Mutagen

Day 263 - 10:02 AM - Stone Fortress, Eastern Mountains, General Nakar, Province of Quezon

Leaving Spera grumbling about his sudden decisions, Mark departed from the Stone Fortress.

Unfortunately, Mark did not want to waste much time, even if the request was too sudden. After visiting this place today, he had other engagements from tomorrow onwards. Thus, he only had today to finish this job.

And well... The fact that Mark was interested in the core was also a factor in the eagerness he displayed. Not like he knew what to do with it. Nonetheless, a game hoarder like him would not pass any quest to get a pretty rare item. Besides, if the problem was the core's energy, his [Miasma] should be able to handle it.

If the core was truly as powerful as Diwata Danaya explained, even if Mark could not find any use for it, absorbing its energy would be a huge help.

After all, Mark's [Miasma] was still way far from its peak strength compared to before they fought Sinogo.

Mark moved as a surge of black mist flying through the shadows. He made it out of the fortress and appeared far above its tallest tower. Upon the emergence of his body from the mist, Mark immediately began to descend. It was then his three pairs of wings emerged behind his back, and he soared far after a single flap.

A few keen-eyed people below noticed something amiss in the sky. However, Mark's altitude and speed made them see nothing but a blurry shadow.

Mark flew towards the north. This direction was his only clue about the [Metal Giant]. Normally, one would ask for more details about a mission they were given. However, Mark knew that it was unnecessary in this situation. Diwata Danaya and Felenia were also in the dark. The things they mentioned in the conversation earlier should be everything they had.

In any case, Mark did not have to struggle to look for traces. That giant was huge. Each step it had taken on its path should leave a footprint behind. Even trees and the terrain on their way should be damaged.

After all, even humans leave traces after stepping on the grass, and the trace was clearer the more the grass was trampled. Given that the Metal Giant had repeated its harassment for the past five days, its traces could not be hidden.

Mark zoomed down to the northern base of the mountain. As he expected, there was a huge clearing visible even from afar. It was not a clearing devoid of flora. And rather, all the flora in that clearing was trampled by gigantic footsteps. Most were already buried in the ground.

As he landed his feet on the mushy ground, Mark's eyes were set on the trampled path to the north.

Not making any unnecessary pause, Mark kicked the ground and soared through the trampled path before him.

It might be far easier to follow the path from the sky. However, Mark wanted to check on another thing.

From the things that Mark heard earlier from Diwata Danaya and Felenia, the warriors tasked to tail the Metal Giant were killed, and pieces of their bodies were thrown back to the fortress.

That information was crucial but a hard-to-spot detail.

Mark followed the trail. Due to the uneven mountain-filled terrain, it looked like the giant made a few twists and turns while retreating. He followed the turns while cycling through the conjectures in his mind.

The Metal Giant had more than enough strength to fling a boulder about two kilometers away, and it still almost destroyed Diwata Danaya's full-strength barrier. The warriors that the Stone Fortress had might be stronger than regular humans. However, it did not mean that all of them would be able to avoid becoming meat paste after getting hit by that giant with the strength it had.

Mark frowned.

It was awfully suspicious that the Metal Giant had bodies to throw back to the Stone Fortress. Not that it was impossible. However, to instill fear in the residents of the fortress to the point of trauma, that attack should have contained more than enough bodies to instill that effect.

If that were the case, there should be some hidden factors at play in that particular event.

And that factor was...

SWOOSH!

After about five minutes of full-speed flight, Mark suddenly spun midair as something fast-moving jumped unto him. He successfully evaded the ambush and immediately took a proper look at the attacker.

The frown on Mark's forehead went deeper.

It was something unexpected. The attacker was an [Evolved Animal]. An [Evolved Canine], to be exact. Due to the strange characteristics it now displayed, it was hard to determine what kind of dog it was.

But its breed was not what made Mark frown. The familiar awful smell entered his nose, along with some unexpected characteristics of the attacker.

"GRRRRR!"

Letting out a growl as it landed, the ambusher turned into a blur as it jumped towards Mark once again. It was impressive that the [Evolved Canine] was able to keep up with Mark's flight speed with just a single pounce.

Mark suddenly accelerated and flew upwards. Following the maneuver with a back flip midair, Mark's feet were now a few inches above the head of the enemy.

BAM!

Mark's feet struck the [Evolved Canine's] head with a midair stomp. The attack not only smashed the animal's head to the ground, but their speed made it slide a few meters forward before stopping on a crushed tree trunk.

It was a one-hit kill. The [Evolved Canine's] neck was bent at an angle it was not supposed to.

SWOOSH!

However, Mark could not relax. He suddenly bent his body backward as another blur passed an inch before his body. Mark then jumped back to avoid another blurry figure that whipped its tail at him.

Another two [Evolved Animals]. One was a feline, and one was a rodent. Both evolved into bigger bodies.

Two? No.

Mark took a deep breath. He was surrounded at all angles. Different kinds of insects and animals slowly emerged from the trees at the side of the trampled path. Some of them were flying. There were also those who crawled on the ground.

