Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1322: Further than expected

“Looks like they advanced further than I expected...” Tanoʼmol commented on the scene that played out before them. The moment they stepped into the entrance of what looked like an assembly hall, like a subterranean prison courtyard, they all halted in surprise and confusion for a moment.

The scene of battle was so far removed from what they had gotten used to after the fall of the Districts that they suffered a slight culture shock. Two groups of people were fighting bitterly, using skills with bio-mechanical arms, or shooting laser beams from various parts like artificial eyeballs. Both sides bore signs of cybernetic enhancement and transformation, explaining the goatʼs comment.

One side wore the same uniform armor set as the guards they had met earlier. Their opponents were dressed in flimsy hospital gowns and pyjamas. If it wasnʼt for the clear difference in dress code between the two sides, they may not have been able to identify the captives.

The next moment, a massive shark mermen, the transformed Adam, and a huge anthropomorphic lion, transformed Mike, rushed into the battle. They were the first to recover from the stupor and jumped in to assist the Nightgown Faction. The others belatedly joined them.

A party of lv.100 tore through the chaotic scene like a raging wildfire in a dry grassland. Despite being cybernetically enhanced, none of the people in the room could compare to a player who stepped on their Path to Legend. Especially not with everyone in Mikeʼs party wielding legendary items.

Chromium skin, steel wire muscles, Computational Prediction, or whatever else the traits were called, that they gained through unholy experiments, meant nothing before the difference in level and gear.

Luckily, the captives fighting for their freedom realized that the newcomers were on their side when they witnessed scenes like Ellen cutting a guard into ribbons, Shay using a single spell to turn five at once into ice sculptures, or Adams using his physical superiority to rip a guard apart with simple punches.

Simpler approaches, such as Mikeʼs cutting down people in a more normal fashion, or Mistoʼs assassinations by turning into mist and stabbing distracted guards in the back, were not as eye-catching, but not any less effective.

Compared to their governor and the members of Minas Mar, Adamʼs men lagged behind a little, but they still had a great advantage over the guards, so their fights were not hard either. The chaotic battle quickly turned orderly, as the guards were decimated by the intruders.

With the last guard falling, silence followed. There were some people crying in pain and wailing at their losses, but the noise of battle was gone. In the awkward silence that followed as neother of the sides quite knew how to treat the other, Adam stepped up to talk.
“Hello, Iʼm Adam, the Governor of Thres,” he introduced himself, causing some whispers among the crowd.

“Thres? The small satellite city at the edge of Beta?” “Wasnʼt Thres destroyed?” “Where is Thres?” ”Governor?” Various voices were speaking in hushed tones. Some knew Thres, some didnʼt, most had no recent knowledge of the changes there, meaning that these people probably had no interactions with the refugees and friends he was looking for.

“...And these are my Allies from Minas Mar,” he continued speaking. There were even more hushed voices now, talking about Minas Mar, the guild, and its assembly of Tree Station. Again, their info was quite outdated, suggesting they were isolated from news for quite some time.

“We are looking for a group of people from Thres and refugees from Emerald City we were escorting. I tracked them down all the way here, would you know where exactly they could be?” he asked honestly. Although they had a rough outline of the baseʼs blueprint, it would have been quicker with a proper guide.

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Although they obviously talked among each other in hushed voice, nobody from the crowd stepped up to answer him, causing an even more awkward silence than before. Finally, there was an audible sigh and the sound of someone clearing their throat.

From the crowd emerged a tall, slightly muscular woman. The hospital clothes couldnʼt hide the toned body of a warrior. However, her right arm had turned completely metallic, while the transformation was also encroaching on her shoulder and neck.

Her right iris had a silver glint and gave off a dim, blue light. Her right, metallic fist seemed quite damaged, with blood and clear liquid leaking from the bent metal shards, yet she didnʼt seem to mind it at all.

“Iʼm Meg Huffin, you could say I lead this revolt...” she spoke up, but was suddenly interrupted.

““Meg Huffin?!”” Mike and Ray exclaimed in unison and shared a glance. Meg Huffin was the woman Lydia had been searching for, together with Mike and Ray, who joined her a little later. They had lost her track in Morranto, where she had been kidnapped by a Hashing Bird. They had been convinced that she was dead and returned after their hectic visit in the city of Bandits.

“You were alive?” Mike followed up on their sudden exclamation.

“There were sometimes when I wishes i wasnʼt and some where I was close to not, but I am indeed alive. Do I know you?” Meg asked a little puzzled at the cat boy and the weird guy with black gems on his forehead treating her so familiar.

“Your niece asked the guild master to look for you when you were kidnapped. We were following your track all the way to Morranto, but assumed you were dead when the city master told us that you were caught by the hashing bird...” Ray explained quickly.

Suddenly, Ray had a pair of hand on his shoulder, grabbing them with an vice-like grip. “My niece? Sheʼs still alive? What about my brother? Did they get away? Where are they now?” the tough woman, that seemed unperturbed even amidst the heaps of slaughtered guards, way asking frantically. A warm hand touched her metallic shoulder.

“They are living in Little Sigma. Your brother is working at one of Minas Marʼs shops right now,” Mike said calmly. Although it had been a while, Mike and Lydia had kept with the issue for sometime, until the man and his daughter had settled. Although they had been unable to bring back Meg, they were able to provide the two a better environment, than a caravan int he Unclaimed Mountains.

“S-So they are fine?” she asked, relieved, a hint of tears in her eyes. “Yes, they are doing fine, apart from missing you, I guess.”

“Thank you...” she thanked him, wiping away the tears, audibly sniffing back her snot.

“Iʼm sorry to interrupt the touching moment, but I think you were going to say something about my people?” Adam had waited as long as he thought appropriate before crashing the “happy end”. The fight had helped let off some steam, but he was still very much in a hurry to get his people after hearing about the experiments going on in this place.

“Oh, sure, sorry. Your people are probably held further down in the prison block, for they store the “materials” as they call it...” Meg explained.

“Isnʼt this the prison block?” Shay asked inadvertently. Looking around, he could see barred doors lining the hallways leading away from the big central room.

“No, they call this place the ward. This is where they hold the precious specimen for observation... us,” she gestured at the people in pajamas and hospital gowns around her. They didnʼt seem very happy about being called specimens, even with the precious in front of it.

“Thank you. You can leave the way we came. We blocked most of the hallways on the way in, so the way out should still be free if you hurry,” Adam thanked and and told her how to get out in exchange. He would have liked a guide, but he could not get himself to ask these people to risk their freedom for his people. They had suffered as much under experiments as Adam and his people, probably more.

“I could guide you there, while these guys get out,” meg suddenly suggested, against everyone expectations.

“Are you sure, you could get out now and be free. Why risk this chance to come further in with us?” Ray asked worried.

“pfft, what are you saying? Iʼm pretty sure staying at your side will be the safest choice and have the highest guarantee to get out of here,” Meg said with a laugh.

“This is it, everyone. These guys are saying the way out is open, for now. Whoever wants to get out should leave now,” she spoke to her comrades.

“Are you sure, meg?” a women with platinum blonde, almost white hair asked her hesitatings. The long, messing hair hid everything of her face apart form her right eyes. because of her get up, it was impossible to judge what kind of augmentations she had.

“Donʼt worry about me. You guys get out first, you can secure our retreat,” she joked, playing over her own worries. The white haired woman nodded.

“As you wish. I will wait outside for you.”