The roar of the Valkyrie transport's vector engines echoed, washing a hot wind over the trees. Nolan, encased in his Terminator armor, landed with a heavy thud that shook the ground. His sturdy, heavy magnetic boots sank deep into the wet, vegetation-covered surface, crushing ferns and mud. He looked up through his diamond-shaped helmet, the red eye-lenses staring at the open cabin door high above, a dark shape against the moonlit clouds.
A series of lighter thuds followed. Including Yukio in her black tactical suit, the Yashida Ninja Team from the Valkyrie transport also jumped out, landing on the ground with practiced, quiet impacts that were nothing like Nolan's heavy crash.
"My lord, may fortune favor this battle." David's synthesized voice crackled in Nolan's communication device. The Man of Iron, flexibly controlling the Valkyrie, dipped the transport's huge wings in a mechanical salute. The engines roared, and it quickly banked, flying off in another direction into the darkness.
For a second, Bucky's silhouette was visible in the open cabin door. His face was a solemn mask in the dim light. He waved his mechanical arm to the people below. In a few moments, he and the larger contingent of the Yashida Ninja Team would be dropped in the rear, ready for his own command and leadership.
The Valkyrie's engine noise faded, leaving the clearing in sudden, deep silence. On the ground, Nolan, wearing his diamond-shaped helmet, twisted his neck left and right. The sound was a heavy whir-crunch of servos and armor. His deep voice spoke to the ninjas in front of him through the communication channel:
"We are still about five kilometers from the castle tower. I will be responsible for attracting the enemy's frontal firepower. The team commanded by Bucky will take the opportunity to sneak in from the rear. As for you..." His red lenses swept over Yukio's team. "Your team is to play freely. Focus on killing more Hydra soldiers."
Under the shroud of the dark night, Yukio, her face an emotionless mask, raised her half-covered cheek. She gently, almost casually, waved her palm at the Yashida Ninja Team around her.
These black-clad ninjas, carrying guns and ammunition, instantly dispersed. They rushed into the nearby mountains and forests like smoke, then quietly vanished into the dark. There was no sound of breaking twigs or rustling leaves.
Yukio bowed slightly to the metal giant in front of her again. Her petite body then burst with incredible, wiry strength. She leaped up to a nearby tree canopy, a dark shape against the moon, and disappeared into the depths of the foliage.
Nolan, wearing his diamond-shaped helmet, retracted his gaze from the empty trees.
He moved in Terminator armor towards the distant castle tower, his speed gradually increasing.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
In the dark forest, his heavy footsteps made a terrifying sound, breaking small trees and sending rocks flying. It was as if a huge beast was rampaging through the woods, and the sound startled countless sleeping birds into frantic, noisy flight.
A few minutes later, through the gaps in the canopies of tall trees, a huge building, 100 meters high and covered with green, clinging vegetation, appeared in Nolan's eyepiece.
He did not stop running, nor did he try to reduce the deafening sound of his charge. A huge, metal-clad hand moved, the servos whining as it unclipped the masterwork bolt gun from his armor's waist. He held it tightly in his massive fist.
At this moment, the straight-line distance between Nolan and the huge building was less than one kilometer.
In an instant, a strange mechanical rotation sound, a high-pitched whir, suddenly sounded in the dark forest. Just on the path Nolan was moving forward, camouflaged panels fell away and fully automatic machine gun towers, covered with vegetation, rose from the earth. The rapidly rotating multiple barrels spewed endless, fierce yellow flames, their tracers lashing out to block his progress.
KA-BOOM. KA-BOOM. KA-BOOM.
Nolan immediately raised the bolt gun and pulled the trigger without hesitation, not even breaking stride. In an instant, the roar of the explosive bolts overwhelmed the chatter of the machine guns. Countless small animals active at night fled in all directions from the sheer noise.
The next moment, the machine gun towers, which had barely fired, suddenly exploded. The explosions from the precise bolt-shell hits completely engulfed the unmanned sentinels in fire and shrapnel.
