"ROAR——!"
Hearing several roars that sounded like dragon cries, all the Omegas instinctively looked toward the entrance.
Then, in unison, they turned their heads to stare at the soldier standing beside Mike, who had just been gloating moments ago.
Even though everyone wore helmets, hiding their facial expressions, it wasn't hard to guess what they seemed to be saying:
"Did you have to open your big mouth?"
The soldier shrugged, spread his hands, and shook his head, as if saying, "Hey, this isn't my fault."
"Enough."
As the mission Commander, Mike couldn't be bothered to dwell on such trivial matters.
He firmly gripped his rifle again, strode quickly toward the next entrance, and calmly ordered:
"All personnel, be advised. Powerful hostiles remain ahead. Continue advancing by squad."
"Yes, Captain."
Upon receiving the order, the Omegas stopped fooling around, adjusted their mindsets, and pressed on.
As they ventured deeper, the corridor grew increasingly dim.
Similar murals, similar layout.
However, the faint orange glow emanating from the corridor's end reminded Omega Company that what lay ahead was definitely not an enemy similar to the giant lion.
Mike's squad was the first to pass through the passageway.
They suddenly found themselves in an open space, arriving on what seemed like a protruding high platform.
One soldier walked to the edge and looked down, spotting a churning, bubbling 'lake' of scorching magma.
If one were to slip and fall... Thinking this, the soldier took a few steps back.
Before them lay only a man-made stone bridge, leading to a massive solitary island situated amidst the lava flow.
On the island was a circular structure resembling an ancient arena, and the intermittent dragon roars were emanating from within it.
Holding his rifle with one hand, Mike slowly walked onto the stone bridge, unable to resist turning in circles to take in the surrounding scenery.
Even this Captain, who had always remained calm, couldn't help but exclaim:
"Jesus, I never thought in my lifetime I'd see something straight out of a fantasy movie right before my eyes."
The Omegas following behind Mike shared their Officer's sentiment, more or less.
Since joining the UBCS, the limits of what their rationality could withstand had been greatly elevated; they should have been immune to any anomalous phenomena by now.
But what lay before them was on another level entirely, far too magnificent.
Of course, the Omegas were merely marveling at the wisdom of the ancients.
After all, being able to construct such a magnificent ruin atop a lake of scalding magma was enough to inspire awe in them.
Fear?
If they were capable of fear, then humanity wouldn't be far from living in a state of constant trembling.
Soon, the group quickly crossed the bridge, ascended the solitary island, and passed through the giant marble-columned gate directly opposite the stone bridge.
Finally pouring into the arena.
What greeted their eyes was... a 'dragon' with deep crimson scales and a body like a water serpent, coiled upon the marble floor at the arena's center.
Uniquely, it possessed nine necks and nine heads, each flicking slender, forked tongues.
A nine-headed dragon?
Or a HYDRA?
Seeing this, the one hundred and twenty Omegas swiftly entered combat posture, quickly spreading out to encircle the giant serpent.
"Hiss!" (x9)
The giant serpent's nine heads stared at the 'little people' surrounding it from different angles, mouths agape as if warning them not to come any closer.
The two sides fell into a standoff.
Mike, amidst the crowd, gripped his rifle tightly with both hands, looked up at the colossal creature, and softly sighed, "Command Center, do you see this?"
"Affirmative. We have already notified President Papulias to come assist. Please hold position for a moment."
"If the anomalous entity exhibits strong hostility, you are authorized to engage or terminate."
"Copy that."
"Captain!"
The moment Mike finished speaking, the giant serpent suddenly lashed its thick tail, attempting to ambush a group of Omegas near the entrance.
"BOOM!"
Fortunately, the AAES's motion-tracking function triggered an alarm the instant the serpent moved, allowing that group of Omegas to barely evade what would have been a fatal crushing blow.
"Open fire!"
"Yes!"
"Crack! Crack! Rat-a-tat!"
"ROAR!"
The tense standoff was abruptly shattered, gunfire and the serpent's roars echoing throughout the vast arena.
But seconds later...
"THUD—!"
The nine bullet-riddled heads and body slammed heavily onto the marble tiles.
"Sssss—~"
The deep green blood oozing from the bullet holes instantly caused a corrosive reaction upon hitting the stone tiles, sending up wisps of white smoke.
"Click-clack!" The Omegas also took this opportunity to reload their magazines one by one.
However, this time, no one stepped forward to confirm its death.
Because the UBCS deeply understood their boss's golden rule:
"Unless you confirm the enemy is truly dead or just playing possum, don't you fucking dare get close to check! Put a few more rounds into it first!"
And so... "Open fire!"
"Yes!"
"Crack! Crack! Rat-a-tat!"
"ROAR!"
Sure enough.
The serpent, feigning death, never expected the humans to attack again. Its tried-and-true trick had become utterly useless.
Since it couldn't lure the humans in, it stopped pretending.
The bullet holes on its body, which had been bleeding, healed at a visible rate, and its attack speed increased significantly.
This beast understood playing hard to get and feigning weakness?
The sudden shift caused the UBCS, who had maintained a zero-casualty record, to suffer their first Waterloo.
At that moment, one of the serpent's heads fixed its gaze tightly on a group of Omegas performing evasive fire.
Then... "HISSS——!"
It predicted the Omegas' trajectory and spewed a large amount of green liquid from its mouth.
"Sizzle!"
"Ah!"
Along with the sound of liquid corroding metal, human screams also rang out.
It was seen that the pool of acid landed squarely on that group of Omegas' heads.
They struggled, they tried to get away.
But the corrosion rate was simply too fast. The AAES seemed to fuse to their bodies, and they finally collapsed into the green 'mire', motionless.
The AAES's titanium-fiber suits and titanium armor offered excellent corrosion resistance against oxidizing and reducing agents.
But against that HYDRA's acid, they were utterly defenseless.
"BOOM! BOOM!" Large numbers of grenades exploded around the giant serpent.
Yet... even when blown open and disemboweled, it paid no heed, recovering its original form in an instant.
Heads blown off?
Grow another one.
Strong acid.
Hundred-ton strength.
Unable to be killed.
This was absolutely the most troublesome containment object Umbrella had faced since its founding.
.
"..."
Seeing his subordinates die horribly, Mike wanted to curse and vent.
But that would only clutter the comms, even affect combat efficiency, offering not a shred of help to the containment operation.
Such was the 'tragedy' of being a company employee.
Excessive personal emotion was a sin.
"Captain." Hank's low voice suddenly came over the comms:
"Have your men disperse and fire at its eyes. Assist Alpha in controlling it."
!
Mike had almost forgotten about the group of Alphas lurking in the shadows.
He immediately ordered, "All personnel, act as the Lieutenant instructed!"
"Yes, Captain!"
-------------------------------
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