Late at night.
The hilltop plaza of North Point Mountain in Utah, originally a place for the cult to hold their revelries, had now become a 'paradise' for the Helljumpers.
The open space of the plaza was littered with gray-black painted drop pods, along with Helljumpers whose armor was splattered with bloodstains.
Those cultists, whose bodies and minds had undergone mutations, had long since been reduced to severed limbs, no longer able to hold those disgusting rituals and revelries.
Michelle led her security squad to the edge of the cliff on the east side of the plaza, looking through her visor display at the town five kilometers away.
It was still in the midst of a fierce battle.
It seemed that the urban warfare in the town was much more complex.
After all, there were many innocent civilians in the town, and even with the help of Serana's identification, it would still affect the operational efficiency of the Paratroopers.
Michelle looked toward the town in the distance, where fires were breaking out everywhere, and reported via communication:
"This is Captain Michelle Victor, Commander of Company A, 2nd Battalion of Paratroopers. The palace plaza has been completely occupied by our forces, but the Paratroopers in the town seem to be obstructed, over."
"fire spirit received." Serana's reply came quickly over the comms:
"The pelican formation has entered the atmosphere, with an estimated arrival time of twenty minutes. As for the Paratroopers in the town, there are currently no casualties."
"Captain Victor, please lead Companies A, B, and C into the palace to contain this anomaly."
Since the Marine Corps would be arriving soon, the remaining cultists were merely lingering on in a hopeless struggle and were completely not a cause for concern.
Michelle then turned around, walked toward the center of the plaza, and replied: "Victor received. Let us Paratroopers contain the anomaly codenamed 'Loki'."
As she spoke, Michelle spotted the undercover Agent from earlier.
The Agent had already put on a black cultist cloak, finally no longer 'baring it all', borrowed a pistol from a Paratrooper, and walked up to Michelle, saying seriously:
"Captain, there are at least hundreds of 'Guard' creatures inside this palace. They should be the humans who became cultists the earliest."
"They give me a feeling of immense pressure, completely different from these sorry excuses for enemies outside. In short, be careful."
"Good."
Michelle nodded, taking the other's opinion very seriously, and looked at the Paratroopers gathering around, ordering:
"Companies A, B, and C are temporarily under my command. Each company needs to detach one squad to remain outside; there seem to be remaining armed cultists on the hillside."
"Even if our equipment is advanced, we cannot make the idiotic mistake of having our retreat route blocked."
"The rest of you, follow me into the palace to contain that anomaly that caused tens of thousands of people to mutate."
"Yes!"
The three companies detached three squads to stay in the plaza, defending against remaining cultists while also waiting for the Marine Corps support transported by the pelican.
The remaining three hundred plus Helljumpers, under the guidance of the Agent, arrived outside the tightly closed gates of the palace.
Michelle looked at the magnificent and luxurious facade of the palace and couldn't help but shake her head.
Perhaps she was thinking... cults really know how to rake in the money.
Then, the Captain looked at the seven-meter-high solid wood door, turned on her helmet's dynamic detection mode, and ordered calmly: "It seems the people inside don't really welcome us..."
"Breachers, prepare to install directional explosive charges and give the people inside a little welcome gift."
"Yes."
Following the order, several Helljumper breachers stepped out of the formation and installed the directional explosive charges at the optimal positions on the door.
With several "Boom! Boom!" explosions, the solid wooden panels instantly shattered inward.
The rapidly flying wood splinters acted like low-tier shrapnel, piercing directly into the 'Guards' hiding behind the wooden door.
"Ah—!"
Accompanied by screams with a thick nasal tone, those 'Guards' who were no longer human scrambled to cover their faces pierced by the wood splinters.
"Da! Da da!"
Next, these 'Guards' were met with pulse fire from the Helljumpers.
"Puff! Bang!"
The warheads exploded the instant they hit flesh, and suddenly, rotting flesh flew everywhere.
A Helljumper crouching at the very front emptied the pulse magazine in his hand and said disdainfully to the chunks of meat that were the 'Guards', which looked like they were all show and no substance:
"Tch, trash, using a gun to finish you off is really a waste of my ammunition."
Even though all the Paratroopers were wearing helmets and their expressions couldn't be seen, it wasn't hard to imagine their sneering demeanor.
After all, as a group of battle maniacs, the Paratroopers naturally desperately hoped to encounter a powerful opponent to prove that they were an elite force no less than the USS.
They had thought these three-meter-tall mutants with tentacles and rotting skin would be so powerful.
They had broken in full of 'joy'.
Who would have thought... they couldn't even withstand a single volley from the Paratroopers.
Even Michelle, who was standing in the center of the formation, had the same thought, and she looked at the dumbfounded Agent beside her and asked in confusion:
"Buddy... is this what you called 'a feeling of immense pressure'?"
"Uh..." The Agent looked at the pulse rifle in Michelle's hand and spread his hands:
"Buddy, your standard weapon is the M41A; this kind of gun and warhead is very effective against any anomaly with a physical form... and a very violent one at that."
"Hmm... indeed." Michelle nodded.
But she wasn't prepared to dwell on these questions, and then she gestured toward the inside of the palace and ordered loudly: "Continue to advance."
"Except for the target codenamed 'Loki', fire at will and clean out that scum!"
"Yes, Officer!"
Under the guidance of the undercover Agent, the three hundred plus Helljumpers launched a rapid assault, heading toward the deepest hall of the palace.
The bizarre 'Guards' along the way couldn't even complete the task of blocking them for a second and were all violently cleared out by the Paratroopers.
Seven minutes, just a short seven minutes, and the Paratroopers of the three companies reached the hall.
Although it was much slower compared to the two minutes in the plaza, the interior of the palace was intricate and complex, which was why it took more time.
Inside the hall.
The culprit who caused forty thousand people to blindly worship the cult and whose bodies had undergone corresponding changes, 'Loki', was on the high platform at the end of the hall.
Michelle, in the center of the formation, looked toward the high platform and, watching 'Loki' hiding behind a seat, reported: "fire spirit, this is Captain Victor. The location of the anomaly has been confirmed, and we are preparing to contain it."
"fire spirit received. The corresponding Technicians and containment equipment have been loaded onto the pelican," Serana replied.
Upon hearing this, Michelle immediately ordered: "Company C, stand guard in place. Company B, search the hall for any hidden enemies. Company A, come with me to the high platform to subdue that 'Loki'."
"Also, stay alert. I don't want to screw up at the last step and let other branches laugh at us!"
"Yes!"
However, before the Paratroopers could start their action, the 'Loki' on the high platform said in a terrified, thick nasal tone: "Don't come over here!"
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