Mutagen

<strong>Day 253 - 8:54 AM - Mountainous Crater, Municipality of Viga, Province of Catanduanes</strong>

The blush glow of the [Fighter Mechid] turned red after it put away its weapons back to their original forms. The five floating bits rotated behind the [Fighter Mechid's] like how they appeared at the start.

But then, Mark saw the floating bits attach themselves onto the [Fighter Mechid's] glowing body.

And the moment all of them combined with the [Fighter Mechid]...

<strong>ZOOM!</strong>

"ACK!"

Mark suddenly yelled in surprised pain as he was abruptly flung through the sky.

With great difficulty, Mark stabilized his flight while clutching his painful wrist. He was barely able to react at all. The next thing he knew was the [Mechid's] fist closing unto his face. It was lucky that he was fast enough to move his right arm to block, although the powerful impact from the punch still sent him flying mid-air.

Mark glared at the enemy. The bastard just disappeared and appeared in front of him instantly. It was too fast. He did not even see more than a barely visible blur.

<strong>BOOM!  </strong>

Mark suddenly heard a boom coming from in front of him. However, it was clear that the [Fighter Mechid] was still hovering idly after its attack.

But when Mark felt the strong gust of wind hitting his face, he now understood what that boom was. It was the sonic boom after the sound barrier was broken. The sound arriving late just meant that the [Fighter Mechid] moved far faster than the speed of sound.

"Tch!"

Mark clicked his tongue. He could feel his arm tingling. It was the kind of sensation that would only happen if his absurd regeneration kicked in. It just meant that the punch he blocked tore through his flesh and cracked the bones on his right arm.

This kind of injury would not happen if he had managed to harden his blood in time, but he was unable to do so. However, there was barely any leeway to react at all. Furthermore, even if he managed to harden his blood, it might not work at all, considering his armor was also made using his blood, and it got dented by that punch.

Mark quickly removed the armguards on his right arm. It might mean less protection, but a dented armor would just get in the way.

<strong>ZOOM!</strong>

The [Fighter Mechid] vanished once more.

Since he had already seen it before, Mark was on full alert. However, he could only see a vaguely visible blur. The figure of the [Figther Mechid] flickered mid-way, allowing Mark to see it in a fragment of a millisecond, but its overall speed was hard to chase using his eyes.

A blur appeared in the corner of his left eye. Mark immediately bent his neck and body backward.

The [Figther Mechid's] glowing red fist passed centimeters away from Mark's face. He also felt the heat being emanated from the [Mechid's] body even though his body was still covered in [Miasma]. It just meant that the [Mechid's] body was extremely hot. A direct contact might burn Mark's skin. Luckily, the first attack he blocked hit his armor. After all, despite his absurd regenerative abilities, burns were a huge pain to heal, especially if the burnt skin got stuck on his flesh.

Given that Mark managed to evade the next attack by a hair's breadth, Mark wanted to take the opportunity to retaliate.

Unfortunately, there was no such opportunity.

Mark hurriedly spun his body as another punch passed by over his shoulder. And there were not only two as a third fist came swiftly after.

<strong>BOOM!</strong>

Mark used the [Wind Manipulation Mental Crystal] to cast an explosion of wind between him and the [Figther Mechid]. Both of them were thrown far from each other upon receiving the impact.

"TSK!"

Mark clicked his tongue as he stabilized his flight once more. He did not go unscathed in that exchange. Glancing at the time of his top left wing with a fistful chunk missing, Mark racked his brains on how to deal with this troublesome opponent.

The blue glow before only increased this [Mechid's] speed. On the other hand, this red glow did not only increase that speed further but also its performance and strength. It was not wrong to say that it was far more dangerous now than when it was armed with weapons before. There was no need for it to hold a sword or even fire lasers. Its fists were far more destructive.

Mark had to think of a way to deal with this enemy fast.

***

While Mark was struggling with the most powerful [Mechid] that he had faced so far, it was not that different on the outer defense line in the northwest mountains.

As if following a hivemind, the [Mechids] were moving as one. Depending on their capabilities, some [Mechids] would push forwards while others would support behind its back. Due to this weird sense of unity among the [Mechids], it became harder for the warriors to fight these pathogen-hacked robots.

The defense line was being pushed back. From the base of the mountain, the [Mechids] already reached a third of its height.

It was not wrong to say that they underestimated the number of [Mechids] that came. Right now, there should be around two hundred currently entangled with the forces stationed in the northwest peaks of the mountainous crater. Although they could kill one or two at a time, more would appear to fill in the numbers.

Diwata Iraya had eyes all over the island of Catanduanes. However, it was still impossible for her to monitor each and every single enemy there was on the island. And now, they were facing probably the number of [Mechids] from the west and southern parts of the island.

After seeing these [Mechids] pouring into this area, it became clear that these pathogen-hacked robots were not aiming to just enter the crater but to deal with the warriors here. It was not wrong to say that their contribution to destroying the [Giant Mechid] was rather substantial. Thus, it was not a surprise that they also became a target for the [Mechids] despite Mark and Chimetrice trying to get as much attention as possible from the enemies.

