Just as Lawson's sanity began to fray, a pair of cold, powerful hands grabbed his collar and yanked him backward, pinning him behind a half-collapsed rebar barricade.
"Are you insane? You're standing there like a target!" George hissed, his sharp eyes already scanning the enemy camp.
Victor scrambled over the debris, gasping for air. "Big Brother! The tails behind us are cleared! Are you... are you alright?"
"Sorry... I lost it for a second." Lawson's voice trembled violently.
"That was your home, wasn't it?" George looked toward the tumor-like ruins, a rare flash of sorrow crossing his eyes. "I understand the feeling. When my home was swallowed by fire, I was just like you..." He trailed off, shaking his head with a self-deprecating smirk.
"You lost your home, too?" Lawson blinked in surprise.
"A story for another time." George's cold visor snapped down, hiding his eyes. "Now isn't the time for sentiment..."
Lawson took a deep breath. The air was thick with the stench of rot and ozone, but the bitterness cleared his head.
He tightened his grip, his gaze hardening as he re-evaluated the "Monster Fortress" that used to be his sanctuary.
"You're right... no time for tears." Lawson wiped his face. "We aren't just here for materials. We're taking this place back."
The fortress's defenses were crude but lethal.
At the entrance stood a gnarled archway made of twisted wood and giant beast bones.
Two Brutes warriors stood like statues, draped in blood-stained leather, trophies of human skulls dangling from their belts.
Lawson's eyes bypassed these watchdogs, fixing on the core—the heteromorphic remains of his old house.
Atop the second floor, a flag decorated with bleached bones fluttered in the wind.
"D-Rank mobs on the perimeter—Victor can sweep them. But the inner circle is guarded by C-Rank Mutated Mobs," Lawson analyzed coldly.
"As for the Brutes Chieftain, it's a Wood-attribute with low magic resistance. Fire magic is its bane."
"So, what's the move?" George asked.
"According to the lore, Brutes are incredibly greedy, power-hungry monsters. If their rule is threatened, they will use any means necessary to kill those who oppose them, showing zero hesitation even when purging their own species."
Lawson pointed to the bone-flag. "See that? We destroy it. In their culture, if the flag falls, the leader must emerge. I'll use the drone as a lure to draw them out. George, you use Ice Spell to seal the exit once the Chieftain is halfway through. I'll be the bait."
"Ice Spell... constructing," George whispered, blue runes dancing on his fingertips.
"Wait!" Victor looked panicked. "How do we get the flag? Do we sneak in?"
"Sneak?" Lawson chuckled, pointing at the sky. "Victor, this is the age of technology. Don't play those old games."
High above, the {Hawk Recon Drone} let out a low hum and dived like a black lightning bolt. Its metallic wings sliced through the air with a sharp SHINK!
The flagpole snapped instantly. The sound of bone scraping against stone tore through the silence of the camp.
The Brutes froze. When they saw their symbol of power lying in the dirt while the "intruder" circled provocatively above, fury exploded.
A warrior ran into the main hut. Seconds later, it was sent flying back out, dissolving into foul black water before it even hit the ground.
Then, an ear-splitting roar erupted from the ruins. A massive, mountain-like female Brutes Chieftain emerged.
She had long, flowing white hair, but her body was encased in heavy plate armor. She wielded a terrifying long halberd and rode a bloodthirsty, armored giant wolf.
As Lawson watched the Chieftain through the tablet's screen, cold dread pooled in his chest.
That white hair... it was hauntingly familiar. It reminded him of his mother.
"A female Chieftain? That white hair... no, it's impossible!"
"Big Brother! Pull it out! Now!" Victor shouted as he precisely cut down two gate guards.
Lawson snapped back to reality. "George, ready?"
"Almost! Hold them!"
Lawson's fingers blurred across his screen, piloting the drone like a ghost.
He taunted the Brutes, skimming the ground and pulling up just as blades swung. The Brutes were driven into a blind rage, lured toward the gate.
Finally, the Chieftain charged. The ground shook under the wolf's hooves. A tide of warriors followed her—a literal flood of meat and steel.
"We're gonna die!" Victor collapsed, his legs turning to jelly.
"NOW, GEORGE! DO IT!" Lawson screamed.
"Spell complete— [Forbidden Frost Landgrave]"
A massive magic circle erupted at the gate, glowing with a suffocating white light. A torrent of sub-zero energy poured out, flash-freezing the moisture in the air.
In a single heartbeat, the entire gate and the surrounding walls were encased in jagged, thick ice.
Just as the C and D-rank Brutes in the camp shattered into a blizzard of frozen shards, a bone-chilling crack erupted from the sealed gates.
BANG—!!!
The massive timber pillars disintegrated under a terrifying force. Amidst the swirling snow, a towering, iron-clad silhouette crushed the ice beneath its feet and strode arrogantly across the charred threshold.
The Brutes Chieftain slowly turned her head. Her beastly pupils, brimming with slaughterous intent, swept over the now-empty camp.
Her hideous face distorted to the extreme with primal rage.
"ROAARR—!!!"
A roar capable of shattering the heavens burst from her throat. Following suit, the battle-wolf beneath her—a beast the size of a heavy tank with crimson eyes—howled in unison.
The overlapping waves of sound formed a visible shockwave, pulverizing the remaining frost into dust.
Without a word, the Chieftain swung a blackened halberd wrapped in dried gore. The blade sliced through the air with a piercing sonic boom.
BOOM—!!!
The giant wolf lunged, turning into a streak of dark lightning. Carrying its murderous Queen, it launched a near-suicidal, berserk charge toward Lawson and the others.
The earth trembled beneath their iron paws; the air grew thick with the suffocating heat of approaching death.
"Lawson, big bro! Save me! This woman is literally going to tear me apart!"
Victor, the closest to the Chieftain, had completely lost his will to fight. His pathetic D-rank armor groaned under the crushing pressure.
Driven by pure survival instinct, he triggered "Flee Mode," his foot thrusters spitting distorted tongues of flame as he scrambled frantically toward Lawson and George.
"We can't block this! My armor is like thin tofu in front of her!"
Facing the Brutes Chieftain who bore down like an unstoppable tank, the hesitation in Lawson's eyes vanished.
Whether this twisted body truly housed the soul of his mutated mother or not, right now, he had to be the strongest shield for this team.