Kicking the metal hatch with his leg, Robert made it dent under the strong force, but the metal held. Cursing inwardly, he planted his palm on its surface before pushing the steel to move with a mental command. Copying some kind of snake, the dark green material crept on the hatch before encircling it. In the next moment, the matter started to collapse in quick succession, tearing the holes in the obstacle. However, before Rob added another impactful hit, the enemies caught up with him.
Shit!
Immediately stopping any attempts to get inside the technical corridor, Robert turned around and dropped to the floor, trying to make himself as small as possible. Not that it was very effective with his size. Still, the thick shield covered his crawling figure from tip to toe. Not stopping on that, he willed the metal to increase the weight, creating an insurmountable wall in front of him. Or that was what Rob thought before meeting the current chasing enemies. Right now his opinion made a 180-reversal, once again limiting vocabulary to an absolute minimum in dangerous circumstances.
Shit, shit, shit!
The already familiar sound of rotation lasts for a subjectively long second, giving an opportunity Robert to brace himself. In the next instant, the real firestorm fell onto him. Multiple explosive rounds were tearing the early tough metal with a little effort. Only Rob’s constant stream of energy that repaired the damage in real-time prevented him from being turned into a mangled piece of meat and bones. However, the contest between magic ability and advanced technology was a losing battle as not only the machine gun had an insane fire rate, but also the owner of the weapon wore a huge backpack with ammo.
Only the additional weight helped Robert to hold against the non-stopping impacts from the tiny explosions after the bullets hit his shield. He previously saw how even a single bullet made a gaping hole in the walls behind him, while Rob himself had to meet with hundreds. Maybe he would still find a chance to neutralize the enemy in a two-with-a-half-meter tall armor (around 8 feet 3 inches), but there was a nuance. Or, precisely speaking, a lot of them as the opponent wasn’t the single chaser who came after Rob’s head. The mercenary was just a part of the heavily armed group that opened a hunting season on Robert. The latter were already acting under the suppressing fire of their teammate.
It could explain how the spherical object appeared right in the air above Rob’s position. Luckily, he was fast enough to react in time after experiencing the effect of the grenade. The bright flash together with a sudden sound tried to knock him out, but the steel earplugs and non-transparent glasses from the same material managed to cover him from the effect. Moreover, the obstruction of sight pushed the explosive spray of bullets to the side, allowing Robert to escape. Bashing the stubborn hatch with his own body, he finally got inside the technical corridor. Clumsily dropping on the cold floor, Rob had to push himself upwards, knowing there was no time to lose. Had to run fast if he wanted to save his life.
At first the disappearance of the guards after a few failed attempts to stop him gave hope for the potential resolution of the situation. Rob even naively thought that they tried to think how to negotiate to prevent a pointless bloodbath. However, after a short silence, the storm came. The storm in the former of heavily equipped combatants. That was the moment when Rob realized how stupid he was to think that the real spaceships couldn’t develop something much more powerful than the guard’s armor or weaponry. He assumed they had, but greatly underestimated the difference between lightly equipped law enforcers, whose task was to stop drunkards, and the real mercenaries ready to go onto the battlefield. It was almost a life-and-death miscalculation.
Turning around, Robert sent several Energy Blasts in a row into the opening, trying to stop the chasers. Unfortunately, the one who was the nearest appeared as the carrier of a similar tower shield, which Rob liked to use himself. Much more advanced and tougher version of it. Made from obsidian steel it was named such because of the color of the alloy, but not because it had a stone inside, it basically was the material that was used on the ships to generate a force shield. And that it did, just in miniature. Well, maybe not quite, as the huge backpack and the absence of any weapon were the confirmation of how much energy the thing needed to work. Still, it appeared to be enough to stop Rob’s projectiles with ease. After studying quite a few books on the topic he could slightly understand how it worked, but currently, all it mattered was that it worked against his attacks.
