"Look out below! No wait… Don't look out, let clobber you!"
I just shook my head as Bob launched himself off the small ledge overlooking the tunnel entrance and plumted directly into the unending tide of Antithesis pouring from within. I have no clue how he could surprise the creatures when he was hollering like that, but he apparently did.
By the ti I managed to half-run, half-slide down the hillside, coated in the slimy, decayed remains of the fungus, the tunnel had already been clogged by mountains of dead Antithesis.
"Why didn't you just jump down like Nora and Bob, or take one of the Kodiaks down?" Deadbeat asked when I arrived.
"I didn't jump because even though I have superhuman strength and agility, I don't exactly have the skills or equipnt required to make use of them in close combat," I explained. "As for why I didn't take a Kodiak, I didn't think of it, okay? I was too busy trying to keep an eye on Bob."
"That's a full-ti job," she muttered.
The tunnel entrance was massive, wide enough to run a four-lane highway down. However, Nora and Bob were so quick and efficient that no more than a handful of Antithesis managed to get past them. Nora's kicks were sending any Antithesis she hit spiraling through the horde, knocking down dozens of other models, where they'd be trampled by the rest of the mob.
Bob was just being Bob, swinging wildly and hitting things so hard they exploded from the impact. The surrounding Antithesis may not have felt fear from watching their brethren die, but that didn't an they could ignore the chunks of flesh that struck them at supersonic speeds or the shockwaves that Bob created when he made contact with sothing.
"Well, we've managed to secure the tunnel entrance, but now what?" Deadbeat asked. "If the Antithesis keep attacking and dying at this rate, they're going to choke off the tunnel with their dead bodies."
As Heavy waddled past, rushing from one of the Kodiaks to the front line, he paused for just a mont. "If our biggest problem is that the Antithesis are dying too fast, I'd say we're in a pretty good position," he exclaid, shooting a wide, wicked grin, before continuing forward.
"He's got a point," I said.
"A good defensive position," Deadbeat hissed, "Is different from a good offensive position. We can't push forward if the tunnel's blocked."
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "Don't worry, I've got it. Nyx!"
"Yes, Evelyn?" one of the nearby bears asked in Nyx's voice.
"We need sothing to keep the tunnels clear. I don't think it needs to be anything fancy; flesh lter grenades should work," I said, gesturing to the mounds of dead.
Nyx's avatar raised its eyebrow. "You do realize that your bears DO have access to flesh lter grenades, right? It's part of the supply corps' standard loadout," they said.
"Yeah, well, the supply corps is a little busy just trying to keep the front line fighting," I replied. "When I have my entire army, the bears can rotate off the frontline to get resupplied, swapping with a bear on standby. They don't have that luxury with this smaller battleforce."
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I turned and watched several of the supply bears scurrying back and forth, stopping just long enough to collect the spent magazines from their combat brethren, exchanging them for fresh ones.
"You know, considering how fast the bears go through ammunition, I should probably invest in so sort of tech that allows them to fire more rounds before having to reload. That would make things easier for the supply team," I said.
"Oh, like so spatial compression tech? Allowing you to fit several tis as much ammo into the sa space?" Nyx asked, a twinkle in their eye.
"I was thinking drum magazines," I replied. "Or ammo belts, but spatial compression would probably work too."
Nyx shook their head. "You know, even after all our ti together, I'm still surprised by your lack of imagination when it cos to equipping your forces with new weapons and equipnt."
"Hey! My forces might not be fancy, but you know what they are? Reliable. You know why I've never invested in Spatial compression, or teleportation, or so sort of auto-aiming super ammunition? Because I haven't needed them. I could have invested in so crazy tech, but I prefer to invest in reliable tech, the blueprints required to reproduce it, and the devices needed to do so. It hasn't led wrong so far," I exclaid.
"Well, that's not entirely true," Nyx replied. "Your combat style may be effective, but it's also highly reactive. Both your ground forces and Bear Force One have taken unnecessary damage over the last few days because you refuse to plan. You could have mitigated a lot of that damage if you'd just invested in weapons as soon as the points were available."
"And what if I'd invested in the wrong tech?" I asked. "I wouldn't have had enough points available to deal with the threats when they arose." I shook my head. "I don't mind investigating and investing in new tech when we're not in combat, but in a large-scale battle, I prefer the more cautious approach."
"I hate to break up this riveting discussion," Deadhead said, stepping between Nyx and , "but we're still in the middle of combat. Can't you have this discussion later?"
I quickly looked back down the tunnel to see how the battle was going. There were huge mounds of Antithesis bodies building up, and although they weren't blocking the tunnel yet, it wouldn't be long before they did.
"Right… we need to keep moving," I muttered. "Nyx, since the supply corp is occupied, could we put so sort of automated grenade launchers on the Kodiaks to keep the tunnel clear? Or better yet, the Mauler, since it's going to be leading the charge?"
"Easily, it won't even cost that many points," Nyx replied. "Are you sure that's all you want?"
I considered for a mont, then shook my head. "I'll consider being more proactive in my purchases in the future. However, since we have no idea what sort of monsters might be running around down here, protecting the heart of the hive, I want to hold onto as many points as I can in case of ergencies. Besides, I haven't been completely reactive in my purchases, as you know," I said, turning back towards Nyx. Their avatar nodded slightly. "Just the grenade launchers for now, thanks."
Nyx nodded again and waved a fuzzy hand towards the armoured vehicle, causing a stubby cylindrical object to materialise on each of them. A sizzling noise filled the area, and smoke arose from beneath the launchers as they welded themselves in place. A second later, a little hatch slid open on each of them, and they simultaneously unleashed a barrage of grenades into the dead bodies choking the tunnel.
If there had only been one or two grenades at a ti, the putrefaction process would have been slow and gradual, but with over two dozen of the nanite-charged explosives, the blockage started to liquefy almost instantly.
A deluge of liquified Antithesis flesh started pouring down the tunnel. There was so much that so of it ran towards my forces, bathing both Nora and Bob up to their waists in the pulpy filth, but far more surged down the slope, further into the hive.
While the Antithesis could easily deal with most invaders, they were highly unprepared for a sudden flash flood. The relentless wave swept away the Model Threes, Fours, and Fives down on the ground, and even the larger Models, like the Sixes and Eights, struggled to hold their ground against the tide.
Once the putrid flood receded, the forces opposing us had been significantly depleted.
"You could have warned that you were going to do that," Nora yelled.
"I didn't know that was going to happen!" I yelled back. "It was an entirely unexpected, but not unwelco, side effect of clearing the dead!"
I jumped up onto the nearest Kodiak and looked down the tunnel. Although many of the smaller models had been swept away, the larger models were already back on their feet and advancing once again. "The horde is already recovering. We should probably take advantage of the situation while we can, and push in further, don't you think?" I asked.
Although Nora's back was to , I could hear a hint of satisfaction in her voice. "Absolutely."
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