Mutagen

Day 251 - 11:58 PM - Codon Settlement, Barangay Codon, Municipality of San Andres, Province of Catanduanes

Nighttime should be the time of rest for people. But in the current Codon Settlement, it was when the unrest would escalate. The settlement was dark, only lit by torches made from cans containing grass or animal. Of course, these torches barely emitted light and would not contribute much to the people's mental well-being during the night.

Despite living in a settlement, many people would rather stay awake at night, looking after their family and belongings. The enemies were not only outside the flimsy walls but also inside, and one slight lapse in their guards could result in the loss of their things, or worse, their people.

Because Codon Settlement had fallen into the hands of the mercenaries, security was not that tight. Worse, those who now ruled this settlement were the ones who would take advantage of its people the most.

The people of Codon were not unfamiliar with the threats currently looming over the island. The [Infected] and the [Evolved Animals] were the ones they were the most familiar with. These robots would also attack the settlement, albeit rare, which was fortunate as each time it happened, the walls would be breached, and the non-combatants were the ones to suffer the most during the attack.

And to their dismay, tonight was the most unfortunate event they would experience after the catastrophe that changed the world.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The frantic sound of hanging empty cans used as alarm bells echoed across the settlement. This not only alerted everyone but also woke up all those asleep and resting.

And as people grabbed their weapons and came to see what awaited them outside, they could only freeze in horror.

Veiled by the darkness outside the walls, they could see around a dozen dim red lights, as if eyes were staring at them from the void.

Those lights made them shiver. The fear was already ingrained in their minds.

"ROBOTS!"

The people's frightened cries echoed throughout the settlement.

None of them knew what these robots were aside from the fact that they were robots that fell from space. Some people even saw one fall from the sky when the catastrophe came since one crashed near the settlement just before the earthquake started. It was lucky that the barrier that encased the settlement stopped that robot's attacks or that one alone could cause more damage than the damages the settlement already received.

Several attacks happened while the barrier was present, allowing them to avoid too many casualties. But when the barrier vanished, everyone was thrown into chaos after a single attack caused several dozen deaths.

After that, the people of the settlement were very careful when dealing with these robots, although casualties were unavoidable when fighting them. After all, the flimsy walls the settlement had would not stand a chance even against one robot.

Seeing that the attackers were the robots, the non-combatants immediately escaped their dwellings and ran towards the center of the settlement. They did not care anymore about their other belongings, only taking their weapons and as much food and water as they could carry.

As for the armed forces of the settlement, they gathered near the walls, stepping on the small scaffolds and watchtowers. They might look brave, but they held their guns and weapons tightly with hearts enveloped in fear. They could run away if they could. However, such a thing was not possible until it was the last resort.

In the current state of the world, there would be no safer place than the place they were currently in. They would try to defend their homes than wander in the wilderness and gamble more with their future.

But looking at the situation, even if they managed to defend their current home, it would lead to massive sacrifices after the battle.

"How is the situation."

A rather bulky man said to the mercenaries and soldiers as he arrived by the northeastern walls of the settlement.

"Sir Ulric! The robots are staying within distance but had yet to attack for some reason."

One of the lookouts at the watchtower looked down and reported at the bulky man.

This bulky man with a crewcut hairstyle and scars on his muscled arms was the current ruler of this settlement. He was Ulric Montgomery. A half-Filipino-half-French mercenary. He was among the leaders of the private army of the Marcos Family before they were abandoned.

Ulric might not be the best kind of person to rule a settlement. But in terms of strength, he was unparalleled.

As he heard the report, Ulric frowned. He then lowered his body and suddenly sprung up to the sky. With a silent thud, the bulky man scaled the three-meter tall watch tower and landed on its roof.

Ulric looked at the scene outside the walls. His eyes that glowed brightly in the dark could clearly see beyond what normal people could in the darkness of the night.

The leader of Codon Settlement could not help but frown.

While the people could only see thirteen dim lights in the darkness, Ulric could spot around twenty robots scattered around the forest outside the settlement.

As Ulric wondered what these robots were up to as they were not attacking, his survival instincts kicked in as he swayed his body to the right, letting him fall on his back.

SHOOOM!

A beam of light pierced through the space where he was just now. Ulric could feel the heat of the laser beam as it passed just a foot before his torso.

Ulric did not bother to regain his balance and let himself fall from the roof of the watchtower. When he was about to hit the ground, he rolled his body in the air and landed right back on his feet.

"SIR!"

The subordinates hurried to Ulric in worry. Who would not be worried when they saw such a frightening thing happen? If they lost Ulric here because of a surprise attack, the chances of them keeping the settlement would be much lesser.

"Ulric, are you okay?"

A lanky man with a sniper rifle asked their leader. It was Ulric's right hand that went with the name Parris. The two had been members of the same mercenary organization before being hired by their previous political employers.

