"Have you ever heard of the Woodpecker Tactic?" Ignis lowered his voice, though the warehouse was loud enough that even if he spoke normally, no Jaxcalibur-01 would notice.
"I know that's a kind of bird. There's a tactic named after it?" Jaxcalibur-01 sounded baffled. He had never heard of whatever tactic this giant was talking about.
"Woodpeckers strike the trunk to lure insects out of the holes." Ignis extended a finger and tapped the wall before him. "You use a bait unit to lure the enemy out of a fortified position, then annihilate them."
Ignis had once been an avid reader of all sorts of novels. This story came from a historical novel titled [Takeda Shingen], where, during the Jax-04th Battle of Kawanakajima, strategist Yamamoto Kansuke offered this plan to the "Tiger of Kai". It successfully lured the "Dragon of Echigo" down from Saijo Mountain—though both sides ultimately ended the clash in mutual devastation.
A significant number of the gang members inside the warehouse were infected by Slaanesh's corruption. They were restless, irritable, and itching for trouble. The narcotics had wiped out their judgment.
If someone provoked them now, would they not scramble to chase after the offenders?
Eliminating them in an open area was far better than fighting a close-quarters melee inside a cramped warehouse filled with numerous enemies. Ignis wasn't worried for himself, but Jaxcalibur lacked his heavy armor. If they ran into an ambush around a corner, casualties would be inevitable.
Markus had explicitly told him to safeguard these team members.
"Those inside are high out of their minds. Anyone without protective gear is basically like this. They aren't strong individually, but there are a lot of them. They're bored out of their skulls. We can give them something to do." Ignis pointed to Jax-06. "Breach the wall and fire a few shots. These degenerates will pour out of the gap like agitated ants. I'll hide somewhere. You just run and let them chase you. Once most of them are out…"
Ignis removed his automatic cannon and chambered a round.
"This drum is loaded with 40mm anti-personnel canister rounds. Out in the open, this thing performs far better than inside a confined warehouse."
"You sure they'll charge out?" Jaxcalibur-01 sounded concerned. What if the enemies turned out to be smarter?
"Captain, based on audio surveillance, those gang members really are bored and itching for something to happen. And they don't get along with the uniformed soldiers inside. Their pursuit won't get reinforcements," Jax-05 quickly reported.
"Better to lure the ants out of the nest than to stick your head inside." Ignis tapped the metal frame of his cannon, producing a crisp ring. "If we barge straight in, the fire density and number of enemies will be much worse. And with narcotics in their veins, non-lethal wounds won't even slow them down."
"We eliminate this portion first, then find another angle to break in and handle the rest. I'll provide fire support. You get the data drives from their terminals. Once you extract, I'll burn this place to down to its very foundations."
Jaxcalibur-01 considered it. With only the Jaxcalibur Squad operatives and in way inferior numbers, Ignis's plan made the most sense. Avoid close combat, and leverage firepower—optimal under these conditions.
"Find a place to hide. Notify us once you're set." Jaxcalibur-01 slapped Jax-06 on the shoulder. "Prep the breach."
Guided by Jax-03, Ignis found a hiding spot in the shadow of stacked rusted shipping containers. He wondered why these containers were here and cracked one open. The interior was empty, but the walls were smeared with bloody handprints. They had transported people—injured ones at that. But where were they now?
Not the time. Ignis shut it, then slipped into the shadows.
Once he was in position, Jax-06 attached a patch charge to the wall and wired the detonator.
"Initiating a five-second countdown!" Jax-06 hit the trigger, and the timer began.
"Cutting comms now!" Jax-05 reported. "Three seconds!"
"I'll watch for anyone trying to report in." Jax-03's channel opened. "My darling is ready."
When the timer hit zero, the patch charge blew a hole big enough for a person to pass through. Bricks and steel fragments shredded the two closest men and knocked several others down with the shockwave.
While gang members were still reeling, the uniformed soldiers reacted instantly, taking firing positions toward the breach. Their commander attempted radio contact—but comms were jammed.
Jaxcalibur-01 and Jax-06 used drone intel to confirm enemy locations and dashed out. Two short bursts—clean, efficient kills. The enemy's return fire was slow, rounds kicking up dirt far behind them.
"Oi, Crow! Eagle!" someone yelled. "Get the boys out there! It's just two fucking people! Move slow and there's nothing left to play with!"
"Dammit, half a month stuck in here! We finally get to breathe some outside air! Grab your gear!"
"Motherfucker—stop shooting! You're blocking the exit! We're trying to rush out!"
The first few out were cut down by Jaxcalibur-01's long burst. One was only wounded—gut torn open—but ignored it. Holding his spilling intestines with one hand and an Ether greatblade in the other, he rushed Jaxcalibur-01 like nothing was wrong. Jaxcalibur-01 shot his head apart like a watermelon.
But in that moment, more bodies pushed through. All equipped with Ether greatblades or automatic rifles—pure Defense Force gear. The breach was narrow, only one or two could exit at once, so Jaxcalibur-01 turned and bolted.
