46 Merlot's Island Pt. 3

|Important Note|

It was an impressive build, a tower that housed multiple floors that each contained the various machinery and electronics that controlled the entire island. Defenses created for such a building were of the latest materials made by engineers of Merlot Industries.

They were designed for the specifications that Merlot had. Turrets that could send out a barrage of fire, rounds were made of the standard rifle caliber. It could shred hordes of grimm.

Cannons were created as a counter to vehicles that could resist small-arm fire. Merlot had known he was going to be a wanted man the moment his survival and many other of his staff were to be known.

He had been one of the factors for a thriving city's collapse. His experiments were looked down upon by the people and in return, Merlot looked down on them too by deeming them fools that couldn't understand the superiority of grimm.

It led to the fortress island of Merlot, defenses were created specifically for the chance that Atlas would aid in his capture. The cannons were made to pierce bullheads and their droids effectively. It was supposed to be impenetrable.

Until Hanns came in with his Tiger II (P)

Thick doesn't even begin to describe how much heavy armor Hanns held. Dust energy was useless against it since it barely punched through the surface. Piercing it with high penetration guns only leaves a scratch.

A gun that could shoot through Hanns didn't exist. No one in their right mind would create a highly self-destructive and impractical vehicle. Engines could only do so much to carry almost 69 tons. So no one had expected a heavily armored machine.

It would break down more than a depressed teenager, it was a sitting duck against close air support, and most of all, the transmission would break every single time…

On earth at least, but Hanns wasn't on earth anymore.

For Hanns, war thunder made him immune to its shortcomings and he was going to fully exploit it by using heavy tanks in combination with moving around with airplanes.

Merlot didn't stand a chance in fighting this behemoth but there were still some things that could be done.

A barrier surrounded the central tower, Hanns looked at it with awe and greed. Awe because the wall that made up the entire circumference was created with hard light.

Where or how Merlot obtained so much of it was a big question but Hanns didn't need to know. His greed made him realize that there would be someplace that created the hard light wall.

He shot at it the first time and the wall broke but it quickly came back to life. He shot DI-APCBC but it resulted in the same effect.

'It's continuously using hard-light dust up, must mean there must be stored somewhere.'

Hanns started to drool if he could. It was more dust for his tank, rare dust at that. Hanns stared at the wall and went around. It made up 3 sides forming a triangular shield that protected the central tower.

'We only need to break one side…but I want the dust.'

Hanns tried looking for anything remotely looking like a place that would hold hard light storage on his map. It was difficult since everything was just a square, so he trusted his instincts and just went in a random direction.

'Alright, that looks like a good one.'

Hanns saw a considerable structure with a large industrial gate. It was a building that stood out, so Hanns thought it was a good place to start.

"Neo, how are we supposed we open this?"

Neo smirked, she already knew what to do. Despite being the sneaky assassin that infiltrates quietly. She started to move the gun and activated the trigger.

The cannon fired and went straight towards the gate, it exploded inwards and a strong explosion ripped through the air.

"Guess, that answers my question."

Hanns kept shooting at the gate until its structural support was weak. Hanns went backward and judged the distance. Satisfied, he rammed through the gate to see what was inside.

"Damn, nothing at all."

It was a building filled with refrigeration, it was the island's supplies and nothing more. The buzzing of electronics and the cold temperature let him know it was the wrong place.

'Let's go to another one.'

Hanns traversed towards more buildings, looking out for anything that stood out, buildings were bland. Pipes ran around the area and ended towards the research facility.

'Maybe, it's not something that stood out but something small enough. Hard light was rare so I could have overestimated how large the building should be.'

Hanns saw in the distance an inconspicuous building that had less height compared to the other buildings. Some were the same height but their width was what caught Hanns' attention.

He quickly traveled towards the building. It didn't stand out at all, with no electronics blaring and no pipes leading outwards and around it. Only a metal box with a small entrance.

"Neo, I won't shoot buildings anymore, this thing is small enough that I'd probably completely destroy it."

Neo understood Hanns' reasoning and got outside the tank. She walked towards the door and something called out to her in a robotic voice.

"Facial recognition results: Not permitted."

Neo looked at the camera popping out, she took a look at the ID she got from the body and started focusing on her semblance.

She replicates the scientist's face and stared at the camera. The voice bleeps out again as it starts scanning Neo and her fake face.

"Facial recognition results: Welcome senior researcher Hamilton."

The doors hissed as they opened sideways, Neo took one glance inside. She heard machinery inside and smirked. She looked behind her and gave a thumbs up at Hanns.

"It's a hit?" Hanns asked.

Neo nodded and went inside. She saw the control panel and stared at it for a moment. Deciding that it was too much work to try and find out what to push she just stabbed the panel.

The control panel sparks as the sword begins cutting through the wires, the displays die down and the light that it had fades into darkness. The entire building gets shut down with the only light source being the sun outside the door.

There was something else though, the unmistakable glow of dust crystal inside a machine. She took one look at the machine and dragged her hand all over it.

