Mutagen

Day 162 - 10:47 AM - Agos River Riverbank, New Infanta Settlement, Infanta, Province of Quezon

The injured soldier was down in shock while another frantically pulled him to cover. With the two out in the open, there was no way that they could avoid the next attack without another casualty.

Another? Well, yes. The morale of the soldiers was already down. They already lost two people without even giving the enemy any significant damage.

However, they could not just retreat.

The lasers that the enemy fired could reach long distances. The walls were down, and what remained of the settlement was laid bare without cover. If they left the enemy alone, civilian casualties would not be avoidable.

Thus, they could only fight, even if they were about to lose another comrade before their eyes.

Nonetheless, they would not just go and watch.

With the mechanical shark mid-air, they only need to give enough force to push its body away and make its attack miss.

As such, the soldiers sent a volley of bullets towards the enemy.

They could not do this for the first two soldiers that fell as they were caught off-guard. However, it was the third time. There was no way that trained soldiers would not think of measures to defend.

And they could only try.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

CLANG! CLANG!

Sounds of guns and metal loudly sounded as the bullets collided with the mechanical shark's body in just a second.

Unfortunately, there was no damage like before. There still was no significant damage dealt on the enemy. And the worst part, while they did manage to shift its position mid-air, its head was actually able to lock onto its target. The mechanical shark was about to fall back to the water after the volley of bullets, but its head was still facing the wounded soldier.

There was no hope. They were going to lose another comrade.

They wanted to use explosives. They had grenades and even a rocket-propelled gun on standby. However, these weapons were difficult to use on fast-moving enemies, especially this mechanical shark that could dive underwater.

But then...

SHOOOM!!!

The whistling sound of air being torn apart entered the soldiers' ears.

Before everyone could react, they vaguely saw a foot-long stake being driven into the mechanical shark's body with a loud bam.

Only a third of the stake lodged into the mechanical shark's body. However, the force was more than enough to bash it out of mid-air back into the water.

With a loud splash and a strong splash of water, the mechanical shark was forcefully submerged. It was still able to release its laser. However, it was fired towards the sky with nothing to hit at all.

The soldiers could not help but turn to the direction that the stake seemed to have come from.

And to their confusion and fear, all they saw was a ball of black smoke approaching their direction from the sky.

Seeing the mysterious ball of black smoke, the only reasonable reaction the soldiers could have was to ready their weapons.

But then, among the soldiers...

"Isn't that?"

A soldier exclaimed at the familiar black smoke.

And it seemed that the leader of this squad had the same thought as he gazed at the mysterious object in the sky.

"Men! Focus on the robot shark! Ignore the thing in the sky for now!"

The squad leader shouted.

"But sir!"

Another soldier hesitated.

"That shark isn't dead yet! The one in the sky should be an ally!"

The squad leader added.

Most of the soldiers were skeptical. However, the shark was in the river in front, while the ball of black smoke was still far in the sky. Of course, the priority was the closest one, considering they could not go out of the safe border.

***

At the sky, Mark aimed the weapon in his hands.

It was a large, black-colored RPG-sized gun with a rectangular barrel aimed like a sniper rifle.

"Mark... isn't that..."

Major Bautista was worried about the situation below. However, he could not help but feel shocked as Mark took out his new weapon.

"A railgun?"

Karlene finished the Major's words as it was also the first time she saw Mark use this weapon.

"Pretty similar to a railgun but not the same."

Mark replied, not taking his sight unto the waters below.

The weapon in his hand had the name [Shadow Piercer]. It was the weapon he had been planning to make for a while now through trial and error.

In a sense, it was a railgun as it used magnetic fields and kinetic energy to propel the projectile at high speeds. 

However, it was different since it did not have any power source attached to it.

Furthermore, the experimental railguns in the current needed time to charge energy before the railgun could fire the projectile. The one in Mark's hand could fire a projectile in an instant.

How? Because instead of using a power source, Mark was using his [Black Lightning] to generate the magnetic field and fire the projectile at will.

After all, Mark did not need to charge his ability and just release it in any amount he could possibly do.

"It still needs some tuning and testing, though," Mark grumbled. "I'm aiming for the head, but it hit the side instead."

Even though it was not Mark's intended result, it did save a life of a soldier, nonetheless.

What annoyed Mark, even more, was how sturdy the body of that shark was. 

With the velocity and strength of the projectile he shot, it was more than enough to puncture a fully armored tank.

Did all [Mechids] have a strong body like this? Now that Mark thought about it, this was the first time he actually tried to damage the body of a [Mechid]. In the first two encounters, all he did was capture them.

Mark shook his head. Now was not the time to think about unnecessary things. He just needed to focus on shooting that mechanical shark once it showed itself once more.

***

Everyone waited, weapons ready to fire. Unexpectedly, no mechanical shark surfaced from the river.

