Mutagen

<strong>Day 147 - 9:10 PM - North Langonoy Gulf, Bicol Region, Catanduanes</strong>

Berrak was delighted to receive permission to help. He immediately commanded his Thunderbird, Trua, to cast down a rain of lightning towards the horde.

Like what Mark suggested, Berrak concentrated the lightning attacks at the [Armor Type] infected. Of course, not all his attacks hit the intended targets directly. Lightning magic was hard to control, even for creatures that were capable of using it by instinct. Nonetheless, the missing attacks still did damage because the infected that rose from the sea were all soaking wet.

The lightning attacks were extremely successful in felling the armored infected. It was unlike the bullets from the guns held by the soldiers atop the wall.

The defense line of the infected crumbled slowly. The other infected that did not have armor faced a barrage of bullets.

Just with Berrak's slight intervention, the situation at the port eased extremely.

As this was supposed to be his fault, helping this way made Berrak feel lighter in his heart. Still, he was not satisfied until the threat were all eliminated. Thus, he commanded Trua to continue attacking the infected below.

While circling in the sky, raining pillars of lightning towards the infected below, Berrak was off for a surprise.

"WHAT THE F*CK!"

Berrak cried out as he saw Mark and Mei flying towards him and Trua.

"You two can freaking fly?!"

Berrak asked out loud as Mark and Mei arrived before him.

Mark turned to Mei first before replying.

"We can. So?"

Berrak was speechless. For some reason, he felt frustrated. In any case, now was not the time to talk about this kind of thing.

Mark had the same thoughts and went to the point.

"You continue helping the soldiers. We're going to lure out the leader."

The two then left without letting Berrak say anything else. Scratching his head, Berrak took a last glance at Mark and Mei. He then commanded Trua to continue the attacks.

It did not take a few seconds, however. Berrak's full attention fell on Mark and Mei once more. There was no way he would not, as he felt a strong surge of magical energy coming from Mark.

Barrak noticed several crystals emitting bright glows while floating around Mark. He was sure that the surge of magical energy came from those crystals alone.

But then, it started.

Dark clouds started to cover the starry sky, swirling with Mark and Mei below its center.

Being on the magical part of the current society, it was not the first time he saw something at this scale that was caused by magic. Even the tribulations of Chinese cultivators he saw before were far more eye-catching since some could happen in the middle of the city. Nonetheless, Berrak never expected to see something like this to happen at this moment.

***

Mark and Mei flew to a part of the gulf not too far from the shore. There, Mark stared at the water below before he called forth for the crystals.

There was no way to fight the enemy that was staying underwater. They needed to lure it out. In any case, Mark had the best bait here. And thus, he activated the crystals. He was not only preparing to lure it out but also something else, just in case.

And like what Mark wanted, the leader of the horde surfaced from the sea.

Well, what Mark did not expect was for this monster to be this big.

Mark and Mei could not help but fly upwards in a hurry as the water heavily splashed, accompanied by a loud, piercing roar. Unlike anything that they heard, however, it sounded like a choir of suffering souls.

The [Leader Type]'s body rose thirty meters from the water surface, and to say, it was likely that its size was far bigger, considering how a part of its body was still underwater. Not to mention, they were currently in the deep parts of the gulf.

As the water subsided, the appearance of the monster was revealed. What no one expected, however, was its appearance.

It was a hellish amalgamation.

Unlike other infected, even the giants from before, whose bodies grew bigger because of the mutation their bodies went through, this one was totally different.

It had grown larger, not on its own. Its entire body was composed of hundreds to thousands of different bodies fused together, wobbling unsteadily. While the part of its body that came out of the water appeared to be shaped like the head of an octopus, its true visage was rather hard to describe.

It was a gigantic body of bodies.

And that piercing roar? It came from hundreds to thousands of mouths on its body that cried out together. It was not wrong to say that this whole infected could be considered as a horde that was bound by flesh matter. There was no limit as to what creature formed its body. There were animals and fishes. There were even some infected birds in it.

The creature wobbled up and down until it managed to shoot a part of its body. It was like a tentacle that whipped towards Mark as its target.

Mark and Mei hurriedly flew out of the way. The tentacle composed of bodies stuck arm and toe, roaring in pain and fury, missed, whipping back towards the enemy. It hit its own body. Many of the bodies were crushed to an unrecognizable degree, and the pain made all of it roar ear-piercingly.

Nonetheless, it was not damaged overall, only that tentacle and the part it hit. But then, like shedding its skin, the damaged bodies popped off the main fused body, falling unto the sea and dying it red with both flesh and blood.

"Mei'er, ready the [Crystal Converter]. This guy seems to be a tricky one."

Mark said, with a frown.

There was no way he would expect this. He could only sense a faint consciousness in this monster, similar to those with small bodies. But as it appeared, its mutation might have been something that enabled it to construct its body using different kinds of flesh living matter.

