Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 274 The Battle of the Bottom Nest (Eleventh Update)
After several hours of continuous subsidence, the elevator finally came to rest in a deep area marked as a "controlled zone".

The air here is stagnant and heavy, mixed with the smell of rusted metal, long-accumulated oil stains, and a strange odor that smells like a mixture of cheap incense and high-voltage electric arcs.

“The target area is just ahead.” Sheriff Atkins pointed to a huge pipe entrance, its interior deep and dark, as if leading to another world.

He deftly made a hand gesture, and the bailiff squad immediately split into two groups.

“Cole, you take three men and guard this exit, establish a defensive position, and ensure uninterrupted communication and a safe escape route. The rest of you will come with me.” He turned to Mann, his tone serious and professional: “We are more familiar with the structure below and can provide route guidance and regional intelligence support. We will also be responsible for handling any situations requiring law enforcement determination.”

Mann nodded steadily. The newly installed plasma reactor in his chest cavity was outputting steadily, and the deflagration gun system in his left arm had completed preheating.

He surveyed his team and gave concise orders: "Everyone check your gear. Rebecca, provide lighting. Dorio, form the forward line with me. Pila, watch the flanks. Falco, keep scanning the environment. Mower, scout the shadowed areas first. Valerie, Jack, activate the Iron Guards, maintain tactical spacing."

Once the order was given, the team immediately began operating efficiently.

The energy cores behind the two Iron Guard prototypes emitted a deep, powerful hum, and the seams of the armor glowed with a ghostly blue light.

Valerie sat in the cockpit, completely synchronized with the machine through a deep neural connection; Jack, on the other hand, activated the system through a traditional control interface, and the sensor suit precisely transmitted various feedbacks from the machine to his limbs.

Rebecca's powerful searchlight shot out two blinding beams of light, instantly tearing through the darkness ahead and illuminating a wide passage covered with oil and an unknown slime.

Sheriff Atkins personally led four fully armed marshals to join the operation. They skillfully occupied tactical positions in the middle of the formation, their law enforcement-type explosive pistols ready to be used at any time.

With a forward gesture from Mann, the mixed formation, in standard tactical formation, cautiously and resolutely stepped into the deeper darkness beneath the hive city.

The bailiffs who remained in place quickly set up temporary defensive fortifications, with the muzzles of their heavy explosive rifles pointed towards the entrance of the passageway.

Under the flickering beams of the searchlights, one could see that the walls of the passageway were covered with graffiti of unknown meaning and badly worn warning signs.

The strange smell in the air grew stronger, and the occasional sharp sound of metal scraping echoed in the empty passageway.

Sheriff Atkins lowered his voice and said to Mann, "According to the map, the main entrance to the old purification plant is just 500 meters ahead. Recent patrol reports have mentioned unusual activity there."

Mowell's figure loomed in the shadows ahead, her modified senses scanning for any potential threat.

Dorio clenched her fists, the explosive cores at her knuckles glowing slightly.

Falco's scanner emitted a regular ticking sound, transmitting real-time environmental data to each team member's tactical goggles.

This well-equipped team, like a giant steel python, slowly slid into the deepest darkness of the city, preparing to confront the threat lurking in the shadows.
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The team continued deeper into the wide, filthy passage. Mower moved silently ahead like a true shadow, her sensors transmitting back in real time the terrain and scattered heat signals.

On both sides of the passageway, makeshift shacks and dwellings built from discarded materials began to appear, but they were all empty at the moment, with only some broken belongings that had not been taken away in time, indicating that the residents here had hurriedly fled not long ago.

“There’s an ambush.” Mowell’s cold voice came through the squad’s encrypted channel. “150 meters ahead, on both sides of the maintenance passage and above the pipeline platform, there are about 20 life signals, armed with crude guns and melee weapons.”

Mann immediately gave a tactical signal, and the team stopped instantly, deploying into a defensive formation using the natural cover within the passage.

The two Iron Guard prototypes crouched down, serving as makeshift armored cover, their shoulder-mounted weapon platforms rotating to lock onto the target area. The bailiff squad quickly dispersed, and Sheriff Atkins whispered, "It's the 'Scum Gang,' a bunch of scum who's entrenched here. Looks like they've gotten mixed up with those heretics."

"Open fire freely and eliminate the threat." Mann gave the order without hesitation.

The best response to such an ambush is a swift and devastating strike.

Rebecca fired the first shot.

Her plasma cannon charged briefly, emitting a chilling hum, before a blinding blue plasma plume shot out, precisely striking the entrance to the maintenance tunnel on the left.

"boom--!"

The deafening explosion instantly vaporized the metal structure at the entrance, and the violent energy turned the bandits hiding inside, along with their shelter, into flying molten metal and charred remains.

The scorching heat even made the ambushers on the other side of the passage feel a stinging sensation on their skin.

Almost simultaneously, Pila's promethium flamethrower let out a low growl, and a thick, blazing white fire dragon roared toward the platform on the right, engulfing several bandits who were trying to peek out and fire.

A piercing scream briefly rang out, then abruptly ceased in the thousands of degrees of heat, leaving only the acrid smell of the burning body.

"Ha! Is that all you've got?" Rebecca exclaimed excitedly, her new height and strength making her even more adept at handling this heavy weapon.

Mann's incendiary gun also emitted a muffled roar, unlike the sharpness of the laser and the boom of the explosive shell; it was a deeper sound, like liquid being ejected under high pressure.

A beam of heat, barely perceptible to the naked eye, shot towards a pipe platform above the passageway, striking a bandit carrying a makeshift laser rifle.

There was no massive explosion; the bandit was instantly engulfed in flames, like butter thrown into a steel furnace, turning into a screaming human torch. The flames even ignited his companions nearby, causing chaos.

Dorio charged like a cannonball toward several mutants wielding power axes who were trying to emerge from behind cover on the side.

These mutants have bulging muscles, unhealthy gray-green skin, and are covered in rough metal implants and distorted tattoos.

Dorothy didn't use any weapons; it was just a simple, straightforward straight punch.

Her fist, accompanied by a piercing shriek as it tore through the air, slammed heavily into the chest of the leading mutant.

"Oh!"

With a muffled thud, the mutant's thick chest visibly caved in, and his clothes on his back suddenly ripped open.

That wasn't all. The moment the fists made contact, the built-in explosive core was triggered, and a small but extremely deadly burst of explosive energy erupted at the point of impact.

(End of this chapter)