The Plaga Parasite Villagers continued to surround Leon, seemingly unafraid of death, making him feel immense pressure.
"Hoo hoo hoo…"
"He's here… (Está aquí.)"
"His head, his head, his head, (Su cabeza)!"
"Don't let him escape the Salazar Castle (No lo dejes escapar del Castillo)!"
"Death is life, death is life, death is life… (La muerte es vida…)"
A low, hoarse hiss continuously emanated from their mouths.
The familiar lines once again echoed in his ears, but… the chanting of these cultists was so terrifying that it made one's scalp tingle, and coupled with the unique Spanish language, it completely maximized the sense of oppression.
Leon and Ashley did not feel the same nostalgia as Javier; instead, they were filled with panic.
"Ashley!"
"Stay close to me! We'll escape that way!"
Seeing this,
Leon no longer held back, his pump-action shotgun rapidly firing, bullets quickly depleting, forcefully blasting open a clear path. Seizing the opportunity, Leon quickly pulled Ashley and fled towards the large door on the left side of the Salazar Castle hall.
"…"
"Catch them (Atrapalos)!!!"
The Plaga Parasite Villagers behind him, sprayed by Leon's shotgun, did not die. Instead, with a roar, they all propped themselves up from the ground. Then, their heads quickly burst open, and the Plaga Parasite Villagers all chose to become Exploding Bugs. The longer and more severely infected the host, the more likely they were to burst.
There are many types of Exploding Bugs from the Plaga parasite. The first type is the scythe-shaped one commonly seen in the village, with tentacles connected to a swinging scythe, wide attack range, and fast attack speed, making it a very strong type in close-quarters combat.
The second type is a spitting insect that resembles a centipede. A new Plaga parasite head grows from its head, with wildly flailing limbs around it, and a round mouth in the middle that can spray foul-smelling acid for strong corrosion.
The large, round mouth can also completely envelop the target's head in one bite, then sever the neck, and finally swallow the entire head into its stomach.
And because of the acid and the round mouth, they are the best excavators. Often, they can drill out of walls from various corners through acid corrosion and continuous digging with their teeth, making them impossible to guard against and the most troublesome existence.
There is also a third type that possesses powerful, steel-bladed mandibles like an ant. Two pairs of huge and sharp mandibles can easily cut through steel plates. They belong to a relatively common type, but are also very troublesome. As for their preference, they also like to decapitate others' heads.
The last type of Exploding Bug is a soul-bone possession, a Gundam pilot, a facehugger mutated version, or rather, the original Plaga parasite, which bursts from the host's back, not its head.
It crawls on the ground like a scorpion, very fast, and after bursting, it will quickly seek out a new host, tear open flesh, and re-parasitize.
These types,
no matter which one, are all very difficult to deal with…
And now, having just entered the Salazar Castle, without a doubt, the most common Exploding Bugs are the scythe-shaped and acid-spitting types.
Watching the Plaga Parasite Villagers behind him transform into monsters, Leon's expression changed. He quickly pulled a High-explosive grenade from his waist and threw it behind him.
He then quickened his pace, pulling Ashley to escape towards the door on the left, while simultaneously kicking the Salazar Castle hall door shut again.
"Boom—!!!"
A loud bang.
The High-explosive grenade exploded.
Leon had no idea what was happening behind him; he just wanted to get Ashley out of danger as quickly as possible…
…
On the other side—
Just as Leon and Ashley were already in a desperate escape within the Salazar Castle, Javier and White Wolf inexplicably stumbled into the dungeon.
Beneath Salazar Castle, there is a dungeon specifically used for interrogating prisoners. Although with the development of the times, dungeons and torture have gradually lost their purpose, even so… the Salazar Family still has not abandoned this tradition.
Because it is the only form of punishment for criminals who betray the Salazar Family. The cold dungeon can ensure that the Plaga Parasite Villagers keep their loyalty firmly in mind.
Although the methods are ruthless, they are indispensable. Therefore, the dungeon has not been abandoned; it continues to exist…
"But…"
"Why am I so unlucky to end up in this place?"
Looking at the pitch-black surroundings, Javier couldn't help but mutter and complain.
The dark dungeon of Salazar Castle is filled with a mixed, nauseating smell: rot, stench, blood, and excrement. Rather than a dungeon, it's more like a garbage disposal pit.
The dungeon is incredibly cold.
The surrounding walls and stone bricks are covered with dried bloodstains, uncleaned for a long time. Various torture instruments hang on the walls, sending shivers down one's spine.
The entire dungeon space is vast, and the lighting is dim; only the steps at the entrance have a faint glow, while the interior is dark. Javier could even faintly hear a low, chilling hiss that made his scalp tingle.
"Hoo hoo hoo…"
"Awooo—!!!"
The source of the hiss was very far away,
but even so, it made the very vigilant White Wolf let out a low growl, baring his teeth, and quickly stood in front of Javier, warning the creature hiding inside to stay away, and also alerting Javier, as the Wolf King, to be careful.
Looking at the White Wolf so loyal by his side,
Javier was even more fond of him. He crouched down and gently stroked White Wolf's head, reassuring him not to worry or be afraid.
He also fixed his gaze on the dungeon before him. This felt somewhat like accidentally stumbling into a boss stage.
Javier had originally intended to steal all the treasures and antiques within Salazar Castle, but he hadn't expected to accidentally enter the dungeon.
It was all because the Salazar Castle was too large, but since he was already here, Javier had no reason to miss the opportunity to earn points.
The dungeon before him was actually the early Salazar Castle boss battle stage.
That is the Claw (Garrador)—
Garrador (Garador) is the territory of the Claw. "Garrador" means a person with Claws. Sadler's team created these physically enhanced berserkers using the Plaga parasite, possessing excellent combat abilities.
