Chapter 571.2: "What The Fuck?"

Barely catching the creature’s movement, Old White’s brows tightened sharply, every muscle in his body tensing to the limit.

Almost in the same instant, the axe in his grip swung upward like volcanic magma erupting from the earth. "The one who should die is you!"

His axe was still quicker.

The blunt blade smashed upward into the Mutant Human’s chestplate, the impact thundering out waves of sound that felt as though they could shatter eardrums.

Feeling the tremor in his abdomen, Oge grinned, knowing full well the axe hadn’t even cut through the steel plate on his chest.

Though the chainsaw had yet to fall, in his mind he already saw the pathetic two-legged creature in front of him split clean in two beneath its bite.

However, his smile lasted only a fraction of a second on his twisted face, before transforming into disbelief and fear.

A surge of searing energy pierced through his chestplate, burning his iron-tough flesh, and then without suspense, punched through his abdomen and chest!

The axe at his chest was no axe at all! It was a mighty hammer that brought with it a mighty explosion. Like a mallet slamming into a ball of red hot metal ingot, the power of its strike was transferred, sending the mighty blow straight into the heart of the enemy!

The arm clutching the chainsaw lost its strength.

Before he could even scream in agony, he felt that burning force pierce through his body and his very soul, slamming his consciousness out of his shattered shell.

The chainsaw spun away, embedding itself in the dirt, its blade jammed with mud and gravel. He crashed to his knees, the bloodthirst fading from his eyes into emptiness.

The battlefield fell deathly silent.

Even the gunfire seemed to pause for an instant.

Dozens of green faces stared dumbly, watching their leader collapse, not yet able to comprehend what had happened.

Everything happened too quickly.

Both their leader’s attack and the armored human’s counterstrike happened in a single instant.

By the time they realized, it was already over.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Their cruel, bloodthirsty eyes slowly filled with fear and cowardice. Some mutants began hesitating, edging back, even turning to flee.

They weren’t fearless in the face of death. Most of the time they were simply braver than their prey.

But faced with an unbeatable monster, they too turned and ran. It was survival instinct!

In their eyes, that man with the axe standing over their leader’s corpse was the monster!

That man wasn’t human... They had never seen anything like it!

The battlefield warped into an eerie scene. The Mutant Humans, who always hunted their prey, were chased in turn by men with guns.

At the western gate of the small town, behind a firing position, the guards and mercenaries alike gaped at the chaos in the forest outside.

"... The sun must’ve risen in the west. Those Mutant Humans are running?!"

It wasn’t just a few either. More than 100 of them were running from barely 20 humans!

A mercenary lowered his gun, rubbed his eyes, and stared wide at the sight outside, trying to see clearly.

He muttered under his breath, "Am I hallucinating...?"

If it had been one man, it could have been an illusion.

But so many saw it. Clearly it wasn’t.

Behind cover, the mercenary leader’s eyes were full of disbelief, then shifted into worship.

Clenching his fist, he shouted in excitement. "Shit... These guys are badass!"

Were they from the New Alliance?

Judging by their gear, they had to be.

From a distance, Mayor Ma’s expression held both relief and worry.

He was glad they had survived, that his peaceful town had escaped the ravage of the Mutant Humans.

But what troubled him was that those men, who could hammer those Mutant Humans into the ground, might be even harder to deal with than the green-skinned creatures.

There was no free lunch in this world. Those people weren’t here out of the goodness of their hearts.

He knew that well.

Their arrival was not necessarily a good omen for Brocade Lake Municipality, or all of Brocade River Province.

"Holy shit? Old White?!" Up in the clear sky, watching the Mutant Humans fleeing south with that group chasing after them, Falling Feather’s face was full of shock.

He had already confirmed their identities on the VM.

Below, Daydreaming Star River and Little Feather did the same, quickly joining up with Old White’s squad to chase the fleeing mutants.

"W-What’s going on down there?" asked Kong Lingkai nervously from behind Falling Feather, not daring to open his eyes to look for himself.

A few bullets had just struck near the cockpit, leaving holes that nearly scared him to death.

Feeling ultra relaxed, Falling Feather answered casually, "Ah, it’s basically over."

Kong Lingkai froze. "Over?"

Falling Feather chuckled, "That’s right. Lucky for you, the New Alliance’s strongest force just happened to be nearby on a mission. They probably heard the gunfire and came to help... Those Mutant Humans are finished."

"New Alliance..." Kong Lingkai muttered, his face unreadable, caught between joy and fear.

