CHAPTER 48: MONSTER PACK

Lance chuckled. "I know, right? This is pretty rare. He only tends to use his smarts to cheat others out of drinks!"

'Don't tell me I'm going to be his next victim...' Hermes lampooned.

Sighing inwardly, he placed the arm brace on his left arm and began to admire its craftsmanship. Lance's voice broke him out of his trance.

"By the way, remember that this item was conjured. I created it using my abilities as a stage 5 Sentinel. It will probably only last a few hours max before disappearing."

Hermes nodded. "Interesting. Speaking of Sentinels, how do your conjuring abilities work exactly? I have always wondered about that."

Lance chuckled, "Haha, it's fairly simple, actually. At 4.5 Dimensionality, I unlock an ability called [Gadget-Schema]. With it, I can store entire schematics of tools or gadgets inside my head. Then, I can use [Conjure-Gadget], an ability I unlocked only recently as a 5.0 dimensional being to conjure those schematics into physical objects."

"I see, so the information on how to create them is stored for you automatically. No wonder you were able to conjure this grappling hook so quickly, while also controlling the tank's cannons."

"Yeah, man! Can you believe how hard it would be to start focusing all your attention on creating something during a fight? It would be impractical." He continued, "Though Celestial Engineers work exactly like that to create Quantum Gearworks."

Hermes' brows furrowed. "Oh? Can you elaborate?"

The man shifted his joystick to the right as he continued to converse. "Basically, Celestial Engineers gain an ability called [Metallurgy-Conjuration] at 4.5 dimensionality and [Shape-Morph] at 5.0. The metals they conjure are able to stay forever in the real world, but it takes much longer to create and the Engineer in question needs to have a detailed outlook on the type of alloy he or she wants to create."

"With [Shape-Morph], they can then change the metal's shape to create the desired part. They need to do this for every part contained within the gadget they are making, so the entire process takes really long."

'I see... So they need to assemble the entire device themselves rather than conjuring the entire thing at once.'

Hermes pushed up his glasses. "Thanks for the info. By the way, do you have any intel on the Mutant Devil Wolf pack?"

Lance sighed. "They are slowly approaching. I think Mason is actively fighting them off to give us time to retreat."

"Huh? Will he be ok?"

He smiled. "Don't worry about him. He is a stage 8 Sentinel. The old man has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Well, more like gadgets up his sleeve, but you get the point."

Before Hermes could interrupt, Lance continued. "Besides, I think we should be more worried about ourselves. You are currently the only Celestial that can fight on the deck. Me and Frederick will be busy controlling the tank. The other two tanks in this makeshift platoon are regular operators too, so you will be in charge of defending all three tanks at once."

Hermes sighed. "How the hell did you guys compose such a large merchant convoy but not assign more Celestials to protect it? Isn't that pretty incompetent?"

Lance smiled beneath his VR headset. "Tell me about it, man. The thing is, the Valencourt family is somewhat deep in financial trouble currently. The route we were taking to the capital was supposed to be highly safe; Mutant Rampages never reach this far into the Marcia Empire, so they decided to cut costs..."

Hermes facepalmed. "Sigh... Fine, I guess I am going to have to work overtime."

Lance chuckled. "It's not like you have a choice. If we go down, you are going down with us, haha."

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I won't be taking more of your time. You have [Cyber-Telepathy] too, right? Use it to communicate with me outside the deck. My [Sensory-Boost] uses up too much cosmic force, so having you relay me info on any incoming attacks will be helpful."

Lance swiftly acknowledged his request with a thumbs up. Seeing this, Hermes turned around to face the door, but not before asking for one last thing. "Ah, what was your name again?"

He smiled. "The name's Lance Mitnick. Second in command of the Ironclad Blades mercenary group." Hermes nodded and left the compartment.

...

A few miles away from Hermes' position, Mason Melbourne was sitting comfortably on the sands of Mars as he took another puff of his cigarette. Off in the distance, a wave of dust was visibly swimming in his direction. Seeing its approach, his sigh deepened.

"They are finally here..." He stood up, both hands in his pocket as he watched the mutant devil wolf pack approaching him swiftly. His cigarette hung from his lower lip tightly; he did not want to waste any bit of it.

The dust wave surged, halting a mere hundreds of meters from Mason as he closed his eyes. Around him, electricity sparked to life, weaving into mesmerizing arcs of plasma. In this electric dance, exotic particles fused, materializing into objects of immense proportions: a spear, a halberd, a lance, and a trident. Each weapon was colossal, dwarfing Mason's six-foot stature as they towered majestically above him.

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Using [Magnetism-Control], an ability that is obtained at 6.5 dimensionality, he was able to levitate each one freely. The outlines of ten mutant wolves became apparent in his vision through the clouds of dust. Some had cybernetic limbs and other attachments, while a few held mechanical wings, each crafted differently from the other. Kinetic and energy weapons were mounted on theirs backs or sides. It was as if an army of biological weapons had emerged all at once.

In the back of the group, a singular wolf stood proudly. Its eyes focused and determined. It was as if it was analyzing the entire battlefield with a bird's-eye view. Such a statement held merit, as Mason looked into the sky; reflections of small objects hovering around were present.

He smiled, "these bastards really are clever. Using makeshift drones for scouts."

The leader of the pack held a stoic expression as the scar over his left eye radiated horror and blood lust. Mason looked back at him without any fear as he took another puff from his cigar.

Suddenly, the large beast unfurled its wings. Unlike the rest of the wolves present within the pack, the mechanical components they were composed of were much more intricate. Their shape was much more aerodynamic and fit for continuous flight. Unlike the others, the technology it was donning was all sophisticated in nature. One could even say that it was an engineering marvel.

