Chapter 663: The Floating Mountains
The team began their slow advance along the rugged rock ledge, plunging deeper into the mountain range.
The two Iron Guard mechs marched heavily in the center of the formation. Their metallic feet clanged dully against the stone, providing reliable heavy fire support for the entire unit.
Although the intense magnetic interference caused their precision sensors to constantly throw error codes, their foundational optical tracking and acoustic detection systems remained functional.
The operators of Hellfire Squad, moving with practiced tactical fluidity, dispersed along the flanks and rear of the formation. Clad in heavy combat plating, they kept their plasma rifles continuously raised in an alert posture.
Sergeant Reynolds frequently used hand signals to direct his men, constantly adjusting their formation to ensure every vector was effectively covered.
Asuka stuck close to Ryo's side, her gaze ceaselessly sweeping their surroundings. The floating landmasses drifted in and out of view within the mist. Waterfalls cascaded from high above, refracting dizzying halos of light through the atomized water.
She carefully avoided the loose stones beneath her boots, keeping her voice very low: "Every corner of this place could be hiding something lethal."
Ryo's gaze darted quickly across the rock walls above and the dense fog ahead. He replied: "Maintain vigilance. Watch for any anomalies—shadows that shouldn't exist, or unnatural disruption patterns in the mist's flow."
A Treacherous Advance
As the team pressed deeper, visibility dropped even further.
Thick, heavy moisture blanketed the entire valley. The roaring of the waterfalls echoing endlessly between the rock faces nearly drowned out all other sound.
The team was forced to rely on hand signals and proximity comms to maintain coordination.
Every single step required extreme caution.
In some places, the rock ledge narrowed to allow only single-file passage, with a bottomless, pitch-black abyss directly below. Occasionally, loose rocks were kicked off the edge, and no sound of impact ever echoed back.
Small stones frequently tumbled down from the cliff faces above, serving as a constant reminder of the hazards looming overhead.
Navigating this fog-enshrouded region of floating mountains to locate a deliberately concealed alien spacecraft was undeniably a monumental challenge.
The deeper they ventured into the core of the Hallelujah Mountains, the more hostile the environment became.
The heavy mist not only obscured their vision but also coated the rocks in a slick layer of wet moss, rendering every step hazardous.
The colossal, wildly shaped floating mountains acted like the walls of a labyrinth, shattering all sense of direction. The extreme magnetic interference rendered compasses and most electronic navigation suites entirely useless; they were forced to rely solely on the memory fragments within Ryo's mind, which he continuously cross-referenced and corrected, to guide their path.
"Damn this godforsaken place!" A Hellfire operator cursed, his foot slipping on a slick patch. He nearly plummeted into the abyss, saved only by the quick reflexes of his squadmate who hauled him back.
He cursed again, his heart pounding with residual terror as he steadied his footing.
"Stay sharp!" Sergeant Reynolds' stern voice crackled over the squad channel. "Watch your step, and watch your surroundings! Falling off the edge isn't the only way to die out here!"
His warning was entirely justified.
The predators of Pandora's forests were omnipresent. Even in this sector that appeared to contain only rock and water, lethal dangers lurked in the shadows.
The Ambush
Just as the team was attempting to cross the abyss between two floating mountains via a narrow natural stone bridge, disaster struck.
From the thick fog swirling beneath the stone bridge, several whip-like tentacles—tipped with razor-sharp bone spikes—shot up with blinding speed! Their target was aimed squarely at the technical support personnel in the center of the formation: Pilar and Falco!
"Contact!" Dorio's warning shout rang out almost simultaneously with the sound of the tentacles tearing through the air.
Standing nearby, Asuka reacted with blistering speed. Moving almost entirely on instinct, she lunged forward, violently shoving Pilar—who had his head down adjusting equipment—out of the way!
A bone-spiked tentacle whipped past her back carrying a vicious gust of wind, slicing a tear through her exploration suit.
"Valerie!" Maine roared, simultaneously raising his weapon and sweeping fire toward the origin of the tentacles.
The plasma beams vanished into the thick fog, followed by a shrill, ear-piercing shriek.
"Copy!" The massive chassis of the Iron Guard erupted into motion with an agility that defied its bulk. The shoulder-mounted weapon platform unlocked instantly, the rotary cannon whining as it spun up. A searing barrage of high-explosive rounds poured into the foggy abyss below the bridge like a storm of metal!
"Establish defensive line!" Jake's voice boomed from the other Iron Guard. The grey mech took a heavy step forward, slamming its massive armored shield into the ground with a resounding thud, providing solid cover for the personnel behind it. Simultaneously, the light rapid-fire cannon on its arm opened up, creating overlapping fields of fire with the "Red Comet."
Hellfire Squad reacted just as swiftly, using the natural cover of the stone bridge to lay down suppressive fire toward the suspected attack vectors below.
For a moment, the roar of gunfire, the booming of cannons, the shrieking of the monster, and the thunder of the waterfalls all blended together into a deafening cacophony.
The instant the attack occurred, Maine and Dorio had subconsciously moved to shield Ryo.
He did not panic. His calm gaze swept the battlefield, rapidly assessing the tactical situation.
"It is not a large predator; it is an ambush-predator flora strain! Target its primary mass—aim for the recess in the left rock wall below the bridge!"
His voice cut through the comms, clear and precise in everyone's ears.
Thanks to Celtic's memory fragments, he possessed a far more direct understanding of the behavioral patterns of Pandora's diverse lethal organisms.
"You heard the Doctor! Focus fire, left rock face!" Sergeant Reynolds instantly echoed the command.
The firepower of the two Iron Guards and Hellfire Squad immediately shifted, furiously bombarding the coordinates Ryo designated.
Under the saturation fire, a massive, twisted organism resembling a colossal sea anemone hidden amidst the moss and shadows was blown to pieces, its sap flying everywhere. It let out a final, agonizing shriek before releasing its grip on the rock wall and plummeting into the endless abyss below.
The attacking tentacles instantly went limp and dissipated into the mist.
Pressing On
The engagement was brief but intense.
Only after confirming the threat was neutralized did the team let out a collective breath.
"Pilar, Falco, you good?" Maine asked.
"F-fine," Pilar scrambled up from the ground, still shaken. He looked at Asuka. "Thanks, kid."
Asuka dusted herself off and let out a feigned, easy hmph: "Hmph, piece of cake. But keep an eye on your own gear next time, tech nerd."
Ryo walked over to Asuka, glancing at the tear in the exploration suit on her back: "Are you injured?"
"Just a scratch," Asuka said dismissively, though a subtle flicker of appreciation flashed in her eyes before she immediately changed the subject. "Doctor, how did you know where that thing's weak point was?"
"Careful observation and rigorous analysis," Ryo offered a simple explanation, not delving further.
He turned to the group. "Check your gear and confirm casualties. We've lost some time; we must keep moving."
After a quick headcount, aside from a few minor scrapes sustained during evasion and the tear on Asuka's back, there were no serious casualties.
The team reorganized briefly and resumed their march.
Following that sudden ambush, everyone's nerves were drawn even tighter.
This beautiful yet deadly region of floating mountains had used the most direct method possible to declare its inviolable laws.
And the objective they sought remained hidden behind this veil of mist and treacherous peaks.