He took the script of an exorcism legend, but became the number one anti-fraud expert.

Disorganized footsteps echoed from the edge of the humus forest.

The guardsmen made their way back to the Black Swamp in small numbers.

The blinding light made Benjamin squint, so he quickly looked down and focused his attention on the collapsed ground beneath his feet.

"Damn it! Throw this thing off!"

A panicked shout came from the soldier next to him, who grabbed at his head and waist with his bare hands.

But in Benjamin's eyes, there was nothing on the soldier; he was just scare himself by thinking there was a spider on him.

So Benjamin stopped and, after confirming there were no spiders on him, quickly gave the order:

"Maintain formation, and check your teammates for spiders!"

Some calmer soldiers also began checking themselves, and after confirming there were no spiders around, they stopped and went to help others.

Just after killing several palm-sized spider larvae, a rustling sound came from the forest.

After piercing the last spider-like evil spirit, about the size of a tarantula, that had fallen into the mud with Brownbes's bayonet, Pete, panting heavily, said:

"Although there is no sun today, the daylight is enough to drive away these weaklings."

John's eyes were fixed on the darkness of the forest as he added, "That's right, if it weren't for the grandmother spiders..."

"Damn John! Shut your mouth!"

Hearing Pete's roar, Benjamin suddenly recalled some unpleasant experience.

Last time on the shore, just as we were breathing a sigh of relief after defeating the drowned ghost, John suddenly said that the loud noise might attract other evil spirits, and then the four armored fishmen appeared.

The Grandmother Spider that they were facing was also an evil spirit mentioned only briefly in the "Exorcism Manual," which seemed to indicate that it was not something they could deal with either.

However, while Benjamin was still secretly wondering whether the Grandmother Spider existed,

A pair of deep, dark red eyes, like those of a demon from hell, were glaring angrily at everyone.

"John! Listen to me, your mouth stinks more than the rotting flesh of a drowned ghost!" Pete roared in fury.

It's obvious that this has happened at least twice already.

"God above, I have never seen such large spider eyes. Are we going to die?"

Abby looked ready to run at any moment, perhaps because even if Benjamin treated him more like a human being than Avery, he was unwilling to risk his life for it.

"These spiderlings we just killed are nothing; they can't cause any harm at all. Those webs weren't even woven by them..."

Before Pete could finish speaking, Benjamin had already guessed what he was about to add.

A swarm of spiders, each about the size of a medium-sized dog, emerged from the forest.

And in the darkness, the large eyes, which hadn't moved an inch from beginning to end, remained fixed on the scene, like the supreme commander sounding the charge to attack.

"Damn it, these spiders are the real problem."

Pete raised his gun and fired, followed by a loud bang: "What are you waiting for?!"

The soldiers quickly raised their guns and fired wildly, white smoke rising in front of them after the gunshots, before they hurriedly reloaded.

But......

The inefficient firing rate was simply not enough to deal with the swarming army of spiders.

Not only are they lightweight, so they don't get any hindrance when stepping on the soil, but these spiders are also incredibly fast.

Not to mention that their numbers far outnumbered the guard regiment's manpower.

"Quick! Shoot! Don't let these spiders touch me! My face will melt!"

Viktor fled in panic behind the group, Benjamin no longer had the energy to care why this powerful undead described in the manual looked so weak.

"Everyone! As planned, use shields for protection, two people to finish off the attackers, and one person to fire!"

"But Lieutenant! There's no time to fire!" the soldier warned.

"I told you to shoot that grandmother spider in the forest!"

Pete understood immediately; he grasped Benjamin's meaning.

"That's right! These spiders couldn't possibly abandon their duty to protect the grandmother spider and fire into the forest!"

At this point, the small, malevolent spiders had already been suppressed by the army.

Unlike ghouls, they are agile, leaping and attaching themselves to soldiers in a single bound.

The soldiers at the front could only rely on their teammates behind them to use bayonets to slash the spiders away. However, because they were afraid of accidentally injuring friendly forces, the soldiers who were finishing off the spiders were slow, resulting in the soldiers in each team who were holding up shields to block being bitten by the spiders.

"Ouch! Get this disgusting thing off!"

"Fire! Aim at the grandmother spider!" Pete fired into the forest while dealing with the spider in front of him.

The scene descended into chaos for a moment.

The mud beneath their feet restricted their movements, and the agile spiders were unstoppable.

