Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

"Damn it, why are there so many people."

As KP Snow Wind’s words fell, Liu Xing felt a twinge of headache and an inexplicable sense of irritability, his limbs beginning to tingle slightly.

Sure enough, the loss of 4 sanity points at once was a critical threshold. Although he hadn’t entered a temporary state of madness, his condition wasn’t exactly favorable.

Even though KP Snow Wind hadn’t explicitly stated it yet, Liu Xing knew that if he were to pass judgment now, he would probably suffer some debuffs.

"Snap out of it, we need to prepare for combat," the black cat demon suddenly exclaimed.

It was only then that Liu Xing realized he had been zoning out since losing those 4 sanity points. If it weren’t for the black cat demon’s shout, he might not have even known how he would have died later... probably torn to shreds by these Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves.

Nevertheless, Liu Xing still felt nervous. In the past, it had always been him and a group of players against a single mythical creature. Now, it was a large group of mythical creatures against just a few players.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, it was no mere walk in the park for the players; they were the ones being hunted.

So, Liu Xing took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the iron knife in his hand.

Just then, the Gralki doppelgänger in Panlong Lake let out a peculiar roar, and the slaves of these Gralki doppelgängers began picking up various "weapons" from the ground—stones, branches, seashells...

Seeing this, Liu Xing couldn’t help but sigh with relief. It seemed that these Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves still had some distance from their original selves. The slaves created by the Gralki’s main body would have sharp claws when entering combat, giving them a damage bonus of 1d6+1, higher than the usual melee weapons’ damage.

For instance, the iron knife in Liu Xing’s hand only had a damage bonus of 1d6 due to its average craftsmanship.

Therefore, Liu Xing now felt that these Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves were not as difficult to deal with as he had imagined... Of course, if it came to a fight, Liu Xing doubted he could even win one-on-one...

Just as Liu Xing began to wander in his thoughts again, the slaves of the Gralki doppelgängers unexpectedly started using the items in their hands as projectiles, hurling them towards Liu Xing’s group.

However, at the same time, the Black Flood Dragon roared angrily, instantly reverting to its true form, using its massive body to intercept all sorts of projectiles.

The black cat demon standing beside Liu Xing frowned and said, "Green Willow, you and I will go help the old dragon deal with the Gralki. Little Fox, you’ll assist Ryuusei’s group in dealing with these walking corpses. But remember, you must not show mercy. These walking corpses can never turn back into humans."

With that, the black cat demon also reverted to its true form, walking on the surface of the water towards the Gralki, while Green Willow waved her hands, instantly creating a green bridge with the flora around Panlong Lake, pointing straight towards the Gralki doppelgänger in the lake.

As for the Black Flood Dragon, it first used a fierce tail swipe, sending most of the Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves on the shore flying, then followed up with a crushing move, squashing many of the Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves.

Thus, there were only a dozen or so Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves left on the shore, and some of them were already missing limbs.

Seeing this scene, Liu Xing breathed another sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Black Flood Dragon was thorough, clearing out most of the Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves. The remaining ones should be easy to handle with his group’s cooperation with Hu Li.

So, Liu Xing prepared himself for combat against the remaining Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves.

Just then, time froze once again, and KP Snow Wind spoke, "Alright, players, please note that we are about to enter the combat round. First, we need to determine which enemies will attack you during this round. There are a total of 11 Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves. They are labeled from A to K, while each of you players is labeled as follows: Watanabe Ryuusei 1, Ling Ishikawa 2, Zhang Jingxu 3, Wan Chongshan 4, Li Dian 5, and NPC Hu Li 6. Let’s proceed with the relevant judgments."

Gralki doppelgänger slave A, 1d6=2.

Gralki doppelgänger slave B, 1d6=6.

...

Gralki doppelgänger slave K, 1d6=1.

After all the judgments were made, Liu Xing found that both he and Ling Ishikawa were quite lucky, needing to deal with only one Gralki doppelgänger’s slave each. However, Zhang Jingxu and Wan Chongshan were not as fortunate, needing to face three Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves simultaneously. As for Li Dian and Hu Li, they had to deal with two Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves each.

After allocating the enemies, KP Snow Wind continued, "Alright, enemies have been assigned. You players can choose to fight individually or cooperate with other players. Then, the combat rounds will proceed separately. You have one minute to discuss and inform me of your choices."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised by KP Snow Wind’s fairness in giving their group one minute to strategize.

"I think if we team up in pairs, like me and Ling Ishikawa together against one Gralki doppelgänger’s slave, it’s essentially two against four. Though it may seem to balance our enemy count, it’s not favorable for us because Ryuusei and Ling Ishikawa can deal with their enemies first and then come to help us. We should retreat first and lead our enemies around since Panlong Lake is quite spacious," Zhang Jingxu said quickly.

Wan Chongshan nodded and said, "Right, I remember Gralki’s slaves have quite slow movement speed. These weakened versions of Gralki doppelgängers should be even slower. So, we can definitely kite them. I agree with Zhang Jingxu’s idea."

Thus, Liu Xing and the others decided to fight individually.

"Okay, now officially entering the combat round. But let me remind you, even if you choose to fight individually, if you end up getting close or players start helping each other, you will automatically be considered to be fighting together, and the combat rounds will be merged," KP Snow Wind said seriously.

As KP Snow Wind finished speaking, time began to flow again, and Liu Xing and the others instinctively separated into pairs.

Unlike the cautious Liu Xing and his companions, Hu Li spoke casually, "I’ll go up and help you guys deal with a few enemies first. I’ll come to assist you after I’ve finished them off."

With that, Hu Li dashed forward, and the Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves began running towards them.

