Chapter 46: Department of Rebirth, Immortal Power

Mike was about to develop a stress disorder from all the arrows. He quickly found a thick tree trunk to use as cover and cursed, “Why the hell is it always arrows?!”

The members of the scouting team were also enraged, shouting, “I saw them! These are aberrants! No, wait, how can aberrants use bows? Have they evolved?”

The officers weren’t amateurs. As soon as they were attacked, they tried to pinpoint the enemies’ positions. Some keen-eyed soldiers, under the cover of snow, caught a glimpse of their attackers and were startled by the sight of rotting faces.

The whistling sound of arrows filled the air as they kept coming.

There was no time to look closely.

“Major Lisa, requesting permission to return fire!” Jack said in a stern voice.

Lisa glanced at the arrow she had caught. It was a man-made weapon, and even she could figure that out. After a second of thought, she ordered, “Prepare to shoot. Suppress their attack first, then engage in close combat. Try to capture some alive.”

With the command given, the team members immediately unloaded their guns and opened fire!

Times have changed!

This was the crushing force of civilization against the primitive, the gap between advanced and backward.

Muzzles flared with fire, bullets swept through the frozen forest, and the attacker's screams echoed as they retreated under the barrage.

They spoke in a language that sounded like a dialect.

“They’re not aberrants.”

Lisa commanded, “Go, capture them!”

Suddenly, arrows broke through the air, trailing sparks.

With a loud bang, the giant tree in front of Mike was blown apart, nearly killing him.

His blood pressure soared.

With adrenaline pumping, his breathing and heartbeat roared like a beast. His golden eyes opened in the smoke as if a monster had broken free.

“Follow my command, everyone…” Jack shouted, but someone had already charged ahead.

Who the hell listens to you?

Electric arcs crackled around Mike as he leaped over the bushes, dodging incoming arrows and pinpointing the hidden attacker in the grass.

The attacker had disheveled hair, a rotting face, and a burly body wrapped in thick animal skins, with a neck covered in tattoos and yellowed animal teeth hanging from it.

They looked like primitives.

This wasn’t an aberrant because the mark on Mike's palm didn’t react.

The primitive swung a bone club with terrifying force, clearly a first-tier evolver.

Mike’s powers didn’t include defense, but he still raised his right hand to block the bone club, which shattered with a crack!

It wasn’t his hand that broke but the bone club!

Hardening!

Mike’s right arm had turned as hard as iron. His clenched fist crackled, and he punched out with a bang, sending the primitive flying and smashing their head in!

Wait, it wasn’t the head but a human-skin mask that was smashed!

So these people were disguising themselves with aberrant skins.

Mike jumped over the fallen tree, ready to pursue, but the primitive was already down, gasping for breath with white eyes.

The boy was astonished.

First, by his power.

He could now one-punch a first-tier evolver.

Secondly, by the primitive's appearance.

Thick black hair, sickly pale skin, and nearly transparent pupils. Even with the red paint and fierce tattoos, they gave him a strong sense of déjà vu.

Isabelle!

Just then, the primitives, seeing their companion captured, aimed their bows at him.

But they were met with a barrage of gunfire.

Eventually, they were forced to flee into the bushes.

Lisa chased a few steps, but the bushes were dense, and the huge trees were hollow, allowing the attackers to disappear like rabbits.

She frowned and waved her hand to stop her companions, recalling her father’s teachings, “The old saying goes, ‘Don’t chase a cornered enemy.’ We’re unfamiliar with the terrain here. Chasing them recklessly could lead to traps and unnecessary trouble.”

Jack and the others agreed.

But being ambushed by primitives made them furious.

At this moment, Mike brought over the captured prisoner.

Jack sternly reprimanded, “Do you realize your actions…”

“Well done!”

Lisa expressed her appreciation, lips curving, “A soldier should be like this, brave, charging ahead! In the face of absolute power, all strategies are useless.”

Jack said nothing more.

Mike finally understood that in the eyes of the Duke family, military discipline and tactics were meaningless. Their main approach was brute force, making their way through sheer power.

“Lisa, look at this guy,” he said, lifting the captive. “Does he look familiar?”

Lisa, who hadn’t been in Avalon City for long, shook her head. “He looks like one of the primitive remnants from the Sunset Snowfield, but I can’t tell which group specifically.”

A senior officer in the investigation team examined the captive carefully and frowned. “These are the primitive remnants of the Department of Rebirth. This group has been infiltrating the land of rebirth for generations to receive the blessings of the sacred tree, mainly to protect themselves. They live by herding and are very skilled at surviving in harsh environments. They used to trade beef and mutton with the church for the opportunity for their people to grasp the holy rhythm. The Department of Rebirth is very good at combat, using aberrant skins to disguise themselves and understanding the habits of different species. Despite this, they’re a friendly tribe.”

“Some people in Avalon City have had contact with them a few times. Apart from exchanging daily necessities, they’ve also asked if they’d like to live in the city, but they refused.”

The officer looked puzzled. “Why would they attack us?”

Jack coldly said, “Since these people attacked us first, let’s break his legs and hang him from a tree to see if his tribe will come to save him.”

He then pulled out a revolver from his waist.

Just as he was about to shoot, the gun’s muzzle was grabbed.

