Inside Spartan A-007, John's drop pod.
Through the few observation windows in front of him, John could clearly see the 'flames' gradually igniting outside.
Due to passing through the blackout zone, communication within the Mjolnir helmet was only a faint static noise.
At this moment, Cortana's face appeared in the upper left corner of the helmet screen, reporting to John:
"Master Chief, communication is expected to be restored in thirty seconds. We are approximately forty kilometers above the coordinates, and thirty-five kilometers from entering the barrier's range."
"Hm."
John still maintained an emotionless face, nodding slightly after hearing Cortana's report.
Thirty seconds later.
"Szz... Ch...ief... please..." Michelle's intermittent voice came through the communication.
After a few more seconds, communication was fully restored: "Master Chief, you are the commander of this operation. How should we proceed after entering the barrier zone?"
Upon hearing this, John replied calmly without hesitation: "The moment we enter the barrier zone, Cortana will test our individual communications.
If anyone fails to hear Cortana's voice, we will use wired communication after the drop pods land.
As for the reconnaissance plan, we'll formulate it once we've entered the barrier zone and assessed the actual situation."
"Heh heh, truly a Spartan, I can't detect any tension at all," Michelle quipped with a laugh.
"Hm." John again gave a brief reply.
"..." This caused the communication to fall into a brief silence.
Suddenly.
"Oh my... everyone, look out the window!" Myron's unique voice rang out, breaking the slight awkwardness caused by John.
Immediately after, exclamations from Carl and the Dire Shark Company came intermittently through the comms:
"Oh my God..."
"This time, several hundred million might just be gone."
"Haha! To cover us, the boss really went all out."
Hearing the increasingly lively communication, John also shifted his gaze from the display screen beside him and looked out the observation window of the pod door.
He saw countless missiles just passing their drop pods, with white 'tails,' rapidly rushing towards the visible red barrier below.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" At the same time, four 'thick orange light pillars' flashed by.
These were simultaneous volleys from a battleship's Yamato Cannons, used to strike the uninhabited desert areas within Egypt, confusing the enemy along with the missiles.
Dozens of seconds after the Yamato Cannon volley, Cortana reported to John: "Master Chief.
UNSC forces stationed at the Egyptian border report that, aside from the dust from the shockwave, there are no abnormal phenomena or creatures emerging from the barrier zone."
At this point, Cortana's tone deepened: "Such a large-scale bombardment failed to yield any data...
It's possible that humanity within Egypt has completely lost all signs of life."
John, however, calmly replied: "It's also possible that the abnormal phenomenon is completely unfazed by the Yamato Cannon strike."
"Completely unfazed?" Cortana on the screen was stunned, and exclaimed in surprise:
"Although the penetration power of the Yamato Cannon is not as good as the MAC, four low-power volleys are enough to impact the entire territory of Egypt."
"Alright." John, seeing the increasingly close barrier through the lowest observation window of the pod, said:
"Analyzing from outside won't yield results. Don't forget our mission is reconnaissance. It's your turn to work soon."
"Yes." Cortana also put away her surprised expression, waiting for the drop pod to penetrate the barrier.
Swish—!
In an instant, John's drop pod was the first to enter the barrier.
Outside the window, it looked like thick, blood-red smoke, with occasional flashes of dark red electricity.
Immediately after, the communication channel, which had been discussing Yamato Cannons and missiles, fell into complete silence after entering the barrier.
Soon, the view outside the window was no longer like blood-colored 'dark clouds,' and the visibility became clearer.
John saw the other drop pods also passing through the barrier cloud layer and entering Egyptian territory.
The visibility outside was moderate, but everything seemed to be shrouded in red, making it very dim.
"Master Chief." Cortana's voice came from John's ear:
"I tried to contact the Infinity, but there was nothing but static, which was exactly the expected result."
"Boom— Boom—"
As soon as Cortana finished speaking, a series of faint explosions came from below. It seemed to be the commotion caused by the missile volley.
John looked at the display screen on his left and found that his drop pod was only about a thousand meters from the ground, and the distance between them was rapidly decreasing.
Just as it was about to hit the ground...
"Whoosh—!" With a sound, the thrusters at the bottom of the drop pod were manually activated by John.
Along with violent vibrations from the pod, its speed instantly dropped to a minimum.
And then...
"Thud—!" With a muffled thud, John's drop pod slammed into the ground, kicking up a large amount of dust.
"Thud—! Thud—!" And more drop pods crashed nearby.
Although the commotion was significant, compared to the aftermath of thousands of missiles and four Yamato Cannon shots, it was utterly insignificant.
"Click—! Click—!"
Continuous sounds of pod doors opening echoed across this medium-sized oasis.
John took out his plasma rifle, plenty of battery magazines, and grenades, then leaped out of the drop pod, ordering Cortana:
"Cortana, attempt to connect individual communications.
Also, monitor the air for harmful substances."
"Already doing that," Cortana replied.
Carl and Myron, who had exited their drop pods, and the Dire Shark Company led by Michelle, gathered near John, taking up their respective weapons and equipment.
"Master Chief."
Just then, Cortana's tone brightened: "The air composition is normal, and individual communications are not experiencing interference."
"Good." John nodded slightly and used the comms to order everyone:
"Major Michelle, assign four squads of Dire Sharks to perimeter security. The remaining personnel will stay here to assemble the Warthog.
Blue Team, follow me to the nearby dunes for reconnaissance."
"Yes." (x4)
Having received their instructions, everyone began to move separately.
Four squads of Dire Sharks, armed with standard pulse rifles and smart machine guns, fanned out around the landing zone, maintaining high alert.
As for Myron and Carl, armed with a rotating Gauss gun and a Gauss sniper rifle, they followed John out of the oasis and headed towards a higher dune outside the oasis.
The three used the visual system provided by their helmets and Cortana's assistance to confirm that there were no abnormal phenomena in the vicinity.
Once their Mjolnir armor automatically adapted to the sandy environment, they accelerated towards the dune.
The three reached the top, half-crouched, and looked north.
Only a crimson light flickered in the direction of Cairo.
Using the helmet's long-range vision function, they discovered that the entire city of Cairo seemed to have 'cracked open,' and there were faint, massive figures on the outskirts.
Seeing this, Myron couldn't help but shake his head and exclaim: "John... Carl... don't you think it looks like...
Like the entrance to hell?"
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