The Wind Rises in 1898: Becoming a Warlord Starting in Southeast Asia

Chapter 53 The mantis stalks the cicada

Starting at nightfall, the sound of cannons in the western part of the city became as dense as popping beans, and it continued unabated into the late night, making the hotel windows vibrate.

Just before dawn, a deafening roar suddenly erupted outside the city, followed by the urgent cries for help from the Spanish army piercing the night sky.

Chen Feng stood by the window, his eyes fixed on the Barasoy Church across the street.

The night was as dark as ink tonight, and even at a distance of more than twenty meters, it was impossible to see clearly what was happening.

However, his ears were extremely sensitive, and he clearly caught the sound of more than a dozen footsteps that suddenly rang out in the darkness.

The group of people quietly converged from three directions and soon stopped in front of the church gate.

The next second, a weak and feeble footstep came from inside the church, slowly moving to the courtyard gate, followed by the crisp sound of keys clinking together.

There's an inside man!

It must be the Englishman, Jerome.

He really did come for the gold!

Chen Feng's eyes gleamed coldly as he stood by the window, patiently waiting for the perfect moment.

Just two minutes later, three light footsteps echoed down the corridor; as expected, they were Marilyn and her two siblings.

Chen Feng exhaled a light breath, tore off the long-sleeved shirt he had just bought that afternoon and threw it on the bed, revealing his taut muscles with his upper body bare.

He tucked the brand-new Mauser pistol into his belt, grabbed his scimitar with his right hand and the fireworks with his left, and leaped out of the window, landing as silently as a raccoon.

Instead of setting off the signal near the hotel, he ran briskly along the street for two minutes before lighting the fireworks fuse.

call out......

Fireworks shot into the sky like arrows, exploding into a dazzling bouquet against the dark backdrop of the heavens.

At this moment, the indigenous cannon fodder in the west of the city had already launched their charge, and the gunfire was as dense as rain. The Spanish soldiers were too busy to notice this inconspicuous light.

Although Marilyn caught a glimpse of it, she didn't pay much attention to it since the fireworks were launched from a distance of seven or eight hundred meters away.

The three of them left the hotel and jogged along the deserted streets, quickly arriving at the church gate.

Jack took out a piece of wire, fiddled with it in the keyhole for two seconds, and then heard a crisp click as the lock opened.

After sneaking into the church, the three locked the door to cover up their tracks.

At the same time, Chen Feng had returned, his figure hidden in the shadows beside the church gate, waiting with his hands clasped behind his back.

Eight minutes later, a series of dense and subtle footsteps approached.

"Brother Chen..." Zhang Xiuwu's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"I'm here."

Chen Feng responded in a low voice, then quickly stepped forward, grabbed the thick iron chain that passed through the courtyard gate with both hands, and exerted force with both arms, his muscles bulging high.

boom!

With a crisp snap, the thumb-thick iron chain broke.

"Brother Chen, you're amazing!"

Zhang Xiuwu stepped forward, his eyes full of admiration.

"This is pig iron!"

Chen Feng casually replied, then quietly removed the chain and let everyone pass. After everyone had sneaked in, he put the chain back on, making it look like it hadn't been damaged.

The courtyard gate was only about 20 meters away from the main hall of the church. Chen Feng quickly stepped forward, gently pushed open a crack in the door, and the scene inside the hall instantly came into view.

The main hall has a long, Gothic layout and is built entirely of stone bricks. A passageway leads directly to the main altar, with wooden benches arranged on both sides.

At the very center is the high altar, on which stands an unidentified foreigner in the center. The statue is dressed in a blue and white robe, with a crucifix of Jesus' crucifixion on one side and candlelight flickering on both sides.

Below the altar, three priests, two old and one young, were tightly bound with ropes and gagged with rags to prevent them from making a sound.

Without much thought, it was obvious that Marilyn and her two companions were responsible, since these three priests were accomplices for another group.

Chen Feng looked at the statue, rubbed his chin, and frowned slightly.

England broke away from the Catholic system and converted to Protestantism as early as the 16th century, and was in opposition to the Spanish Catholic Church. How exactly did Jerwell, a Protestant, persuade Catholic priests to become his inside man?

The three priests looked at Chen Feng and the others. The boy looked terrified, but the two old men remained calm, appearing as devout believers who were undaunted in the face of danger.

Chen Feng ignored them and walked straight to the altar. When he went around to the back, he found that a stone slab had been moved, revealing a bottomless dark passage. A musty smell mixed with a cold wind rushed towards him.

Zhang Xiuwu directed his soldiers to remove the candles from both sides of the hall for lighting, then leaned forward and whispered, "Brother Chen, where does this lead?"

"have no idea!"

Chen Feng shook his head, took the candle handed to him by the soldier, drew his pistol from his waist, and slowly stepped into the passage. At the same time, he turned back and warned, "There are enemies ahead, be careful."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers took down their rifles, loaded them, and followed closely behind.

The passageway was narrow, allowing only two people to walk side by side, and the steps were covered in dust and messy footprints.

After walking down about ten steps, I could faintly hear a conversation coming from ahead.

Chen Feng immediately raised his hand to signal everyone to stop and listened attentively.

"Marilyn, what's going on? Didn't you say that no one else would find this gold anytime soon?"

"The telegram didn't specify a exact location. My guess that it was hidden in the church was based on my own analysis. How could I know someone would get there first?"

"Could the US military be the ones rushing ahead?"

"Only God knows!"

"What do we do next?"

After a moment of silence, Marilyn's voice rang out again: "Let's go take a look first. We have three guns; maybe we can get a share of the spoils."

"That's right! Anyone who dares to stop me from taking the gold, I'll fight them to the death!"

"Bullets loaded, let's go! Let's see who gets there first."

......

Chen Feng, listening from behind, laughed.

Even with three guns, I dare to fight the enemy head-on. I don't even have 30 men to be completely confident.

This is truly a case of ignorance is bliss!

Once the footsteps ahead had faded into the distance, Chen Feng waved to signal everyone to continue onward.

I wonder how much manpower Governor Sebastian Hurtah used to build this basement so large.

After walking along the winding path for a full two minutes, the space ahead finally opened up slightly.

It smells bloody!

Chen Feng twitched his nose slightly and immediately waved his hand to signal everyone to hold their breath and stop.

There was absolute silence all around; even the sound of breathing had disappeared.

After listening intently for ten seconds, Chen Feng raised the candle and slowly stepped forward to investigate.

This is a huge stone chamber, with a total space of over a hundred square meters. More than twenty stone coffins are arranged in a row, and the patterns on them are also in the Gothic style.

Before me was a huge stone chamber of over a hundred square meters, with more than twenty stone coffins arranged in a row. The coffins were carved with Gothic patterns, and at the far end, a corpse lay next to the stone coffin at the very end, which looked very eerie.

Zhang Xiuwu lowered his voice and said, "Brother Chen, these should be the burial sites of the bishops who have died in the church over the past few hundred years."

"Is that so?" Chen Feng stared at the stone coffin, a slight smile playing on his lips, his tone tinged with amusement. "Do these bishops have a custom of elaborate burials?"

"have!"

It wasn't Zhang Xiuwu who spoke, but Qian Jianeng from behind.