Shawn advanced slowly.
But in truth, Shawn himself didn't know where he should go.
They walked from the suburban town all the way to the city, where Zealots were gathered in twos and threes everywhere, squinting at them, somewhat puzzled.
Seeing this, Shawn suddenly understood.
Perhaps this scattered grouping was the distribution pattern of the Zealots.
They didn't always stick together, differing from normal settlement models.
Under the premise of a large group, they would actively differentiate into smaller groups, distributed throughout every part of North Carolina.
He also suddenly understood why, after their members were eliminated, they only retaliated once.
Because this scattered distribution made it difficult for them to quickly mobilize a large number of people.
But the advantage was that, even with communication already in decline, they could still get news of nearby companions at the first possible moment.
All Zealots were treated as signal stations, and their collective organization formed a complete, vast network, covering the entire North Carolina.
Admittedly, under these circumstances, the main Camp could not get news immediately.
But once something happened, the news would quickly transmit back through various channels.
Elijah could not prevent things from happening, but he could use the lives of these Zealots to prevent things from escalating further into a worse state.
Shawn uttered five words.
"What a madman."
Other survivor Camps tried to reduce their losses, but Elijah chose a survival method of exchanging lives for lives.
Using the Zealots at the very front to exchange for the continued lives of other Zealots and himself.
However, it must be said that the implementation of this'system' was indeed linked to their organizational form and their so-called 'doctrine.'
Given that these Zealots were already fearless of death, this system might produce unexpected results.
"But this man can also be considered a formidable figure," Shawn sighed.
Compared to the Governor, whom Shawn had previously eliminated, in some respects, although the numbers couldn't be compared, the Governor was inherently more inferior than Elijah.
Because the Governor was hypocritical, false, deceitful, incorrigible, and built a non-existent utopia.
But Elijah was different; he directly told his followers everything he wanted to do, and perhaps even he himself firmly believed it.
"Yes, this is the apocalypse, and if you want to go to heaven, you must first be purified, and then you will receive salvation. I am here to save you on behalf of God."
From this perspective, the starting points of the two were clearly different; Elijah was far more'sincere' than the Governor.
However, if analyzed from the perspective of influence, the Governor was far inferior to Elijah.
The Governor liked others to call him Governor, but that was entirely self-indulgent; apart from the Woodbury army, even the Community residents gradually became unwilling to listen to him.
But this divine spokesperson, Elijah, was truly a Governor to others.
The entire North Carolina was likely filled with Zealots, meaning Elijah's eyes and ears were everywhere.
Elijah's scope of rule was calculated by state, and many Zealots would even unhesitatingly pursue other survivors into other states after encountering them.
Between Elijah and the Governor, Shawn's mind immediately judged who was superior.
Although Elijah had a somewhat twisted, evil aura, if it came down to who was worse, what difference did it make whether one followed the righteous path or not?
Instead, a bad seed like the Governor, who wasn't thoroughly bad, always cared about the Community residents' opinions, which made him even less comparable to Elijah.
Others were bad, but at least they were thoroughly and extremely bad.
Just as Shawn could still call him a 'formidable figure.'
As the saying goes, killing one is a crime, killing ten is a fiend, killing a hundred is evil, killing a thousand is a general, killing ten thousand is a hero, killing a hundred thousand is a king, and slaughtering a million is a god!
It seems to describe someone like Elijah.
He might always say things like—'I am merely a spokesperson for God.'
But even though he hadn't directly confronted Elijah yet, Shawn knew.
"This person wants to become an immortal, a god..."
What spokesperson for God?!
Elijah wanted to become a god himself!
At least in this apocalypse, Elijah wanted to become the god embraced by more and more Zealots; he wanted to be the source of the faith he created!
No era lacks talent, and now more and more people have proven this saying to Shawn.
They might not have risen in peaceful times, or even spent their entire lives toiling, never making a name for themselves.
But in the apocalypse, the things they could achieve were astonishing, unbelievable, truly miraculous!
Just like Shawn.
Before arriving in this apocalyptic world, he could never have imagined such scenery and madness existing outside of his impression of a 'Walker world.'
He also never expected that he, merely a butcher who took an unconventional path, would one day be able to implement the skills taught by his master to such an extreme.
Perhaps everything beyond expectation is precisely what is reasonable.
Shawn secretly shook his head, casting all thoughts from his mind, then looked up at the tall building before him.
The originally black building had been drenched with blood, turning it a deep, dark red.
But looking from bottom to top, a whole row of corpses suddenly entered his vision.
They were entirely wrapped in white cloth, suspended by coarse fabric from the sign above the building's doorframe, neatly lined up in a row.
As if hearing someone approach, they gradually began to struggle, swaying and colliding with each other, making dull thudding sounds.
Like a welcoming doorbell.
When someone entered through the main door, it would make a sound, informing the owner that a guest had arrived.
Looking up at these Walkers, Shawn was unsure if they had been hung there while still alive.
Shawn only knew that Elijah and the Zealots had an unfriendly attitude towards them.
These people, whose spiritual world was different from ordinary people, could not be judged by common sense, but purification by fire was their most sacred ritual.
Those dozen or so Walkers were hanging there, never having been burned; clearly, they did not want them to be purified.
Instead, they were punishing them by keeping them in their Walker bodies, suffering at the doorway.
However, their bound and hanging appearance suddenly reminded Shawn of an important figure who appeared in the Bible—Jesus.
Jesus challenged authority, claiming to be the Son of God, with the power to forgive all sins, and was therefore nailed to the cross.
Of course, there were other reasons, for example, from a theological perspective, Jesus's punishment was one of God's promotional methods.
Signifying that Jesus suffered on behalf of all people, allowing them to be freed from sin and connect with God.
So, what did Elijah mean here?
Did he want to imitate Jesus and cleanse the Zealots of their sins?
Or... was he actually worried that God truly existed?
So he wanted to use this method to have these people cleanse his own sins, completely remove the barrier of sin, and reconcile with God, to achieve the goal of going to heaven and gaining eternal life?
Regardless of the specifics, a curve suddenly appeared at the corner of Shawn's mouth.
"I think... I've found your weakness."
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