<strong>WOOM!</strong>

Suddenly, more than a dozen [Mechids] were blown away into the air, tumbling down the steep mountain slopes.

It was the advantage the warriors had over geography. Although they were being pushed back up the mountain, the ground was becoming steeper as they went higher. The warriors were used to this kind of terrain. As for the [Mechids]... They were still in the process of developing models to cope with the uneven ground of the island.

Thus, one concentrated magic from the [Sylphs] could cause such chaos towards the [Mechids]. Even so, they were still slowly being pushed up the mountain.

The battle here was in such a state. It was until the members of Mark's group joined the fray.

After Mark told Mei to go support the warriors defending the mountain, she complied without question. While they did have some plans to deal with the [Giant Mechid], it was only up to that point. Any unexpected battle afterward would be on Mark's call.

They all thought that it would be the end of this farce after the [Giant Mechid] was destroyed. But when the new powerful [Mechids] appeared out of nowhere, they all understood that they were mistaken. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to help at this moment. If anything else, they might end up dragging Mark and Chimetrice down.

"Gale, Miracle, fight the stragglers. Don't go too far into the enemies." Mei said to the two youngest girls before turning to Iola. "Protect your sisters."

"Yes."

Iola replied while Abbygale and Miracle nodded. The three then moved, followed by their golems.

"Zhiruo, you can go wherever you want. You are fast enough to dance on the battlefield. Just be careful."

Mei said to Feng Zhiruo.

"No problem."

Feng Zhiruo responded while tightening her grip on the hilt of her sword.

And lastly...

"Amihan, support the fight. Your priority is the flying ones. Knock them down. Just don't overdo it, or you might get our allies flying."

"Okay~!"

Amihan replied gleefully, trying to hide her nervousness. After all, she might get scolded if she failed to control her current power and cause some accidents.

The group then went down from the peak, followed by the archers and Diwata Iraya.

Diwata Iraya left while glancing at the battle within the crater. The rest was left in the hands of Mark and Chimetrice.

When the group arrived at the defense line, it immediately stabilized. It was amazing how a small group of young people could greatly affect the tide of such a large battle.

The members of the group followed Mei's orders. Well, as much as they could. Abbygale and Miracle were young, and they could easily get carried away. Although Abbygale was much calmer, she was still prone to getting a bit reckless.

Where Miracle was, [Mechids] would start flying. Of course, not the kind of controlled flight, but the little girl packed strength enough to throw [Mechids] off the mountain. Not to mention her canine-feline golem, Cavall, who gave Miracle the speed she lacked.

As for Abbygale, she could be seen jumping around with her rabbit golem, Inaba. With both excelling in leg strength, their fighting style was not surprising. What was amazing was Inaba. The rabbit golem was keeping up closely with Abbygale and was picking enemies that would pose a threat to her.

And Iola was lagging behind her younger sisters like usual. Her body was already strengthened by many factors, but she was still physically inferior to Abbygale and Miracle. However, it suited her fighting style as a support ability user. Since she could not keep up with either strength or speed, she was able to watch the surroundings and her allies from behind without getting reckless or carried away.

Furthermore, against [Mechids], Iola was actually not suited for any kind of offense. The heat of her barrier could ignite most living beings almost instantly and burn them to ashes. However, it was not that effective against [Mechids] since they were made of metal. What her barrier was effective against, however, was the laser beams.

The lasers were being dispersed by Iola's barrier upon contact. It was something they learned while fighting the enemies after the fight with Sinogo.

With Iola supporting in the backline, the incoming lasers became less of a threat to everyone around her. And if something managed to sneak close to Iola, they would face the valkyrie golem, Brynhildr. Transforming her right arm to a sword and her left arm into a shield, this maid-looking golem was able to protect Iola against [Mechids].

Feng Zhiruo danced through the battlefield. With her agile but steady stance, the uneven and steep ground was the least of her concern. Unfortunately, no one was able to see her sword dance as she moved fast, using both the terrain and the trees to her advantage while aiming for the weak spots of the [Mechids].

Mei picked a good spot that overlooked the whole battlefield. With her [Shooting Moon Blade], she picked and shot the most troublesome-looking enemies. She also made sure that the little girls were safe, prioritizing the more dangerous-looking enemies around them.

Lastly, Amihan caused a little disturbance when all the flight-capable [Mechids] were suddenly swept by a strong gust of wind that also affected their allies a bit. Her first attack was effective, sweeping away the dangerous enemies from above. However, it was also a bit of a failure since she already failed to control her power. Still, it was good that she did not cause their allies to fly away too.

Diwata Iraya and the archers also joined in. The defense line that was previously being pushed back gained the momentum to be the ones to push forward. However, they did not. They finally got a stable position, and pushing forward would cause them to lose this advantage.

And since the [Mechids] were the ones swarming to their location, they only needed to wait.

With the battle on this side stabilizing, everyone began to wonder. What could be happening inside the crater at this moment.