Nolan, wearing the Terminator armor, continued to run forward, smashing through the smoking wreckage. He was closing the distance to the huge building. The surrounding terrain began to tilt downward, forming a slight slope, and the trees and vegetation gradually became sparse.
At this moment, as Nolan's tall figure continued to move forward, a grinding sound came from the building. Huge-caliber base protection turrets suddenly flipped out from hidden ports between the ancient and heavy walls.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
A baptism of heavy artillery fire fell from the sky. The shells screamed as they fell, and the explosions resounded through the dark forest, illuminating the dusty battlefield in brief, blinding flashes.
Nolan, who was well prepared, had already turned on his refractor field. A low hmmmm of power emanated from him. The invisible Refractor Field shimmered, distorting the air as it continued to withstand the continuous bombardment, the shells exploding against it in bright, harmless bursts.
However, just as he raised his bolt gun, sights on the turrets, and planned to counterattack, a new sound joined the battle.
Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh.
Rockets, wrapped in the roar of death, were launched one after another from the dark depths of the forest surrounding the castle tower. A fierce bombardment was carried out on the heavy walls of the huge building and, more importantly, the base protection turrets.
In an instant, secondary explosions rocked the turrets. Countless flying rubble and metal debris pelted Nolan's Refractor Field. A smile subconsciously appeared on his lips, hidden by the helmet. The Yashida family ninjas had also joined the battle.
Wearing his diamond-shaped helmet, Nolan clenched his bolt gun. He continued to charge towards the only entrance of the huge building.
Just as he was about to reach the tightly closed metal door...
Click. Clack. GRIND.
The huge sound of mechanical bearings turning was heard again in the dark forest. Behind him. Countless huge metal plates in the ground he had just run over lifted their camouflage.
One after another, mini-tanks with roaring engines quickly rushed out of their hiding places, their tracks churning mud. The narrow barrels turned quickly, aiming firmly at Nolan's Terminator armor. At the same time, Hydra soldiers in black combat uniforms quickly followed the mini-tanks and launched their offensive. They pulled the triggers of their energy guns, launching a seemingly endless storm of blue energy beams at the metal giant.
Whoosh. Whine. Crack.
In an instant, physical shells and energy beams flew together, cutting through the dark night sky. The invisible Refractor Field lit up, hit by the continuous bombardment, shimmering and sparking, but it did not cause much damage.
Accompanied by the rising hum of his power backpack, Nolan, not at all panicked, stopped his charge and planted his feet. He launched a calm counterattack. He raised the muzzle of his bolt gun. His other huge metal hand reached back, unclipped the multi-melta, and brought it to bear.
BZZZZZZ-VWOOM!
After an ear-piercing buzzing sound that built to a roar, two fleeting, scorching beams of thermal energy hit two mini-tanks. In an instant, the tanks' armor glowed white-hot, then melted rapidly. They completely turned into pools of boiling molten iron that rolled endlessly, emitting blinding orange-red heat.
Dozens of Hydra soldiers who were gathered around the mini-tanks had no time to dodge. They were completely submerged by the splashing, boiling iron. They only made a single, miserable wail, cut short, and then there was no sound.
KA-BOOM. KA-BOOM. KA-BOOM.
The terrifying roar from the bolt gun followed closely. Almost every explosive shell hit the weak armor of the other mini-tanks. The chain-reaction explosions of the tanks continued to kill and injure the nearby Hydra soldiers, making it impossible for them to form an effective offensive barrage.
Shing. Shing. Thwip.
At this moment, accompanied by the subtle sound of cold weapons being unsheathed and muffled firearms, agile, black-clad ninjas appeared silently on the battlefield, dropping from the trees. They were like invisible shadow agents. Every time they swung their weapons or fired a shot, a Hydra soldier would lose his life.
