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“Get ready!” shouted Thao. “We’re taking this door down, and hell’s about to break loose right after, people!”
All the fighters were prepared, carrying their firearms and ready to shoot. The tank slowly moved up to the door, positioning its cannon. The wall of concrete was built over a former highway and was much thicker than they could see. One blow wouldn’t be enough to take it down, but their goal was to force their way in as fast as possible. Because only Eden could get in, it didn’t matter if it wasn’t large enough for all the Zodiacs’ men. Thao would probably enlarge it later. For now, Eden’s only objective was to be ready to get in.
She found refuge behind the closest building, protecting her ears, Dante next to her with a gun in each hand. They all waited, and the tank’s first blow resonated a few seconds later. An incredible cloud of smoke appeared, meaning at least a portion of the concrete had been hit. They probably hadn’t succeeded in making an opening in one shot, but now, the Core was aware something was happening on this side too. It was beginning.
“Edge, update me on your position,” she said.
“Anubis here. The fight’s raging here; they’ve deployed assassination drones, fighting bots, and automated weapons from the wall. We’re busy taking those over. Our radars have detected human fighters behind the doors, but they aren’t opening it yet.”
“Gluttony here! We haven’t breached yet, but the casualties are increasing! We’re closer to forcing our way in, and they’ve begun sending human soldiers already!”
“Pride here. Trying to keep up with that damn crazy Warlock, but we’re intensifying the hacks on the Core. They’ll notice it’s more than the usually isolated attacks soon. We’ve got about fifteen—no, twenty Dive Hackers in already.”
They all sounded busy and focused, but at least, so far, things were going more or less as planned. The fact that the Core had sent human soldiers to the south to face the Dragon and the Eagle meant they were overwhelmed already. If they could, they would have sent only their military robots, drones, and androids to deal with the attack rather than risking some of their citizens’ lives. Eden even doubted those soldiers were really citizens; perhaps they were more like prisoners used for this purpose or something. She couldn’t remember any citizen being involved in law enforcement in the Core...
Another detonation indicated the tank was still firing at the door.
“Nebty, the evacuations?”
“About eighty percent already, but some idiots are refusing to move. Lecky and A. are on it though. Focus on your side, Ghost, you’re going to be the busy one in a minute...”
Another blow seemed to indicate she was right. Eden heard Thao shouting orders from far away, and suddenly, a rain of bullets showered them.
“Shit!”
Eden felt Dante’s hand suddenly push her against the ground, his body covering her.
“Dante!”
“Don’t move!”
The shooting continued, and more screams and gunshots were heard.
“Thao!” Eden shouted despite the deafening uproar.
“Drones!” the Rat hissed back, probably hiding too. “The fucking murder drones are here already!”
“Greed, Pride, get those bastards down!” she roared.
“On it.”
Soon after, the gunshots lessened, and Eden heard several crashes. She and Dante moved at the same time, coming out of hiding and pointing their guns toward the sky. The hackers had already lessened the drones by a bunch. In one glimpse, Eden caught sight of at least a dozen of them crashing to the ground, or against the buildings near them, emitting smoke and strange sizzling sounds. The drones still flying looked like gigantic metallic stink bugs, with bodies the shape and size of a large tire, and several cannon legs firing in all directions.
“Is it a bug? Is it a bat? Nope, it’s a bot, bot, a cute little murder bot~”
Eden shot, ignoring Loir’s annoying singing, trying to destroy more of them. The drones were arriving from behind the wall, in ordering ranks, and scattered once they were over the Rat’s and the Tiger’s men, beginning to shoot randomly. Luckily, after the first wave of fire, the mafiosos were now firing back and shooting those things down before they were able to hit them. The drones were conceived to kill precise targets but were not used to said targets firing back. They had no dodging moves nor defense; two or three good hits were enough to destroy them or at least damage them enough so they would crash. Soon enough, things got back on track, with Thao ordering her men to shoot the doors in the wall again while Dante’s men kept firing at the incoming drones. The hackers were also doing their part, taking control of the drones and forcing them to crash or shoot their peers. Their number was the only issue, and more kept coming.
Another blow was fired, this time followed by a loud collapse of the wall. The concrete was starting to suffer from all the damage, and caving in on itself.
“We need a proper opening!” shouted Dante.
“This isn’t a precision weapon, in case you hadn’t noticed!” Thao retorted, annoyed.
There was hope, though. With so much of the wall blasted, the concrete was collapsing, and they were now starting to see the tips of some of the buildings behind it. The question was, were they going to have to climb over that, or find a way in...
“Loir, does the Map show anywhere that could be easier for us to get through on this side?” frowned Eden.
“Did you forget? The Map isn’t working without you, my Kitty!”
