What made Javier even more puzzled was how these bats came to be… and how they suddenly gathered all at once.
If there wasn't a mastermind behind it, Javier certainly wouldn't believe it.
After all, bats aren't stupid creatures like zombies or Plague Crawlers; they can think and have their own communication system.
Such infected creatures that can unite and divide labor like bees and ants are undoubtedly the most troublesome type!
"Clang—!"
"Rebecca, Billy Coen, are you two alright? Where did all these bats come from?"
Kicking open the study door, Javier ran out of the priest's study.
Looking at the dense, dark mass of infected bats on the church ceiling, his expression couldn't help but change, and he asked with an extremely shocked look.
Javier thought there would be many bats, but he didn't expect so many.
He originally thought there would only be twenty or thirty, but there were seventy or eighty, even nearly a hundred.
This number… was enough to devour the three of them alive.
If this wasn't the Resident Evil plot, Javier would have to wonder if he had entered the world of Vampires.
How could there be so many bats, and concentrated in such numbers!
"Bang—Bang—Bang—Bang—!!!!"
"I don't know, who knows how so many bats suddenly appeared.
They were fine just now, then there was a sudden strange noise, and this dense swarm of bats all poured in together!"
"Javier, be careful.
These bats are infected.
If you get bitten… the consequences would be unimaginable!"
Bursts of gunfire rang out, and sparks splattered inside the church.
Rebecca and Billy Coen also replied with grim expressions.
Bullets swiftly struck the dark bats flapping in mid-air, and one by one, they fell like devils with broken wings, struggling on the ground for a few moments before going still.
These bats originally intended to swarm them, taking the opportunity to bite off a piece of flesh from Rebecca and Billy Coen.
But they didn't expect the two's firepower to be so fierce.
Their 9mm police pistol magazines quickly emptied, and each fired their shotguns rapidly.
The sudden, powerful firepower caught these bats off guard.
Watching large numbers of their kind fall, these bats also lost their momentum and immediately lost the desire to attack.
They all flew in circles in mid-air, waiting to see which of their kind would be the first to organize the next attack!
But unfortunately, once a species possesses the ability to think and communicate, they are generally very cunning.
None of the bats wanted to be the scapegoat and continue to take hits.
They could only hover hesitantly in mid-air, not daring to launch an attack for a while!
After all, if you think about it, besides insects like ants and bees, what pack-hunting mammals—typical examples being wolves, hyenas, rats, or even monkeys—aren't synonymous with cunning and cleverness?
Bats are the same; they won't foolishly sacrifice themselves.
Besides… at this very moment, their true "master" had not yet arrived.
As subordinates of the group, they would not easily obey the other party's commands—!
Meanwhile, Javier, looking at the bats that were hesitant to attack, understood the cunning and cowardice of these creatures.
After quickly scanning the church environment, he soon came up with a countermeasure and hastily spoke loudly:
"…"
"Rebecca, Billy Coen, there's a study behind me, a priest's study in the church.
We'll use the study as a fortress with our backs to it.
All of you hide inside, block the cracks in the windows, and then throw out all the books from the church to burn them, using the flames to block their attack!"
Yes, this was Javier's plan.
He had just remembered that there was a study in the church where they could hide.
Staying in the center of the prayer hall was too passive; they could be attacked by bats from all directions.
Therefore, they needed a retreat to hide, and without a doubt, the church's study was the last retreat.
This retreat would not be subjected to sneak attacks by bats, nor would it leave them vulnerable from front and back.
As long as they hid with their backs to the study, they could slowly drive away these bats with fire and pistol bullets!
After all, the aggressiveness of these bats was not particularly strong compared to zombies and Plague Crawlers.
The main problem was their sheer numbers and how difficult they were to defend against.
If they could be confined to a cage and fought slowly, these mutated bats were actually no different from ordinary bats…
Upon hearing Javier's words, Rebecca and Billy Coen's eyes lit up.
They quickly ran into the church's study while still firing.
The windows in the study could very likely be smashed by the bats, so Rebecca and Billy Coen quickly used desks and bookshelves to block them.
And the Bibles and mythological books piled on top were all taken out and thrown at the study's entrance.
Billy Coen grabbed a lighter and started burning them!
"Puff—"
A faint flame ignited—the moment it touched the paper, it quickly began to spread.
The fire grew fiercer and fiercer, thick smoke billowed, and the temperature in the church slowly began to rise.
This seemed like a foolish act of blocking their own exit, burning flames at the study door, an idiotic method of trapping their only exit.
But in reality, this was a double-edged sword.
Piling flames at the only exit to burn, rather than calling it self-destruction, Javier preferred to call it breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats.
The historical allusion of Overlord Xiang Yu breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats for a desperate battle was not unknown.
While blocking the door with flames blocked his own retreat, it also blocked the bats' advance.
It was just a matter of who could utilize it better.
If used well, it was breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats for a desperate battle; if they lost, then it was foolish…
"…"
"Squeak… Squeak…!!!"
As expected, after a large amount of fire burned at the study door, the temperature rose, coupled with the invasion of flames and thick smoke, causing the group of bats on the church roof to suddenly get into trouble.
They all fluttered in mid-air, unwilling to come down, not even wanting to get close.
Some bats were even choked by the thick smoke, directly kicking their thin legs, rolling their eyes, and falling heavily to the ground with a "thud," seemingly having fainted.
After all, this was the thick smoke from a fire, the most dangerous gas in a fire, containing harmful substances such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide.
In most fires, trapped victims faint due to excessive smoke inhalation; very few actually die from being burned by the flames.
