Mutagen

It was already a year. Was it something people should celebrate, or was it something people should lament? Everyone still alive might have survived the difficult and dangerous year. It was something they could celebrate. Nonetheless, it was also the anniversary of everyone losing almost everything.

How people would view this day would likely be up to each individual and the things they experienced.

And on this day, a new rumor was spreading across the Muria Sacred Fortress.

***

"Have you heard? A horde attacked the 38th."

"Is that the cause of the gunshots last night? It sounded pretty far, but it kept me awake all night."

"But some people are saying something strange."

"What is it?"

"They said the attack came from inside. Not outside."

"That\'s stupid. How did that even happen? You believe that?"

"Nah. I also think it\'s stupid. It\'s already hard surviving, and some people are still trying to spread fear for no reason."

Similar exchanges could be heard all over the Muria Sacred Fortress after the vague events of the previous night.

Some brave ones went and asked soldiers on patrol for confirmation. However, the soldiers were either clueless, would answer with an obvious pre-practiced business reply, or just bluntly refused to answer.

Confusion was slowly creeping up into the hearts of the people in addition to the fear still lingering because of the [Face Wearers].

Nonetheless, confusion was still better than panic and chaos.

But when the people of the Southside Peak thought that things would still be more or less the usual...

VRROOOOM!

They saw vehicles of soldiers under General Wijaya passing by. With how the vehicles and the soldiers were kitted out, it was clear that something unusual was bound to happen today.

People along the road watched as military jeeps and trucks filled with armed soldiers drove through. There was no prior announced military activity. The scene caused more confusion and speculation among the populace.

Most importantly, it caused confusion to soldiers who were not under General Wijaya\'s authority. Many of these soldiers immediately reported to their military superiors about what they had witnessed. Unfortunately, those military superiors who received the reports were far more flabbergasted by General Wijaya\'s unannounced action.

They immediately tried to contact the spies they placed within General Wijaya\'s forces.

To the surprise of these faction leaders, they received no response from their spies. It was as if they all vanished.

...Just like the missing victims of the [Face Wearers].

***

Eight military vehicles drove out of General Wijaya\'s camp. Five huNovelFireees and three military trucks. All soldiers were armed to the teeth. It would be their most crucial mission after a long time of being suppressed by the other military factions.

Nonetheless, the soldiers were quite in disbelief.

The briefing happened in a hurry, and so was their mobilization. It all began after General Wijaya returned near sunrise along with the soldiers who escorted him while visiting the 38th Satellite Settlement.

Immediately after their late return, everyone was informed about the sudden mobilization. Everyone was quite confused at first. Furthermore, the gunshots echoing early the previous night throughout the mountain kept many of them awake. But when the briefing started, the information was shared, and the soldiers realized how important this mission would be.

The missing victims returned as [Infected]. The horde that attacked the 38th Satellite Settlement were those victims. Worse, the [Infected] came from inside the fortress, inside their current home.

Not only were the [Face Wearers] kidnapping residents and stealing their identities, these monsters turned people into [Infected].

And now, the soldiers accepted that they had to do this. They had to remove the threat called the [Face Wearers].

The main base of operations of the [Face Wearers] was briefed to the soldiers. It was understandable that they were all shocked. The questions that passed through their minds before resurfaced. All of which pointed to the dubious existence and rise of the Muria Religion.

This briefing answered a lot of those questions. The hesitation about the sudden mission became almost nonexistent.

Inside the vehicles, the soldiers rested. No one had the time to joke around to ease the tension. Instead, they focused on the mission they currently had.

In the middle of the convoy, the Humvee at the center had General Wijaya as its most important passenger.

Normally, Generals would leave most missions to their soldiers and would just stay behind the lines. But General Wijaya was the opposite. He was still not used to being a general and was uncomfortable with the privileges of his current position. As such, he was joining the mission as its commander. While other generals think it might be foolish, the soldiers under General Wijaya thought otherwise.

Having their leader supporting them in the field was one of the things that increased the soldiers\' morale the most.

Aside from General Wijaya, his secretary, and the driver, their Humvee had one more unusual passenger.

"I didn\'t think there\'s a road connecting the two sides of the peak."

Mark commented as he looked outside the window.

Compared to the seriousness and tenseness of the soldiers, Mark looked like he was just on his usual stroll.

"This road is new," General Wijaya replied. "We had to build a road to connect the two places for a quick response if anything happened to any of the peaks. It also allows us to travel faster to the northern settlements. There\'s another road before, but most of it was reclaimed by the fast-growing flora that it was better to make a new one instead of clearing the old road."

The road was not cemented. It was just a flattened side of a mountain slope. Unfortunately, digging through the peak was impossible without the proper heavy machinery to create even a dirt road. This road connecting the two sides of Mount Muria\'s peak was still going around the peak.

Reaching the other side of the peak would still take another hour or two, even with vehicles.

After a long, bumpy ride, the military convoy reached a checkpoint.

Since the mission was unannounced, the soldiers at the checkpoint were surprised to see a fully armed military convoy. It was not a surprise if the convoy was stopped in front of the checkpoint.

However, the checkpoint soldiers could only salute as they saw General Wijaya come out of one of the vehicles. His presence in the convoy created a different outcome.

Mark watched from inside the Humvee as General Wijaya exchanged words with the now sweaty and nervous soldiers at the checkpoint.

