From the drone's aerial perspective, hundreds of extremists could be seen pouring out of the factory, trying to engage the ODST in direct combat.
These extremists were armed with weapons that matched the current specifications of the United Defense Force (UDF), with some elite units even matching UDF special forces.
Near the factory, several main battle tanks and over a dozen armored personnel carriers were deployed, outnumbering Quaritch, Carlos, and their team by more than tenfold.
"Rat-tat-tat!!"
"Bang! Bang bang!"
As soon as the battle began, gunfire erupted from both sides.
However, despite the extremists' numerical superiority, they quickly found themselves at a disadvantage. The speed at which they were losing men was akin to a line of falling dominoes.
Even with the aid of exoskeletons and reinforced steel plates on key areas, it seemed that every ODST was a sharpshooter, capable of accurately hitting vital points through any gaps.
This was due to a combination of factors: the ODST's precision, their modular AMWS firearms, the helmet's targeting assistance, and the strength enhancement provided by their exoskeletons—all working in tandem.
Moreover, as Atlas special forces, every ODST was a seasoned veteran, giving them a decisive edge over the disorganized extremists.
With the support of ODST gunners and demolition experts using .30cal smart bullets and 20mm high-explosive shells, the extremists had nowhere to hide.
At this moment.
Carlos's fourth combat group was advancing rapidly alongside three mechs that resembled AMP suits but were even more heavily armored.
It was Carlos's team that first spotted the target of the operation, the leader of the organization, a man with a bushy beard wearing a green military uniform.
The leader, realizing that his second-in-command had been attacked and that his hideout was about to be exposed, was preparing to escape by helicopter.
However, after witnessing his guards being torn apart by gauss machine guns, he decided to run back into the factory instead.
Had Carlos and his team been ordered to "eliminate" the target, the leader would have been dead long before he could flee.
The mechs, equipped with triple-barrel 30mm gauss machine guns, looked similar to AMPs but were taller, wider, and larger overall.
Standing at 5.2 meters tall, 2.5 meters wide, and weighing 8 tons, these mechs were known as "AMP Assault Support Variants" (AMP-ASV).
The AMP-ASV was a variant of the AMP series, designed to replace the bionic arms with heavier weaponry, such as the triple-barrel 30mm gauss machine gun and 60mm grenade launchers.
As the name suggests, the ASV was designed for orbital assaults, providing the ODST with armored vehicle-level fire support.
Atlas needed to ensure that the ODST wouldn't be overwhelmed by enemy armored units due to a lack of armored support, so the standard drop pod was designed to accommodate ten ODSTs, two ASV mechs, or three fully armed Tyrants.
For instance, shortly after Carlos's team landed, they advanced towards the factory in pairs, maintaining a ten-meter interval.
However, the extremists' main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers used their armor to block Carlos's path and prepared to counterattack with 120mm tank cannons and 25mm machine guns.
But the ODST grenadiers, armed with anti-tank rocket launchers and supported by the ASV mechs, quickly neutralized the slow-moving "relics."
The triple-barrel 30mm gauss machine guns, configured with a mix of uranium penetrator rounds, tracer rounds, and high-explosive rounds, and with an initial velocity of 2630 meters per second, were true "armor killers."
While the ASV's firepower was formidable, its light armor made it vulnerable in open terrain, highlighting that the ASV was more of a "heavily armed infantry" unit than a true main battle tank.
Finally, there were the Tyrants, the heavy units that supported the ODST.
The first impression the extremists had of the six Tyrants was their heavy armor, heavy weapons, and sheer size, which left them in awe. The Tyrants were unmatched in the visual impact and psychological shock they inflicted on the extremists.
Even though the ODSTs had advanced equipment, they still looked human, and the ASVs, despite being mechs, were within the extremists' realm of understanding.
But when faced with the Tyrants, who moved and behaved like humans but stood 4.5 meters tall, the extremists' uncanny valley effect skyrocketed.
As their comrades fell one after another in gruesome ways, the extremists' psychological defenses began to crumble.
At this point.
The four combat groups, along with the ASV mechs and Tyrants, quickly closed the distance between themselves and the factory.
The third and fourth combat groups, including Carlos's, stayed on the factory's perimeter to eliminate any remaining extremists.
The four ASV mechs, due to their size and difficulties in indoor combat, also remained outside to assist the third and fourth groups.
However, one Tyrant equipped with new weaponry followed Quaritch's first and second combat groups into the factory.
...
"Bang! Bang!"
"Ah!"
"Ugh..."
Gunfire and screams echoed inside the factory.
Within thirty seconds, Quaritch and the 20 ODSTs, using the Tyrant as mobile cover, had secured control of the factory.
They also found the gate leading to the underground facility.
"Colonel, it's a blast door."
"I know." Quaritch turned to the Tyrant numbered 017 and gestured. "Hey, kid, use your cannon to blow this door open."
"."
Following the order, the operator piloted 017 to the gate, lifted the small-caliber cannon connected to an "ammo belt" and "ammo box," and pulled the trigger.
Ri~—Zzzzz—!
With a short charging sound, the cannon fired a high-energy plasma bolt that emitted a brilliant blue light.
Boom!
The bolt struck the gate, exploding upon impact and splattering in all directions.
Sizzle!
The intense heat of the plasma melted through the gate, expanding the molten area and creating a hole about two meters in diameter.
Seeing this, Quaritch waved his hand again. "Go capture that guy, and make sure the operation is clean and quick for the PR team's footage."
"Yes, sir."
Sixteen ODSTs, in pairs, passed through the hole and entered the underground facility beneath the factory.
