"...bring them to me alive! But slice off one of their legs first so they don't get twitchy!"
The echoes of Reksov's order had barely died away when the steel tread wheels of the third super-heavy Steam-Tank surged forward, crushing the remaining debris of the pillar.
Its colossal searchlights swept across the tunnel, piercing the volcanic dust and turning it into a blinding golden storm.
Without waiting for his infantry, Reksov stepped to the edge of the roof of the second crippled tank.
BAM!
His iron-clad boots slammed into the cracked marble floor. Reksov touched down barely ten meters in front of the Northreach delegation and the Stone Council. A circular cloud of chalk dust blasted outward from his landing spot.
In a single fluid motion accompanied by the hiss of hydraulic steam, his pneumatic steel arm reached behind his back, unclipping a massive double-barreled steam rifle.
CLACK-CLICK!
