Chapter 597.2: New Event, Extinguishing The Torch Church!

For Mutant Humans, the concept of family did not exist.

Even in the Qi Tribe, which retained scraps of human custom, few remembered which female had birthed them.

At birth, only a priest attended. They saw neither father nor mother’s face. Mothers were veiled and quickly sent to pens or kitchens after delivery.

Without family or inheritance, most Mutant Humans lacked names until granted one by their leader.

Still, they could distinguish one another, usually by nicknames.

Their nicknames came from their birth cries, reported by the priest, whether improvised or memorable.

Some were ‘Ah’, others ‘Awoo’, or ‘Wah’ and ‘Ee’.

Such nicknames were so common that dozens could share one in a single camp.

Mistakes happened, but it hardly mattered.

If a leader called for Humph and Awoo to go hunt, dozens would step forward.

If there were too many of them, they would simply kick out the weakest. If there were too few, they could simply add ‘Ah’ to the list of hunters.

Humans would call it chaos. But to Mutant Humans, it was convenient.

All of them were great killers anyway. As long as the numbers were met, who went didn’t matter,

Whoever it was, the feast atop enemy corpses would taste the same.

The long night passed.

At dawn the next day, before the sun had risen, a hazy fog lingered over the ruined, abandoned city. The air reeked of rot, like moldy burlap pressed over one’s nose and mouth.

Anyone would have felt sick.

But to the Mutant Humans of the Qi Tribe, it only stirred blood-boiling excitement.

From outside the human-skin tents came a rough shout, followed by gunfire into the air.

“Humans! Coming! Hmph, Ahah, follow me!”

Even before the roar faded, a chorus of howls rose up.

“Kill! Kill!”

“HARGGGH!”

“AOWOAOWO!”

The racket jolted Hmph awake. Still half-dreaming, he sneezed, shook his groggy head, and scrambled up.

He grabbed the blunt knife and iron-pipe rifle beside his bedroll. Without even waiting for adrenalin to fill his body, he stumbled outside to the gathering ground, baring his fangs toward the damp concrete ceiling with a howl.

That was how he showed its valor.

Only the boldest warriors won the chief’s eye and the chance to hunt weak two-legged prey.

Glancing at the cage of emaciated humans in the corner, Hmph’s lips curled into a cruel grin.

These feeble things dared to walk into their lair?

He would show them what cruelty meant.

Seemingly pleased with his underlings’ energy, the hulking brute standing at the front nodded in approval, then swung his massive hand.

With a booming voice he shouted, “Follow Delu! Chop off those worms’ heads!”

Like the others, Hmph waved his weapon, howling back in excitement. “Owooohhh!”

The Mutant Humans’ roars shook the air, then thunderous artillery boomed overhead.

Dust and pebbles rained down from the concrete ceiling onto their heads and chests.

However, not a single one of them looked afraid. They grew only more excited.

Concrete bunkers filled the city!

With reinforced concrete shielding them, that floating iron airship could do nothing to them!

Once inside the city, it became their hunting ground!

“Slaughter them!”

“Rooaaar!”

At Delu’s command, Hmph hefted his weapon and followed the mass of green-skinned brutes up dark stairwells into the surface ruins, waiting for the New Alliance barrage to end.

The cannons lasted only five or six minutes, then came the shouts of battle and crackling gunfire from the nearby streets.

Their mates were already clashing with New Alliance soldiers on the edge of the city. Even through the thick fog that hid the fight, the noise told of a fierce assault.

Hmph gripped his rifle tight, lips cracking wide to bare his bloody fangs. “Hmph...”

He would be able to eat his fill that night!

...

Beneath a ruined office block, amid booming gunfire, a chorus of newbie players shouted over each other.

“Cover me!”

“Pull a firing line, bro!”

“With this fog? Forget it, just charge!”

“Awooooooo!”

While veteran players crept forward, taking ground step by step, a band of newbies already dragged fresh recruits headlong toward the mutant lines.

The chaos was endless.

