Plague Doctor

The bomber crafts buzzed through the air. Another giant penetrating bomb dropped, creating a falling arc. The bomb hit the cave squarely. The trees around were flattened, the grass dried, and rocks pummelled into dust. The unknown tissue on the wall started to crack and bleed out green liquid. The bomb did not explode immediately upon contact. Instead, it drilled several feet into the ground before it burst into flames. The explosive energy was immense and it created one mushroom cloud after another. The whole mountain shook. More fleshy tissue snapped, black-green liquid splashed around in the fire. 

The fire crackled inside the womb-like cave. It burned away the dark forces of life, the womb that carried thousands young. Suddenly a bloody shadow stood up in the flames. It perched on top of the broken mountain and was captured by the satellite. It was about 5 to 6 metres tall and its twisted body was shaped like a house. Tentacle around its body flailed and it had 4 black goat hooves. It was the thing captured by Babyfat's camera, the Black Billy Goat. However, compared to its image in Babyfat's video, currently it was heavily wounded. A part of its tentacles was blown off its body and green liquid scattered all over it; one of its 4 hooves was injured, causing it to limp; the single eye inside the meatball-like body was clearly angry. There was still condescension in its anger like a prince who was splashed with a pail of guts by his citizens.

When Gu Jun saw the giant eye from the satellite image, he immediately understood why the Black Billy Goat had let Babyfat go. He understood why it had not done anything even though it knew the Zoogs were sneakily following its trail. It was because of arrogance. The Black Billy Goat was like a child. Since it possessed great power, it looked down on everything. It would not waste time on weak Zoogs or humans. Because for it, these were just future sacrifices. It would get whatever it wanted. It would digest, consume and reshape for its mother, its great mother. 

"Ready all the rocket and missile launchers!" Gu Jun ordered again, "Fire at that mutated creature now!" 

This caused Yu Chi to be nervous, even the Zoogs who were dancing and cheering earlier became nervous. How much ammo Phecda had prepared to take down this creature? The Zoogs could not tell, but there had to be a lot. After everything was fired, not even a single bone would remain! Then who would take its place on the autopsy table…

Feng Peiqian was happy. Lou Xiaoning sighed in satisfaction. Wu Siyu, with her synesthesia, was holding up a bucket of 4 kl of water single-handedly. She poured it down her throat and it was refreshing. Seeing the green slime, she sensed sweet minerals from them. She thought she'd drink from the water and not let it go to waste.

"Captain Gu, shouldn't we start with a smaller firepower?" Yu Chi suggested, "Perhaps we can try to capture it alive?"

"If this blanket bombardment can kill it, we'll return to celebrate with a party." Gu Jun said, "I have a feeling… this thing is not that weak. The Black Billy Goat is extremely powerful but it does not know how to wield its power yet due to its youth. It ran because it was the simplest thing to do." At the front line, other than Gu Jun, Deng Ximei would understand the Black Billy Goat the best. "I have the same feeling…" Deng Ximei added, "It is not like the other abnormal creatures we've faced in the past." The girl had a kind of innate and unusual sensory affinity towards danger, especially the kind where it was senseless and unpredictable, that was her Spirit Child talent. As she studied the woods around him, she saw not the trembling trees but many shadows. Her head was pulsing. There were some illusions but it was not strong enough to trigger a vision. 

It was a feeling between illusion and normalcy, it was fluttering and hard to pinpoint. This feeling did not originate from the cave… but definitely somewhere close to the Black Billy Goat. It smelt of the people who worshipped Shub-Niggurath and served the Black Billy Goat. They knelt before it, they provided it with sacrifices. The Black Billy Goat… appeared here because it was called. This city, this area, was a spot for recent Black Goat of the Woods Cult activity. 

"Fire away, we shall not take any risk. Fry it until it's dead!" Gu Jun repeated the order. To be honest, Yu Chi only made that comment because he had to. If he was in Gu Jun's shoes, he would have made the same decision, after all the loss of any colleagues would be a devastating blow. Furthermore, the Black Billy Goat was showing clear signs of going berserk. Its tentacles were slashing at the rocks aimlessly around it. The power of one slap was strong enough to split a large boulder into smithereens. Its empty mouths were moving, preparing to consume all lives that refused to surrender to Shub-Niggurath. The giant eye moved trying to locate the enemies that were attacking it. 

At least one thing was comforting because this creature was unlike the flying polypus hydroid. It did not know how to go invisible and due to its young age, did not know tactical moves. Its anger was pure. It radiated horrible smell and polluted the air. At least that was the report given by the Zoogs because the humans were wearing the highest grade protective gear. 

With the order, the missiles fired. The mountain shook harder and explosions came continuously from the cave. Even a military expert like Lou Xiaoning could not tell which of the flames came from the missiles and which from the bombs. However the fireworks were extremely enjoyable for her to watch. It would be a treasured memory for her. 

The Black Billy Goat groaned louder. It rammed and trampled angrily in the sea of fire. It charged down the mountain but was stopped by the blanket fire of missiles. It did not move fast enough to evade the missiles. The first landed beside it, the second just soared over it, but eventually some were going to hit. This blanket fire caused blood and flesh to fly off from the giant creature. There was not much tentacles left on its body. Another missile landed on its target. The injured goat's leg was blown off into the air, it landed among mud and rocks. 

The Black Billy Goat moaned in fury. It could not even stand straight with just 3 legs. It hobbled before collapsing to the ground. It wanted to break through the frontline to feast on the humans and Zoogs, to suck all of its adversaries into its stomach. It would turn them into nutrients to fuel itself. But the endless missile fires made it so that it had to consider survival first.