It did not take long, and General Wijaya returned. The convoy was allowed to pass through the checkpoint without problems.

"Being a general sure had some merits, huh."

Mark commented, making General Wijaya sigh.

"I\'m not really fond of these so-called merits."

General Wijaya replied.

However, Mark was not paying attention to General Wijaya anymore. Instead, his attention was on one of the soldiers at the checkpoint, who sneaked away after the convoy passed through.

Unfortunately for that soldier, whatever he was planning to do, he would not be able to. After the soldier sneaked out and was hidden away from everyone\'s sight, he felt an impact behind his neck. He was not even able to check as he fell and lost consciousness.

Seeing his work, the culprit bobbed his body happily before vanishing into a surge of black mist before vanishing without a trace.

Mark nodded as his little spy did his job. It was Crimson who was actively participating in this mission, following Mark\'s instructions.

It was why the spies planted all over the place were unable to report anything to their superiors. Mark had been finding the spies while Crimsom would knock them out without anyone noticing.

The long ride continued after the checkpoint. Soon, Mark could see the Northside Peak from the distance. Since the road was on a higher elevation, it was possible to see the entirety of the Northside Peak, where the Government officials, VIPs, and other important and rich people resided.

However, the convoy would not be entering the Northside Peak. They turned north at the branching road, avoiding the road leading to the Northside Peak.

It was the road leading to the church. The mysterious church of the Muria Religion.

The convoy arrived by the small lake near a spring. After passing through the thin forest by the roadside, General Wijaya\'s soldiers could see the church on the other side of the lake.

However, they could also see another military convoy surrounding it.

Defensive positions were already established around the perimeter of the church. It was to block General Wijaya and his soldiers away from the church. That was the clear look of the blockade.

As the convoy stopped on the road, the doors of the vehicles opened slightly while the soldiers inside the trucks gripped their guns.

General Wijaya stepped out of the vehicle. It was a bold move, considering the situation.

However, General Wijaya\'s attention was not on the danger. It was the familiar person who walked in front of the blockade.

A man with a rather tall figure. He might look old because of his silver-colored hair and beard, but his physique looked no different than a bulky-looking soldier. He had an air filled with pride and confidence.

"Wijaya. What is the meaning of this?" The person asked. "You know that there\'s punishment to mobilization without authorization. Past laws might not be applicable anymore, but to mobilize armed soldiers in this fortress, you need to pass a majority vote."

A majority vote. It was a rule established in the Muria Sacred Fortress regarding the general mobilization of anything military or government-related. This was especially the case for armed military missions and deployment. Unfortunately, it was also the way how the others oppressed General Wijaya and his supporters.

"Piliang..." General Wijaya glared at the man leading the opposing force. "You should know the threat the [Face Wearers] brought to us and the people. To think that a prideful person like you would be siding with those monsters."

"That\'s a serious allegation you have there," General Piliang shook his head. "You can\'t pin a crime on anyone without serious evidence. It was the same for raiding a place with excessive force, like bringing all your armed soldiers to raid a place of worship. This church had been a pillar many of our people had been leaning to at the time of need.

You should know that attacking this place is tantamount to betraying the hopes of the majority of our people."

"Your words are full of nothing but sophistry," General Wijaya sighed. "I won\'t justify my actions now. I am fine accepting the blame if I am mistaken. Now, get out of the way and let us investigate."

"That can\'t be done," General Pilliang shrugged. "I won\'t aid you in your crimes."

It was clear in each word the older general uttered. He was adamant about pinning crimes on General Wijaya and stopping them from moving closer to their goal.

But at this time, Mark stepped out of the vehicle to join the charade.

"Hey, old man," Mark shouted. "Are you sure you want to do this? If you had nothing to hide, why are you stopping us? What\'s inside that church that you are adamant to protect?"

"And who are you?"

General Piliang frowned at the unfamiliar and disrespectful man.

"Hmm... That\'s odd," Mark tilted his head. "You sent some idiots to kidnap my people, but you don\'t know who you are targetting?"

General Piliang frowned even more as his stare at Mark became sharper.

"Another baseless accusation," General Piliang replied as he shifted his attention back to General Wijaya. "Wijaya. Just give up and surrender. We will bring this to trial. This way, no blood needed to be shed in this place."

"Unfortunately, we can\'t do that," General Wijaya glared. "After everything that already happened, we can\'t back out anymore."

After saying that, General Wijaya stepped back. Once he retreated to cover, it would be the start of this battle.

General Piliang watched as General Wijaya began to step back. However, instead of doing the same, General Pilain suddenly nodded his head with a slight tilt.

BANG!

A gunshot came out of nowhere, and an impact sounded into the ears of everyone.

General Wijaya fell to the ground. He was still fine, but he could only watch the person who pushed him out of the way fall to the ground.

"SIR MARK!"

General Wijaya shouted.

Mark pushed General Wijaya out of the way after a sniper shot, taking the bullet meant for the general.

"Open fire!"

General Wijaya yelled as he grabbed Mark and dragged him into cover.

After the command was given, although some hesitated, Mark\'s sudden fall caused General Wijaya\'s soldiers to throw the hesitation out of the window.

A barrage of bullets flew towards General Piliang, who did not take cover.

But General Piliang stood unfazed. Despite the barrage of bullets, he stood unmoving.

In front of General Piliang, the bullets aimed at him hovered freely. And as the gunshots stopped due to confusion, the hovering bullets fell to the ground.