Trash in the Apocalypse

The askals suddenly stopped after reaching the 200m mark. At this distance, it was possible to shoot them, but the soldier kept his finger off the trigger to make sure that he doesn't make any mistakes.

Like all animals, dogs protect their own territory. Seeing that a large group of people came nearby, the pack of askals was just probably on a scouting mission. At least, that's what he would like to think for himself.

Unfortunately, not every soldier was like him. After noticing that the targets were not in motion. the requested backup from nearby quadrants started shooting at the targets.

The pack of askals was caught off guard and were slow to react, causing several casualties. The wails and cries of pain echoed in the field together with hails of bullets. 

The soldier lowered his rifle since his support wasn't needed anymore. As soldiers with skills related to aiming, a 200m distance have become a piece of cake for them. Though there were chances of missing, a higher number of bullets were guaranteed to hit the targets.

Watching the dust in the distance settle down, he witnessed something that frightened the shit out of him.

A lone askal managed to survive and slowly stood up on its feet. It looked up and howled into the sky filled with sorrow. Its body was riddled with swollen marks, but there were no open wounds. The strengthened hide increased its resilience, allowing it to survive. Most of the blood on its body was from the dead pack members killed from the sides.

Once it finished mourning its dead pack, it started dashing forward. With its transformed body, every step was a meter, and each second covers more than 10m.

Everyone could see vengeance in its eye after its pack where it belonged and survived for months was ruthlessly killed. It didn't even bother dodging and charged at the nearest group near him.

The soldier hurriedly raised his lowered rifle. "I didn't kill your friends! Why charge here!!!"

He activated his skills, Body Mass, and Calm Breaths, for easier shooting. With the skills, the chance of successfully hitting the target greatly increased. Body Mass helps automatically target the center mass of the target while Calm Breaths slow his breathing, allowing for minimal body movements converting to higher accuracy. 

He burst fired and used every bullet at maximum efficiency. The other soldiers on adjacent quadrants also continued firing until their magazines ran out of bullets.

When the rifle made clicking sounds, he hurriedly tried to reload the other half magazine but saw the area around him became shadowed. He knew that the shadow wasn't from clouds, so he didn't even dare raise his head. 

Clang! Clang!

Sounds of metal clashing could be heard. Droplets of saliva fell in front of him and bubbled on the ground.

Filled with confusion, he slowly raised his head and stared dumbfoundedly at the huge ethereal pillar stuck on the mouth of the transformed dog.

Now that he was next to the rabid dog, he could finally compare his size to his. He was kneeling yet he could only reach up to the dog's knees.

His gaze met with the enraged dog, which caused the already violent animal to rage stronger. 

"Rawr! Roar!"

It tried several times to bite him, but it couldn't move a single inch from its position. 

Only now did he notice the ethereal ropes binding every limb of the askal. The body was caged by yellow energy and the head was trapped in place, unable to move further.

Footsteps echoed, followed by an anxious yell. "What are you waiting for!? Hit it! Don't kill it though!"

The soldier turned and saw a young man with both hands raised, arms trembling. 

"A-alright!" he faced forward, only to see someone charge forward and leap high. It was the gruff man, who always appeared poor. 

With a single leap, he was able to jump higher than one meter. After reaching his peak momentum, the man performed a roundhouse kick to the enraged askals head, causing it to whimper and fall unconscious. 

The attack seemed simple, but for knowledgeable individuals, it's an attack enhanced by energy. Even the jump had an energy surge combined with it, increasing momentum and leaping power.

Unlike Empower that consumes a lot of skill, the surge of energy only needs a one-time consumption to increase overall power by a small amount.

The enraged askal fell unconscious and its transformation was undone. It returned back to its smaller self, a regular-sized german shepherd.

Edward ran forward and fetched the unconscious german shepherd. Like every other animal, parts of its skin were already corrupted and its fur had empty patches of black skin.

He used healing salves and applied them to the swollen parts of its body before reaching out near its forehead. The head portion was riddled with red marks since it took the brunt of the assault.

"What are you doing?" said the soldier.

"I don't think you're blind, but just to make matters clear, I'm saving it."

Edward didn't turn around since he was still applying the salve, but after finishing, he stood up and surveyed the surrounding. 

Now that the rabid dog was unconscious, he could see several people eyeing the treasure in front of them. Pure breed dogs that can transform were treasures that a lot of people would fight for. They were strong creatures that could help and increase the survival of anyone by several-fold. If they could grab it and tame it, they would never have to rely on other people again for survival.

Edward wasn't new to this.

The apocalypse has taught him a lot of things.

If you want something, then fight for it.

Sensing everyone's intentions, Edward casually said, "I claim ownership of this dog, and anyone who wants it can step forward now."

Hearing the provocation, several buff dudes made their way closer and shoved others out of the way.

Seeing that someone was actually going to try their luck, the crowd retreated and a small circle was naturally formed.

The moment they entered the circle, a long rectangle appeared in front of them and spikes appeared, stabbing the sides of their necks. 

Everyone was shocked and terrified by the sudden turn of events. The challengers haven't even done anything but the other party has already attacked. It was a bit underhanded but no one dared to talk smack. 

Edward could create shields in the 10m area around him. With his Freeform control, he could create any shape of energy to be utilized depending on the situation.

The matter ended with civilian challengers instantly losing the will to fight. The military stepped forward just in time for another round.

"We can't allow you to take the dog, but we won't take it forcefully from you. We will trade some gears for it and they're top-quality equipment that will increase the chance of your survival."

Edward scoffed. "Seeing how you guys treat animals, no matter how much you guys offer, I would never trade with you."

"That's really bad then. Please come with us for a moment. Maybe our boss can convince you." the soldier tried to act tough and showed his gun.

Unfortunately, Edward wasn't fazed. He could easily escape from here whenever he wanted. Unless the main force of the army came back here, there would be no chance he would be held up by several armed soldiers.

Still, he decided to cause trouble because things were taking too long. His parents could be suffering somewhere in this huge caravan and here he was, playing around.

He picked the unconscious dog using energy ropes and embraced it. If it woke up, he could easily confine it in a small energy box.

Matt followed behind Edward and was stopped by another soldier. The soldier shook his head indicating that he wasn't invited. He smirked then patted the man's soldier. With a simple shove, the soldier was sent stumbling away.

Infuriated, the soldier pulled out his sidearm and aimed forward. "Put your hands in the air and kneel on the ground."

Matt planned to ignore him, but said, "If I were you, I'll focus on the more important matters. Those dogs could turn any moment now, and even if they don't, other mutations might get attracted to their bodies."

He waved goodbye and jogged to catch up to Edward's group. 

Along the way, they were able to see the dead bodies still not looted by the military, laying sprawled on the ground. 

After advancing more to the front, they finally reached the commanding officer assigned of protecting the civilians. 

The commanding officer stared dumbfoundedly at Edward, and he could only do the same.

"Well, well, well. What a surprise, meeting each other like this? I mean, to be honest, we really never talked much, but for starters, I'm the new Commanding Officer in charge of keeping the civilians safe. Paolo Canlas at your service."

Edward was shocked but easily adjusted to the situation. It was normal for someone meritorious like Paolo Canlas to be offered a position in the government. It would be weird if he doesn't get rewarded after all his hard work.