Chapter 291: Brutalisk: Are You Tickling Me?
Through the servo-systems in his powersuit, Burns witnessed the slaughter of the humans in the sanctuary by the Harlequins and Mandrakes.
"Burns! What do you see?!" Argus yelled.
"It's Eldar! And those monsters they keep as pets!" Burns roared, his eyes shot with blood. Just as he was about to charge in and join the fight, he was stopped by Argus.
Argus knew that rushing in now would just be throwing two more lives away. Since the Dark Eldar had managed to find this place, they had undoubtedly come fully prepared. The protection of the Swarm and their repeated victories had made the humans let their guard down.
The Harlequins had no interest in joining the battle between the humans and the Mandrakes. They didn't care about the lives of those strange, non-Eldar creatures. They had never intended to kill every human here. Their objective was the two Astartes, who were now incapacitated. In Lemire's eyes, if any human knew Abathur's location, it would be these two. Ignoring the curses of the two Space Marines, Lemire began preparing to take them away.
"Burns, you should go," Argus said, his voice grim. "Go find Abathur. He will protect you."
"What about you?!"
"The Salamanders have never abandoned their comrades. I'm going to charge in and save as many people as I can."
"No! I'm still in my powersuit, and I can still fight! The Mongorte Dynasty has no deserters either!" Burns flatly refused Argus's suggestion. "You can't abandon your comrades, so I can abandon mine? There are many soldiers from the Dynasty in there!"
Seeing Burns's resolute attitude, Argus said no more. "Good! Then we fight together!"
Just as the two steeled themselves for a suicidal charge into the sanctuary, the two Aether-Zerglings that had brought them there moved to block their path, refusing to leave.
"Get out of the way, xenos!" Argus shouted, pushing at them. "Go back to your master and tell him what's happening here!"
He was trying to shoo the Zerglings away, unaware that they were also Abathur's eyes.
Through the intelligence relayed by the Zerglings, Abathur was already aware of what the human sanctuary was experiencing. In his eyes, the life or death of these humans was unimportant. Whether Burns and Argus went to their deaths meant nothing to him. However, these were the humans that Lucan had ordered him to bring out. And just as the Queen of Blades' command must be obeyed, Lucan's command was even more absolute.
He glanced at the battle reports from the main front. The Brutalisks could provide a significant advantage there, but he chose instead to dispatch them to save these humans.
Abathur looked at the three Brutalisks behind him and issued his command. The creatures, which had been standing quietly beside him, instantly exploded into a frenzy. They began to dig frantically with all their limbs, and in a matter of moments, their enormous bodies were buried beneath the ground. The solid rock beneath the fleshy floor could not stop them in the slightest.
Their destination was the human sanctuary. Traveling underground at unbelievable speeds, ignoring all terrain obstacles to reach any destination, was another of the Brutalisk's special abilities. This made them the nightmare of any fortress; the strongest walls and defensive lines would be breached by them.
Just as Argus and Burns were about to ignore the Zerglings blocking them, they suddenly felt a tremor from the ground. Both looked behind them and saw three massive uplifts in the earth, moving rapidly. The Creep was torn apart, revealing the ground beneath. Without stopping, the three ridges sped past them and charged directly toward the sanctuary.
A moment later, a soul-shaking roar erupted from within the sanctuary. Everything around them seemed to vibrate with it. The two Zerglings that had been blocking their path now also dashed toward the sanctuary. Seeing the state of the two Zerg, Argus immediately realized that Abathur had made his move. He quickly led Burns and charged into the sanctuary behind them.
As he stepped over the bodies of the human sentries at the entrance, he was stunned by the scene before him. The three Brutalisks had burst from the earth. Their biological blades were tearing apart every enemy in their path. Several Harlequins who were too slow to dodge were sent flying into the sky by the sheer impact. Forget being cut; a mere collision with a Brutalisk was enough to shatter their bodies. The Harlequins who were hit struggled futilely, every bone in their bodies already broken.
The Mandrakes, lacking much intelligence, tried to attack the Brutalisks, but their blades and daggers couldn't even penetrate the creatures' biological armor. The Brutalisks simply lifted their massive, four-legged limbs and crushed the Mandrakes underfoot.
Lemire's expression under his mask was one of utter shock.
This creature, the Brutalisk, had never been seen in the world before. The intelligence from Cadia had led Lemire to believe he had a complete picture of the Zerg's capabilities. But in that great war, the Zerg still hadn't shown all their cards?! Compared to the Ultralisk, this creature, enhanced by Abathur, was the Zerg's true bio-titan.
"What in the warp is this monster?!"
Lemire continuously fired his shuriken pistol. Although the projectiles managed to penetrate the Brutalisk's armor, this kind of piercing attack was nothing more than a mosquito bite to a creature of its size.
Some Harlequins used their agility to get close to the Brutalisks. They tried to use the monofilament wire from their Harlequin's Kiss to instantly liquefy the creatures' internal organs. But it was obvious that the Zerg's body was vastly different from a normal being's. The monofilament wire that entered the Brutalisk's body did indeed work, but it failed to cause any fatal damage. A large chunk of flesh was liquefied, but for a creature that felt no pain, it had no effect at all.
A biological blade swung through the air, and the sound barrier broke as it vaporized a Harlequin into a bloody mist. When your weapon is that big, the illusions used by the Harlequins to confuse their enemies are useless.
Seeing the Harlequins firing at them from a distance, the Brutalisks began to generate biological spikes within their specialized chest cavities. They did not use their wide-range acid spray; there were still many captured humans near the Harlequins. Instead, the Brutalisks began to use their newly acquired single-target attack. Powerful muscles launched the giant spikes like cannon shells.
Lemire didn't even see the trajectory of the spike before two members of his troupe beside him were impaled. The Harlequins' bodies were completely torn apart by the immense kinetic energy, reduced to a pile of limbs on the ground.
Faced with this giant unit, the Harlequins were helpless. To ensure the speed and surprise of their raid, they had not brought any vehicles or heavy weapons.
Watching his Harlequins being slaughtered one by one, several troupes had already lost more than half their members. And the damage they had inflicted... Lemire watched in horror as the wounds on the Brutalisks began to heal at a rapid pace. This was another of Abathur's unique abilities: the ability to regenerate his Zerg units within a certain period, without the need for a Queen or Creep. The damage they had bought with their lives was simply erased.
Seeing this, Lemire knew his mission had failed. The losses his troupes had sustained were beyond their acceptable limits. It was impossible to kill these three behemoths with the weapons they had on hand.
"Retreat! Forget the humans!"
At this moment, the Harlequins could no longer maintain their elegance. Now that these three monsters had arrived, it was certain that more Zerg were on their way. If they didn't leave now, they never would.
And the situation was just as Lemire feared. A Zerg army was already moving to surround their position.
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