Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1705: Delta Squadron: Part-2

TAHUNDDD!!

Their armoured boots slammed into the wet ground with tremendous force, sending mud and water spraying outward in all directions.

Deep craters formed beneath the mech-suits while stabilisation systems absorbed the impact and automatically compensated for the uneven terrain.

For several seconds, nobody moved; their polished suits reflected the red world laid before them.

The soldiers simply stared ahead while their visors attempted to process the horrifying scene before them.

At the centre of a vast clearing sat a lone figure draped in tattered ash-grey cloth. The creature possessed the proportions of an ordinary human, and its body appeared healthy and intact despite the hostile environment surrounding it. However, where a normal head should have been, a horned skull rested atop its shoulders.

Empty eye sockets stared silently into the distance while two dark horns curved upward from the sides of its head.

Yet the creature itself wasn’t what caused the soldiers’ blood to run cold.

The true horror lay beneath it.

A mountain of corpses stretched across the clearing.

Thousands of bodies had been piled together into an enormous mound of flesh and bone. Blood continuously flowed down the sides of the grotesque structure like rivers descending a crimson hillside.

Torn organs, shattered bones, and fragments of human remains covered the surrounding ground, creating a scene so horrific that several soldiers instinctively took a step backwards despite being protected by their armoured suits.

Then their sensors revealed something even worse.

Countless root-like appendages had burrowed into the corpses.

The roots twisted through flesh and bone like living parasites while constantly writhing beneath the dead bodies. Some pierced directly through ribcages. Others wrapped around limbs and skulls. Every single root eventually converged behind the horned creature, creating a grotesque network that connected the monster to thousands of corpses simultaneously.

The squadron watched in stunned silence as biological analysis programs desperately attempted to classify what they were seeing. Every result returned the same conclusion.

[Unknown Lifeform]

[Threat Level Impossible To Calculate.]

The horrifying realisation slowly settled into their minds as they gazed upon the creature sitting atop its throne of death.

This wasn’t merely another monster hiding inside the forest.

This was the source of every failed investigation, every missing expedition, every military defeat, and every unexplained disappearance that had plagued these woods for years.

The being seated before them was the nightmare that had consumed countless lives, and judging by the mountain of corpses surrounding it, the creature was patiently feeding and… growing stronger?

What kind of horror were they witnessing?

“P-P-Please… h-help me…”

A broken, trembling voice echoed from somewhere within the mountain of corpses, snapping the squadron out of their stunned silence. Every visor immediately turned toward the source of the sound, and what they saw made even veteran soldiers freeze in place.

A young girl was still alive.

Or at least, she was alive for now.

The entire lower half of her body was gone, leaving only her upper torso protruding from the mass of flesh. Countless grotesque appendages writhed inside the open wound where her body should have ended. They twisted and coiled beneath her skin, causing her remaining body to tremble uncontrollably as tears mixed with blood across her pale face.

“P-Please…”

Her voice cracked into a painful sob.

Several squadron members instinctively stepped forward, but the Commander immediately activated enhanced scanning protocols.

The battlefield analysis systems zoomed in.

Then the true horror became visible.

Those weren’t ordinary tentacles.

They weren’t biological appendages similar to octopus limbs or any known creature.

The structures invading the girl’s body were a grotesque fusion of flesh and roots.

Human muscle fibres, veins, tendons, and fragments of bone had been woven together into root-like growths that continuously pulsed as though alive. Some sections still contained recognisable pieces of human anatomy… making it horrifyingly clear where the material had originated.

The roots had been created from the dead.

Every corpse lying within the mountain appeared connected to the network.

The soldiers felt a chill run through them as they realised the creature wasn’t merely surrounded by bodies.

It was using them.

“Everyone, prepare for combat,” the Commander ordered.

The armour plating across its right arm immediately shifted apart while countless mechanical components reconfigured themselves. Layers of advanced machinery folded over one another until the entire arm transformed into a massive energy cannon glowing with crimson light.

Pusssss!!!

Energy rapidly accumulated inside the weapon.

Warning indicators flashed across every squad member’s visor.

The power output continued climbing.

Then the Commander fired.

BOOOOM!!

A blazing sphere of compressed crimson energy erupted from the cannon and surged toward the skull-head monster. The projectile distorted the air around it as streams of red particles spiralled behind its path.

For a brief moment, it appeared as though the attack would strike directly.

