All the others would make the charge and do so as loudly as they could.
The cooling vents popped out of the Excalibur as he began the ascent. Climbing wasn't the massive mech's strongest point so cooling it was necessary, but it also made it look like a cloud rose from their position that would draw the focus of those watching from above and provide quite a show as they emerged in numbers, ready for a fight.
He reached the top and took a moment to steady the mech before he continued. A couple of assault mechs flanked him, and Tinker moved in behind, ready to support them if it was needed.
Cora, who piloted their Raptor, advanced as well but remained to the rear. She would provide cover fire if things got messy during the retreat.
The remainder of his group had already begun to surge forward when Hammerhand raised his weapon and brought it down slowly to point at the defensive positions held at the base of the mesa.
"And it came to pass, at the end of their days, that the hammer of the Lord smote them from their peak and cast them asunder to be scattered by the winds so that none would stand before them!"
The massive speakers vibrated the entire mech and carried his voice well across the open plains toward the concrete barriers that had been set up to stop any attacking mechs. As his hammer pointed toward it, the first volley of rockets from Cora's Raptor streaked away and left plumes of white smoke in their wake.
Alarms were immediately raised at the top of the mesa. Sightlines were established and mechs moved toward the edge. That was all they needed.
The defensive barriers were struck by the rockets, exploded, and were effectively shredded in three different sections of the perimeter, which gave the Knights three clear routes of attack while Cora prepared to set the Raptor up in position.
She knew what to do from that point forward. Coordinating the inevitable retreat would be their only chance to survive this.
Hammerhand pushed the Excalibur to increase speed with every step. Something as massive as his mech couldn't really run in the strictest sense, but the long strides were enough to make it move faster than most of those around him.
A couple of his group fell as the incoming rounds and rockets from the defense at the top of the mesa impacted them. The alarm continued to sound and more enemy mechs appeared to join the defensive formation at the top, and their firepower increased. They realized that the Knights had cleared paths through the barriers and focused their attack on those three entrances.
The sheer volume of fire was difficult to contend with. More mechs took damage and used the comms to call the support mechs for on-the-go repairs as they continued to press forward toward the mesa.
They hadn’t expected it to be an easy fight, but Hammerhand had at least hoped they could reach the base without taking casualties. The defenders were quick to respond to the threat, annoyingly enough.
The air was thick with bullets and he raised his shield to give his people as much cover as he could while still allowing them to advance. Not all the Knights and townsfolk could crowd behind the thick blue layer of film, but the brilliance of it drew fire from all angles.
His HUD alerted him that the generator for it had begun to heat faster than usual and spiked well above the acceptable parameters.
Of course, those parameters had been tested in pristine conditions and usually only took fire from one source.
Still, it would be best to not burn it out. He stopped when he reached one of the sections of obstacles that hadn't been destroyed and dropped his shield. In that moment, the mechs behind him opened fire in a solid volley and tried to reach the mechs above them as they continued their advance. They didn’t appear to do much damage but it was enough to make the defenders back away from the edge, which gave them a small reprieve from the barrage.
It was a start. Hammerhand led a group through the central path and waited for the enemy to resume their fire again before he raised his shield. He held it above him now to deflect a rain of bullets and explosives as they advanced toward the steps.
The cutoff from the top of the mesa was sharp, which meant they would have some cover from the fire when they were close to the base. As long as they hugged the towering rock, things would be easier. Not much, obviously, but every little help counted.
The Knights were organized enough to know this and sure enough, as they moved in closer, the shooting diminished. Hammerhand moved first and held his shield up to block any rounds that might be fired at them.
A few of the defending Raptors aimed their launchers over the edge and began to fire straight down, but they did so almost completely blindly.
“Keep moving!” he roared at his men and guided them successfully to the first step.
When they reached the second, he looked up and scowled when he realized that not all the defenses were at the top of the mesa. Scaffolds were visible at the edge, where a group of Quadrupeds held position. They lacked the height advantage of those above but their heavy armor would make up for that.
And unlike the higher defenders, these had a clear firing line on the advancing Knights.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Hold the fucking advance!”
Either some hadn’t heard him or the townsfolk wouldn’t be dissuaded