Not long after, Nolan, who had reloaded his bolt gun with a heavy clack, blew up the last mini-tank that had no time to dodge. He glanced at the burning wreckage, the bodies of countless Hydra soldiers in the forest, and at the Yashida ninjas, who had also suffered heavy losses in the crossfire. He shook his diamond-helmeted head slightly.
Nolan, wearing the Terminator armor, turned his back on the skirmish and walked towards the nearby entrance of the base.
BZZZZZZ-VWOOM!
He raised the muzzle of the multi-melta and pulled the trigger. Accompanied by two fleeting, scorching beams, the extremely heavy metal door, which could have withstood a bombardment, melted into a large, dripping hole of boiling molten iron in the blink of an eye.
Nolan put the multi-melta back on his pack without hesitation. Wearing the Terminator armor, he rushed into the base.
"Long live Lady Viper! Hail Hydra!"
Nolan had just stepped through the molten gate. Inside the wide metal passage, Hydra Agents wearing dark green heavy armor shouted fanatical slogans. They quickly raised two sturdy arms, each equipped with huge nozzles. A hiss-ROAR sound filled the passage as beams of scorching high-temperature flames quickly sprayed towards Nolan.
The Refractor Field shimmered, forcibly blocking the flames, turning the air in front of Nolan into a wall of heat. Nolan casually hung up his bolt gun, which had little ammunition left. He slowly pulled the C'tan Phase Sword from behind his power backpack, the green blade humming to life.
The electro-fiber bundles under his metal shell instantly contracted. The tall Terminator armor launched a terrifying charge forward, into the fire.
In an instant, the C'tan Phase Sword wielded by Nolan cut a Hydra heavy armor agent in half. The opponent's broken flesh and armor were completely ignited by their own gouting flames.
Then, more Hydra heavy-armored agents were easily split by the terrifying C'tan Phase Sword, their flamethrowers exploding as they were consumed by the inferno. Soon after, the corridor was clear. The Hydra heavy-armored agents were slaughtered.
Nolan, his magnetic boots thudding on the hot metal floor, drove the Terminator armor across the blazing, terrifying sea of fire. Carrying the huge C'tan Phase Sword, which dripped molten metal, he walked towards the inside of the base.
"Hail Hydra!"
However, before Nolan had walked far, the deafening alarm sounded again. Down the passage, doors slid open. One by one, regular Hydra soldiers, seemingly fearless, rushed into the passage and launched a death charge towards Nolan. They used every weapon in their hands, their energy rifles and machine guns all firing, to attack the metal giant that continued to advance.
But their weapons sparked and pinged harmlessly off his armor. They never caused much damage. Instead, Nolan, madly dancing the C'tan Phase Sword in wide, brutal arcs, rapidly reduced their numbers, cutting through them like wheat.
From a cross-corridor, a new threat appeared. An anti-aircraft artillery piece, originally used for air defense, was quickly pushed into the wide passage on heavy wheels. Several Hydra soldiers quickly aimed the muzzles at Nolan.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
The terrifying artillery bombardment smashed the Hydra soldiers in front of the gun who had no time to retreat, and also enveloped the huge figure of the metal giant in smoke and fire.
The sheer force of the explosions finally blocked the forward pace of the Terminator armor. Nolan took a step back, his armor smoking. He quickly turned his diamond-shaped helmet. The eyepiece, its data constantly refreshing, firmly locked onto the position of the anti-aircraft artillery.
While the Refractor Field flickered and sparked, completely covered by the explosive firepower, he picked up the multi-melta on his back again.
BZZZZZZ-VWOOM!
The next second, the anti-aircraft gun that kept spewing terrifying firepower melted instantly. The boiling molten iron splashed around, annihilating countless Hydra soldiers who had no time to dodge.
Nolan looked at the ammo counter for the multi-melta. He chose to sling the weapon back onto his pack as a backup, the barrel still glowing red-hot.
Nolan slowly raised the humming C'tan Phase Sword towards the new wave of Hydra soldiers who were appearing in the depths of the passage.
"Come on, Hydra bastards," his voice boomed over the external speaker. "Let's kill them!"
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