Mike looked up, expressionless.

“Soldier, what are you doing?” Jack demanded harshly.

“Did I give you permission to act?” Mike remained expressionless.

“Do I need your permission to do my job?” Jack said coldly, “I’m your superior!”

Mike didn’t budge, his grip on the muzzle tightening.

With a crack, a fissure appeared in the gun’s barrel.

“I caught this prisoner. It’s not up to you to decide what happens to him. Moreover, Major Lisa said these primitive remnants might know something. If we rashly offend them, it’s just harming ourselves. Even during the earlier conflict, Major Lisa showed restraint.”

Mike glanced at him, “Why not interrogate him first?”

This was also something Williams had instructed him.

Since Jack already suspected him, it was better to escalate the situation.

Keep challenging Jack’s limits until he can no longer bear it.

Then he would show his flaws.

“Very well.” Lisa praised him again, “We are soldiers, not a group of thugs.”

Jack, however, sneered at this, considering them nothing more than a recruit and a pampered young lady who had never seen the harshest side of the world.

That’s why they opposed his methods.

Human nature is worthless in today’s world.

“Establish a fifty-meter perimeter and stay alert,” Lisa ordered.

The soldiers dispersed with their guns, keeping an eye out for hidden enemies.

A medic approached with a medical kit to try and treat the captive from the Department of Rebirth.

“Damn, good thing he’s an evolver. His skull is almost caved in,” the medic, who also served as the driver, looked at Mike in shock, “Kid, how strong are you? Almost at the second tier?”

The officers, including Jack, looked over with strange expressions.

Right, Mike was still a recruit.

How was he so strong?

“Don’t flatter me,” Mike said with a smile, “I’m a rookie, just a rookie!”

He cursed inwardly, wanting to keep a low profile, but they forced him to show off.

He didn’t need anyone’s amazement or praise.

After a while, the captive from the Department of Rebirth finally woke up. The moment he opened his eyes, he tried to run but was kicked to the ground.

Mike stepped forward, pressing his foot on the captive’s chest to keep him from escaping, and leaned down to study him, expressionless. “Sata, Abaluya!”

The captive still disoriented, instinctively responded, “Kuhai, Sarraluha!”

The officers were stunned.

Were they exchanging secret codes?

Mike was at a loss, now another encrypted conversation.

He pulled out his revolver, pressing it against the captive’s forehead, his expression turning fierce, “Tell me, what does that sentence mean?”

The captive looked confused, you don’t know what you just said!

Though a primitive remnant, he wasn’t stupid. Realizing the situation, he said in broken language, “You don’t know? Wait, you’re not Necro Cultists? Hmm, indeed, I don’t smell the stench of corpses.”

His nose twitched like an animal.

“Necro Cultists?” Lisa’s eyes widened, “Who are you calling that?”

The team exchanged glances, and understanding dawned on them.

It turned out that these people thought they were Necro Cultists.

No wonder they attacked without hesitation.

Lisa pulled out her officer’s ID and waved it in front of him. “Supreme Federal Government, affiliated with Avalon City, Holy Shield City Guard Department. Can you read? We’re here to investigate information about the aberrant tide. Tell me everything you know, and I promise you’ll be safe.”

She had expected the military's authority to be enough to intimidate him.

But to her surprise, the captive from the Department of Rebirth became agitated. “You’re from the military? Are you actually in the military? Why are you only coming now? Why have you allowed those lunatics to pollute the environment? Do you know what they’ve done? Why did you stand by and watch!”

“Those lunatics polluted the environment we rely on, destroyed our homes, took our families, and forced us into a life of wandering!”

His agitation grew, his face reddening. “They even desecrated our beliefs and blasphemed our great deity! Sata, Abaluya! Sata, Abaluya!”

He crossed his arms against his shoulders, dropped to his knees, and bowed his head in worship.

“Kuhai, Sarraluha! Kuhai, Sarraluha!”

Mike imitated him but didn’t kneel.

This angered the captive. “You don’t know what this means, why are you imitating me? Don’t defile our faith!”

Mike shrugged. “I know it means ‘Immortal Faith,’ but I don’t know what the next part means. If you don’t tell me, I’ll hang you from a tree and bleed you out until your people come to save you.”

The captive, simple-minded and straightforward, was indeed frightened by his brutality.

“The next part means ‘to attain eternal life,’” he said softly. “We are remnants of the Department of Rebirth, and we have worshipped the ancient deity recorded on the clay tablets for generations. Though most people believe He doesn’t exist, we firmly believe He is in this land. The appearance of the aberrant tide has proven this.”

“Those terrifying aberrants have mutated and gained the power of the deity.”

“They possess immortal power!”

“The power of eternal life!”

The officers were baffled.

“What is immortal power, and what is Immortality Power?” Mike asked curiously. “What exactly is your deity?”

The captive, displeased with his tone, tore open his shirt to reveal a strange totem on his chest, and proudly declared, “This is our deity! He is the most primordial lifeform in existence, with eternal life and an indestructible body! He hasn’t appeared because He lost His most important core, the ‘theo’ that allows Him to infinitely regenerate!”

Mike was stunned. “Theo?”

The officers explained, “He means ‘cells.’”

The man paused. “Yes, he means cells.”

Mike was suddenly taken aback.