Mutagen

Day 147 - 1:15 PM - Western Coast, Codon, San Andres, Catanduanes

Even after creating such a commotion, Mark decided to sit down and eat. He focused on his stomach more than troubling himself with the current state of the surroundings.

And, of course, the soldiers were troubled. Their squad leader was also rooted in the spot like Liden's group. Without knowing what was going on, the soldiers did not dare make any threatening moves. After all, the unknown was the most terrifying.

"Have you always known that there's something under that rock?"

Pefile could not help but ask. He was also surprised after that rock started to move.

"No?" Mark replied. "I just noticed it when we arrived here. I became curious as to why that is here."

"No wonder you picked this rocky area when there are other better places to eat."

Pefile nodded understandably.

In the first place, the rocky area was not that good of a place to eat. However, Mark led the group here.

It was still strange, though, and that was why Edzel asked a question.

"Boss, is that Hermit Crab intelligent?"

It was a question that everyone in the group was interested in. After all, it was strange that this creature was here lying dormant despite the people around. It was not the case of not being a carnivore either as everyone just watched it eat the poor guy's limbs.

"It is," Mark replied. "Not as intelligent as Chaflar, though. It's staying here exactly because there are people around. It is much safer here."

While the first part of Mark's reply answered the question, the latter part gave more.

"Safer?"

Emika asked.

"Yeah. Safer." Mark nodded. "This Hermit Crab here must have drastically mutated that it can't keep its eggs inside its shell. It is protecting its eggs under it."

That answered the question. As it could not keep the eggs inside its shell, the Giant Hermit Crab buried itself in the sand to keep the eggs safe. With the people and soldiers around, this place was free of possible predators, which made this creature stay in this place.

"Papa, another pet?"

Abbygale asked.

Out of the three girls, she was the one really fond of animals. She was even taking care of Laelaps personally whenever they were home.

"Probably not."

Mark patted the little girl's head.

"Why?"

Abbygale asked once more.

"It's too big to move around. Its home is also the ocean. There's nowhere we can put it at home."

Mark replied, and the little girl nodded in understanding. Abbygale was a smart girl, after all.

While they were chatting without even a bit of care towards the surroundings, several vehicles arrived.

The General? It was not.

A tank-like vehicle came roaring with its engine as it led a group of offroad military jeeps entered the scene.

One of the jeeps stopped in front of the others, with a man close to his fifties went out.

Seeing that person, Liden could not help but cry out loud.

"B-BROTHER!"

"Liden!" The man called out. "What is going on here?! Where is the monster?"

That was right. It was Major General Antonino Seguerra from the Philippine Marines. Unfortunately for Liden, though, it seemed that this group was here for the Hermit Crab instead of him. Nevertheless, it was an opportunity for Liden to ask for help.

"Brother! Help!"

Liden cried out one more. This drove his brother and his men into confusion. Help at what? Liden and his men were there, standing. There was no danger in sight at all.

It was when General Seguerra noticed the thin man nearby, unconscious and with his limbs missing. Of course, the Marines General was familiar with the men of his brother. Finally, it registered in his mind that there was something odd going on.

Finally, a soldier from the outpost came to fill in the details. Sure enough, the newly arrived soldiers were surprised to know that Liden and his group were stuck and unable to move. However, when the soldier pointed at their squad leader, also stuck and unable to move, the General and his men could only believe it.

With a signal from the Marines General, his men moved.

Raising their guns towards the group having their lunch, one of the soldiers called out.

"All of you, raise your hands up! You're all under arrest!"

To their surprise, none of the group's members raised their hands and only took a pitiful glance at the soldiers.

"Arresting us? What for?" Mark asked out loud. "For not letting these pests eat our food or play with the women in my group? The Marines had gone low these days, huh?"

That was said all out loud, and everyone in the vicinity heard it. The Marines Soldiers might be loyal to their General, but those words still made their faces heat up.

"Shut up!" The leader of the soldiers shouted. "You are under arrest for impeding military operations!"

"Oh, I see." Mark nodded, hitting his left palm with his closed right hand. "The lawless activities of these guys are now military operations, huh?"

The soldier that had shouted just now choked. It was not he was talking about. It was about the monster and Mark's group not leaving the area after the Squad Leader from the outpost made them vacate the area.

However, it was already late. Mark's twisted words made the stares from the surroundings as cold as it could be.

The Marines General frowned. Mark had been playing with them. He then decided to step forward himself.

"You." General Seguerra called out to Mark. "Release my brother and his men from whatever witchcraft you did, and we will let you go."

"Release them?" Mark tilted his head. "I'm sorry, but I already said it before. They will die today. I don't care whoever came to vouch for them."

"Do you really have to make this hard?"

The Marines General asked.

"Not changing my mind here."

Mark replied nonchalantly.

With that, General Seguerra was fed up. He raised his hand, signaling his men to get ready to fire.

"I will give you one more chance."

