In the shadowy depths of the Crimson Serpent's second branch headquarters, a spy sat alone in a dimly lit basement. The room smelled of oil, metal, and the faint musk of damp stone. The only sound was the faint crackle of static from a pair of ancient earphones he wore, patched into a secret frequency that tapped directly into the Goodie Hunters' communication network.
The spy, codename **Specter**, leaned forward, his fingers trembling as he adjusted the dial on his receiver. The faint voices of **Manav** and **General Ryan Jim** came through clearly now, and the weight of their words pressed down on him like a physical force.
"*Let's wipe out the Crimson Serpent,*" Manav's cold, unyielding voice declared, sending a chill through Specter's spine.
He listened intently, every detail of their plan burning itself into his memory. By the time Manav's voice concluded with that chillingly simple command—"*Just kill them*,"—Specter's pulse was pounding like a war drum. This was no idle threat. This was a declaration of war against his organization.
He ripped off the earphones, his breathing ragged. In a single motion, he grabbed a secured communicator from his pocket and activated it. The faint hum of encryption codes being bypassed filled the room before the line clicked open.
"Captain," Specter whispered, his voice trembling.
A deep, authoritative voice responded, layered with annoyance. "This better be important, Specter. You don't call unless it's life or death."
"It *is* life or death," Specter said, his words tumbling out in a frantic rush. "Manav... he's planning to wipe out the second branch. He and his general are moving against us. They want to kill every single one of us and dismantle the Serpent completely."
For a long moment, there was silence on the other end. Then, a sharp intake of breath.
"Are you sure?" the voice asked, now sharp and cold.
"I heard it myself," Specter confirmed. "Word for word. They're already making plans. If we don't act first, we're dead."
The voice on the other end belonged to **Vincent Kane**, captain of the Crimson Serpent's second branch. Known for his ruthlessness and tactical brilliance, Kane was not a man easily frightened. But even he couldn't deny the threat that Manav posed.
"Manav..." Kane muttered, as if tasting the name like poison on his tongue. "That arrogant tyrant thinks he can just erase us? Very well. If he wants war, we'll give him war."
"What's the plan, sir?" Specter asked, his voice laced with urgency.
Kane's tone was calm but laced with deadly intent. "Send a message to our top commanders. I want a strike team at Goodie Hunters' palace within the hour. We'll show them what happens when you cross the Serpent."
Within minutes, the wheels of war were in motion. Kane's orders spread through the Crimson Serpent's ranks like wildfire. From the shadows of the Martian underworld emerged an elite strike force—hardened fighters, assassins, and tactical specialists loyal to Kane.
The team, led by three of the Serpent's most feared commanders, **Dante Blaze**, **Lyra Frost**, and **Axel Raze**, boarded an unmarked hovercraft and sped toward the opulent palace of Goodie Hunters.
The towering spires of the palace loomed against the blood-red Martian sky. Inside, the palace was bustling with activity as Manav's trusted commanders prepared for the assault against the Crimson Serpent. Among them were **Colonel Tyron Vale**, a tactical genius, and **Captain Zara Morrow**, a relentless fighter who had never lost a battle.
The two were deep in conversation in one of the palace's strategic planning rooms, poring over maps and reports.
"I don't like this," Zara said, her voice tight with tension. "Going after the Serpent is one thing, but we're also the ones supplying them with weapons. Cutting them off is going to create ripples—chaos in the black market. And chaos has a way of biting back."
"Manav knows what he's doing," Tyron replied, though there was a flicker of doubt in his tone. "He always has a plan. We just need to trust him."
Before Zara could respond, alarms blared throughout the palace.
"What the hell?" Tyron muttered, grabbing his comm device. "Report!"
A panicked voice came through the line. "Sir, we've got unidentified hostiles breaching the perimeter! They're heavily armed!"
Zara's expression hardened. "It's them," she said grimly. "The Serpent is here."
The palace courtyard erupted into chaos as the Crimson Serpent strike team arrived. Dante Blaze, clad in black armor and wielding twin plasma blades, led the charge, his movements a blur of deadly precision. Behind him, Lyra Frost unleashed devastating energy blasts, her icy-blue hair whipping in the wind as she carved through Goodie Hunters' guards.
Axel Raze, a hulking brute with cybernetic enhancements, smashed through the palace gates like a battering ram, his thunderous roar echoing across the battlefield.
Inside the palace, Zara and Tyron quickly rallied their forces.
"Hold the line!" Zara shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Don't let them breach the inner sanctum!"
Tyron barked orders into his comm. "Deploy the turrets! I want every available soldier in the courtyard NOW!"
The battle that ensued was nothing short of apocalyptic. Plasma bolts and energy blasts lit up the night as the two sides clashed with unrelenting fury. Dante Blaze and Zara Morrow met in the center of the courtyard, their blades colliding in a dazzling display of sparks and light.
"You've made a mistake coming here," Zara snarled, her every strike filled with lethal intent.
Dante grinned, his movements fluid and precise. "The only mistake is thinking you can stop us."
Meanwhile, Tyron faced off against Lyra Frost, their tactical minds locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse as they exchanged fire across the palace's labyrinthine corridors.
In another corner of the battlefield, Axel Raze tore through waves of guards, his cybernetic arms crushing everything in his path. But even he was met with resistance as Colonel Tyron's tactical traps slowed his advance.
As the fight raged on, Specter watched from a safe distance, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and exhilaration. The Crimson Serpent had struck first, but the Goodie Hunters were not going down without a fight. The palace was a fortress, and its defenders were some of the best fighters Mars had ever known.
Despite their strength, the Serpent's strike force was relentless, their fury fueled by Kane's orders and their desire for vengeance.
But as the battle continued, it became clear that neither side was willing to back down.