บท 43: Rampaging Mutated Beast

Leo looked around the Stronghold and smiled.

He saw little Michelle and Jess playing catch with smiles on their faces, free of worries. Isaac, Josh, James and Michael are patrolling along the wall with serious expressions and on their hands are a M1 Garand.

Leo also saw Caleb who can now do simple chores, Austin, Leo's father Henry, Dylan and Mark as they sat around a wood chunk table, talking with each other about their time when they are in the military and experiences in facing zombies while cleaning some of the guns that Leo brought back and on the side are Dylan and Mark just listening to them full with interest.

While Joe, Edward and Isaac's father, Arthur are helping the ladies prepare for lunch as they started fires where the dishes will be cooked over and the Leo's mother, Rachel and Tom's wife, Angie along with Aria and Amalie with the new rescued girls, Shirley and Ashley are busy doing the laundry and the rest of the rescued women like Isaac's wife, Ava and his mother, Eleanor along with James pregnant wife, Sara are folding clothes just at the front porch of one the Residence building and with them are the siblings Jacob, who is accompanying his sister Olivia as he read a fairy tale book for her and what's hilarious is that the original MC of the fairy tale book they are reading is changed to Leo.

Jacob's reason? It's because he looks up to Leo who rescued them from a zombie infested city and aspire to become a "great warrior" like him one day, to rescue survivors who would need his help one day and to protect his love ones away from harm.

Leo used the movement skill that he got as a mission reward called, Ghost Step as he moved towards the direction of the gate as he made sure not to get noticed by the others. He got this skill reward from when he brought his family here at the Stronghold.

Just as it name suggest, the skill let's Leo move like a ghost, disappearing and suddenly appearing at a fifteen meters distance away from his original location and this skill only consumes a little bit of his stamina which made it a perfect skill for him, if one day he meets a formidable opponent, like a powerful mutated beast.

The newcomers are very respectful and somewhat afraid of him but for Leo, people fearing him is annoying as hell as he doesn't want the people under him to fear him but instead look at him with reverence.

As Leo keeps flickering from distance to distance, no one noticed him as they only felt a breeze but of course, there was one person who noticed him. It was Caleb who gave a nod at him before focusing to the people in front of him and what he was doing.

Caleb's action made Leo appreciate his ability more as he already made plans for him when he fully recovers at his peak and he estimated it that it would probably be around five to seven days when he recovers at least eighty percent of his strength and even fighting by then won't be hassle for Caleb.

Leo then jumped on top of the wall. This wall really made him smile as the wall expanded outwards for another hundred ten yards, increasing the land within the Stronghold.

Leo gazed down from the wall looking at the building, people and even including the plot of farmland that the guys worked on planting some crops like tomatoes, eggplant, sweet and chili peppers and sweet potatoes as seedlings have already sprouted from the ground and the produce from it would be a great help to the camp.

Leo felt happy and somewhat fulfilled and then he took the Level 3 Blueprint, ready for another upgrade.

Just as Leo was about to pressed the "Yes" button, he suddenly noticed from the corner of his eyes that a red dot is flashing on his mini-map.

Curious, Leo enlarge and saw that the red dot is somewhat bigger than an ordinary life signal and there are also others behind it just lagging behind the bigger "Are those mutated beast?" he asked himself and then he frowned as he noticed that they are speeding towards the direction of the camp and he estimated it that they would arrive in nine minutes as he deduced based from their current speed.

"Oh come one! Can't these assholes leave me alone for a few days!?" Leo yelled with frustration that it got the attention of the others.

"Boss!" Josh excitedly waved at Leo as he and the rest of patrols are walk over towards him with smiles on their faces mixed with somewhat of a surprised expression.

Leo just gave them a nod and shouted while clapping "Alright! All men, gather around and picked up your weapons except for Dylan, Mark and Josh! The women and children should immediately go inside the Hall and the rest of the men that isn't needed right now should follow them inside and don't get out unless I say so!"

"Is something happening boss!? Why can't I come with you guys?" Josh said to Leo with a pitiful look.

"Because you suck at shooting, you're already lucky enough that I'm even allowing you to hold that rifle in your hands" Leo replied.

"Can I bring it with me then?" Josh carefully asked in a small voice.

"You can, so get your ass off from here" Leo said as he raised his leg and acting like he was about to kick him down from the wall.

"Okay, okay. I'm going" Josh hastily said and he immediately ran towards the stairs, afraid that Leo would really kick him down from the wall.

A few moments later, everyone gathered in front of Leo beside the gate. All of them are holding different sets of rifles that Leo looted from the palace.

Then they suddenly felt the ground shaking a bit and they talking to each other in low voices.

"Is it an earthquake?"

"I think so"

Leo looked at them and said " That's not an earthquake but produce by a group of mutated beast heading towards us"

"What!? Then aren't we in danger then?"

"I think it's gonna be fine. We have a really high wall"

"Are we going to kill them that's why you gathered us Leo" Henry asked his son.

"No dad, I want you guys to stay on the wall just in case they attract more mutated beast or even a swarms of zombies here which would be really troublesome" Leo said.

Hearing what Leo said made some of them sigh in relief while others are disappointed that they won't be getting any action.

"Well, who wants to with me and Alex? Just raise your hand" Leo said as he noticed that some are eager for an action.

Just as those words left Leo's mouth, Caleb, Austin, Isaac and Joe immediately raised their hands.

"Except for Caleb, the people who raised their hands can come with me and the rest should go into high alert and keep a serious lookout around the camp's surroundings" Leo said.

"Why can't I come? I can already-"

"No, you're still weak. Isaac, Joe and Austin, you guys go and ride the Foxhound" Leo cut off Caleb before he started walking as the gate opened for him while the three guys immediately went to the Foxhound and followed behind Leo.

"Alex" Leo called out as they saw Alex jumping down a massive tree and jogged over to Leo and saluted "Sir!"

"Let's go! You guys follow us!" Leo and Alex sprinted towards the south where the group of mutated beast are only six minutes away from reaching the camp.

The Foxhound immediately followed behind them as Leo and Alex in front of them are sprinting and jumping as they dodge any obstacle in front of them and the Foxhound had a hard time tailing behind them as they needed to move around any obstacle like the trees are too compact or huge fallen logs and if it wasn't because of Leo purposely slowing down then they would have been left behind by now.

Half a mile away from the base camp, Leo and Alex stopped in a somewhat open space where there are only a sparse of trees around them and moments later, the Foxhound finally arrived and the three guys immediately jumped down from the vehicle and they felt the shaking of the ground here is a lot more intense that they almost fell over.

The three guys had amazed looks on their faces looking at Leo.

Leo then said to them "You three immediately go up at the tallest tree and snipe from there,alright? Go!"

They didn't even ask why as they immediately started climbing on the trees and looking at them skillfully climbing made Leo thought "Hmm..they are good at this" then Leo went over to the Foxhound and stored it.

"Here they come!" Leo yelled as he saw that some of the smaller and leaner trees are falling down and prepared himself to face the rampaging mutated beast.