Bab 26: Unexpected Reunion
A mutant creep scampers around the remains of Merlot's Lab. It searched its surroundings for a predator that had been hunting its brothers. For the past hour, it had heard and escaped the prowling beast that massacred its fellow grimm.
When it saw their heads busted open by treads and loud bangs that sent grimm to the ground, it knew it was outmatched. They were once feared when the city fell but now it was itself being the coward that ran.
It hears it, the rhythmic metallic action of the fear-inducing metal construct that exterminated everything on site. The mutant creep runs, it would avenge its comrades one day.
All was lost however as an engine roared and out came the beast that hunted it. The Tiger H1. What the mutant creep last saw was the barrel turning white for a brief second before fading into nothingness.
SL = 1,162,865 → 1,302,287 SL
VEHICLE RP = 212,328 → 349,832 RP
CONVERTIBLE RP = 298,153 → 472, 839 RP
Hanns had been occupied at clearing every single mutant creep it had come into contact with. The green glowing creeps were not to be underestimated, it could certainly damage Hanns when it detonated at full charge underneath or above the Tiger H1.
'Looks like I'm done here.' He admired his handiwork.
A speck of black dust whisked away as the mutant creep finally dissolved into the air leaving nothing remaining to denote its once live form.
Hanns was finished, finally. Hanns wasn't sure how long it took but he was confident he killed an entire species of grimm for their RP and his safety. He could now begin to go back up to the surface and finish farming for the aviation tree.
Sadly, there weren't any more events while he was underground, the moderator has been silent a lot lately which surprised him since an Event took place. Presumably, under the watch of the moderator, he thought.
He took note of the way back towards the collapsed train terminal that he entered the underground layer with. The paths were collapsing but since he'd checked for stability the first time, he wasn't worried it would give out with the weight of his other tank. Better than being 54 tons at least.
Hanns trudged onwards towards the last path he took, using the slight indents present and the reappearing signs of wear and tear done by the treads of his heavy tank. He passed by old buildings, the ones he used to stay for the night, and eventually reached the remains of a train terminal.
It was dead in the night, it was anticipated by Hanns. The lack of light anywhere made it harder to navigate but Hanns was getting used to the layout of the underground city. He needs to rectify the light problem, though warthunder never made use of headlights. He could slap on some lights by asking Blake but it'd be a week or more until he could return to Vale with an airplane.
Any kind would do at the moment, bi-planes might be the worst but any plane is better than no plane. He would need to also grind out air which made him feel a bit thrilled since he wouldn't be stuck on the ground if he did get access to air.
Hanns stopped his inside conversation to examine the hole where he had entered. Switching vehicles he cautiously made his way up towards the surface, the rocks still chipping away at the slight weight increasing and falling to the bottom. He reached the top and breathed a sigh of relief.
'Darn, how long was I in there for?'
He took a look at his compass on top of his hud and looked towards the direction of where he had first cleared a small section of the city. He drove forwards with his Tiger H1, its loud engine filling up the night's once quiet environment.
He drew closer and closer to his destination before noticing a distinct sound far from the distance. It came from the entrance of the city, where he had first killed those goliaths and where he cleared out all of the grimm in there.
'Is that a bullhead I hear?'
It was way too early for first-year students at Beacon to be participating in missions. The canon hasn't even reached this point yet. He was a bit suspicious as to why a bullhead was landing here of all places.
Trying to sneak around in a tank is never a good idea but Hanns was stuck being one so he might as well try to minimize the blaring noise of an engine. He switched back to his Sd.Kfz.234/2, the lighter weight would make it easier to maneuver and a bit quieter.
He heard the bullhead stopping right at the outskirts of the walls. It's various moving parts activating to park somewhere in the forest that he had to go through while trying to reach Mountain Glenn proper. He transformed back into his Tiger H1 and waited. Camping a spot and stopped his engines to hear better and see into the area.
A few good minutes pass before a slight light coming from a candle or something similar showed itself in a surviving building close by.
'Are these people really staying here of all places?'
It was a dangerous part of Vale, thousands if not hundreds of thousands of grimm roamed these parts due to the lingering negativity from years past. Hanns was disturbed by who would be willingly staying here for more than a day before forgetting that he is exactly one of those people
'Who would be crazy enough to be anywhere near this place?'
A familiar shade of pink and brown hair suddenly opened the door leading into the building while another face Hanns knew all too well was also a little visible from the door.
'Ok, that would make sense. Of course, it'd be the ice cream psychopath.'
A thought had entered Hanns.
'If they are both here then wouldn't that mean they are on the run?'
Hanns knows that there is no way he would miss the White Fang entering the underground rail network. He had been roaming in the city the entire time.
'Heh, looks like Torchwick has something more to fear than Cinder.'
A sudden movement caught his eye.
'Hmm?'
Hanns heard a multitude of concrete and asphalt rubbing on something organic. The constant and similar sounding repeated noises made Hanns panic.
