BXBX NOVEL Chapter 438: Strange Tunnel - End
The grotesque beast falls to the ground as the concrete cracking with its massive body and weight, then the blast of flame from a heavy flamethrower comes burning it to ash. The flesh beast roared in agony thrashing and trying to survive, its unlife dwindling and the roar slowly subsided.
Ragnar walked over and stopped beside the beast. He crouched down and examined it. "This... it\'s the same as the flesh golem. The difference is that it has traces of life... no, it should be artificial life, just like a homunculus, but..." Ragnar muttered under his breath.
He then fetched a transparent container for keeping sensitive ingredients, cut a piece of flesh, and kept it within that container.
"I need to bring this back and consult with Teacher Envy," Ragnar said as he kept some pieces of meat from the creature.
The group then checked the surrounding area and continued on their way until they reached the end of the tunnel.
The large, thick steel door appeared to be a hydraulic lock. Its thickness and security threshold were no different from a door on a bank vault, standing in the way of Ragnar, Penthesilea, and the group of Astral PMC troops. It was clear that zombies and the flesh beast had come out of this door.
"Lord Stenmark, do you have a way to open it?" asked Penthesilea.
"Let me see for a bit," said Ragnar as he touched the door and began to mutter a spell. Several lights shone, but it seemed that the spells Ragnar used were ineffective. After more than five minutes passed, one of the soldiers stepped forward.
"Sir!" the soldier called out, showing Ragnar a large pack of explosives in his hand.
Ragnar nodded and retreated from the door, signaling for the other soldiers to do the same along with Penthesilea.
The demolitionist set up the explosives at the door and then quickly retreated from the blast radius. He counted to three, then immediately pushed the button.
Boom!
The thundering explosive sound resonated within the tunnel, and the heat wave touched the faces of the Astral PMC troops. The explosive used was a special superheat charge, the same one used as the shell of an Atlantean battleship, but with controlled explosive capabilities and shape to limit its destructive force to only destroying the door.
The door melted and exploded, the heated red metal torn through and melted inside, creating a large gaping hole.
The group walked through the gaping hole in the door, and what they witnessed was a vast space. To be exact, it was a vast circular room that resembled a dome. At the center of the room stood a large mound made of flesh, blood, and metal conjoined with bolts. It was as if the flesh had grown out of the metal, serving as a base yet not at the same time.
A grotesque blood bag hung from it, containing an indescribable shadowy figure inside.
The mound pulsated like a heart, but instead of sending blood elsewhere, it absorbed blood with each beat. Inside the blood, a man in a long black robe was shrouded, his figure obscured.
"What... is that thing?" Ragnar uttered in bewilderment and alarm as he saw the mound.
The mound wasn\'t something he could identify at a glance, as he wasn\'t as knowledgeable as Envy. From his limited knowledge, it appeared to be some kind of incubation mechanism rather than a device, given that it was made of flesh and blood growing on metal.
However, the group couldn\'t approach the large mound in the middle of the room. In front of them were vast hordes of undead, shuffling toward them with hunger in their eyes. This group of undead was inferior to the ones they had faced before, much slower in their movements—shambling toward them at a pace even slower than a human\'s normal walking speed.
Faced with the shambling horde, the Astral PMC troops formed a defensive line. A cacophony of gunfire erupted as they unleashed a hail of bullets. While each shot found its mark, the sheer number of undead threatened to overwhelm them.
Autocannons and heavy machine guns roared to life, their deafening blasts tearing through the horde. Mowed down like wheat before a scythe, the decaying bodies fell in heaps. Grenades launched from grenade launchers detonated amongst the ranks, their thunderous explosions further decimating the undead.
Unfazed by dwindling ammunition reserves, the soldiers continued their assault, knowing their resupply crew was close behind with fresh firepower.
As promised, the resupply troops finished setting up their automated turrets, which unleashed a torrent of fire into the fray. The soldiers\' miniguns, already blazing hot, continued to churn, spewing a relentless stream of large-caliber bullets.
The battle raged on, a chaotic ballet of disciplined efficiency against the relentless tide of the undead. One of their training courses was designed by Envy, who had foreseen the need to combat supernatural threats; it served them well in this situation.
The cloaked figure in the dark shroud swiveled towards the group, with a gesture. The lifeless corpses on the ground writhed in response, drawn together by an unseen force. In a horrifying display of necromancy, they coalesced into the grotesque flesh beast they had already encountered in the tunnel.
Reacting with practiced efficiency, the soldiers launched a renewed assault. Autocannons roared, shredding the creature\'s legs as before. The heavy flamethrower then roared to life, bathing the monstrosity in cleansing holy fire. It writhed in agony before dissolving into a smoldering heap.
Undeterred, the enigmatic mage raised his hand once more. Another pulsating abomination of stitched-together flesh materialized before them. This new monstrosity met the same swift demise, dispatched with practiced brutality by the battle-hardened soldiers.