The third wave of Abominations hit the defence line. The wave this time was smaller than the second, but it didn't relieve the soldiers. All of the Abominations were Green and above, with very strong physiques. They forced their way through the Corporals' defence line, not minding their attacks or the injuries they sustained. They kept charging until they reached the soldiers at the rear. Corporals were right behind the Abominations, and with the soldiers forming a meat shield to halt their advance, they were finally stopped. The soldiers surrounded the Abominations and started their assault. The Abominations were fierce, it was as if they didn't feel any pain. With their mighty physiques and abilities, they held on against the Corporals' and the soldiers' assault long enough to wound half of them, and kill one-tenth of the soldiers.
Back at the nursery tents, even those who were still wounded were getting up and going to fight alongside their brothers in arms. The medics were able to calm and prevent some of them from going back, but still, the majority who could stand up and hold a weapon went back to the battlefield. Sean was helpless back at the tent. He wanted to help the wounded, but before he could do much they had left for the battlefield. There wasn't much he could do with the remaining, as they were already being taken care of. Now he was slightly embarrassed, he had left with self-assurance that even if he couldn't kill Abominations, he could help those who could slay Abominations. What he got instead was a strange flock of Abominations barging through the defence line and leaving the formations of soldiers in disarray. They quickly recovered and counter-attacked, but the damage was already dealt.
As the resting soldiers went back to fight against the Abominations, the newly injured were receiving treatment from the medics. Trainees had to cut their rest time short, and Sean was back on his task of bringing and carrying the wounded between tents. He was stronger and quicker on his feet than the majority of the trainees, so he was one of those who carried them. As the wave consisted of high-grade Rank 3s this time, most of the injured fell back before they would die. Because of this, Sean could get closer to the battlefield than most of the trainees. He rushed with a gurney near the defence line. It wasn't uncommon that some of the injuries made them unable to move. When that happened, other soldiers would bring the injured back and return quickly. For them to go back quickly, trainees would wait for them with gurneys, receive the patient, and go back to tents. He sized up the battlefield as he was running with the gurney. What he saw was blood-chilling. The dead soldiers were dismembered and were unrecognisable. Many had their limbs chewed, their blood drained and their body parts crushed. Just a little further than that, there were those impaled with thorns all over, their blood still dripping from the wounds. A bit further, the fight was still going on, with more people losing their lives or getting injured. The Abominations were relentless, not stopping even when they were gravely injured.
Sean found this strange. Maybe one or two singular Abominations could exhibit this kind of behaviour, but not an entire horde. From the start, it was as if they had come to die, and take out as many as they could.
'Take out as many as they could?'
Sean was terrified about the ramifications of this thought. What could've made Aberrations of Rank 3 Cyan Grade act like they were cannon fodder? What could send dozens of them to die?
The answer was obvious. A stronger Abomination. Stronger than every single one of them combined here. Stronger than Captain Henry, maybe even stronger than the elite team of Savants. He had to report this. Although he was sure the Corporals had noticed it too, they had their hands full with the Aberrations. A momentary distraction could spell disaster.
Sean helped the wounded soldier lie on the gurney and turned back. Bringing the wounded soldier to one of the tents, instead of going back to bring another, Sean looked for someone, the First Lieutenant Vilue Dyne. She was responsible for this defence line and was overseeing the treatment of the injured.
"What is it, trainee?" She asked.
"Sir, I believe the behaviour of these Abominations is strange."
"Strange how?"
"They seem to not care about death and only kill as many as they could. They don't even bother with the injured and go on to the next person."
"And all of them displaying such behaviour?" She stood up and made a call. Not long after a soldier came with a few injured soldiers that were injured during the third wave.
"Did any of you notice something off with the Abominations?" She asked them. The injured soldiers were perplexed. The Abominations were aggressive as they always were, were they supposed to notice something? After thinking hard for some time, one of the soldiers came forward.
"Responding to Sir, I have noticed something."
"Go on."
"When I was holding grounds so the Corporal could attack, the Abomination, a Garrasika, was wounded on its throat. As you know Garrasikas fall back when you cut their vocal cords, but this one kept on fighting. I remember finding it strange at the time, but I attributed it to it having no way out."
"Alright, you can go back." Sean too was getting out with the soldiers, but she beckoned him to stay. "You wait here."
She went to the back of the tent, where the inside wasn't visible from the outside.
—
"Sir, I would like to authorise the firing of Etherrail Cannon." First Lieutenant Vilue was asking for permission to use a weapon.
"On what grounds?" The hologram asked.
"We have valid reasons to suspect the presence of a Rank 4 psychic Abomination. Dozens of Abominations are showing unnatural behaviour. As all of our 4th-Rank Evolutionaries are inside the gate, we are left with no one who can go against it. We don't know when they will come back either. I request a more detailed Ether scan of Sector 45-T, and permission to use Etherrail Cannon."
"..."
"..."
"Permission granted. Etherrail Cannon will be utilised to take out the Psychic, but remember that there are no second shots."
"Yes sir!"
—
Sean was still waiting at the entrance of the tent when First Lieutenant Vilue got out of the backside. She returned to her desk and made another call.
"Yes, I got permission."
" Bring the sensitivity to the highest, don't miss any deviation."
"I know the Gate will disturb the readings, account for it!"
"Set the parameters to Evolution Ability, Rank 4. We are looking for an active Rank 4 psychic ability and where it originates from."
After closing the call she realised Sean was still there.
"Why are you still here?"
"You told me to wait here, sir." Sean tried hard to keep his voice tone straight. She was the one who told him to stay, and now she asked why he was there! Naturally, Sean didn't think she was playing with him, especially under these circumstances. She probably had forgotten about him.
"Oh, right. Bring this to the Chief Medic, he will know what to do with it." She handed him a package. Sean didn't even dare to guess what was inside. After receiving the package, he left to find the Chief Medic, who was inside a nursery tent at the moment.
"Sir, the First Lieutenant asked me to give you this. She said you would know what to do with it." The Chief Medic's face darkened for a moment, but he collected himself before Sean realised something.
"Yeah, I know. You can return to your duties now."
Sean went back to the treatment tent, worried. What would happen to them? What would they do about the Abomination? Would they retreat? He didn't have the answers to those questions. Since he didn't have the answers, Sean simply continued to go back and forth between the battlefield and the treatment tent, carrying the wounded.
—
"We are getting closer," Zane said. "Wouldn't it be best if we rest here for a minute, catch our breath or something."
Finding the suggestion reasonable, the group slowed down and stopped at a reed bed. They had been searching for the cause of the disruption, but all they found were reeds and water. There was no sight of either the Anchor or the natural treasure. They were getting closer to the centre of the disruption, and they hadn't seen a single Abomination up until now.
Resting for a minute they continued their sprint. They ran for another half an hour before they entered another reedbed.
"Stop!"
They made an abrupt stop with Amaya's warning, and water swashed forward with their stop, creating a two-meter wave.
"Under us!"
But it was too late as they were swallowed by a huge mouth.