Mutagen

Day 364 - 6:42 PM - 38th Satellite Settlement, Muria Sacred Fortress, Mount Muria, Kudus Regency, Central Java, Indonesia

The alarm sounded, and everyone in the 38th Satellite Settlement was alerted. Without needing anyone to guide them, the non-combatants of the settlement packed up their important belongings and ran out of their shelters.

With the meeting postponed, everyone in the meeting room stepped out of the balcony overseeing the settlement. Outside, many members of the Moon Chasers were already on standby, waiting for the orders of their leader.

Luna looked at her members. They already formed lines to represent their designated teams. Just like there were six leading figures above the ranks of the Moon Chasers, their members were also divided into five teams led by each leader. All teams had their designated jobs and specializations.

However, although calling them specialized teams sounded grand, each team had no more than ten members. Some even had less.

All members of the four teams already lined up in front of the Moon Chaser's base, with the third team, Bajing's team, and the sixth team, Edge's Defense Team, only having half their members lined up.

Edge's team was in charge of guard duty around the settlement, except for roaming patrol duties. Patrol duties were usually assigned to Bajing and her team. The defense team only had half its members since the others were still on duty, not leaving their posts until orders were given.

As for Bajing's team, it was clear that their members were already on the enemy lines, buying time to delay the incoming horde.

"Auntie!"

Luna's niece, Amisha, came running towards her, scared. Since the day she woke up, it would be the first time she would experience this kind of situation.

"Don't be scared, Shasha," Luna consoled her niece. "Just stay with your friends, okay?"

Luna then glanced at the girls who came with Amisha. They were the children of Mark's group, who easily befriended the little girl.

"Uuu... Yeas..."

Amisha reluctantly let go of her aunt and joined the other girls.

Luna faced their members and began issuing orders.

"An [Infected] horde is coming down the mountain! I know everyone is confused, but we don't have time! Team One to Three and Team Six! Establish a defense perimeter behind the fields! Our fields might be destroyed, but we can't risk fighting inside the forest! Team Five! Prioritize helping the non-combatants and gather them inside the bunker! Join the defense as soon as everyone is inside! And Team Four! Take over the guard duties from Team Six! We know we are in a dangerous situation, but we can't leave other parts of our home unguarded!"

"Now move and wait for your leaders' orders!"

With those words, the members of the Moon Chasers began to move. Picking up their weapons and equipment, they ran towards their designations.

BOOOM!

An explosion occurred, making everyone turn northwest. From the balcony, Luna and the others could see the grayish smoke coming from the forest. It seemed that Bajing's members began using explosives to hinder the horde.

"General, we should also help."

Intan, General Wijaya's secretary, spoke.

General Wijaya was in the same thought as Intan, but in this situation, he could only help if the leader of the 38th Satellite Settlement, Luna, asked for it.

Everything within the Satellite Settlements was managed by their own rulers. Even the Military barely had any authority within the Satellite Settlements. It was something that built the foundations of the fortress, making the survivor groups willing to be the protectors of the fortress.

General Wijaya was silently watching Luna. He was waiting for her to ask. Even just a word and General Wijaya would not hesitate to help.

But before everything else, Mark spoke.

"I'm saying just in case, but me and my group won't be helping this time. If you guys fail here, I might consider leaving, alright? So you guys better not."

Those words made everyone turn to Mark. The leaders of the Moon Chasers already knew. Mark and his group were powerful. Even this situation might be a cakewalk for them.

But then, Luna understood what Mark was saying. In the first place, this was not Mark's fight. It was hers.

Luna looked straight at Mark and saw his subtle smile.

"Show me what you got."

It was what that smile implied.

Mark's group also gathered. However, no one questioned his decision. The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

"Alright," Luna nodded and turned to General Wijaya. "General, we'll try to handle it first. If we are bound to lose, please help us at that time."

"Alright."

General Wijaya agreed. It would be best if she had asked for help immediately, but it was still better than nothing.

"Okay, let's-" "Wait."

Luna was about to tell Edge, Bajing, Limabela, and Nelia to go. However, Mark's voice interrupted her.

"Take these before leaving."

Mark said as he stretched out his hand, opening the familiar hole in space in front of him.

Then, one after another, he took out some stuff and threw them to Luna and her friends.

"These are..."

Edge was surprised as he caught a big item with both hands. It was pretty heavy, making him almost stumble. But when he looked at it, he saw it was a tower shield that also served as a sheath for a large sword. The sword's blade was even as long as the shield.

Bajing got a pair of daggers. The daggers looked exquisite, albeit a bit lackluster in color. One was plain black, and the other was plain white. Both daggers had a curved shape that made it look like it would form a broken circle when put side-by-side at their handles.

Limabela hastily caught hers. It was a pair of gun blades. The gun part had the shape of a machine pistol, but a pair of blades protruded in front of the muzzle. The first thing she noticed was a button above the grip, and she could not help but push it. As the button was pushed, the grip shifted position, turning its shape into a dagger.

Nelia also got a large one, which she caught by hugging it. It was a sniper rifle with quite an odd design. It had everything that a regular sniper rifle had except one thing. It did not have a magazine slot. Instead, it had ten small marble-like crystals embedded in its body.

And, all of a sudden, Mark threw the next item towards the stairs.

"WHA- What is this? Is it finished?"

Ellie's amazed voice was heard as she ran up the stairs, excitedly holding a two-handed war hammer. It looked disproportional to the short-bodied Ellie, but she did not seem to have a problem waving it around. In fact, among the six leaders of the Moon Chasers, the shortest Ellie had the strongest physical strength. She had a rather wild fighting style, making her bad at using precise weapons like blades and guns, but it also made her best at using blunt weapons.

