Chapter 14: The Terrifying Evil Spirit Siege!
After several crises, Rebecca and the others were no longer as terrified as before, especially since they'd personally killed a crawler.
Only by confronting terror can one better deal with terror.
With knowledge of their weakness, they naturally wouldn't scream in fear like before—but that was under similar strength conditions, not including the current situation.
That tunnel entrance was at least three meters high.
The creature before them stood upright, occupying the entire opening, and its completely different skin color and height from other crawlers proved its dominance.
Sam and the others had intended to use the creature's blind spot to move stealthily, but as they shifted a few steps, its pupils tracked their movements.
This was very bad news. It could see.
Fear once again surged into their hearts.
Beth gripped the gun in her hand and shakily raised it, aiming.
Rebecca whispered, "Beth, don't shoot yet. First, confirm if we're really its target."
She was still relatively calm. With the creature's size, if it charged, a gun might not kill it, but the three of them would definitely be finished.
Rebecca's idea was sound, but reality often contradicts plans.
Before they could make their next move,
the alpha crawler had already dropped to all fours and charged toward them. Beth, startled, fired several shots.
Every shot hit, and if it were a normal creature, it would be down by now.
But the alpha only grunted in pain, then pounced even more ferociously. It backhanded Beth with a strike that sent her flying into the blood pool, her fate unknown.
Rebecca turned and ran. Sam took two steps back and collapsed onto the ground, staring blankly at the monster. She was going to die...
"Sam!"
The alpha heard the sound and slowly turned its head, still holding a head dripping with blood...
Juno looked at the familiar face in the alpha's clawed hand, her emotions on the verge of collapse. She shook her head, raised her pistol, and pulled the trigger.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
"SCREEEECH!"
The alpha was enraged. It threw away the head, opened its gaping maw, and suddenly lunged at Juno.
Juno was also furious. After running out of bullets, she pulled out her climbing axe and roared, engaging the alpha in one-on-one combat.
Juno did have a burst of strength—her best friend's death made her combat effectiveness soar—but this couldn't change the outcome.
Even pistol bullets couldn't penetrate the alpha's hide, let alone a climbing axe.
The axe in Juno's hand was directly swatted away by the alpha's claw, which then pinned her to the ground, opening its mouth as if to deliver a fatal bite, its movements fluid and without hesitation.
Danny, who'd been hiding behind watching, couldn't let it succeed. If Juno died, there'd be one less person to draw fire, and besides, this was a perfect opportunity.
His rifle was aimed, and the moment the alpha opened its mouth, bullets poured in without hesitation.
The alpha stood up, clutching its neck, and retreated several steps. Even with thick hide, taking a full magazine wasn't easy—its insides were always vulnerable.
It made a strange sound, crouched low, and spat out a pool of blood.
Danny didn't give the alpha a chance to recover, continuing to suppress it with rifle bursts.
At the same time, he pulled out a card. It showed 'Unable to Contain'?
That shouldn't be right. Logically, as long as a containment object was severely wounded, it could generally be contained, unless...
Danny looked at the alpha, and a sudden ominous premonition arose.
Seeing Juno still preparing to finish it off, Danny quickly called her back.
"Don't go near it! Something's wrong!"
Juno was already blinded by rage and couldn't hear Danny's words. She grabbed her axe and rushed forward.
Before she could even get close, she was thrown back. The alpha roared at the ceiling, black smoke emanating from its body, its skin constantly expanding like boiling water. The next second, bones directly pierced through its hide, protruding densely.
This looked nothing like a natural creature anymore.
Because of the bone spurs, its body looked like it had grown a size larger, and its pupils glowed blood-red, staring intently at Danny.
Setting everything else aside, this appearance alone, even doing nothing, could terrify anyone, let alone in the oppressive environment of a cave.
Danny forced a smile uglier than crying.
"I said I didn't mean anything just now. You believe me, right?"
The alpha opened its mouth, and the bullets were squeezed out of its body, dropping onto the ground, the sound clearly audible in the cave.
Well, it seemed it didn't believe him.
The card also displayed information at this moment.
[Containment object has been possessed by an evil spirit.]
Danny, seeing its appearance, wanted to run, but with aggro maxed out, even if he ran now, it would probably still fixate on him.
At this moment, rustling sounds came from above.
Under Danny's mental command, six crawler subordinates feigned allegiance, gathering around the alpha as if to support it.
Juno swayed and stood up. She felt hopeless—even a rifle couldn't kill it. It was no longer a normal creature.
It seemed she was destined to die here today, no matter what...
If she hadn't taken it upon herself to change the expedition's location, perhaps this nightmare wouldn't have happened.
Beth and Rebecca returned from the other tunnel. Beth had just climbed out of the blood pool, covered in gore. She still had some conscience and wanted to take Danny with her to escape.
Juno picked up her axe from the ground.
"Rebecca, you guys run. I'll hold it off."
"We can't run. It's already locked onto us," Danny said, pulling out a combat knife and two pistols from his belt.
He gave the guns to Beth and Rebecca and the knife to Juno.
Everything usable was being deployed.
"Are you ready?" Danny asked.
Juno nodded, gripping the knife.
Beth and Rebecca took cover to one side, aiming and chambering their Glocks.
The strategy was clear: Juno would be the frontline tank, with Danny and Beth providing covering fire.
A hint of human-like cruelty appeared in the alpha's eyes—the look of seeing prey. It wasn't afraid of them escaping. In fact, escaping would only make the hunt more satisfying.
Unfortunately, the prey chose not to run, but to resist.
Danny raised his rifle and instantly opened fire. The gunshots were like a signal. The six subordinate crawlers surrounding the alpha immediately moved, one by one jumping onto it and frantically tearing at it.
Though Juno didn't know why these creatures were fighting each other, she knew this was an opportunity and rushed forward.
Danny set up his rifle to the side, occasionally firing bursts.
There was a difference between monsters and monsters.
The alpha was annoyed by these lesser creatures. Though it didn't understand why they suddenly turned on it, that no longer mattered. A bone spur from its right arm, delivered with a strike, directly impaled one of them.
Danny watched as his subordinate's pupils quickly lost their color, and it was flung aside by the alpha like rotten meat. He felt genuine loss.
After all, he'd worked hard to contain it!
Danny unleashed his last trump cards: One Eye and Three Finger. One Eye wielded a machete, and Three Finger had his bow.
Danny, rifle in hand, also charged forward, with One Eye close behind.
Three Finger followed at the rear with his bow. In this situation, shooting from behind was no longer very useful—it was better to engage in direct combat.
Juno had already reached the alpha, joined by Beth and Rebecca providing cover.
They had it surrounded!
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