little heavy.
"Then how can I save them?"
He asked subconsciously.
"I can't give you the answer. This is the Vishanti's test for you."
Carter Slade shrugged, hoping that someone would give the residents of San Venganza a clean slate.
The three thousand souls that suffered hadn't been able to rest in peace.
"You can move freely in this small town."
Carter Slade left these words and rode away.
He was just the guide and bystander in this match.
"You're on your own, Stephen."
Luke patted Strange on the shoulder, indicating that the match was up to him.
Compared with the previous two matches, with a definite goal, the final test was obviously much more difficult.
The Vishanti hadn't promulgated any rules but only delineated a vague scope. The rest depended on the combatants themselves to explore and discover.
"By the way, a friendly suggestion. If you can't figure out what to do, you might as well look at the other competitors."
Luke was going to find a random hotel and relax.
He had no intentions of ignoring Strange and let him fight on his own.
It's just that there was too little information, and he needed to observe some more.
"Competitors …"
Strange pondered.
What would Mordo and Kaecilius, the former seniors, do in the face of the difficult task given by the Vishanti?
…
…
As night fell, the combatants who had settled in their respective places hadn't made any moves. They found that the atmosphere in the small town of San Venganza had greatly changed.
During the day, the warm-hearted residents, the talkative sheriff, the tavern owner who would answer all their questions … all seemed to change.
They stared at the strangers who broke into town with hostile and hateful eyes.
"It doesn't feel good."
Thor frowned. He walked outside the hotel with Loki, and a group of bad-looking strong men slowly gathered around him.
Originally, two or three people were hanging around far behind, but more and more people joined along the way.
"You, go away! She can stay!"
The leader, with a pair of eyes looking straight at Loki, completely ignored Thor.
"Harassing my … sister?"
Thor couldn't bear it. He would rather accept others flirting with him than forgive these gangsters for thinking about his sister.
This was the bottom line of a sis-con. It must not be violated!
"You should be taught a lesson!"
Thor rolled up his sleeves and swung his fist.
Asgardian's strong physique, facing the San Venganza's gangsters, was simply a crushing situation.
He broke into the tight encirclement alone and then beat the crap out of these short-sighted guys.
However, the storm didn't stop there.
The brawl attracted more attention.
The men from the small town joined in one by one.
It was like some kind of a fun game that attracted them.
Soon, the situation got out of control.
Thor was alone, facing hundreds of people.
Fists, iron bars, pitchforks … All kinds of things were aimed at him.
Although it was painless for him, it was irritating.
Bang!
A gunshot.
A revolver's bullet hit Thor's chest.
This didn't cause him any substantial harm.
But the sound of gunfire echoing under the night sky was like opening some kind of gate, releasing the tyrannical, murderous desire of the residents of San Venganza.
"Loki…"
Thor saw more people gathered around, and with a fierce glint in his eyes, he directly extended his right hand.
The atmosphere exploded. Lightning lingered around the Stormbreaker that rotated at high speed, sweeping away the townspeople as if it was mowing grass.
"Is this the true side of San Venganza, the people that sold their souls to the devil?"
Luke, who was watching the scene, seemed to have guessed something.
…
…
The next day, early morning.
When the sun was shining on San Venganza, the town seemed to come to life.
"They aren't dead?"
Throughout the night, Thor, who felt guilty of killing so many townspeople, was dumbfounded to see the men who had clashed with him in the morning.
They didn't have the brutality and fierceness of last night. They were all smiling and greeting each other warmly.
As if nothing had happened.
"I see. The residents of this town sold their souls to the devil, which is why they behave so horribly at night."
After last night's encounter, Loki's eyes flashed with relief. She nodded softly and said, "They lost their souls and died long ago. They are people that don't actually 'exist'."
"Even if you slaughter the whole town, these people will be restored the moment the sun rises."
"Day and night are equivalent to the past and present of San Venganza, two sides of the same coin."
Thor scratched his head. In his opinion, what Loki said was too complicated to understand.
"You don't have to understand. Just do as I say."
Loki would never expect her stupid older brother to use that barren intellect of his. Her pretty eyes rolled around, and she whispered, "Let's go look for the mayor first."
…
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