Chapter 89 - 88: Mutant Armadillo

This was the second time Sev Steele had witnessed a Mutant Beast devour a person with her own eyes. Only this time, it was much faster—the creature swallowed its prey whole, without even chewing.

Amidst her terror, a bizarre thought surfaced in her mind. If she was destined to be eaten, being devoured by a mutant armadillo seemed like a decent choice. At least it didn’t chew, which would spare her some agony.

Right now, what Sev hated the most was the Transmigration Master. She grumbled inwardly, "Why didn’t the Master grant me a powerful Ability? That way, I could charge forward at the critical moment and go on a total killing spree!"

The horrific scene deeply traumatized the Scavengers fleeing right behind her. The one closest to the beast let out a short, sharp shriek, turned around, and bolted back toward the Mutant Potato Forest. However, his movement caught the mutant armadillo’s attention. Its front claws dug into the earth, and with a powerful thrust of its hind legs, its massive body launched toward the man like a projectile.

How could the speed of an ordinary human ever compare to that of a Mutant Beast? In mere seconds, a long tongue ruthlessly wrapped around the man and dragged him into the mutant armadillo’s maw. The poor man was swallowed whole before he could even utter a scream.

Sev felt a cold liquid streaming down her face, not immediately realizing it was her own tears. Hayden Hanson clamped his hand over her mouth, terrified she might make even the slightest sound and draw the mutant armadillo’s attention. Fortunately, the other Scavengers fleeing behind them were all on a nearby path. The mutant armadillo took its time reaping their lives, gradually moving further away.

Further in the distance, absolute chaos had erupted. Hundreds of Mutant Marmots scrambled frantically out of the ground within the Mutant Potato Forest. They immediately lunged at the slow-reacting Scavengers. The mercenaries patrolling nearby quickly rushed over, engaging the creatures in a fierce melee.

Unfortunately, a total of fifty mercenaries had been deployed for this mission, and some were not even at the scene when the incident occurred. For a time, they were completely incapable of holding back the horde of hundreds of Mutant Marmots. Several Scavengers were quickly bitten and injured. The rest fought the Mutant Marmots with daggers and shovels as they desperately tried to flee. Though the Scavengers were ordinary humans, they all possessed rich survival experience in the wilderness. Faced with danger, they weren’t about to just lie down and wait for death.

As the chaotic battle raged on here, screams rang out from not far away. Soon, a group of Scavengers came sprinting toward them. They had been following several other Ability user squads, having been assigned to another, slightly smaller Mutant Potato Forest located a few hundred meters away. The moment they were attacked by the marmots, they abandoned everything and fled in this direction.

After all, The Azure Owl Mercenary Corps had deployed fifty mercenaries for this mission, whereas those four squads only had a total of twenty-eight Ability users combined. A large number of marmots chased closely behind the fleeing Scavengers, and the Ability user squads that had been leading them followed right on their heels. When facing this kind of small-scale Mutant Rat tide, concentrating their numbers would help minimize casualties.

Seth Jennings was the team leader for this mission. Naturally, she took over as the commander-in-chief in this situation.

"Listen up! Stop running around aimlessly! All Ability users, form a circle and keep the ordinary civilians in the center!" she yelled.

All the Ability users followed her order and began forming a large ring. The Scavengers who hadn’t managed to escape down the path smartly dashed into the protective circle.

Once there were no more allies outside the circle, Seth loudly commanded, "Groups of three! Take turns firing!"

Hearing the order, the mercenaries exchanged glances with their teammates and began taking turns firing. Laser guns were different from ordinary firearms. They didn’t require bullets, but they did rely on electrical Energy to function. When facing large predatory beasts, everyone firing at once could indeed create a temporary suppressive effect. However, against the rat tide they were currently facing, continuously firing their laser guns would quickly deplete their Energy reserves. Therefore, they had to take turns. Working in groups of three, one person would shoot while the other two used cold weapons. This ensured that the laser guns’ Energy wouldn’t be exhausted too rapidly.

With the protective circle formed by the Ability users, the Mutant Rats were temporarily unable to break through. The chaotic battle continued, but those who had luckily escaped into the protective circle were finally safe for the moment.

When the alarm first sounded, Seth had noticed Hayden and Sev running away decisively. At first, she felt quite relieved. Their reaction speed was fast enough that they probably wouldn’t be harmed by those damn rats. But when she heard the screams coming from the path during the melee, her heart leaped into her throat. Soon, people came sprinting down the path. It was obvious that those who had already fled were turning back.