Then something moved.

SSSllllllccckkk~

A massive flesh-root appendage suddenly erupted from the side of the corpse mountain with terrifying speed.

The grotesque limb swung through the air.

And hit the energy sphere.

THUCKKK!

The sight was so absurd that several soldiers struggled to process what they had just witnessed.

The appendage had literally batted the projectile away.

Like a baseball.

Like it was swatting an insect.

The energy sphere shot upward into the sky before detonating high above the battlefield.

BOOOMMMMM!!!

A colossal explosion illuminated the heavens.

Crimson sparks rained downward like burning stars while shockwaves rolled across the clearing and shook the surrounding forest.

The Commander frowned.

Combat calculations streamed across its visor.

For the first time since entering the Hell’s Gate, uncertainty appeared within the squadron’s tactical network.

Their weapons should have been capable of vaporising most known threats.

Yet the creature hadn’t even bothered to dodge.

It had casually deflected the attack.

As though humanity’s most advanced military technology meant absolutely nothing.

The Commander slowly lowered its smoking cannon before transforming both arms into combat configurations. Missile compartments opened across its shoulders while energy blades extended from hidden mechanisms along its forearms.

“Everyone charge!”

The moment the Commander gave the order, the surviving members of Delta Squadron launched themselves toward the creature from multiple directions.

Several mech-suits accelerated into the sky while others remained close to the ground, using the mountain of corpses and uneven terrain as temporary cover.

Their advanced targeting systems continuously analysed the battlefield while streams of tactical data flowed across their visors.

The first wave of attacks arrived almost simultaneously.

Railgun projectiles accelerated beyond the speed of sound and slammed into the root network surrounding the creature.

Missile pods opened from shoulder-mounted compartments and launched guided warheads that curved through the air before striking from multiple directions. At the same time, energy cannons unleashed concentrated energy rounds capable of reducing mech-suits to molten slag.

The battlefield erupted into a series of explosions.

BOOM!

BOOOM!

BOOOOMM!

Fireballs rolled across the clearing while shockwaves scattered flesh and dirt through the air. Massive clouds of smoke engulfed the mountain of corpses as the soldiers continued firing without pause, refusing to give the creature even a moment to respond.

For several seconds, the bombardment continued relentlessly.

Ssslllcckk~

Then the roots moved.

The smoke hadn’t even cleared before dozens of flesh-root appendages erupted outward from the corpse mountain.

One of the flying mech-suits immediately attempted an evasive manoeuvre after detecting an incoming attack. Thrusters rotated and fired at maximum capacity, forcing the suit into a sharp directional change that should have avoided the appendage completely.

The root changed direction.

The soldier’s eyes widened behind his visor as the appendage curved unnaturally through the air and wrapped around his mech-suit’s torso.

Within seconds, the mech-suit became entangled inside a mass of writhing flesh.

“Commande–!”

The transmission ended abruptly.

The mech-suit collapsed under the pressure before being violently dragged into the corpse mountain, where it vanished beneath thousands of twisting roots.

Another soldier immediately opened fire in an attempt to save his comrade.

Two autonomous combat drones detached from his back and surged forward while unleashing torrents of armour-piercing ammunition. The drones moved intelligently, constantly changing angles while attempting to identify weaknesses within the root network.

PUF!

PUF!

PUF!!

For a brief moment, the strategy appeared effective.

Several appendages were shredded apart.

Large sections of flesh exploded under the sustained fire.

Then new root-flesh emerged from the corpses below and intercepted the drones. One machine was crushed instantly while the second was impaled by multiple appendages before being torn apart midair.

“Fuck!” The mech-suit cursed and attempted to retreat.

Unfortunately… A massive appendage erupted from the ground directly beneath him and struck the mech-suit with enough force to launch the machine across the clearing. The soldier crashed through several piles of corpses before slamming into the earth.

Before he could recover, dozens of flesh-roots surged over his body like a tidal wave.

“N-No, NOOOOO–!!”

His screams echoed through the communication network.

Then they stopped.

The Commander moved through the battlefield like a crimson streak of light while warning signals continuously flashed across his visor. Both of his forearms had already transformed into particle blades, their edges blazing with concentrated red energy powerful enough to slice through other mech-suits like butter.

Yet the results were horrifying.

Each time the glowing blades collided against the flesh-root appendages, showers of sparks erupted into the air.