'Shit, there's probably a King Taijitu around here.'
He quickly turned on his engines and sped out of his camping place, he drove to the next street only to see four larger than normal King Taijitu randomly being present in the empty streets.
'I can't fight them here lest I attract the unwanted attention of her.'
Unbeknownst to Hanns that same girl who Hanns didn't want to attract her attention was twirling her umbrella at the sight of Hanns facing down the four huge snake-like grimm.
Hanns sped out of there, the king taijitus pursuing the fleeing Hanns down further the city. He wasn't going to be able to prevent anyone from hearing his shots. He's a tank after all, but still, he could at least try.
He turned fast to aim his barrel towards the group of taijitus before seeing something completely unexpected.
[Event Active!]
[Giant Slayer: Defeat Merged Taijitus 0/1]
'Huh?'
A small tentacle-like a grimm showed itself on the back of the king taijitu. Hanns wasn't going to stand still and just watch so he immediately fired an APCBC tank shell towards the group before it was dodged by the taijitu who had the tentacle grimm on its body.
'I have a bad feeling about this.'
A bad feeling it warranted because the tentacle grimm shot out its appendages to the other king taijitus. After it implanted itself towards the other taijitus it started to seep out black goo creating a swirling vortex. The same liquid is present on grimm when they bleed out or die.
A rumbling was heard all around the city as the king taijitus flailed and spazzed out of control before they started growing longer and larger, its scales becoming harsher with its edges. The king taijitus were forcibly stitched together in a repulsive abomination as they now form a hydra-like entity that towered over the buildings.
'Welp, I guess the moderator doesn't want me to stay quiet when Torchwick and Neo are around.'
The merged taijitu starts uprooting the entire street as it starts slithering towards Hanns.
Hanns sped away back to where he came from, he hoped he would be able to put enough distance between them for him to stabilize and shoot a DI-APCBC tank round right into the head.
He reached the street where he saw Roman, who heard the ruckus of a big ass multi-headed snake heading towards their general direction. He went out the door clearly annoyed at the noise being created.
"Neo! What in Remnant was th–" A blur of steel and smoke sped across Torchwick as he suddenly dreads the last thing he expected to meet in this forsaken place. Torchwick remembers that engine sound.
'Oh no, no, no, no. I did NOT come here just to see the thing I'm trying to avoid being right in the same place!'
Hanns drove past the surprised Torchwick before stopping and firing a round directly towards one of the heads of the merged taijitu. The shell connects directly with one of the heads, its skin curling outwards as its completely vaporized head flared the remnants of its head outwards like petals on a flower. The blasts burn and injure the two heads adjacent to it as it loudly hisses at the pain.
'Direct hit, nice.'
The two injured heads of merged taijitu suddenly slithered, its black and white-headed sides hugging the scales of its old head. It slithered towards the fallen body of one of its heads before shoving in the remnants of its old head down its own throat, swallowing loudly for the group to hear.
'...'
'Did that snake just eat one of its own heads?!' Hanns internally screamed.
Black goo suddenly concentrated at the base of the merged taijitu, before reaching to the sky and forming a new completely undamaged head.
'It can regenerate?!'
"Hey Lunchbox! Can someone inside inform me of why and how an oversized snake is trying to bulldoze what's left of this place?" Torchwick had been retreating all this time when Hanns showed up in a blur before obliterating one of the merged taijitu's heads. Then promptly a look of horror came when it just regenerated when it ate its old body part.
"I'm not being controlled by anyone, genius, completely alive." He showed his point by wiggling the gun around.
"I've seen many crazy things, you know, aside from the calamity-causing grimm that just popped up from nowhere! Where the hell are you Neo?!"
The breaking of glass was heard, as the figure of Neo showed herself sitting on Hanns' turret the whole time. Nodding at the mention of her name, ignoring the massive grimm that was starting to curl itself around a building.
"We're getting the heck outta dodge!" Torchwick shouted.
Just as Torchwick had said that the merged taijitu ripped out an entire building by curling its body to grab a hold of it before using its entire body to launch it towards the group. The merged taijitu thankfully overshot but still hit the bullhead parked in the forest somewhere. A loud boom signaled to the group that there was, in fact, no way they're getting out of here.
"Well, there goes that idea, Torchwick. Anyways now if you don't mind can we just leave everything in the past for a while before the oversized grimm crushes us all in a single swipe?"
Torchwick had a look on his face that emanated both an annoyed and accepting look. He tapped his cane on the ground before facing the oversize grimm. Neo meanwhile happily jumped off Hanns' turret and landed with a flourish before aiming her weapon, Hush, at the grimm.
"Truce?" Hanns offered in his crisp radio sounding voice.
Another building was suddenly thrown at the hideout that was being occupied by Torchwick and Neo. Torchwick flinching at his temporary hideout being completely destroyed.
"Let's call it a truce then." Hanns quickly confirmed their reluctant alliance.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone