The ground shook as the tunnel walls gave way.
Kai realized the Sentinels had been separated, so he made a decisive move. He raised his fist as a signal, and the rigged entrance collapsed.
Crash!
It happened so quickly… The east passage caved in, stone and steel crashing down in a storm of dust.
Kai had planned this carefully. Three tunnels were preserved for defense, while the rest had been rigged as traps to cripple the Mechanical Army.
Two of the Hounds were caught instantly, most of their mechanical bodies buried beneath rubble.
Thud! Thud!
Their claws scraped against the debris as they tried to make their way about, but it only made the sound of shrieking metal against stone. The weight of the collapse pinned them fast.
Furthermore, three Sentinels, marching in formation above, were also caught. One toppled sideways, its human shield swayed violently, while the other two Sentinels sank knee‑deep into fractured earth, their massive bodies were trapped in the wreckage.
Kai didn't waste a second. "Now!"
The survivors surged forward, emerging from the other tunnels to strike.
Kai led them with his revolver raised.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His shots rang out in rapid succession.
Beside him, the four survivors from Earth, Wallace, Ralph, Claire, and Victor, moved as one. Their revolvers fired together, each shot aimed not at the armored cores of the machines but at their weak points, the joints, scanners, and weapon grips.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Most of the bullets couldn't pierce Sentinel armor, but they were enough to disrupt balance and force the machines to drop their weapons. The force of impact rattled machines and made them all stumble.
"Tsk…" Kai frowned at the sight.
Apparently, alongside the sound of metal striking metal came something worse… the sound of the piercing of flesh. Muffled cries escaped from the captives strapped to the Sentinels' bodies. Some were killed instantly, but none of the survivors even had the strength to cry.
However, they just kept firing.
The other groups joined in.
Six members of Haven‑45's Fighter Group advanced, their revolvers blazing as they targeted knees and elbows.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Sparks erupted as bullets tore into exposed gears, forcing the machines to stagger.
Russel led two Scouts, darting between cover to find better angles. They quickly realized the Hounds were trying to claw their way out of the rubble and shifted their aim.
"Shoot!"
The two Scavengers, hardened survivors armed with similar revolvers, fired relentlessly at the rifles clutched in the Sentinels' hands.
Kai knew those high-tech rifles couldn't be destroyed by simple bullets. But if the Sentinels were forced to unhand them, they would seize the weapons. After all, they were Energy Rifles, capable of cutting through steel.
"We did it!" one of the Scavengers shouted as a rifle was knocked loose, clattering to the ground. He knew his shots had likely killed several captives in the process, but he ignored it. Everyone did. No one dared to speak of it.
Another Sentinel tried to raise its weapon, but a bullet shattered the actuator in its wrist. The rifle fell, useless.
"Last one! Focus on that thing!" Kai ordered.
Another machine attempted to move, but its knee joint erupted in sparks, locking the leg in place.
"I did that! Took me twelve consecutive shots to hit the same spot!" Ralph shouted, grinning despite the chaos. His Sharpshooter's Focus Talent had proven invaluable.
Kai's voice carried above the gunfire. "Great job! Keep going until they're not moving! Disable them… make them immobile!"
The survivors obeyed. Their revolvers fired as they echoed across the garbage field.
The pinned Hounds snapped their mechanical jaws, but rubble held them tight. One managed to lift its head, optics glowing red, only to have a Scout's bullet smash into its eye. The light flickered, then died.
"Oh! Just target their eyes, and they drop!" one shouted.
"Easier said than done. How do you hit that?" another replied.
The captives strapped to the Sentinels screamed as the machines rocked. By now, most had already died.
Kai's heart clenched, but his aim never faltered. He knew the risk… Every stray bullet could kill a human shield. Yet aside from Ralph, none of them were skilled marksmen. They were beginners, desperate fighters. In seconds, Kai realized most of the captives had perished.
One Sentinel tried to wrench itself free from the rubble.
But then, Victor's shot tore through its elbow, locking the arm in place. Ralph followed with a bullet to the shoulder joint.
"Damn… reloading's too slow! Can someone hand me revolvers already loaded?" Ralph shouted.
Kai's eyes lit up. He hadn't considered this before, but Ralph needed a dedicated "reloader" to maximize his Talent.
"Let me!" Kai shouted as he couldn't find anyone to help Ralph at the moment.
Just like that, Ralph's revolver fired again and again. He targeted the exposed mechanism at the back of the Sentinel, each shot timed perfectly between the machine's movements.
Finally, the two Hounds stopped moving while the three Sentinels lay crippled with their weapons discarded, and their limbs locked in place.
"Whoa! Let's retrieve the loot!"
"That rifle, let me take a look."
But before the survivors could even loot anything, the ground trembled again.
The remaining three Sentinels and the last Hound had finally arrived.
As soon as Kai saw this, he immediately gave a signal. This time, it was not about another tunnel collapsing, but instead, the smoke grenades from the Stealth Gift Pack were used!