The men began preparing the blast site, repurposing the extra leather armor they had looted from the twelfth floor into a makeshift blast shelter to ensure their safety. They maintained a distance of about a hundred feet from the site, as it was rumored that the explosive had the power to breach a city wall despite its small size.
One group of four men carefully transported the corpses of the Huechromixix operatives, placing them strategically over the bomb as a form of sacrificial padding. In the meantime, another group of ten held up a knitted leather armor to act as a makeshift blanket, effectively mitigating the impact of the explosion by allowing the corpses to absorb the initial shock.
The team was focused on directing the blast toward a specific target, ensuring that the force was concentrated for maximum effect. To facilitate this, they prepared their weapon, the men adjusted their Winston weapons into sword mode, ready to strike the stone door with lethal precision. With the swords poised to hit the sturdy stone door, they aimed to deliver a sharp, directed force alongside the explosive, enhancing its destructive potential.
Men, inherently drawn to the spectacle of explosions, couldn't help marvel of how they come up with such an idea. Veterans from World War II, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Iraq War reminiscing about their past, recalling a time when they stood at odds with one another. Now, unified in purpose, they confront a new and grotesque foes, lizard-like creatures and revolting tentacled insects. This poignant shift from former animosities to a shared struggle against a common enemy underscores the complexity of human experience in the face of extraordinary challenges.
"Explosive device activated! Move out!" Axel shouted as he scratched at the bomb embedded in the wall. The massive bodies of the Huechromixix covered the first layer, followed by the makeshift tarpaulin crafted from leather, snugly fitted against the corpse. The explosion would propel the swords, piercing through the stone door.
As the men began to run, those soldiers who had momentarily lost focus suddenly snapped out of their daze, refocusing on the urgent need to take cover behind the wall of leather. The combat engineers and explosive experts, however, made it to the cover just in time, but only by a hair. After a tense five seconds, the bomb detonated with a deafening sound.
"KABOOM!!!"
Dust filled the air, carrying the pungent smell of freshly detonated explosives, reminiscent of gunpowder. As the men readied their weapons, their eyes fixed on the massive door that had withstood the blast. Measuring over ten meters in length and twenty meters in height, the door was an imposing sight. They had initially underestimated its thickness, believing it to be only two feet, but a closer inspection revealed a perfectly circular hole, half a meter in diameter. To their shock, the door was actually two meters thick.
Without wasting a moment, they moved through the hole, urgency pushing them forward. However, as they took stock of their surroundings, they noticed the hinges on the other side, which hung about five meters above the ground. The men exchanged horrified glances, grappling with the terrifying realization of what type of creature could possess the immense strength required to open such a colossal door.
The men who volunteered to use the Winstons picked up their weapons, and to their shock, the blades showed no signs of wear, there wasn't even a dent or chip as they pierced the two-meter-thick stone wall. The other operatives, curious about the impressive weaponry, huddled around to inspect the blades. To their surprise, the weapons still functioned as smoothly as before. They couldn't help but marvel at the ingenuity of mankind in creating such extraordinary tools.
Axel, equally astonished by the door's size and the robustness of the hinges designed to facilitate its opening, allowed the men a moment to lighten the mood. After a minute, he called to them.
"Form up, Stack Formation, let's not waste precious time anymore." As they pressed forward into the dimly lit corridor, the air thickened, and the cavernous space ahead expanded into an awe-inspiring sight. The ceiling, soaring three hundred meters above, shimmered with bioluminescent moss, casting an ethereal glow that flickered ominously in the depths. In the center of this vast subterranean chamber, nearly a kilometer across, in the middle stood a colossal fortress, its jagged silhouette cutting through the shimmer like a predator poised to strike. The men tightened their grips on their weapons, hearts pounding in rhythm with the echo of their footsteps, they sensed the gravity of their mission growing heavier. This was not merely an exploration, it was a descent into the unknown, where every moment could spark chaos. Tension crackled in the air, signaling that this was only the beginning of a fierce confrontation that awaited them in the belly of the earth.
"Use the leather armors as shields! We're doing a frontal assault. Our time is ticking!" With that command, they charged forward in a tight medieval phalanx formation. As they burst into the castle, the scene that greeted them was shocking. Huechromixix children scattered about, their large eyes wide with fear. Among them stood a female Huechromixix, reminiscent of a kind-hearted nun, her gaze initially filled with gentle care, but upon sight of the human operatives, that warmth twisted into sheer horror. Winter 01 swiftly subdued her for interrogation, placing a wooden stick in her mouth to prevent her from committing suicide. The chaos erupted as the commotion from the Huechromixix children grew louder, more and more of these small lizard-like beings emerging from the shadows. They glared with menacing eyes, hissing threateningly, their hostility palpable in the air.
With a fierce glare, Winter 01 pointed his sword at the small lizards, who were clearly feigning bravery.
"Where is this place? Where do you keep the human prisoners? Speak, or I'll start killing these little bastards!" He felt no remorse for them; he had witnessed the horrors these creatures inflicted upon humanity.
The white-scaled lizard with a hint of pink hesitantly pointed toward a hallway leading to a massive staircase descending underground. Axel signaled the scouts to investigate. They discovered that the stairs indeed descended to the fourteenth floor. What they found was an abandoned base repurposed to house the Huechromixix children. While the original purpose of the structure was unclear, it was unmistakably human architecture.
Before they entered the stairway, Winter 01 assigned his team to confine the lizardmen in one of the large rooms. The operatives selected a room with no exits except for the door and locked it shut. They also threatened the caretaker, warning her that if she acted rashly, they would bomb the place. She nodded hastily, like a frightened chicken pecking at rice.
They inspected the nun for any devices used for communication, but found nothing. As a result of their probing, she was left with some wounds. Though humiliated and disrespected, she remained silent, fully aware that these men were just soldiers following orders. She knew the horrors that their kind had committed, and could only resign herself to her fate. Some of the men with bloodshot eyes shot questioning glances at Axel, as if asking why they spared the lives of these 'filthy creatures.'
"Men, we are not here for bloodshed but for a rescue mission. Our time is tight, and we might fail humanity if we let this bit of anger cloud our judgment." He reprimanded coldly.
All the men present were sensible individuals capable of understanding their priorities. With that, they began their descent down the stairway to the fourteenth floor.
As they descended the stairs, they encountered a tangled mass of wires and hoses connected to a room. The men were filled with curiosity, but Axel sensed danger. His instincts kicked in, sending a shiver down his spine, a grim reminder that what lay ahead was extremely dangerous. Choosing caution, he decided not to enter the chamber immediately but instead used a stone to probe the situation. He tossed a stone inside, but nothing reacted.
He then signaled for his team to take a look, as they opened the door, to their shock, they discovered a huge red lizard inside a sealed glass vat filled with a clear liquid. Its scales were severely damaged, bearing the marks of bites and holes made by firearms. The creature was unconscious but upon sensing the presence of humans. It suddenly jolted awake and looked at them, it did so without any malice or hostility.
The men were not well-versed in politics, and aside from Axel, the leaders of each squad did not fully understand the nature of the creature before them. Axel quickly ordered the men to calm down, fully aware that this being could wipe them all out if it chose to, even in its extremely disheveled state. What kind of situation awaited them? Time is ticking slowly as the mission progressed.
[Mission Duration: 02:29:28 – Currently Ongoing]
[France Time – 22:00]