Chapter 742.1: Great Lord of Plague

Within a spacious cavern, dark red mist filled the air with the sour stench of decay, while grotesque creatures chanted strange, babbling cries.

They were enormous in size, staggering in number, and diverse in form. Their shapes and functions varied wildly. Some possessed a single powerful arm growing from their chest, while others had multiple arms and legs like centipedes. The only thing they shared in common was that most of their bodies were covered in pustules, with rotting limbs festering with sores.

The dark red mist seemed to be squeezed out from those pustules, and the giant flies and mosquitoes swarming around them appeared to have grown from them as well, clustering around them affectionately like offspring.

These peculiar mutants called themselves the Plague Monks. They worshipped the omnipresent and omnipotent Plague, regarding it as a priceless treasure.

Rather than mutants, they were more like patchwork abominations created by disassembling countless mutants and stitching them back together in new combinations, having completely transcended the very concept of being a human.

The creature standing at the center of the babbling congregation was the most extreme example of all. Its name was Sodo, prophet of the Plague Monks and chieftain of the Bloodhoof Clan.

Even bulkier than Orlong of the Rock Axe Clan, it possessed two heads sharing three eyes. Long horns protruding from its skull were adorned with rusted bells that emitted ominous jingling sounds as it swayed its heads during ritualistic movements. Its bloated body and sparse hair made it resemble a pig, and combined with its strangely benevolent smile, the result was indescribably unsettling.

Before it sat a cauldron of bubbling dark red stew filled with pus squeezed from the pustules covering its body. Though no fire burned beneath the pot, it continued to boil vigorously, releasing cracks of dark red vapor like boiling water. Only it was not water that boiled, but some vile pathogen.

It called the concoction the "Original Broth."

As the source that nurtured viruses, or blessings, as it preferred to call them, Sodo scooped up a ladleful of pus and splashed it toward the chanting clansmen with gleeful howls.

The mutants drenched by the liquid released ecstatic moans. Some let out frenzied cries of exhilaration, their twisted expressions resembling worshippers who had just received divine blessings.

Compared to those euphoric lunatics, the smaller figures darting between the legs of the giants were far more practical.

The Goblins and mutant children scrambled across the ground, fighting to lap up the Prophet's gifted Original Broth as though it were the finest delicacy imaginable.

Some Goblins began mutating, their bodies swelling like bloated balloons. Others shrank into tightly curled masses, becoming so small they were almost unrecognizable. Their bodies then split apart and were quickly devoured by their kin.

Whether they were offspring of the giant mutants or naturally diminutive goblins, those who survived transformed into plague-spreading Plague Monks and joined the grand chorus celebrating both birth and death.

A Feeder carrying a large basket of flesh-red fungal masses squeezed through the cavern entrance and hurled the foul-looking organic lumps into the crowd of believers.

The newborn Plague Monks immediately pounced upon them like starving wolves, greedily stuffing the flesh-like nonsense into their mouths to fill their ravenous stomachs and absorb the nutrients needed for growth. Amid the strange chants and constant chorus of satisfied belches, the bloody and chaotic feast continued endlessly, spreading diseased flesh like a plague.

Highly satisfied with this latest batch of creations, Sodo nodded contentedly and selected an even larger pustule from its body to begin brewing the next pot.

At that moment, however, a commotion erupted near the cavern entrance as more than a dozen stripped human captives were carried inside.

Among them were both men and women. Most were severely wounded and unconscious. A few remained awake, staring at the horrors within the cavern with unmistakable terror on their faces.

Grabbing one captive by the neck, a three-meter-tall brute with six arms let out a wicked grin and raised its longest arm high overhead, proudly displaying the struggling creature in its grasp.

The prisoners belonged to a squad that had attempted to infiltrate the caves.

After consuming two brains, it had learned every detail of the little mice's plans. Bathed in the cheers of the assembled Plague Monks, it stared at the Prophet without blinking, its eyes filled with pride, worship, and longing for a reward.

"Human thing! Invisible! Thought we couldn't see them! Gahaha!"

A loving smile appeared on Sodo's face. Yet in the eyes of the operative from the Alpha Mobile Task Force, that smile was as terrifying as the demons described in ancient religions. Terror filled his face, but with his throat tightly crushed in the mutant's grip, he could not utter a sound and could only watch helplessly as he was brought before the monstrosity.

Sodo gazed into his eyes.

Suddenly, a slit opened across its bloated stomach, and thick intestines as wide as buckets slithered out like giant worms, wrapping around him and yanking him violently into its belly.

The last remnants of his consciousness seemed to hear the sound of his bones snapping. Then his awareness plunged into darkness and became nothing more than one of Sodo's satisfied burps.

Watching their captain get swallowed alive, the remaining conscious squad members were overwhelmed with terror and despair.

Without hesitation, Sodo splashed a ladleful of Original Broth onto the warrior who had delivered the prisoners, then looked toward the captives at the cave entrance and bellowed, "Take them to the incubation pool! Offer them to the Great Lord of Plague! Give thanks for the evolution He has bestowed upon us!"