Therefore, Robert simply turned around and fled. Dispersing the steel to lower his weight and squeezing all available strength from his body, he sprinted through the corridor. However, from his previous journey in the company of guards, he failed to remember one crucial fact – he was too tall for it. Just after making it halfway through the pathway he bumped into a pipe with his forehead. An unexpected hit effectively stopped his upper part from moving, while inertia ended the deed, throwing him on the back. That saved his life as the short burst of the bullets flew right above him.
Not just ordinary bullets but flaming ones that were leaving a visible trace behind them. Despite the small size, those rounds could easily melt his steel, resisting any attempts to stop the fire until they extinguish themselves. This fact only added an acceleration to the Rob’s next set of actions, making them look like well-trained ones. Pushing himself with a conjured steel, he rotated his body in a single motion, dropping on the stomach. His hand was already stretched with a formed gun. The gun that turned into a white projectile a moment he caught the shooting figure inside his created sight.
The enemy reacted immediately but still wasn’t fast enough. The white ball shortened the distance in a fraction of a second, going above the pointed rifle and entering the close helmet. Melting the metal, it tried to get to the skin but failed. This time not only did the protective gear have no transparent visors, fully relying on the outer cameras, but was also covered with a thick armored material. Still, the damage to the visual sensors stopped the shooting, blinding the enemy.
To hell with it! I will fuck you hard!
Inwardly shouting, Robert launched himself into the air before charging at the disorientated enemy. This time he was even faster as of getting additional energy from the anger. Creating a huge steel brass knuckle on his fist, he sent it toward the merc’s helmet. The powerful hit that combined his inhuman strength with the speed of the charge felt like a hammer. A few-ton hammer that dropped down on the medieval headgear. Moreover, the owner of it reacted on his sprint, turning his melted side right under the punch. The already damaged metal this time was tough enough to stop the force.
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Robert felt a slight resistance when his fist touched the surface. Tightening the grip, he only added more weight to the construct on his hand, trying to push it as further as possible. And it worked. Smashing the hole in the metal, his fist continued its way inside. For a fraction of a second Rob felt the sudden absence of any resistance as he was hitting some kind of tofu before the toughness reappeared once again. Glancing at his hand, he found how whole his fist together with the third part of the forearm were hidden inside the helmet, leaving no space for the head of merc.
Ouch…
Hastily retrieving his fist, Robert barely registered all the filth that covered it. His attention was already focused on the rifle. Unfortunately, it took just a second to understand that the weapon wouldn’t work in his hands, as it red light of failed identification. The smart rifle was indeed smart, preventing the foe from using it. Not that he was expecting anything else after getting the same outcome with the guard’s weapons and going through the same procedure to use an emergency gun in the Arena. On the other hand, it was stupid not to try. So, not pausing for a moment to bathe in regret, Rob simply kicked the corpse out of the technical corridor.
“Die, suckers!”
Loudly shouting, he instead turned around and sprinted again, not checking the result of the diversion. Conjuring something akin to a huge potato masher, Robert searched for another hatch. He got one in just five seconds of running. Pointing his improvised construct at it, he willed the collapse of the matter. The disappearance of the steel with its turning into the Energy Blast was so smooth that Rob didn’t even lose an instant. The following explosion only started to disintegrate the hatch with devastating energy when his own body hit the obstacle. Smashing it one go, he rolled outside, dropping down on the floor right to the side of the machine gunner.
Found you!
Using the conjured constructs to quickly stand up, Robert simply leaned to the towering figure before expanding his steel over its armored body. The suddenness of it was so shocking that the merc couldn’t react in time before it became too late. No matter how the enemy tried to move, the dark green metal seemed to be everywhere, covering from all sides. In the next moment, the machine gun started to turn, aiming at his own teammates.
If I can’t use the weapon, I can try to use someone who can…
Grinning like a madman, Robert simply hid behind the bigger enemy before forcefully opening fire. His steel was preventing the man from stopping pushing the trigger, creating a solid blob around it. To Rob’s utter regret, he couldn’t observe the result of the shooting as his living cover was obstructing the sight. On the other hand, it helped him to ignore the returning fire even when the “living” was already not a thing. All commotion died in thirty seconds, but Rob continued to shoot more before finally dispersing the steel after a full minute. Side-stepping from the falling corpse that created a sound attack just from simply dropping on the floor, Robert finally checked the corridor and his chasers.
