LYNXIAN STEALTH ROVER -4,000 HP! LYNXIAN STEALTH ROVER IS DEFEATED! +2500 XP! I strode past the burning wreck of another Hierarchy vehicle, reloading my MDR. Pemberley’s makeshift rocketeer battalions had been reinforced by more troops, this time with tanks and APCs to boot, as we marched down the Molesey Park road leading upto the third Carnotaur. The physical manifestation of my enhanced strength and vitality had been … unnerving, at first, but I couldn’t fault the gains. At Dexterity 30, I felt a great deal lighter on my feet. 25 Strength made it a lot easier for me to swing a hammer - and I’d finally been able to pick up the newest weapon in my arsenal, the Nanothorn Kukri. At Level 20, my HP regen had increased by another fifty per cent, so I now recovered 0.81 HP per second. Which meant I could recover from near death to perfect health in five-and-a-half minutes. And another ability had revealed itself around Level 18. COMMS LIST SPOKEN TO SOMEONE VIA MINDSPEECH BEFORE? CONTACT THEM AGAIN! COST VARIES DEPENDING ON DISTANCE FROM TARGET. CURRENT CONTACTS: SARVENIMAZARUS OF THE GUTHNAR (1200 CP) AISINDRAHAS OF THE GUTHNAR (1200 CP) A potentially powerful ability, if I could get enough CP to use it. “The Carnotaur’s parked along the Island Barn Reservoir,” Pemberley told me. “It seems to be a bit less… aggressive, than the others.” “How?” “Well, it’s gone swimming in the reservoir instead of trying to rampage across the sidewalks. Seems injured, too.” “That doesn’t make it any less dangerous.” “Correct. Which is why we’re going to hit it with close air support.” “No. I don’t want it to panic and run.” “Then what?” “The Carnotaur’s hiding from the tanks. That’s why it’s in the reservoir.” “Are you sure?” “The tanks did most of the killing at Crane Park, the Carnotaurs tend to go for them first, and Ehu-tu-Vettorak was very clear about the no tanks, no artillery rule.” “So … the Carnotaurs are concerned about artillery fire.” “They used jamming fields to disrupt our command and control and smoke bombs to break up line-of-sight. They generally attack at night. And without Harden and shields, the tank shells can actually hurt them.” “... Harden?” “The Lesser Carnotaurs have an ability that allows them to temporarily harden their skin, cutting the damage done by weapons by 75%. Greater Carnotaurs have it on permanently; the Lesser can only use it for five-second bursts, and they have to wait another forty-five seconds before using it again.” “That explains a lot about Carnotaur tactics. They charge in, tear tanks apart, and then take cover behind a building… to recharge, I’m guessing. But why would this one be in the water?” “To avoid being in line-of-sight with the tanks.” “We can drop artillery shells in the reservoir.” “Once you start doing that, it’ll run south. What’s south of the reservoir?” Pemberley paled. “The Cranmere primary school.” “You know the area?” “My son studied there for a bit… There’s a shelter near there, near the junction of Douglas Road. At least five thousand people.” “So we need to surround the reservoir with tanks, hem it in, and then we go in.” “You want to repeat your airdrop attack?” I shook my head. “That needs the target to stand still for a few seconds. Greater Carnotaurs do that when they’re healing; the Lesser don’t have the ability.” “What’s your suggestion, then?” “The Carnotaur’s hiding in the water, right?” “Sure.” “Surround it, then launch depth charges.” An evil grin crossed Pemberley’s face. “The Navy will love that. Give me five minutes to make it happen.” --------------------------------------------------------------- Ten minutes later, the first depth charge exploded in the water of the reservoir. Depth charges, by their nature, are intended to generate shockwaves. The water conveys the force of the explosion perfectly, smashing into the hulls of submersible targets and - if close enough - cracking them. The effect on the Carnotaur was predictable. The corvette HMS Gazelle was firing the charges into the reservoir, from a safe position on the river Thames. The blasts moved upwards, south to north, heading inexorably towards the Carnotaur. Which swam for the east bank, avoiding the concentrations of tanks on the west, north and south. Just as planned. When the Carnotaur burst out of the water, I got my first good look at it. LESSER CARNOTAUR LEVEL 40 HP: 836,790 / 1,000,000 SHIELD: 727,262 / 1,000,000 CONDITION: CRIPPLED ARM: LEFT CLAW SWIPE DISABLED CONDITION: MAJOR BURNS: SPEED REDUCED 50% Somewhere in the firestorm that had hit Bushy Park, its shields had been eroded badly. Its arm hung limp from the side. This Carnotaur wasn’t looking for a fight, it was looking for an escape. The Ember river runs along the reservoir, and there was exactly one bridge near there capable of handling a thirty-ton weight and leading away from the majority of the tanks. Naturally, the Carnotaur raced towards it. In doing so, it reached the treeline… Where we triggered out trap. A wall of fire erupted amidst the trees, blocking off the Carnotaur’s access. The beast paused for a second, shying back at the flames. A second that was enough for our concealed infantrymen to open fire. Rockets raced towards the Carnotaur, fired by soldiers hidden in the treeline. 