Chapter 737.2: The Cave Filled With Human Flesh

Dazed from the impact, it staggered to its feet. Its bloodshot eyes were filled with hatred and terror. Shrieking wildly, it charged straight at the Wislanders.

An overwhelming sense of danger flashed through Daemon's mind. Without hesitation, he lunged forward and shouted, "Get down!"

The instant he tackled the goblin, pinned it beneath his body, and slit its throat with a knife, the tunnel exploded.

The deafening blast left everyone dizzy and half-deaf. No one knew what kind of explosive had been packed into the creature. But even ordinary black powder would have been devastating in such a confined space.

Daemon groaned. His chest armor shattered into fragments and embedded itself into his body. Under the flickering firelight, the man was lifted off the ground by the blast wave before crashing back down heavily.

"Daemon!" Looking at their unconscious comrade, the squad leader's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

"Daemon!" Someone else threw himself forward and shakily placed a finger beneath Daemon's nose and his expression immediately changed. "He's not breathing!"

There was no time to hesitate. Suppressing the fury burning in his chest, the squad leader roared, "Peter! Banchi! Hold the tunnel entrance! Medic! Get your ass over here!"

"... Yes!" The assault trooper beside Daemon clenched his teeth. Reluctantly leaving his fallen comrade's side, he scrambled back to cover and joined another soldier in firing into the depths of the tunnel, venting all his anger through streams of gunfire.

The unit medic crawled forward on his belly and quickly reached Daemon's side. With considerable effort, he rolled the man over. The moment he saw Daemon's chest, all color drained from his face.

There was no saving him. At least half the shattered fragments of his breastplate had been driven into his body. His intestines had been shredded into an unrecognizable mass of flesh and blood. The medic couldn't even tell which pieces belonged to Daemon and which belonged to the goblin. Even so, he extended trembling fingers and pulled a bandage from his belt.

Muttering to himself in a shaky voice, he began wrapping the wounds of a man who was already dead, like some meaningless prayer.

As enemy fire from deeper inside the tunnel intensified, the Wislanders holding the line gradually lost the high morale and fighting spirit they had possessed when charging up the mountain.

Watching comrades fall one after another while reinforcements failed to arrive, the squad leader nearly ground his teeth to dust.

They couldn't wait any longer. Prepared to face whatever punishment might come afterward, he shouted to the soldiers ahead, "Seal the entrance with incendiaries! We're getting the hell out of here!"

Before he could finish speaking, an explosion erupted from the other side of the tunnel. The blast hurled the two soldiers guarding the entrance through the air.

Steadying himself against the wall, the squad leader snatched up his rifle and looked forward, his pupils immediately contracting.

A Mutant Human stood in the center of the tunnel and steel plates had been welded directly onto its body. Its face was covered in twisted lumps of flesh. Half of it was a mass of old scars while the other half consisted of freshly regrown tissue.

It revealed a horrifying grin as he looked at the Wislanders.

...

The slaughter continued as every Wislander trapped inside the tunnels fought with everything they had. Yet the casualties only continued to mount.

Objectively speaking, they were far more capable fighters than ordinary soldiers. But the enemy standing before them were Mutant Humans.

And in terms of technology, the enemy was no less advanced than they were.

On the Loyalty, fine beads of sweat covered Liam's forehead. The composed confidence he had displayed earlier was completely gone. His face was filled with frustration and exhaustion.

Moments ago, General Modlin had reported the situation at the front and formally requested permission to withdraw. Though Liam hated the idea with every fiber of his being, he understood that dragging the battle out would only result in more casualties.

There was no chance of victory.

Grinding his teeth, he finally gave the order to retreat and instructed Modlin to bring the troops back.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. The Mutant Humans had no intention of letting them go. They chased both battalions relentlessly as they withdrew.

Watching the battle unfold on the holographic display, Liam's adjutant spoke gravely. "The Mutant Humans probably aren't planning to return to their positions." "They're likely trying to use our retreat as an opportunity to push all the way to Black Cloud Peak."

"I know." Liam's voice was filled with irritation. "Where's the nearest available force?"

"On Manor Peak. The New Alliance's Death Corps is stationed there." The adjutant hesitated before continuing, "As for our own troops, the nearest units are still at Guardian Manor Military Base. That's over five kilometers of mountain roads and thousands of meters of elevation. They won't get there in time."

There seemed to be only one way left to save Black Cloud Peak and Liam felt as though his heart was bleeding. If it weren't absolutely necessary, he would never ask allies for help.

Still... Asking the New Alliance was easier to stomach than asking Enterprise.

After weighing the options, he finally gave the order. "Contact the New Alliance commander."

"Yes, sir!"

Just as the adjutant acknowledged the order, the radar operator suddenly spoke. "Sir, the Heart of Steel has appeared on radar! They are approximately 80 kilometers from us!"

The moment he heard the name Heart of Steel, Liam's eyebrow twitched violently. Grinding his teeth, he issued another order. "... Contact the Heart of Steel directly."

The adjutant forced a bitter smile and saluted. "Yes, sir."

...

On the mountain road between Black Cloud Peak and Broken Blade Peak. Make Me, clicked his tongue in amazement while carrying a camera and scampering around.

"These Mutant Humans are actually pretty damn impressive..."

