After weathering several crises, Rebecca and the others were no longer as terrified as before. Besides, they had even killed a Wendigo with their own hands.
Only by confronting terror could they stand a better chance of fighting it.
Now that they knew its weakness, they naturally weren't going to scream in fear like before. But that was only when they were facing an opponent of comparable strength—and this was clearly not the case.
The cave entrance was at least three meters tall.
The monster stood upright, filling the entire opening. Its distinctly different skin color and height were both proof of its strength.
Sarah and the others had planned to sneak around, taking advantage of the monster's supposed blindness. But as they moved, its pupils followed them.
That was very bad news. It could see.
Fear surged through them once again.
Beth gripped her gun and raised it with trembling hands, aiming at the monster.
"Beth, don't shoot yet," Rebecca whispered. "Let's make sure it's really targeting us first."
She was staying relatively calm. With a monster that size charging at them, the gun might not kill it, and all three of them would be done for.
Rebecca's plan was sound, but reality often went against what people hoped for.
Before they could make another move,
the Evil Spirit Wendigo dropped to all fours and charged at them. Startled, Beth fired several shots.
Every shot hit. If it had been a carbon-based life-form, it would have been dead by now.
But the Evil Spirit Wendigo merely flinched in pain, then lunged at Beth even more savagely. It backhanded her, sending her flying. She and her pack fell into the pool of blood, and no one knew whether she was alive or dead.
Rebecca turned and ran. Sarah stumbled backward, then sank to the ground, staring stupidly at the monster before her. She was going to die...
"Sarah!"
At the sound of the voice, the Evil Spirit Wendigo slowly turned around. In its hand was a human head, still dripping with gore...
Juno saw the familiar face in the Evil Spirit Wendigo's hand. She was on the verge of a breakdown. Shaking her head, she raised her gun and pulled the trigger.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Roar!"
The Evil Spirit Wendigo flew into a rage. It threw away the head and lunged at Juno with its jaws wide open.
Juno was furious too. When she ran out of bullets, she drew her ice axe and roared as she charged into a one-on-one fight with the Evil Spirit Wendigo.
Juno really had gone all out. Her best friend's death had sent her fighting spirit soaring, but that couldn't change the outcome.
If even the bullets from a handgun couldn't pierce the Evil Spirit Wendigo's skin, an ice axe stood no chance.
The Evil Spirit Wendigo swatted the ice axe right out of Juno's hand. Then it pinned her to the ground and opened its jaws, aiming to crush her head in one bite. Its movements were smooth and utterly merciless.
Li Dan had been hanging back and watching. There was no way he'd let it get its way. If Juno died, that would be one less person to draw its fire—and this was a perfect opportunity.
He aimed his rifle at the Evil Spirit Wendigo. The moment it opened its mouth, he unleashed a merciless spray of bullets.
The Evil Spirit Wendigo got back to its feet, clutching its neck as it staggered backward a few steps. Even with its thick hide, taking a full burst of bullets had to hurt. Its insides were still soft.
It made a strange sound, then collapsed onto the ground and spat out a pool of blood.
Li Dan didn't give the Evil Spirit Wendigo a chance to catch its breath. He kept up the suppressive fire with controlled bursts.
At the same time, he pulled out the Ghost Card. The display read: Unable to contain?
That didn't make sense. Usually, as long as a contained entity was seriously injured, it could be contained. Unless...
Li Dan looked at the Evil Spirit Wendigo, suddenly gripped by a sense of foreboding.
Seeing Juno prepare to rush in and finish it off, Li Dan hurriedly called out to her.
"Don't go near it! Something's wrong!"
Juno had already been blinded by rage. There was no way she'd listen to Li Dan. She grabbed her ice axe and charged.
Before she could even get close, a shockwave sent her flying. The Evil Spirit Wendigo threw back its head and roared. Black smoke poured from its body as its skin swelled like boiling water. In the next instant, bones burst through its skin, countless spikes jutting out everywhere.
This thing didn't look like a carbon-based life-form anymore.
The bone spikes made it look as if its body had grown even larger. Its blood-red pupils locked onto Li Dan.
Even if it did nothing, its appearance alone could scare adults and children to tears—never mind the oppressive confines of the cave.
Li Dan managed a smile that looked worse than crying.
"I swear I didn't do that on purpose just now. Do you believe me?"
The Evil Spirit Wendigo opened its mouth, and bullets were squeezed out of its body, clattering onto the ground. The sound rang clearly through the cave.
All right. It didn't believe him.
The Ghost Card displayed a notification:
The contained entity has been possessed by an evil spirit.
Looking at the creature, Li Dan felt like making a run for it. But with its hatred focused entirely on him, even if he ran, it would probably keep its eyes fixed on him.
Just then, a rustling sound came from overhead.
At Li Dan's signal, his six Wendigo underlings pretended to approach the Evil Spirit Wendigo and rally around it.
Juno staggered back to her feet. She was desperate. Even a rifle couldn't kill it. This wasn't a normal monster.
It looked like they were going to die here, no matter what...
If she hadn't gone and changed the expedition site on her own, maybe this nightmare wouldn't have happened.
Beth and Rebecca came back from the other side. Beth had just climbed out of the pool of blood and was covered in it from head to toe. She still had enough of a conscience to want to bring Li Dan with them when they ran.
Juno picked up the ice axe from the ground.
"Rebecca, you should run. I'll hold them off."
"We can't run. It's already got its eyes on us." After saying that, Li Dan pulled a military knife from his waist, along with two handguns.
He handed the guns to Beth and Rebecca and gave Juno the knife.
They were using everything they had.
"Are you ready?" Li Dan asked.
Juno nodded and tightened her grip on the military knife.
Beth and Rebecca moved to one side, raised their Rocloc handguns, and took aim.
The tactic was obvious: Juno would take the lead as the human shield, while Li Dan and the others covered her.
A trace of humanlike cruelty appeared in the Evil Spirit Wendigo's eyes—the look of a predator sizing up its food. It wasn't afraid of them running. If anything, watching them flee would only whet its appetite.
But its prey didn't choose to run. They chose to fight back.
Li Dan raised his rifle and opened fire. The gunshots were like a signal. The six underlings surrounding the Evil Spirit Wendigo sprang into action at once, leaping onto it and tearing into it with frenzied bites.
Juno had no idea why the monsters were attacking their own kind, but she knew this was her chance. She charged forward faster.
Li Dan braced his rifle nearby and fired bursts whenever he could.
Not all monsters were created equal.
The Evil Spirit Wendigo was thoroughly annoyed by the little creatures. It didn't know why they'd suddenly turned on it, but that didn't matter anymore. A bone spike on its right arm drove straight through one of them with an elbow strike.
Li Dan watched his underling's eyes quickly lose their light as the Evil Spirit Wendigo flung it aside like a piece of rotten meat. He couldn't help feeling a little heartbroken.
After all, he'd worked so hard to contain it!
Li Dan brought out his last trump cards: Deformed Person One and Deformed Person Two. The first carried a cleaver, while the second carried a bow and arrow.
Li Dan charged forward with his rifle, and Deformed Person One followed close behind.
Deformed Person Two brought up the rear with the bow. In a situation like this, shooting from the shadows wouldn't do much good. They might as well trade shots in the open.
Juno had already reached the Evil Spirit Wendigo, with Beth and Rebecca covering her.
They surrounded it!
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