Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 541: What the hell are they?

It was a Sycophantic Hum, a biological weapon that attacked the willpower of the fighter. Phillip felt the strength drain out of her arms as if someone had pulled a plug. The light on the exo suit began to glitch, the blue lines turning into a dizzying mess of static. His knees felt like they were made of jelly.

Morris, let out a confused whimper as his body began to shrink. The morphing power was being sucked away by the frequency. He collapsed back to his normal size, gasping for air as his weapons clattered to the ground.

"I... I.....what the hell is happening?" Geoff whispered a question, his fingers going limp.

One by one, the mighty warriors of the Fortress fell to their knees. The weapons_ the high-tech and alien_ lay scattered in the dirt like useless scrap metal. The hum was a vacuum, eating their courage, their strength, and their hope.

Phillip looked up through a blurred visor. He saw the hounds stepping back into the light, their jaws clicking in anticipation. They knew the prey was ready for the slaughter.

"Oh shit," Phillip croaked, a small, sad smile touching his lips despite the terror. "Well, guys... see you in another life."

"Fuck that." Leah growled. "Suit, activate shields." She cried out in pain immediately after making the command. None the less, her suit started working on her command.

Those who still had the will to command their suits activated some defense measures verbally. But each word was a struggled.

For others like Geoff and Morris, who had no exo suits, it looked like a hopeless situation. The watchers seemed to have prepared sufficiently for this fight.

The hounds crouched low, their muscles tensing for the final, bloody spring. The forest fell silent, save for that soul-crushing hum, as the monsters prepared to feast on the helpless squad.

They were all in a state of paralysis, but they could clearly see and hear what was happening and going on around them.

"Don’t worry guys, I am sure that backup is coming. "Leah said with a lot of uncertainty lingering in her voice. Tears spilled from her eyes, thoughts of her husband and Ala swirling in her head. Good heavens, not now. I cannot die yet, she thought. At least wait until I have killed Moon Raine.

"Morris....I am scared," Geoff whispered, watching the mutants come towards them.

Just as the lead mutant coiled its corded muscles to lunge, the brush behind them exploded. It wasn’t more mutants, in fact, the mutants paused. It was the remains of the Drift land team_ ten battered survivors out of the twenty-four that had set out for the journey. They looked like they had been through a blender, but they were still standing.

"Who the hell are these people?" Arwin shouted, skidding to a halt, he looked at the foreign sword which he had just used to slice a mutant in half then shifted his eyes to Phillip, who was slumped against a tree, his visor flickering like a dying light bulb.

"No time for introductions, a mutant is right behind you. "Phillip warned

Arwin didn’t panic. As the huge monster jumped at him, he dropped to one knee, making it look like he had tripped. The mutant thought it had an easy meal, but Arwin was just waiting.

At the very last second, he twisted his body like a spring and swung his heavy sword. The blade sliced clean through both of the creature’s front legs. The mutant let out a sharp cry as it face-planted into the dirt, sliding forward on its chest.

Before it could even try to snap its jaws, Arwin stood up. He flipped his sword around, holding it with both hands, and slammed it straight down into the top of the mutant’s head. The creature gave one last shake and went still.

"Nice." Phillip croaked, his voice barely a rasp. He looked at the standard-issue rifle in Arwin’s hand and shook his head weakly. "Drop that... that peashooter. Pick up the Dragonoid on the ground. Red button. Do it now!"

"The what?" Arwin asked

Phillip jutted his head towards the dragonoid on the ground. "That."

Arwin didn’t argue. He grabbed the sleek, lizard-shaped weapon from the dirt. As a mutant hound leaped toward his throat, Arwin jammed his thumb onto the red trigger. He expected fire. Instead, a stream of Liquid-Blue Flame roared out.

The hound didn’t burn. It turned into a statue. The beast was frozen solid mid-air, its jaws wide. Then he kicked it, sending it crashing to the ground and shattering into a thousand icy shards like a dropped vase.

"What the hell is that thing?" Alena yelled, her eyes wide. "Everyone grab one of those."

The mutants attacked, and one rammed a horn into Geoff’s head, to the horror of his friends.

"Come at me you sons of bitches!" Hyde shouted, sending a massive Blast of fire from her palms. The flame licked the side of a mutant that had just driven its horn through Geoff’s head. The beast shrieked, its skin bubbling as it retreated, it didn’t go far.

But the chaos was far from over. From the shadows, a smaller, faster mutant clamped its jaws onto Private Stone’s leg. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"NO! LET GO!" Stone screamed. The creature didn’t let go; it began to drag her into the darkness, its teeth gnashing on the armor.

"Stone!" Leah yelled, her willpower returning as the new team’s arrival broke the hounds’ concentration. "Shoot it! Don’t let it take her!"

The Drift land team opened fire, their bullets sparking off the creature’s thick hide until a well-placed shot from Alena grazed the top of its mouth from the inside. The mutant shrieked and released Stone, who lay panting and bleeding in the mud.

Out of the shadows, Blair popped out and beheaded it with a sword. Heaving, with tears running down her eyes, she hacked away at it.

Everyone else joined the fight, cutting the mutant size down to ten. The hounds, sensing the shift in the battle, began to scurry back into their semi-circle formation. Their throats started to vibrate again, preparing for a second, more powerful hum.

"They’re doing it again!" Phillip roared, struggling to his feet. "Don’t let them close the circle! If they finish that formation, we’re all dead men walking!"

"What the hell are these things and why don’t they have faces?" Alena screamed.

The question went unanswered.

"Guys, don’t stand around, you heard the man!" Arwin yelled, swinging the Dragonoid like a madman. "Break the line! Break the line! Slaughter them for dinner."