The Purge was beaten back, if with difficulty. Even riddled with bullets, they simply kept on moving, and only Freelance's experience and skills prevented panic from spreading. They were unable to match the offensive firepower, and the charging wave was beaten back, those that got into melee getting in a few good hits, but not dealing any major damage. Even as this transpired, however, both Hive and Freelancer would notice something even stranger than the nigh-immortal killing machines. As one, the Purge dropped their weapons and sank to their knees, murmuring prayers under their breath.
Others would not know what to make of this, as the Purge seemed to lose all will to fight. Killing them became suddenly easy, as they would simply sit still as a gun was leveled to their faces. Only Katya, who had experienced Purge tactics firsthand, realized what was about to happen.
The Purge didn't surrender, and they didn't give up. The prayer was a mere preparation for inevitable death. Not from the enemy, for they would otherwise have died in battle. The sudden burst of prayer meant this entire area was about to be bombed. The Purge were planning on destroying the entire fuel depot, and everyone in it.
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Inside the building, Knight looked through the Purge files trying to find what he wanted. However, all the documents he found were written in some form of code. On the surface, they appeared to be nothing more than religious propaganda, but the strange way it was written had convinced Knight there was some kind of message hidden in these documents. The problem was that without the proper knowledge, a code was nearly impossible to translate. Unlike a cipher, it didn't simply replace letters. Instead words meant something completely different, and entire paragraphs could be nothing but red herrings. Even using a team of experts, it could take months, or even years, to figure out what the original meaning had been, unless Knight could somehow figure out what the phrases meant.
Suddenly, he would hear footsteps nearby. He was alone in the room, but the metallic clanking clearly meant another Crusader had made his way into the basement. Those suits were quite sturdy, but incapable of stealth. As such, Knight was easily able to sneak to the door, getting a good look at the figure in the building.
The metal-clad warrior was messing with the valves on the pipes that ran below the fuel deposit. He appeared to be opening a third valve, which lead to some unknown area. It clearly wasn't connected to any of the fuel containers, nor was it connected to any of the exit pipes for releasing fuel. Knight had left it alone, not having a clue what any of the valves did. However, after the steady rumbling of flame, he came to a quick conclusion. Having lost the fight above, the Purge were about to ignite the fuel. Hundreds of liters of high-powered flammable liquids, designed for incredible heat and spread. The pressure buildup would cause a massive explosion, and everything nearby would be coated in flames.
And he, of course, was right in the middle of it.
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