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"Quick! Go help him!"
During the brief moment of stunned silence caused by the Phage Beasts being intimidated by "Goku," Mark—the captain of the Wilderness Hunters—was the first to snap back to reality; he immediately powered up his Gravity Body mech and charged forward.
At that same moment, the remaining elite Wilderness Hunters completed their own mech activation sequences and followed close behind him. At that moment, the Phage Beasts also reacted; extending the sensory tendrils around their necks, they appeared to be summoning more of their kin.
Immediately thereafter, they clashed ferociously with the Heavy-Mech units.
Upon seeing this, Goku chose not to intervene further.
In his eyes, these ferocious Phage Beasts were no different from the tigers and wolves found in the mountains.
They posed absolutely no threat to him—at most, they were merely food with a bit more meat on their bones.
Consequently, since his stomach wasn't rumbling, they failed to spark any interest in battle within him.
Had the situation called for a rescue, he naturally would have stepped in to lend a hand.
But as things stood now, it seemed his assistance was no longer required.
Dozens of giant Phage Beasts had surged forth from the spaceship ruins, accompanied by over a hundred smaller ones—each roughly the size of a buffalo.
The danger earlier had arisen because the giant Phage Beasts were virtually impervious to standard gunfire, resulting in the collapse of the defensive firing line.
Now, however, with the giant Phage Beasts held at bay by the Heavy-Mechs, the smaller Phage Beasts stood no chance of breaching the Hunter Squad's concentrated barrage.
The "Dust-born" laborers could now safely evacuate with their supplies to the transport vehicles, free from any further peril.
"Die, you bastards!"
Erika—a short-haired young woman—piloted her Heavy-Mech, hoisting a massive, oversized twin-barreled Gatling gun; a storm of bullets engulfed the giant Phage Beasts.
Even the giant Phage Beasts—which typically shrugged off standard gunfire—were rendered immobile by this level of frenzied assault, their bodies streaming with blood.
Meanwhile, another elite Hunter named Feixue drew a massive sniper rifle from within her own Heavy-Mech.
That sniper rifle was truly colossal; its barrel alone measured nearly five meters in length.
With a single shot, she instantly blew the head off one of the giant Phage Beasts.
The Heavy-Mechs piloted by the other elite Hunters each boasted their own unique specialties.
Enhanced shotguns, grappling-hook launchers, electromagnetic railguns, and various other weapons were all capable of inflicting lethal damage upon the giant Phage Beasts.
Of course, the most formidable of them all was undoubtedly the Heavy-Mech piloted by their captain—Mark. Wielding a massive double-bladed slashing sword—and leveraging the mech's own extraordinary mobility alongside its rear-mounted flame thrusters—he darted ghost-like through the ranks of the colossal Shijishou, delivering a fatal blow with every strike.
His efficiency in slaughter rivaled that of all the other elite Hunter-Scavengers combined.
In a mere few minutes, every colossal Shijishou and ordinary Shijishou in the area had been completely wiped out.
However, Captain Mark showed not the slightest sign of complacency. He abandoned the plan to continue exploring the spaceship ruins to acquire more supplies,
and instead issued an immediate order for everyone to evacuate.
For he knew that, now that their presence had been detected, failure to withdraw immediately would result in them being overwhelmed by an endless horde of Shijishou.
Moreover, the colossal Shijishou they had just faced were, within the hierarchy of the Shijishou species, hardly considered formidable opponents.
Thus, while it might have appeared as though they had effortlessly cleared the Shijishou from this area in a matter of minutes, the reality was that if they were to be encircled by a massive swarm, their only fate would be death.
Even the encounter they had just survived had, in truth, been fraught with extreme peril.
Had it not been for that boy—who, with a single punch, obliterated several Shijishou and thereby intimidated the rest—giving the team the window of opportunity needed to fully power up their heavy mechs...
...it is estimated that dozens of ordinary Hunter-Scavengers would have perished before a successful withdrawal could be achieved.
Which begs the question: who exactly is this boy, whose raw power is so utterly off the charts?
When Mark inquired among the other Hunter-Scavengers, they all merely exchanged bewildered glances; Jeff and Erica knew a little about him, though their knowledge was limited.
