Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Hero Saves... Mutants
"Our position’s been compromised. Looks like we weren’t careful enough," the mutant Cummings said, sitting on the ground and gnawing on the large thigh of a radioactive creature.
Mutants did possess powerful regenerative abilities, but the process consumed a great deal of their own nutrients.
If they didn’t get enough nutrients, the healing would not only be less effective, but could even fail entirely.
They had successfully escaped this latest encirclement, but they had also lost some of their people.
’A mole? That’s not realistic. We haven’t contacted the Steel Brotherhood since we left, so there was no way to pass on our location.’
’Could one of the mutants who came with us have sent the message? Even more impossible. We all left with nothing but the clothes on our backs. How could anyone have the ability to transmit information, especially here in the unfamiliar North?’
All the mutants who had accompanied Cummings were from the South.
So, the most likely possibility was that they had inadvertently revealed their position, and the Pure-bloods from the northern Sanctuaries had noticed.
For example, that squad of Pure-blooded Warriors they ran into earlier. After they killed them, there were bound to be consequences. It wouldn’t just end there.
"Boss, the Pure-blood Sanctuaries in the North seem kinda weak," the mutant Lien said after swallowing a large, bony chunk of meat.
Back in the South, they never would have escaped.
"It’s just that the northern Pure-blood Sanctuaries don’t take us seriously. Otherwise, why would their main force be from a Level 3 Sanctuary, with the rest being just trash from Level 4 and 5 Sanctuaries?"
"Back in the South, we were fighting Pure-bloods from Level 1 Sanctuaries. They were much stronger."
"The combat armor we faced was modeled after Level 1 Fire Seed Armor, and we even had to go up against more powerful bionic armor. Do you think these Level 3 Sanctuaries can bring out anything like that?"
"The North does have Level 1 Sanctuaries, but they haven’t experienced real war, so they don’t know how strong we are."
"Otherwise, it wouldn’t have ended this easily," Cummings said calmly.
The North had never faced a declaration of war from mutants on this scale, so of course they didn’t see it as a major threat.
When the Steel Brotherhood first rose to power in the South, the Pure-blood Sanctuaries there had the same attitude. It wasn’t until they made them hurt that they finally started taking them seriously.
But by the time they did, it was too late. The Steel Brotherhood had already established a firm foothold. Under their leader’s guidance, they could withstand the combined attacks of every Pure-blood Sanctuary and hold their ground, even when at a disadvantage.
Now, having united a vast number of mutants, they had begun to extend their reach into the North.
In the South, the Steel Brotherhood was already a powerful force, equivalent to a Level 1 Sanctuary.
But here in the North, it wasn’t just a small difference—they had absolutely no influence at all.
"But... they’ve seen what’s happening in the South. Why... aren’t they taking this seriously?" Lien finally asked, after much hesitation.
"Do you know of the Wasteland King?" Cummings asked.
"Of course. It’s very strong," Lien replied.
"Yes, but neither you nor I have ever seen how powerful it is, so we can’t truly comprehend just how strong the Wasteland King is," Cummings said, offering an example. "And so, the northern Pure-blood Sanctuaries have no way of comprehending the true strength of us mutants!"
"Oh, I see..." Lien began, nodding with a look of partial understanding, but a voice cut him off.
"And you cannot comprehend the power of the Fire Seed, you filthy mutants," a cold voice declared.
In an instant, everyone warily got to their feet.
Not far away, a dark knight on a Crystal Black Horse looked down on them, dragging a giant scythe.
’A Level 3 Fire Seed Armor!’ Cummings’s heart sank. He didn’t recognize the knight, but he had fought against a Level 3 Fire Seed Armor on the battlefields of the South.
Back then, its wearer had already reached the third stage of awakening and unleashed three awakened skills at once.
He had survived... barely.
’That’s right. Not victory, just survival.’
Of course, due to the limitations of Fire Seed Armor, moving too far from its Sanctuary would cause its power to weaken.
That encounter happened because the Steel Brotherhood was attacking their Level 3 Sanctuary, which was why his opponent could use their full strength.
’If we had met in the wild, I really wouldn’t have been afraid.’
But this Level 3 Fire Seed Armor had left its Sanctuary and couldn’t unleash its full power. In his estimation, it could only reach the second stage of awakening, at most.
It might even be weaker. This meant they had a fighting chance.
"It seems you’ve seen a fair bit in the South."
"You were very lucky to survive."
"A pity you came to the North."
"Remember the one who kills you: Frosty Noble!"
The newcomer was none other than Grand Elder Sloan of the Frosty Noble Sanctuary. Through a series of plots and coercive maneuvers, he had lured Cummings and his mutants to the area surrounding his Sanctuary.
Just as Cummings suspected, having left its Sanctuary, the Frosty Noble Level 3 Fire Seed Armor could only unleash the power of a first-stage awakening.