Worse still, perhaps enraged by being hit by concentrated fire,

At the dark edge of the forest, several giant spider legs covered in down and with joints as hard as armor emerged.

"Fuck! Fire!"

The remaining people also saw that the giant grandmother spider seemed to be testing whether it could come out, so they quickly opened fire.

"Awooo—!"

After being repeatedly struck, the grandmother spider finally let out a sharp, piercing roar—the first time Benjamin had ever heard a spider roar.

However, since the other party was not an ordinary spider, he had no interest in recording the sound.

only......

His group was on the verge of collapse due to the sheer number of spiders, and several spiders had already bypassed Pete and John and were heading towards him.

The repulsive evil spirit was getting closer, making it impossible for him to think clearly.

A certain mechanism in my mind was immediately triggered.

Benjamin's mind was on the verge of collapse. Spiders were his greatest fear, and he became numb and panicked. A series of negative emotions overwhelmed his thoughts, and as he watched his team about to be wiped out, his pressure increased dramatically...

Benjamin was overjoyed; if only virtue could be awakened...

[Perseverance Test.....]

[Virtue: 111%]

[Torment: 157%]

[Converting probabilities....]

[Torture 157% > Virtue 111%]

【...】

[The US and Germany have met the testing requirements, but activation has failed.]

[The torture has met the detection requirements and activation has been successful.]

"..."

[Benjamin, leading a team for the first time as a second lieutenant, encountered his weakness: unable to overcome his fear quickly, he could only turn his panic into strength...]

[Successfully Awakened Through Torture]

hiss--!

Benjamin had a splitting headache and his body was swaying precariously.

However, my vision became clear, just like when I've drunk too much alcohol but haven't felt any stomach discomfort yet.

His heart was pounding, and he could hear the thumping in his chest; the sensation was somewhat unfamiliar.

Then, my brain went numb, and my feet felt lightheaded.

Having experienced virtue, Benjamin now sensed a contrast.

This is not a positive emotion; it lacks any grand momentum. Instead, it's a negative and unbearable sense of resentment.

Because anger won't make him rational....

[Benjamin's Grit Test Successfully Completed]

[Awakening to the first torment of my life—rage!]

He wanted to vent, to cause chaos, and everything around him made him unable to control his urge to attack.

"Benjamin!"

It's so noisy.

Shut up!

"Benjamin!"

Benjamin frowned. He looked at Pete, whose face was filled with fear as he stared at him. Following Pete's gaze, Benjamin lowered his head.

He saw a spider crawl right onto his arm, but he couldn't feel any weight at all.

Just as he was wondering what this guy was up to, the spider suddenly bit down.

He could feel a sharp, stinging pain through his black guard robe.

"FUCK!!"

Benjamin flung his hand away, and the spider was immediately thrown into the dirt with a thud.

Seeing the two dark holes in his arm, he knew he was injured; blood was pooling in the wounds.

He was angry and very unhappy that he had gotten hurt.

So Benjamin raised his musket and fired a shot at the spider on the ground.

'Bang!'

The spider's massive abdomen exploded, spurting out a thick, yellow liquid that splashed all over the spider.

After a few shakes, the spider, like a roasted branch, curled up its legs and remained motionless.

"Damn it! You bastard! How dare you bite me!"

Benjamin didn't spare the already dead spider; he stomped on it relentlessly until the spider's corpse was unrecognizable.

Why are you injured? I'm a lieutenant!

"Die! Die!"

"Benjamin!!" Pete's repeated calls finally pulled him back to reality.

Benjamin looked up at Pete, whose face was filled with worry, and then glanced around at the routed soldiers.

For some reason, a strong sense of dissatisfaction welled up inside him, so he loudly questioned:

"You bunch of useless trash! You can't even protect your superiors, what good are you?!"

"..."

All the soldiers were stunned. Although Benjamin was right, it did not seem like the right decision for a commander to criticize his subordinates in a negative tone during the battle.

Because pressure can break people down, it's not that exorcists lack the willpower to withstand tests.

Ordinary people under excessive stress may die of heart failure or go insane.

But Benjamin didn't care about all that; he simply spoke his true thoughts.

These lazy soldiers, besides complaining about not having money, also never trained.

Oh, and we also have to blame that damned Avery. That fat pig never seriously trained these useless people!

"You bunch of useless trash, wait until I kill this damned evil spirit, then I'll deal with you!"

After saying that, he ignored Pete and John's advice and ran headlong into the forest.