Chapter 12: The Evil Spirit Incarnate - My Army Reaches Eight
The silence in the darkness was quickly broken.
Danny had an extra card in his hand.
[Containable entity detected: Crawler, Evil Spirit Incarnate]
Unlike the previous traces of crawlers, this description showed it was not simple, with the addition of "Evil Spirit Incarnate."
Considering the appearance of that crawler just now, it was indeed different from those that looked thin and emaciated.
[Evil Spirit Incarnate: Crawler Image]
Its limbs were muscular, its whole body covered in dark bloodstains that obscured its original pale gray skin, its elongated skull was bat-like, and its fangs were stained with viscous fresh blood.
The surrounding crawlers were only half the size of this one.
Their cautious movements showed these creatures also felt fear—of their own alpha.
Danny was unsure if he and the two Hillickers could defeat this alpha crawler, so he wisely chose to remain hidden.
Of course, the fact that many other crawlers around weren't dead was also a factor.
Except for the few closest that had died, the crawlers affected by the grenades were mostly in critical condition.
From this, one could see the tenacious vitality of these creatures. Compared to the Hillickers, they were equally durable, if not more so.
The alpha crawler didn't stay at the scene long. It sniffed the air, then crawled into one of the tunnels.
Only one or two crawlers remained at the scene.
The rest were heavily wounded and immobile from the fragmentation grenades.
Danny waited about five more minutes until there was no sound before slowly approaching the critically wounded crawlers.
He pulled out the Two of Diamonds.
[Name: Crawler]
[Status: Critical, Containable]
[Contain.]
Danny noticed a small detail: it only said "Crawler," not "Evil Spirit Incarnate"—no prefix.
It seemed the alpha just now was indeed different from the others.
These current ones were, at best, just minor monsters.
However, Danny still chose to contain them. Even an ordinary crawler was stronger than most humans.
Furthermore, they'd make excellent cannon fodder.
After the Two of Spades, Two of Hearts, Two of Diamonds, and Two of Clubs were all filled, all three-rank cards were unsealed.
That is, the Three of Spades, Three of Hearts, Three of Diamonds, Three of Clubs...
If Danny calculated correctly, he thought the lower cards probably had no special unlock conditions—just requiring enough containment objects.
Of course, he'd still have to test that theory.
Danny then selected four of the strongest crawlers from the scene for containment, but found that advancing to rank Four actually required any ghost or evil spirit-type containment object.
He'd been planning to contain all the crawlers at the scene, which would have directly unlocked up to rank Five.
It seemed he'd thought too simply.
But it was still a fruitful harvest.
The number of his subordinates reached eight, and Danny's confidence grew significantly.
The remaining uncontainable crawlers were finished off by Three Finger with his bow.
While his two subordinates were cleaning up,
Danny checked the abilities that could be extracted from the crawlers.
[Containment Object: Crawler]
[Extractable Abilities: Evil Spirit Susceptibility (low probability), Limb Enhancement, Enhanced Hearing, Bloodlust, Reduced Intelligence, Pain Suppression]
Most abilities were expected, but Evil Spirit Susceptibility seemed different.
Evil Spirit Susceptibility?
These monsters being called crawlers in a film about cave-dwelling predators suggested the possibility of supernatural influence.
Unlike the alpha, which was explicitly identified as an Evil Spirit Incarnate.
Danny could have stopped here, but he was genuinely interested in that alpha crawler. With eight subordinates, plus a rifle and his last grenade, he wanted to try...
If handled properly, he could not only contain an evil spirit but also unlock rank Five.
This temptation was unusually strong...
After Danny thought it through, he wasted no more time and proceeded with ability extraction.
[Containment Object: Crawler]
[Fusible Abilities: Limb Enhancement, Evil Spirit Susceptibility (probability), Bloodlust, Reduced Intelligence, Bloodlust, Enhanced Hearing]
Six abilities could be fused, with Bloodlust appearing twice.
Bloodlust: Consuming raw flesh accelerates recovery, but simultaneously creates sensitivity and craving for meat.
This ability was useless to Danny. Bloodlust was somewhat vampiric. Among the remaining options, only Limb Enhancement and Enhanced Hearing looked worthwhile.
Evil Spirit Susceptibility sounded uncontrollable.
Danny chose to discard Bloodlust, Reduced Intelligence, and Evil Spirit Susceptibility, and instead fused Limb Enhancement and Enhanced Hearing.
At the bottom of the rock chamber,
Juno lay there, not dead. She'd merely been thrown back by the grenade blast. This was thanks to the crawler on her, which had absorbed most of the damage—otherwise she'd be dead or crippled.
She groggily got up.
Seeing the still-breathing crawler beside her, she was startled but didn't scream, instead clamping her mouth shut.
The gun Danny had given Juno was gone—she didn't know where it had been thrown—and there was only a climbing axe in her pack.
Juno went from terrified to emboldened when she realized the creature's injuries were worse than hers.
A minute later,
blood splattered.
The creature lay in a pool of blood, its skull smashed to pulp, brain matter spilled everywhere.
Juno held the climbing axe, her expression dazed, barely registering the creature's blood on her face.
"Juno."
Hearing the voice, Juno almost instinctively raised the axe, and upon seeing it was Danny, she let out a sigh of relief.
In such a short period, she'd experienced such trauma.
Juno's mental state was now extremely unstable, practically on the verge of breakdown.
This could be seen from how she'd desperately pulverized the creature's skull.
Nearly insane.
Danny, holding the AR-15, walked up to Juno, raising one hand.
Juno looked at the pistol Danny offered and silently took it. She noticed the rifle in Danny's hands. She didn't know how he'd brought it in, and didn't want to know or ask.
She just wanted to know: "Where are Sam and the others?"
"They got separated. Beth and Sam went after Rebecca and Sarah. I don't know where they ran."
"Then... what about Holly..."
"You saw it yourself."
Juno had been there. When Holly was being devoured, she'd reached out for help. Juno asking again was just her inability to accept the reality.
Danny remembered that Juno was an extremely capable fighter in the film, killing several crawlers with improvised weapons.
In his opinion, she was combat-ready.
Since he'd decided to confront that alpha crawler, how could he not bring more backup... well, perhaps not just backup.
Even if Juno and the others didn't go looking for the crawlers, the creatures would eventually find them.
Juno looked up at Danny, her eyes revealing determination.
"What do we do now?"
Danny turned and walked ahead, six crawlers shadowing him in the darkness, guarding his safety.
"Go save Beth and the others. If we're late, they'll be torn apart and devoured just like Holly."
Danny had no attachment to this team, but Juno did. His words gave Juno powerful motivation and hatred toward the creatures.
The scene of Holly's brutal death was still vivid in her mind.
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