A Bloody Battle in the Forest!

A tide of mutant soldiers threw themselves at the Jungle Corps, their bestial roars and clashing steel rattling the entire forest. "Charge!! Use your clubs and hammers to smash them into mincemeat!!" "Oge!!!" Bellowing at the top of his lungs, Oge urged his men forward. Yet before long, a mutant scout came stumbling out of the trees, pale with panic as he made his report. "Centurion Gulu is dead! Over half the brothers under his command are down—" Before he could finish, a furious roar cut him off. "Useless trash!!" Clenching his fists, Oge's eyes bulged until the corners nearly tore, red veins spiderwebbing across his whites, his scarlet gums practically grinding blood. There were only twenty or so humans on the other side! No matter where a mere handful of humans stood, wiping them out should have taken minutes; they wouldn't even be enough to pick from his brothers' teeth! And yet now— His five hundred brothers were being held in a deadlock by just twenty people, and a centurion had even fallen! To him, this was an utter humiliation! "Incompetent fools! Worth less than pigs!" As Oge roared in fury, a bloodthirsty shriek sliced through the woods. Ahead, the forest erupted as if struck by artillery shells, blasting out rolling clouds of smoke and dust. The twenty to thirty mutant warriors previously thrown into the fray seemed to have taken the brunt of that shriek, everyone's footsteps grinding to a halt. Instinctively raising an arm against the dust, Oge looked toward the source of the commotion, just in time to see two mutant warriors sliced cleanly in half at the waist! The two machine guns clutched in their arms were torn to shreds by whistling talons before they could even open fire! His emerald pupils constricted violently, locking onto a pair of amber eyes. It was a colossal, imposing Deathclaw, fitted with a mechanical exoskeleton. Its scorching breath distorted the bloodlust and ecstasy burning in its gaze. It was like a starving velociraptor that had finally found its moment to enter the arena, shivering down to its soul in excitement for the impending slaughter. Most unbelievable of all, this mutant beast could actually speak human words! For a moment, Oge was struck dumb with bewilderment. Mental interference... wasn't that the technology of their allies in the Church of the Torch?! "Embrace your death!!" Faced with the surging mutant warriors, Scavenger had no intention of dodging. Unleashing an exhilarated war cry, he lashed out with his razor talons and charged. The two most threatening machine gunners had already been eliminated. Next came a mutant clutching a shotgun. The brute had barely begun to aim when a lash of Scavenger's tail sent him hurtling backward. A claw followed instantly, punching straight through the beast's chest to pierce his heart. "Oof—!" The mutant cried out in agony, his massive hands clamping onto Scavenger's talons, his muscles bunching into iron knots. With the abnormal regenerative abilities of mutants, some of the sturdier specimens could recover even if a bullet ruptured their heart. However, having it ripped out entirely— That was another story. "Die for your grandpa!!" The claw lodged inside the ribcage squeezed with crushing force. With a wet, muffled pop, a cloud of blood and shredded flesh burst from the mutant's chest. Staring fixedly at the Deathclaw before him, the ferocious gleam in the mutant's emerald eyes gradually faded, and the strength drained from his thick arms. "Three!!" A cruel, savage grin splitting his jaws, Scavenger yanked his right claw free, dropped the corpse, and lunged toward his next prey. A flicker of panic darted through the chosen mutant's eyes. He frantically fired his assault rifle, but a lightning-fast afterimage ducked under the burst, an upward slash carving away his entire lower jaw. A nearby soldier raised his muzzle to provide support, but surrounded by his own kind, he couldn't get a clear line of sight. In the span of a few breaths, two more limbless mutants collapsed in gruesome fashion. Thick, sticky gore dyed Scavenger completely crimson, until even the misty white vapor of his breath carried the rank reek of rusted iron. He panted heavily, yet felt no fatigue whatsoever. The savagery and battle lust burning in his pupils only blazed brighter. "Six!" The surrounding mutant warriors were cowed by the ferocious beast, their dark green faces contorting in rage and terror. Within those savage, bloodthirsty, fearless eyes, a sliver of cowardice and dread had finally surfaced... These half-human, half-demon freaks were far more brutal than them! The strength and ferocity they took such pride in crumbled before these adversaries. Even their sheer numbers failed to drown them. Even across Oge's face, an imperceptible trace of panic flickered. "You useless idiots, you outnumber them dozens of times over! If every one of you spat once, you'd drown that crawling lizard!" "Charge! Swarm him all at once!" "Roar—!" Spurred by their chieftain's furious roar, the momentarily hesitant warriors rekindled their thirst for slaughter. They were natural-born hunters, natural-born killers! They valued battle and honor above life itself! They