5X ROCKET HITS! LESSER CARNOTAUR -500,000 SHIELDS! Having nearly fifty soldiers rocket-launcers hidden amidst burning trees was normally exceptionally dangerous. Fires had a mind of their own - even the most controlled flame could slip the leash. Unless that leash was held by Agni. As rockets exploded around it, the Carnotaur backpedalled, heading for the safety of the reservoir. From my position, I Powerjumped. The Greyhound Armor broke the surface of the Ember river and soared into the sky, covering the fifty-metre distance in less than a second. When hiding in the water, two can play the game. I slammed into the ground and fired. LESSER CARNOTAUR -5,000 SHIELDS! Another round from the MDR, and another. LESSER CARNOTAUR -3,000 SHIELDS! LESSER CARNOTAUR -3,000 SHIELDS! The Carnotaur stumbled backwards. Another rocket smashed into its shield. LESSER CARNOTAUR -100,000 SHIELDS! : The men in the woods are out of rockets. : Less than one in ten hit. : Carnotaurs are tricky. Heads up, Morrowstar inbound. The flyer zoomed overhead, hurling grenades at the Carnotaur. Most missed. LESSER CARNOTAUR -10,000 SHIELDS! At least one didn’t, I thought. No matter. It was time for close combat. I rushed at the creature, yanking out my Nanothorn Kukri. DEADLY BLOW! LESSER CARNOTAUR -10,000 SHIELDS! DEADLY BLOW! LESSER CARNOTAUR -10,000 SHIELDS! …. DEADLY BLOW! LESSER CARNOTAUR -10,000 SHIELDS! My blade swung seven times in quick succession, each strike driven by the power of 50 AP backing it up. My blade swung seven times in quick succession, each strike driven by the power of 50 AP backing it The Carnotaur swung its tail at me. The massive appendage slammed into the ground, narrowly missing. Flames raced up the Carnotaur’s shield, wrapping themselves around the beast. Another Deadly Blow, and the alien howled. A Hellfire-X missile streaked out of the woods and smashed into the shield. LESSER CARNOTAUR SHIELD FAILURE! CARNOTAUR ACTIVATES SKILL: HARDEN! 75% DAMAGE REDUCTION! : He’s activated it. Five seconds. The soldiers stopped firing. The Carnotaur stood for a second, confused. Then it began to run towards the water. The wall of flame roared up in front of it. Plasma fire smashed into the Carnotaur, Phoenix Company bringing their HEPARs into the fray. LESSER CARNOTAUR IS BURNING! -2,500 HP/SECOND! The beast screamed again. A portal opened in front of it, and Unity dashed through, with Vorsai following. The two Herculeans slammed into the Carnotaur’s legs. The alien tripped and fell with a crash. LESSER CARNOTAUR TAKES FALL DAMAGE! -800 HP! From where I stood, I could see the monster’s backside. A nice, large target. Five seconds up. SKILL ENDED: HARDEN. And I fired my fourth Hellfire missile of the day. SNIPER SHOT! LESSER CARNOTAUR -350,000 HP! SNIPER SHOT RANDOM EFFECT: INCENDIARY! ADDITIONAL 20% FIRE DAMAGE! LESSER CARNOTAUR -70,000 HP! The Carnotaur lashed out with its feet, hitting Unity square in the chest. The superhero soared through the air, splashing down in the reservoir. : She’s alive! She’s flailing about in the water, Morrowstar is picking her up. I heaved a sigh of relief. : I’ll try the Gamma-ray Bomb. : No, it’s too close. Agni says wait. The Carnotaur’s skin erupted in flames. ALLY USES ACCELERATING FLAME. 3X FIRE DAMAGE. LESSER CARNOTAUR -170,000 HP. The creature screamed again, racing for the water. ALLY USES ACCELERATING FLAME. 2X FIRE DAMAGE. LESSER CARNOTAUR -255,000 HP. Flames exploded from every pore of the Carnotaur. Fire erupted from its eyes, its ears, the wounds across its body, the skinned knees where it fell… The creature burned like a sixty-foot effigy. LESSER CARNOTAUR DEFEATED BY ALLIES! +25,000 XP. : Wow. When Agni goes all out she really goes all out. LEVEL UP! YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 25. 1 UNASSIGNED ATTRIBUTE BOOST AVAILABLE. : What does it say about today that I just gained a level? : Fourteen levels in one day is a bit… much. : I suppose it means today’s been a tough fight. : Nine of those levels came for killing the Greater Carnotaur. : I suppose this just reminds us how far we have to go before we can meet the aliens one-on-one. : Now I suggest you boost your AP, we’ve still got one more Carnotaur to fight. : How’s Chikaradzuyoi doing? : Badly. They’ve lost nearly a hundred and fifty ultras at Richmond Park so far. The aliens still have an active Shield Tower there, and two anti-aircraft guns. : So no artillery support or airstrikes. : Take down the tower, and there’s about fifty jets waiting to hit the Carnotaur. : Why haven’t they sent in other ultras to do it yet? : Because the last Shield Tower is guarded by at least five thousand heavily armed Raptors and a hundred or more Grizzeloids. : This is the last strong enclave of Hierarchy troops. Clear them out, kill the Carnotaur, and we’re down to fighting individual enemy soldiers. : All right. Let’s take it out.