[W-what?]
"What?!"
His response confused everyone, so Darius explained.
[These are monsters born from miasma, not mutated. They have no fear and overwhelm their prey once they are outnumbered. The fact that squad 2 escaped an enclosure of probably more than 10 monsters means two things: they either left them escape to bring them to other possible targets or they didn’t dare hunt down their boss’ food.]
[W-wait, but if what you’re saying is true-]
[Their numbers are greater, and most probably there are more with higher ranks. So rather than sacrifice everyone, Squad 2, I advise you to find cover.]
"D-Darius! How can you say that-?
-BOOM!-
Andrew then shot another round as another monster appeared, rushing towards them in a hurry, falling right in front of the group with one of its legs busted. Being in front, Darius instantly used his plasma knife and cut the monster’s head in two, black blood splashing all over his armor, evaporating in a thick black smoke.
[We have also entered into contact with the monsters, most probably scouts. Based on their movements, their searching area must’ve enlarged. If we group up, then so will they. We better focus on lowering their numbers and not drag each other down, got it?]
[S-squad 1… Roger……]
[Fuck! Shit! Squad 7, I’ll remember this!]
"……"
It was quiet for a while, but they continued on nevertheless, meeting with groups of monsters on the way now and then, each time the soldiers were able to intercept them. The lowest and low-ranked monsters were hardly detected by the miasma detectors since they emanated small amounts of energy, but the mid-ranked monsters would normally appear in an instant on the radar since they emanated a larger quantity of miasma than low and bellow. Since the detector didn’t show any strange dots on the screen except the very close ones from the lowest and low-ranked monsters, it meant that no mid-ranked monsters were around just yet.
"Top left tree!"
.
"From behind are coming two!"
.
"Front, four."
.
Continuously, the group would meet up with more and more monsters, understanding that most probably they'd been taken under the radar as well. Since the monsters were only of the lowest rank so far, it meant that nothing too dangerous was yet to happen, but Darius already knew what type of monsters were roaming around these places, hence why he rushed his steps every time more monsters were intercepting them.
Sending the minions like this, they’re not hunting us down; they’re just checking our position. They’re smart enough to use strategies. But since they’re so curious of us to continue checking on us, it means they want to know if we’re grouping up or are still dispersed…
Darius’ mind was rushing and continued on upwards, this time not even minding the lowest-ranked monsters that appeared, simply taking them down on his own as he had no time to play it safe anymore. Just as another appeared from above, Darius took out his plasma knife and swiftly decapitated the monster, dashing away before its body could hit the ground. Seeing him in such a hurry, everyone dashed after him while also shooting down whatever appeared in front of them, rarely using the knife since they couldn't use it as precisely as Darius just yet.
"W-woah. Darius, were you always so agile?"
"I’m just in a hurry. The VIPs are waiting."
"And since when did you care so much for some big shots?"
"I don’t. I’m just afraid we might fail our rescue mission."
"…. Let’s go."
Hearing about failing a mission, their faces turned white, and they also hastened their steps.
In about half an hour, they finally arrived at the resort, seeing the lights off and the ski lift completely destroyed.
Back then, I remember the VIPs being already done for by a mid-ranked Miasma Spider. By the looks of it, I guess we were too late this time as well.
"Kyaaa!"
"?!"
However, right after thinking of this, a scream resounded from inside the resort, making Darius and his group rush inside the building.
Darius busted down the door, and without looking too much around, he instantly went up the stairs where the noise came from.
Just then, Michael's radar captured a signal, and his eyes opened wide while he shouted after him.
"W-wait! Darius! Careful, it’s a mid-ranked monster!"
"I got this. You guys go see if there are any other survivors."
The retort was filled with corpses, some half eaten, with parts of human bodies thrown around, or just whole corpses not yet nibbled on.
"This really makes me sick…"
"Come on! We need to look for survivors!"
While the others looked around carefully, Darius ran up the stairs, and just as he got there, a shadow appeared right in front of him, making him barely control himself from just shooting the running woman.
"Save me!"
She shouted desperately after seeking another human like Darius, but Darius quickly jumped away with her in his arms after a humongous spider was just about to crash into them, breaking the wall behind the two as they barely dodged it.
"Stay down."
He firmly commanded and quickly got up while taking out a knife while reading his rifle.