would not be frightened off by a few troublesome pieces of prey! Using their roars to dispel their primal terror, the heavily armored infantry pushed forward, bracing thick steel slabs and barbed-wire-wrapped clubs to hold off the whistling steel talons. Several light infantrymen rushed in behind them clutching shotguns, opening fire on the Deathclaw continuously. Though accurate aim was impossible, the spraying buckshot boxed in his movement. "Tch—" These greenskins actually had some fight in them. After claiming his twelfth kill, Scavenger finally began to feel the strain. From the corner of his eye, he glanced toward Midnight Chicken Slayer. The brutal hand-to-hand combat raged on. Brother Chicken was swinging his axes in a frenzy. Several green corpses lay scattered nearby, blurred by the carnage, but the sticky carpet of blood left no doubt as to the battle's ferocity. The Jungle Corps had suffered over fifty percent casualties! Although the mutants had left nearly a hundred more bodies behind, over three hundred still remained. The gap in numbers was still immense, and the tide was turning against the Jungle Corps by the second. "Nineteen—!" Crushing another green head, Scavenger pulled back his increasingly numb claws. Just as his amber pupils were scanning for the next target, a ferocious gust of wind slammed in from his flank. Relying on combat instinct, he ducked aside. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the lower half of a severed "Iron Wall" exoskeleton smash heavily against the tree trunk behind him, two legs dangling from a branch while intestines and gore spilled across the ground like a burst blood bag. The remaining half was held in the grip of a giant. Nearly four meters tall with a bald dome, hands the size of truck doors, and blackened steel embedded directly into his flesh with several tubes running through it, he loomed over the woods like a tower of black iron. Even when standing fully upright, Scavenger was dwarfed by a considerable margin. Though the giant's pupils were unfocused, drool dripped from his mouth, and jagged teeth grew outside his lips, no one could question the immense power coiled beneath that swollen muscle. "Pi—duo—" The drawn-out, guttural roar seemed to be his name. In Tribe Qi, only the fiercest warriors earned a name bestowed by the chieftain. That name was not just their title and honor—it was their totem! In a duel, they would bellow their name to their opponent, torture them to death in the most gruesome manner possible, and bathe in their blood as an offering to the totem. The victim's departing soul would chant their name, carrying the glory of victory back to the Ancestral Lands. All of this had been detailed in the official website's lore book! The giant mutant bit off the head of the corpse in his hand, letting the blood shower over his crown and chest as he crunched noisily, as though chewing through some giant arthropod. Fearing they might get caught in the big guy's rampage, the two-meter-tall mutants nearby grunted and scrambled back, clearing a wide arena. The melee in the forest was gradually subsiding, and more reinforcements were arriving from the rear. Though corpses formed small hills among the trees, the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt. They would kill this lizard in the most agonizing way imaginable, using his blood to flaunt their valor and cruelty. They bellowed crude cheers, egging on their champion. Hearing the babbling shouts and urging, the vacant, colossal mutant slowly turned his head to look down at the battered lizard. Those eyes were like hollow vortexes; merely locking gaze with them sent an involuntary jolt of vertigo through the soul. Watching the monster feast, Scavenger felt his scalp tingle. Yet not a sliver of fear surfaced in his amber pupils—only raging fire. Number twenty— You'll do! Driving power through his legs, he shot toward the giant mutant like a lightning bolt, his talons aimed straight for the monster's knees and ankles. The bigger the frame, the harder it was to maintain balance! As long as he crippled both legs— The scales of victory would tip his way! A flash of chilled steel whistled through the air, yet there was no familiar bite of blades parting flesh. Scavenger felt only a numbing jolt rattle through his wrists and forearms, as though his steel claws hadn't struck bone and sinew, but a slab of solid iron. As he darted past the giant, he caught sight of the creature's back, and his face froze in pure astonishment. "What the fuck?!" What kind of monster was this?! A steel spine protruded through the flesh of the brute's back, with three glass canisters mounted in the center, filled with a sloshing, yellowish-green chemical solution. Where his claws had just slashed across the ankles and knees, dark green skin was mending at a visible pace. Beneath the outer hide, he could clearly see that it wasn't flesh—it was some kind of alloy! "Pi—duo—" The deep, muffled roar sounded like a ship's foghorn. The giant mutant gave him no time to think, sweeping the headless half-corpse in his hand across in a brutal arc. The speed was terrifyingly swift! At such point-blank range, evasion was impossible! Taking