Mutagen

Day 364 - 6:54 PM - Northwest Area, 38th Satellite Settlement, Muria Sacred Fortress, Mount Muria, Kudus Regency, Central Java, Indonesia

"What is that loud sound? Where's the radio? Ask them what is happening?"

Luna shouted to her members after hearing the explosion-like sound from behind.

Unfortunately, due to the urgency of the situation, no one brought the handheld radio. In the first place, the defense line was only composed of less than fifty people and was just outside the wall. Communication and orders could easily be delivered among the members. Even if there was a need to contact the remaining assigned guards, sending a messenger would suffice to relay information.

Now that they realized they had forgotten the radio, a messenger was immediately dispatched. However, before the messenger could leave, a member of Team Four, assigned as one of the guards, arrived to report.

Enemies appeared from three directions away from the defense line. It was the worst thing to happen. It was clear that the horde was orchestrated to divert the defenses and personnel of the 38th Satellite Settlement and allow enemies to infiltrate the base easily.

But the dismay lasted only a few seconds as the guard continued his report.

The guests moved to intercept the enemies, and the explosion-like sound they heard was coming from their battle.

"Hah..."

A sigh of relief escaped Luna's mouth.

Fortunately, although Mark did say the horde was for the Moon Chasers to deal with, it did not mean his group would not help with other dangers.

"Then, we can concentrate on the horde."

Luna said with a frown. Even though they could now concentrate on defending against the horde, it did not make the situation any easier.

A group of Fifty against a few thousand [Infected]. If not for their reserved ammo and equipment they recently acquired, along with the skills of every member, they would have already failed to face the horde. Furthermore, the weapons Mark gave them were proving their quality and strength.

"Sh*t..." Luna heard Edge curse as he turned to her. "We only have four rockets left."

Edge's words meant one thing. If more armored [Mutated Infected] appeared, things would become harder. They might need to rely on throwable explosives or even just the sheer might of their weapons from Mark. Either way, it would be dangerous.

"We have to make do with what we have," Luna said to Edge before turning to their other members. "Check the ammo! How much is left?"

"Boss! We've run through a little more than a third of our supply so far."

A member shouted back.

The ammo supply was already a little less than two-thirds left. It was hard to say if it would be enough.

Looking at the dark silhouettes of corpses that littered the field, they probably killed more than a thousand already. Even though they could not see much clearly due to the darkness of the night despite the few spotlights they had, the thick iron-like stench could tell them how much blood had already been spilled before them.

And, of course, the number of corpses would only increase as the horde continued to charge at them.

"It's getting harder to shoot," Limabela complained as their field of view started to shrink. "The corpses from the larger [Mutated Infected] are blocking our sight."

It was a common problem during battles against large hordes. When corpses began to pile up, the shooters' field of view would begin to narrow. This would not be much of a problem for shooters in higher elevations, but the Moon Chasers were currently facing the direction of the mountain and a thick forest.

The ground might not be steep, but the slight slope was just as bad while positioned on the lower side of the elevation.

"It should be fine," Luna spoke. "It also shrinks the path the [Infected] can pass through. Just concentrate fire on the gaps between the giant corpses."

Luna was right. The large corpses might be blocking their sight but also shrunk the path of the [Infected], slowing the enemies' advance.

And most importantly...

"Luna!" Nelia shouted from her position on the atop the roof of a house. "The horde is slowing down! We finally got past the initial wave!"

Hordes might be a group of [Infected]. But in larger hordes, it was clear that not everyone would have the same capabilities. And the initial wave was the first part of the horde anyone would encounter after it was aggroed. It was the part of the horde where the fastest belonged.

Due to the difference in speed, they would be charging faster toward their targets while leaving the rest of the horde behind. It was also seemingly the most dangerous part of the horde for obvious reasons.

And finally, the Moon Chasers survived the initial wave.

The slower members of the horde would be easier to deal with as long as they were not careless.

It should be fine now. The slower group could have armored enemies and even large-bodied ones, but they should be able to manage.

The Moon Chasers should be fine, and the 38th Sattelite Settlement would suffer no damage. They were doing well so far, after all.

Right?

WOOSH!

All of a sudden. A loud sound of wind being whipped faintly echoed across the continuous gunfire. Not many heard the sudden strange sound. Only those with keen hearing heard it.

And what followed the sound of the wind was a faint silhouette of something large spinning in the air.

BOOOM!

The large spinning thing crashed behind the defense line.

"NELIA!"

Luna could not help but shout in shock. That spinning thing crashed directly onto the house Nelia was shooting from.

"I'm fine!"

Nelia immediately shouted back. She managed to jump off in time due to her heightened eyesight, which managed to catch the fast movement in the dark.

Luna and the others felt relieved to see Nelia unscathed. But what in the world happened.

WOOSH!

Another faint sound of the wind being whipped was heard.

"Watch out! Another one is incoming!"

Limabela shouted with her eyes glowing light blue. It seemed her [Clairvoayance] finally activated. This also meant that the danger they were facing suddenly increased.

BAM!

Another large thing crashed. This time, it was just at the front of the defense line.

Several barricades were broken. Splinters of wood from the barricades even hurt the nearby members.