Seeing this, Mason frowned. "The bastard is taunting me..." However, the taunting was not over as a surprising voice emerged within his head and spoke to him telepathically.

["SuRrenDer. nUmbERs MAny."] Mason's eyes opened wide. The leader of the pack had spoken to him directly using its own [Cyber-Telepathy]. Seeing this, Mason smirked as sweat trickled down his cheek.

"Haha... This is pretty bad..."

Mason had heard of such a phenomenon before from more senior Guardians and mercenaries. A situation that doesn't tend to happen often. He had realized by now that the pack he was facing was no ordinary Mutant Devil Wolf pack, but a Mutant Demonic Alpha Wolf pack. A variant that was known for having a Mutant Demonic Alpha Wolf as a leader. These mutants tend to have the strength equivalence of a Stage 8 Celestial and higher intelligence to go along with it.

"You bastard... So you were behind all of this... Since the beginning, too."

Suddenly, the entire situation clicked into place. Everything that had occurred so far made sense to him. How a Mutant Rampage could form so quickly without anyone realizing. How the Mutant Devil Wolves, which tend to occupy more distant places as their nests showed up near the caravan all of a sudden.

The Mutant Demonic Alpha Wolf standing before Mason was behind the whole thing all along.

The beast had been monitoring the caravan during its entire journey, and chose this specific spot to launch its attack due to it being the furthest point from any settlement that belongs to the empire. With its enhanced intelligence, it decided to even create its own mutant rampage by scaring the lower tier mutants and herding them toward the caravan to weaken all their defenses. A masterfully crafted plan to devour their prey.

Seeing how intelligent it was, Mason decided to try to communicate. He activated his own [Cyber-Telepathy].

["Beast, answer me this. How did you fly undetected over our airspace? There is no way you could have entered this easily without anyone noticing."]

The giant wolf stood there in silence as it stared at its prey. Its eyes, sharper than daggers, were focused on analyzing Mason for any possible weaknesses. It was ready to order its clansmen at any moment, should an opportunity arise.

Seeing that it was not willing to respond or even understand what he had to say, Mason sighed. 'I guess I overestimated its intelligence...'

Opening his eyes, Mason used [Magnetism-Control] to aim his ready-made weapons at the pack of biological amalgamations. Lightning danced and snaked across his body in resplendent arcs. With a hard stomp of his right foot, he dashed forward in stride. His four mighty weapons levitating closely behind him were primed and ready to attack.

Seeing this, the Mutant Demonic Alpha Wolf lifted its large head and howled into the heavens, signaling its pack to commence the hunt. Without hesitation, the beasts with augmented limbs dashed forward as they readied their exaggeratedly colossal canine teeth to pounce.

In the sky, a few Devil Wolves readied their mounted weapons for aerial bombardments; the drones controlled by the Demonic Alpha Wolf would provide support. As the single man fought a makeshift army of beasts, the leader of the pack stood still and watched from the distance.

Mason deflected attack after attack, deftly swinging all four of his conjured colossal blades at the enemies surrounding him. Thrusts followed by parries, swings followed by dodges, he continued to combat the amalgamations of science and biology by himself.

From his left, the maw of one of the Devil Wolves approached his figure. Noticing its presence, he created a cross guard stance with his conjured halberd and lance, effectively defending against its attempt to gnaw him to pieces. However, the beast had already predicted this.

As it pushed its jaws against the blades, a gun barrel emerged from within its gaping mouth.

"SHIT!"

-Boom!

A large mortar shell was shot at him in point blank range, exploding immediately upon contact with his conjured weapons. A large plume of smoke and dust encapsulated Mason's figure. The battlefield stood in silence, awaiting the outcome of the mutant's suicide attack.

Suddenly, the large plume of black smoke was blown away in every direction as a heavy breeze rushed out in waves. From within the smoke, the body of the mutant devil wolf, with its snout mangled and bloodied, was presented before the rest of the pack's eyes.

On top of the corpse, Mason stood on its head proudly as half of his trench coat was eviscerated, leaving clear wounds on his right arm. Blood dripped heavily, like a stream, as he gasped for air. Surrounding his body were the large weapons he had previously conjured, which were spinning rapidly to blow away the smoke.

He looked at his bloodied arm as his lips curled up into a smile. "Hahaha... I really am I getting old..."

Only mere milliseconds of realizing what the beast was planning to do, Mason used another Sentinel ability called [Gadget-Morph] which is acquired at 7.0 dimensionality. With it, he was able to mold his conjured weapons rapidly into large riot shields to protect his body. However, because of how little time he had, most of the attack still managed to pass through and injure his right arm completely.

From atop the mangled corpse, Mason stared at the Demonic Alpha Wolf standing in the distance as a couple of the amalgamations scoured the skies. Out of the ten mutant devil wolves, three of them had wings, while the other seven were augmented with other mechanical limbs.

Throughout his earlier skirmish, he was able to take down three of them, adding the one that blew itself up. Only three Mutant Devil Wolves were currently within his vicinity, excluding the three flying beasts and the Demonic Alpha Wolf itself.

Seeing the stalemate they were currently in, Mason smiled. "I have to say, I am fairly impressed. Even though I have heard of how intelligent your variant is, it's hard to believe it at face value unless you see it directly. The fact that you have such high intelligence even though corrupted cosmic force runs through your veins is fascinating..."

The beast ignored his remarks and continued to analyze the situation with every sensor it was augmented with.

End of Chapter