Their original bodies were transformed from torturers who had served the Salazar Family for generations. Given their penchant for tormenting people, Raymond, as the Salazar Castle lord, provided this opportunity for their transformation.
This is often referred to as the blind Wolverine in the game.
He is shirtless, with strong, muscular physique, and very tall. Although he doesn't have the over two-meter height of a Tyrant, he is still over one meter ninety. He wears an iron helmet and has an iron chain around his neck, symbolizing a dog leash.
His thick arms are fitted with three sharp, barbed iron Claws, which can easily pierce a target's abdomen with a slight thrust, effortlessly pulling out the prey's intestines.
The Plaga parasite is located on the spine between the shoulder blades on his back, making it very easy to burst out.
Initially, Sadler's team encountered considerable trouble when creating the Claw (Garrador).
Although the Claw's destructive power was terrifying, it could not be controlled like other Plaga parasite villagers. Essentially, it lacked reason and was extremely violent.
It would attack any visible target, including other Plaga parasite brethren. Only mental control types like the Red Cardinal and Sadler himself could control it using the Plaga parasite staff.
Therefore,
to compensate for this flaw,
the experimental team sewed up the Claw's eyelids. Without vision, everything would be dark, so the Claw wouldn't attack targets without reason and would fall into a temporary calm.
However, because of this, the Claw also gained excellent hearing. Any movement in the dark would be immediately detected, and it would instantly launch an attack.
Hence, this is the origin of the "blind" moniker.
As for the "Wolverine" nickname,
to be honest… this thing, with its steel helmet and incredibly strong physique, looks more like Juggernaut stole Wolverine's claws—
And this boss stage,
was originally a honeymoon cooperation dungeon for Leon and Ashley, but it was unexpectedly assigned to Javier, which is quite peculiar.
But it doesn't matter.
Since Javier encountered it, he had no intention of escaping. Moreover, he wanted to verify a game bug.
So, he slowly entered the dungeon with White Wolf, wandering around the dark and cold dungeon with a flashlight. He soon found several long-dead mummified corpses, which made Javier frown.
"Hoo hoo hoo…"
"Clank clank clank…"
But because of this,
the beast's panting in the dark and cold dungeon became clearer and clearer, as if it was breathing right next to Javier's ear, incredibly eerie. The clanking sound of chains was also very terrifying.
If he hadn't known in advance what kind of monster was imprisoned inside, an ordinary person would probably have been scared away immediately, as the atmosphere was truly exceptionally terrifying.
"Awooo—!!!"
And at this moment,
the White Wolf, unable to contain his fear, could no longer hold back and continued to howl furiously at the dark and cold dungeon before him. Waves of wolf howls echoed throughout the entire dungeon.
And the huge black shadow imprisoned inside seemed to notice this commotion and began to awaken, with even more violent chain-swinging sounds coming like thunder—!
Chapter 41: Blind? Deaf? Or Foolish…?
Hearing White Wolf's provocative howl,
the Claw, hidden deep within the dungeon, could no longer endure it. He immediately twisted his body frantically on the iron frame that bound him.
He tried to break free from the iron frame's restraints. Ever since the guard who fed him died, he had been hungry for a long time in this cold dungeon.
And relying on the Plaga parasite's parasitism, he wouldn't die directly from lack of food; instead, he could endure for a very long time…
But now,
new prey had intruded into the dungeon.
In addition to his incredibly acute hearing, the Claw mostly smelled the scent of living creatures wafting through the air.
If he could,
he would immediately tear off his restraints, charge forward, and directly rip open the abdomens of White Wolf and Javier, these two prey, then gulp down all their intestines, and then completely clean out the rest of their internal organs.
After all, he was extremely hungry.
Unlike other Plaga Parasite Villagers, the Claw does not like to eat the heads of its prey. The sticky brain matter offers no improvement to his tiny intellect.
On the contrary,
like a hyena or vulture on the African savanna, what he likes to eat most are the internal organs of his prey, because they are the freshest, most delicious, and easiest to digest.
"Hoo hoo hoo…!!!"
"Roar roar roar—!!!"
Finally,
a roar of rage finally erupted.
The sound was incredibly deep and hoarse, and in an instant, Javier locked onto the direction and source of the sound. The only remaining light from the small flashlight shone over, and he immediately saw the Claw's true appearance.
At this moment, this monster was bound and restrained on an iron frame.
He was a powerful giant.
Chains bound his neck and limbs, like a cathartic object that could be wantonly whipped. His tall body was several heads taller than Javier, and his strong muscles were covered in dense whip marks, indicating he had suffered a lot of torment.
A pitch-black, specialized steel helmet was tightly clamped around the Claw's neck, like a muzzle on a wild dog. Yellowed, foul-smelling teeth were clearly visible through the muzzle, and one could even faintly see thick saliva oozing from the corners of his mouth, indicating he was truly ravenously hungry.
However, the most noticeable feature should be his eyes, which had been cruelly sewn shut with needle and thread.
He couldn't open his eyelids at all, and even if he tried desperately to see the outside world, it was futile. He was truly a pitiful fellow.
And besides that,
there were the huge Claws equipped on the Claw. They were pitch-black, still stained with dried blood, making it clear that not a few people had died at the Claw's hands. This powerful weapon and strong physique made him a very effective killing machine.
Moreover, the Claw's burst speed is very fast.
Once trapped in a confined space with this terrifying fellow, it would absolutely be an unimaginable nightmare. When playing the game, Javier was once defeated by the Claw, resulting in several different "Game Over" screens, making it one of his childhood traumas.
Compared to the terror of the Regenerator, the Claw's impact was more about the sense of oppression, the feeling of helplessness when he attacked you…