Mutagen

Day 203 - 1:21 AM - Defense Line, Northern Slums, Corregidor Military Settlement, Island of Corregidor, Province of Cavite

"A [Tank Type] at two o'clock! We need explosives here!"

"A [Predator Type] is making a detour towards the beach! Dispatch it quickly!"

"Watch out! There's an Acid Belcher at the back! Kill it before it gets close!"

"Quickly dispose of the smaller [Infected] before the [Behemoth Class Infecteds] arrive!"

"[Infected] bats at ten! Bring them down!"

Along with the sounds of gunfire and rain, those shouts from the team leaders of General Perez's soldiers mixed in with the noise. However, it was something that could not be helped. In front of them, a horde of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of [Infected] rushed in like a torrential flood.

The [Infected] horde came in with different appearances, abilities, sizes, speed, and attack patterns. Although most of the [Infected] ran towards the soldier's gunfire, there were some that behaved far differently. For example, the [Mutated Infected].

As time had passed, the mutations of [Infected] had gotten worse and complicated. Their strengths increased while some developed unique methods to hunt their prey.

[Tank Types] were very hard to deal with regular firepower. Their mutated skin was hard to pierce through. Worse, those with higher mutation levels could even withstand explosives to a certain extent.

[Range Types] were rather complicated to fight. Although these types of mutation had obvious changes in the [Infected's] body, like an acid sack below their throats or bloated chests, it was hard to find them within hordes of [Infected]. There was also the issue with these types where different mutations have different attacks, and there was a wide variety of them.

[Hunter Types] was the fastest kind. At first, these mutations were not that much of a pain to deal with. Although they were faster than most [Infected], they had smaller statures and were easy to kill because they behaved no different from a regular one. As time went on, however, these [Mutated Infected] developed new behaviors. From what the military observed, the ratio of [Hunter Types] compared to other [Mutated Infected] was way higher. Their kind was also commonly found in concentrated areas. Since many of them with the same mutations gathered in a single place, they began forming groups, hunting together. They were extremely catastrophic against smaller survivor groups since these [Mutated Infected] hunt in packs.

[Predator Types] were the hardest ones to deal with among the common mutation types of [Infected]. Their number was not that great compared to most [Mutated Infected]. However, they were the most intelligent in hunting prey. They tend to stray away from their horde, hiding around and ambushing their unsuspecting victims. There were even instances of these [Mutated Infected] circling around defense lines and attacking from the back. What made it worse was that many of them could climb trees and other surfaces, making their ambushes even harder to detect.

[Mixed Types] were a bit rarer. They were [Infected] which underwent at least two different types of mutation. The good thing about this was that they were unlike single mutations that strengthened over time. The term "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" applied greatly to this mutation. However, having more types of mutation allowed these [Mutated Infected] to have a variety of attacks that was quite harder to predict.

Moving towards the rarer types of mutations. There were the [Leader Types] and the [Breeder Types].

From their types of mutation, it was not hard to explain what kinds of mutations they had.

[Leaders Types] lead hordes of [Infected]. They were the smartest kind of [Infected], able to command the horde at their will. Of course, it was a rare mutation, and not all hordes had their type leading it. However, if the horde was clearly larger than normal hordes, with a lot of [Mutated Infected] in it, it was good to expect a [Leader Type] leading it.

[Breeder Types] were one of the hardest to deal with in a different way than others. These types would not join hordes. They create hordes of their own. They birth what the military now called [Infected Abominations]. Although these [Infected Abominations] might look more or less the same race as their mother, they looked extremely deformed and barely recognizable as the same race. The worst thing was that most [Breeder Types] would not roam around. They would stay in one place, birthing her minions one after another until the place overflowed with them. This was what made it harder to kill these [Breeder Types] since their nest was always filled with disgusting creatures.

Worse, both [Leader Types] and [Breeder Types] were always [Mixed Type Infected]. It meant they always had the characteristics of other mutation types. For [Breeder Types], those secondary mutations could even be inherited by their offspring.

And lastly, the only [Infected Class] so far. The [Behemoth Class Infected]. It was still unknown what the cause was, but although extremely rare, some [Mutated Infected] grew into unfathomable sizes. As the word "Behemoth" meant, [Behemoth Class Infected] were [Infected] of gigantic proportions, having at least seven meters in height. Although four to six-meter tall [Infected] was already big on its own, the disparity of strength between the smaller ones and those classed as a behemoth was far wider. The reason the [Behemoth Class Infected] were classed differently was not just their sheer size but their strength after reaching that size.

And now, General Perez, his allies, and the volunteers among the survivors were facing such adversaries.

"Dad, will we be fine after this?"

1st Lieutenant Rafael Perez, General Perez's oldest child, said, watching the situation before them.

General Perez and the people inside the meeting area during the discussion of the plan knew that Mark was the one that attracted these [Infected] here. None of them could fathom how Mark would attract the [Infected], but no one expected this situation. They thought it would just be a small horde. But no.

It was a thousand [Infected] horde with countless [Mutated Infected] and two [Behemoth Class Infected] to boot.

What made the people even more perplexed was the fact that this horde existed somewhere near the settlement, and none of them knew about it. After all, this [ Infected ] horde would not reach the settlement this quickly if they were not nearby.

"We will be." General Perez replied to his son. "We have no choice but to be fine."

General Perez was right. There was no other way but to survive this.

"Still... Just where did they get these weapons..."

