KABOOM!
After a battle that pushed Daren, Brick, and Ghostwire to their very limits, forcing them to reveal all of their cards, the Rhinoceros finally collapsed.
This Neon Beast was by far the most gigantic fellow that Leon had seen.
From one side to the other, its length was more than 3 meters. Its skin was organic, but they were hardened and made so thick that they felt like rock. Its defense was topnotch, impenetrable.
As for its mode of attack? It was its single horn. That single horn was a conductor, literally.
It conducted electricity and lightning!
The storm may have passed, but the aftereffects still remained, charging the atmosphere with electricity and negative electrons, which was directly proportional to leaving lightning flashing in the sky.
Lightning flashed at intervals at random, but with the Rhinoceros, it was no longer random. It was guided and directed.
The horn of this Neon Beast conducted lightning, making it strike its enemies at will. Defending against it was a nightmare and to defeat it, the duo of Cyber Gladiator and Gene Augur finally sought the assistance of the Mechanists.
Not just them; Ghostwire was also forced to join the fray.
By keeping Daren and Brick occupied with it, more Neon Beasts finally had the chance to bypass the blockade formed by them and Ghostwire as they circled them to attack them from behind and to also attack the cargo trailer directly.
In the end, all the other humanoids before them were just distraction. From the rabid look in their eyes, it was Talia that they wanted.
Despite being flustered at first, Leon had been calmly observing since the first Echo Sirens appeared. That rabid look in their eyes, that clear obsession with going straight to the Ascended attempting the Trial.
His eyes narrowed. 'This isn't scientific… just how do they know exactly the target to go for?'
'Even if they somehow know, shouldn't Kain's dampener limit them? Something doesn't add up…'
Despite his thoughts though, he knew that this was not the right time to focus on such thoughts. The priority at this moment was bringing the Rhino down.
Leon reacted fast. "A pole!" He shouted.
Metal conducts electricity, but tall objects like poles attract electricity better.
The theory of it is based on the principles of electrostatics and the path of least resistance: lightning is more likely to strike the tallest, most pointed, and most isolated object in a given area.
This is because it provides the shortest and easiest path for the electrical discharge to reach the ground.
Leon quickly borrowed from the basics of this theory.
As soon as he shouted, Kain understood and he also reacted as he finally unsheathed his twin kinetic pistols, shaking off his instinctive fear in the face of so many Neon Beasts.
Talia's life was on the line!
By this point, Leon also already shook off his fear.
Watching Ghostwire enter the battlefield to take care of the Echo Sirens in such a valiant manner, and seeing Brick and Spitfire in action, he felt like a fire was ignited inside of him.
He no longer cowered behind; he became eager to do his part in protecting the cargo trailer. Of course, he would use his brain.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
While Kain unleashed fire on the Neon Beasts that circled behind the defensive line to distract and also damage them, Leon quickly approached the rubble left in the wake of the storm.
He already detected long ago that his ADE had a magnetic quality to it, and this was the crux of his plan.
Bzzz!
His gray magnetic ADE erupted from his body, and with it, he connected a few pieces of metal poles together to form a long pole that could serve as a conductor before erecting it at the center of the base.
Instantly after he erected the long metallic pole, he felt a feedback as all his hair stood on end. Leon felt like he would die if he didn't let go.
He didn't hesitate, he let go immediately.
The battle continued, but this time things didn't go exactly to plan for the Rhino. The next lightning strike that the Rhino's conductor horn attracted to strike its attackers was hijacked.
The Neon Beast tried again but it suffered the same fate.
And just like that, Leon neutralized the strongest aspect of this Neon Beast's offense with engineering.
With the main attacking force of the Rhinoceros taken care of, leaving just its disgusting defense, it gave Daren and the others a chance and they didn't hesitate to take the initiative.
The Cyber Gladiator was like a dog let loose.
He was a menace as he moved in zig zag patterns, kiting the Rhinoceros as he dealt small but consistent damage to it.
Anytime that the Rhino charged, Brick met it head-on. Though he suffered a numbing headache each time, he was still doing his job.
From on top the rock, having switched the regulator slot of his Rifle back to the first image with a hammer, Ghostwire debuted the kinetic output form of his Rifle as he joined the task force to kill the Rhino.
He pulled the trigger and managed to damage one of the eyes of the Rhino, leaving it partially blinded.
Leon also joined the fray, moving nimbly while instructing them as they directed the Rhino towards one of the motion-triggered EMP mines.
That was the trap.
The Rhinoceros stepped on it, and immediately it triggered.
BZZZT!
