Chương 166: Chapter 164 – Bullet and Blade

Cole pulled the trigger on the mounted gun and a cloud of hot gas and smoke immediately filled his face from the vents. Despite obviously being designed after a recoilless rifle, the thing practically jumped out of its mount and a thunderous CRACK accompanied a glowing projectile crossing the distance to the nymph. Even if the gun itself wasn't an otherworld armament, it apparently still got the benefit of his accretion wraps. The round went wide, he could see that, at least.

Before the smoke had cleared, Knuckleburns had already yanked open the chamber and stuffed a new round in—hopefully the right way around first try, this time. Cole coughed and burned a partial charge to mark enemies, but all he saw was a blurry field of blue silhouettes. The nymph didn't register as an enemy. His marking and shot correction wouldn't affect it at all. Gritting his teeth, he waited until the little goblin was clear of the breech, then fired again.

This time, the round impacted the side of the chitinous monster, cracking shell and splattering the rocks underneath with black goo. It roared and turned towards them just in time for Hard Tone to fire her own weapon. Her round streaked across the distance and exploded in a dark blue wave that expanded slightly before contracting into the shape of a rod and smashing into the nymph's flank before it could fully sap the ability's power.

It scrabbled and tumbled down the side of the incline, screaming and thrashing its claws for purchase. More goblin gunfire poured into it, even as the creature's form was lost in a cloud of dust and smoke.

"Did we get it?" asked Anne. As if it heard her, the nymph surged out of the cloud, digging its scythe-like claws in the gravel and pulling itself toward the L-ATV at an alarming pace.

"Knuckleburns!" shouted Cole, but he need not have bothered. The creature was already stuffing another round home. Hard Tone hit it with another of her impact munitions, but this time the nymph was ready. It caught the round on its armored shoulder and barreled through the concussion of the pile driver. Even Heartbreaker sent a sizzling fire spell back, but the flames withered to wisps of glittering smoke before they came within five meters of the creature. It opened its mouth and inhaled the fumes.

"Feed not this glutton any more!" shouted Sourtooth.

"Your magic works against you!" The old orc was proven right as Heartbreaker's spell sent the thing into a frenzy. It gnashed its jaws and bolted toward them, slithering just above the ground. Nothing that big should move that fast, and yet the thing came on like a train with claws and teeth. Knucklebones slammed the breech shut and looked up at Cole.

"I put a special one in there for you, boss!" Cole lined up the tube and fired back at the null devil nymph. The round streaked away and impacted the creature square on the jaw, shattering several of its teeth and then bursting in a length of canvas and cords that wrapped the nymph's face. It veered off, claws too long and awkward to properly clear the canopy of what must have once been a drogue chute of some sort. Its momentum carried it into a pillar of stone, and it smashed through the rock and spun.

Its long, sinuous tail whipped around, smashing another of the goblin go-karts to pieces. Little blue creatures went flying—some high enough that they unfurled small, triangular sails that caught the wind and sent the creatures aloft. Still coughing through the smoke, Cole looked back at Hard Tone.

"This isn't working!" She grimaced back.

"I know! It wasn't supposed to be this big!"

"Fear ye not," said Sourtooth.

"The little brothers have already for backup called." The nymph pulled itself out of the wreckage of the rock formation. It ignored the rockets thumping into its side, caught sight of the L-ATV again, and tore after them. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"Why's it so focused on us?" asked Cole. Sourtooth pointed at Heartbreaker.

"Seek nymphs the strongest source of magic. This is a mage, yes? Brightly does his soul burn to the eyes of the null devils. It does not take a Midnighter to calculate the sums." Cole glanced at Heartbreaker, whose face grew ashen as he pushed up against the far side of the vehicle. The sun blotted out for a moment, and Cole looked back to see a black scythe the size of a pickup truck sweeping down. Anne jerked the wheel to the other side.

The claw drove down, cutting a meter-deep gouge in the hardpack behind the L-ATV. The force of it shook the ground, and the vehicle began to wobble. Hard Tone grabbed Cole.

