Lin Cuo had no time to finish watching. A Hexi Gao Hai Regiment outside the core chamber was moving toward him.
Only nine machines in the Hexi Divine Strategy Army's First Gao Hai Battalion could still move. The Second Battalion had been reinforcing them all the way down from the surface; of its original thirty-six machines, seventeen remained after passing the first level of the vertical shaft. Acid had eaten mottled patches into many of their outer armor plates, and their joints shrieked, but they still descended bit by bit along the Flying Swallow Claws and heavy cables.
A short strip of white cloth showed inside the lead machine's left shoulder. That identification tradition had begun during the Luoyang Palace Coup, when they had bared their left shoulders to obey the imperial edict. Hexi later adopted it as a symbol of their merit of supporting the dragon.
The pilot's voice carried a pronounced Hexi accent.
"Grand Commander, the Shence Second Gao Hai Battalion has orders to take over guarding the core."
Lin Cuo glanced at their condition.
"Who told you to come down?"
"Our battalion commander died. So did the company commander. The survivors picked an acting commander."
"I asked who gave the order."
"No one. We heard over the channel that you were heading down, Grand Commander, so we followed."
For a moment, Lin Cuo had no idea what to curse them for.
"You only have seventeen machines left. Fall back to the middle section and hold the retreat route for General Todo."
"Someone's already defending the Assault Team's retreat route."
"That is a military order!"
"Then you retreat first."
The pilot answered as though it were perfectly natural.
"If you're at the front, then so are we."
"I'm not telling you to die for the Lin Family!"
"We're