"I'm fine," Ulric said, patting the heated part of his clothing. "Just tell the lookouts to hide as much as possible. We can't let them die from sneak attacks."

The orders were immediately executed, and the lookouts took cover.

But after that shot Ulric dodged, there was strangely no movement from the robots outside.

"What in the world is going on?"

Ulric voiced out the question that everyone had in their minds.

In the previous instances, these robots would attack straight after arriving. However, the robots were not making any movements at all.

Then why did these robots attack Ulric? No one could answer this question.

Things were becoming more and more uncertain, and it was putting everyone on edge.

"Sir! They are moving!"

A cry broke everyone's silence.

Everyone took positions in case the battle began. And to their further surprise, the robots seemed to be spreading out.

This was the first time they had seen these robots move with such precise coordination. And this was definitely not a good sign.

"Ulric, it seems they are trying to surround us."

Parris said, predicting the movements of the enemy.

"It's possible," Ulric frowned. "And we can't let it happen. If they managed to surround us, our path of retreat would end up being cut off."

If these robots surrounded them, there would be no escape.

"We can't just sit here and wait. We better take the initiative before we're surrounded by these f*cking pieces of scrap metal."

Ulric cursed in frustration.

It was already hard to keep the settlers fed while dealing with the attacks from the [Infected] and the [Feral Evolved Animals]. And now, these robots that behaved differently from the first two joined the fray.

"How will we proceed with this situation?"

Parris asked their leader.

"Just like in the past," Ulric replied with a frustrated smirk. "I'll go front, and you go back."

"Good. It will also lessen the chances of casualties on our side if we bring the fight to them and not to us."

Parris nodded. It was not like they had any other choice or even the time to plan in this situation.

Furthermore, it would lessen the number of deaths on their side if Ulric could get the attention of the enemies. It was something they were unable to do in the past. It was because the robots before would always charge towards the settlement before they could react, unlike now.

Under Ulric's command, everyone began to ready up for the actual combat.

"AWWOOOO!!!"

A howl sounded, signaling that the battle would begin.

And that howl was also Ulric beginning to transform.

Ulric was already a tall and muscular man. But as he bent his body and went on fours, his body began to double in size. His skin became covered in dark gray fur, and his face became elongated. In a few moments, the muscular mercenary turned into a gigantic wolfman.

If a person saw this transformation, they would definitely call [Werewolf] without a second thought.

However, while Ulric's transformation did have such similarities, he was technically not a [Werewolf] but a [Mutator] with a wolf-like transformative ability. Furthermore, it was the rare full-body transformation that enhanced all his abilities, which also included his natural instincts.

BAM!

With a loud bam, Ulric kicked the ground and scaled the walls in a blink of an eye. At the same time, the armed forces of the settlement aimed their weapons.

Alone, Ulric ran across the empty field outside the walls. He was open to any kind of attack, but with his glowing eyes and wild snarls, it seemed that he did not care at all.

SHOOOM!

As Ulric ran, several red smoky lights flew over his head towards the border of the forested areas.

The first thing to do was to reveal the location of the enemies. If it was dark to see the enemies, then light the place. Here, they used flares to light up the surrounding area. The light might only last three minutes, at most. Nonetheless, it was better than shooting blindly in the dark as not all the robots emitted that dim red light from their eyes.

Ulric accelerated, running faster than the flares could travel. Of course, the robots would not let him approach at all.

With Ulric in the center, the darkened field bloomed with lights as lasers flew from different directions.

However, the agile and nimble Ulric dodged the barrage of lasers by moving side by side and jumping back if necessary. Most of all, he was not relying solely on his eyes to see the attacks and would move his body as his instincts told him to.

At this time, gunshots began echoing. The armed forces of the settlement began shooting at the robots that were now revealed by the flares.

As Ulric continued to charge forwards, some of the robots also charged at him.

But seeing the robots up close, Ulric could not help but feel surprised.

These robots were unlike the ones they fought in the past. Most of all, these robots seemed to mimic animals and insects, which was different from the strange-looking ones they had seen so far.

Ulric charged with a frown. This was not the time to ponder about these robots. As one of the dog-shaped robots pounced at him, he jumped to the side and jabbed his fist forward.

CRASH!

To Ulric's surprise, his fist left a deep dent on the robot's side. It was something he had never seen before. The robots he fought so far would not even get dented by explosives.

SHOOM!

The surprise lasted short as Ulric was forced to dodge backward, unable to chain his attacks. A laser passed by his previous position. It was the very same laser that tried to attack him while he was standing on the watchtower's roof.

It was a dangerous shot aiming to kill him, without a doubt.

But at this time...

,m "AHHH!"

A yell came from the walls. The very same laser Ulric dodged just now shot towards the settlement walls, likely hitting some people.

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