The attacks cut through portions of the roots and remaining… No!

These things were tougher than they had any right to be.

One appendage lunged toward him from the side.

The Commander immediately twisted his body and swung his right blade downward in a precise arc. The energy edge carved through the appendage and severed nearly half of its structure, causing black-red fluid to spray across the battlefield. Before he could follow up, however, several smaller roots immediately emerged from the damaged section and began reconnecting the wound.

His visor zoomed in automatically.

“What the hell are these things…?” he muttered.

Another desperate scream echoed through the communication network.

The Commander turned just in time to witness one of his subordinates firing every remaining missile in his arsenal while desperately retreating through the air.

The resulting explosion illuminated the entire clearing.

For a brief moment, the soldier thought he had created an opening.

Then a colossal appendage erupted from beneath the corpse mountain.

The root moved so quickly that the targeting systems barely registered its existence before impact.

The appendage wrapped around the mech-suit.

The soldier screamed.

“Comman—!!”

The root simply tightened.

Snapped it into two parts!!

Then the transmission abruptly ended as the soldier disappeared beneath the writhing sea of flesh.

The Commander clenched his teeth.

“Break formation and engage independently!” the Commander ordered while transforming both arms into heavy weapon platforms.

The remaining soldiers obeyed immediately.

Thrusters roared.

Energy blades ignited.

Missile launchers deployed.

The battlefield transformed into a blur of movement as the surviving mech-suits pushed their advanced technology to the absolute limit.

Yet… The attack never landed.

Several appendages emerged from beneath the corpses and intercepted him mid-flight.

One appendage wrapped around his leg.

Another seized his arm.

A third pierced directly through the centre of his mech-suit.

The energy blade slipped from his grasp as the machine was torn apart in midair.

Fragments of advanced armour, shattered weapons, and burning circuitry scattered across the battlefield.

The slaughter continued.

Every soldier fought with everything they possessed.

Every piece of advanced technology humanity had developed was deployed.

… None of it mattered.

The roots simply overwhelmed everything through sheer speed, reach, and impossible adaptability.

The most horrifying aspect wasn’t the casualties.

It was the creature itself.

The skull entity remained seated atop its mountain of corpses throughout the entire battle.

It never stood.

It never attacked personally.

It never even acknowledged the soldiers fighting for their lives.

The roots appeared to function independently, almost like an automatic defence mechanism protecting something vastly more dangerous.

One by one, friendly indicators vanished from the Commander’s tactical display.

Each disappearance represented another dead soldier.

Another destroyed mech-suit.

Another member of Delta Squadron was erased from existence.

Despite that, the commander continued fighting while retreating toward the forest edge, hoping to create enough distance to survive and report what had happened.

The roots immediately noticed.

Several appendages erupted from the ground and surged toward him with terrifying speed.

SSNNNN!

The Commander dodged the first attack by accelerating upward.

Swwwll~

He avoided the second by rotating his entire body sideways while firing emergency thrusters.

Thud!

The third attack forced him into a steep dive that carried him barely a meter above the ground.

For a brief moment, it looked as though he might actually escape.

Then another appendage emerged directly from beneath him.

The impact struck the left side of his mech-suit like a speeding train.

Crack!

[WARNING: LEFT ARM ACTUATORS OFFLINE]

Armour shattered.

[WARNING: SYSTEM INTEGRITY CRITICAL – 10% REMAINING]

The force sent the Commander spinning uncontrollably through the air before he crashed into the forest with catastrophic force.

Trees exploded apart.

Earth erupted beneath him.

The damaged mech-suit tore through the landscape before finally skidding to a stop among broken trunks and scattered debris.

Inside the suit, blood dripped from the Commander’s mouth while emergency alarms screamed throughout the ruined machine. Half of his visor display had gone dark, and most of the suit’s systems no longer responded to his commands.

Yet somehow he remained alive.

Barely.

Yet…

Ssslll~

The root-flesh tentacles slowly slithered toward him from every direction, their grotesque forms twisting across the blood-soaked ground like starving serpents closing in on wounded prey.

“N-No…” He muttered, painfully clenching his shoulder in pain… He was about to die along with his subordinates!

Of course, nobody wanted that.

Meanwhile, standing some distance away and concealed within the shadows of the forest, a pair of ice-blue eyes silently observed the entire scene.