Bab 590: Egging them on...
After many hours of underground exploration, the group finally seems to make progress... The numbers of Tunnelers they encounter had started to increase, as well as the variety of them. They'd already encountered the scout and warrior types, but they'd also fought against other, more specialised mutations.
The first one had been a smaller, more agile and sneakier variant, which had a limited ability to camouflage itself in a similar manner to a chameleon. Its scales were able to change colour at a slow rate to match the environment around it, allowing it to ambush from any longer it wished... At least, that's what would have happened had Bulwark's advanced targeting software not easily spotted them.
Despite their stealth capabilities, the Chameleon variants were far more fragile than even the scouts, which made them easy picking for the Ultimo-Bot's flame throwers.
The next variant was one of the more dangerous ones... It had the ability to emit a poisonous gas from its skin. This wouldn't be too difficult to deal with outside, but in the underground tunnels, it was far more dangerous.
One wasn't a problem to deal with as the gas it produced wasn't enough to threaten anything, but a group of them? If not dealt with swiftly, they could make an entire tunnel uninhabitable... Fortunately or not, the only ones who were at risk of this were the Cyberdogs, as Afton, his companions, and the Ultimo-Bots were almost completely immune to it. Afton was resistant to all poisons even without his air filtration systems, and his companions had a big enough air supply to last for a day or so... Not to mention the Ultimo-Bots status as robots.
These creatures had toxic-green scales and looked moist to most eyes. Their mouths dripped with venom, and their claws looked more like needles than anything you'd see on a predator.
Last but not least of the mutations they encountered, were the 'Gargoyles' as Afton had not so warmly named them. They were slightly bigger than the warrior variant Tunnelers, but had much, much tougher scales that almost resembled rock in their appearance... Grainy and grey, Afton thought they wouldn't be out of place in a Dracula movie.
They had vestigial-looking wings on their back, as if they hadn't had enough time to make them functional, larger than average hands with matching claws, and a neck that matched the width of their heads.
They also seemed far stronger than the other variants, judging by their ability to easily tear apart any Ultimo-Bots they managed to reach. The only positive was their lack of numbers, maybe having only one for every hundred warrior variant, which, considering that Scouts outnumbered Warriors by the thousands, was very lucky.
By the time Afton's group reached a large cavern the seems to be some sort of nesting ground, they'd lost 20% of the Ultimo-Bots, and 35% of the Cyberdogs. None of his companions had been injured yet, but their armour had been nicked, scratched, and scorched slightly due to some unfortunate friendly fire caused by an Ultimo-Bot malfunctioning as it was torn apart.
Still, they had a large arsenal of missiles that could be used, and Afton wasn't above tearing the robots flame thrower fuel tanks off to use as improvised explosives... If used in such a manner, they'd be akin to napalm bombs, coating the surroundings in sticky flaming liquid.
The fight just to get into the cavern was hard enough, with around two thousand scouts attempting to block their passage. After that was thousands of workers who seemed to be part of their last-ditch attempt to halt them.
The reason for this was clear was Afton got a good look at the place... Large mounds of egg sacks were stuck everywhere. From the floor, to the walls, to the ceiling. Some looked to be fresh, not being bigger than an average person's head, but others looked almost ready to hatch at the size of an exercise ball.
At the far end of the cavern, he could already see the gathering Tunnelers attempting to try one last stand, presumably to protect their queen. There were no scouts or workers left, only warriors and gargoyles... That, and a couple hulking Tunnelers thrice the size of even the gargoyle varients.
They were half the height of an adult Deathcalw when on all fours, had incredibly tough-looking scales and seemed ready to tear them apart...
"Well, this is it... Fire your missiles!" Afton shouts, gesturing at the group of tunnelers.
The Ultimo-Bots do as they're told, streaming forwards and firing their weapons once in position. Smoke immediately fills up the cavern as the missiles fill the air, the cavern shaking once they impact the group.
*BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!*
After a couple seconds of firing, they stop, waiting for any indication that their enemy had survived... Afton feared that sustained missile fire may bring down the cavern on their heads, which, while it would kill the Tunnelers, would also spell their doom.
"Flamethrowers, fire!" he shouts, wanting to see if fire would reveal anything...
Long jets of fire are released down the cavern, and judging by the screeching that occurs immediately afterwards, the Tunnelers weren't all dead. He activates his Infrared vision to see if he could see anything... He'd always thought that Tunnelers would be cold-blooded due to their reptilian appearance, but through their exploration, he'd found that the species could be both!
Some Tunnelers were cold-blooded, and others were warm-blooded... He had no idea how this was possible, but regardless, he'd try use it to his advantage... Unfortunately, he seemed to have underestimated their intelligence.
Above the entrance of the cavern that they'd entered from, Tunnelers were starting energy from the stone... With the smoke obscuring almost everything, this caught the Cyberdogs by surprise as they were suddenly assaulted.
"Guys, assist the Cyberdogs with the backline, I'll keep the side of things stable." Afton commands, having his companions go deal with the enemies emerging behind them.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
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Bab 591: Clean up
Tamia, Veronica, Christine, and Juan all quickly move to reinforce the backlines just as the Ultimo-Bots are charged by another group of Tunnelers.
