Chương 764: Chapter Forty-One - A Win, In Cat's Books

"Guys, I don't know what to do! My dad's gotten into writing fanfiction, but all he writes is harem shit where he's the main character and all of these women are fawning after him and he won't stop! He's 54 years old. Help! He keeps writing himself as a samurai who saves hot babes, and I think half of them are family members. He started posting it online and I think I might cringe to death!"

--KillerKringe Forums, 2023 The grenade that Myalis got for me dropped out of the bottom of the MEOW and bounced once off of the cracked asphalt before going off. A few long seconds, all it did was hiss and spit, spraying out a misty vapour that quickly formed a growing cloud around me. Hunker down. I didn't need to be told twice. I crouched with the mech, pulled in all of its guns and extra bits, then closed my eyes.

I realized a second later that I really didn't need to do that last part, even if the mech was covered in scrambling aliens attacking me like a starving man trying to rip open an oyster. The grenade ran out of gas, then fell down. A split second later, there was a spark. The world turned into fire. There was a whoosh, and the gas filling the air ignited.

It did something strange, though, because even as it burst, it sucked in the air around the area inwards to fuel itself, and rather than just explode and be done with it, the gas turned into a thin layer of burning liquid that coated everything in a ten metre radius with jolly green fire.

The aliens riding on my mech either got blown off in the conflagration (a word that I think Gomorrah had taught me) or they were still clinging on, but while on fire, which meant that they were a problem that was going to solve itself soon enough. I glanced at one of the readouts to one side. It was the mech's status, coming from small sensors built into each armour plate and into most of the mechanical parts. So far, it was all green, though I noticed some of that green had a faint, yellow-ish tint to it.

Staying In one spot meant that the rest of those holding on would soon be cooked off.

"Fuck, this is going to be such a pain in the ass to clean off later." Carbon-scored aliens left these nasty stains that took ages to wash off. Behind you. The warning was welcome. I had closed up some of the external sensors, to keep them from getting ripped out by the aliens or fried in the fire, so my view of the exterior was a little limited, but that didn't mean that I couldn't see behind me. One of the Model Sixteens was back.

How something so large had spun itself around, I wasn't sure, but it was coming in fast. One of them was dead. I'd poked enough holes into and through it, and blow up its insides real good. The second I'd shot up a lot, but it had just ran past me. At the moment, it was catching up to the strike group. So, that made the one charging me the freshest in the lot. I jumped to the side, spinning the MEOW around as quickly as I could, though it wasn't quite fast enough.

The Model Sixteen rammed me in the front, but rather than catch me on the flank or side, where I might have tumbled over, it caught me in the front shoulder. I was able to shift the MEOW's stance, go wide, deploy the mech's claws. Burning gravel flew out in a spray as I was dragged a half dozen metres back. The Model Sixteen opened up a mouth large enough to swallow a fridge and clamped down on me. I winced. A few of the readouts to the side went yellow-green again.

I deployed the two gimbal-mounted guns that had a decent line of sight on the big bastard, then opened up with both.

"Just, fucking die, already!" I shouted while hundreds of small rounds splattered into its side. Though a disturbing number of them plinked off of the thicker hide in some parts. The Model Sixteen made a deep, bellowing sound. Unusual. Most Antithesis weren't verbal. The wash of hot breath came with a redoubling of effort. It shifted its entire body, almost like it was trying to lift me off the ground. Oh shit. It did start to lift me off the ground. How strong was this thing?

I swivelled the 155m gun around, then fired. I didn't have a bead on the alien, but fuck it, a blast right next to its head and an explosion around its ass region was going to knock it around. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Oh, and it had one of the 75mm guns in its mouth. I switched the guns off from being twin-linked to single-fire, then pulled the trigger.

A single 75mm round rammed down the alien's throat and detonated somewhere in its chest. Just the burst of hot gases as the round exited the cannon was enough to force the Model Sixteen's mouth open. I grunted, and pulled the MEOW back. There were more smaller aliens jumping onto my top, but they were just catching fire. Though, that wouldn't last forever. More concerning was the ring of aliens coming around and standing a few metres back from the burning round. Like street rats crowding around a fight.

If they could emote, I was sure they'd be hooting and hollering and encouraging their bigger friend. I had to get out of here. I wasn't too worried. I could resist and endure a lot of shit. But if I did get bogged down, then things bigger and tougher than these Model Sixteens would be showing up, and that might actually be the end of me. I reared up and stomped down on the Model Sixteen, then turned on the MEOW's claws.

As the weight came down on it and the burning claws sliced through its flanks, I left four deep, sizzling furrows on the alien's side. The Model Sixteen spun itself around with surprising speed and rammed into my side, but it was too little, too late. I had it in the sights of multiple guns, and another few shots punched enough holes into it that the alien started to seize, then slumped. By then, the fires were dying down. The aliens were nipping at the edge of the zone.

"Okay, time to go," I said. The strike group, for all that they weren't that fast, were still making good time, and were nearing the river. I fired off a few shots, taking out the bigger nearby aliens before I rushed out of the area, trampling a few smaller models on the way. It wasn't long before I was caught up. The Model Sixteen that had blown past me was dead. It had almost reached the strike group, but they had peppered it full of enough holes that eventually it went down, and now it was just a large lump.

"Those are tough ones," I said. Their use is threefold. They are, as you said, tougher than most models within their range, which make them good linebreakers and 'tanks' of a sort. They force opponents to use disproportionate amounts of material to remove them. Secondly, they can serve as transportation for smaller models, bringing a cohort of aliens deeper into their opponent's territory.

"Yeah. And last?" They are nutrient-rich, and their innards are filled with the seeds for a new hive. Where they die, new hives are liable to spawn.

"Ah," I said.

"Myalis, load up my 155 gun with something good. Black hole shots, or... maybe just something that burns real hot. Whichever is cheaper. We'll make sure that we don't have mini-hives on our doorstep." A practical idea.

"I'm smart like that," I replied before turning on the group comms.

"Strike group. I'm back. Report?" It was the same sergeant that spoke up first, Hatner.

"Doing well so far, ma'am, I sent the Wolverines ahead to secure the edge of the river. They've made it safely and are sheltering under the wall for safety. We'll be there in... ETA three minutes."

"Good. Any issues?"

"We're low on ammunition, ma'am," Hatner said succinctly.

"We've just about spent everything we had."

"That's a problem I can solve once we're safer. Let's get to the wall first. Is there a way for us to get inside?"

"There's an ingress. It'll just barely fit."

"Barely fit is fine. I've been in tight spots before." I only barely refrained from giggling. I was professional.

"We'll see what Princess and Knight need our help for. While I'm chatting with them, can we reload and rearm?"

"Assuming our ammo truck arrives on time," Hatner said.

"If it doesn't, then I'll give you guys what you need. Ammo's cheap when we're collecting points this quickly." I think we'd done an alright job with the sortie. I wasn't sure if it helped the overall situation, but it was a lot of dead aliens and only some light losses on our side. So a win, at least in my books.