The Skitarii soldiers' lasguns fired dense, red beams of light, weaving a devastating web of fire across the pitch-black night sky.
The beams struck the shambling infected, instantly scorching bowl-sized, blackened holes into their torsos, causing dark green, viscous bodily fluids to splatter everywhere. However, unless they were directly struck in the head or had their central spine destroyed, these warped creatures could still drag their mangled remnants forward, seemingly immune to pain.
The continuous nature of the Skitarii's suppressing fire network demonstrated an overwhelming advantage at this moment. The soldiers delivered snap-shots in a stable, disciplined rhythm, wasting no energy and absolutely refusing to spray blindly. This highly efficient, collected marksman fire caused the vanguard of the rushing infected to drop in swathes like reaped wheat. As their dead carcasses accumulated, they ironically created natural obstacles for the advance of their kin behind them.
Meanwhile, Security Team B's high-precision sniping unfolded in perfect synchronization. The two snipers occupying the high points, utilizing long-barreled las-rifles specially modified for this mission, steadily locked the crosshairs of their scopes onto those ranged mutants whose backs bulged with pustules.
The first shot. A mutant bent over and preparing to spit had its skull burst open like a overripe fruit. The ruptured pustule splattered corrosive fluid onto the surrounding horde, triggering a chaotic wave of screeching and trampling.
The second shot. Another mutant was struck precisely at the base of its pustules, causing a violent chain-detonation across its entire back. Green slurry mixed with carapace fragments sprayed outward like a festive, malicious firework display.
The third shot, the fourth shot...
The precise, lethal snap-shots rapidly and effectively neutralized the defensive line's most threatening ranged offensive assets.
Yet, the infected still held a despairing advantage in pure numbers. They stepped over the remains of their own kind, completely disregarding casualties, relentlessly closing the distance between the two sides.
"Two hundred meters!"
"One hundred and fifty meters!"
Valerie watched the rapidly climbing pressure index on her data pad. The stress borne by the eastern defensive line was significantly higher than that of other sectors, likely because the terrain here was relatively flat and open, making it highly conducive to hostile mass charges.
"Prepare incendiaries," she issued a new command.
Within the Skitarii ranks, ten pre-designated throwers quickly stepped into position. They utilized simple chemical firebottles—though crude in technology, they were remarkably effective against flesh and blood.
The order rang out the moment the frontmost infected breached the hundred-meter death line.
"Throw!"
Dozens of firebottles traced hazardous arcs through the air, plunging into the surging hostile horde.
Flames erupted abruptly, howling fiercely in the polar air, burning exceptionally bright and long-lasting. Enveloped by the raging inferno, the infected unleashed inhuman, piercing shrieks, turning into frantically dancing fireballs that in turn brought death and flame to even more of their companions.
A wall of leaping fire reared up in front of the defensive line, temporarily arresting the tidal onslaught.
However, Valerie knew all too well that this was merely a moment's respite. Fire attacks consumed oxygen and generated thick smoke that obscured lines of sight, and could even jeopardize their own fortifications. Furthermore, the thermal imaging screen clearly indicated that a portion of the infected had begun flanking maneuvers, moving toward the north and south wings of the defensive line in an attempt to encircle them.
"Squads Three and Seven, extend toward the north and south wings to establish containment positions. Security Team B, detach half your personnel to support the flanks."
The troops moved upon receiving the order. The rigid discipline of the Skitarii was fully on display at this moment—there was not a shred of chaos, nor a hint of hesitation. Under the brief directives of their officers, each squad rapidly completed their formation shifts and tactical maneuvers like precision gears.
Right then, Dr. Hanson's urgent warning blared through the communication channel: "All units, look out! Detecting an anomalous high-energy biological signature! A new mutated variant has appeared! Coordinates are directly to your front, right behind the firewall!"
Valerie immediately focused her sensors on that specific sector.
Behind the billowing flames and thick smoke, an exceptionally massive, intensely hot signature source was rapidly approaching. Its outline indicated it possessed multiple pairs of limbs, but most unsettling of all was its method of locomotion—it was not walking, but rolling at high speed.
"What—what the hell is that thing?!" a soldier in the observation post cried out.
In the next second, the gargantuan silhouette violently smashed through the burning barrier!
It had indeed curled itself into a sphere bristling with hideous bone spikes, crushing over the burning wreckage on the ground at a staggering velocity as it charged straight for the defensive line. Its body surface was coated in a thick, chitinous carapace, rendering ordinary flames seemingly incapable of harming it in the slightest.
"Concentrate fire! Hit that rolling target!" Valerie commanded sharply.
All firepower instantly shifted toward this "roller" mutant. Dense las-beams slammed into its carapace, leaving behind nothing but blackened scorch marks without penetrating. Security Team B's snipers attempted to target its potential joints or sensory organs, but the object rolled too quickly and its trajectory was too erratic.
"We need heavy firepower!" Valerie immediately called out through the command channel. "Commander Raynor, the eastern line requires anti-armor support!"
"Marauders are already on their way! Hang on!" Raynor's reply was laced with detonations.
But the roller mutant had already breached the fifty-meter mark! It suddenly unfurled its curled body, revealing six columnar, stocky appendages and a massive maw lined with spiral, razor-sharp teeth. Leveraging the immense power of its hind limbs, it leapt high into the air, hurtling straight toward the central command node of the defensive line with a vicious wind!
If it were allowed to crash into the interior of the position, its terrifying size and strength would easily rupture the defensive line in an instant, carving out a fatal breach for the trailing infected.
Valerie made a split-second decision. The two nearby Security Team A operators were clearing the flanks and needed time to react.
"Team B snipers, target it the moment it unfurls its abdomen!" Alongside her command, she had already leaped out from the observation post, an uniquely styled, energy-brimming high-energy las-pistol in her hand—a self-defense weapon configured for her by Osiris, possessing power far beyond standard-issue lasguns.
The roller mutant fully extended its frame mid-air, exposing its relatively fragile underbelly.
The two snipers pulled their triggers, and two amplified beams struck its abdomen almost simultaneously, melting out two holes that hissed with green smoke. At the exact same instant, Valerie pulled her trigger three times in rapid succession. The three beams, forming a precise triangular cluster, plunged into the weak joint linking its head and torso.
The mutant unleashed an earth-shattering roar of agony, its movements warping severely. Upon landing, it failed to crush its intended target, crashing heavily into a low wall built of sandbags instead. It brought down a segment of the fortifications but failed to fully break through.
It scrambled, attempting to prop its body up with its appendages, while a massive amount of dark green, foul-smelling pus welled up and gushed from the wounds on its belly.
Right at this juncture, Tychus's iconic blue power armor charged out from the flank, the multi-barrel rocket pod on his shoulder erupting with a dazzling backblast!
"Turn into dust for me, you monster!"