-KHAA!-
The spider roared annoyedly at Darius, and in return, he showered the monster with penetration bullets, making it shriek in pain and quickly rush down the stairs while sparks flew off its shell.
No you don’t.
Darius wanted to follow it, but then something grabbed onto his leg, stopping him from advancing further.
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"P-please! D-don’t leave me here!"
Filled with terror, the woman stopped Darius, making him frown troubled. He then quickly contacted the others through the station while trying to calm the woman.
[Darius here. The mid-ranked bastard escaped down the stairs. The spider is on its way to you.]
-click! BOOM!-
[Intercepted.]
Andrew answered back after a loud shotgun shot reverberated through the resort. The next moment, more gunshots were heard, and the spider’s last shrieks echoed through the resort, dying slowly.
The woman was trembling on her own, and after looking around without detecting any other monsters, he got down to her and asked while trying to calm her down.
"Hey, are there any other survivors? Was there nobody with you either?"
"D-don’t know… S-some died w-while, s-some hid, a-and some ran. I- I just hid under the bed. I don’t know anything. P-please, save me…"
She’s broken. I can’t get anything from her.
Reaching this conclusion, Darius swiftly struck her behind the back, rendering her unconscious so as not to prove to be a burden by running around aimlessly.
He continued to look around, and as expected, he found more people hiding either inside some furniture, inside the bathroom, or even under other corpses.
"Are you… here to save us?"
"…. Let’s go. We’ll protect you."
A kid buried underneath his mother’s corpse asked with hollow eyes while staring at Darius as if asking, And you’re coming just now…?
Along with the individuals discovered on the first floor, there were about 23 others who barely made it; 6 of them sustained injuries, and 3 of them even contracted the miasma emanating from the spiders, rendering their minds foggy and mildly aggressive.
After gathering everyone, Darius changed the channel of the radio to the HQ.
[Main Army Elite Squad nr 7. We rescued a group of 23 from inside the VIP tourist resort. We request quick transport and a medic. Three of them were infected by miasma. Over.]
After about a whole minute, there was a reply.
[Here’s HQ. We received your request. Back up will arrive at the landing spot in 1 hour. Over.]
[Alright. We’ll wait at the resort.]
[Denied. Meet you at the landing spot.]
[….]
Darius’ face was rigid after hearing the report. What the HQ wanted was for them to walk all the way back at the base of the mountain with a group of 23 traumatized people, some children and women as well, and even injured. It was more than ridiculous; it was scandalous at this point.
"Shit… What the heck are we supposed to do now?"
"Nothing. We’ll wait for backup here."
"W-what? But they-…"
Not letting Jack finish his sentence, Darius looked around the group and spoke on the radio again.
[Squad 7 here. We will wait for backup at the resort.]
[You listen here-]
[It’s a direct request from the VIPs. If we were to take them back with us, we might as well sentence them all to death. If the HQ wants us to go with them down the mountain, then they’re dead. But if you were to come up here, they might have a better chance to live.]
[Did you not hear what I said, squad leader?!]
Darius’ words were loud and clear and he also disconnected the earphone from the radio, making everyone hear the HQ’s words on the speaker.
[Sir, just listen.]
Darius stopped the person from speaking any further as one of the VIPs grabbed Darius' radio station and roared furiously at the man from HQ.
[Oy listen up you fucker! Better move your fucking ass here right this instant and save us, or I’ll make sure that my father hears of this and your whole family will get a taste of what it’s like to face these fucking monsters here!]
Right after, another woman stepped forward and shouted in a panic.
[Please come here and save me! I won’t move a muscle from here, so come already!]
The next moment, the radio station was completely flooded by panicked and angered voices, with the HQ having no chance to even speak in the first place. But then Darius connected the earphones through a wireless connection once again to the radio station, making only his voice heard.
[Sir, I think the VIPs don’t wish to come with us.]
[…… What’s your name, soldier?]
[Darius. Elite soldier in the 7th squadron. At your services.]
[You bastard. I can’t wait to meet you next month. We’ll have a good time together.]
I hope we’ll meet as well. I have many things to tell you.]
[W-what-]
Darius’ eerie voice took the man by surprise, but before he could ask further, Darius just interrupted the connection and connected back to the channel used by the three squads.
[Squad 7 here. We secured the survivors and are waiting for backups. Any news? Over.]
