I led my warriors across the barren sands. We marched in loose formation, spears in hand and shields strapped across broad backs. Our new suits clung to our enhanced bodies, each step stirring up puffs of gritty dust. The sun shone overhead, a searing glare that bounced off the metal plating. Yet my men did not falter. Their legs and lungs were more than human now, products of my will and the biomass we shared. I did not tire either, though the heat pressed down on me, thick and unrelenting.

We made good time, heading southeast where the map indicated a small settlement. My second-in-command—once a twisted mutant, now a tall, broad warrior—walked at my flank. His clawed hand gripped a spear with casual strength. His gaze stayed on the horizon, always searching for threats. I gave him a nod, and he returned it with a firm tilt of his chin. We had grown used to each other's presence, a silent trust forged in training and transformations.

Ahead, the dunes shifted into a rocky ridge, its edges jagged and high. The map said a settlement lay beyond that ridge, nestled in a shallow valley. I slowed my pace and lifted a hand, calling a halt. My warriors stopped in near-unison, dust swirling around their feet. I climbed a short outcrop to get a better view. As I crested the rise, a gust of hot wind whipped past my visor. Below, I saw the remnants of structures—small huts, half-collapsed walls, and a single broad building that might have been a community hall. Smoke no longer rose, but the air smelled of something burnt, stale, old.

My heart sank. Another ruin.

I motioned for the men to follow me down. We descended carefully, boots scraping on broken rock. The settlement was eerily silent. There were no signs of life or activity. I saw no watchers on the cracked rooftops, no children peeking from doorways. Only the hush of the desert wind, whispering through blackened beams. I stepped into a clearing at the heart of the settlement, and there it stood: the flag of the Golden Bull.

It fluttered limply from a leaning pole, battered by the elements but unmistakable in its symbol. A bull's head, painted in crude gold lines, glared back at me. My jaw tightened. I strode forward, my men fanning out behind me in a defensive arc. The ground around the flag crunched underfoot. I glanced down and saw bones—scattered, bleached, some with black scorch marks. The skulls were piled near the pole, forming a circle. My grip on [Ruyi Jingu Bang] tightened, the memory of the first destroyed village flashing in my mind.

My second-in-command came up beside me, his eyes dark with anger. He touched a skull with the edge of his spear, rolling it aside.

"Fresh," he said quietly. I crouched, running my gauntleted hand over the dusty ground. Footprints crossed and recrossed the sand. Some were deep, some shallow, but they all looked recent. The wind had not yet erased them.

I traced a boot print with my fingertip.

"They left not long ago," I said. "A day at most."

My men exchanged grim nods. The sharp-eyed woman stepped up, her spear tip trembling slightly as she looked at the bones. "These people never stood a chance."

I stood, letting out a slow breath that hissed through my visor.

"We don't linger," I said, turning from the grisly scene. "Spread out. Check for any survivors or supplies. Then we move on."

They obeyed without question. Small groups searched the ruined huts. It took only minutes to confirm there was nothing left—no living souls, no stockpiles of food, and no hidden survivors. Just ash and the stench of death. My stomach twisted with anger. This was the second settlement the Golden Bull had destroyed, flaunting their cruelty in the open.

I regrouped my warriors at the edge of town. My second-in-command waited, arms folded, scanning the distance.

"Tracks lead east," he said, pointing toward a set of faint footprints. Others nodded in agreement. Some found smaller prints, suggesting animals or perhaps slaves. All pointed in roughly the same direction: deeper into the desert, toward an area marked as an irradiated oasis on the map.

I wasted no time. "We follow. We find them before they do this again."

I turned to the men, sweeping my gaze over their grim faces. "They cannot be more than a day ahead. We can catch them."

They raised their spears in silent agreement, eyes cold with fury. So we set off, guided by faint footprints and disturbed dunes. We moved fast, our augmented limbs carrying us with ease. Now and then, we paused to rest, let the slower men catch their breath, and confirm we were still on the right path. The track held steady, winding around rocky outcrops and skirting patches of dried shrubs. The sun sank low, bathing the land in deep orange. Night would fall soon.