But that was more than enough to kill them. It was a Level 3, after all.
The Crystal Warhorse charged, arriving in an instant as its rider swung the giant scythe.
"Awakened Skill: Winter Lotus!"
The giant scythe danced, and a huge, icy lotus appeared.
His awakened skill was offensive, dealing extremely powerful area-of-effect damage.
The icy lotus exploded in an instant.
Cummings stood at the very front, using his own massive body to block all the attacks.
One of his heads was shattered because of it, but luckily he had two.
"STOP... RIGHT... THERE!!!" One of Cummings’s hands grabbed the giant scythe, while the other desperately tried to halt the knight’s charge.
’The good news is, we have a chance to win. The bad news is, the odds are low.’
It was true that Frosty Noble couldn’t unleash its full power so far from its Sanctuary. But Cummings and his mutants hadn’t recovered from their previous wounds and were utterly exhausted.
PUH... Cummings spat out a mouthful of blood. The impact from blocking the charge had damaged his internal organs.
"Hmph. Just a brute with nothing but brawn," Sloan’s disdainful voice echoed from within the Frosty Noble armor.
He then pulled back his giant scythe, intending to deal Cummings a fatal blow.
However, Cummings was not the only Steel Brotherhood mutant present; there were other mutants there too.
Seeing this, they naturally swarmed forward.
Cummings also endured the intense pain and launched another attack.
But Sloan was a battle-hardened veteran, and his reactions were incredibly fast.
He deftly parried the attacks and even managed to kill one of the mutants.
"Don’t fight! Run! Scatter!" Cummings yelled. He knew that in their wounded and exhausted state, they were no match for the knight.
Hearing Cummings’s words, Sloan let out a mocking laugh. "Did you think I came unprepared?"
A sense of dread instantly gripped Cummings.
Before he could guess what the preparations were, Sloan showed him.
Suddenly, he saw that they were surrounded. A large number of Pure-blooded Warriors had appeared out of nowhere.
These Pure-blooded Warriors wore combat armor and wielded energy weapons. They had them completely surrounded.
For the first time in years of fighting Pure-bloods, despair washed over the mutant Cummings.
’From the very beginning, we hadn’t escaped at all. The Pure-bloods had herded us into a trap, and we never even realized it.’
"I’ll give you this much, since you’re mutants from the Steel Brotherhood. Surrender now, and I’ll make your deaths quick," Sloan sneered.
His goal was simply to see them dead. If they didn’t resist and simply accepted their fate, he wouldn’t make things difficult. Best to avoid unnecessary complications.
But Cummings showed a sarcastic smile. "You Pure-bloods are always so high and mighty, even when you’re about to kill us."
"You think we’ll surrender?"
"No! We will fight back!"
After speaking, Cummings once again rushed towards Sloan. Even though he knew he was no match, he was unwilling to be captured without a fight.
It wasn’t just him; the remaining mutants were the same. When they joined the Steel Brotherhood, they knew that even if they were cornered one day, surrender was not an option.
It wasn’t that they were exceptionally brave; they just knew that surrender also meant death—a death preceded by even more painful torture.
Better to go down fighting. At least that way, death would be quicker.
"You still dare to charge me? Wretches like you deserve to die in agony." Sloan’s expression darkened. To think some mere, filthy mutants had made him lose face.
At his command, the Crystal Warhorse charged. The giant scythe in his hand became a lotus of death, ready to harvest the lives of these fools who didn’t know their place.
But the next moment, a dark shadow fell from the sky and slammed directly into him.
In an instant, intense pain erupted. He fell directly from the Crystal Warhorse, and the giant scythe flew from his grasp.
"A wild Level 3 Fire Seed Armor, and it’s not even in its Sanctuary."
"And a batch of excellent fuel, just sitting here for the taking."
"My thanks to the wasteland for its generous gift," a teasing voice rang out.
The movements of Cummings and the other mutants froze. Sloan scrambled to his feet, retrieved his scythe, and vaulted back onto his horse.
In that brief moment, all they saw was a dark shadow moving at incredible speed, dispatching the Pure-blooded Warriors who had been about to open fire.
They couldn’t even clearly see the figure of the attacker.
Vaguely, they could just make out something bizarre, like a long serpent, coiling in the air.
Sloan’s pupils contracted. Without hesitation, he yanked the reins of his Crystal Warhorse, turned, and fled.
’If I were in the Frosty Noble Sanctuary, I wouldn’t be afraid,’ he thought. ’But out here, I can’t use my Fire Seed Armor’s full power.’
He knew he was no match for this assailant. If he didn’t leave at once, he would very likely die here.
Right now, Sloan’s only thought was to escape. He didn’t care in the slightest who this newcomer was.
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