As for the Tyrant 017's plasma cannon, it was actually a plasma weapon developed by the United Aerospace Corporation (UAC).
The weapon worked by rapidly heating ionized particles in the air to form plasma, which was then released as an energy blast.
The plasma gun from the movie *Doom*, also known as the "Bio-Force Gun (BFG)," wasn't named for containing organic matter but was based on a power storage design inspired by electric eels.
The BFG itself didn't generate plasma; UAC first produced the plasma and then stored it in components like a regular magazine.
However, this storage component significantly increased the BFG's production cost.
Until the research department finds an effective alternative material, Atlas has no plans to mass-produce the BFG, with only a small number made for testing.
On the other hand, the larger and stronger Tyrants could carry large hydrogen battery arrays, allowing them to generate and release plasma anytime, anywhere.
This explains why Tyrant 017's plasma cannon had components resembling an "ammo box" and "ammo belt."
It didn't take long;
"Bang… Bang…"
"Stop them… Hurry… Hurry and stop them…"
"Boom… Boom…"
Gunfire, shouting, and explosions from the intense battle echoed through the hole.
"No… I'll give you money… Name your price, please! Don't… Don't do this!"
But as the pleas grew closer and clearer, it indicated that the battle in the underground facility had ended.
Soon, two ODSTs dragged the leader of the NIA organization through the hole, bringing him before Quaritch and deliberately reporting:
"Colonel! Atlas First Airborne Company has completed the mission and successfully captured the leader of the Pannonia organization, who is wanted for sixteen charges, including crimes against humanity and war crimes!"
"Excellent! Take this bastard away."
"Yes, Colonel."
After a brief, staged report, Quaritch and his team, along with Tyrant 017, quickly withdrew and regrouped with the third and fourth groups, who had already completed their sweep.
——
...
Meanwhile.
1,600 kilometers away in New Paris.
From a thousand meters above the outskirts, New Paris appeared as a city dominated by towering megastructures and arrays of solar panels, giving it a "near-futuristic" look with even more greenery than before.
Between these massive buildings, various types of drones and less than a hundred box-shaped "airships" could be seen flying.
A closer look revealed that most of these airships, emitting a faint "buzz," were painted in a black and orange color scheme, indicating their use for transporting valuable cargo.
A few others were primarily dark blue with white accents and police lights, marked with the letters "NPPD" (New Paris Police Department) on the sides.
These airships were next-generation vehicles developed by Atlas using room-temperature superconducting minerals.
Due to restrictions and concerns in the main universe, Atlas hadn't yet released these products commercially, but on Earth-01, Atlas had no such concerns, making it the perfect testing ground for new products like these various airships.
From a bird's-eye view of New Paris, it was easy to spot the massive building next to the Eiffel Tower, which was the Atlas Division headquarters for Universe-01.
At this
moment, in the middle floors of the headquarters.
In the operations command center;
This room, like most Atlas command centers, was filled with holographic screens and staffed by personnel at their respective stations.
Standing next to the central control panel was Robert, a tall figure with golden short hair standing at two meters.
Samuel Young's firstborn son was broad-shouldered yet well-proportioned, and his black uniform exuded the aura of a "chief military officer."
"Sir, Colonel Miles Quaritch has successfully captured the target, and the aerial transport fleet is expected to arrive at the scene in forty-five minutes to assist the ODST with evacuation and to recover all assets, including the drop pods."
"Good." Upon hearing the report, Robert instinctively responded like his father and asked, "How is the PR department doing?"
"The PR department says they will finish editing in no more than six hours."
"Alright, tell them to upload the video as soon as it's ready, along with Mr. Young's speech from last year's annual meeting, to all our official accounts. Also, alert the web department to stay vigilant against potential smear campaigns and attacks from the UK and the US."
"Understood, sir." The staff immediately relayed Robert's instructions.
"."
Robert nodded slightly and said nothing more, focusing his attention back on the holographic map in front of him, reviewing the situation and developments.
Although his title was chief military officer, his responsibilities spanned all aspects of the Zero-One Division, not just the military.
Before he arrived at the division, both civilian and military matters were handled by his father.
After he arrived, his father quickly handed over most of the work, leaving only matters like military expansion or material requests requiring his father's review and approval.
Robert believed this was his father's way of showing confidence in his abilities. When he learned that his father had temporarily entrusted the reconstruction of Universe-03 to Leon, Robert became even more determined to push development forward.
He couldn't afford to be outdone.
Robert knew his brother Leon and was aware that Leon had "shortcomings" in management and operations, but these were only shortcomings compared to him. Compared to ordinary people, Leon still had an absolute advantage.
He also believed that friendly competition between brothers was ultimately beneficial to the company.
Next was the "Decapitation" operation against the "Pannonia Organization."
Robert ordered the ODSTs involved in the raid to send their individual footage to the PR department, which would then delete the drop phase and any sensitive details, leaving only the "exciting" battle scenes and the final capture for public release.
After that, the edited video would be uploaded, showing the public that Atlas had once again "eliminated a threat" while subtly hinting to the UK and the US that Atlas had the capability to execute "decapitation" strikes anytime, anywhere—from individual soldiers to nuclear weapons.
It was both a threat and a warning: don't stir up trouble.
Finally, uploading his father's speech from the annual meeting, with lines like "People need protection, rules, boundaries, security, and the infrastructure that supports it all! Not some flowery bullshit!" was meant to remind all of Earth-01 who truly owned Atlas and to help quickly establish his father's public image.
This was the gift Robert had prepared for his father before the fourth space gate opened. He was sure his father would be very satisfied and pleased.
___________________
Read Ahead
P@treon.com/Mutter