Chapter 27: The Guard

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Amidst the roaring flames, the giant mutant staggered out, still alive!

The air grew tense, but it was clear the mutant was at the end of its strength. After only a few steps, it collapsed with a loud thud, finally dead.

Arye and Kaes both sighed in relief, collapsing against the fortifications.

The gunfire and explosions continued to echo throughout the pipeline district, indicating that the other squads were still locked in battle.

Just as Arye was about to rally his troops for a much-needed rest, the heavy sound of footsteps echoed from the transport pipe ahead.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The entire transport pipe seemed to tremble. Whatever was coming was even more terrifying than the last mutant!

"A bigger one is coming..." Kaes swallowed nervously.

Arye struggled to his feet, staring toward the pipe entrance.

From the darkness emerged an enormous figure, standing about four meters tall, with muscles rippling and contracting, radiating raw power.

It stood there silently, its massive, bloodshot eyes fixed on the soldiers.

The craving for violence and blood was palpable.

The soldiers could feel the overwhelming malice radiating from the giant mutant and were filled with despair.

They no longer had the strength to mount an effective defense.

But Arye, despite his injuries, raised his remaining arm and pointed his pistol forward. "Form ranks!"

"That's suicide!" Kaes, standing beside Arye, grumbled angrily. "We can't fight this thing!"

"Yes, it is!" Arye grinned through gritted teeth. "But we can't let this monster get to the residential district, can we?"

Dragging their wounded bodies, the soldiers re-formed their ranks, preparing to face their final fate.

Just as they were ready to meet their end, a small assault craft appeared, hovering above the giant mutant.

Emblazoned with the golden lion of House Grant, the Court District's reinforcements had arrived!

Carter, the Captain of the Guard, led two guardsmen as they leapt from the craft, landing on the ground with a cloud of dust.

The Guard had undergone a complete re-equipping process, now clad in pristine, heavy power armor made of a mix of ceramic and steel. Each carried large bolt rifles.

Standing at over two meters tall, they resembled a younger, smaller version of the Space Marines.

These new weapons had been scavenged from the church's treasure trove by Eden, vastly enhancing the strength of the Guard.

Of course, they were still far from the true might of Space Marines.

But for dealing with regular monsters, they were more than sufficient.

Like the hulking beast before them.

The giant mutant, enraged by the sight of the new arrivals, tensed its muscles and charged at Carter and his guardsmen.

Without wasting any unnecessary movements, the guardsmen advanced steadily.

They raised their bolt rifles, pulling the triggers and leaving gaping wounds on the mutant's enormous body.

When the beast closed in for hand-to-hand combat, they set down their rifles and drew their large chainswords, continuing their march forward.

The mutant charged at full speed, throwing a powerful punch at the guardsmen, hoping to smash them into paste.

Clang!

Carter raised his arm and blocked the blow, the impact cracking the ground beneath him.

It was unimaginable, but he had stopped the monster's attack!

Roar!!!

The giant mutant swung again, aiming to crush the guardsman half its size.

But it was all in vain. It roared in frustration.

In the next moment, Carter's chainsword tore into the mutant's abdomen, sending a wave of pain through the beast.

Before it could scream, it felt its legs go numb.

The other two guardsmen had sliced through its massive thighs with their own chainswords, nearly severing its legs entirely.

With a heavy thud, the giant mutant collapsed before Carter.

It raised its head weakly, only to see Carter's cold expression and hear the terrifying noise of his chainsword slicing into its skull.

Carter's blade plunged vertically into the mutant's head, nearly splitting it in half.

The giant mutant fell silent, dead at last.

Carter and his men pulled their chainswords from the corpse and raised their bolt rifles, unloading their magazines into the body until it was a bloody pulp.

The fight ended with Carter throwing a firebomb to finish it off.

Without a word, they turned and headed back to the assault craft, leaving behind only burning remains.

Not a single word had been spoken throughout the entire battle.

This was the Guard—cold and efficient.

The Guard was a force of over a hundred men, the most powerful in the Court District, and the cornerstone of Eden's control.

Carter gave Arye a brief nod before boarding the assault craft with his men. The ship then took off, heading toward another battlefield.

They had orders to eliminate all large mutants.

This mutant horde had produced more than a dozen giant mutants, causing heavy casualties among the defense forces.

Upon receiving the distress signal, Eden had immediately dispatched the Guard to assist the pipeline defense zone.

The Guard was Eden's last line of defense, not to be deployed lightly.

For the safety of the governor, they had to solve the problem quickly and return to the Court District.

Watching the assault craft disappear into the sky, Arye and the others finally relaxed.

If the governor had sent the Guard, there was no enemy they couldn't defeat.

"Those guys are strong!" Arye remarked, looking at the burning remains of the giant mutant.

Kaes scoffed. "They've all undergone deadly cybernetic surgery. Us regular folks can't compare."

"You think I'd have a chance? Maybe the governor would upgrade me too," Arye mused.

"That's a top-secret program of the Court District. Ask too many questions, and you might get yourself killed. Rumor has it the previous governor was executed by an Inquisitor because of it."

Kaes crouched next to the mutant remains, inspecting something with interest.

"How do you know so much?" Arye crouched down next to him.

"Because I use my brain, unlike you—a reckless beast!"

"Hah, you're right. I don't like thinking."

"Something's off," Kaes said, pulling a mechanical part from the mutant's flesh. "I have reason to believe this thing was artificially created."

"Created... by who? The Hoffman family scumbags? The gangs? Or maybe those heretics in the underhive? This reeks of a conspiracy!" Arye scratched his head, trying to process it. His brain itched like something was about to grow out of it.

"We're just grunts. Let's report this and let the bigwigs in the Court District deal with it."

"You could've said that earlier, so I wouldn't have wasted my brainpower!"

The gunfire in the pipeline defense zone gradually quieted down. With the Guard's help, the defense forces had finally defeated the mutant horde.

The battle was over, and the logistics department's convoy began arriving at the front lines.

Dressed in black armor, the logistics personnel quickly disembarked and started their work.

But they didn't bother with the wounded soldiers, even watching some die without lifting a finger.

The logistics department had come to retrieve the bodies of both mutants and soldiers—valuable sources of protein.

As for the soldiers' lives? That was none of their concern.

There were always more people willing to join the defense forces, desperate for food.

Arye and his men walked through the battlefield, searching for any survivors, providing whatever simple aid they could.

Without proper medical supplies, it was the best they could do.

Suddenly, Arye saw logistics personnel dragging away an unconscious, wounded soldier, throwing him onto the body cart.

"What the hell are you doing!" he roared.

(End of Chapter)