The EMP detonation numbed all the nerves in the body of the Rhinoceros, turning the Neon Beast into a stationary target.
They didn't hesitate.
BAM!
Ghostwire took its other eye.
Brick and Daren went loose on its numb body, targeting its joints and its weaker underbelly, dealing enough damage to finally topple the monster.
But by then, multiple Neon Beasts already invaded close to the third layer of Kain's defense grid. Kain was the final defense in front of the cargo trailer's entrance as he attacked aggressively with his kinetic pistols.
As soon as the Rhinoceros fell down dead though, his companions changed targets. They needed to whittle down the number of Neon Beasts inside.
There was no strategy; the intention was simple- keep Talia safe and that also simplified the task. The task was to eliminate any Neon Beast that went too close to the cargo trailer.
All hell broke loose as all of them entered the fray, all except Rex.
He was the only one still inside the cargo trailer, standing beside Talia's unconscious body. He was her last line of defense if everything else broke down.
Outside, it was chaos as the crew were pushed to give their all.
With his Crystal Flux Spear, Leon moved with fluidity, slipping into formation and helping Daren and Brick to kill the Neon Beasts with even higher efficiency.
The moment that he became a Mechanist, Leon felt his body become stronger than ever before, stronger than humanly possible. And today, he confirmed it as with the other members of this crew, they went on a massacre.
DING!
~----~
[You have killed a Neon Beast: Shard Howler]
[You have killed a Neon Beast: Shard Howler]
[You have killed a Neon Beast: Ember Fox]
[You have killed a Neon Beast: Crystal Crow]
[You have killed a Neon Beast…]
[You have killed a Neon Beast…]
[You have killed a Neon Beast…]
~----~
…
Leon didn't know how much time passed.
But before he knew it, all he could see was blood.
Around him was an ocean of blood, machinery, and mutilated flesh. Shattered glass littered the ground, broken bones and machinery lay everywhere, turning the base of Talia's crew into a bloody scrapyard.
And yet, it was not over.
Still, more Neon Beasts were emerging.
The cacophony of battle was still ringing, but Leon's eardrums were so stressed already that they now felt numb. The sounds in his ear felt distant.
All he could hear was battle, and all he could see was battle.
His muscles were screaming, all his instincts told him to run, but he didn't. One thing kept him going- the sight of the other members of this crew going.
Daren was covered in blood from head to toe; his patterned brown scales seemed to have absorbed some of them. His tail was heavily injured, and it was no longer swinging to attack, but Daren never stopped moving despite his injuries.
His gauntlets were red-hot, an orange flare surrounding him wherever he moved as he tore through the Neon Beasts like a hurricane.
Wherever Daren was, Brick was also there.
Both were like water and earth.
Unlike Daren though, this Gene Augur didn't have much injuries in his body. He seemed capable of healing endlessly as he consistently faced the bulk of the Neon Beasts as the meat shield, but inevitably, his ADE was already dwindling.
His mechanical face was pale like a robot whose main battery had not been charged in months.
He was no longer going on HP regeneration streaks; he was more frugal now.
Leon had no idea if it would get better in later ranks, but at F Rank, the Mechanist had to be the weakest combat Class. The raw strength of F Rank was the only thing he had going for him. Apart from it, he had no combat skills.
If not for the Flux Crystal Spear, he would have been overrun by the beasts.
He also realized something in the heat of the battle. 'Mechanists are nothing without preparation. Our creations are our power, but we need time to build'.
'Right now, I'm an unprepared Mechanist'.
'When will it end?' He sighed.
He was battered, but the sight of Kain standing up every time that he was injured kept him going.
Yet he was worried. 'Even a mechanical body has a limit. There's a time when even Brick won't be able to stand up again'.
'When will we hit our limits?' His black eyes gleamed.
He didn't have the luxury to look back at what was happening inside the cargo trailer, he could only focus on fighting to the best of his ability but he could not help but worry. 'I think it's been 3 hours or so, right?' He wasn't sure.
'I wonder what Talia is going through inside the Trial'.
'Dammit, why do Ascendants have to go through Trials? Do we really have to hold the fort for 12 hours?'
His eyes flickered in desperation as he observed his surroundings.
Despite his tired joints and burning muscles, Leon's brain was still active as he calculated. At this rate, he knew that there were 0 chances of them making it to 12 hours. 'Something has to change'.
Something did change, but it was not what Leon wanted.
After hours of going at it, holding the fort against the endless tide of Neon Beasts, something that exceeded their rank finally emerged.
DING!
~----~
[WARNING!] [WARNING!]
[E Rank Bio-entity detected!]
~----~