The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 114: Bigger Picture (4)

Sentinel manipulated the scrap technology to come together to create various items. A futuristic rifle took shape in his hands while a metal harness formed around his chest.

Four mechanical arms were attached to this harness and held a thick metal shield each. The technology in this creation allowed the harness to detect attacks launched at Sentinel and would automatically react to protect him.

Sentinel did not wait any longer and headed for the opening in Rust's fortress. His cybernetic eye scanned the area below where he had seen the flashes of gunfire. 

Sporadic flashes still appeared, which made Sentinel grin. It meant the enemies were still alive! Sentinel leapt from the fortress and quickly plummeted towards the ground below.

As he crashed through the canopy, the branches tore at his pants and revealed the cybernetic legs that they hid. A resounding boom happened when Sentinel's feet made contact with the ground.

The force created an indent in the ground as Sentinel scanned the area with his eyes. The harness suddenly reacted and moved a shield to cover Sentinel's chest!

A metallic clink sounded as a bullet connected with the shield. The rifle in Sentinel's hands suddenly hummed as the shield swiftly moved out of his way. 

A torrent of lasers was suddenly unleashed on the site where the shot had come from. The sound of screaming filled the air for only a second before it was cut short. 'That's one.' Sentinel sneered as his eye scanned for the tracks belonging to the rest of his opponents.

'That way.' Sentinel moved off as his eye picked up the shallow footprints left by the person he had just killed. It seemed to him that this person was trying to flee the battle he had seen from above.

Sentinel swiftly moved through the forest as he followed these tracks. He covered the extended distance from his drop point to the site of the battle in less than five minutes.

What he saw did not look promising. There were only two people left alive as they fired furiously at the enforcement of beasts. It took Sentinel only a brief moment to realise by their armour that they were soldiers of the Old World Alliance.

However, what got to him was the fact that he could not see Jason amongst them, which meant that somebody else must have split from the group. 'I should interrogate one of them.'

Sentinel quickly picked out Barnes as the commanding officer. With a savage grin, he unleashed his firepower on the beasts surrounding the foreign soldiers. 

It did not take long for these creatures to withdraw under his heavy fire. The lasers that shot from his rifle were capable of piercing their thick skin and scales as if they were paper!

Barnes expression became ecstatic at first but suddenly turned grim when he spotted Sentinel. 'Fuck, just our luck!' Barnes whipped his rifle up and aimed at Sentinel before unloading everything he had left in the magazine.

Green, who was the woman beside Barnes, followed his lead. The two grew frustrated as Sentinel's mechanical arms moved the shields fluidly to protect him no matter where they aimed.

Eventually, only clicking noises came from their rifles as shell casings were scattered around their feet. Sentinel's shield folded behind his back as he stared at the pair. Without a word, he shouldered his own rifle. A flash of crimson light came from its barrel.

Green's body collapsed to the ground with smoke coming from her neck and a black mark on the skin around it. Her head was completely gone as Sentinel had cranked up the power of his shot.

Barnes felt a cold chill slither from his neck down his spine. He shivered as he stared at the red light emanating from Sentinel's cybernetic eye. He did not have a good feeling about what was about to transpire.

Sentinel marched straight towards him and slammed the butt of the rifle against Barnes' nose. A dull crack was heard as he broke it. Barnes grunted in pain but refused to move from his spot.

Sentinel clicked his tongue, and the rifle's barrel folded back to take the shape of a drill! Sentinel pressed it against Barnes' kneecap before fixing him with a cold gaze.

"Where are the cadets that you abducted?" Sentinel growled menacingly.

"No idea what you're talking about!" Barnes spat in Sentinel's face as an act of defiance.

Sentinel pulled the trigger, and the drill whirled to life. Agonising screams came from Barnes' mouth as the drill quickly tore through his kneecap and sent flesh flying due to its high rotations.

Barnes fell to the ground and started at his stump of a leg in horror. The drill had completed its work before his body even registered that he was missing a leg!

Sentinel grinned as he pressed the tip of the drill against Barnes' other kneecap. There was no way that he was going to ask twice! 

Barnes' completion paled, but he still refused to say anything. More screams echoed out as the same scene replayed itself, and Barnes found himself without any legs at all. He silently wept but remained defiant.

Sentinel raised an eyebrow at how stubborn this officer was being. A cadet should not be worth this much to him. Sentinel had a bad feeling that he knew where this was going. So he tried the one thing that would usually get any guy to talk.

The tip of the drill was pressed against Barnes' crotch as Sentinel gave him a sympathetic smile. Needless to say, Barnes' fear was evident on his face as he started at the brutal machine.

He would do anything to save himself from this fate, but a Power had been used on every member of his squad that prevented them from spilling any information! Barnes gave Sentinel a pleading look, but he replied with a heavy sigh.

More blood and flesh splattered the area as Barnes wailed before fainting. Sentinel showed no signs of regret for his actions as he left the man to bleed out painfully.

Sentinel's cybernetic eye scanned the nearby area as he moved around. Different tracks were quickly matched until he discovered a trail that had separated from this group. But there was only one set of tracks which meant that either Jason was not with the person or he was being carried somehow.

Sentinel analysed the area for a brief moment longer before determining that Jason had not been stashed nearby. Which meant that the tracks were all that he had to go on...

Meanwhile, Jason felt frustrated as all he could see was the canopy of the forest passing overhead. 'What the hell is going on? They're moving faster than before.'

He was still unaware that only Horst remained with him as he fled through the forest. The Captain had heard a terrifying roar not long ago, and he knew it had to come from a powerful beast.

That was because the few beasts that had separated from the group to give chase to him had slunk off at the sound of the roar. First had no idea what had caused such a sound, but he had no intentions of waiting to find out!

'Come on! Run!' First thought frantically as he suddenly heard the sound of something heavy running behind him. His fear got the better of him and made him take a glance over his shoulder.

The figure of a large beast could be glimpsed running between the trees a short distance behind them. If Jason had seen it, he would have called it what it was. A Trion! The same Trion from the zoo that had given him a hard time before!

Jason was blissfully unaware of this danger due to the nature of Horst's Power. However, that all changed when a large fang barely missed the bubble that imprisoned him!

Jason's complexion paled as he recognised the beast that had briefly appeared in his vision! Now he wanted nothing more than to escape this prison so that he could flee! His mind raced as he tried to figure out a way to escape.

Not that it had done him any good up until this point! Suddenly, a popping noise entered his ears as his body crashed to the ground! The Trion had succeeded in bursting the gum!

Jason quickly rolled over and got to his feet in time to see Horst firing his rifle at the beast! However, the Trion just shrugged the projectiles off as if they were nothing to it. Jason's breathing became ragged as his eyes shifted from Horst to the Trion that was staring at him with a malicious expression.

Jason gulped as he digested the situation. He felt that if he made a break for it, the Trion would focus only on him. He saw no way of making a quick escape without provoking the beast into pouncing on him.

'Fuck me! What do I do now?'