~3~
In all honesty, Ludo thought they were done for right then and there. He'd seen Wraiths blown to burning smithereens from smaller bombardments. Orange blood painted the walls adjacent to the door in freckles and splats. After about ten seconds the grenades stopped and only the plasma turret was still firing. The Brutes, for all their tenacity and firepower, were not the best tacticians. They were all so overly eager to kill the Hunters that they'd all ended up firing at about the same time and thus, all had to reload around the same time.
There was a high pitched whine followed by a deafening roar when the Hunter closest to the door opened up with his cannon. A streaming concussive ray of green radiation enveloped the Brute on the turret. When it was done, the Brute and the turret were both gone.
The second Hunter stormed up the ramp and batted a supply crate they were using as a blockade out of the way like it wasn't even there. It knocked hard and loud against the ceiling and even harder and louder against the ground, where a howl of agony rang out from one of the Brutes. The Hunter disappeared from Ludo's line of sight as it walked on to the platform, and the cannon fired from the one at the door, with its deafening resonance. It was like a brass instrument being played in a windstorm.
The Hunters, thirsty for bloodshed, rushed quickly into the next room clubbing dumbfounded Brutes out of their path, Ludo and the others having to run to keep pace with them. The pair led the way into an artificial cavern complete with walkways suspended high above Gravemind's lair. The Hunters took up positions near the railing at the edge of a walkway, firing at the Brutes that were further ahead, across the cavern, armed with carbines and grenade launchers.