Mutagen

<strong>Day 253 - 8:38 AM - Mountainous Crater, Municipality of Viga, Province of Catanduanes</strong>

When the magical creatures saw the dozens of flying [Mechids] leaving the body of the [Giant Mechid], they could not help but feel nervous.

The rarest kinds of [Mechid] were those that could fly and swim. But even if they were rare, it was not the first time these warriors fought a [Mechid] capable of flight.

And all those battles where the magical warriors fought these flying [Mechids] was when they lost their comrades the most. Thus, this type of [Mechids] left a scar in their minds.

In those unforgettable battles, they only had to fight one flying [Mechid] at a time, but the aftermath was catastrophic. Now that they had seen more than a hundred at one time, it was no surprise that they could feel a tinge of subconscious fear.

But as warriors under Diwata Iraya, they would not just break down from this sight. They would fight till the end.

With Diwata Iraya in the lead, the warriors were willing to take a stand against these dangerous foes.

But then...

"Continue attacking the [Giant Mechid]," Mei's voice echoed. "Gege and Chimetrice will deal with the flying ones."

Diwata Iraya nodded after hearing Mei's words. It was clear that Mark had already given his orders to her using his own methods.

Under Diwata Iraya's command, the archers began pulling their bowstrings once again, aiming for another volley of arrows towards the [Giant Mechid].

***

Within the mountainous crater, Mark and Chiemetrice flew around, evading the lasers shooting at them.

Eighteen powerful [Mechids] from below and more than a hundred flying in the sky. It was an ugly situation.

Mark made a spin in the air and let himself fall. One laser from below and several more lasers from mid-air passed through his previous position. For Mark, while it needed a good amount of effort and concentration, evading the incoming lasers shot from all directions was still possible.

However...

<strong>THOOM!</strong>

A sudden barrage of lasers aimed at where Mark dodged to was shot. Mark could only frown as he turned into a clump of black mist, making the lasers miss their target.

The level of coordination the [Mechids] was showing was annoyingly absurd. Although it was already known that the [Mechids] had high intelligence, probably due to their artificial intelligence still functioning, these [Mechids] acted on their own without coordination with others of their kind. And even though these [Mechids] were under the leadership of the [Giant Mechid], Mark's group already saw that while the minions moved under one goal, they still had some individuality in their actions.

However, the [Mechids] Mark and Chimetrice were currently facing were showing coordination far exceeding what they had seen so far.

It was as if these [Mechids] were not moving individually anymore.

It was as if...

Mark appeared after the previous attack missed him. Then, he had to disappear once more as another barrage of lasers passed through his position.

However, Mark noticed. There was some delay when he appeared just now. Not only on one [Mechid] but all of them.

As Mark suspected, these [Mechids] were not moving on their own. That delay was really noticeable. It was as if all these [Mechids] wondered how the lasers missed Mark before they attacked once more.

Mark stared at the [Giant Mechid] standing behind its army of robots.

Despite the gaping hole made by the previous attack, the [Giant Mechid] still stood tall and imposing.

It was common sense that a heavily damaged machine would start to malfunction. This was even true for many [Mechids], showing such malfunctions after getting damaged upon arriving here on Earth.

However, such logic seemed to not apply to this [Giant Mechid]. Despite its broken limbs or that gaping hole on its body, it was still going strong.

<strong>THOOM!</strong>

Another barrage of lasers attacked Mark once more, forcing him to evade. After evading this time, the [Wind Manipulation Crystal] that floated around Mark's wrist glowed as he waved his hand.

The two closest [Flying Mechid] to Mark were suddenly bisected into halves.

<strong>BOOM!</strong>

And as Mark expected, the two immediately exploded into spheres of blinding light.

The explosions sure were strong. However, not only the bodies of these [Mechids] but the explosions were weaker compared to the one back in Infanta.

<strong>BOOM! BOOM!</strong>

While Mark was observing the enemies while evading the attacks, several explosions were heard not far from him. Mark could only shrug since those explosions were caused by Chimetrice.

The [Humanoid Chimera] was done evading. He instead charged towards the [Flying Mechids] at full speed and crushed their metal bodies with his bare hands. Of course, it exploded, and Chimetrice was swallowed by the explosion. However, his body, which even Gods could not destroy, would not be injured by this flimsy kind of attack.

There was another considerable pause among the [Mechids] after seeing Chimetrice brush off the powerful explosions.

At this time, the second volley of arrows came. The enchanted arrows flying at bullet speeds blanketed the sky before flying into one line aiming at a single point.

But, of course, like what Mark said to Sinogo before. The same attack would not work the second time.

As if trying to protect the [Giant Mechid], the flying ones rushed in front of the giant, facing the incoming arrows.

<strong>CLANG!</strong>

Of course, the [Flying Mechids] could not stand a chance against the arrows that managed to pierce the body of the [Giant Mechid]. However, as the [Flying Mechids] were pierced by the arrows and got destroyed, the explosions came after.

The explosions swallowed any arrow near it, turning the arrows into dust.

In an instant, the volley of destructive arrows was severely reduced. Still, those arrows that managed to pass through the [Flying Mechids] and the explosions flew towards the [Giant Mechid].

But then...