We pressed on. Once darkness settled, I used the faint moonlight, combined with my enhanced vision, to keep track of the path. My second-in-command walked beside me, occasionally shining a small, hand-cranked lantern to pick out footprints in the dust. The night air felt cooler, though an undercurrent of radiation always permeated these wastes, a legacy of the world's ancient wars. My warriors' suits offered some protection, and my own body no longer cared about such hazards.

Hours passed in near-silence. Then we saw a faint glow on the horizon—a flicker of firelight. We crested a low dune and saw what looked like a camp. Torches lined the perimeter. Structures resembling tents dotted the center, their large shapes illuminated by fire. A small stand of twisted, leafless trees clustered near a pool of water that glowed with unnatural phosphorescence. The oasis. Irradiated.

I knelt, signaling my men to do the same. We watched from a distance. Figures moved among the tents, carrying torches or pushing carts. At the camp's heart stood a tall pole bearing a flag. My fists curled at the sight of the golden bull emblazoned there, this time in more intricate detail. This was their main force, or at least a significant encampment. I knew, at a glance, that the enemy outnumbered us greatly, but we held an even greater advantage: surprise.

I turned to the group, keeping my voice low. "We strike now, under the cover of night. Quick, silent. We kill them before they can flee."

They nodded, shifting their grips on spears. Some faces flickered with nervousness, but none backed down. The second-in-command tapped his claw on his shield in a show of readiness. The sharp-eyed woman looked to me for the final order.

I raised my spear, pointing at the camp.

"Move," I murmured. "No mercy. Kill them all, but one."

We descended the dune in a crouched formation, our boots making only soft crunches on the sand. The wind favored us, blowing from the camp to us, masking our scent and muffling our approach. My enhanced hearing picked up faint laughter from within the tents, clanking metal, perhaps from cooking or forging. Torch smoke drifted upward, curling into the starry sky.

We drew closer. I could make out individual tents—dozens of them, arranged in haphazard clusters. Animals, likely beasts of burden, were tethered near the edge, snorting or dozing. Guards roamed in pairs, wearing crude armor, carrying swords or axes. Their watch seemed lax. They did not appear to expect an attack.

Good, I thought.

I split the men into squads with silent hand gestures. The second-in-command took half, I took the other half. We advanced in a pincer maneuver, aiming to converge in the camp's center. The torches cast flickering shadows across the dirt. In hindsight, I didn't need to bring anyone with me. I could've killed every single one of these barbarians and I wouldn't even need to exert any real effort into it.

But, mere vengeance was not the point of this.

At least, not the only point.

Then the first guard spotted one of us. He had time to inhale sharply, eyes widening, before a spear impaled his chest. He collapsed with a muffled cry. Another guard yelled, alerting the camp, but it was too late. We poured into their midst, spears thrusting, shields raised. Tents flapped wildly as people scrambled. I heard shouts of alarm, screams of pain, and the heavy slam of weapons against shields.

For a moment, it seemed we had them. My men fought with something akin to discipline, forming small groups that moved like a tide. Good. They remembered their training. The raiders wore ragged armor, no match for our suits. I swept [Ruyi Jingu Bang] in a wide arc, knocking down two of them in a single blow. I did not quite see the point of breaking their bodies to the point of disintegration, however, which was why I kept the weight of [Ruyi Jingu Bang] at a steady 100 kilograms. The sharp-eyed woman beside me lunged forward, her spear finding a gap in a raider's chest plate. He let out a strangled gasp and fell.

Then the explosions started.

A deafening roar came from the tents on the far side of the camp. Fire and shrapnel burst outward in a vicious wave. Tents tore apart, and a wall of heat washed over us. My enhanced reflexes made me throw myself flat, though I realized a moment later that I didn't really need to. Fragments rained down, clanging off metal. Smoke billowed, acrid and thick.

Panicked cries rose from our ranks. I heard men choking, gasping. Another explosion, closer this time, tore through the center, hurling bodies in every direction. Some slammed against the earth with sickening force. My visor display crackled as the air filled with dust. I scrambled up, pushing debris aside, searching for survivors.

I saw bright flames licking at the remains of a few tents. More explosions detonated in sequence, each timed to rip through the chaos. Our formation crumbled, the blasts disorienting us. My second-in-command vanished in a plume of smoke. I thought I saw him flying through the air, arms flailing, before he crashed behind a broken cart. The sharp-eyed woman sprawled on the ground, her shield shattered, flames dancing on the edges of her suit.

