Chapter 3, Prisoner on the Run

From the temporary camp to the Abandoned Cave Society, there was a total journey of four and a half hours.

The elite troops of the marine corps spread out in squads of five as vanguards and scouts. Gu Hang, along with the victim Patel and the majority of his Mech Servant Battalion, advanced steadily.

Midway, Gu Hang received a report from the marine corps' scouting team; they had come across a small transport convoy that likely belonged to the 'Prisoners of the Void' tribe.

Gu Hang authorized Yan Fangxu to lead the marine corps and a part of the Mech Servant soldiers to annihilate them and to capture as many prisoners as possible.

Captain Yan, a naval elite, easily handled the small task without any surprises.

However, Gu Hang's mood didn't brighten after he heard the prisoners' testimonies.

Gu Hang had Patel brought over to him and said, "It seems that these bandits never intended to let you go."

Patel had also seen the condition of the transport convoy, his expression filled with fury, "Yes, they transported a large amount of high explosives. They could not only blow open the gates of the Abandoned Cave Society but even collapse the mines and bury us all alive."

Gu Hang shook his head and added, "That's not all. According to the intelligence Captain Yan obtained through interrogation, they had long ago negotiated with the Green Skins dwelling in the ruined high walls. Your entire population of over nine hundred from the Abandoned Cave Society was to be traded as quality provisions to those green-skinned beasts."

"What?!"

Patel was aware of the 'Prisoners of the Void' gang's absolute malice towards them, but was still shocked by their brutality.

The term 'green-skinned beasts' aptly described those mutants. They didn't merely exist on Rage Owl Star but were widespread across the universe, also referred to as 'the cancer of the cosmos.'

They lacked gender differentiation, reproducing by shedding symbiotic spores in their bodies, which then grew from the ground, as did their food.

Technically, they didn't need to buy any provisions, but these green-skinned beasts had two favorite activities: fighting was one, and eating the brains of sentient beings was the other. The former was their instinct, while the latter was their means of technological advancement.

These beasts that sprouted from the land were indeed primitive and savage at first, fighting with stone axes and clubs. But as they consumed enough and sufficiently intelligent brains, their technology would rapidly evolve, advancing to iron weapons, firearms and even interstellar travel...

Their belligerent nature, destructive to everything, meant the stronger they became, the more they turned into a scourge ravaging all existence.

Logically, such a race should be an enemy of all humankind. The Empire did have an extermination decree against the Green Skin Orcs: kill on sight and then purify the land to destroy the spores, ensuring they would not resurface.

But... policy is policy, and enforcement is another matter altogether.

On Rage Owl Star, where taxes could not be collected and even basic food and shelter could not be guaranteed, conflicts among various powers were rife, and the entire planet was in chaos. Even the governor was driven to farming himself... In such conditions, it was unrealistic to expect gangs like the 'Prisoners of the Void' to consider the fate of all mankind.

Not only were they not opposing, but doing business with these man-eating beasts was intolerable.

Clearing out the green-skinned beasts was something Gu Hang was determined to do.

Of course, not right now.

According to the testimonies, the so-called Green Skin tribe in the high wall ruins numbered in the thousands, and had at least evolved to possess automatic weapons, making their equipment not significantly different from that of the humans on the planet. To thoroughly eradicate those brutes was beyond the power that Gu Hang currently had at his disposal.

Fortunately, the 'High Wall Ruins' were quite far from their current location, so there was no need to worry too much, for the time being.

What they needed to focus on was the gang of wasteland plunderers threatening the Abandoned Cave Society.

Now, Gu Hang had their exact intelligence.

Four kilometers outside the mining area where the Abandoned Cave Society was located, the 'Prisoners of the Void' had set up a temporary camp. These scoundrels had never considered the possibility of the Abandoned Cave Society daring to come out for a field battle, so they made no preparations for defensive fortifications.

"Good opportunity, we can launch a surprise attack! Our mortars can cause considerable impact!" Yan Fangxu appeared excited.

"Alright, let's do it."

After a brief rest, what would have been a two-hour journey, they completed in just over an hour.

They hastened their pace, worried that the lack of arrival of the transport convoy for a long time might alert the bandits to unusual activities.

After the rapid forced march, they still needed some time to rest before launching the attack.

The thirty elite marine corps soldiers were fine, but it was the Mech Servants who needed to rest. They wouldn't complain of fatigue, but they did indeed get tired, and fatigue could lower their combat effectiveness.

Following Yan Fangxu's recommendation, the soldiers would set out again after forty-five minutes of rest, and an hour later, the mortar positions would commence bombardment.

From their position, already within sight of the 'Prisoners of the Void' camp, Gu Hang patiently led his troops in resting, consuming nutrient paste, and sitting to replenish their strength while setting up the mortar positions…

He knew that patience now was for the decisive battle that would follow shortly.

…

Kaja was feeling inexplicably restless at the moment.