With a wave of her hand, Seth drove her Triangular Spike through the neck of a marmot, arriving just in time to save a man fleeing back from the path.

"What’s happening over there?" she demanded loudly.

"T-t-terrible news! A massive creature suddenly appeared over there! It looks like some kind of pangolin. It can swallow a person whole in one bite! Several people have already died... WAAH! It’s too terrifying!" the man cried, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Seth’s heart sank. She roared, "I need a few strong fighters to come with me! We’re going to hunt down that mutant armadillo!

"The rest of you, make sure you defend this protective circle! Fight to the death for the sake of your family and friends!"

The Scavengers inside the circle, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, panicked even more upon hearing this. They thought they would survive by escaping into this protective circle, never expecting that an even more terrifying monster was approaching. Out of the frying pan and into the fire—it seemed they were all going to perish here today!

Right after Seth’s rallying cry, five elites from The Azure Owl Mercenary Corps quickly broke away from the skirmish and followed her closely, charging toward the path. Simultaneously, five Ability users charged out from the four Ability user squads. They had originally come here for combat experience. It was rare to encounter such a massive beast. The bolder ones among them weren’t afraid at all; instead, they were buzzing with excitement.

Along the way, Seth encountered dozens of Scavengers running back. Every single one of them wore a look of absolute terror, bolting faster than startled rabbits. When she had covered about half the distance, she spotted the mutant armadillo up ahead. It was extending its long tongue as it chased after the Scavengers. Its belly was visibly bulging now. By the looks of it, it had swallowed at least five or six people.

The moment it locked eyes with Seth, the ferocious monster didn’t hesitate. It completely bypassed a scrawny, ten-year-old child who was closest to it. Instead, it chose a relatively burly middle-aged man who was the second closest. As its tongue coiled around the man’s waist, it even cast a disdainful little glance at Seth. It was an obvious provocation!

Burning with rage, Seth drew a short dagger and hurled it directly at the root of the beast’s tongue.

"HISS!" The armadillo shrieked in pain. Its tongue went slack, and the ensnared man plummeted from mid-air toward the ground. A young man who had followed closely behind Seth casually threw out a lasso, catching the falling man’s legs swiftly, accurately, and securely. With a tug of the rope, he used a deft pull to swing the man into a safe position behind him, casually tossing out an instruction, "Get out of here!"

Seth turned her head and saw the young man dressed in a black leather trench coat. The Scale Armor he wore underneath gleamed with a faint blue metallic luster beneath the setting sun. Their eyes met. In a mere instant, Seth raised her eyebrows and asked, "Shall we?"

"Let’s do it!" the young man replied loudly. He moved with lightning speed, two Golden Blades flowing from his fingertips. They shot out like lightning from the left and right, stabbing toward the armadillo’s tiny eyes. Seth, meanwhile, raised her hand and summoned two rings of Earth Spikes, trapping the armadillo’s front claws. A Fire Attribute Ability user, rushing madly from behind the young man, waved his hand and unleashed a sheet of flames, igniting the plants surrounding the armadillo.

By sheer animal instinct, it feared fire. Even though it had mutated and ordinary flames couldn’t harm it, the fire would at least affect its disposition. Besieged by three Ability users, the provocation in the mutant armadillo’s eyes vanished, replaced by a heavy solemnity. However, deep down, it still felt no fear. After all, it was a Third Tier Mutant Beast, while the three humans attacking it were all of a lower Level.

Fueled by the surrounding plants, the flames burned brighter and fiercer. Although the mutant armadillo’s body wasn’t injured, the scorching heat radiating from the blazing fire made it extremely uncomfortable. All Third Tier Mutant Beasts inherently possessed their own Skills, and this one was no exception. Opening its maw wide, it let out a thunderous roar. Countless boulders the size of watermelons spewed from its mouth, hurtling toward the three people surrounding it.

Seth pushed herself to the limit, erecting an Earth Wall that barely managed to block the onslaught of boulders. But she was only a Second Tier Earth Element user. Faced with a Third Tier Mutant Beast of the same element, her defensive capabilities were simply insufficient. Very quickly, the Earth Wall was battered with countless cracks before crumbling to the ground right before their eyes!