Witnessing the carnage ahead, Thien Anh did not hesitate to shoulder the SPT-20 rocket launcher. He needed to neutralize those two sentry towers immediately. These Ghouls were a finite 'resource,' and he couldn't afford to let the automated firepower wipe them out before he could use their weaknesses to probe deeper into the base.
However, just as Thien Anh's finger began to squeeze the trigger, a horrific variable abruptly entered the fray. From within the bruised, leaden clouds, a shrill, piercing shriek tore through the air, echoing across the wasteland.
"SKREE—SKREE!"
Thien Anh snapped his gaze upward. A gargantuan creature was diving toward them like a heavy tactical bomber. It bore the silhouette of a vulture, but its body mass rivaled that of a forest elephant, and its wingspan stretched nearly thirty meters wide.
Its plumage was far from soft; it shimmered with a metallic luster, as rigid as plates of steel scales. Even more grotesque was its mutated neck, which branched into three separate heads armed with curved, razor-sharp beaks. The target of this Tier-3 monster was none other than the cluster of Ghouls below.
"Take cover! Bury yourselves in the snow, do not let yourselves be seen!" Thien Anh hissed through the comms.
The group obeyed instantly, plunging deep into the thick snow. Thanks to their specialized tactical suits and multi-functional masks, they could maintain their breathing and core temperature in this brutal environment, even if the sensation of being encased in ice was far from pleasant.
Entombed in the snow, Thien Anh activated his smart electronic visor, syncing it with the long-range recon camera system. The image of the Tricephalic Vulture appeared in high definition.
The monster showed no fear of the two sentry towers. It plunged like a gargantuan obsidian arrow. Below, the Ghouls—despite their rudimentary intelligence—began to feel the crushing aura of an apex predator.
They shrieked in terror, scattering in every direction. But against the sentries' fire, those who fled were merely target practice. The roar of the LT-21 erupted again, scything down waves of Ghouls against the blood-stained snow.
Immediately after, the automated defense system recalibrated its targets. Both heavy machine gun muzzles swiveled toward the descending vulture.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A rain of high-caliber rounds slammed into the beast's frame. However, an impossible sight unfolded: the bullets that could punch through armored vehicles struck the vulture's metallic plumage and ricocheted away with dry, metallic clangs, like marbles thrown against a rubber mat.
Nevertheless, when stray rounds struck the neck—where the skin was exposed and more sensitive—the staggering kinetic energy still caused the monster agony.
"SKREEEE!"
Its cry of pain transformed into a primal, terminal rage. Its blood-red eyes flared with murderous intent. Ignoring the suppressing fire, it charged head-on into the two sentry towers. As the distance closed, the machine guns' lethality increased. Rounds shredded a portion of the crest on the central head, sending black ichor spraying, but they could not halt the creature's terrifying momentum.
CRASH! BOOM!
A tectonic collision occurred. The gargantuan mass of the vulture slammed into the defensive perimeter; its weight and kinetic force instantly toppled both three-meter-tall towers, crushing them into scrap metal beneath its talons.
The vulture stood up dazed, its heads swaying unsteadily, seemingly unable to regain its balance after the near-suicidal impact.
Now! Thien Anh erupted from the snow. His movements were as swift and precise as a ghost. He drew his heavy anti-material sniper rifle, rapidly chambering a specialized armor-piercing round—one laced with the concentrated neurotoxins from Azure Sky's fangs.
He held his breath, pressing his eye to the optic. His target: the bleeding wound on the neck of the central head.
THOOM!
The rifle bucked with a violent recoil. At this range, for a master marksman like Thien Anh, the margin for error was zero.
Squelch.
The armor-piercing round effortlessly tore through the damaged hide, burrowing deep into the beast's spinal cord.
"SKREEE—!"
One final, ear-splitting shriek rang out, carrying a sonic pressure so intense it made everyone's eardrums throb. Lam Linh, despite her improved resilience, couldn't withstand it; her world spun, her stomach churned, and she began to retch uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, the toxin from Azure Sky—now a Tier-3 mutated beast herself—began its ruthless work. Violent convulsions racked the vulture's gargantuan frame. In less than ten breaths, the former lord of the skies lay motionless on the snow, its brief evolutionary cycle brought to a terminal halt.
Thien Anh looked toward Thien Lang. Understanding his master's intent, the massive wolf bolted toward the carcass.
The hunt had only just truly begun.