the direct blow, the already battered Scavenger was sent flying through the air, crashing with a loud thud against a half-broken tree trunk. If the greenskin meatheads had swarmed him right then, he couldn't have stopped them even with six arms. Yet convinced he was already finished, they held back, stepping away to leave him in the center of the ring. A stifled groan leaked from his throat as Scavenger struggled to his feet, unable to tell whether his exoskeleton had failed or his actual joints were wrecked. At least three nameless bones were broken, and his left arm had lost almost all sensation. Though his Flesh Regeneration talent was slowly working, his body was pushed to its absolute limit; that meager trickle of healing was negligible at best. "Dammit... hits like a fucking truck!" Coughing, he spat a mouthful of blood. He tried to raise a claw, but an alert popped up before his vision. [Warning! Actuator joint damage at 85%. Ejection recommended.] "Shut up already!" With warnings flashing across his tactical visor, Scavenger watched the giant mutant stomp toward him. Gritting his teeth, he hooked his right claw into the release ring on his inner abdomen and yanked hard. The chestplate and shoulder armor burst outward. The exoskeleton encasing his body unfurled like an opening umbrella, freeing his form entirely even as it was written off. Watching the display, the giant mutant halted mid-stride, a flicker of dimwitted surprise surfacing in his vacant eyes. Glancing at the scrap scattered across the ground, Scavenger felt a pang of heartache, but not an ounce of regret. His battle lust undiminished, he glared at the abomination and raised his blood-drenched claws. "Come on! Let's fight to the—" "Ooooh!" Before he could finish his sentence, an explosive roar cut him off. A dark shadow leaped through the air, descending straight behind the giant mutant, bringing two axes crashing down with all its might. "Roar—!" Taking two solid axe strikes to the back, the giant mutant roared in agony. A savage backhand sent the attacker flying, followed by the giant stumbling sideways, his mountain-like bulk rattling the very ground as he hit the dirt. The surrounding minions were stunned. For a moment, they forgot to cheer, standing frozen in place. They hadn't expected another human to be alive, much less throw himself into their midst to disrupt their sacred blood offering. "Brother Chicken?!" Scavenger stared in surprise at the blood-soaked Midnight Chicken Slayer. The man's helmet was completely shattered, his chestplate riddled with bullet gouges and deep dents, and a horrifying gash split his shoulder wide open. Around the breach, the entire shoulder plate had caved in, as if smashed by an axe or some other heavy blunt weapon. Scavenger could well imagine that Chicken had probably been knocked cold by a mutant's axe and collapsed face-first in the dirt. The mutant, assuming he was dead, had neglected to finish him off and rushed over here to watch the show. "Help me!" Midnight Chicken Slayer roared, tossing aside the splintered felling axe. Snatching up a club studded with wire and razor blades, he charged forward, raining merciless blows upon the forehead of the giant mutant struggling to rise. "Oof—!" The blades dulled and twisted, wrenching a pained roar from the behemoth. Before the giant could get up, a ruthless barrage battered his face, mashing his nose and eyes into a sickening mess of crimson. Midnight Chicken Slayer mustered every ounce of strength to deliver a final blow, but a searing strike to his flank sent him flying with a muffled grunt. Striding into the clearing, Oge had just rescued the wailing Piduo. As he raised his weapon to put a bullet through the human, a shadow flickered past his eyes with lightning speed. Oge dodged instinctively, only to realize the claws weren't aimed at him at all—they were pursuing the clutching, retreating Piduo. "No—!!!" His expression twisted in horror. He moved to intercept, but it was already too late. The two claws slammed together like farming rakes, tearing into Piduo's thick throat from both sides, seizing blood vessels, trachea, and spine in a single merciless grasp. Then, the lizard yanked backward with explosive force! *Rrrrip—* The wet sound of tearing flesh rang out with shocking clarity across the quiet battlefield. Robbed of most of his throat and spine, Piduo's massive head lost all support, flopping backward onto his shoulders, leaving half a steel rod standing naked in the air. Blood geysered outward, raining down across the center of the clearing. The mountain-sized mutant slowly sank, his knees driving deep into the loam. A dead hush fell over the entire field. Pairs of emerald eyes stared at the man and the lizard in the center of the ring, at the collapsing Piduo, and at their stunned chieftain. "Twenty..." Looking back at Midnight Chicken Slayer sprawled on the ground, Scavenger chuckled. "Sorry, bro. I had dibs on this head." Rolling his eyes, Midnight Chicken Slayer wheezed. "Sixteen... You win." Counting the earlier sweep, his tally might have reached twenty or thirty. However, mutants possessed terrifying regenerative power, and he couldn't be sure whether