A Warm Welcome

"You guys all right?" Kazuichi had no idea who the guy was but he smelled strongly of Merc's scent. The others who were with him also smelled like Mercs

The four of them nodded their heads in response, confused as to why Mercs were being friendly with them.

"Don't worry, you're safe for now," Another Merc spoke.

From a distance, they heard the sound of grappling hooks and a steady swish. Another figure appeared, zipping through the air before landing on top of the Omega Zombie.

It was a scene straight out of a post-apocalyptic novel where people battle giants with zip lines of some sort. Kazuichi could tell that these guys were professionals when it came to dealing with Omega Zombies.

Also, they reek of Hybrid scent, causing Kazuichi to conclude that they weren't an ordinary group.

From a distance, the Omega Zombie perceived the threat that came up to him. It let out a roar before it started throwing hands. However, the three people who were zipping through the air were experts in aerial maneuvers. They were able to dodge the hastened movements of the Omega Zombie while they lured it to a more rural area.

It was a painstaking process but they managed to do it without difficulty. After making sure that the Ice Wing Stronghold was at a safe distance even if the Omega Zombie went berserk, they went all-out with their attack.

The first guy zipped through the air after getting hold of the Omega Zombie's back, thanks to his grappling hooks. Once he was directly behind the Omega Zombie, he unsheathed his katana. He then sliced the nape of the Omega Zombie.

It was an ineffective attack though since his katana just bounced off the thick hide of the Omega Zombie. Biting his lips, he stabbed the katana on the back of the Omega Zombie instead before he started hacking and slashing its back.

The other two who were also zipping through the air saw the opening and it didn't take long before they took position on the back of the Omega Zombie as well.

They made sure to hook themselves on the grappling hooks that were fastened on the flesh of the Omega Zombie.

Once they'd taken their positions, they started hacking and slashing at the Omega Zombie's back.

From afar, Kazuichi and the others watched as the three men mercilessly attacked the Omega Zombie.

"Ah... so that's why they aimed for its back..." Kazuichi muttered to himself.

Now that they noticed the Omega Zombie's helplessness, they also realized that its weakness was its back. After all, it was so big that it couldn't possibly reach its back.

The once scary Omega Zombie was now reduced to a flailing helpless monster as the people on its back dug through its back. Blood and gore spilled from its back as it let out a pained groan.

"Right this way," The first Merc said, ushering the group towards their Ice Wing Stronghold.

With one sniff, the first Merc noticed that Kazuichi smelled weird. He could tell that Kazuichi was a hybrid, but he had no idea what type of hybrid he was. His smell was unique, and it baffled the Mercs that led him to the stronghold.

At first, the three Mercs had no idea what to do with Kazuichi since his scent was pretty unique. However, since his identity was mysterious, they decided to bring him into the Ice Wing Stronghold. He might be of use, after all.

Kazuichi stopped watching the subjugation of the Omega Zombie since it was pretty cruel. They were afraid of the gigantic monstrosity at first, but now they felt a bit of compassion toward it.

Even Tris, who was right behind Kazuichi, couldn't bear to watch the subjugation. Only Amaya continued watching even though she had to crane her neck to look at it.

After three minutes, the Omega Zombie let out a weak moan as it slowly grunted. With a thud, the Omega Zombie fell down and the people celebrated after taking it down.

Compared to the other Omega Zombies they encountered, this was on the weak side so they didn't experience much difficulty taking it down.

In fact, they were even surprised that Kazuichi and the others were running away from it. It was easy prey, but they were afraid of it.

The three Mercs looked at Kazuichi and his group with a bit of skepticism. Omega Zombies weren't common, but they weren't rare either.

And by the looks of it, Kazuichi and his group seemed like they'd survived without external help from others. If that were the case, then surely they've encountered an Omega Zombie or two in their journeys.

"Is this your first time here?" The first Merc asked out of curiosity.

It was a weird question but Kazuichi responded with a nod. "We're from the Scarlet Blood Stronghold. We only recently arrived there." He replied.

Kazuichi felt like he had to mention the Scarlet Blood Stronghold just in case. After all, if they were to say that they were new in the area, then there's a good chance that the people with them would get rid of them or worse.

"I see... that's why you haven't met Omega Zombies yet. They roam these areas so we know how to deal with them. In any case, my name's Eugene. These other two are Levi and Karma." The first Merc introduced themselves before he continued speaking. "So... I get that you don't know anything about Omega Zombies?"

Before Albrecht could say anything, Eugene and the other two let out a chuckle as they patted each other on the shoulder.

...

It didn't take long before the group reached the Ice Wing Stronghold. Compared to the Scarlet Blood Stronghold, it was way bigger, and it reeked of Hybrid scent.... which was odd considering that it was a stronghold.

"We're here," Eugene announced as he turned around. "We'll inform the stronghold leader of your presence. Most likely he'll request an audience from you. That aside, welcome to the Ice Wing Stronghold!"