But finally, everyone saw what the spinning thing was now that it crashed before them.

It was an entire tree. It was not something too large, but it was definitely a tree, with its leaves and roots still mostly intact.

If a tree of this size hit a human, death would be the least of their problems.

"Everyone alert! Trees are getting thrown at us!"

Luna ordered as she realized the situation.

Without a doubt, an [Infected] within the horde was doing this. It was not the first time something like this was encountered by the survivors of the fortress.

That particular [Infected] was as notorious as the [Corpse Devourer]. It was called the [Catapult Giant].

BOOM! BOOM!

The heavy footsteps finally entered everyone's ears.

"SPOTLIGHTS!"

Luna shouted, prompting some of the spotlights to focus on the direction where the footsteps were coming from.

Just in time, as the spotlight shined on the forest, the silhouette of the large figure emerged.

And everyone froze.

It was a giant past three meters tall. It had a bulky body with muscles too enlarged that it seemed like it might pop like a balloon. However, the muscles were covered with stone-like growth on its skin, especially the forearms and the legs, causing it to move slowly. It walked out carrying another newly uprooted tree in its hands.

But that was not what caused the moon chasers to freeze. It was the fact that the giant had a visible tattoo on its exposed biceps. The tattoo was stretched out because of the giant's mutation and growth, but it was still recognizable.

"Wahyu..."

Edge murmured a name everyone had in mind.

The [Catapult Giant] standing before their eyes was the missing member of the Fire Fighters of the 41st Satellite Settlement. He was the man who was replaced by a [Face Wearer] who caused a disaster for their group.

And now, the poor missing guy, stripped of his face and identity, became a mindless, item-hurling [Infected].

The [Infected] Wahyu heavily stomped on the ground as he began swinging his right arm, which held the uprooted tree.

"GET READY TO DODGE!"

Luna shouted, prompting everyone to get on their feet.

Just like the first two trees, the tree Wahyu held was hurled towards the Moon Chasers.

The Moon Chasers, along the trajectory of the hurled tree, immediately ran away to escape. Fortunately, they promptly reacted, and no one was hurt. However, the wall behind them that surrounded the settlement and the house behind it was turned into debris. The spread-out branches and leaves of the tree even made it harder to reform the defense life.

"Damn..." Edge cursed as he saw the damage. "We need to deal with him quick!"

Edge immediately switched his weapon to his RPG. After checking that no one stood behind him, he fired.

Wahyu might be someone familiar to them. But at this moment, their safety was far more important. Besides, they had already gone through similar circumstances before. There was only one right thing to do. It was to not let their [Infected] friend cause some damage they would have regretted doing when they were still alive.

However, the next thing that happened surprised everyone.

As the rocket flew with the trail of flames and smoke behind it, Wahyu lowered his body. Then, with a grab and a swing, Wahyu tossed several [Infected] forward, creating a screen of meatshields in front of the rocket.

BOOOM!

The rocket exploded, obliterating several [Infected] it collided with.

And Wahyu? He stood behind the horde unscathed.

Wahyu then began grabbing nearby trees. It was clear what he wanted to do.

The danger really spiked hard when they thought they got past the most dangerous part.

Wahyu, the [Catapult Giant], was not just some regular [Mutated Infected]. He seemed to be a [Mutated Infected] who developed more defined instincts and intelligence.

It was the worst kind of [Infected] to encounter.

GROOOARR!!!

Wahyu roared loudly. The slow [Infected] suddenly perked up. As they all turned their heads towards Wahyu, they began to change direction and charged at him. And then, after effortlessly uprooting the tree held onto, he picked another couple of smaller [Infected] with his enlarged right hand.

"You got to be kidding me."

Luna voiced out the thought everyone currently had.

Just a [Catapult Giant]? As far as they knew, a [Catapult Giant] did not have such abilities to command and gather the [Infected].

"Shoot him! Don't let him get another throw!"

Edge shouted, ordering concentrated fire on Wahyu. However, the bullets could not do anything to the stone-like skin covering parts of Wahyu's body, and he showed no reaction to the bullets that actually punctured through his muscles.

GRAAA!

Wahyu roared as he swung his arm, which held the [Infected]. The [Infected] he held were thrown over the field and onto the defense line. The aim was not perfect, and the [Infected] scattered midair. Some of them would clearly fall inside the settlement.

"Prioritize the [Infected] falling inside!" Luna commanded before turning to Bajing. "Bajing! We're heading out!"

"Edge!" Luna shouted. "I'm heading out with Bajing to intercept Wahyu and get his attention or he will keep throwing things at us! I'll leave the command here to you!"

Edge looked at Luna, seemingly wanting to say something with hesitation. However, he shook his head.

"Leave this to me. Just be careful, you two. Nelia will probably support you, but don't be careless."

Edge reminded them as he switched to his greatsword and cut down a [Infected] falling in his direction.

Luna gave Edge a serious nod and rushed out, with Bajing following closely behind her. The two women rushed to the side, away from the line of fire.

While running, Luna closed her eyes. Her purple hair began to glitter.

With the danger Wahyu posed, Luna had no choice but to go all out at the start.