"They've done something to the mechanism from down there," the Prophet surmised and tapped his foot on the door in front of him. "We'll have to find another way down. Buzz saws, you know what to do."
Those who had the weapon in hand immediately worked together to cut a hole in the elevator large enough for the mechs to climb through. Another group opened sections of the top and used grapplers to provide cables to climb down with. It was quick work and something they had done before. It wasn't long before the first group of five proceeded down the cables.
They moved quickly and only slowed once they were close to the bottom. When they did, they were fired upon immediately. A couple were dropped and their mechs caught fire.
The others managed to take cover in the small chamber, while more of the Desert Warriors followed with shields held level to support their attack. The Prophet elected to move after the next group, clamped hold of the cables, and rushed to the bottom where his troops rallied and positioned themselves to allow space for more of their numbers to enter the next level.
He looked forward to seeing the best that FEMA City had to offer in a fair fight.
Chapter Seventy-Nine
His boots touched the bottom of the shaft and he shifted aside a little more as the rest of his men carved into the mechs that tried to hold the elevator area against them. They wore the same kinds of mechs and colors as those they had fought on the surface but there were fewer than the Prophet imagined there would be.
This close to the city, he would have thought they would have put more numbers into the defense, especially as the chambers grew smaller and tighter.
Thus far, the Desert Warriors experienced little difficulty. They thoroughly outnumbered the group they were attacking. The defenders struggled to retreat and assume defensive positions, but they weren't given any room to maneuver. Swords and buzz saws shredded their armor and spat showers of sparks that illuminated the chamber they pushed into.
"I really thought they would put more resistance down here," the Prophet grumbled and scanned the surroundings as he reloaded his assault rifle.
Of course, Robert7 hadn't known what they could expect with these defenses, which was perfectly reasonable. The young pilot hadn’t been privy to the strategic planning and tactics, after all. It merely meant that whatever they encountered this deep into the city's defenses, they would simply have to find a way to push through or around it.
For now, they waited for Jessica13's team to make their impact. Not that he expected them to make it this soon but a part of him had hoped they might. He would have preferred to maintain the momentum rather than have even a few moments to think.
The last of the fighters of the company that had been the first to engage the Desert Warriors were taken apart, prevented from retreating, and killed. They didn't even try to surrender, of course, which left his troops with no choice but to kill them to a man.
He wasn't sure where his sudden doubts about the decision came from. Maybe he had spent too much time around Hammerhand and his Knights and their morality had begun to rub off on him. It was all well and good in this area in the world but it would get them killed in the desert when they returned.
If they returned.
The Prophet steeled himself as they worked to get the elevators functioning once more. The last of the Desert Warriors were allowed to descend, which gave them the chance to fully repair and put their mechs together again before they turned their attention to the massive gate that now impeded their passage.
He couldn't help the feeling that they had merely cleared the chaff from the wheat, the scraps from the larger force they were about to face when they pushed through the barriers.
They could only be described as gates and stood almost three times as tall as his mech and wide enough for ten mechs to march through shoulder to shoulder. Grapplers were fired into and attached to the gates, and the groups combined their efforts to pull them open.
There was some resistance as the magnetic locks tried to keep them closed, but the strength of dozens of mechs was enough to accomplish their goal.
His eyes narrowed, he zoomed in on the group that had already assumed formation on the other side of the chamber revealed behind the gates.
The cavern looked natural, although it was supported by massive columns. Lighting appeared to come from the ceiling by way of nuclear-powered lamps.
The Prophet had never seen this much space that wasn't out in the open. Whoever had built it had likely found these caverns already formed and made use of them. Otherwise, he couldn't begin to imagine the amount of work that would go into the excavation required for something of this magnitude.
The troop they faced looked a good deal more formidable than those they had encountered earlier, even though they were far inferior in number.
For one thing, they looked more organized.
Four companies of four Quadrupeds each were formed up in front of another gate. They were massive, larger even than the Excalibur Hammerhand piloted. They were painted all in black, and from what he could see, they carried more armor than most Quadrupeds did—which was saying something since they were the heaviest mechs ever produced.
A couple of assault mechs and two heavy mechs that supported them almost seemed tiny by comparison.
A few other modifications were discernible but he couldn't make out the details. Still, the attack had come this far and he had no intention to stop now. They would find a way through them.
"Form up, you sons of bitches!" the Prophet called to his troops and leveled his assault rifle at the mechs opposite him. The Desert Warriors moved in beside him and set their shields
