America: The Cremator

Chapter 108 The Spoon Killer!

After a brief bout of dizziness and tinnitus, Sulong opened his eyes again and found himself back in the water dungeon beneath the Cedar Ridge Church.

Dania, Hannah, and Elena turned around almost simultaneously when they heard the sound behind them. They were slightly relieved to see that Sulong had also returned safely.

Elena asked, "What should we do next?"

Su Long patted his shoulder and stretched his aching muscles before slowly saying, "Let's rest here for a bit. We've been fighting in the Inner World for so long, everyone must be tired."

The three of them had no objections and each found a dry and clean area to sit down.

Elena took down the brass lantern, leaned against the stone wall, and carefully examined the lampshade for any cracks.

Hannah squatted on a slightly dry stone slab in the corner, patting the black mud covering the outer layer of her nun's habit. This mud had dried, hardened, and broken during the long battle, and could be easily patted off in large swaths.

Dania hummed some Slavic folk songs as she unloaded the aluminum guitar case from her back and neatly arranged the various parts and tools of the chainsaw inside.

Seeing that the three people all had their own things to do, Su Long also found a relatively dry stone wall to sit down, his consciousness sinking into his mind, and opened the system panel.

He already had a good idea of ​​the two newly upgraded three-star entries, so he just glanced at them to confirm their status before focusing his attention on the two newly acquired entries.

【Screeching Impact☆】

Category: Blessing.

Description: The host can emit powerful sonic waves through the mouth, hitting the enemy and causing a strong physical impact, subsequently inducing dizziness and fear.

Review: Turn the volume up to the maximum!

After reading it, Su Long's eyes lit up. Wasn't this Valak's signature Lion's Roar? In the previous battle, he had been tormented by this ability, so getting such a promising entry from him was definitely worth it.

Then, as Su Long was about to look at the next entry, he noticed that the glow of this entry seemed a bit off. The border of the entry for 【Screaming Impact☆】 was faintly emitting a light.

He turned his gaze back, confirming that he hadn't misread it, and the [King's Aura☆☆] above it was also flashing accordingly, like two magnets aligning their polarities.

Su Long raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised that these two terms could be combined.

He selected both entries simultaneously and confirmed the fusion command.

A pale blue light surged from inside the panel, and the boundaries of the two entries began to move toward each other. The light effect changed from intermittent to continuous, and the brightness rapidly increased within one to two seconds. Then, the outlines of the two entries began to overlap, and a new entry appeared.

【Overlord Aura☆☆】

Category: Blessing.

Introduction: The host will gain a powerful aura of dominance, exerting immense pressure on all living beings. They can unleash mental shockwaves and sonic impacts through their eyes and mouth respectively, inflicting dizziness and fear on hit enemies, simultaneously inflicting severe damage on both the mental and physical levels.

Assessment: A born king! A born leader!

Su Long stared at the introduction and remained silent for a moment.

Merging terms has always been a sure-fire way to make money, with the combined effect almost always being stronger than the original two terms, and this time is no exception.

The [Overlord Aura ☆☆] was much stronger than he had expected, with both mental and physical attacks, giving the opponent almost no time or opportunity to figure out how to respond.

If you can skillfully use two different abilities, you will gain a great advantage in battle.

At this moment, Su Long was itching to test the actual effect, but he looked around at the narrow water prison space and suppressed the idea. The space here was not suitable for any experiment.

Su Long lowered his gaze and began to examine the newly appeared curse entries.

Possessed by an Evil Spirit★

Type: Curse.

Description: From the moment you acquire this entry, an evil spirit will continuously lurk in the dark corners around you, seeking any opportunity to frighten you. The level of fear will gradually increase until you suffer a mental breakdown.

Review: Jumpscare!

Su Long stared at the line of text, his lips twitching downwards.

He killed Shoggoth and gave the middle finger to an A-class devil. The level of intimidation associated with this entry is roughly equivalent to having a blown-up gunshot in the face of an adult film actor while watching a pornographic video. It's far less threatening than the killer butterfly.

He was about to exit the system interface when he noticed that [Evil Spirit Possession★] and the [Butterfly Chase★] that had been lying quietly next to him seemed to have closed the distance a little?

Just as Su Long was judging whether this was an illusion, the two entries suddenly intertwined, like two living snakes writhing together, revealing an ominous color he had never seen before.

As Su Long watched the merging process of the two entries, his eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

Can negative keywords be merged?

To be honest, I didn't issue a fusion command myself!

Does this mean that negative terms can also be merged, and automatically if the conditions are met?

As Su Long watched the ever-changing, eerie light, he silently prayed:

The butterfly's pursuit is a real physical pursuit, while the evil spirit's possession is pure mental harassment. If the two are combined, please don't create a spiritual demon that keeps chasing you, or you'll be completely finished.

The next moment, a new entry appeared before his eyes.

【Spoon Killer★】

Type: Curse.

Description: A curse that perfectly blends the physical threat of a butterfly with the mental threat of an evil spirit! Before the curse disappears, an evil spirit killer will appear, relentlessly pursuing the host with an iron spoon until the host is killed. This evil spirit cannot be killed, is unaffected by exorcisms, and cannot be observed or touched by anyone other than the host.