Its voice sounded like ten thousand cicadas beating their wings in unison, the rustling echoes reverberating endlessly through the dark cavern.

"Ooooooh!"

The monsters writhed their twisted limbs wildly, their ecstatic cries shaking the mountain itself.

The Alpha Mobile Task Force members struggled desperately to resist, but were ultimately dragged toward the place known as the Incubation Chamber.

It was a bottomless abyss, with a faint crimson glow visible deep within the darkness, resembling an extinguished volcanic crater. The dark red mist blanketing the mountain seemed to originate from that very pit.

Several wooden cranes stood along the edge of the abyss, iron chains wrapped around their winches. Buckets hung from the chains, still stained with flesh-red fungal matter.

One female operative, pale-faced and purple-lipped, trembled as she whispered, "... A Hive..."

It was actually a Mutant Slime Mold Hive! She had to get this information back to the others!

Unfortunately, they were buried countless meters underground, with untold layers of rock above them. Ordinary electromagnetic signals had no hope of escaping.

And more importantly, now that they had fallen into enemy hands, survival itself was uncertain.

"Offer sacrifices to the Great Lord of Plague!"

The Plague Monk who had brought her there muttered solemnly before tossing her into the endless abyss.

A warm sensation flowed through her body, as though she had fallen into a blazing embrace. Then her consciousness vanished like a kite with its string cut, disappearing into an unseeable darkness...

...

At the same time, on the southern slope of Broken Blade Peak, a line of heavily armed soldiers wearing gas masks stood motionless on their positions like statues, staring intently at the blood-mist-covered peak in the distance.

Blood Peak resembled a gigantic halberd dropped from the heavens, cleaving the 80 miles mountain route in two.

"Alpha Team Thirteen has lost contact."

"Package failed to reach designated location. No explosion detected."

"Assessment: total casualties."

"Plan C13 has failed. Initiating Plan B14... execute."

"Copy."

Plan C13 had involved an optical-camouflage infiltration squad penetrating the caves and planting explosives to collapse portions of the tunnel network, thereby destroying the mutants' internal defensive fortifications.

Clearly, the plan had failed.

Even if only to determine why it had failed and gather information for a more comprehensive offensive strategy, they needed to recover the bodies of their teammates and obtain more intelligence from inside the caves.

The silent exchange ended.

The soldiers waiting on the mountainside climbed out of their trenches in perfect formation, assembling into ten-man squads and advancing toward Blood Peak.

Unlike Alpha Team Thirteen, those troops formed the backbone of the Alpha Mobile Task Force.

Equipped with heavy exoskeletons and electromagnetic weapons, they served as the spearhead of the Academy’s offensives, specializing in eliminating dangerous targets that ordinary exploration teams could not handle.

At the same moment, thunderous booms echoed from afar as two 902mm cannons unleashed sheets of flame, launching several gun-fired rockets carrying 1,000-kilogram thermobaric warheads into the sky.

After more than a dozen breaths, shrill screams tore through the clouds overhead before erupting into giant mushroom-shaped crimson blooms.

Scorching flames poured down like molten lava from the heavens, nearly engulfing the entire mountain range and instantly consuming all oxygen within several kilometers. The strange red mist surrounding Blood Peak was completely swept away in an instant.

The attack proved once again that before sufficient firepower, all monsters and demons were little more than paper tigers.

Of course, offense and defense were always relative concepts. The prerequisite was always that they had sufficient power.

Small landslides occurred across the mountain, with enormous boulders tumbling from the 3,000 meter summit to the base.

Yet the mountain itself remained standing, utterly unmoved even though the rising heat made it appear as though the entire mountain had been roasted.

Within just a few minutes, the coalition had unleashed no fewer than 10 902mm heavy shells against Blood Peak. The volume of ammunition would have filled five railway cars, saturating nearly every reachable location. Not even an ant should have survived.

Meanwhile, two 100-man companies of the Alpha Mobile Task Force had already reached the frontlines.

Arriving alongside them were 200 quadrotor drones armed with caseless rifles and grenade launchers. Unlike the New Alliance's drones, Academy drones looked far more futuristic and carried a bewildering variety of integrated systems.

The moment the drone attack formation deployed, brilliant streams of light suddenly appeared beneath them, assembling into colorful human figures.

Watching from aboard the airship Loyalty, General Liam's eyes nearly popped out of his head. For a moment, he thought he was witnessing some kind of teleportation technology. However, he quickly realized it was merely holographic projection. The soldiers appearing from thin air were not real at all, and he sat back down.

"Heh. Smoke and mirrors." He muttered the insult dismissively, though caution flickered within his eyes.

To be fair, the holograms were realistic enough to be mistaken for real troops. If the drones and projections opened fire simultaneously, it was difficult to say whether frontline soldiers would be fooled and split their firepower between real and false targets.

Even recognizing the projections as holograms didn't solve the problem. The drones themselves served as mobile cover for Alpha Mobile Task Force soldiers.

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