After gleaning what little information he could from Jeff and Erica, Mark paused for a moment to deliberate. He then walked over to the boy—whom he found squatting there, poking at a colossal Shijishou with his finger while contemplating which part of it might make for a tasty meal—
According to the regulations of the Lighthouse, if human survivors are encountered on the surface, they may be brought back to live within the Lighthouse—provided they are neither disabled nor elderly.
This is because, within the Lighthouse society, the disabled and the elderly are deemed "useless individuals" and are summarily exiled back to the surface to fend for themselves.
Although the boy exhibited certain physical mutations, his ability to obliterate several colossal Shijishou with a single punch rendered him—to all intents and purposes—the equivalent of a humanoid heavy combat mech. Someone like him—if he were to join the Lighthouse—would undoubtedly become...
...one of the absolute pillars of their team of Wilderness Hunters.
Furthermore, for a boy his age, living on the Lighthouse...
...was certainly a far better prospect than remaining here on the surface, which had long since been reduced to ruins.
"...help!"
"Hello there, kid. Thank you for the help you gave us just now."
"Hello, sir. Do you happen to know who the strongest person in this area is?"
Goku stood up and asked Mark.
Mark paused for a moment, taken aback by the question:
"If you haven't encountered anyone else on the surface, then...
...there shouldn't be any other people left in this vicinity—only...
...the Phage Beasts.
Everyone now lives up on the Lighthouse."
"If everyone is on the Lighthouse, then any true masters must surely be up there as well."
Goku pondered for a brief moment, then looked back at Mark:
"Where is this Lighthouse? Can I go there?"
"Of course you can. I was actually planning to invite you to come live on the Lighthouse anyway. According to our search-and-rescue protocols, you meet the criteria for extraction."
A smile spread across Mark's face.
He hadn't expected things to go even more smoothly than he had anticipated.
"If you don't have anything you need to pack or take with you, we can head back to the Lighthouse right now."
"Aren't we taking the bodies of these monsters with us?
They look like they'd be quite tasty."
Goku pointed toward the corpse of the giant Phage Beast lying nearby.
He personally didn't have anything he needed to pack; everything he owned was already inside his box.
He simply felt it would be a shame—a waste, really—to leave behind those muscular Phage Beast carcasses; surely they would taste great if roasted over a fire.
Mark glanced at the hideous, repulsive Phage Beasts, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly:
"Phage Beasts aren't edible. Their bodies contain a unique...
...toxin. If you consume them, you risk suffering severe...
...mutations—or even instant death."
If Phage Beasts were edible, the Lighthouse certainly wouldn't be facing a food shortage.
After all, while they might not be a match for every single Phage Beast out there...
...whenever they descended to the surface—relying on their advanced weaponry and heavy-duty mechs it was actually quite easy for them to hunt down and kill large numbers of the creatures.
As for the complaint that Phage Beasts look too ugly or repulsive?
Among the various foods humans consumed back in the days of peace...
...there were plenty of things that looked far uglier and more repulsive than these beasts. Chop it into chunks, roast or boil it, sprinkle on some seasoning—and it's ready to eat just like anything else.
Even if the residents of the Lighthouse refused to eat it, they could simply pass it down to the Dust Folk; that alone would result in massive savings on food consumption.
After all, the food the Lighthouse provides to the Dust Folk consists entirely of "insect cakes"—patties made from high-protein insects like cockroaches.
So, it wasn't a matter of unwillingness to eat it; it was a matter of it being truly inedible.
Thinking this over, he couldn't help but cast a somewhat suspicious glance at the tail wagging behind Goku.
Could the boy's physical mutation actually be the result of eating a Man-Phage Beast?
Did he mutate because he consumed a Man-Phage Beast—and is that the reason he possesses such immense physical strength?
When reasoned out that way, it actually seemed quite plausible.
If that really were the case, he wondered if the City Lord would still be willing to take the boy in.
A flicker of worry crossed Mark's face.
"Oh, so it turns out it's inedible? In that case, never mind."
The moment Goku heard that the meat might be poisonous, he immediately abandoned the idea of roasting and eating the Man-Phage Beast.