Chapter 666: Entering the Cave
The instant the firefight erupted, two Hellfire operators swiftly covered Ryo, falling back to a more secure position behind cover.
He exhibited no panic. His gaze swept rapidly across the battlefield, his mind calmly analyzing the tactical situation.
"Their targets are the personnel at the entrance! The swarm was drawn by a potential energy leak from the ship or the noise from our reconnaissance!" Ryo's voice transmitted clearly through the comms into every operator's earpiece. "Do not get bogged down! Maine, you three fall back to the primary defensive line immediately with bounding overwatch! Iron Guards, push forward and hold the line—use your firepower to carve a retreat corridor! Reynolds, focus fire on the densest clusters of the swarm to bleed their momentum!"
His commands were precise and timely, instantly bringing order to the slightly chaotic rhythm of the battlefield.
Maine and his team executed the order without hesitation. Maintaining continuous fire, they rapidly retreated toward the main defensive line.
Dorio's precise burst-fire systematically dropped Stingbats attempting to close the distance, while Rebecca laid down a wall of death with her heavy rotary cannon to cover their rear.
"Valerie! Left flank is yours!" Rebecca shouted during a reload cycle.
"Copy!" Under Valerie's control, the Iron Guard took heavy, lateral steps to the left. Its massive shield blocked a plunging swarm attack, while the rapid-fire cannon on its right arm roared, turning several Stingbats attempting to flank into a bloody mist.
Asuka also raised the compact plasma pistol issued to her. Possessing exceptional dynamic visual acuity—even if her marksmanship lacked the polish of a professional soldier—she successfully shot down two Stingbats attempting to ambush a Hellfire operator from tricky angles.
"Watch above you!" she occasionally called out crisp warnings.
Under the dense suppressive fire and Ryo's effective command, Maine, Dorio, and Rebecca successfully fell back behind the primary defensive line.
The first wave of the Stingbat swarm was successfully repelled, leaving dozens of twisted, shattered carcasses strewn across the mouth of the passage.
However, even more Stingbats continued to circle above the cave entrance and deep within the passage. Emitting resentful screeches, they clearly had no intention of abandoning the hunt.
"There are too many of them; brute-forcing it isn't an option!" Sergeant Reynolds said between heavy breaths as he slammed a fresh energy cell into his rifle.
Ryo observed the still-gathering swarm, then glanced at the cave entrance—so close, yet separated by a seemingly impassable chasm.
The ship was right inside. The hatch was open, and its internal status was unknown. They absolutely could not afford to be stalled here.
His gaze swept the topography surrounding the cave entrance, and he swiftly made a decision: "Maine, utilize explosives to create chaos and divert their attention."
Maine immediately grasped the intent: "Feint and breach?"
"Correct," Ryo nodded. "Jake, Valerie, focus the heavy ordnance of your Iron Guards on the upper rock walls flanking the cave entrance—target the suspected nesting areas! Trigger a cave-in and induce panic! The rest of you, prep smoke grenades. The moment the bombardment begins, deploy smoke forward to cover the assault team's re-entry! The objective this time is not reconnaissance; we breach directly into the cavern housing the ship and seal the entrance!"
A bold and highly efficient tactical maneuver.
Utilizing the Iron Guards' heavy firepower to sow chaos and smoke to obscure vision, a small elite element would rapidly push in and secure the objective.
"Understood!"
"Copy that!"
Without any hesitation, the orders were executed rapidly.
Jake and Valerie manipulated their Iron Guards, adjusting weapon elevation to lock onto the upper rock walls swarming with Stingbats, exactly as Ryo designated.
The autocannons and rapid-fire cannons roared to life once more. High-explosive shells slammed into the rock walls like hail, triggering a chain of violent explosions and the deafening crash of shattering stone!
Massive chunks of rock, mixed with the severed limbs of Stingbats, plummeted from above. The swarm was instantly plunged into sheer panic and chaos, their screeches turning shrill and disorganized.
Simultaneously, several smoke grenades were hurled forward by the Hellfire Squad, rolling toward the front of the passage. Dense white smoke rapidly billowed out, obscuring all lines of sight around the cave entrance.
"Assault team, on me!" Maine barked a low command. Without hesitation, he, Dorio, and two volunteering Hellfire elites plunged back into the smoke, driving straight for the cave entrance concealing the alien spacecraft!
Standing behind cover, Ryo watched the direction of the cave entrance, now shrouded in smoke and explosions. The expression beneath his respirator remained utterly calm.
The second phase of the plan was in motion. Whether they could successfully secure the Predator spacecraft hinged entirely on this critical breach.
The Breach
The dense white smoke rolled through the passage, effectively blinding the Stingbat swarm, but it also reduced the assault team's visibility to near zero.
Relying on memory and tactical hand signals, Maine, Dorio, and the two Hellfire elites pushed forward with arduous determination toward the cave entrance through smoke with less than five meters of visibility.
"Watch your footing! Maintain formation!" Maine's deep voice resonated over the squad comms, cutting through the muffled explosions and the chaotic screeching of the Stingbats outside.
He could feel the vibrations through the ground beneath his boots—the aftershocks of the Iron Guards' sustained bombardment of the rock walls.
Dorio covered his flank. The muzzle of her rifle was perpetually trained on vectors where threats might emerge. Her breathing was steady, but her eyes beneath her visor were as sharp as an eagle's.
The two Hellfire operators secured the rear guard, occasionally firing short, controlled bursts into areas of the smoke where movement was suspected, scattering any stray Stingbats that managed to break through the suppressing fire.
Finally, they breached the densest section of the smoke. The silhouette of the cave entrance, partially obscured by vegetation, loomed faintly at the edge of the smoke screen.
Above the entrance, the Iron Guards' saturation bombardment was proving effective. Large boulders and the mangled remains of Stingbats were still raining down sporadically, forcing the majority of the swarm to abandon any reckless dives.
"Go! Move in!" Maine barked. The four-man team shot forward like arrows leaving a bowstring, plunging violently into the dark cave entrance.
The interior was not pitch black. Scattered patches of bioluminescent fungi emitting eerie blue and pale green light dotted the walls and floor, providing a faint ambient glow.
The air abruptly turned damp and heavy, carrying a thick, bizarre scent—a mixture of ozone and metallic tang—that was starkly different from the natural atmosphere of the Pandoran forest outside.
"Clear!"
"Left side clear!"
"Right side clear!"
After a rapid, sweeping reconnaissance, the team confirmed there were no immediate threats near the entrance.
Maine immediately reported over the comms: "Entrance secured. Interior is clear. Proceed with entry."
Soon after, while the Iron Guards piloted by Valerie and Jake utilized their firepower to temporarily suppress the remaining Stingbats and used their massive chassis to physically block the majority of the entrance, Ryo, escorted by the rest of the team, moved swiftly into the cavern.
Asuka followed closely behind. She curiously surveyed this bizarre space, though her grip on the plasma pistol remained tight.
The interior of the cavern was far more expansive than it appeared from the outside; it was like a massive hall hollowed out from the belly of the mountain.
And there, resting quietly in the depths of that hall, was the spacecraft of the Predator.