My regeneration kicked in, healing the cuts and bruises I'd taken from flying shards. The suit I wore was scorched but intact. I coughed, forcing a path through swirling smoke. All around me, my men lay broken or dying. The ground shimmered with pools of blood. Mangled suits and twisted spears scattered like discarded toys.

Pain tore through my chest, not from any wound, but from the sight of the carnage. We had walked into a trap. The Golden Bull raiders had rigged their own tents with explosives, sacrificing them to catch us off-guard. My men, newly forged into an army, were being wiped out in seconds.

I found the second-in-command pinned under a heavy beam. His mutated claw twitched weakly. A chunk of metal had pierced his abdomen. Smoke stung my eyes as I tried to drag him free. His voice came out in a wet gurgle.

"M-My lord… s-sorry," he managed. Then he went still, his grip on my wrist slipping away. I clenched my teeth so hard they nearly cracked. I felt my rage rising, a fire in my belly that threatened to consume me. Another explosion echoed nearby, forcing me to step back.

I saw the sharp-eyed woman, limbs twisted unnaturally, her visor cracked open. She reached for me, but the light faded in her eyes before I could close the distance. A wave of helpless fury roared inside my mind. I turned to see the rest of my men—what was left of them—lying scattered in the burning camp.

My regeneration saved me. It knit torn flesh and sealed ruptured vessels. My body withstood the blasts. But I was alone now, or nearly so. The few who remained alive did not stir. Smoke curled from their suits. Their hearts had already stopped. My mind pounded with a savage, uncontrollable anger.

I let out a growl that built into a roar. My voice echoed through the flaming wreckage. The ground rumbled beneath my feet as I lost my composure, slamming [Ruyi Jingu Bang] into the dirt. The battered tents collapsed further. The oasis water shimmered with a toxic glow, useless to the dead and the dying.

In that desperate moment, I did the only thing I could to ensure these fallen warriors did not feed the enemy. I absorbed them. I knelt beside each broken body, placing my hand on charred armor or exposed flesh, letting the biomass flow into me. My [Biomass Reserves] surged, straining with an overload of energy. Their lifeblood, their essence, joined me in one final communion. The settlement back home would wonder what became of them. I would tell them the truth: they died bravely.

Through the smoke, I saw one last figure—a raider, his face twisted in pain, trying to crawl away. I walked toward him, an unsteady gait fueled by rage. He saw me and inhaled sharply, eyes going wide. I hoisted him by the collar of his tattered armor.

"The Golden Bull," I snarled, pulling him close. "Where?"

He coughed, blood spilling from his mouth. He opened his lips, but no words came. He just stared at me, a mix of terror and defiance. Then his eyes rolled back, and he sagged, limp and lifeless. Another dead end, another silent corpse.

I released him, letting his body fall, before I absorbed it as well. I couldn't stand the reek of scorched flesh anymore. My fury felt boundless. My men, all slaughtered in a series of cruel explosions. So many lives. So many bright souls who had trusted me. Gone in a matter of moments. They lived now only in my memories as their bodies became a part of me - of a much greater whole.

I scanned the smoldering camp. I found no other living raiders to interrogate, no sign of the Golden Bull themselves. Only the lingering stink of my own failure. I spotted the remains of the bull flag, half-burnt and lying in the dust, mocking me with its twisted horn emblem. I kicked it away, forcing myself to keep moving. If I stayed, I might drown in anger and sorrow.

A sudden thought crashed into my mind: the settlement. I had left behind unenhanced families, children, elderly, many who had no means to fight. What if this entire raid was a diversion? What if the real blow would fall upon them while I was out here, kneeling among the ashes of my own defeat? This was why I had no wish to lead and govern.

I never wanted any of this!

My heart thundered. My fists clenched until I felt my nails biting into my palms. I had to return. I had to protect what was left. My people needed me. And I had led almost all my warriors to their deaths. That meant the settlement was wide open, vulnerable to a second strike. The Golden Bull's legion of raiders might be en route right now.

And so, I summoned [Mjolnir] and flew.

AN: Chapter 82 is out on (Pat)reon!