During the day, Ignis spent his time modifying the autocannon he'd acquired, just as planned.
He shortened the barrel, leaving one-and-a-half-meter section, and made a few modifications to improve portability. He also attached a hook to the back of his power armor's waist, making it easier to hang the cannon behind him.
"Markus's missions always pay well, but they're also dangerous," Nicole said, folding her arms as she looked at Ignis in his neuromuscular suit.
"Be careful. If anything goes wrong, just pull out immediately. If you're short on funds, I can cover you."
Her concern made Ignis's chest feel warm. He tapped the control panel, and the smart rig's robotic arms began to move, fitting him into his power armor.
"Yeah. I know."
With a low buzz, the power pack activated, and the electro-muscle bundles started delivering strength.
"I'm heading out," Ignis said as he bid Nicole farewell. "Don't worry. If something goes wrong, I'll retreat right away."
"...Good luck, then."
Markus, as usual, had been thoughtful—the rendezvous point was chosen near the Cunning Hares' current base. It only took Ignis a few minutes to reach the meeting place, a mostly empty parking lot for heavy trucks.
"The last one. Finally here."
Next to a heavy truck bearing the large words [Swift Freight], several people in Defense Force combat gear were already waiting.
"You're fifteen seconds late," one of them said, stepping forward. "I'm the commander for this operation. Call me Jaxcalibur-01."
"This setup of yours… even the Defense Force taking side jobs now?" Ignis eyed the well-equipped group.
"Don't ask questions. The boss just told me a heavy gunner would be joining us," Jaxcalibur-01 said, looking up at the giant before him. "But I don't like chatterboxes. This is a temporary partnership—keep digging and you'll only bring trouble on yourself."
Clearly, these men were a special operations unit hired for black-market missions. Nicole had been right again—Markus's jobs were always messy.
"If you needed heavy firepower, then you've found the right man."
Ignis raised his right fist, blasting a jet of flame into the air before unhooking the autocannon from his waist and displaying it. "Trust me—the firepower's more than enough."
Even through the sealed helmet, Ignis could feel the man rolling his eyes.
"Fine, get in the truck. No time for bullshit," the commander said gruffly, waving his hand for his men to climb into the cargo bay.
Ignis thought the guy was about as fun as a Brother of the Imperial Fists—but whatever. He wasn't here to chat.
Once inside, Jaxcalibur-01 of the soldiers immediately leaned over to him.
"Hey, friend. Our captain's a bore. Mind telling me—did you serve in some experimental unit before? How'd you get that fancy armor?"
"Jax-03, shut your mouth," another voice cut in immediately. "Don't talk too much. Don't do anything unnecessary."
"Not your call, Jax-05," said Jax-03, glaring sideways. "Come on, tell me, huh?"
"How about you take off your helmet and let me see your face first?" Ignis replied dryly. "Then I'll tell you."
Asking a black-ops operative to reveal his face was practically asking for his death. Jax-03 could only shut up and lean back against the truck wall.
"Ugh, everyone's so dull," he muttered.
The silence dragged on as the members of Jaxcalibur Squad checked their gear under the dim light of a few glow sticks. Surprisingly, the chatterbox—Jax-03—was the team's sniper. Hard to imagine how a guy that talkative could ever have the patience for long-range surveillance.
"What? Curious about my Lady Vivian?" Jax-03 caught Ignis looking at his ether laser sniper rifle. "She's a beauty—a fine lady. My beloved."
"How about this: tell me your story, and I'll let you touch her."
Ignis averted his gaze, ignoring the chatter.
"Smart move," said Jax-05 with a sigh. "Otherwise he'd start rambling about that damn gun again."
"What do you mean damn gun, Jax-05? My Lady and I have saved your ass more than once. Is that how you treat your savior?"
Jax-05 just turned away and stayed silent. The awkward quiet that followed was almost worse than their bickering. Jax-03, undeterred, started muttering to himself.
Thankfully, the torment didn't last long. The truck came to a halt, and the captain's reappearance instantly shut Jax-03 up.
"I heard everything through the comms," said Jaxcalibur-01, glaring. "Why didn't anyone just slap him quiet?"