the ones he'd downed were truly dead. He would have to wait until he logged off to check the drone's aerial replay. The only ones he knew for sure wouldn't survive were the ones he'd personally decapitated. In any case, he had given it everything he had. Right then, someone bellowed, and the surrounding mutants swarmed in. Standing beside the fallen behemoth, Scavenger was hacked on the spot into minced meat. Seeing Scavenger log off in glory, Midnight Chicken Slayer prepared to disconnect as well. Just then, he noticed the cybernetic mutant boss walking toward him. Being taken alive would be a colossal waste of time. So he halted his logout, curious to see what this monster had in mind. At the very least... He had to find a way to make the bastard kill him. Raising a hand to hold off the warriors eager to butcher the captive, the hideous mutant chief stopped before him, looking down with cold contempt. "Name?" "Heh..." Midnight Chicken Slayer sneered, spitting a wad of bloody phlegm onto the chieftain's leg. "Your daddy." *Just you wait.* *I'll be back!* Oge's face darkened. He extended an iron-pincer right hand, clamped it around the man's skull, and began applying crushing pressure. Midnight Chicken Slayer stared back unmoved, a mocking glint in his eyes that seemed to say, *Is that all you've got?* Infuriated by that gaze, Oge snapped. With a sickening crunch, his thumb and forefinger drove deep into the temples, ripping away the skull around the eye socket along with the flesh and sinew. Yet until his final breath, the human didn't utter a single sound, holding that derisive smirk to the bitter end. Crushing the eyeball and bone in his palm, Oge wore an expressionless face, though inside he was seething with shock and fury. These human things... What in the world were they?! He abruptly regretted losing his temper. Had he dragged the man back to face the tribe's torture implements, he could have extracted some answers. Now, all he had left was a splatter of white brains and a pile of mushy meat... Just then, a scout clad in animal skins trotted up, dropping to one knee before him. "Oge!" Oge turned a chilling gaze on him. "Speak." Under that freezing stare, the scout's shoulders trembled involuntarily. He stammered hurriedly, "There are no two-legged cattle in town, nor four-legged ones. The dwellers are gone, the houses are empty, and we couldn't find the Church's apostle either..." Before he could finish, a wounded centurion walked over, bowing his head. "Oge... We lost two hundred and twenty, with fifty heavily wounded. We also lost one centurion, one big guy, and five trucks." "Aaaahhh—!" Unable to suppress his rage, Oge threw back his head and bellowed at the sky. Never had he suffered such humiliation! Out of five to six hundred brothers, more than two hundred had been butchered by a mere twenty-odd enemies! What grated on him even more was that the power-armored human who had slain his brother hadn't shown his face once from start to finish! He could already envision the mocking sneers of his tribesmen. The trees around him rustled and swayed; the entire forest seemed to tremble beneath his fury. Veins bulging along his neck, he turned toward the kneeling scout and barked an order. "Burn the village! Leave not a single house standing!" "Yes, Chief!" The scout hastily acknowledged the command, scrambling up and running off. Still unsatisfied, a savage glint flashed in Oge's eyes as he turned to the centurion, panting heavily. "Nearest village. Where?" The centurion rumbled in reply. "Hope Town! Thirty kilometers to the east!" "With me!" Oge faced the surrounding throngs, roaring at the top of his lungs, "Trample them! Make those two-legged cattle scream and weep and run! Show them who owns this land!" Though that area was already a parish of the Church of the Torch—and the tribe's private sheepfold—Oge was furious! Having lost so many brothers, he had to bring back at least four hundred heads to silence the jeers and satisfy the great chieftain! He would kill until he had his fill! No one would stop him! "What about the bodies?" The centurion looked at his chief, his face eager. Those fighters were nothing like the two-legged cattle that only knew how to flee; their meat was bound to taste different! Drool leaked from his jaws. His chief did not disappoint him. "Keep the heads, cook the rest! Oge will feast before taking more heads!" Oge bellowed, and the mutants around him roared in ecstatic celebration. "Awoo!" Flames engulfed Dust Town, thick smoke billowing high into the sky. It was a pity the residents had evacuated; they couldn't host their banquet atop a mountain of corpses. A mob of mutants hurried to the trucks, hauling down cauldrons and cookware strapped to the chassis, brazenly stoking bonfires near the edge of the forest. The pots bubbled and boiled as barbaric heads chattered and screeched, their indecipherable chants carrying a chill beyond words. It was a reek like curdled blood. None of the greenskins gathered for the feast noticed that from a nearby ridge, a pair of dark green eyes was quietly watching them—before vanishing silently into the shadows of the woods, as though they had never been there at all...