Chapter 746.1: The Decision For The Land

Deep within Blood Peak, inside a vast, lightless cavern, silent scriptures echoed through a nonexistent void as one after another, statues emanating the stale scent of decay slowly opened their eyes.

Every one of them had once been a named Mutant Human, the strongest among countless green-skinned brutes, the champions among countless Plague Monks. And, above all, his finest masterpieces.

They were still far from true perfection.

Just like the deceased Orlong, they were merely unfinished works from an earlier stage. Even so, they were more than sufficient as temporary vessels for his soul.

He did not mind lowering himself for a moment. To meet that person, he required a body capable of walking the mortal world.

"... The Fourth Stage of the Kingdom of Heaven has been restarted. The eternal kingdom has descended. Every living being upon the earth shall become a believer of the Lord and embrace supreme evolution. My Lord is all things, and all things are my Lord."

The statue standing at the very center opened its eyes. An eerie emerald light glowed from its sickly green pupils. That light seemed to pierce beyond the cave itself, locking onto a certain azure figure in the distance.

There was no mistake, that azure exoframe was none other than the administrator's relic. Now it was once again being worn by an administrator. Just... not the same one.

A chilling smile gradually spread across the monster's face as a meaningful voice emerged from its gaping maw. "I see you."

The tremors shaking the earth gradually drew closer, interrupting its wandering thoughts.

The events surrounding Shelter 117 were already ancient history. None of them were the same noisy young men who had once dreamed of opening the shelter doors and saving the wasteland.

Over the course of many years, they had witnessed humanity's hopelessness firsthand. They had long realized that opening a few shelters alone could never save this damned world. They would instead deliver fundamental salvation to those stubborn compatriots still desperately struggling against the inevitable.

The dust from distant explosions drifted into the cavern and a soldier from the Alpha Mobile Task Force wearing a gas mask charged inside.

The moment he saw the monsters before him, surprise flashed through his eyes, but there wasn't the slightest hesitation. He immediately raised the Gauss rifle in his hands.

Azure arcs crackled inside the weapon as countless projectiles accelerated to their maximum velocity, saturating the entire tunnel.

Under normal circumstances, the monster should have been riddled with holes.

Instead, an overwhelming force slammed squarely into his chest. A cloud of exploding spores erupted around him, hurling him violently backward and his back smashed into the cavern wall.

The impact should have hurt, yet the agonizing pain came from his chest instead.

"Argh!"

Had the ballistic plates on his exoskeleton not absorbed 90% of the impact, that single blow would have killed him.

"Corrosive explosive... All squads, be advised."

Looking at the armor plate that had already begun corroding away, he reported the situation while struggling back to his feet and retrieving the rifle he'd dropped.

Then, a towering figure nearly three meters tall slowly emerged through the grayish-green haze.

It possessed a humanoid shape yet resembled a human only in the broadest sense. Its body was covered in rotting folds of flesh, resembling some monstrous swamp ooze. Its body was riddled with dark-red, bleeding craters left by kinetic rounds.

Most horrifying of all, within each wound, twisted worm-like tendrils writhed visibly before intertwining together, stitching the holes shut at a speed visible to the naked eye, as though someone had injected an accelerated nanomedical healing agent.

Shock flashed across the soldier's eyes, but only for an instant. He immediately drew the underslung grenade launcher attached to his equipment and fired an incendiary grenade.

Unfortunately for him, the creature moved far faster than he had imagined.

With nothing more than a casual swing of one arm, it knocked the smoke-trailing grenade flying away.

Flames burst deep inside the tunnel and white smoke filled with glowing embers exploded throughout the cavern.

As the fire illuminated the underground chamber, the astonishment in the soldier's eyes gradually became despair.

There were nearly fifty monsters just like it.

"... What do you think of the name Plague Champion? I've never been particularly good at naming my creations." Looking down upon the soldier steadily retreating backward, the lead monster wore a horrifying smile.

Staring at the rifle aimed at itself, it found the entire situation rather dull.

These incomplete counterfeits... Couldn't even beg for mercy.

Pathetic, like slugs crawling through a swamp.

Splurt!

It raised its right arm before bringing it crashing downward. The heavy chitinous blade cleaved the silent soldier cleanly in half.

So... The scent of decay had indeed been coming from inside this fellow's abdomen. Pulling open the corpse's chest cavity, it even saw the writhing little "larvae" inside.

Though the tiny creatures struggled desperately. even they couldn't repair such a fatal wound.

As expected. The human body remained far too fragile.

Shaking the intestines and blood from the tip of its blade, it turned toward the starving Plague Champions behind it and roared in a deep voice. "Kill them all!"

