A massive shape broke through the clouds, forcing Aranea to stop firing at the mutants who carried the strange cylinder. The shape that came from above the clouds had four enormous wings that carried a thin, elongated body covered by leather skin of a sickly grayish color. The being only had two long legs; countless tentacles protruded from its chest; and its long, protruding head ended in a venomous-looking beak.
The strange creature beat its mighty wings, closing on the outer wall. Its tentacles struck forward, smashing aside shells and missiles that defenders lobbed into its body. The beak opened, spitting out a stream of acid that washed away a whole group of defenders. Sixty soldiers, wolfkins, and normies, all clad in power armors, were dissolved in an instant, killed with such brutal efficiency that none of them had any time to scream from pain. The anti-air installation and defensive turrets followed suit, melting into nothingness while acid flowed across the top of the wall, forcing other defenders to retreat. The soldiers who tried to attack the monster from behind were casually swiped away by its tail.
The beast turned its head aside, looking at Aranea directly with a pitch-black eye that was bigger than her entire body. Something within its gaze unnerved her, she could have sworn that the beast recognized her somehow. Shaking her head, the halfbreed aimed her weapon at the creature’s eye. With unnatural agility, it jumped up, screeching in anger upon enduring the rail gun’s shot across its tail. Still singing its eye-piercing song, the creature covered the distance between itself and Aranea in a single beat of the massive wings, opening its beak to spit acid on her, Olesya, Leila, and everyone else near them.
“Begone, vulture.” Aranea heard Ivar speaking in an icy tone.
An entire river of water struck the being from below, lifting it higher to the skies and blocking the acid that was about to bring about death to the defenders. The creature screeched anew, slapping its wings in panic and getting out of the stream before it could be fully engulfed in water. The vulture spat out acid into the coming water, causing liquids to smash against each other. Upon coming in contact with water, the strange acid hissed for a moment, creating streams of white steam, and produced an explosion strong enough that it propelled the beast’s massive body away and threw several defenders off their feet.
"What a pitiful performance, Aranea, Olesya," Ivar's shadow fell over the wolfkins as he flew above them, slowly standing upright in the air and shielding the defenders with his body. "I'm growing tired of having to save your lives over and over. Are you warlords or not?"
"The enemy is about to reach the inner wall, captain." Aranea replied in a dry voice, firing the rail gun down and saving one of the soldiers from a mutant. Jekaterina kept on her advance, caring little that none of her soldiers accompanied her, safe for the host of mutants. Following Scorpio’s commands, the soldiers in her path backed off, allowing Soultaker to march unopposed toward one of the gates.
"Most astute observation, warlord," Ivar turned his head toward the vulture, "Clearly you do have eyes. Observe then how a true professional deals with the threat."
"And what about Jekaterina?" Olesya demanded to know.
"Let her bash her head against the gates, what do we care?" Ivar shook his shoulders, causing his scales to move in unison like a wave of water, "Use your brains a little, warlord. If we aggravate Jekaterina, she might choose an easier prey and extract too much of a toll on us. We have enemies right in our grasp. First, let’s remove the immediate danger and take apart the enemy leader at our leisure.
The vulture dove at Ivar, opening its beak wide to bathe the foe in acid. Ivar simply kept looking at the beast, allowing it to get close before a ball of water formed below him, striking the vulture in the lower jaw and throwing its head up. Walls of water formed to the left and right of the horrid monster, preparing to crush it between themselves like a vise.
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The beast moved faster than Ivar. Its tentacles shot forward, hitting Ivar and allowing the beast to use him as a springboard to move its massive body back, screeching in pain when the water walls grinded down the extended tentacles. The creature’s neck stretched out to an impossible length, its neck became at least three times longer than the entire body. Leaning over the water, the beast tried to bite the blue wyrm.
After all soldiers at the wall fired at him, it screamed and recoiled in pain, diving back. Olesya melted a side of the massive beak, Leila left a burning mark on the right eye, and Aranea simply exploded the left eye with her shot.
