His pupils shifted, and he asked a question: "Can you beat them?"
"..."
The mech-girl didn't speak, just glanced once.
That look was very clear: I can take care of myself; the critical problem is you, the dead weight.
Leonard Churchill immediately understood and laughed it off.
Compared to the coming challenge, he didn't think these mercenaries were much of a threat.
On the contrary, more people signaled more chances for trial and error.
...
Being professional mercenaries, the men in arms easily detected the tracks of the two from the traces on the ground.
"Captain, there are people here!"
Once Leonard and his companion were discovered, both parties acted cautiously.
Fighting was not an option.
The other party was a dozen strong, and the chance of accidentally injuring some weakling was very high.
Leonard signaled his partner not to act rashly, held up his hands, and took the initiative to say, "Everyone, we mean you no harm."
Seeing him step out of the room with his hands up, the bald hulk leading the other party inspected him briefly, lowered his guard somewhat, and asked, "Did you kill the monster outside?"
Anyone in this situation knew that the biggest threat was the monster; rash confrontation was not a rational choice.
"Yes."
"We were lucky," Leonard responded. "In the battle with the monster, we shattered a wall and discovered this place."
From the mercenaries' responses, he guessed that they hadn't recognized the carnage outside for what it was.
Not everyone knew of the A-rank Catastrophe, Fallen Witch Sect.
At least within this duplication, all who had seen it in its monster form were dead.
Otherwise, if they recognized it, these mercenaries' attitudes would definitely have been more respectful.
While speaking, Leonard didn't forget to gather information. "What exactly happened? Why did this space suddenly increase in difficulty?"
The bald hulk seemed to know something, but he did not answer.
He scrutinized the two of them, then asked again. "Have you discovered anything?"
Possibly because Leonard and the mech-girl seemed like disorganized practitioners, this man's demeanor reflected the arrogance and domination of their numerical superiority.
With several guns pointed at his head, Leonard wore a pragmatic expression and replied, "Oh. We just discovered a vault, but we couldn't open it."
Being a professional actor, he flawlessly embodied the lucky adventurer who had managed to survive this far by sheer dumb luck.
"A vault?"
Although skeptical, the bald hulk found no flaws to note.
However, the mention of a "vault" immediately drew everyone's attention.
Intuition told them: this was the key clue!
With the dark muzzles of several guns trained on them, Leonard and the mech-girl tactfully stepped back.
Two mercenaries went in to confirm and yelled, "Captain, there really is a vault."
The bald captain immediately ordered, "Old Six, try to open it."
A scrawny mercenary from the group went in, replying, "Understood."
A mature Mercenary Corps would have various specialists, like the God Thief Sequence, who were skilled at opening treasure chests and disarming traps.
Seeing the lock-picking tools brought out by the man, Leonard knew he was a professional.
But he wasn't worried that they would open the vault only to find it empty.
Because time did not permit.
Until then, the pair's movements had been minimal and stealthy.
Now, with the commotion they'd caused, if a monster were nearby, it should have arrived by now.
He pulled the mech-girl next to a wall, positioning themselves so that monsters couldn't sneak up from behind.
.....
As expected.
All of a sudden, everyone clearly felt an inexplicable chill.
The mech-girl was the first to detect something and warned with a serious tone, "Be careful, something's coming in."
Her fierce gaze swept over the room.
Leonard Churchill was quite relaxed.
Fighting had risks; if an opponent was entirely unbeatable, there was no need to consider risks at all.
His strength was such that worrying was redundant.
He left the combat to his teammates.
His mind was currently sorting and analyzing the complex information he had just found, categorizing it, and then picking out what might be useful. He weighed the current situation and devised contingency plans.
His thoughts raced.
Among the nearby Blackwater mercenaries, it seemed there was indeed an Extraordinary Man with sensory abilities. Soon he discovered something and exclaimed, "Captain, there's Catastrophe energy approaching!"
At these words, over a dozen mercenaries immediately went into combat mode, forming a defensive formation that looked quite professional.
The muzzles of their guns pointed towards the distant lab passage.
For a moment, the vast space was so silent one could hear a pin drop—all breaths held heavily.
...
The difficulty in this Alternate Dimension had now escalated to "unknown", with no one knowing what kind of monster would appear.
The atmosphere was incredibly tense.
Suddenly!
Shadows flickered around the distant lab corner, and several human-shaped spiders raced out from the ceiling.
It was as if cold water had splashed into a hot pan. The entire lab went into an uproar all at once.
"Da-da-da-da..."
"Dong-dong-dong-dong..."
Various artillery fire rained down like a storm, the deafening noise as if one was in the midst of rampant drumming.
The flashing gun muzzles looked like radiant elves in the dark, flickering and bouncing, illuminating the tense and fearful faces.
It had to be said, the combat power of these Blackwater mercenaries was reflected in their equipment.
All sorts of heavy weaponry and Steam Black Technology demonstrated immense destructive power. Steam Warhammer, High-pressure Spray Gun, Mechanical Harpoon...
The individual boilers attached to these burly men were even larger and more formidable.
The team of around a dozen moved harmoniously, their alternating firepower covering each other, leaving no opportunity for the monsters.
The moment these human-shaped spiders showed themselves, they were riddled with bullet holes.
Compared to the monster, Leonard Churchill was more intrigued by the Magic Cards.
He witnessed a new kind of Magic Card in battle.
He watched as the Bald captain flung out several red cards. Near the monsters, they suddenly exploded like hand grenades.
He could fling multiple cards at once, and as long as the flinging skills were good, they could even precisely detonate.
These were far more useful than hand grenades.
However, in the blink of an eye, the monster at the end of his sight had been shot and reduced to bloody pulp on the ground.
But the crisis was far from over.
The girl with a mechanical arm sensed something and her expression grew increasingly solemn.
Leonard Churchill also felt that the level of these monsters was still far from his expectation.
Sure enough!
They had just wiped out a wave of minor monsters and hadn't even had a chance to catch a breath.
Another monster, more than two meters tall, slowly emerged from another tunnel.
It was a monstrous creature with a human head and dog body, grotesque in appearance, missing a hand.
Leonard Churchill looked over, narrowing his eyes slightly.
With such high identification, it was evidently the B-rank Catastrophe from the third floor, room 3045.
But it was no longer the B-rank Catastrophe mentioned in the information.
Sorcery Gambler
Details: First-tier A-rank Catastrophe; it was once a gambler who was punished by having a hand chopped off. Even after it mutated into a monster, it retained its gambler characteristics; a Mysterious Contaminant, skilled in Spell Casting; it would gamble with you for lives, loser dies; it was a talented gambler, don't hope that it won't cheat, and don't hope to escape. If you don't gamble, you will die.
This was a boss associated with Curse-type magic!
Upon seeing this, everyone, including the girl with the mechanical arm, turned white.
Because in the hunter's words, this monster's nickname was: Touch and Die.
P.S Asking for monthly votes, recommendation votes, anything, please! Thank you, everyone!