"That'd only excite him, sir," Jax-05 replied. "Ignoring him's the best tactic."
"Fine. Enough nonsense. Jax-03, find a high position and get ready to provide cover," said Jaxcalibur-01 before turning to Ignis. "You'll follow us and lay down suppressive fire. Don't ask where, who, or why. Anyone not wearing our gear—shoot to kill."
"As you wish, Captain," Ignis replied coolly, shrugging before following the group.
"If you need precision fire, don't forget your dear Jax-03, Captain," the sniper said cheerfully as he slung his massive rifle and climbed up a nearby watchtower.
Now Ignis had a chance to take in his surroundings—a yard packed with shipping containers and several warehouses. Jaxcalibur-01 warehouse was heavily guarded. They weren't Defense Force troops, but their weapons were far from crude. Standard-issue, not homemade junk like the Mountain Lion Gang used. On the second floor, a hole had been cut open and fitted with a mounted heavy machine gun, locking down the open ground in front. The cover was well-built, with only a narrow firing slit exposed.
At the main entrance, a few patrol mechs moved about, with makeshift barricades built from stacked cargo crates.
"Looks like they knew you'd be coming," Ignis said, unhooking his cannon and chambering a round.
"Jax-03, are you in position?" asked Jaxcalibur-01. "What do you mean the heavy gun's blocked by cover? Figure out a way to take it out. How many hostiles on the front side?"
After receiving the sniper's recon data, he turned to his squad. "Team Jaxcalibur-01, follow Ignis and attack from the front. Team Two, with me—we'll flank from the other side of the warehouse."
"Don't let a single Jaxcalibur-01 escape," he added, staring at Ignis.
"Understood. Then stay close," Ignis said, gripping his weapon in Jaxcalibur-01 hand while pulling a shaped anti-armor grenade with the other before charging ahead.
The heavily armed giant thundered forward, his steps shaking the ground. The warehouse guards immediately went on alert.
A massive grenade sailed over a stack of cargo, smashing directly into a patrol mech. Ten kilograms of shaped charge detonated instantly—the molten copper jet pierced the logic core, rendering the machine a heap of dead metal.
The heavy machine gun fired back in a blind burst, shredding cargo crates to splinters, but hitting nothing.
"Enemy attack! Jaxcalibur-01 o'clock, warehouse front!" someone shouted as more men poured out from inside—at least two full squads.
They even rolled out a heavy mortar to blanket the suspected enemy positions.
Crazy bastards, Ignis thought. He had no intention of testing what looked like a 100mm shell. He crashed through the cargo barrier and fired. The autocannon roared—his first round struck the machine-gun nest dead-on, blowing apart the sandbags but not destroying the gun.
Then, in an instant, a laser beam lanced through the explosion's smoke, vaporizing both the gun and its operator into molten scrap.
"Sniper! Heavy beam rifle! Long cooldown! Mortar crew, target that watchtower!" someone yelled.
But Ignis was already aiming at the mortar team. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Four shells slammed into their position, and a storm of metal fragments shredded them into pieces.
The remaining patrol mechs reacted faster than the humans. A few charged at Ignis, their heavy machine guns sparking off his armor. He reloaded and pressed the firing stud—three thunderous shots later, their cores were torn apart.
Good thing that's not a Typhon unit, he thought. Even a 40mm cannon would take several hits to crack that armor.
Jaxcalibur-01 advanced from the flank, covering each other as they pushed forward, quickly wiping out an enemy squad.
The defenders redirected their fire toward them, forcing the three soldiers to duck behind cover. Ignis swung his autocannon and unleashed suppressive fire, but the enemies had spread out, minimizing his effectiveness. Even with his precision and the automated targeting assistance, he could only drop one at a time.
Too slow.
He holstered the shortened autocannon at his waist and charged forward. Against flesh-and-blood targets hiding behind cover, there was no better choice than a flamethrower.
With the hiss of compressed air, the flames surged. Screams echoed through the night as Ignis's roar joined them. Jaxcalibur-01 stormed the warehouse entrance, crushing all resistance.
At the same time, gunfire flared briefly on the other side—Team Two reported their side's guards eliminated. All that remained were the enemies inside the warehouse.