These days, even being a plunderer was not easy. They hadn't opened for business in a while, and all their supplies were running low. Food was the least of their worries, as they would have plenty once they breached the Abandoned Cave Society. Even if the miners didn't have much in the way of food reserves, slaughtering several hundred people to make jerky would last them a long while.

But damaged weapons and depleted ammunition were more difficult to replenish. The major powers were quite unwilling to do business with these plunderers, only the Green Skin tribes were willing. Although Green Skin technology left much to be desired, with a high failure rate for weapons and ammunition tending to misfire, and when it reached their hands, it was far less powerful than in those of the Green Skins themselves…

But it was better than nothing.

To be honest, Kaja had little interest in the most plentiful mineral produced by the Abandoned Cave Society. It was heavy and of little value, making it hard to fence. But the nine hundred people in the mine were valuable commodities; they could serve as nourishment for them or could be herded to the High Wall Ruins to exchange for Green Skin munitions, which was a delightful prospect.

Herding people was indeed easier than herding sheep.

For this reason, the 'Prisoners of the Void' had almost mobilized everyone. Apart from a few old, young, women, and those left to guard their lair, the main force was led out by Kaja, totaling over a hundred people.

Abandoned Cave Society had many people but few guns, nothing to fear. Their prolonged survival in the wastelands mainly relied on the favorable geography of their location. Kaja had personally scouted that mine, and it truly was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The entrance was securely sealed with ores and metal, and a heavy gate barred it from the inside—impenetrable by human strength.

Yesterday they had already tried blowing up the gate, but to no avail; the explosive payload was insufficient. Frustrated, he had no choice but to send his confidants back to the base to fetch explosives, including some reserved concentrated explosives.

His patience had worn thin; if he couldn't fool those miners into opening the gate, well, when the explosives arrived, he'd just blow it open.

It was supposed to be resolved today, there was no need to rush, but Kaja still felt irritable. By his calculations, his transport team should have been back by now. So, why was there no sign of them?

He had been hurrying his subordinates earlier, trying to establish contact with the transport team through the radio but to no avail.

This made him even more uneasy.

Half an hour ago, he sent out a squad to search the return route, but until now, there had been no response, not even radio contact.

He became fully alert.

Such bizarre circumstances could not but instill fear and hesitation in him.

People who weren't cautious enough were long buried in the wastelands, their bones turned to dust.

He made up his mind to dispatch four or five squads to scout the area; at the same time, he ordered his entire troop to prepare to move out and check on the situation themself.

Suddenly, a subordinate came to report, "We've made contact with the transport team. They're on their way back and should arrive soon."

Kaja's brows instantly furrowed, "Why haven't we been able to contact them until now?"

"They said the radio had some issues; they just fixed it. They sent the message immediately, fearing that we might be worried."

After pondering for a moment, Kaja ordered, "Reply with: 'Damn you, have you motherfuckers been fucking zombie dogs on the way? That's why you're so slow? Hurry up! Any more delays and your spoils will be halved!'"

Finishing his instruction, he strode outside, shouting to his brothers who were getting ready, "Move, move, move! We're leaving right now! Stop stuffing those damn bullets and bring as much as you can, leave the rest! Let's go! Prepare to break out! We've been marked!"

The subordinate who received the order was a bit confused. He caught up in two steps, asking, "Boss, this... I…"

"What about you? Get the fuck going with the message, and grab your gun and follow the team after!"

"Why?"

Kaja smacked his head: "We're definitely being watched! The message is meant to deceive the enemy; better if it works, or else you're dead meat if you're slow!"

After saying this, he paid no more attention to the bewildered youth, grabbed his own gun, and called out to his brothers to prepare to leave camp.

Just as he reached the entrance, he heard a whistling sound from the sky.

His face instantly turned pale.

That was the sound of artillery shells!

"Get down!"

He quickly threw himself to the ground, cursing nonstop: "Fuck! They're actually shelling us... spit spit... let me catch them... spit..."

The roaring explosion nearly drowned out his own voice; he could only vent his fear through swearing and bravado.

He guessed that someone was targeting them, and even feared the worst—that he was surrounded.

What he hadn't expected was that those watching him also had artillery in their hands!

Luckily, he wasn't too unlucky—that aside from his ears ringing and his head feeling a bit dazed, he was mostly unharmed.

He crouched and looked around.

The caliber of the artillery firing at them couldn't be too large, seemingly only mortars of some sort. If it were heavy artillery, the ten or so concentrated rounds would have left no one unturned in the camp.

Still, even so, the mortars had caused significant casualties in their fragile camp without sturdy fortifications.

In a glance, at least twenty of his brothers were dead or missing limbs.

The rest were shell shocked.

Now was clearly not the time to be dazed—staying here meant certain death.

He bellowed, "Run! Move! Get out!"

But just then, gunfire erupted from outside.

They were really surrounded! Following the artillery, came the infantry!

The only piece of good news was that the gunfire sounded distant, suggesting that the small squads he had sent out earlier were engaging the enemy.

This was their only lifeline.

He screamed, "Support them! It's do or die time, if you don't want to meet your maker then fight like hell!"

It was then that the second round of shelling hit.