The group that was meant to send away their visitors was shocked...

Almost in an instant, five people in their group were incapacitated.

"Where are they?! How many?!"

"They’re everywhere!"

The attack happened so swiftly...

Furthermore, the decoy emitter worked perfectly, making them believe Kai’s force was suddenly larger than it was.

Kai advanced through the smoke...

He fired twice, dropping two more. This seemed so easy, but it was all thanks to the flash grenade that they used, disorienting the enemies.

"Push forward! Don’t let them regroup!"

The strike force surged, overwhelming the enemy. In just a few moments, most of Angelo’s men lay dead or incapacitated. The rest stumbled back, retreating into the fog.

Kai raised his hand, signaling a halt.

"Hold. Don’t chase. Let them run."

They had basically announced their presence now... Soon, Angelo’s main forces should come.

"They have a truckload of fuel in their base, it could be very dangerous. I don’t want that damaged. Let’s wait for them here..." Kai said, revealing his true thoughts...

"Ahh... No wonder." Mei gently nodded as she realized that it wasn’t just because their shelter would be hard to siege.

"Now that you said it... You’re right. Let’s just stay here." Claire agreed as she also didn’t want a stray bullet to cause a huge explosion.

No matter how high their level was, an explosion of a fuel truck close to them could still damage their bodies.

Soon, the group regrouped...

The swamp was littered with bodies, but unfortunately, they could not be looted.

"They’ll be back." Ralph muttered as he prepared another flash grenade and smoke grenade, so he could use them swiftly once the enemies got closer.

Kai nodded. "That’s what we want. Angelo will know we’re here now and I hope he sends more..."

Just like that, the strike force tightened its formation. Then, they monitored the fog, ensuring that they wouldn’t get surrounded.

"At this next fight... There’s no need for talking or negotiation... We’ll eliminate them fast." Kai reminded.

The group nodded, as they were all determined to remove these neighboring threats!

***

As the group waited, Atom stood at the center...

It was the main tank of their squad after all.

The others also found a cover, as they could still die from gunshots...

Minutes passed. Then, faint sounds broke the silence... engines.

Kai nodded as he heard this...

"Motorbikes."

The roar grew louder, echoing through the swamp.

Soon, beams of light were cutting through the fog.

Angelo’s forces weren’t retreating... they were charging forward, and they were coming fast.

The strike force braced. Smoke grenades were readied, and their flashbangs were primed.

Suddenly, the bikes burst through the fog with mud spraying as riders swerved along the narrow path.

Rifles were then fired from the backs of the bikes!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets started tearing through trees and splintering wood.

The speed and mobility caught Kai’s group off guard.

"Cover!" Kai shouted.

Meanwhile, Atom moved forward, intercepting two bikes with a crushing blow.

Thud! Thud!

The riders flew off, crashing into the mud.

Claire also fired, dropping another rider mid‑turn.

Ralph, who had the Sharpshooter Talent, also started eliminating those he could see from a distance... However, the bikes were fast, and they were unpredictable.

Mei cursed under her breath. "They’re using the swamp and the fog really well..."

Kai’s mind raced. Angelo’s forces were used to this battlefield, and they were striking with mobility, using their bikes to harass and attack from different angles.

Then, the fog shifted... and something else emerged.

Figures stepped out...

They were larger than men, and looking at their silhouettes, they seemed monstrous.

As they charged ahead, they noticed four glowing eyes piercing the mist.

What made them even more shocked were their tails that lashed violently!

Kai froze. "What...?"

Jonathan and Wesley led the charge with their mutated forms...

Perhaps, due to the balance of their bodies, their movements seemed unnatural.

Then, behind them, more mutants appeared... nine others.

Each of them received some sort of mutation from the serum that they had taken...

They were all carrying strange traits like hardened scales, extra eyes, longer tails, more joints, protruding bones, and others...

The strike force was momentarily stunned since they didn’t expect to see monster-like creatures attacking them.

They hadn’t expected any of this.

Mei was the first to react. "Mutants... they have mutants! Careful!"

Jonathan roared with his tail, smashing into a broken tree, splintering it instantly.

Wesley also moved like a predator with his whip‑like tail... His elongated arms reached forward in an attempt to put down Atom but then, he realized that it was a Sentinel!

"Boss! That one in front is a machine! Plasma that thing!"

They do not have unlimited Plasma Charges, so they were only being used against tricky opponents. In normal cases, they just use their bows, guns, and throwing knives.

Soon, Atom was bombarded at all sides.

Meanwhile, the workers panicked at the sight of the monstrous mutants as they started firing wildly.

Bullets struck, but the mutants barely flinched. Their hardened scales deflected shots and those thick muscles absorbed impacts.

Kai frowned. He didn’t expect that Angelo’s threat was far greater than he imagined.

"Flashbangs!" he shouted.

Grenades flew, exploding in bursts of light. The mutants staggered with their four eyes blinking rapidly.

Then, smoke rolled across the swamp, obscuring vision.

"Push!" Kai commanded.

The strike force continued attacking as they fired into the confusion...

Soon, Alfie made his move as his Gladiator Talent displayed its power!

His aura suddenly burst in power.

He charged with a blade in hand and struck the nearest mutant!

Indeed, he clashed with a mutant covered in hardened scales!

His blade smashed into its shoulder, and the scales cracked under his assault.

"Gladiator’s Wrath!" Alfie roared his skill as if it would become even stronger...

Nonetheless, his strikes were so fierce that even the monstrous mutant staggered!

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Wesley were already working together to bring Atom down!