Because of New Alliance tradition, every player carried explosive satchels meant for taking down one last enemy with them. One newbie, calling himself Demolition Genius, had the bright idea of strapping all four teammates’ charges together into one giant bomb. He ran straight toward a bunch of Mutant Humans, carrying all their hopes and dreams.

But stray fire clipped his leg before he reached them.

Not wanting the bomb to go to waste, his teammates rushed in to recover it, playing out a tragic routine.

It was a failed stunt, but some tricks succeeded.

A few handy newbies crafted Molotovs and torched a whole houseful of Mutant Humans, earning enough points to trade for a Howler.

Another, clearly practiced, shouldered an RPG and blasted apart a steel-plated jeep charging the New Alliance lines.

The battle looked less like carnage and more like a festival. It was chaotic and noisy, with each side improvising mad tactics. At times it was hard to tell who looked more like Mutant Humans.

Watching the noisy city ahead, Gale rubbed his temple and muttered, “Anyone still remember this is a mission?”

Seeing the rookies’ antics, he felt like he had regressed several versions of the game.

Old White coughed softly. “No one expected it to be this tough...”

Even with the Burning Corps’s strength, wiping out a tribe of tens of thousands of Mutant Humans wouldn’t be easy.

Every green-skinned brute was a born warrior, a handful enough to slaughter a village.

If they had been that easy to take down, the New Alliance would’ve cleared them on the first night.

Quit Smoking chuckled. “Honestly though, letting the newbies in makes it fun.”

Old Six smirked too.

“Haha! Exactly. Fighting the Army in the Sunset Province was too serious. This is a nice chance for the rookies to practice.”

Ample Time thought the same.

Experience was forged in battle. Some lessons couldn’t be taught, die once, and one would understand everything.

He remembered long ago, when they first fought the Mutant Humans of 76th Street, Mosquito’s botched rocket stunt nearly blew himself up.

Who would have thought that guy would now be a wasteland arms dealer?

Shaking the memory off, Ample Time chambered his silver coin-bought Howler and looked toward the Mutant Humans’ shrinking lines.

“Time we joined in. Wait too long and there won’t even be scraps left.”

“Yeah,” Old White grinned, lowering his visor. “Drag this out any longer and the newbies will look down on us.”

...

About a kilometer from the fight, on a high rooftop, Qi Gaen stood expressionless, watching firelight flicker in the gray mist.

Around 8:00 that morning, the New Alliance had launched its full assault.

First came a barrage of cannons, then infantry swarmed into the city.

Gaen had to admit, the northern New Alliance was formidable, nothing like the meek humans around Brocade Lake Municipality. No wonder several of his fiercest champions had fallen to them.

These enemies fought fiercely. They were completely fearless, attacking with a do-or-die ferocity.

Yet knowing the front-line reports, he actually felt relieved.

For all the ferocity, progress was minimal. Nearly 1,000 bodies had been lost just to seize one street.

And that was only the Qi Tribe’s outer defenses. They were abandoned and mattered little. All he lost was 100 grunts, a couple dozen machine guns, two small ammunition depots, and some grain.

Clearly, not every New Alliance soldier was a one-man army. Most fought clumsily.

And as he expected, the Heart of Steel’s guns were nearly useless in the fight in the city.

The shells looked loud and deadly, but even a concrete wall blunted their blast and shrapnel.

But unlike Gaen’s calm, Gomo wore a trace of worry. “This can’t go on. The New Alliance outproduces us. I hear Boulder Town’s joined them too. At this pace, they’ll bleed us dry.”

Gaen sneered coldly. “Industry is nothing without people to wield its fruits. I hear the New Alliance has less than a million people. Let’s see how long they can keep bleeding here, 800 kilometers from home.”

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Gomo stayed silent.

He actually agreed.

But the New Alliance had defeated the Army. As one who had lived through that era, he knew well what the Army was.

If they could beat those monsters... Would they really fight such a brainless war?

Seeing Gomo’s frown, Gaen said flatly, “You needn’t fret over the battlefield. Just complete the final ritual. If we can’t reach Luo Qian, then we’ll take over this place ourselves.”

Gomo bowed his head. “As you command.”