<strong>SHOOM!</strong>

A barrier appeared in front of the [Giant Mechid]. It was the very same kind of [Kinetic Barrier] that the [Strange Mechid] had. However, this barrier was different from the previous one that covered the entire body of the [Mechid]. Instead, it was created by a formation of [Flying Mechids] that hovered by each corner of the hexagon-shaped [Kinetic Barrier].

When Mark saw that scene, something finally made sense to him. If one was to think about it, it was strange that such a small kind [Mechid] carried that amount of energy that would cause a strong explosion once destroyed. It was very likely that creating this kind of barrier was the main purpose of this [Mechid]. Probably, to deal with space hazards that would likely hit their artificial planet.

Before, Mark thought that it was just some kind of bomb-like [Mechid] since there was only one in Infanta. Now that there were many of them, their true function was revealed. This was also the very likely reason as to why these [Flying Mechid] were immediately deployed by the [Giant Mechid]. It was not only to deal with Mark and Chimetrice but also to prevent another possible volley of attacks that initially hit the [Giant Mechid].

***

Seeing what happened to their attack, Diwata Iraya and her warriors could not help but feel exasperated. They already had the confidence that they would be able to damage the enemy even more, only for that confidence to turn into nothing. If they wanted to use this method to attack the [Giant Mechid], the [Flying Mechids] needed to be dealt with first.

However, it was only Mark and Chimetrice who could possibly do it.

But before they ponder the problem in front of them...

"Enemy from behind!"

The scouts from outside the crater called out.

At this time, the [Cursed Armor], Morlkil, raised his hand, and the warriors wielding their spears followed behind him.

More [Mechids] arriving from outside the crater. It was something that was already within their calculations.

These [Mechids] were among the ones sent out the other day to wreak havoc on the entire island of Catanduanes. While they managed to deal with the [Mechids] on the North Western part of the island, the [Mechids] from the other parts were still roaming around. Now that their leader was attacked, it was expected that these [Mechids] outside would be called back.

Fortunately, since these [Mechids] were scattered around the island, it was also expected that these [Mechids] would return in partial groups instead of a big one. Thus, the warriors under Diwata Iraya, along with the members of Mark's group, would be able to fight them while facing the least danger possible.

The atmosphere right now was rather tense. If Morlkil's group failed to hold the line from behind, it would be possible for the warriors to become trapped in this position. It was something they would not want to happen. Even though the mountain peaks were an advantageous location for a battle, it was also a place where it was easy to get surrounded without any way of escape.

Sensing the tense atmosphere and understanding the possible scenario, Spera frowned.

"They really forgot that I am here, huh?" Spera said with an annoyed tone. "Escape was the least problem we have here."

"There are probably way too focused in the fight." Feng Zhiruo responded to Spera's rambles. "It's easy to forget things at times when your life is on the line."

Spera did not reply to Feng Zhiruo. Of course, she understood that. It was just the feeling of her existence being forgotten that she felt frustrated a bit.

"Focus, you two," Mei said to the two. "We need to quickly act when Gege gives the signal."

The two could only stop and nod. The situation was not that good, after all. In the least, it was not as bad as when the group fought Sinogo without any preparations.

Spera clenched the item in her hand. It was the [Crystal Staff] they acquired after Mark defeated the Encantado in Mount Madia-as. Mark lent it to her as it would benefit her more in this battle. As for Feng Zhiruo, she was not here as a swordsman. At least, not until the [Mechids] reached their position. Instead, she had another task, the same as the little girls patiently waiting for their turn.

Mei was getting ready to fire her [Shooting Moon Blade]. Another [Crystal Converter] and [Empty Mental Crystal] were already set to be consumed. It was when she felt her right resonate as she received Mark's instructions.

"Amihan!"

Mei called Amihan. It looked like Mark wanted some impromptu changes to the plans.

***

<strong>BOOM!</strong>

Another explosion occurred as Mark destroyed another [Flying Mechid] using [Wind Blades]. He fought while sending Mei a message through the rings Bathala gave them.

<strong>BOOM! BOOM!</strong>

At the same time, Chimetrice destroyed another two. However, it was not easy to just go and destroy the [Flying Mechids] in one go.

Mark would definitely get hurt if any of these lasers hit him. As for Chimetrice, even if getting hurt was the least of his concern, attacking all these [Flying Mechids] that were flying far from each other and erratically moving around was still effort-inducing.

And at this time, another volley of the magically enchanted arrows was fired.

Of course, as the [Mechids] detected the incoming attack, the [Flying Mechids] moved into formation to create another [Kinetic Barrier] in front of the [Giant Mechid].

It was clear that the [Giant Mechid] expected itself to be the target once more.

Seeing that, Mark smirked.

The arrows shot towards the [Giant Mechid] showed a sudden change mid-way.

As the arrows fell at high speeds, the formation was suddenly disturbed. It was as if something stirred the hornet's nest, and the hornets flew everywhere.

Random and erratic. These words exactly described the sudden changes in the movements of the arrows.

However, these were not actually random.

One by one, the erratic arrows suddenly accelerated. They looked like angry arrows that finally found their targets.

And then...

The crater bloomed with blinding light. The arrows, one after another, struck and pierced the [Flying Mechids], causing a continuous explosion of light.