[Squad 1 here. We also discovered some survivors on our end, and we’re keeping them safe in the main hall. Over.]
The backup will arrive at the landing spot in about 1 hour. You can bring the survivors there. Over.]
[I-I wish we could. But we got a few hundred. Thankfully, the monsters seem to have left the area for now. But we never know when they’ll come back. Over.]
[Understood. Squad 2. Still alive? Over.]
[Fuck you…]
[Still kicking, I see. Where are you?]
[…. Coming top.]
[Good. How many are you?]
[… Only myself.]
[I-I’m sorry…]
[Any reports about monsters?]
[Hey! Squad 7 leader, how about you go fuck yourself, yeah?!]
[If you hate this job then resign. Now stop whining and report. How many monsters have you found? Over.]
[You mother fucker-!.... Shit…! Until now, I think I saw about 20. 6 of them were mid-rank by how large they were; the rest were lowest and low. And, oh fuck. I think another one’s coming this way-….H-high…! There’s a high-ranked-!! BZZT-!]
[S-squad 2? Squad 2!!! Shit! Did he meet with a High-ranked?!]
Darius’ face was severe, and as he looked down at the forest below the resort, he saw more birds flying away in fear while trees began shaking unnaturally. The movements appeared closer and closer, and Darius understood what was happening.
"Everyone, inside the building! NOW!"
""?!?""
The residents seemed confused while the other four who listened on the radio reloaded their weapons while at the same time shouting at the VIPs.
"Move inside! Monsters are coming!"
"Go back in and hide!"
"Don’t leave that building until we give the signal if you don’t want to die!"
Nobody wanted to go inside a building filled with gore and blood that stank from a mile away, but even like that, there were some who simply didn’t wish to die just yet.
"N-no… I can’t… I can’t anymore…"
"Uugh~! No more! Please, no more!"
On the other hand, there were also those who broke down after hearing that monsters were on their way again, collapsing and staring with hopeless eyes in the sky. There were also those who were simply unable to move because of fear, their legs frozen stiff.
Guess that’s that.
Darius then took out two grenades from his pockets and threw them down the cliff and towards the monsters. After the grenades blew up, more trees collapsed together, creating a small, visible space between the trees.
"D-Darius?"
"This is a last stand. Since we can’t have the monsters near the VIPs, we better go to them ourselves. Take everything you have and blow away the area! We need clear vision!"
"Yes sir!"
"Roger!"
Everyone then took out their explosives and blew away the trees around them, widening the area so they could see everything clearly. Even though they had night vision, it was still hard to see through all those pine trees covered in snow.
"Targets ahead."
Andrew informed them after checking the radar, and just as he said so, they were now able to discern multiple red-shining eyes through the dark, coming closer and closer at incredible speed.
"Fire!"
Riffles, carbines, and light-machine guns resounded in unison, taking out monster after monster, as the first ones were just the lowest and low-ranked monsters. However, after eliminating 18 monsters, the remaining six mid-ranked ones suddenly appeared from behind the downed monsters and were all already too close for them to take their time like with the 18 from before.
-click, BOOM!-
Andrew, however, still stopped one from reaching out to Michael, who was in front, and gave everyone some time to retreat and reload by using his shotgun, knocking the spiders back momentarily with each buckshot.
"Thanks mate!"
"You’re welcome!"
A mid-ranker jumped over everyone and reached out to Jack who was the furthest in the back. However, Jack jumped away and rolled on the ground, then quickly blocked a leg from slashing him with his plasma knife.
"Fucking disgusting piece of shit!"
Annoyed by the fact that he was taken by surprise, he instantly got up and rushed forward to slash at the spider’s leg. However, he soon got pressured as the spider started attacking with two of its legs simultaneously, making Jack already retreat since he had a harder and harder time blocking everything.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
Slashes scratched his armor more and more to the point where it was already close to being penetrated, but then Darius jumped on the spider’s back and inserted his knife inside its back to hold onto it while pointing a D’eagle to its head.
-BOOM BOOM BOOM-
Hitting like a mini-cannon, after three bullets in the same spot, the hard skull of the spider cracked and its head got penetrated, limping around until it finally died, turning to smoke shortly after and dropping an energy crystal.
"Grab your weapon, quick!"
Darius slammed Jack’s shoulder as to wake him up from his dazed state, and then turned back to the others to help them against the other monsters.