A good portion of them are incinerated when they dive into the flames, but the heavier variants manage to break through, jumping onto of a couple robots and beginning to tear them apart.
*Suuchi!*
Afton's Ultra Chainsword bisects a Gargoyle as it tries to slam its claws down onto a downed Ultimo-Bot. He then dodges claws from two other Tunnelers while literally disarming them in the process.
He's forced to duck under a destroyed Ultimo-Bot that'd been thrown by a Gargoyle, but retaliates by thrusting his plant arm towards it and extending his limb like a spear, it turns as hard as steel as it punches through the creature's chest.
This doesn't instantly kill the creature though, so Afton had roots spring out of the spear and into the Gargoyles wound, infesting its body and tearing its organs apart. Once it was dead, he lifts his arm up and throws the beast at one of the charging brute Tunnelers headed right for him.
"Fuck!" he exclaims as it tears its allies corpse apart and continues running though, bringing down a heavy hand towards him. He twists away and easily avoids it, but the stone beneath cracks from the sheer impact.
*SHHOOoo!*
*ROOooaaarr!*
A couple of Ultimo-Bots that weren't locked in battle turn their flame throwers towards the brute, peppering it with bullets while the flame throwers went to work... Unfortunately, the Tunneler Brute's scales were simply too thick to harm this way.
It turns its attention towards the robots, thus giving Afton an easy path to its back... He leaps towards it, his Ultra Chainsword swimming through the air as it carves into its back, cutting upwards until it passes through the brutes neck and skull.
*GUHK!?*
The creature gives a confused grunt as its brain is pierced, its body quickly slumping to the floor, dead. Afton turns his attention to the other Brute currently decimating his Ultimo-Bots and scowls, he shoots a root to the roof and uses it to swing across the cavern, allowing him to drop towards the brute.
*SLASH!*
*Thud!*
Its head falls to the floor not long after, the creature not having noticed Afton's presence before it was too late. With the threat of the brutes finished, he takes a moment to survey the battlefield, silently nodding at how dominant his troops were compared to the frankly desperate-looking Tunnelers.
The Cyberdogs were keeping their distance and firing Sonic Barks to deal with Tunnelers with too much armour, and his companions were dealing with the more resilient variants on the backline. The frontline was basically almost won, as without the brutes to cause tramble the Ultimo-Bots the other Tunnelers stood no chance.
He turns his focus towards the end of the cavern as the smoke begins clearing up, quickly spotting a strange-looking Tunneler that was drastically different from the rest... It was as big as the Gargoyles but clambered around as if drunk, its abdomen was disproportionately bigger than the rest of its body, and its scales were very colourful...
It gives a weak screech as Afton starts running towards it, it tries to escape by burrowing into the stone below, but he just plunges his Plant Arm into the ground, spreading roots that quickly catch his prey.
He pulls it out of the ground kicking and screaming, retraining it as he takes a better look... "Hm. So you're the queen then? You don't look all that royal." he smugly remarks as the creature continues to try and escape capture.
"Whatever." mutters noncommittally before locking all of its limbs in place with a harness made from his arm, afterwards snapping off the connection so it stays in place. He'd bring this creature back to Borous to see what he could make of it... Perhaps the queen held secrets to how they could easily deal with these things. At least, that's what he hoped.
The battle continues for a couple more minutes, the Cyberdogs, Ultimo-Bots, and his Companions exterminating any remaining Tunnelers. After they're all eliminated, he takes samples from each Variant, as well as the egg-sacks stuck around the room before ordering the robots to incinerate the rest.
Once the room is completely cleansed, Afton leads everyone out of the cavern and back up towards the railway. Once they got back up to the surface, they spotted the Deathclaws they'd left behind surrounded by Tunneler corpses...
"Huh... Seems like they're still coming from somewhere... Or maybe these were just out hunting?" Afton questions.
Veronica shrugs, "Who knows... Let's just get back and wash this stuff off, we can always come back later."
*Screeech!*
The group turn around and send dull looks at the still restricted and squirming Tunneler queen. Afton just gestures at his companions, "You guys are free to do what you want, I need to get that thing back to Borous, organise more raids, and collect the destroyed robots and Cyberdogs that're still down there."
"You sure? There isn't something we can do to help?" Juan asks, looking tired despite his sudden eagerness to help out.
Afton shakes his head, "Nah, I got this. Go take a shower, have a drink, you know, the good shit." he states while looking down at the Ultimo-Bots that were still climbing out of the hole.
"Don't mind if I do." Veronica announces as she marches towards the exit while pulling Christine along.
Juan still looks a bit unsure but follows them anyway, the only person left was actually Tamia who was looking past Afton towards the direction directly opposite where Big Mt was.
Afton notices this a minute later and crooks a brow at her, "Something wrong?"
Her body jolts slightly as she hears him, having apparently been deep in thought, "What? Ah, no..." she shakes her head, "I was just thinking, well, not thinking perse... Remembering maybe?" she shakes her head again, "Something about this all feels familiar for some reason. The Tunnelers, cave crawling, even what Christine said about that irradiated military base..."
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
Niggross
Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Michael Jarrett
Nazlican Erdem
Tarlock
Justin David
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