"Airborne! Take Heartbreaker!" she pointed to a narrow ravine off the south side of the trail.

"We need to buy time!" Cole looked from Hard Tone, to the mage, to the creature that was gearing up to spring at them once again. Without another word, he grabbed Heartbreaker, burned two charges of his ability, and leapt from the vehicle just as the monster pounced again." Woooooh!" shouted a voice down near his feet. Knuckleburns hung onto his trouser leg as they shot into the air. Luckily, the goblin didn't weigh enough to slow them. Much.

The null devil nymph's jaws spread wide, snapping shut just under goblin's feet. As it passed close to them, Cole felt his enhancements drain away and his access to his charges vanish. Even his ability went dead. His ravenous rifle sent an impulse of panic before the presence in his mind vanished. Cole's eyes widened as he realized they were now two un-enhanced humans (and one goblin) shooting through the air at interstate speeds without the benefit of the Meteoric Leap's kinetic nullification.

But the momentum of the null devil nymph carried it past its attempt to snag them out of the air, and both enhancements, charges, and the feel of his active ability restored. The reached the apex of the leap, where Knuckleburns lost his grip and began free-wheeling through the sky. Cole made a grab for him, but the goblin was already out of reach.

"Shit!"

"Don't worry, Airborne!" shouted Heartbreaker. Sure enough, Knuckleburns smashed face-first into the ground, bounced, and slid to a stop. Cole fed their own momentum into his rifle as they came close to the ground and they dropped onto the dust with the smallest of shockwaves. Cole was up first, pulling Heartbreaker along. Heartbreaker was higher-leveled and built like a college linebacker, so he kept pace easily, leaning down to scoop up Knuckleburns.

"Is it still behind us, Airborne?" Cole risked a glance back, eyes widening. The nymph was absolutely still after them, and not just the nymph. Most of the goblin vehicles gave chase, and the air was filled with the contrails of goblin rockets as they impact on and around the nymph. The shots that missed the nymph, which was most of them, went on to impact around Cole and Heartbreaker. The tight confines troubled the creature, forcing it to maneuver around the rock formations or smash through them.

But it was coming, and it was gaining on them.

"Keep going!" said Cole. He turned around and leveled his rifle, willing it into its high-caliber configuration. The ravenous rifle hissed and steamed as it reformed, enhanced rounds buzzing with energy inside it. The null devil nymph might nullify the Lewis Field around it, but kinetic energy was kinetic energy, and all the bullet magic was happening at the muzzle. Cole fired all five enhanced shots as quick as he could re-index his weapon.

The shots smashed into the left half of the thing's face like tank shells, shattering its left mandible and carving out several of its eyes. The force torqued it to the side, and it ground its shell against the canyon wall, screaming in pain and rage. Cole turned and sprinted back up to Heartbreaker, who was quickly approaching the sheer wall of what seemed to be a box canyon.

"One more!" he said.

"Do it!" said Heartbreaker, wrapping his arms around the squirming goblin. Cole grabbed Heartbreaker's plate carrier strap and burned another two charges to launch them up and away from the nymph once more. They crested the edge of the ridge, only for Cole to be startled yet again.

"Boss, look out!" shouted Knuckleburns. Ahead of them, three mis-matched helicopters flew at them full tilt—close enough that Cole could see the already bug-eyed goblins' eyes grow even wider. They yanked their sticks one way, Cole burned half his last full charge to shunt them another. Somehow, they avoided being turned into puree by the blades, and the helicopters got back into level flight without crashing.

The nymph managed to crest the cliff, climbing out on its scythes, only to meet the guns and rockets of the helicopter strafing run. It shrieked as smoke and dust engulfed it, shadow thrashing in the cloud. The three of them landed on the gravel, rolling through a kicked up cloud of dust and debris. They came to rest on their backs, and even Cole was disoriented. He stumbled to his feet.

"Come on, those choppers won't hold it for long," he said.

"They're just to pin 'em down, boss," said Knuckleburns. He tugged at Cole's trouser and pointed up in the sky.

"Look!"