She knocks and feels out the hollow parts of the generator. She hears a solid thud indicating that it wasn't hollow. She looks at what she knocked on and sees a panel.

She wedges her blade inside it and forcefully cracks it open. Dust containers were inside holding kilograms of hard light dust that still glowed.

Neo returns to Hanns with two containers and begins to load them on Hanns' hull, the moment it touches it. Hanns willed it to go inside his inventory. Neo gets back inside to retrieve the rest while Hanns looks at the map.

'Let's see if there is anything else that looks like this is on the map.'

He compares the shapes on the map and spots two other locations that looked the same. Neo returns with the other dust containers and climbs over Hanns and returns to the commander's hatch.

Hanns traveled through the enclosed area. Dozens of robots tried to attack him but he was getting tired of having to destroy them over and over. The turrets kept activating and shooting him. He returned fire, which was to his displeasure since it was more GE and robotic parts down the drain.

He traveled through another area and saw the dozens of buildings with several in particular marked with another symbol. It was the Merlot Industries logo but with three green circles and arrows filling the space in between the circles right below it.

It was an odd symbol but Hanns didn't pay too much attention to it since he was rushing towards the 2nd generator. A voice suddenly emanates from a speaker nearby.

"How was your visit to my generator, visitors? It seems that you have been acquainting yourselves with my security team." Merlot arrogantly comments.

Merlot continues his out-of-place monologuing "I remember you familiarizing yourselves to my employees, has my serum caught your eye? It appears someone has recognized my genius. The world shall know that the grimm we fight isn't their final form and with my serum, it could finally work!"

Hanns was staring at the speaker that Merlot's voice came from and sighs, 'Do all these pretentious mad scientist-type characters do these things? When is he going to stop?'

"Remnant will have me as their new master as soon as I finalize what nature couldn't do!"

Hanns was still sighing 'He's still going at it. What's next he's going to throw his creations at me? I've already fought his deathstalkers.'

"You may have taken my serum and it may have been in testing but I have here the perfect specimens to test my latest creations! You, the visitors!" Merlot laughed.

The nearby building with the unknown marks opened its doors and revealed dozens of mutant grimm that Hanns had already fought. Among these creatures was a new type of mutant.

'Finally. Are those boarbatusks?'

The green crystals on the boarbatusks were much harsher in sharpness and number. It was covered from its spine all the way from its back. Its face somewhat stayed the same with spikes dotted all over it.

"Neo, no need to use your illusions. Just aim with the gun, I'll handle movement."

Hanns rushed forward, not taking a chance at using his reverse gear to retreat. Hanns loaded in DI-APCBC and shot towards the front. The majority of the mutated grimm got injured or died in the first shot.

Several sent out spikes towards the Tiger II (P) but harmlessly bounced off while Hanns started to turn the turret around. The second wave of attacks came but was instantly destroyed with a single shell.

Neo aimed for the creeps first, then the beowolves, and ended with them staring down the boarbatusks that survived the shrapnel by curling itself inwards. It used its stronger armor covering its back to do so, augmented by the serum that Merlot used.

The boarbatusks start rolling on the ground, their spines glow green while they built up speed. They accelerate forward traveling down the ground and heading straight toward Hanns.

'Those look cool.'

Hanns stood still, trying to figure out its strength just in case he met any of them in the future. Like saws, one of the boarbatusks goes for the front armor, it spun and left a deepening gash. It lost its momentum and got shot as soon as it leaped off Hanns' armor.

'It's not that deep, it could eventually go through if it kept at it for a day or two.'

Neo lets out another shell towards one of the boarbatusks. Two other boarbatusks dodge the hit while the third gets obliterated while it tried to speed into Hanns.

The other two go for each side making Hanns irritated since his turret traverse isn't the best to chase around rapidly spinning mutant boarbatusks.

The first tried striking the left side of Hanns but bounces off as Hanns went forwards causing it to hit the angles turret. Neo turns the gun and immediately puts a shot into the boarbatusk.

The second one tries the back side of the tank, it got close enough to see the engine but Hanns goes forward. It undershoots and lies behind the treads of Hanns.

It tried to get up but Hanns reversed, Hanns squeezes its skull. The grimm holds on for only a second before the overbearing weight of the Tiger II (P) cracks the grimm's mask and gets its head sandwiched between the tank treads and the floor.

Merlot sat in his room, his grimm being slaughtered like it was nothing, didn't phase him. There was something else he had been working on and it would be his masterpiece. For now, the vehicle he was engaging in combat with was getting even more intriguing for him.

After the small fight, Hanns had reached the 2nd generator. Neo once again got out of the tank and did the same thing. She assumed the identity of the senior researcher and went inside. Destroying the control panel and stealing all the dust inside.

The last one was still left and after that, he could finally go to the central tower to meet Merlot. It was going easy so far, so he was confident it would be a swift victory.

After Neo takes the last of the dust inside, Hanns looks at his inventory to check the amount of hard light dust in him. "Man, Ruby is going to have a field day when I get back."