Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 275 Cult Altar (Twelfth Update)

The mutant's upper body was almost blown to pieces, with charred bits of flesh and bone flying everywhere, and sticky flames clinging to the remains and continuing to burn.

Before the other two mutants could react, Dorio had already closed in like a whirlwind, smashing one's head with a single punch, and grabbing the last mutant by the neck with her other hand, slamming him hard against the metal wall next to her. The huge impact dented the wall, and the mutant twitched twice before falling silent.

Falco did not engage in direct firefights. Relying on his enhanced senses and auxiliary systems, he calmly fired at enemies who tried to snipe from the shadows. Every shot he fired was extremely accurate, often killing enemies with a headshot the moment they showed half their bodies.

Sheriff Atkins and his marshals also demonstrated professionalism, using precise short bursts in conjunction with the heavy firepower of Mann's squad to eliminate any remaining fugitives.

The battle was one-sided.

These hive bandits and low-level mutants were like paper in front of Mann's squad, a team upgraded to Mechanicus standards and armed to the teeth.

Their rudimentary weapons could only leave shallow scratches on the Iron Guards' armor, and when they hit the bodies of Mann and others covered in terracotta and plastic steel, they were mostly deflected or failed to cause effective damage.

In just a few minutes, the more than twenty enemies lying in ambush were completely eliminated.

The passageway was filled with the smells of gunpowder, blood, charred flesh, and the distinctive stench of burning promethium.

“Threat eliminated,” Mowell’s voice came again. “No new ambush signals detected ahead.”

Sheriff Atkins's eyes twitched slightly as he looked at the efficient massacre scene before him, especially the tunnel entrance that had been melted down by Rebecca's plasma cannon.

He took a deep breath and said to Mann, "Well done...clean and efficient. Looks like these scumbags didn't cause you any trouble."

Rebecca patted her plasma bombardment cannon triumphantly: "Piece of cake! It's not even enough for me to warm up!"

Jack's voice, tinged with excitement, came through the Iron Guard's megaphone: "This thing is awesome! It feels like it could punch right through a city wall!"

He controlled the Iron Guard and swung its massive metal arm, creating a whooshing sound.

Valerie remained silent, her consciousness largely connected to the Iron Guard prototype, rapidly analyzing various performance data from the brief exchange of fire, including weapon system response, armor feedback from attacks, and the load on the energy core.

Everything was within the design parameters, and even exceeded expectations.

Mann looked around to make sure no threat had been missed.

"Keep moving forward," he said in a deep voice. "Stay vigilant."

The team set off again, stepping over the wreckage scattered everywhere, heading deeper into the darkness of the passage.

The easy resolution of the battle allowed everyone to relax slightly, concluding that it was indeed just a simple task of clearing out grunts and testing equipment, as the briefing had stated.

Even the experienced Sheriff Atkins believed that the most dangerous ones were just a few bigger mutants or more cunning gang leaders.

Unbeknownst to them, in the deeper darkness of the hive, a twisted and tormented consciousness, undetected by any scanning instruments, was violently fluctuating due to the negative emotions generated by the killing and death in the outside world, and was about to break through its fragile shackles.
-
As we walked through the long passage, we could faintly hear strange chanting and see flickering firelight ahead.

The putrid smell in the air grew stronger, even overpowering the previous stench of blood and burning.

Mowell sent back a clearer image: at the end of the passageway was a huge space, the main hall of an abandoned water treatment plant.

The massive, rusted water tank and broken pipes form an eerie and grand backdrop.

In the center of the hall, a crude altar constructed from discarded parts, bones, and tattered cloth stood out starkly. Around the altar, about thirty or forty people had gathered, mostly ragged residents of Hive City and a few mutants with noticeable physical alterations. They were prostrate on the ground around a gaunt figure in tattered robes on the altar, performing some kind of fanatical ritual.

On the altar lay several disemboweled corpses, their blood staining the rough surface.

The gaunt figure in the long robe held aloft a rusty serrated knife, muttering incantations in a hoarse and distorted voice, filled with inhuman fanaticism.

"Main target spotted." Mann observed the situation in the hall through his tactical goggles. "About forty targets around the altar. The one in the center appears to be the leader."

“By the Emperor…” A young bailiff couldn’t help but whisper as he saw the bloody scene on the altar, his voice filled with disgust.

Sheriff Atkins' face turned ashen: "These damn bastards! Captain Mann, please end this farce as soon as possible."

Mann nodded and quickly issued the order: "Valerie, Jack, use your heavy firepower to cover the area around the altar, and prioritize eliminating any gathered cultists."

Rebecca aimed at the altar itself, vaporizing it along with the leader.

Dorio, Pira, clear out any remaining enemies that try to approach or escape.

Mowell seeks out high-value targets or exceptional individuals.

Falco, monitor the entire area and provide early warnings. The bailiff squad, provide fire support and be alert for potential traps or secret passageways.

"Roger that!"

"Iron Guard System, full weapon array activated." Valerie calmly confirmed, as the heavy bomb gun on the shoulder and the multi-barreled laser gun on the arm of the Iron Guard prototype she was piloting simultaneously raised and locked onto the target.

Jack shouted excitedly, "Watch me!" The Iron Guard he was controlling also made the same move.

"Fire!"

With a single command from Mann, a storm of destruction descended upon the blasphemous hall.

“Dong dong dong dong——!”

The heavy bomb guns on the shoulders of the two Iron Guard prototypes roared first, and the .0.75-inch caliber explosive bullets, like the scythe of death, sliced ​​through the air and fell into the dense crowd of cultists.

Each explosive projectile explodes a second time upon hitting flesh or the ground, instantly tearing the fragile body to shreds, with severed limbs and internal organs flying everywhere.

The scorching beams of laser guns precisely targeted individuals trying to find cover, leaving molten holes in metal walls and water tanks.

Rebecca's plasma cannon recharged, and this time, she aimed at the bloody altar.

A blinding blue light flashed, and the plasma cluster struck the target at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

"Boom——!!"

An even more violent explosion occurred.

The altar, along with the corpse on it, the leader wielding the serrated knife, and the few closest fanatical believers, instantly vaporized in the extreme heat, leaving only a charred crater with molten edges. The shockwave even blew some believers further away away away.

(End of this chapter)