Falling Feather couldn’t be bothered with what he was thinking. He adjusted the flight path, circling down toward the fields south of town.

Seeing the altitude drop, Kong Lingkai panicked, blurting out, "Why are you landing?!"

Falling Feather glanced back at him with a strange expression. "Why do you think? The fight’s over, and we have no more ammunition. What, you want to keep floating up here forever?"

Kong Lingkai stammered, finally squeezing out, "I... Can you take me south to Pinewood Ranch instead?"

Falling Feather shot back with a smile, "Why would I do that?"

Hearing the reply, Kong Lingkai nearly lost it. "You liar! You said you’d take me to escape!"

Falling Feather laughed, teasing him, "The Mutant Humans are dead. What are you escaping from now? I said I would take you to escape, I never said you would be the one telling me where to go. This counts, doesn’t it?"

Seeing the man about to argue, Falling Feather ignored him, flipped the flaps to landing mode, stepped on the left rudder, and throttled back.

"Hold tight!"

The wings tilted upward like a great bird diving. The landing gear kissed the frozen fields below.

After violent jolts, the plane skidded across the farmland.

Falling Feather gripped the stick tight, relying on his flying experience to finally bring it safely to a halt.

"Hey, you alright back there?"

He called behind him, no answer. Looking back, he saw the man had rolled his eyes back, unconscious.

"Shit... don’t tell me he’s dead?!"

The sight startled Falling Feather, who hurriedly unbuckled, dragged him out of the cockpit.

Luckily, the man still had a pulse.

Just then Old White’s group walked over, with Daydreaming Star River and the Little Feathers squad alongside him.

"Yiwuuuuu!"

Seeing Falling Feather by the plane, the Little Feathers in exoskeletons cried out in delight, swarming him and patting him all over to check for injuries.

"

Argh

, wait, wait! Careful! There’s a guy on the ground!" Falling Feather cried out miserably from within the crowd.

Watching him smothered by Little Feather, Night Ten’s face showed envy. "Damn... I’m kind of jealous here."

Gale shot him a look. "Since when did you get such weird tastes?"

Night Ten blinked. "What? His pet can clone itself, fight, and buff a squad all at once. That’s badass! What’s that got to do with taste?"

Gale eyed him strangely, then averted his gaze. "... Alright, my bad. I was the dirty one."

"...?"

After a while, the Little Feathers finally released Falling Feather.

Blushing as everyone smiled at him, he straightened his clothes and cleared his throat. "... Well, what a coincidence, huh? Running into you all here."

"It is a coincidence indeed." Old White grinned, then asked, "You here on a mission?"

"Not me. Daydreaming Star River is on the mission. I was heading to Pinewood Ranch to pick someone up..." Falling Feather glanced at the wrecked scene around them, sighed, and scratched his head. "Looks like this reward’s gonna be tough to claim."

It was such a small, shabby farm. Yet trying to take someone from it was like trying to take the owner’s very life. The tangled interests were clearly more complex than he had thought.

"Don’t worry, brother! My word’s good. You help me, I’ll help you!" Daydreaming Star River clapped his shoulder with a grin.

10,000 silver coins!

He was rich!

Ample Time and Gale exchanged a glance, then looked at Falling Feather. "Pinewood Ranch... That’s the biggest settlement in this area?"

Falling Feather paused, then nodded. "Should be... I haven’t heard of a bigger one."

Ample Time asked quickly, "Do you know any NPCs there?"

Falling Feather scratched his head. "Not really... But my quest is related. My employer told me to sneak into the settlement with a caravan, then take the chance to rescue his daughter."

At that, smiles spread across the players’ faces.

Before Falling Feather could react, Ample Time grabbed his shoulder with his eyes burning. "My brother! Mind giving us a ride?"

Falling Feather froze.

"... A ride?"

"Yeah!" Ample Time nodded seriously. "We need to investigate that settlement. About the Torch Church."

"Torch Church..."

At the name, Falling Feather remembered something and said, "Right, the town we just saved, it had a Torch Church chapel! And not just that, they’d planted a bunch of Na Fruit! Looked like they merged Na Fruit into their faith..."

"It’s not just that town. The whole of Brocade Lake Municipality, even all Brocade River Province, is a mess..." Old White narrowed his eyes toward Hope Town. "Na Fruit isn’t the only thing rampant here, but mutants too. We need to figure out what scheme they’re really running, and what’s hidden beneath Champion Biopharmaceutical Research Institute."

"But first, we need to find where our enemy is."