Everyone walked through the Pine Forest.
Miss Sparrow suddenly thought of something and turned around, curiosity showing on her pretty face.
"Mr. Snowy Owl, if the 'Demon of the Lake' really was once a prisoner... then why hadn't the Cultists of the 'Lake God Cult' mutated?"
"I don't know." Gilan finished his last drag and shook his head.
He slid the empty revolver back into its holster, flicked the cigarette butt to the ground with a finger, and stamped it out.
In truth, he had a few suspicions.
The reason everyone in the Expeditionary Exploration Team's prisoner camp mutated, soldiers and prisoners alike, was probably that they had lived by Black Lake for so long...
Gilan mused.
After all, the Expeditionary Exploration Team not only used the lake water for daily needs, but was also far too close to Black Lake. They were constantly exposed to the pollution and mysterious influence of the Miasma it gave off.
Only the combination of these two factors could have caused everyone to mutate.
And that was what set them apart from the members of the Lake God Cult.
Most of the Cultists lived in town and only drank lake water indirectly. The harm they suffered wasn't enough to cause mutation, so their outward symptoms were mostly confusion and deranged behavior.
"Stop." Mr. Stork gripped his Steel-core Cane in one hand and drew his pistol with the other, his expression grave as he signaled to the others. "Careful. The Cultists of the 'Lake God Cult' are here."
The other Assembly members immediately grew wary and readied their weapons.
Pine trees stood tall all around them, their leaves swaying gently.
Caw—
Accompanied by the cry of some unknown wild bird, figures in Reindeer Masks emerged from behind the pines in every direction. Carrying axes or firearms, they closed in around the group.
The scene seemed familiar—no, it was almost identical to their previous encounter during the screening.
"Damn sacrifices! How dare you defy the will of the 'Lake God'!"
"Hand over the 'Ritual Saber' at once!"
"Kill! Kill these sacrifices! We need more blood, more hearts!"
The Cultists roared, their voices frenzied.
Mr. Stork seemed to have been prepared. With a cold expression, he raised a hand and gestured to the others.
The next moment—
The Assembly members attacked almost in unison, unleashing a hail of bullets and arrows at their enemies.
Whoosh!
Bang, bang, bang!
In a single exchange, four or five Cultists cried out and fell.
But the others quickly reacted and launched a fearless counterattack against the Assembly. Hatchets and bullets streaked through the woods, filling the forest with a cacophony of noise.
However, Mr. Stork and the others had already scattered, finding cover with Fima.
Gilan, meanwhile, circled around the front and darted between the pines on the right. He moved so swiftly that one Cultist hadn't even turned around before Gilan locked both arms around his throat.
"Ugh!" The male Cultist in the Reindeer Mask struggled desperately, thrashing, clawing, and kicking.
Behind him, Gilan remained expressionless. His iron-hard arms tightened again, and with the appalling sound of muscles tensing, he strangled the enemy in his grasp to death!
The body dropped limply to the ground with a thud.
Gilan glanced toward the Assembly members and saw that they hadn't noticed him, so he bent down and touched the Cultist's corpse.
But nothing happened.
"Hm?" Gilan turned his hand over and stared at his five fingers in confusion. "I can't corrupt him?"
Soon, he realized that the corpse by his feet seemed familiar. He removed the Reindeer Mask from its face... Beneath it, a handsome yet hideous face met his eyes.
It was the sheriff, Pierre Aichi.
I didn't hire him to come along this time, but he joined the ambush party on his own... It seems that, like the Double-Barreled Shotgun, I can only corrupt a mysterious monster or a contaminated person from the movie once.
Gilan understood, and sighed in disappointment.
"Ahhh!!"
Just then, a shrill scream came from behind the bushes not far ahead.
Gilan looked up, his heart tightening.
A horde of Prisoner Monsters, grotesque and deformed, had attacked the Cultists of the Lake God Cult like a swarm of locusts!
There were at least twenty or thirty of them, a terrifying force to behold!
"Wah—"
"Wah—wah—"
Atop the pine trees, three or four childlike monsters with grotesque, hornet's-nest-shaped heads screamed without pause.
Below, seven or eight muscular monsters with fleshy wings on their backs charged around, violently tearing through the bushes. Their heavy fists and palms easily crushed the Cultists' skulls and chests, sending blood spraying with each dull thud.
"Demons?!"
"Hahahahaha!!"
"Kill all these monsters! Brew them into the 'Elixir of Immortality' too!"
Several Cultists went mad and charged the monsters with their axes. But the soil beneath their feet suddenly sprouted several gray-scaled arms tipped with claws. They seized the Cultists by the legs and dragged them underground... Then blood seeped out, and all went quiet.
The remaining Cultists laughed wildly and opened fire with their shotguns and pistols at two monsters with multiple legs, crawling toward them like spiders.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!!
Bullet holes appeared all over the "spider" monsters, but not a drop of blood flowed. Instead, the Cultists' actions seemed to enrage them... Their twisted faces emerged from behind their hands. They jerked their heads up and let out a chilling, wailing shriek.
The Cultists immediately stopped moving as if they'd lost their souls, standing dazed in place before being swallowed by the horde of monsters.
"Mr. Snowy Owl! Come over here!"
Miss Sparrow called out anxiously.
Gilan turned to look. The Assembly members and Fima were behind Mr. Stork, who held the Steel-core Cane in his left hand and raised the Old Military Saber high in his right.
The Prisoner Monsters charging toward them seemed not to see them at all. They went straight past the group, even keeping a deliberate distance, and pounced only on the few surviving Cultists.
Gilan ran over and darted back to the group in a few breaths.
As soon as he arrived, he heard Mr. Oystercatcher exclaim with delight:
"It really works! This saber can drive those Demons away!"
"That scared me to death..." Miss Sparrow lightly clutched the collar at her chest and let out a long breath. "I thought those monsters were going to eat us."
"Stay close to me. Don't fall behind."
Mr. Stork turned his head and spoke to them in a low voice.
Then he raised the saber high and set off toward the depths of the forest, with the others following close behind.
As the grotesque monsters passed by, Fima smelled the stench of decay they gave off and trembled with fear. She could barely stay on her feet without Miss Seagull supporting her.
Even Miss Seagull, usually so composed and calm at Fima's side, had gone a little pale.
Only after they had walked a long way and could no longer see the monsters did they finally relax their taut nerves.
Miss Seagull glanced back at Gilan, as though something had occurred to her. She released one hand from supporting Fima and rummaged through her little shoulder bag.
"Mr. Snowy Owl, here."
Gilan heard someone call him, then suddenly saw a fair, delicate hand held out before him.
It held a handful of golden-yellow bullets.
Gilan looked up and gave Miss Seagull a questioning look.
"I noticed you haven't fired in a while. Are you out of bullets?"
She asked softly.
Gilan stared at her silently for two seconds. Only after Miss Seagull involuntarily turned her head away did he speak:
"Thank you. I really am out of ammunition."
He took the bullets she offered, accidentally brushing her fair, slender hand. He could feel that her palm was cold and sweaty.
She's nervous? That makes sense. Faced with those monsters, even the most capable woman would be nervous.
Gilan thought to himself.