"Did anyone ask for your help?" Ivar snapped in annoyance, his tail dancing behind him like a snake, the claw at the end of it twitching in annoyance at a missed strike.
"Just following orders, sir!" The three women replied, aiming at the flying beast again.
"On the left, a new one!" Tiny shouted, following her words with the roaring fire of her missile launcher.
Another identical vulture broke through the clouds, aiming to descend upon the people at the outer wall. Its tentacles moved to smash aside the missiles, and missed when the missiles weaved around them, hitting the beast in its beak. Flapping its wing, the creature recoiled, temporarily blinded by smoke before its eyes. Gin and Danulka took advantage of the situation by launching their own ordinance at the creature, tearing its leather hide and exposing white ribs in its sides.
"Ofelia, if you will be so kind." Scorpio reappeared above the wolfkins, teleporting from another corner of the battlefield, "Back." The black wyrm said this while extending his left arm.
The soldiers on the wall appeared in his grasp, all fifteen of them, and were saved before the massive vulture could land on them. The captain casually threw them to Aranea and others, allowing them to catch their allies. A chunk of metal appeared soundlessly next to his right. Reaching roughly ten meters in size, its edges were as sharp as any combat blade, and its weight could clearly leave a blood smear should it fall on any lesser wolfkin. And this weapon simply appeared out of thin air, preparing to fall on the ground and cause a catastrophic tremor, before Scorpio caught it with his fingers.
The black wyrm moved his arm over his shoulder, looking like an ancient warrior preparing to cast a spear at his foe. Only instead of a spear, the building-sized metal flew straight through the monster’s neck and head, splitting it in two and allowing acid to pour from the neck, flowing down its body.
"Adequate," Scorpio chuckled. "It's been years since I've hunted sand reapers in person, my aim is..."
The vulture refused to fall. It balanced at the edge of the wall, grasping the stone with its claws. The sliced heads trembled, allowing black blood and acid to pour from the wounds’ edges. Struggling, the creature looked up at Scorpio at first with two eyes, then with four as the sliced parts of its heads turned into separate heads. The flesh at the edge of horrible wounds bubbled, pushing forward new bones and muscles, allowing the vulture to regain balance and screech a challenge to the black wyrm.
"Cellular growth," Scorpio’s purple eyes narrowed, "How very curious. Who provided you to the Resistance, my precious?" The creature turned to meet other reclaimers at the wall, raising both new heads to strike. Scorpio only sighed at this sight, "But unlike power, your regeneration has its limits. Let’s push you beyond this limit, shall we? Incomprehensible."
The black wyrm popped out of existence, reappearing behind the beast. He grabbed the vulture by its wings, shattering them with contemptuous ease and saving the soldiers. The beast twisted its necks to face the black wyrm, only to be met with emptiness behind itself. Scorpio teleported again, slamming the fist encased in lightning straight through the beast’s chest.
"Captain Ivar!" Bel shouted over communications, "The enemy forces entered the inner wall!"
"Inconceivable!" Ivar stopped for a moment, allowing the vulture covered in water to fall off the wall. The blue wyrm turned around, looking at the wall’s foundation, ignoring a missile that hit him between the wings, "How did they breach the wall’s integrity? What weapon did they use to breach the gate?"
"The gates were opened from inside," Bel yelled, shooting someone, "Sir, it's greenies and blues! The enemy attacked us from within!"
"But Chort is dead! Who could’ve…" Ivar paused, "Aranea, Olesya, take your people and prevent the enemy from reaching the city! Annoy Jekaterina from range, do not engage her in melee at any cost! I'll join you soon, and..."
"Sir," Aranea interrupted him, leading her soldiers from the wall, "They are not going to the city."
She was looking at the situation through the cameras installed inside the corridors and on the power armors of her allies. Jekaterina and her host ignored the ranks of the Alpha team before them, moving deeper within the wall. Toward one of the water storage tanks that was connected to the city’s sewers.