Therefore, the thick smoke from these burning books was actually the most potent weapon.
In the wild, people often use smoke to fumigate gophers, bees, and so on, which is very effective.
Even if these bats were infected, they could not be immune to the harm of thick smoke!
They began to fall to the ground one by one—!
Seeing this, Javier's face lit up with joy.
He was wearing a gas mask and wouldn't inhale large amounts of thick smoke and collapse to the ground like these bats.
To prevent these bats from not being completely dead, Javier even picked up the unburned fiery books and smashed them onto the unconscious bats on the ground.
The flames touched their furry skin and quickly started burning.
The bats, originally unconscious, painfully woke up again, struggling desperately on the ground, but it was futile, and they soon died again!
"Pfft… Pfft…"
The entire holy church was completely transformed into a vast ocean of fire, an incredibly spectacular sight.
It resembled the burning of Joan of Arc, the Holy Maiden of God, by the ignorant commoners and cowardly king in ancient times.
The flames were fierce and fervent, burning away the black defilement within the church.
As for those classic church Bibles, Javier was indifferent—books, by their very nature, were meant to be "used"…
It's just that the method of use is different now, but it doesn't matter.
If these Bibles can be used to save a few lives, then surely our merciful Lord won't blame these lost lambs, right?
After all, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, not to mention three lives, which is twenty-one.
Our Lord should be very willing to accept this merit.
At the very least… Javier can spend a few dollars to photocopy some Bibles at a bookstore later and promote the benefits of Christianity to the children in our orphanage, right?
"…"
"Pat-a… Pat-a…"
More and more bats could no longer endure the thick smoke from the flames and dared not approach Javier to bite him, because Javier was covered in protective gear and also protected by the flames.
Over time… in the entanglement, these bats finally couldn't withstand Javier, who was wearing a gas mask, and one by one, they completely fell from mid-air to the ground.
Some clever and cunning bats quickly flapped their wings and flew outside the church, starting to breathe fresh air.
They weren't foolish; if they continued to entangle, they would truly be annihilated.
Seeing this situation, Javier sighed with regret, but it didn't matter… because fifty or sixty bats had already died inside the church.
The remaining twenty or thirty were insignificant; they posed no threat, so let them escape!
However, although that's what he said, Javier seemed to have forgotten one thing: this church setting directly leads to a boss battle.
This group of bats couldn't be called a boss.
The real boss had just arrived, and the true battle was just beginning!
"Hiss—!"
"Squeak… Squeak… Squeak…"
At this moment, just as Javier and the two others were about to relax their guard, thinking that nothing was truly wrong, a sharp, piercing shriek suddenly came from above the church ceiling, causing the three of them to instinctively cover their ears.
This sound was completely different from the low growls and roars of the zombie monsters before.
This piercing shriek carried a strong penetrating force, as if it would pierce their eardrums.
If one had to describe it… it was actually a sonic attack!
Could it be—a larger bat had arrived at the church?
Chapter 42: Flame Magic
Just by hearing this piercing sound wave, one could understand that the giant mutated bat… had arrived!
"Roar, roar, roar—!!!!"
The terrifying sonic wave was incredibly penetrating, causing Javier and the two others hiding in the church to feel a sharp pain in their eardrums.
They couldn't help but vigorously cover their ears, their faces extremely grim.
This was the first time they had encountered such a magical attack, an attack that completely ignored any defense.
"Chirp, chirp, chatter… Chirp, chirp, chatter…"
And even more unbelievable was that after this piercing sound wave, the dozens of mutated bats that had survived outside the church suddenly became agitated, as if they had received some kind of berserk buff.
They also shrieked and roared in response, their dark flapping wings as annoying as mosquitoes.
"Wait… no, Rebecca, Billy Coen!"
"You two quickly hide in the study.
This sound wave isn't just an attack; it should also be a distress call used by the bats to summon their companions.
Damn it… what kind of big creature has arrived now?"
His face changed.
While marveling at the sonic wave's penetrating power, Javier also instantly realized that something was wrong and quickly spoke loudly to Rebecca and Billy Coen at the study door, reminding them.
Yes… a big creature.
A bat that could emit such a piercing sound wave was definitely a big creature!
And merely its sound could make the surrounding small bats so agitated, it was undoubtedly a lord-level creature.
These mutated bats were all commanded by the sound of this large creature.
Although Javier didn't know how many bats actually resided in the Akeley Mountains, there were at least tens of thousands.
Therefore… Javier couldn't even imagine how terrifying and horrifying the scene would be if the big creature outside could summon all the bats in the Akeley Mountains, with that massive, dark swarm of bats attacking them.
That was something completely unimaginable.
Even if they stayed inside the church, if tens of thousands of bats all crashed into the church like bombers at once, the church walls would probably be completely smashed!
So, Javier quickly reminded Rebecca and Billy Coen to hide well.
He could only pray now that the big creature outside couldn't summon all the bats in the Akeley Mountains, and could only summon some infected bats from the Institute.
If that were the case, at least there would still be a chance to fight—!
"What…?"
"Javier, you're saying the creature outside can summon even more bats?"
"Damn it… is this still the real world?!"
Listening to Javier's words, Rebecca and Billy Coen's expressions also changed, and they spoke with great shock.
What kind of joke was this?
A bat that could casually summon minions, Count Dracula?
Movies coming to life? Or art imitating life?
"Bang—!"
However, just as Javier was about to say something else, a loud bang suddenly interrupted the three's thoughts, making them instinctively look up at the church ceiling above them.