Mutated Beast: It's a Trap!
Shrouded within the veil of pitch-black was a giant bipedal behemoth known as the mutated beast. It stood 10 meters high with large root-like structures throughout its body. Razor-sharp thorns protruded from its skin. It resembled an unmoving titan resting in its vast territory.
The mutated beast's head was dark and elongated, with two demon-like horns extending from its forehead. The thin and dotted eyes of the monster glowed in the gloomy darkness, and there were hundreds of them. It seemed like a demon in the insignificant eyes of humans.
The monster's limbs were astonishingly long, like a thin and lengthy branch of a broad tree. In the darkness, the mutated beast was barely visible. But Duke could somewhat perceive it with his sapphire-like eyes. This was the first time he met a mutated beast.
And his reactions weren't pleasant. He only heard stories from the people of New Torrington. From the stories of the settlers alone, he didn't want to ever meet the so-called mutated beast.
Meeting one was something he'd rather avoid, but unfortunately, he has finally seen one. Upon seeing it, he concluded that the stories of the survivors were far from accurate in terms of how scary it was. The abomination looked like an eldritch bastard who got lost in this world.
As if feeling Duke's gaze, the hundreds of gleaming dotted eyes turned and stared directly at him, who was riding the rear Vanguard.
He felt chills penetrating his spine and shuddered upon the casting gaze of the unmoving behemoth. But he didn't escape the dotted eyes and stared back at the monster. The two stared at one another as if they were in a contest.
Yet, the mutated beast stood idly, resembling an unmoving tree. If it weren't for its dotted eyes, the monster would have been like a withered tree or post. Anyhow, it didn't make a move, but it made Duke even more cautious. There was no way an abomination wouldn't attack humans.
'What is it only staring?' He thought to himself and looked at the behemoth with suspicion in his gaze. Most would have been relieved that the mutated beast didn't attack. But its unmoving actions made him uneasy. It was like a predator waiting for something.
At any rate, he decided to prepare himself and the others around him. No matter what happens, they must be ready for when sh*t hits the fan.
"Sentinels, prepare for contact. Mutated beast in nine o'clock!" Duke swiftly ordered, and the Sentinels turned their gaze toward the direction their Director had spoken. And upon setting their eyes on it, they saw an unmoving giant monster. It brought chills to the usually calm Sentinels.
Without any hesitation or delay, the Sentinels, arming the rotary armored sentry guns, turned their muzzles quickly to the mutated beast. They didn't immediately fire and awaited further orders from the Director.
"Is that the mutated beast, Director?" The Sentinel beside the driver questioned with curiosity. The Sentinels around him were silent, but they were also curious about it. Hearing him, Duke nodded and explained.
"It's one of the mutated beasts. Not every mutated beast looks like this monster. Some might look better than it. Others might be worse in terms of appearance. This is the fate of infected animals in this world."
"A destiny worse than humanity."
The Sentinels were silent as the driver continued accelerating the Vanguard. The world they had arrived in was more horrifying than they previously thought. But it didn't bother them as much as one would think. The only thought in their mind was ensuring the survival of their Director.
Silence enveloped the interior of the Vanguards as the Sentinels inside it held their rifles tightly. In their hearts, a battle against the behemoth was inevitable. But its likelihood depended on who made the first move against one another. Every second spent felt like a long time.
Soon, a minute passed by, and the staring contest continued. The mutated beast didn't make a move, but nonetheless, it kept observing from afar. Duke's suspicion got stronger as numerous thoughts passed through his mind.
A mutated beast usually attacks identified humans without any hesitance. The stories of the settlers came from rare survivors of the attacks. And most of them would say there were no passive mutated beasts. All of them were abominations that would eat humans if given a chance.
With this in mind, he didn't dare to lower his guard.
The military convoy continued navigating through the dim road and was about to leave the territory of the mutated beast. Seeing the mutated beast not making a single move and continuing to observe them from afar, Duke uttered a strange order to the Sentinels.
"Stop the convoy!"
The drivers immediately stopped the Vanguards as Duke observed the mutated beast with a cold, scrutinizing gaze. The moment the convoy stopped, he noticed some movements on the monster.
"Sentinels, exit the Vanguards and examine the roads in the front for traps." Duke gave another order, which made the Sentinels a bit astonished. A trap? From where and who? Without questioning that much, they left the Vanguards and positioned themselves defensively.
Duke left the Vanguard and walked forward for a couple of meters. Two Sentinels followed him while the rest stayed beside the Vanguards to protect it. The rotary armored sentry guns continued to be armed and continued pointing at the mutated beast basking under the darkness.
After dozens of meters, he quietly stood and noticed a large crack in the middle of the road. He squinted his sapphire-like eyes as a sneer emerged on his face. Never did he think that an animal would know how to do such a thing.
"Did you discover something, Director?" A Sentinel beside him asked and stepped forward. The Sentinel immediately noticed the cracks in the ground and furrowed his eyebrows. He also realized what the fissures meant.
"It's a trap!"
"The mutated beast knows how to lay a trap. No wonder it only observed us from afar. Too sly." Duke shook his head with annoyance prevalent throughout his face. Why does the mutated beast have to be smart? Why does the world make it harder for humans to continue living?
