Mutagen

Day 251 - 8:32 PM - Barangay Napo Outskirts, Municipality of Pandan, Province of Catanduanes

Due to the news of the [Giant Mechid] making another move, Mark and Mei left the Rebel Settlement. Unfortunately for the guards, they would never have thought that two people came in and out of their settlement without getting detected despite their tight security.

The two flew southeast, back to the mountain where the magical creatures lived.

"What did the [Giant Mechid] do this time?"

Mark asked. It was apparent in his voice that he knew it was not an attack. If it was another attack, especially something Diwata Iraya's people could not handle, things would be more urgent. In that case, it was most likely that Deriellio would directly call for Mark like before instead of letting Mei go.

"It's hard to say if it can be called an attack," Mei replied. "It seems that the [Giant Mechid] deployed quite a number of [Mechids] which dispersed in different directions out of the crater. The exact number is unknown. But the strange thing is... None of those [Mechids] went towards the village."

That answer made Mark frown. While it looked like they succeeded in temporarily stopping the attacks on the Magical Village, it caused the [Mechids] to avoid it and focus somewhere else.

It seemed that the [Giant Mechid] sure was an intelligent one in a very annoying way.

"Did they manage to pinpoint where the deployed [Mechids] went to?"

Mark asked.

"Not all, but they already intercepted several [Mechids] trying to go around the mountain which seemed to be trying to make their way here," Mei answered what she knew. "The first one to actually find the [Mechids] going around the mountain is Zhiruo when she noticed something at the foot of the mountain while meditating."

"Wait," Mark's frown became deeper. "Isn't the [Giant Mechid] being monitored by the [Yasaws]? Did the [Mechids] manage to slip through their surveillance?"

"Probably not," Mei shook her head. "But they did say that there was a lot, so it's not surprising if a few managed to slip through their detection. The [Mechids] this time were pretty small too. The one Zhiruo found is just the size of an adult dog. It also moves fast."

"Forsaking defense and strength for agility and stealth... And also numbers..." Mark said while racking his brains out. "I wonder if the [Giant Mechid] is trying to scout the rest of the island after getting beaten repeatedly."

Mei replied with silence as she also had no idea. However, the likelihood of Mark's words being on point was pretty decent.

"Let's hurry back."

Mark urged Mei. There should be a [Yasaw] waiting for them at the nearby mountain to help them return to the Magical Village as soon as possible.

But at this time, Mei had something to ask Mark.

"Gege, is it fine to only give your siblings a pair of crystals each? What about your parents and your youngest brother?"

Mei asked in wonder.

It was not a surprising question. After all, Mark gave his two siblings two empty and two filled [Physical Crystals]. He even specified that the two should take the crystals for themselves.

"It's fine."

Mark said, looking like he did not want to elaborate further. However, since Mei asked sincerely, he sighed and decided to explain.

"Hah... It's because in our family, except for me, only my brother and sister had the right mentality to fight. My mother is hot-tempered and reckless, my father is weak-hearted and always takes responsibility for things he should not, and, lastly, my youngest brother is a kid with ADHD. Rather than protecting them, giving them crystals would put them more into danger."

Mark then added.

"Having the strength to fight is different than actually being capable of fighting. Giving them the strength to fight could lead to the opposite of what we would want to happen. Letting Michael and Marian have that strength should be more than enough. Besides, those two were the ones who liked to go out and needed protection more, so what happened last time would not happen again."

The previous time, both Michael and Marian were caught by the Hostile Faction of the rebels. It would be nice if something similar did not happen again in the future.

Mei understood what Mark was talking about. Even back in Bay City, such an issue was apparent. People who became [Evolvers] and [Mutators] thought that they were on top of the world due to their newfound strength. Some even thought that the training the military provided was unnecessary because they became powerful. But as Mark said, having the strength to fight was different from being capable of fighting.

Many lives of both [Evolvers] and [Mutators] were lost due to this issue. In other words, those people swallowed more than they could chew and ended up choking themselves to death.

There were also times when unnecessary responsibilities were put onto the shoulders of those [Evolvers] and [Mutators]. It was all because they were stronger than normal people. And even though those people were unfit for those responsibilities, no one cared. In the end, many of them ended up in the worst ways possible.

Mark sighed. He was not saying anything wrong. It was just, personality-wise, only Michael and Marian were fit to wield such strength in his family. Not to mention that those two were the same as Mark, Otakus. In fact, it was Marian, the only girl among the siblings, who watched the most gore anime and movies. It was something unthinkable among the siblings since it was Mark who looked like someone more into that kind of thing.

However, Mark only liked bashing zombies' heads. Not watching the gore itself, although he did not mind if he had to.

As for Michael. He was also someone with a lot of unnecessary knowledge from the internet, anime, and video games. Most of which were things that normal people would not bother learning about.