After shedding off the damaged bodies, the [Leader Type] attacked once more.

It was surely an intelligent one. When Mark managed to evade its first attack, and it hit itself instead, it attacked differently. Wobbling unsteadily a few times, it shot several tentacles. It increased in number, and instead of whipping violently, it switched into trying to constrain Mark and Mei. The movements of the tentacles also became faster. It was at the expense of the painful roars of the bodies used to form those tentacles.

Mark could not help but observe the bodies. As it appeared, not only that they were bound by a fleshlike matter, their bodies seemed to be under the control of the [Leader Type]. While it was trying to constrain Mark and Mei, the arms of the bodies would stick off the flesh matter while trying to reach their target. On the other hand, the heads were moaning and roaring differently. It was as if they were struggling to break free.

With a flap of his wings, Mark finally counterattacked. He charged forwards, not even evading the tentacles. The hands of the bodies of the tentacles tried to reach Mark, but like a ghost, his body blurred, making all those hands touch nothing but thin air.

It seemed that the [Leader Type] flinched at the sudden unexpected event. The tentacles were retracted, trying to chase after Mark. Aside from that, the [Leader Type] detached more bodies from its huge body, forming more tentacles, trying to pincer Mark, front and back.

But then, at the last moment, Mark vanished into a puff of black mist. Instead, the converged tentacles were rained bullets from Mei's sniper rifle.

Each shot of Mei's sniper that was imbued with magical power could make a punch size hole even in an inch thick iron plate. And with her eyes, zooming and slowing her sight, she could accurately shoot the tentacles in the same area.

With that rain of magic-imbued bullets, several tentacles were severed. As Mark had thought. When the tentacles were detached from the main body, although still stuck together, the living bodies of the infected gained the freedom to move their arms on their own.

Unfortunately for them, being stuck together that way, there was nothing else that would happen to them aside from sinking under the sea.

While Mei started severing the tentacles, Mark circled the huge octopus head-shaped body. What he wanted to do was to find at least a small gap on the body to slip into. As long as there was even a tiny space, his [Black Mist Movement] would allow him to slip through. He needed to keep the brain of the [Leader Type] intact. However, its real body was deep inside the gigantic fused one.

Unfortunately, Mark could not see any gap in its body that was above the water. Maybe there was somewhere underwater. But Mark did not want to try that. There were various risks in doing that, after all.

Mark then drew Ignis from his back, slashing the body violently.

The strong wide swing from Mark hacked through several bodies and opened a deep wound among the disgustingly fused bodies.

Unfortunately, the whole thing was not hollow at all. Inside the wound were the same as the surface, filled with wailing bodies of infected, trying to reach Mark with their blood-covered arms.

"Tsk!"

Mark suddenly clicked his tongue and retreated without hesitation.

The infected just shot a huge clump of its fleshy membrane, trying to swallow Mark into its body like a net.

"It seems like trying to enter its body also came with risks."

Mark grumbled.

The [Leader Type] could clearly control its whole body, changing its shape at will.

And there, the huge wound that Mark opened was patched instantly, shedding the bodies that Mark severed. Well, at least some of them but not all.

But at that scene, Mark noticed something.

"So, that's how it is, huh."

Mark murmured.

Like when this monster hit itself with its own tentacle, it shed those smashed bodies into the sea. But not every single damaged body but only those with specific injuries.

As such, Mark decided to try it once more.

Wielding Ignis, Mark slashed several bodies horizontally and retreated as several clumps of flesh membrane tried to capture him.

Mark did not kill the infected bodies. They were Eaters, after all. Even if their bodies were fatally injured, they would still move as long as their brain was intact. Even so, Mark made sure to leave a specific injury with that slash.

And as he expected, the [Leader Type] shed those bodies off.

"Looks like I'm right. It can't accept those with damaged spinal columns into its body."

Mark deduced as he started to devise a plan.

He needed to force the real body out of this hellish amalgamation. It was an intelligent infected and would surely give him a crystal to obtain.

It was at this point that Mark noticed Berrak on his Thunderbird approaching.

"What are you doing here?"

Mark asked.

After all, Berrak was supposed to be supporting the soldiers at the shore.

But then, Mark noticed that the gunshots and explosions had died down. He did not realize until now since his attention was fully concentrated on the [Leader Type].

"Sir," Berrak replied. "All the infected attacking the settlement had withdrawn! Both the port and the west side!"

Of course, with the battle there ending prematurely, there was nothing Berrak could do but to approach Mark and Mei to join the fray.

But then, Mark was confused.

Although the infected were attracted to Magical Energy, they would not turn around when they basically had prey in front of them. In this case, it was the soldiers and the settlement that was the prey.

So, why were they withdrawing?

And here, Mark's eyes fell on the [Leader Type].

"Darn, it. It's you, isn't it?"