There was no doubt that it was these animals that killed the warriors that followed the Metal Giant.

Looking around, Mark had no idea how many there were.

A strange sight? Yes, it was.

[Evolved Animals] did start forming packs and territories. However, it was never this diverse in terms of species.

And most importantly, Mark, an [Empath], was ambushed without being able to detect them all.

Yes... All these animals were dead.

Not the [Infected] kind, however. These animals were literally dead.

Mark's eyes panned further on his surroundings. Each animal had a metallic apparatus attached to different parts of their heads. Some even occupied the entire brain area of the animal. Those apparatus also had wires and tubes that connected to the different parts of the animal's body.

This sight made Mark remember that the Metal Giant had a similar different colored metal on its head. While Mark was unable to see it since it was far, the Metal Giant might also have those wires and tubes.

Other people might not understand what was happening. However, these creatures made Mark remember...

The very first [Mechid] that Mark fought outside the Mountain Base. The one he called the [Latcher]. A [Mechid] that took root on an [Evolved Dog's] head and occupied its brain, controlling the dead body.

It just meant that all these animals, and possibly the Metal Giant too, were an entire colony of [Latchers].

Thinking about it, the [Latcher] that Mark caught was rather baffling. It was the only [Latcher] that Mark had seen until now in the area.

And right now, a saying flashed into Mark's mind.

If there was one, expect more.

Mark did not encounter [Latchers] in other places. It was because their numbers were concentrated in an area nearby.

THUMP! THUMP!

The thumping sounds of large footsteps were heard. The earth visibly shook due to the close proximity of the footsteps. Some of the animals stumbled and fell due to the shaking. However, they just stood up afterward like it was nothing.

On the other hand, Mark was unaffected by the tremors since he was hovering in midair.

Those tremors clearly indicated that the Metal Giant was coming.

Unfortunately, this was not an action movie. The minions would not wait for their boss to appear before starting the assault.

As such, Mark, who was surrounded by enemies, was suddenly barraged with attacks. They did not care whether the ground was shaking or not. Their goal was to kill Mark as soon as possible.

Mark immediately took evasive maneuvers. Blurry figures pounced at him continuously from below while flying enemies swooped at him from above. Spikes from some animals flew from different directions. There were also acidic spits the poisonous creatures.

Attacks rained on Mark.

It was a rain of death.

Not to mention that all the attacks were perfectly calculated. There was not a single instance that friendly fire occurred among the enemies. It was something one could expect from these highly advanced alien robots.

If the warriors from the Stone Fortress faced this kind of ambush, no wonder they all died without being able to escape.

Mark's figure blurred as he evaded the rain of attacks. Of course, he did not forget to slip in a few counterattacks.

Each attack Mark slipped in was aimed at the [Latchers] on the heads of the enemies. It was not easy. Everything was moving fast, and hitting one specific part of the enemies' heads required speed, skills, and concentration. Not to mention that the parts that needed to be hit were different for every creature.

If not for the fact that the [Latchers] stood out in contrast to the bodies they latched unto, things would be far harder.

Mark began to contemplate. It would not be hard for him to destroy these enemies in one go. A single powerful blast of [Miasmic Lightning] would clear all these animals in one go. Since Mark did not want to waste time, it was the easiest thing to do.

However, Mark was somehow hesitant. He did not know why but he felt that it was not the right time to end this mess in such a way.

As such, Mark focused on his current situation. He evaded and counterattacked, eliminating the enemies one by one.

Mark was not enjoying it. He was not that much of a battle junkie.

THOOOM!

The loud thumping sound vibrated into Mark's ears.

It was the Metal Giant. It finally arrived.

The gigantic shadow loomed on Mark. Now that the Metal Giant was in front of him, Mark could not help but feel small.

About thirty meters tall, Mark's height was just up the giant's ankle.

BOOOM!

The wind exploded. The swarm of animals suddenly retreated as the Metal Giant swung its right leg at Mark for a devastating kick. It was as if it was kicking a soccer ball aiming for a goal.

Mark knew. Stupidly receiving this attack would cause him more than just broken bones.

And evading it was what Mark did.

Mark's wings exhibited the familiar red glow. His flight speed dramatically rose as he flew up to the sky. He evaded not only the kick but the encirclement of the flying enemies from above.

After evading everything below, Mark did not stop flying until he reached the same height as the giant's face.

A question floated inside Mark's head after seeing the [Latchers] on the animals' heads. Was the oddly colored metal on the giant's head also a [Latcher]? Was it possible that there was a [Latcher] that could cover half of the head of a thirty-meter-tall giant?

Mark was finally going to see the answer.

And Mark's eyebrows immediately gave a disgusted frown as his head began to itch psychologically.

Finding an answer to that question was a mistake.

The oddly colored part of the Metal Giant's head was indeed a [Latcher]. Well... A colony of [Latchers]. Latched on the giant's head like a gigantic cluster of disgustingly placed insects.

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