"The magic-insulating arrays are too powerful. The bad news is we can't get a reading on how many enemies wait for us." Lith said.
"The good news is there shouldn't be magical traps, only chanical. The arrays would interfere with any enchantnt and cripple its strength. On top of that, if I'm right and we are about to enter the production facility, the enemy can't risk using powerful spells without destroying the machines.
"Be on guard and expect mostly close-quarters combat and toxins." A nod of his head signaled the Demons to go down first.
Lith's prediction was actually a precise estimate based on the Eyes' readings. From so up close, even with the insulation arrays he could still see everything ten ters (33') deep into the complex.
'Awakened!' Locrias warned Lith via the black chains as soon as the Demons made contact with the enemies and Lith passed the information to the Knight Guard. 'The Emperor Beasts down here are all Awakened.'
The Demons had been ambushed with toxin bullets at the end of the stairway but this ti they were ready. They used a chore magic Spirit Spell to reproduce the effects of air magic and conjured a gust of wind that sent the toxic cloud back.
The stupefied Emperor Beasts failed to react in ti and found their magical powers and fusion magic sealed. The Demons had no such problem, their skin burning the toxins on contact.
Between the gap in mana cores and only one side being able to use fusion magic, the first group of guards was easily slaughtered.
'No one saw us.' nadion held her hamr high, ready to throw it at any witness. 'Let's keep using this trick. I hate fair fights.'
'We all do.' Valia replied with a savage smile on her face. 'There is no honor in this battle. No enemy worthy of respect. Only a bunch of rabid monsters that need to be put down.'
Locrias gave Lith the all clear and the Knight Guard joined the Demons.
'I can't see anything.' Lith cursed as he, Solus, and nadion gritted their teeth in pain. 'Too many energy signatures. It would take too long to filter the useless ones out. We're doing this the old-fashioned way.'
"You stay here." He raised his hand to stop the assault teams' mbers. "We'll need your help to carry the hostages outside but you can't follow us. If you use magic, this place might blow up and without spells, many of you are going to die."
"This is our job and our choice, sir." Captain Thaas said.
"And mine is to hit the beasts hard and dirty so that as many of you as possible can return ho alive tonight." Lith replied.
"We appreciate your sentint, but we are not going anywhere. Use us as bait if you see fit. We won't turn our backs on the hostages only because it's dangerous." Thaas said and the other soldiers nodded.
"Fine." Lith shrugged. "I'll take you on your offer."
***
Thaas regretted his words when Lith sent the assault teams forward, each one followed by only two Demons who used the soldiers and their enchanted equipnt as human cloaking devices.
Yet regret didn't dull his reflexes nor weaken his resolve.
'Why is Verhen sending us forward? The Demons are the ones with Awakened physical abilities.' The Life Ward mask protected the soldiers from the toxins but was no better than wet paper against the armored claws of an Emperor Beast.
The answer to Thaas' question ca after a glance at the humans with Life Vision confird to the Emperor Beasts that a magical barrier insulated the humans. They decided not to waste Alchemical bullets and charged forward in their hybrid form.
The corridor was wide and the beasts nimble enough to attack the soldiers from all sides. Two hybrids ca running on the ground, two more on the walls, and a fifth on the ceiling with her eight spider limbs.
The mbers of the Knight Guard barely had the ti to raise their shields when the slaughter began.
Locrias and Valia Spirit Blinked from their hiding spot right behind the two farthest enemies so that those leading the charge wouldn't notice the ambush until it was too late.
The spider Emperor Beast and a panther Emperor Beast wall-running died first. Their heads flew off their necks and their bodies fell to the floor without even realizing what had happened.
Mogar went dark as if they had closed their eyes for a second, but the light never returned.
"Hold your ground!" Thaas yelled with a stern voice to keep the enemy focused on the first line of shields.
Thanks to their enchanted equipnt, the body-enhancing potions, and the Mage Knight Stalwart Protector spell, the soldiers resisted the impact and took only a few steps back.
Then, the Demons Blinked again and two more Emperor Beasts fell. The clang produced by the impact of the armored corpses with the ground drew their attention but Locrias' and Valia's blades found their target anyway.
"I yield." A lion-looking Emperor Beast, the only survivor, dropped his weapons and raised his hands.
Trapped between a shield wall and two Demons, there was no point fighting.
"I accept your surrender." Locrias said as his blade pierced through the space between the Emperor Beast's helm and gorget, cleaving his neck and destroying the corpse with Spirit Magic before it could expand. "You won't die suffering."
There was no ti to secure prisoners and even if there was, the soldiers had already seen enough to have no rcy in their hearts.
"Where have you been all my life, Locrias?" Thaas sighed. "I wish all our fights were so easy."
"I hear you." Locrias sighed too. "I would share your sentint, if only I didn't have to die to gain this power."
Similar scenes happened along the other corridors. The soldiers shielded the presence of the Demons with their bodies and the Demons Spirit Blinked for the kill. Lith used a similar strategy, but he didn't need to hide.
He led the charge and Spirit Blinked behind the enemy lines. Those who turned their heads to look at him in shock died under Solus' hamr. Those who didn't found a tal point blooming out of their chests.
Captain Thaas was the first to find a door and after checking it for traps, Valia opened it.
The room was three tis as big as those on the first underground floor. At its center, there was a glass and tal contraption as large as one of the Royal Palace's main pillars. It was placed above a complex set of powerful arrays.
Dozens of glass flasks sat on a series of wooden tables lined up along the walls. Valia glanced at the flasks' labels, recognizing the nas of magical ingredients necessary to synthesize potions.
"This is where the potion tattoos are made." The unit quickly searched the place for clues and left after finding nothing useful.
Trion and Varegrave discovered the second room. Inside there was a towering pillar of steel and mana crystals that resembled the machine Valia had showed them via the black chains.
Racks of empty vials were lined up on the tables but carried no label.
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