Jax-06, already ahead, shifted to covering fire. His long burst dropped three or four, though two rose again. Their return fire was wild—untrained, erratic, drug-fueled. Their bullets were nowhere close.
Jaxcalibur-01 passed Jax-06 and took cover, providing suppression so Jax-06 could fall back.
Their alternating cover fire was flawless—but the gang members didn't care. All they saw were two men booking it, after killing ten of their "brothers." They needed to catch them, carve them, and shove it back into their…
"They sent couriers." Jax-03 reported, followed by a muffled thud. "No worries. None of them are getting out."
"Target down. Give him a finishing shot," Jax-04 added, another thud sounding. "Another one coming."
"I've got him." Jax-03 fired. Through her scope, the bullet curved and punched through the man's chest. He collapsed, drowning in his own blood.
While the snipers conducted precise moving-target practice in silence, Jaxcalibur-01 and Jax-06 were still retreating, maintaining strict leapfrogged movement. Jax-05 monitored the warehouse interior.
"Just a few left. They're almost all out," Jax-05 said. "Another group isn't moving to reinforce—they're trying to break through my signal jamming. Security has tightened. Some workers inside match missing-persons reports from local precincts."
"These people aren't right. Even without overseers, they're adding reagents and stirring the vats. They're acting like they're drug-controlled—completely mechanical."
"Attention. Last hostile has left the breach. The area is empty. An entire squad of soldiers has moved to guard it. They activated the Guardian mechs—Four units online. Attempting to disrupt their logic cores."
As expected, every gang member surged out. Corrupted by Slaanesh, they cared for nothing but deeper, more twisted sensations. Expecting them to serve as disciplined overseers was impossible. Trouble appeared—they swarmed, relishing the chase, the competition, and the thrill.
Ignis rose. His thumb rested on the automatic cannon's firing stud. Jaxcalibur-01 and Jax-06 had no complaints—they were doing everything possible to draw the enemies into the open, but were exposed and vulnerable. Fortunately, the enemies' drug-rotted brains made them terrible shots.
But luck always runs out. A stray round grazed Jaxcalibur-01's neck, spilling blood.
"Ignis! Are you ready yet?" Jaxcalibur-01 shouted over comms. Rounds hissed past them more frequently—they'd be hit somewhere fatal soon.
"Your heavy gunner has arrived." Ignis's voice came with the roar of the cannon.
He emerged at the flank of the pursuing mob. The long, strung-out line of bodies maximized the scatter shells' lethality.
Propelled by Ether-enhanced charges, the 40mm canister rounds burst into storms of steel shot, raining down like a sudden downpour. Pellets tore into flesh, releasing all their kinetic energy inside bodies, ripping cavernous voids through tissue. The crowd toppled in waves—blood, organs, and sheared limbs painting the ground.
The sudden flanking fire froze the mob. Ignis fired at least seven canister rounds into the densest cluster, reducing them to pulp. Those at the ends tried to react, raising rifles toward him—but their fire was far too weak. Ignis did not even bother activating his Iron Halo; his armor absorbed everything.
Then the automatic cannon pivoted, unleashing another storm.
They didn't even get to scream before being shredded into a meat slurry. A few "lucky" ones survived the blast and charged with Ether greatblades. Their narcotic-warped minds believed they could win.
Ignis simply swung the overheated cannon like a club. The strike shattered bones, tendons, and cooked flesh in an instant. The burned stink made him grunt in annoyance.
Seeing a chunk of charred heretic skin stuck to his beloved cannon, Ignis tore it off in disgust and holstered the weapon.
The remaining hostiles didn't require flame or disintegration fields. A few punches reduced them to erupting blood-mist.
Surveying the grotesque mural of flesh, Ignis decided this scene was far too disturbing even for the Vulcan Quarter Public Security to deal with. He activated his Falmestorm Gauntlets to sanitize the area.
The superheated secondary-concentrated Ether fuel ignited the ground, reducing flesh and bone to charcoal. The wind of Vulkan carried the ashes away.
"Gods above, if you came half a second later, I'd be dead." Jaxcalibur-01 approached, neck wound hastily treated. Jax-06 had applied a zipper-style emergency tourniquet.
"My reaction was already fast." Ignis watched the burning remains to ensure complete immolation. "From first shot to cleanup, the entire engagement lasted under thirty seconds."
Jaxcalibur-01 had nothing to say. The giant's fire discipline was terrifyingly precise—no wasted shots. A single sweep wiped out the mob. He wondered what targeting system Ignis's armor used to compute fire distribution so perfectly.
"Jaxcalibur-01, the Guardian mechs are fully activated. I tried to disable them, but their systems are isolated networks. The intrusion failed," Jax-05 reported. "Attempts to spoof their IFF also failed."
"They sent five waves of couriers. All neutralized," Jax-03 added. "Do you want me to keep overwatch or shift to assisting?"
Hearing the mechs were live, Ignis removed the canister rounds drum and replaced it with sub-caliber penetrators. Time to see whether these rounds performed as well as advertised.