Morning light gradually spread across the ruins.
The black smoke from last night's fires had not fully dispersed.
A burnt smell still lingered in the air.
Collapsed buildings looked as if they had been torn apart by war.
Shattered walls.
Overturned vehicles.
Shell casings scattered everywhere.
The entire area still carried the marks of last night's high-intensity battle.
In the distance, flames could still be seen, not yet fully extinguished.
Occasionally, faint sounds of structural collapse echoed.
The escort unit had already resumed operations.
After a night of recovery,
supplies had been replenished.
Damaged structures had undergone temporary repairs.
Evacuation routes had been confirmed.
Although their overall condition had not fully recovered,
it was enough to continue advancing.
Because they all understood—
last night was only the outer layer.
The real core area
still lay ahead.
The armored transport vehicles came to a slow stop.
Doors opened.
Escort members quickly deployed,
establishing fire coverage.
Several immediately rushed toward high ground.
Scope once again took position first,
entering an elevated observation point.
His perception ability spread outward.
Bear had already re-equipped his adjusted combat suit.
Although his right arm still had structural deviation,
it had at least regained basic output.
A technician performed one last interface check.
"Don't push it into overload again."
Bear didn't reply.
He simply locked on his helmet.
The sound of mechanical sealing echoed softly.
Lucian stood in the middle of the street,
looking toward the distant zone.
That area had already entered Cobra's true sphere of control.
Unlike the outer layer,
this place clearly showed signs of long-term operation.
Reinforced buildings.
Roadblocks.
Defensive walls.
Sealed structures.
Even fixed firepoints could be seen.
This was the core perimeter.
Even the air felt heavier.
Lucian spoke calmly:
"Advance."
The next second—
the escort unit moved.
Firepower surged forward instantly.
Several Cobra outer members had just peeked out—
bullets tore through the walls.
Two dropped immediately.
Elsewhere,
sniper fire from above suppressed movement in sync.
The entire advance was exceptionally stable.
After last night's battle,
the escort unit had clearly entered full rhythm.
No wasted movement.
No chaos.
They advanced in coordinated rotation.
Cobra's outer defense line began collapsing rapidly.
Because the gap between them was too large.
Equipment.
Training.
Coordination.
They weren't even on the same level.
Many outer members didn't dare engage directly.
They kept retreating.
"Left side clear."
"Front building secured."
"Second unit advance."
Voices flowed constantly through comms.
The entire force operated like a precision machine.
Firepower pressed forward without pause.
Everything seemed smooth.
Even easier than last night.
Without Grave Hound,
Cobra's outer layer lacked true suppression force.
Some members had already begun to think
they might break through today.
But just as they reached the mid-zone—
Scope suddenly spoke in a low voice:
"They're coming."
Bear slowed.
"How many?"
"Many."
The next second—
At the far end of the street,
figures began to appear.
At first,
the escort unit assumed they were ordinary armed personnel.
But quickly—
everyone realized something was wrong.
Those figures were covered
in heavy metal armor.
Not modern combat suits.
But—
full plate armor.
Head.
Chest.
Arms.
Legs.
Everything encased in thick alloy.
Under the sunlight,
they reflected a cold metallic sheen.
And the thickness—
far beyond standard ballistic protection.
Each of them looked like a true heavy infantry soldier.
"What the hell…"
someone muttered.
Gunfire erupted instantly.
A barrage of bullets covered the front.
But the result changed everyone's expression.
Clang!!!
Clang!!!!
Sparks exploded everywhere.
Bullets deflected in all directions.
Only a few spots showed shallow dents—
far from penetration.
And those armored figures—
didn't even stop.
They kept advancing.
Heavy steps.
Like ancient heavy infantry
walking out of another era.
"Armor-piercing rounds!"
someone barked.
Several members switched ammunition instantly.
The next volley erupted.
This time—
it worked.
Cracks began to form.
Some were staggered back by impact.
But another problem emerged immediately.
Their movement speed was far beyond expectations.
Despite wearing such heavy armor,
they were not slow.
They used buildings as cover.
Shifted routes rapidly.
Closed angles deliberately.
Hit rates began dropping sharply.
And before the escort unit could fully adjust—
The first armored figure burst forward.
Boom!!!
The ground cracked beneath the step.
He crashed directly into the forward firepoint.
A massive axe swung down.
An abandoned vehicle split apart on impact.