Surprisingly, the shielder was still there, hiding behind his protective gear. Surrounded by the sight of the complete destruction, accompanied by four lying bodies of other mercenaries, the last enemy standing was gripping his shield as if his life was dependent on it. Well, maybe because it was, especially when the man didn’t have any weapon and was like a walking cover for his teammates. Unlucky for him, the charge of his equipment was already on the verge of disappearing. The visible flickering on the surface of the obsidian steel was the best indicator. Still, the battle-hardened opponent didn’t show any signs of giving up. Slightly turning his fully covered head, he clearly was looking at the weapons around him as if searching for the nearest.
“Well, well, well… Is it a cowboy duel? Nah!”
Not waiting for the enemy to react or even make a first movement toward the closest rifle, Robert raised his hand with an already conjured gun. The following shot ended the charge of the shield, pushing the mercenary into the action. Throwing his oversized gear, he only managed to make two steps when another projectile got him. Precisely speaking, the hit was aimed at the backpack with a tiny rector inside. The latter was protected by a thick metal and the generated force shield, but in the current turned-off condition and against the Energy Blast, it was nothing more than a paper. A paper that was covering the barrel with a powder. Luckily, with only a tiny part of what it contained previously.
The explosion tore the armored body apart, reaping the walls around and sending Robert flying, despite the conjured thick plate in front of him. It took another minute for him to get back to his senses, feeling as if he spent a whole time under the working press. In burned tattered clothes, bruised, with few cracked bones, and covered with other’s blood, Rob was still grinning. Recovering the scene in his memory, he just couldn't refrain from smiling.
That was a powerful ending! Okay, let’s go before I will have my own… And, Rob, don’t do such a thing again – it’s plain stupid.
Pushing himself upwards, Rober quickly found the hole in the ceiling that led to another level. And to the next one. Overall, the damage appeared to be quite extensive, ruining several corridors. The reactor, despite almost running out of juice, had enough power for such a devastating effect. Fortunately for Robert, some part of the knowledge managed to stay after his study, helping to predict that the most force would go vertically if the energy equipment was damaged. That was his plan in the first place when he decided to aim his projectile. There was no chance to lose the chasers, so he had to win the time. Even with the cost of risking to blow up himself.
The first steps showed that his body took its portion. No matter how the Tower’s System had increased his toughness, Robert wasn’t invulnerable. Otherwise, he would tank the bullets with a wide smile, instead of running in panic. Each movement sent waves of pain through his beaten body, despite the stream of energy that was already trying to heal him. However, the pain wasn’t the thing that could stop him. Not with his experience.
In just a half minute, Robert was climbing up, using the conjured ladder. Slowly, but steadily, he was moving away from the place of the battle. However, either he wasn’t fast enough, or the next group was much closer than he thought, Rob failed to hide from their eyes. It couldn’t have been such a problem if not for the following burst of explosives rounds that tore his left foot, almost sending him down. Only the instinctive actions to pull him with conjured constructs saved his life.
Dropping on the floor and looking at the empty spot instead of his foot, Rob hastily covered the gruesome wound with steel, preventing himself from bleeding out. Another self-made tourniquet encircled his leg before the pain kicked in. Groaning from terrible sensation, Robert still had to react to the anchor that pierced the ceiling above the hole. In just a second the merc tried to pull himself only to be met with several Energy Blasts. Under the effect of injury, the aim wasn’t that good, hitting the shoulder and groin instead of the intended helmet and chest, but, nevertheless, led to a fall of the enemy. Rob, on the other hand, had to stand using the nearest wall. Ignoring the pain and not waiting for more chasers to join the party, he inwardly sighed before starting to move.
Okay, you wanted to be a space pirate, Rob? Here you go – minus a leg to create a proper image of a buccaneer. And I can create a hook any moment I want. Now, where is my parrot?