General Seguerra threatened.

But this time, the sounds of several vehicles roared once more. It was not from the group of Marines, but another group. Soon, the second group arrived. It was the Army, led by General Padilla.

General Padilla alighted his vehicle with the same entourage he had this morning when he met Mark's group at the pier. That Andrew was here too. Although he was still glaring at Mark, he seemed to be more subdued at this time.

"Seguerra, you better stop what you are doing right now."

General Padilla warned the other General.

"Padilla, what are you doing here? This is none of your business!"

General Seguerra roared.

"Of course it is my business." The Army General calmly replied. "The group you are pointing your guns right now is the group that had the package from Faustino."

That should have been enough to stop the Marines General in normal circumstances. However, he was angered at this moment.

"If the package is what you all care about, we can take that after we subdued these criminals."

At this moment, an audible sigh could be heard.

"Criminals, he said. What a thick face." Mark shook his head before turning to General Padilla. "You're late, you know that? The guy you sent to tail us had been communicating with you, right? How come that these thick-faced guys appeared first?"

That complaint made General Padilla surprised. After all, Mark knew all along! It was even more surprising since the soldier he sent was a Mutator with stealth abilities that was the top among their intelligence spies.

Before General Padilla could say anything, Mark dropped a threatening question.

"Well, it's good that you're here, though," Mark said as he finally stood up from his seat. "Say... Can I kill them all without any consequences from you guys?"

That was right. Mark was asking General Padilla for permission to kill. However, it was not only Liden's group but also the soldiers of the Marines.

However, before the Army General could answer that question, the Marines General made the first move without hesitation.

"SHOOT!"

General Seguerra shouted.

The order was given, and the soldiers of the Marines were ready to pull the triggers. It would definitely impact their reputation, but the words of the General came first in priority.

And there, the volley of bullets flew off towards Mark's group.

General Padilla could only rub his forehead. There was one crucial thing that General Seguerra did not know. Mark's group could create a shield that could block bullets.

And thus, it was displayed here as Mark's group was enveloped with a hazy barrier, stopping all the bullets from hitting their targets.

The soldiers emptied their magazines to no avail. All their bullets stopped suspended in the air for a few seconds before falling down.

At this time, Mark gave a last look at General Padilla.

"Sorry, General, but I'm fed up with these insects."

And there, Mark's eyes glowed bright red, releasing sparks at the corners. A cold sensation enveloped the surroundings. The soldiers that fired just now entered a frozen state with their bodies shaking uncontrollably out of fear. One by one, their guns fell from their grips as their hands grew numb.

General Seguerra was not an exception to this. With his dilated eyes, he watched Mark step out of the barrier. Mark approached and stopped in front of him.

"Isn't it nice to feel how your brother felt? Since you seem to value brotherhood too much, why not share his pain?"

General Seguerra could not speak. His teeth were clattering violently. The only thing he could do was watch Mark approach Liden in a threatening way.

As Mark went full throttle already, Liden could not speak either. He could only watch Mark approach fearfully.

And there, Mark grasped Liden's arm.

And then...

SNAP!

"AARRRGGHHH!!!"

It was an orchestra of pain.

Mark broke Liden's arm. His wrist and hand dangled before his elbow.

In pain, Liden roared. However, it was not only him. General Seguerra and his soldiers all screamed with him as his pain was fully transmitted to all of them.

The witnesses could not help but step back in both awe and fear after hearing more than fifty fully grown men cry out in pain at the same time.

But it did not end there.

Mark walked to the other side of Liden, grasping his other arm.

SNAP!

"AAAAHHHH!!!"

Liden roared with his eyes flowing with tears. Of course, his backup singers sang the painful song with him.

This, however, made some people snap from the effects of fear that Mark induced in their minds. They fell on their knees, grasping their arms in pain although there were no injuries present at all.

Mark turned at those people with a shrug. It was not surprising. There were many circumstances that pain could outdo fear. Even a person frozen in fear could start running after they felt pain.

At this moment, General Seguerra knew that they were in great danger. He bit his lip, causing it to bleed. The pain made him at least able to speak. However, he did not beg for mercy or apologize to Mark.

Instead, he called out.

"BERRAK!"

General Seguerra yelled out loud.

Everyone was confused as to what he was saying. They thought that he was trying to say something but choked.

But then, Mark sensed a presence appear in front of the Marines General.

"You called?"

A voice was heard as a visage of a person manifested in front of General Seguerra.

There, a man appeared out of thin air. The moment he materialized, though, the man immediately frowned.

"What the f*ck did you run into, old man?"

He asked the frozen General. He then made a tap on the General's shoulder, unexpectedly freeing him from his current state.

The man panned his eyes unto the surroundings, letting the freed General fall on his knees and breathing hard. That was when the man's eyes fell on Mark.

"It's you?"

The man asked in surprise.

Of course, Mark was the same.

This person was the very same man that Mark's group passed by in the trading area. The wizard.