And most of all, Mark was confident that Michael and Marian would not hesitate to kill if they had to. Of course, as long as it was within reason and their capabilities.

***

By the time Mark and Mei finished talking, they arrived at the base of the mountain where a female [Yasaw] was waiting. It was not Deriellio, so the [Yasaw] just kept her silence. In the first place, only Deriellio was capable of speaking human and spirit language among the [Yasaws], although they could understand these languages.

The problem lay in their physiological nature as it was one way of preventing them with other creatures aside from their creators. It was not that they could not learn the language. They just lacked the ability to speak them.

It was like teaching a dog some words and receiving barks in return.

With the help of the female [Yasaw], Mark and Mei returned quickly to the Magical Village.

And upon return, despite the night getting deeper, the Magical Village was quite lively. Of course, in a bad way.

Mark and Mei walked to the entrance of the village only to see dozens of shadows dash out of the village in different directions.

"You two have returned."

Diwata Iraya greeted Mark and Mei right after the last [Yasaw] left to obey her command.

"Are they going to search of the other [Mechids]?"

Mark asked.

"Yes," Diwata Iraya nodded as she turned to look at the base of the mountain. "It seemed that the number this time was far larger than the ones we fought in the past. It was an oversight for me to leave only a few to guard the enemy, letting most of them escape our surveillance."

"So, that was the case."

Mark now understood what happened.

It was not that the [Mechids] slipped through the surveillance unnoticed. It was just that the number was too large for a handful of scouts to chase every single one of the enemies. And by the time they reported and asked for reinforcements, most of the [Mechids] had already escaped.

"But they avoided this place."

Mark said.

"However, I do not know if it was a fortunate thing," Diwata Iraya responded. "In return for us being safe, the rest of the entire island was now in danger."

Diwata Iraya then turned to Mark.

"For now, we decided to tighten the surveillance around the settlement where your family is. Protecting your family is still our priority."

Mark did not say anything. He knew Diwata Iraya was being sincere in her words.

"Then, should we go searching for the [Mechids]?"

Mark asked Mei. Of course, Mei would follow what Mark wanted to do.

However...

"We should check on the girls first," Mei suggested as their daughters were still waiting inside the village. "Spera will also complain if we just left like the last time."

"Okay then."

Mark replied with a shrug.

The two entered the village and told everyone their plans at this time. Of course, the little girls wanted to jump into the fray, but Mark declined them once again. Fortunately, it was not hard to convince them as their daughters were sensible girls.

But, of course, if the battle with the [Giant Mechid] came, they could join depending on the situation.

This time, Chimetrice and Amihan were left to guard the rest of the group and the village. No one would know what could happen while Mark and Mei were outside. Amihan was sulking, however.

Mark and Mei aside, they would have another member to go out with them in the middle of the night. It was Feng Zhiruo, who was kind of itching to try her progress in her cultivation and put her new techniques to the test. It was actually advantageous to bring Feng Zhiruo this time as they would need someone with strong senses.

The three left the village under the darkness of the night as Diwata Iraya, Aliya, and Gennie wished them good luck and a safe return at the entrance of the village.

***

"Where are we going to search first?"

Mei asked Mark.

But instead of replying...

"Crimson."

Mark called out his reliable assistant.

And as it was called, the [Miasma Blood Child] plopped on Mark's head after appearing from thin air.

"Crimson, go ahead of us and look for traces of [Mechids] northwest."

Mark said, patting the little guy.

Crimson wiggled as a nod and jumped off Mark's head before vanishing in a puff of black mist.

"Northwest?" Mei asked Mark. "But didn't Diwata Iraya already send her people to guard there?"

That was right. It was something that Diwata Iraya had just said earlier.

"I know," Mark replied with a slight nod. "But the [Giant Mechid] stopped attacking this place not because of the Magical Creatures but because of us. If we appear there, we are basically telling the enemy to f-off this area of the island."

With his current attitude, it was clear that Mark did not care much about whatever the [Mechids] try to do as long as they get away from the places he valued.

"Let's go."

Mark said as he led the group to run across the forest-covered mountains.

Sure, it was easier to just fly over the uneven terrain, and it was not like they were just trying to accompany Feng Zhiruo, who could not fly. Flying over the forest-covered land would make it harder for them to see the enemies under the trees from the sky.

Furthermore, while it might be dark, their eyes were different from what normal people had. They could see the environment despite the darkness and it would help them find trails that [Mechid] left behind if they stayed on the ground.

Soon enough, Mark received Crimson's call through his connection to the [Blood Child].

"Let's hurry up," Mark said as he urged the two to speed up. "Crimson found our first [Mechid]."

The three accelerated their pace and arrived at a rocky area a kilometer north of where they initially were.

Crimson then plopped on Mark's head as they looked at the oblivious enemy, a grasshopper-shaped [Mechid].

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