Chapter 975 975 Fighting Retreat
While they fought the light infantry in front of them, Max and Nico fired over their shoulders at the infantry coming down the tunnel the moment that they came into view.
They had the same durable shields leading the charge, so it was only slowing them down a little, but the impact of the Mass Driver rounds halted the advance even when it didn't pierce the shield's plating.
That bought them a precious few seconds to deal with the enemies that they were already engaged in, and just before the reinforcements reached the bottom of the ramp, Khan and her partner managed to knock their last remaining opponents back to the tunnel and fill it with Fusion Flames again.
The tunnel itself gave an ominous groan as the flames set off the explosives that the troops were carrying, and the resultant shockwave nearly knocked Max from his feet and threw his opponents to the ground, where they were easy targets for his claws.
"Shit, I don't think that the tunnel can take much more of that. Are we going to push up to the bunker, or should we back out and let them into the chamber?" Khan called urgently.
"Let's go up before that tunnel collapses entirely." Max decided, and the team began to move, preparing for a frontal assault to get out of the underground chambers.
"Grab some of the better-looking shields as well. If they stopped our rounds, they will stop the enemy rounds just as well, and we can treat them as disposable." Nico suggested, grabbing one for herself that had only taken a single shot before the carrier was killed.
Most of the others weren't in as good of condition, but Max managed to get himself a good one and took his spot at the front of the line with Nico.
They were both significantly shorter than the Hunters, so it was easier for the second rank to shoot over the top of them when they were wearing Mobile Suits. It increased their firepower and allowed a second rank of shields to guard the upper area behind their heads without blocking the view of the troops behind.
The tunnel was narrow, though, and they could barely stand shoulder to shoulder. It only widened near the mouth of the chamber and the bunker, where the enemy would be waiting for them.
Everyone knew the routine, though. Fire as fast as possible while charging into melee range with the enemy and clear the bunker as their next foothold before moving back out into the trenches and deciding what was next.
They could either fight their way to another bunker and clear another tunnel complex, or they could rest and recuperate for the night and do it tomorrow.
If they really were drawing in troops from another layer or using portals, it wouldn't matter which day they did the clearance, as the enemy could reinforce themselves just as well either way.
In Max's mind, that meant that fresh and rested was the way to go instead of a long and grinding fight. The biggest question was if the enemy would agree to let them leave.
The Warriors either hadn't realized that the Hunters were coming up, or they were determined not to let them reach the bunker because halfway up the ramp, they ran into another heavy weapons team using an upscaled version of the grenade launchers.
The booming of the heavy weapons rang out in the narrow tunnel, matched by the sharp crackling of multiple Mass Drivers, and the enemy was torn apart before being trampled underfoot.
Max didn't slow the charge at all, and Nico was using her gravity control device to glide over the bodies to reduce the chance of tripping.
"Heads down. One last push." Nico called out, then ducked her head behind the shield and slammed into the defenders at the top of the ramp.
She didn't hold onto the shield, only kept it pinned between their bodies for an instant while she tore the warrior apart with her claws and filled the room with explosions from the Mass Drivers.
The carnage caught the staging force off guard, and in an instant, it was only Humans and Hunters alive in the room.
More Warriors were coming in from the door, but before they could stage an effective defence, they were cut down by the Mass Drivers, and the Hunters raced for the door to fire their Fusion Flamers down the trenches.
The explosions of artillery were still audible up here as the Android force kept the majority of the enemy force pinned down, and the Flamers cleared the immediate vicinity in seconds, giving them time to breathe.
"Let's get out of here. I've got a bad feeling about those sigils in the portal room, and I want to do some studying on them." Khan decided.
[You heard the nice lady. Let's get out of here. Androids, we will need extra suppressive fire to keep our path clear. We will proceed through the trenches to the closest point before moving above ground level.] Nico instructed their support troops.
[Understood, Commander.]
Nico led the way out of the door with her claws out and immediately leapt onto the face of a warrior who had come around the corner to attempt to charge the tunnel.
The move shocked him so much that he forgot to drop his weapon, giving Nico a convenient place to sit as she drove her claws through his helmet and rode the corpse to the ground.
Max was slightly more pragmatic and started with the Mass Drivers to deal with the unit that was behind the ill-fated leader.
Behind them came the majority of the Hunters, with Khan running backward at the rear of the ranks to deal with whatever was chasing them.
The Androids had cleared the way quite efficiently, though. Other than a few stragglers who were hidden in small cutouts in the walls and a few occupied bunkers, they didn't hit much resistance.
"It's a good thing you can run backward." Max laughed as Khan reached the final bend in the trenches, and the team prepared to exit back onto the open fields.
"Hunters prepare for everything. Even if it seems inconvenient." She recited while the other Hunters laughed.
Most of them couldn't do it. Khan was from one of the few Hunter groups who still practiced for every single scenario instead of devising their own sect's combat style.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)ebnov(𝒆)l