"Those are the prototype builds of the weapons you guys requested. They're not finished yet and still need to be adjusted, but they can be used already. Try discovering the hidden functions while fighting, and tell me what you guys think later."

Mark explained.

Luna looked at her friends with a little jealousy in her eyes. Why did she not request a weapon before?

"What, you don't want to wield me anymore?"

That was when Melfiss spoke beside Luna.

"That's..."

Luna did not know what to say.

"Don't be jealous," Melfiss spoke in a narcissistic tone. "I'm far better than those soulless imitations."

And with those words, light enveloped Melfiss' body as her silhouette shrunk, turning back to her form as a Keris. She then flew into Luna's hand, showing her owner her true and elegant form.

BANG! BANG!

The sounds of gunshots echoed.

"We have to go!"

Luna yelled, and they all left, leaving Mark's group and the pair of flabbergasted soldiers who were looking at Mark as he closed the hole in space.

"Don't think too much," Mark remarked to General Wijaya and his secretary. "There's a whole lot of mysterious things hidden in our world."

Mark then stepped closer to the edge of the balcony. From here, they could see the defense perimeter the Moon Chasers established at the northern side of the settlement.

***

The Moon Chasers moved fast. After receiving orders, they carried movable barricades they had prepared long ago to the border of the crop fields outside the settlement. These wooden barricades were similar to those used during medieval times, called cheval de frise, used to stop cavalry charges.

These wooden barricades would not pose as much of an obstacle to certain types of [Mutated Infected]. However, it could stop more types of [Infected] than it could not. At least for a certain amount of time until it breaks.

RRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

The sounds of generators began to whirl. Spotlights turned on, pointing at the crop field and the forest. The Moon Chasers had no choice but to use their saved-up gasoline.

BOOM!

Another explosion occurred. This time, it was closer to the clearing bordering the crop fields.

Soon, the members of Team Three under Bajing ran out of the forest while shooting their pistols and throwing another set of grenades.

The explosion occurred, and everyone finally saw some body parts getting thrown above the threes.

ROOOOOOARR!!!

The frenzied roars of the [Infected] entered everyone's ears. Everyone readied their weapons with tense expressions.

Seeing the defense perimeter established, the members of Team Three rushed across the crop fields.

However, before the members of Team Three were even halfway through the fields, the tide of [Infected] had already come flooding out of the forest.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Luna yelled as she arrived with her friends. "We can't risk hitting the members of Team Three!"

The members of Team Two, under Limabela, and Team Six, under Edge, held guns aimed at the incoming horde. But as Luna said, they patiently held their urge to start firing.

CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

The sounds of the knee-high crops in the field being trampled made everyone's hearts ache. It took them several months to see the crops blooming, only to be trashed and trampled by these bastards.

Edge watched the scene with a frown. The shield and greatsword given to him by Mark hung on his back as he aimed a K3 Light Machine Gun at the incoming enemies. He also participated in planting crops in this specific field. As such, the pain of seeing the fruits of their labor being wasted weighed heavily on him.

The [Infected Horde] was already a third across the field, and the members of Team Three were yet to arrive behind the defense line. It seemed that the sight of a large number of humans made the [Infected] rush faster as soon as they stepped out of the forest.

At this point, everyone saw the faces of the [Infected]. They could not help but notice the detail as it was present on every single [Infected] within the incoming horde.

All the [Infected] had bare, fleshy faces without skin. It did not matter whether it was the regular [Infected] or the mutated ones. None of them had skin on their faces, making their crazed expressions even scarier than normal.

As if the sheer number of the [Infected] was not scary enough.

Finally, the members of the Team Three stepped behind the firing line.

"FIRE!"

Luna shouted, and a barrage of bullets rained upon the incoming enemies.

The fastest [Infected] in front of the horde immediately fell due to the barrage of bullets. The accuracy might be low, especially in a darkened environment with only a few spotlights to illuminate the place. However, with more than thirty machine guns and assault rifles firing at the same time, accuracy was the least of concern as long as they had enough bullets.

Sadly enough, all the bullets the Moon Chasers got for trading the [Fog Crawler's] head would likely be used up in this battle if this continued.

ROOOOARR!!!

BOOM! BOOM!

Roars and rumbles were heard amidst the gunfire. A three-meter tall [Tank Type Infected] came running out of the forest, ignoring all the bullets hitting its hard-plated body.

Edge immediately dropped his K3 Light Machine Gun and picked up his favorite weapon.

BOOOM!

A rocket from an RPG flew across the field, and the rain of bullets. Edge's aim with the RPG was on point as the rocket exploded in the face of the [Tank Type Infected]. With a head exploded to pieces, the [Tank Type Infected] crashed to the ground. The shrapnel from the rocket even took out a few nearby smaller [Infected].

The Moon Chasers were showing a good fight. However, despite the rain of bullets and some explosions, the [Infected] horde still advanced and kept gaining ground. It would not be long before they reached the barricades, and the Moon Chasers would be forced to a melee.

***

Mark watched the battle while nodding. No wonder other larger groups would not be able to belittle the Moon Chasers despite being on the smaller side. They had enough wits and courage to face the enemy.

There would be some struggles, but the Moon Chasers would likely win if they kept this momentum.

But then, as Mark watched, he sighed.

"Should I say as expected?"

Mark then turned towards the gate leading outside the fortress. Then his eyes panned north and south.

"Three groups, huh," Mark shrugged. "Looks like we got a few powerful ones this time."

Mark then turned to his group. His eyes clearly showed he was enjoying the futility of the enemies' actions.