However, even though they were running, these Gralki doppelgängers’ slaves had essentially become zombies, so their coordination and mobility seemed greatly diminished. Consequently, these slaves stumbled after running a few steps, falling to the ground, then scrambling back up to continue running.

Liu Xing and his group exchanged glances and decided to take the initiative like Hu Li, pulling their assigned enemies away.

Thus, Liu Xing led his opponent, an elderly lady who appeared to be in her sixties or seventies, frail and diminutive, yet her face, now a Gralki doppelgänger’s slave, was twisted and horrifying, with her features contorted beyond recognition.

After confirming his opponent, Liu Xing felt conflicted. Apart from being disfigured, this Gralki doppelgänger’s slave in front of him looked no different from an ordinary elderly person. Thus, Liu Xing found it difficult to attack.

However, fortunately, because Gralki’s slaves were a type of unique mythical creature, transformed from humans by Gralki, their physical condition during their human state also determined their attributes after transformation.

Therefore, Liu Xing knew that the Gralki doppelgänger’s slave in front of him belonged to a weakened version, so as long as his luck wasn’t terrible, he should be able to easily dispatch this Gralki doppelgänger’s slave.

Just then, Liu Xing’s vision blurred as something flew past him at lightning speed.

Turning his head, Liu Xing saw that the Gralki’s doppelgänger was now engaged in a fierce battle with the Black Flood Dragon and Green Willow. Realizing that the blur was likely the black cat demon, Liu Xing quickly understood.

As expected, a second later, the black cat demon appeared before Liu Xing, effortlessly dispatching his opponent with a swipe.

"Kid, come with me. Something seems off about this Gralki. What we see now is probably just its physical form. Its soul seems to be residing in some small crabs or shrimps by the edge of Panlong Lake. So, we’ll continue dealing with the Gralki’s physical form. You go to the edge of Panlong Lake and find the small creatures where Gralki’s soul is likely dwelling. If you find any, kill them," the black cat demon said before rushing back towards the Gralki’s doppelgänger.

Liu Xing was now utterly bewildered. He hadn’t even started, yet the black cat demon had already helped him deal with his enemy.

However, Black Cat Demon’s words surprised Ryuusei. He hadn’t expected Gralki’s doppelgänger to separate its soul from its physical form.

But upon careful consideration, Liu Xing realized it could be a good thing, as it provided a clear weakness to exploit.

Glancing at the battlefield, Liu Xing saw the Gralki’s doppelgänger locked in intense combat, and it seemed to be gaining the upper hand, which surprised Liu Xing.

Meanwhile, Ling Ishikawa and Hu Li had already dispatched their opponents and were preparing to support Li Dian. As for Zhang Jingxu and Wan Chongshan, they had taken their enemies and run towards Panlong Lake.

Seeing this, Liu Xing knew that Zhang Jingxu and the others should be able to quickly eliminate the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s slaves. Thus, he decided to head to the riverbank to find the small creatures where the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s soul was likely residing.

Because Liu Xing understood that if the module had set up such a stage, it meant that the Black Flood Dragon and the others were likely unable to defeat the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s physical form, hence the need for players to find the small creatures where the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s soul was residing. Therefore, the sooner he found them, the better.

Thinking this, Liu Xing ran towards the edge of Panlong Lake. However, he quickly encountered a problem—the edge of Panlong Lake was teeming with various small creatures, including fish, shrimps, crabs, and clams, and the black cat demon hadn’t told him any specific features of the small creatures where the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s soul was likely residing.

Liu Xing thought for a moment and then contacted KP Snow Wind, "KP, I’d like to make an inspiration judgment to find the small creatures where the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s soul is likely residing."

KP Snow Wind chuckled and replied, "Alright, I’ll provide you with different clues based on the results of your inspiration judgment. I hope you’ll have good luck."

Liu Xing, 24/70, Success.

Liu Xing couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed his luck was quite good. This successful inspiration judgment should provide him with some valuable clues.

"It seems your luck is not bad. So, the clue I’ll give you this time consists of only two words—species," KP Snow Wind said with a smile.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, instantly understanding the meaning of the clue given by KP Snow Wind.

As a Great Old One from England, it was highly likely that the small creatures where the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s soul was residing were indigenous creatures from England.

As a Shudu person, Liu Xing could naturally distinguish local creatures from Shudu.

Just then, Ling Ishikawa and the others also dealt with the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s slaves and came to Liu Xing’s side.

"Ryuusei, why did you come here? What did the black cat demon tell you just now?" Ling Ishikawa asked in confusion.

Liu Xing nodded and explained, "Here’s the situation. What we see now is just the physical form of Gralki. Its soul is already attached to some small creatures by the edge of Panlong Lake. All we need to do is find those creatures and kill them. Even if we can’t kill Gralki, we can severely weaken it. I have a hunch that the small creatures where Gralki’s soul is residing are likely indigenous creatures from England, so let’s hurry and find them."

Ling Ishikawa and the others nodded and started searching along the edge of Panlong Lake.

However, Liu Xing didn’t forget that there might be betrayers among the players. Thus, he kept an eye on Li Dian and Wan Chongshan, fearing they might hide the small creatures where the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s soul was residing.

But not long after, Liu Xing heard Ling Ishikawa exclaim loudly, "I found it!"

At the same time, the Gralki’s doppelgänger, engaged in a fierce battle with the Black Flood Dragon and others, began charging towards Ling Ishikawa without hesitation!

Clearly, Ling Ishikawa had indeed found the small creatures where the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s soul was residing—a codfish.

However, just as Ling Ishikawa was about to strike and cut the codfish in half, the Gralki’s doppelgänger’s long thorn pierced through Ling Ishikawa’s heart!

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