Rafael said, looking at the boxes of guns, ammunition, and explosives that Mark gave them for this mission. For Mark to have this much arsenal, it would make one think he raided some foreign military base or something. Not to mention that some of the guns were actually not legal in the Philippines.

Even so, they could not complain about the things Mark gave them. These weapons were what General Perez and his allies needed since the President had the monopoly of weapons in the settlement.

BOOM! RUMBLE! CRASH!

Different sounds of destruction could be heard from a distance. Now, even with the darkness of the night and the rain, they could see the gigantic looming shadows.

"Here they come!"

A soldier shouted with fear clear in his face.

No one would not feel fear while facing those gigantic creatures that could wipe out a settlement in one go.

And the worst of it, the [Infected] still continued to flood towards them with no end in sight.

"The [Infected] reached melee distance! Prepare to engage!"

General Perez shouted.

This was their final defense line before the slums. They could not just retreat from here even if they needed to fight the [Infected] in close quarters.

But all of a sudden...

THOOOM!!!

A beam of light illuminated their front as it mowed a line of [Infected] in front of them. All of the [Infected] in the close distance were obliterated to ashes. The beam of light also left a dry line of soil on the ground and water vapor in the air.

"Reinforcements are here!"

A lively, excited voice was heard. It was Carren, leading the members of the White Snake Gang into the front line.

BANG!

Two flying [Infected] fell with just one bullet. Markron, who arrived with Carren, positioned himself on a high tree and started sniping the enemies.

"Is the evacuation finished?" General Perez asked Carren as she arrived. "It's all done, General. We left the rest of our forces outside the shelter just in case."

"Good. Thank you for cooperating." General Perez breathed out in relief. "But that beam..."

Before General Perez finished his question, he saw Carren pointing at the sky.

There, it was not only General Perez. Everyone saw her. It was not hard to see the person flying in the sky since her weapon was still glowing, and its light was reflected on her rainbow-scaled wings. The familiar visage was clear. It was Mei.

"Everyone! Be careful! The humanoid behemoth is doing something!"

Markron's shout took everyone's attention.

Like Markron shouted, the humanoid behemoth was behaving strangely. It was bowing down for some reason.

RUMBLE!

And everyone was enveloped in horror. Along with the rumbling sound of the ground and tree branches snapping, the humanoid [Behemoth Class Infected] pulled a gigantic tree from its roots, raising it over its head.

"EVADE! QUICK!"

General Perez shouted, ordering everyone to leave their positions. It was clear what the humanoid behemoth was doing. It was going to hurl that gigantic tree towards the front line.

"Just stay put!"

A woman's small voice entered their ears, contradicting the General's order.

Even so, many still abandoned their posts immediately after seeing the humanoid behemoth throw the gigantic tree in their direction.

"Tsk, cowards."

The petite woman, who appeared from nowhere, said before actually running towards the trajectory of the tree.

"Watch out!"

Everyone exclaimed towards the woman. But before the three even reach here, the woman extended her hand forward.

Before the woman, a hole in space appeared, swallowing the tree entirely.

And before their eyes, a similar hole appeared behind the humanoid behemoth. From that hole, the very same tree shot out, hitting the humanoid behemoth's back, causing it to fall over.

General Perez looked at the petite woman before them. He realized who she was.

"You're Spera, right?"

General Perez remembered one of the members of Mark's group. Although Mark did say that his group would help here, he did not expect this at all.

"It's a bit late because of the [Infected] appearing from the waters of Manila Bay, but we came to help as planned," Spera spoke to the General. "We'll deal with the enemies to the side and the giants. Go deal with everything else."

Because of the tree that the humanoid behemoth tried to hurl, the defense on the front line stagnated. The soldiers still had to return to their posts after they tried to run away from the tree, but the [Infected] continuously attacked and were now closing in.

At this time, several figures charged towards the [Infected]. What most people here in the front line did not expect was that three of the figures were actually children. Not to mention a giant rabbit, a cat-like dog, and a...

"A maid?"

One soldier muttered after seeing a teen-aged girl wearing a European Maid Clothing charge behind one of the children.

The most unexpected of all, these children were actually doing better than adults as they fought dozens of [Infected].

"What are you all gawking for? Are you letting children beat you all?"

Husto, who also arrived, shouted. Although he was only saying it to the members of the White Snake Gang, the soldiers around him received collateral damage.

BOOM!

All of a sudden, another loud sound enveloped the battlefield.

And to those that witnessed the scene, their mouths opened agape in shock.

They saw the beast [Behemoth Class Infected] topple to its side.

"What happened?"

General Perez shouted to the soldiers on the watchtower since they could see things further from up there.

"G-General! A-A man just threw the beast behemoth to the ground barehanded!"

Before General could utter another word, Spera spoke to the side.

"I already said we'll deal with the giants. Just focus on the small ones."

General Perez and those around did not know how to react to this sudden development. However, they knew one thing.

"EVERYONE! HERE! WE WILL WRITE HISTORY!"

General Perez roared.

"OOOHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Every fighter on the frontline followed suit with a roar of their own.

Writing history at this moment was not wrong. The forces of the [Infected] they were against right now would require countless sacrifices to win. Worse, destroy their only home left. However, how many casualties did they have so far? None. And yet, they could see themselves winning without a single person dying in front of them.

Who would not feel elated to participate in such an event that would go down this settlement's history?

With those thoughts, they continued fighting.

The morale now had shot through the roof. It felt like they could even fight against the world at this moment whether their enemies were [Infected] or not.