A chaotic fight soon ensued as the stiched horrors that appeared out of nowhere roared like enraged beasts before charging towards the knights and clerics. Even though their frames were gigantic and their bodies were a tattered mess, their speed and strength were beyond belief. A fully armoured Royal Knight raised his shield to block the attack, only to be sent flying 10 m back. He went crashing deep into the mountainside as a result. Seeing this, Marshal Ophra dropped an order, “Don’t face it head-on! Anti-giant formation, now!”
Immediately after the order, the knights quickly switched their formation. The frontline changed into a three-man team as they tried to take down that abomination of stitched flesh. The clerics got to work too as they prepared their divine spells. No matter what kind of monsters they were, the divine spells would probably work against them.
Hao Ren swung his spear about as he charged towards the closest foe, and just as he closed the distance a nauseating stench assaulted him. It was the rotting smell of the decomposing corpses. He held his breath as he plunged his spear through the enemy before leaping sideways. “F*ck me! They are walking biological weapons!”
Lily had already cooked up a storm of fire and ice with her Frostfire Claws. As she dashed out from the cloud of steam, it was like a Chinese celestials descending from heavens. As the white fog dispersed, the white furred husky jumped as she grumbled. “Just my luck to have such a sensitive nose!”
Rollie was darting about the battlefield. There were plenty of foes abound but she did not dare engage them. The dumb cat finally decided enough was enough and clambered up a withered tree and stayed there. As she stayed perched on the tree, she still managed to warn the rest. “There’s more meownsters! From underground!”
“From underground?” Hao Ren was surprised. Y’zaks at the same time had just blasted one of the stitched horror down the cliff with a punch. It was a cakewalk for him against these monsters. As he had time, he hailed Hao Ren. “Go down to have a look. I can take this on solo.”
Hao Ren responded with a ‘Oh’ as he dashed towards the position where Rollie pointed. Lily too followed behind. “Wait up! I’ll protect you!”
She could not stand the stench anymore.
Hao Ren swiftly dispatched a few stitched horrors that was in the way with his spear before using his pistol to turn a few more approaching foes into crystal dust. He soon spotted the burrow where the monster came from and the scene shocked him and Lily. There was at least a dozen big holes in the ground and the holes were tunnels that had a metallic hue to it; and the exitway was a petal-like gate created out of onyx-coloured crystals. The stitched horrors had came through these tunnels to the surface. Lily looked at exitway that seemingly should only exists in a ultra-modern sci-fi setting. “This thing sure doesn’t fit Holetta’s architecture eh?”
As she spoke one of the metallic doors opened and a stitched horror that had electricity running across it leapt out of the exitway. It immediately noticed Hao Ren ad Lily and charged towards them after a bone-shattering roar. The electricity danced across the onyx crystal vest and made the monster looked like a charging thunderbolt. Lily saw the smelly excuse of a creature charging towards her and immediately picked up a rock weighing half a tonne without thinking before flinging it towards the monster. A thunderous crack later the monster was destroyed. Hao Ren took a peak and only saw a pool of blood…
“Calm down.” Hao Ren looked at the werehusky before charging towards the gateway. He noticed that the bottom part of the exit was a metal exit catapult that is borrowed deep into the earth. The all too familiar stench came from the tunnel, and it was apparent that the tunnel led deep underground.
“Stand back.” Hao Rem motioned for Lily to find cover before taking a shining tube from his Dimensional Pocket. He gave both ends of the tube a twist to unlock the safety and start the countdown before lobbing it into the tunnel. The tube was a kind of bomb, and the difference of it to a graviton bomb is that its explosion will not cause a spatial distortion, rather it will release a powerful electromagnetic pulse. Hao Ren noticed that the electrified vest on the monster had something to do with how they move, and figured that this was not your cookie cutter undead, but a half flesh half mechanical monster that acts based on electric transmission. A electromagnetic pulse would probably ruin their day.
A bright flash of light came from deep within the tunnel as the tube exploded. Hao Ren heard a few thuds following the blast. As the din faded smoke started coming out of the tunnel, and a few other tunnels nearby. It seems like the tunnels were interconnected underground.
After a moment Hao Ren realised that all machine activity had ceased and no monsters had appeared from the tunnel. It seems like the electromagnetic pulse had wrecked the tunnel’s function but how many of stitched horrors were taken out was still unknown to him.
The other stitched horrors that had popped up earlier were easily dispatched by Y’zaks and the rest. Lady Ophra led the party as they rushed to Hao Ren’s side. “You… have you taken them out?”
Vivian saw the corpses strewn around Hao Ren and the few smoking holes as she blinked. “I was just about to let you know that using high voltage electricity works well against them. They’re finished when their vest shortcircuits.”
Y’lisabet kicked on of the dead stitched horrors with her tiny leg. “See if your vest save you now huh?”
Nangong Wuyue too had appeared from whatever hole she managed to hide in. The siren was assured that the fighting was over before collecting whatever courage she had and come to Hao Ren’s side. The first thing that caugh her attention was the smoking tunnels. “What is that? Did the heretics made this?”
“Don’t think the heretics have such craftsmanship, and even if they had they would not have the technology. You see the connectiors and the lever of the gate? Those are some pretty advance hydraulics.” Hao Ren pointed towards a part of the metal gate. “This is probably by the brain monster… I have a bad feeling.”
The MDT floated forward to scan the area. It was only a PDA and with the Sacred Mountain being shrouded in a weird energy field, its radar could only tell that there was a big hole underneath and nothing else appeared on the scan.”
“Seems like the nest of the Cult of Origination is underneath.” Hao Ren looked at threst. “Lets look for any other entrances… If no, we’ll have to go through here”
Lily suddenly remembered the rancid smelling stitched horror had came out from the tunnel and her fur immediately stood up. “Are you sure it’s a good idea Mr Landlord?”
“Not a good one, but it’s at least one.” Hao Ren gave Lily a glance. “You can activate the lifehoop later no? Just treat it like it’s outerspace. Vivian, throw a bat in, scout the place out for some place for us to set foot.”
Lily mumbled as she followed. “I’m afraid that we’ll fall into a sea of corpse and blood. Don’t blame me if you puke out what you had for the reunion dinner.”
Hao Ren had not thought that far and he had the urge to puke when Lily mentioned it…
Vivian summoned a bat and threw it down the tunnel before quinting as she focused. A moment later she nodded at Hao Ren. “The bat got lost.”
“… Then why are you nodding?”
“Was trying to act all cool.” Vivian turned away, slightly embarassed. “Don’t blame me, it’s a maze down there and many of the pathways intersects, like an ant’s nest. And my bat did not carry the protective crystal. It got dizzy a few seconds in, and I was lucky I managed to dismiss it before it got mind controlled.”
“Alright, regardless if there’s anything down there or not, if it’s that well interconnected, we should have a look. What are you doing, Lily?”
Lily was scampering up a rock before laying on it as she sniffed the place out. “Looking for a normal entrance!”
Hao Ren had indeed asked the rest to look for other entrance and having said that, he knew that the brain monster would not let the entrance to its sanctum be found that easily. Thus he simply rolled his eyes at Lily. “So.. you found one?”
Lily stepped before the tunnel that still bore the stench, her expression dauntless. “Fame and glory is only gained through mortal perils, and you think mere stench would hold this werewolf back!?”
“Take that lifehoop off and repeat that again.” Vivian shot back with an incredulous look.
“…”