The Plague Champions erupted into feral howls before charging toward the tunnel entrance, beginning a bloody massacre.

"ROOOAAARRR!"

Alpha Mobile Task Force, which had already penetrated deep into Blood Peak's interior, immediately found itself trapped in a desperate battle.

Meanwhile, inside the vast underground hall, Prophet Sodo saw hope of victory at last. His grotesquely swollen, toad-like cheeks expanded as he shouted excitedly to the Plague Monks, whose fighting spirit had reignited. "Chop those human bastards into pieces! Throw every last one of them into the pot! We will boil them into soup!"

...

The only places consumed by gunfire weren’t just Blood Peak's tunnels and Guardian Manor Military Base. Broken Blade Peak's defensive positions had likewise become engulfed in flames and smoke.

Almost the instant the gray fog appeared, the Mutant Human brutes and Goblins hiding deep inside the tunnels surged out as though responding to some unseen signal, launching a ferocious assault against the coalition’s positions.

Stationed there were the Enterprise's 1st Battalion of their 100th Mechanized Mountain Division, along with a small number of Army officers and New Alliance players. The sudden attack caught many first-time frontline recruits completely off guard.

Spring Water Commander had originally assumed those rookies would be utterly demolished.

However, their performance greatly exceeded his expectations. Their excellent exoframes and rifles guaranteed a respectable minimum level of combat effectiveness. Meanwhile, their diverse cybernetic implants dramatically improved their battlefield survivability.

Although their tactical experience was admittedly lacking...

Even veteran soldiers weren't guaranteed to defeat complete rookies equipped with what amounted to built-in aimbots.

At the very least, despite their considerably higher price tag, they hadn't performed much worse than the cheaper mercenaries.

The remaining warriors of the Rock Axe Clan were crushed like waves breaking against a reef.

Aside from the creatures that refused to die even after having their heads blown apart. which caused the rookies considerable trouble, the remaining green-skinned brutes and Goblins were methodically gunned down inside the rocky tunnels.

The fighting on Broken Blade Peak ended quickly and the commander from the 100th Mechanized Mountain Division rapidly completed the casualty report.

20 were killed and 39 were wounded on their side while nearly 1,000 Mutant Humans were eliminated.

As for the players, most who had remained behind to spectate were veteran players. They didn’t suffer a single casualty.

With the complete annihilation of the Rock Axe Clan's remnants, the final pocket of festering infection hidden within Broken Blade Peak had finally been squeezed out.

Even so, the gray fog showed no signs of dispersing. Continuous gunfire still echoed from the front lines all the way into the rear, especially around Guardian Manor Military Base.

Wiping blood from his entrenching shovel, Sideline Slacking walked over to Spring Water Commander and spoke with a serious expression. "... The Alpha Mobile Task Force is about to collapse. The administrator wants us to reinforce them. Could you guys head back toward Guardian Manor Military Base?"

"We've already received orders to redeploy." Spring Water Commander tapped twice on his VM screen while examining the tactical map. "The administrator has established a rally at Guardian Manor Military Base. Right, it’s not just the Storm Corps either. Mole’s Skeleton Corps is heading there too."

As he studied the map, admiration gradually appeared on his face. He whispered softly to himself, "... So that's how you're supposed to play this environmental card. These guys really know what they're doing."

Despite fighting a bunch of anti-human lunatics... He couldn't help admitting they had played their hand beautifully.

Had he been holding that same card, he doubted he could have played it any better. Perhaps only their resident master at launching surprise attacks, their administrator, would be able to do a better job.

Looking closely at all the details, their administrator clearly knew how to play the game of war.

For example, immediately ordering the two airships to withdraw from the fog had been exactly the right decision. On the surface, the gray fog itself couldn't reach the airships. But who knew what else might be hiding inside it?

"So you've started talking about card games too?" Sideline Slacking said with a helpless laugh.

Spring Water Commander raised an eyebrow. "No. I'm just using a simple analogy."

"At first I thought they were playing scorched earth, but that was just a feint. They had hidden another card beneath our feet."

After a brief pause, he continued, "If I'm right, the real show starts tonight. If they planned to reveal this card from the very beginning, then it wasn't just to cause us a little trouble. They know perfectly well this alone won't defeat us."

Sideline Slacking's expression became serious. "You sure things are okay on your side?"

"Our side?" Spring Water Commander burst into laughter. "Are you kidding? We weren't afraid of anyone when we didn't even have a single airship. Now we've got two! With two starship cores powering our super bombers, how the hell are we supposed to lose?"

...

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