The heavy hammer fell.
In the eyes of Mudrock's Squad, their boss was like a solid wall, blocking every attack from the front. Her shield was a deep, inky black, gleaming with a grim light—it was the Originium Arts of their boss's bloodline. Her engineering hammer swung wide and fierce, and the ragged Winterwisp Blood Shaman exploded with a bang. Bloody mist spread through the air, yet Mudrock remained unmoving. Though she was clearly a Defender, she fought with the momentum of a Guard.
Mudrock's body stiffened for an instant, but she quickly recovered, as though nothing had happened.
"Need healing?"
A squad member stepped forward from behind, only to be stopped by Mudrock. The blood mist continued to churn, dealing constant damage. It took quite some time before it finally dissipated completely, and the fog blanketing the mountain path thinned somewhat as well.
"Boss!"
"No problem. Keep moving."
This squad had only the faintest connection left to Mudrock's Squad from the past.
Like the Ship of Theseus, whenever they arrived somewhere, some of the lowest-ranking Infected would see hope and choose to join them. Mudrock's Squad had grown larger and larger, while casualties from their usual battles mounted. Of the original veterans, fewer than one in ten remained; almost everyone was a newcomer.
But that did not matter.
They were all Infected. Huddling together for warmth was only natural.
"Where's the radio operator?"
Arden, who was in charge of transmissions, stepped forward and stood nervously before Mudrock, waiting for his captain to question him.
He was not one of Mudrock's Squad's old members. He had merely been a poor local resident of Leithanien. Seeing how imposing Mudrock's Squad's captain looked, he had assumed she must be a genuine thug, so he had voluntarily applied to join the squad in