Evaluation: Do you prefer a copper spoon, an iron spoon, or a silver spoon?

Su Long read through the new entry from beginning to end, his expression turning strange.

Isn't this a character from a creative movie he'd seen before?

I never expected it could be merged into an entry.

Looking at it this way, this new curse entry seems a bit ridiculous. The two entries are combined, resulting in neither a fatal physical threat nor adequate mental torture.

As soon as Su Long closed the panel, a figure quietly appeared in the shadows in the distance.

Judging from his physique, the other person appeared to be a middle-aged man, wearing a loose black hooded suit with the brim pulled low, exposing his face.

His face was an unhealthy pale, almost porcelain-like white, with two dark circles extending downwards below his eyes.

His mouth was clenched in a bared-tooth position, with both upper and lower teeth clearly visible. His right hand held an iron spoon high, bottom down, directly above Su Long's head.

The next moment, the Spoon Killer walked straight past Hannah, stood directly in front of Suron, raised his iron spoon high, and slammed it down on Suron.

"Thump—"

'

The spoon pierced through the headlamp and helmet, landing directly on his head with a clear, dull thud.

The blow made Su Long's head buzz, his scalp throbbed with pain, and his vision almost went out of focus.

That was a really solid hit. If an ordinary person had caught it, they probably would have immediately developed a bruised and swollen bump on their head.

Fortunately, the "Ode to Flesh and Blood" entry always heals injuries that don't damage bones or muscles instantly, preventing the damage from accumulating and causing more serious consequences.

The swelling and flesh damage on Su Long's head subsided instantly, leaving only the lingering pain.

He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself.

"Dong Yi"

The second impact landed in the same spot, cutting off the half-inhaled air in his throat, causing him to cough violently.

Hannah turned her head and asked with concern, "Suron? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Su Long steadied his voice and replied, "It's nothing, the air here isn't very good, I just accidentally choked."

Hannah said "Oh," her gaze lingered on his face for two seconds, then she squatted back down to continue cleaning her nun's habit.

Elena put away her lantern and looked at Su Long: "I'm almost done. What's the plan now?"

Dania also fastened the guitar case, turned her head, and her golden vertical pupils fell on Su Long, waiting for him to speak.

"Thump—"

The third spoonful hit Su Long on the head.

He controlled his facial muscles perfectly, showing no other reaction except for a slight twitch at the corner of his eye, before standing up.

"Next, let's go up and cause trouble."

"What trouble are you looking for?" Hannah looked up, somewhat puzzled.

"Let's make trouble for the person who cut our rope."

After saying that, Su Long took the lead and walked towards the well.

The thick hemp rope hanging from the wellhead had been pulled away, and the broken climbing rope was still lying on the ground.

"Thump—"

'

The iron spoon landed on Su Long's head for the fourth time.

Su Long paused for a moment, enduring the pain, and focused his gaze back on the edge of the well.

Elena glanced at the edge of the well and estimated its height: "I have a way to get up. Surong, can you help me?"

"How do I do it?"

"Bend over, support yourself with your hands on the well wall, and once I'm up, just use your waist to push upwards."

Upon hearing this, Su Long came to the front of the well wall, squatted down, and placed his hands on the stone wall.

Elena hung the lantern on the buckle at her waist. The lantern's light converged inwards, then flowed along her body, from the soles of her boots up her calves and knees, finally enveloping her waist and abdomen.

"alright."

Elena took two steps back, lightly tapped her right foot, and precisely placed her left foot on Sulong's left shoulder.

Su Long seized the opportunity, thrusting his waist upwards and straightening his legs in sync. Elena's legs also exploded at the same time, and the combined force propelled her off Su Long's shoulder.

The airflow made a soft whooshing sound as she rose. At the highest point, her right hand gripped the edge of the well, and then her left hand followed. With both hands, she pulled her body over the edge and landed lightly above.

A brief sound of footsteps rang out, then fell silent. Immediately afterwards, Elena's voice came from the wellhead.

"The rope's coming down, grab on tight, and come up one by one!"

The hemp rope that had been pulled away slowly descended from the well opening and landed in front of everyone.

Suron stepped aside, gesturing for Hannah to go first, followed by Dania, while he himself took the rope last.

"Thump—"

'

As the fifth strike landed, Su Long's hand paused briefly on the rope before he continued climbing, his expression unchanged.

When they reached the well, Elena leaned over and extended her right hand. Sulong grabbed her wrist and, with her help, climbed up to the edge of the well.

The night breeze swept over me, carrying the unique scent of pine resin from the coniferous forest. It was completely different from the cold, damp atmosphere of the water dungeon, giving me a sense of exhilaration as if I had been reborn.

Su Long took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, completely replacing the stale air left in his lungs.

He looked around. To the northeast, the main building of the cathedral was dark, completely submerged in the night, but the two-story building next to it on the south side was still shining.

Surong glanced at the window, guessing that this was most likely where the priest lived, and slowly said, "Let's go, it's time to settle accounts. Let's go and meet the devout priest."

"The possibility of fighting cannot be ruled out. Stay vigilant and be prepared for a potential clash."

"As for what to say and what to ask, I'll handle that."