The soldiers were also wary of the ball of black smoke. They were ready to fire towards it once it showed any sign of aggression.

However, as the ball of smoke entered the safe border, the black smoke moved, being sucked into one place.

That was when the true appearance of the black smoke was revealed, showing the familiar dragon that all these soldiers saw several times before.

It was only then that they let down their guard and focused on the lurking threat in the raging river water.

The soldiers were even more delighted when they saw Major Bautista aboard the back of the dragon.

***

Chaflar landed quite a distance away behind the front line. As the passengers alighted, the squad leader and a few soldiers hurried to greet them.

"Major! Sir Mark!" 

The squad leader saluted to the two.

The squad leader also noticed the strange weapon Mark was carrying on his shoulder. He was sure that it was Mark who shot the mechanical shark and helped them.

"Sir Mark. Thank you for saving my subordinates earlier."

The squad leader, 1st Lieutenant Baller, said with sincere gratitude.

"You don't have to thank me."

Mark replied.

The squad leader did not bother Mark anymore after hearing that reply. He was thankful for the help, but he knew that Mark was not someone talkative. Instead, he went to converse with Major Bautista.

Mark appreciated the 1st Lieutenant's actions. Well, it was not surprising that he somehow knew his personality. 1st Lieutenant Baller was the leader of the soldiers that came from Bay City. Some of them were also present here. It should also be the reason why they were familiar with Mark's [Miasma] despite not knowing what it was.

"Major, it's good to see you safe." 1st Lieutenant Baller said to Major Bautista. "Many of us were afraid that you and the others might have died already. The mountains were the most dangerous place to be in that catastrophe. Thank goodness we are wrong."

It was not an ill guess. The mountains were one of the worst places to be in a huge earthquake. Parts of the mountains could collapse and cause a landslide. In fact, many mountains around Mt. Malabito were affected by this and were reshaped. Mt. Malabito was the only exception and was less damaged because of Luis Morgan doing his best.

"I know you're happy, but now is not the time to chat. We need to deal with the problem first."

Major Bautista reprimanded the squad leader.

"Yes, Sir!"

Lieutenant Baller nodded and turned his attention back to the battle.

Well...

The battle they were supposed to continue...

...Would not continue without the enemy.

"Be on guard! I might come out if we start slacking!"

Lieutenant Baller called out loud, urging everyone to keep their guards up. 

On the other hand, the soldier who lost his arm was now given a [Regeneration Medicine]. Although it would not regenerate his arm, it would at least lessen the pain. He was not bleeding profusely, however. The laser that cut of his arm burned the wound, leaving fewer wounds than expected.

The soldiers were on high alert, all eyes on the water of the river.

Mark also made his move.

"Ignis."

As he uttered the name, Ignis, sheathed on his back, flew off, surprising some soldiers. Not all of them had seen the flying sword, after all.

Ignis dove into the river. It was clear that it was searching for the shark underwater.

However, after a few seconds, Mark frowned.

"Major," Mark called out. "The shark already escaped."

Those words sure surprised the soldiers. Well, Mark himself was the same.

"Are you sure?"

Major Bautista asked.

There, Ignis flew out of the water and return to Mark.

"Yeah. Pretty sure." Mark replied. "I might have given it some damage, but I did not expect it to actually flee."

"No, I guess, I should have expected it." 

Mark added with a slight shake of his head.

"Right, you mentioned it before." Karlene chimed in. "When you showed us that Latcher. You said that it tried to flee after its sneak attack missed."

Mark's frown just got deeper.

The [Mechid Latcher] did not seem to have great fighting capabilities. As such, its behavior to flee was not that surprising. Especially if its host was damaged. That shark, however, was a whole robotic creature. No one would really expect it to flee after getting a single damaging hit.

And the worst part, there was no way to find it while it was underwater. The river was wider and deeper than before. It was basically that mechanical shark's home.

"In any case, we can't let it end here." 1st Lieutenant Baller said out loud. "Spread out across the riverbank! Always move behind cover! Quick!"

The soldiers moved as fast as they could. That mechanical shark was too dangerous and needed to be guarded against.

"We'll get moving." Major Bautista told the soldiers. "I need to meet the General to ask about the situation."

Those words, however, caused the soldiers to show some sad expressions. There was no way that the Major would not notice it.

"Did something happen to the General?"

Major Bautista could not help but have a bad foreboding.

"Major," 1st Lieutenant Baller spoke. "It is better to see for yourself. Our tents are in the southern area. Sir Jones should be there, acting as the General's proxy."

Major Bautista could not help but worry. He was quite close to General Faustino, after all. The two of them were direct superior and subordinate for a long time. And now, something happened to him in Major Bautista's absence.

"We should go." 

Mark tapped the Major's shoulder, urging him to move. Major Bautista nodded, and they hurried towards the settlement.

Considering that someone had to act as the General's proxy, he must be in a condition where he could not lead the soldiers by himself anymore.