Nearby members retreated instantly.
Gunfire poured in.
But at close range—
the enemy had already breached.
"Close combat!"
Bear roared.
The next second—
Several armored figures charged simultaneously.
The entire battlefield rhythm shifted instantly.
Firearms began to lose dominance.
Because distance was collapsing fast.
A member reached for a reload—
Too late.
Boom!!!
A shield slammed into him.
He was sent flying into a wall.
Elsewhere—
two members fired together.
Special rounds finally pierced a shoulder plate.
Blood burst out.
But the target didn't stop.
He pushed forward—
and entered melee range.
A blade swept across.
Sparks erupted.
The entire area descended into close-quarters combat.
And the most dangerous part—
They weren't just defensive units.
They moved intelligently.
Using buildings.
Smoke.
Blind angles.
Closing distance rapidly.
Like soldiers trained
specifically for melee warfare.
They rarely stayed exposed in open fire lanes.
They even split formation deliberately—
cutting apart the escort unit's fire network.
Lucian stood at the rear.
For the first time,
his gaze truly shifted.
Because he understood now—
these were not improvised fighters.
They were a trained force.
And trained in a very specific way.
No advanced tech.
No mechanical exoskeletons.
No high-performance suits.
So they used their bodies—
to adapt to armor.
to endure weight.
to master killing at close range.
It was inefficient.
But once perfected—
in a resource-poor war zone,
it became extremely dangerous.
Especially in urban combat.
Firearms lost their advantage.
But what truly changed the battlefield—
was the next moment.
BOOM!!!!!
A massive explosion tore from a side building.
Flames burst through windows.
Shockwaves swept across the street.
An armored vehicle was thrown sideways.
"RPG!"
someone shouted.
Another flash erupted from a rooftop.
BOOM!!!
A rocket slammed into the center of the street.
Debris scattered violently.
The road split open.
For the first time—
the escort unit's formation stalled.
Because those weapons—
were old.
So old they barely belonged
on a modern battlefield.
But that was exactly the problem.
They were simple.
Numerous.
Easy to conceal.
Easy to maintain.
Inside ruins.
Behind windows.
On rooftops.
In shadows—
launchers kept emerging.
Firing.
BOOM!!!
BOOM!!!!
Explosions chained across the advance route.
Smoke surged into the sky.
One member rolled to evade—
the wall behind him exploded instantly.
Rebar and debris scattered violently.
Another was thrown off his feet—
slammed into a wrecked vehicle.
Cracks spread across his combat suit.
"Suppress those launchers!"
Scope locked multiple positions instantly.
Sniper fire erupted.
Two rocket operators dropped.
But the next second—
another launcher rose from a different angle.
They had prepared rotating fire coverage.
Meanwhile—
the armored units advanced under the explosions.
They pushed through smoke.
Used visual disruption.
Closed distance fast.
Once inside close range—
firearms lost effectiveness completely.
One armored soldier smashed through a wall
and entered a building.
Three escort members opened fire instantly.
Bullets slammed into armor—
sparks exploded wildly.
But he pushed through.
A shield strike—
one was sent flying.
Another drew a tactical blade.
True close combat began.
Firelight.
Gunfire.
Metal clashes.
Screams.
The entire area collapsed into chaos.
Bear charged into the front line.
His right fist slammed forward.
BOOM!!!
An armored soldier was blasted backward—
crashing through half a wall.
But the next instant—
another armored unit swung a long-handled war hammer from the side.
Bear raised his arm to block.
A heavy impact detonated.
The ground beneath them cracked.
Inside the mechanical frame—
overload warnings screamed.
At the same time—
rockets continued striking from the rear.
BOOM!!!
The upper level of a building collapsed entirely.
Concrete rained down.
The battlefield was no longer a gang stronghold.
It had become a war zone.
Lucian watched silently.
And finally understood—
Cobra's long survival in this chaos
was not just because of crime.
But because—
they truly possessed
war-level force.
At that moment—
In the distance,
a larger figure
slowly stepped out from deeper within the structures.
Taller than the others.
Covered in even heavier plate armor.
The shoulder plating was visibly more massive.
Nearby armored soldiers—
instinctively gave way.
Each step he took—
sent a dull shock through the ground.
Like a walking siege engine.
Lucian narrowed his eyes.
Because he finally realized—
these soldiers
were not Cobra's original members.
They belonged to—
another system.
A completely different
combat system.