"What should we do, Director? The trap seemed to extend quite far." Another Sentinel questioned about their future moves. They were trapped in the territory of the mutated beast, and the horde of aberrants was still chasing behind them.
"We can find another route, but that would take too long and require us to backtrack." It was hard for them to go back, so another idea emerged within Duke's mind. "Throw some grenades to the cracks and destroy the traps. It doesn't matter if it alarms the mutated beast."
Duke returned to the halted military convoy and informed them of their circumstances. The Sentinels became cold after hearing that a mutated beast made a trap. They felt such a trap would act like a mine and knock out a Vanguard when contacted.
And they weren't wrong.
One of the Sentinels standing before the cracks took out a grenade from his belt. The Sentinel swiftly threw it inside the fissure and returned to the military convoy. Several seconds later, a flash of light radiated from the crack, and a thunderous roar followed.
*BOOM!!!*
The fissure exploded, and the ground rumbled. The Sentinels raised an eyebrow upon noticing the tremor. On the other hand, Duke took out the Dobermann strapped on his belt and pointed it toward the direction of the explosion. The vibration didn't stop and became more intense.
The rubbles around the explosion slowly collapsed deeper into the ground, and what followed afterward was an eruption.
*BAM!!!*
Dirt, dust, rubbles, and pebbles were thrown upward as if the ground puked them. Following the eruption was the emergence of a spiky structure that rapidly rose five meters from the ground. This was the trap of the mutated beast.
If Duke didn't stop the military convoy, one of the Vanguards would have been thrown or punctured by the giant spike. With this in mind, he turned his gaze towards the mutated beast who had begun moving. Its eyes were directly pointed at the convoy as if agitated by its actions.
He looked forward only to see the massive spike blocking the road and knew that they had to make their stand. Who knows how many traps the bastard has lying throughout its territory. So, it was better to terminate the mutated beast for safety.
He'd rather risk an engagement against the monster than fall into some goddamn trap.
"The mutated beast has begun moving. Prepare a defensive position and get ready for engagement." Duke threw orders toward the Sentinels, which they followed without asking questions. But this wasn't the end of it.
"You two! Drive the Vanguards and use its mobility to attract its attention." He ordered the two Sentinel drivers to catch the attention of the mutated beast. Since the Vanguards were highly mobile, it was better for them to attract the monster's wrath than the infantry.
With the orders of their Director, the Sentinels immediately entered the Vanguards and turned on the ignition. The engines roared, and before the Vanguards left. Duke gave his next orders and reassurance.
"No need to worry about ammunition. Terminate it will all you got." His words weren't only for the Vanguards but also for the Sentinels occupying defensive positions. He also followed it with a few instructions. "Also, load the grenade launchers with flares and fire it around the mutated beast."
The two Sentinels in each Vanguard nodded after his instructions and turned the armored vehicles towards the mutated beast. The engines roared as if stimulated by the upcoming battle between humans and the abominations of the night.
The mutated beast, noticing the incoming armored vehicles, stopped moving. Afterward, its body violently trembled. And without warning, the abomination sprinted towards the Vanguards. It charged like a drunk and wavy man trying to chase the assh*le who punched him in the face.
From afar, the monstrous abomination looked like a crazy giant who was determined to kill and eat them. It was quite a horrific sight that would make ordinary humans sh*t their pants. Even an aberrant horde wasn't this maddened and bloodthirsty.
*Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!* *Thud!*
The bipedal giant's steps brought a strident stomp reverberating through the air. Each step it took caused cracks to form on the ground. At this moment, the distance between the armored vehicles and the horror was 800 meters.
The two were like unstoppable forces about to crash into one another.
When the distance between the two reached 300 meters. The engagement finally began. The Vanguards activated their grenade launchers and fired a salvo of five flares. As the flares propelled through the air, a gleaming silver light shone, glowing the battlefield's entirety.
The complete appearance of the mutated beast was shone, and the Vanguards separated from one another. As the armored vehicles arrived at the sides of the mutated beast, the Sentinels, arming the rotary armored sentry gun, pulled the trigger.
*BBRRRRrrrrrrttttt!!!!* *BRRrrrrtttt!!!* *BBRRRRrrrrrrttttt!!!!*
*BBRRrrrrttttt!!!!* *BRRrrrrtttt!!!* *BRrrtttt!!!*
The muzzle flashes of the sentry guns flickered throughout the surroundings as bullet casings were ejected in dozens in mere seconds. A lustrous light kept flashing on the gas mask of the Sentinels as they kept firing the sentry turret at the mutated beast.
Large caliber bullets of the rotary armored sentry guns penetrated and pounded the mutated beast. It was like a torrent of fiery rain.
Despite the roars of the abomination, it continued sprinting towards the direction of Duke. Hundreds of its dotted eyes kept staring at him even though it was assaulted by dozens of 50. caliber bullets every second.
Duke stood at the center of the defensive position of the Sentinels and pointed the Dobermann towards the mutated beast's head. When the monstrous abomination reached 150 meters. He pulled the trigger.
*Bang!*
Then the Sentinels followed.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
*BRrrrttt!* *BRrrrttt!* *BRrrrttt!* *
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*