No wonder he could never infiltrate their tunnels. As it turned out, the problem hadn't been him after all.

Not far away, sitting atop a stone like a gargoyle, Garbage slowly rubbed his claws together. Excitement gleamed within his amber eyes. "Come on... Let the blood flow."

During the battle for Manor Peak, he hadn't gotten nearly enough kills before dying. This time, he wasn't making the same mistake. Standing nearby with binoculars, Me Quiet muttered thoughtfully, "Holy crap, the Wislanders are actually getting pushed back?"

Not only that. The Mutant Humans had emerged from their tunnels in waves and were now charging after the retreating Wislanders. The smaller Goblins had also dragged machine guns and short-barreled cannons out from the caves.

Without hesitation, they unleashed everything downhill. Streams of tracer fire poured down like rain and the Wislanders below could barely raise their heads.

The Loyalty could only watch helplessly from afar.

The dispersion of indirect fire was too great. At such close range, artillery support would likely kill friend and foe alike. Just as the two battalions appeared doomed and the Mutant Humans seemed ready to push all the way to Black Cloud Peak, six Cloudfly aircrafts suddenly emerged from the darkness.

The rocket pods mounted on their wings unleashed a devastating barrage against the machine-gun nests on the mountainside.

The sudden arrival of the aircraft caught General Modlin completely by surprise.

Even his adjutant couldn't help blurting out, "The Enterprise is here?!"

They were actually helping?

On the summit of Broken Blade Peak, the Beast King's pupils narrowed. Based on everything he knew about the coalition, its members could never truly unite. Even forced onto the same battlefield, they would remain suspicious of one another, each harboring their own selfish agendas. That was why he had immediately understood the Army's intentions when they launched their surprise assault.

He had deliberately played along, ordering Orlong to allow the Wislanders into the tunnels, he created the illusion that Broken Blade Peak was vulnerable. The goal was to lure the Army into committing Black Cloud Peak's defenders as well.

Up until that point, the plan had worked perfectly. Given another two hours, he was confident he could annihilate both Wislander battalions at the foot of the mountain.

Yet he had never expected the Enterprise to intervene at precisely that moment.

In his original calculations, even if the Enterprise noticed the deteriorating situation, they would never send reinforcements. After all, the Wislanders had ignored the agreed plan and attempted to steal the credit first. The Enterprise had every reason to sit back and let them suffer.

Watching the explosions bloom across the mountainside, the Beast King frowned. After a long silence, realization suddenly dawned on him. He slowly lifted his head and looked toward the northern sky. "... Has he arrived?"

The words escaped his lips in a whisper as his translucent figure gradually faded into the night wind.

...

At the same moment, the six Cloudfly aircrafts and their rocket barrage finally bought a precious breathing space for the battered Wislanders.

Amid the burning chaos around him, a Goblin artilleryman shrieked furiously and ordered his underlings to reload.

Adjusting his sights toward one of the flapping aircraft, he yanked the firing cord and a streak of orange fire shot skyward.

It didn't even come close. The Cloudfly casually slid sideways in one smooth maneuver and avoided it completely. Having completed the dodge, the aircraft didn't pause for even a moment. The autocannon mounted beneath its nose swung smoothly into position before a storm of orange tracers swept across the hillside.

The artillery position, its crew, and even the surrounding cover were shredded into pieces instantly.

"Beautiful!" a Wislander crouching behind cover at the foot of the mountain couldn't help shouting toward the night sky. Then he suddenly remembered those were Enterprise aircraft and swallowed the rest of his cheer.

General Modlin felt much the same. He stared at the Cloudfly squadron with a complicated expression. Thankfully, the intervention allowed both battalions to withdraw and reorganize rather than be completely annihilated.

Yet, the fact that the Enterprise had saved them left a bitter taste in his mouth.

...

At that moment, on Prefecture Mountain behind Black Cloud Peak, a force of soldiers clad in exoskeletons had already completed their assembly.

They began advancing toward the front in organized waves.

Watching them march directly through his position without even offering a greeting, Modlin couldn't help calling out: "What unit are you from?"

Someone shouted back, "Storm Corps!"

Storm Corps?

Modlin froze. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't immediately place it. His adjutant, however, revealed a look of shock.

Memories from the previous year's expedition in the Sunset Province resurfaced. Back then, a group of maniacs had chased them across the desert for hundreds of kilometers.

One of those corps... Wasn’t it the Storm Corps?

While the Wislander officers stood there in confusion, the high-morale force had already reached the front.

A man wearing heavy exoskeleton armor stood toward the rear of the formation with a massive launch tube resting on his shoulder. Heavy mortar shells continuously flew from it toward enemy positions as a strange energy shield seemed to surround him.

Even concentrated fire couldn't harm him. In fact, he still had enough energy to shout, "Brothers, let's open the eyes of these big-nosed cowards who pissed themselves! We’ll show them what a real warrior race looks like!"

"Victory for our administrator!"

His words ignited a frenzy across the battlefield. Every kind of battle cry imaginable erupted from the New Alliance lines.

"Crush them!"

"DEMACIA!"

The chaotic chorus echoed across the mountainside.

Even the exhausted Mutant Humans halfway up the slope felt a chill run through their hearts. Their instincts told them something unsettling.

Those humans didn't look particularly special, but somehow... They might prove more troublesome than every human they had faced combined.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.