"Ran Into a Wildlife Overpopulation Problem?"

As a planet similar to Earth in every respect, Pandora took roughly 26 hours to complete one rotation, making it essentially equivalent to an Earth day.

Early morning, September 2.

At this moment.

The light provided by Alpha Centauri illuminated Pandora's sunward side, allowing the rainforest's creatures to welcome a brand-new day.

Yet in a region filled with countless floating mountains, a massive flying formation appeared, with two gunships and a transport aircraft standing out in particular.

This formation of nearly a hundred aerial vehicles was exactly as Sui Yang had known: the RDA had chosen to launch a proactive attack to prevent the Na'vi from gathering tens of thousands of people and to keep the situation from spiraling out of control.

First was a military-green gunship that looked like a "flying turtle." Its official designation was the C-21 Dragon Assault Ship, measuring 41.5 meters long, 31.7 meters wide, and 9.22 meters high.

The assault ship was equipped with large quantities of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, as well as advanced fire-control systems. It could also carry ten AMP Suits and numerous armed personnel, serving as an airborne platform for tactical transport, command, and assault.

The other transport aircraft, painted black and white, was the TAV-37B Valkyrie single-stage-to-orbit space shuttle. Its fuselage stretched a full hundred meters, with a sharp appearance that could even be described as elegant.

However, the Valkyrie was not a military unit. It had merely been temporarily requisitioned by the RDA to serve as a bomber, preparing to deliver a devastating strike against the Na'vi Sanctuary.

Precisely because the Valkyrie was a civilian unit and its airframe was incapable of withstanding combat of any intensity, the remaining smaller aircraft clustered around it as much as possible to provide protection.

The escort units mainly consisted of AT-99 Scorpion gunships providing fire support, as well as Samson utility helicopters—advanced-looking versions of the UH-60 Black Hawk—that transported combat squads.

The flying formation swept across the mountain ranges.

Then, the formation began rapidly descending.

It ultimately landed in an open area and unloaded the RDA mercenaries it had transported, along with four-meter-tall AMP Suits.

The AMP Suits looked rather comical, like headless giants, but they were actually all-terrain Amplified Mobility Platforms, or AMP Suits for short, and were infantry units.

After completing the unloading, the formation took off again and continued advancing toward Sanctuary. However, it deliberately slowed down to ensure it could provide the ground forces with timely support.

Inside the cockpit of the Dragon Assault Ship;

"This is Dragon Daddy. My orders are simple: finish this quickly. We still need to get back for dinner."

The officer with white hair at his temples, prominent claw scars across his face, and an exceptionally muscular build was Miles Quaritch, the "villain" from Avatar.

The retired colonel held coffee in his left hand and braced his right elbow against the cockpit wall. Standing behind the pilots and gazing out the window, he looked utterly relaxed, clearly not viewing the Na'vi as a threat.

Only when Sanctuary and the Tree of Souls entered visual range did Quaritch set down his coffee and order over the comms, "All units, attention. Target in sight, estimated distance four kilometers. Valkyrie, prepare to drop your payload."

"Received. Preparing to drop."

Following the order, the Valkyrie gradually accelerated under the protection of the formation.

"Sir!" The observer seated toward the rear of the cockpit reported loudly to Quaritch, "Movement on the ground! Suspected enemy cavalry! Our ground forces are about to engage them!"

Hearing this, Quaritch walked behind the observer and fixed his gaze on the holographic display as well.

But the image kept cutting in and out, while static like an old television flickered across it. Quaritch said, "Clear up the image."

The observer immediately began operating the controls, but still shook his head. "No, sir. There's severe magnetic interference here. The navigation and fire-control systems of all airborne units have failed."

Suddenly, a large number of Na'vi aerial cavalry riding Banshees appeared within everyone's visual range.

At the sight, Quaritch furrowed his brow and ordered, "All units, free fire! I repeat, free fire!"

"Understood! Engaging the enemy!"

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Sir! We... ah! You damned bastards... ah... bzzzt..."

The moment Quaritch finished speaking, commanders from every unit responded over the comms. But judging from the sounds, the battle seemed far less optimistic than when they had destroyed the thousand-meter giant tree without taking losses a few days earlier.

Boom!

Boom!

!

Outside the Dragon Assault Ship, the Na'vi aerial cavalry seemed to have prepared an ambush long ago, launching a suicidal attack upon the entire flying formation from all directions.

With their fire-control systems disabled by the magnetic field, the outermost Scorpions and Samsons had no time to react and were caught completely off guard.

Some exploded, while others had their engines damaged, causing the pilots to lose control as the aircraft spiraled toward the ground.

Meanwhile, in the rainforest below...

"Rat-a-tat-tat!"

"Bang! Bang!"

The "symphony" of synchronized gunfire from weapons of every caliber gave the ground forces a far better record than the airborne units.

The Na'vi cavalry's frontal charge was no different from live targets before gunpowder and electromagnetic weapons. They were hit and fell in rows.

Some Na'vi who had fallen were not yet dead when the Direhorses following behind trampled them with a few more kicks, instantly turning them into puddles of blue pulp.

But there were always a few unlucky fellows on the RDA side, pierced through by Na'vi arrows and pinned to the ground or trees along with the shafts.

Before long, the Na'vi cavalry could no longer endure the assault and immediately chose to retreat.

The balance of the aerial battle also gradually shifted from a stalemate toward the humans. Jake Sully, riding a Leonopteryx, was being relentlessly pursued by the Dragon Assault Ship.

Just as the Valkyrie was about to reach its designated area and complete its bombing run, thousands of wild Banshees arrived of their own accord to provide support.

On the ground, large numbers of wild beasts were also rushing to reinforce the Na'vi cavalry, including herds of gigantic Hammerhead Titanotheres like biological armored vehicles, as well as Thanators several times larger than black panthers.

"Roar! Roar!"

Faced with this sudden change, the Na'vi were the first to react, raising their weapons and roaring toward the sky.

Because nature itself was helping them. Eywa had manifested!

The humans, on the other hand, were caught off guard once again.

"Sir! Enemy reinforcements! Enemy reinforcements!"

"Oh my God! Colonel, there are too many beasts on their side! What do we do?!"

The communications channels were filled with panicked shouts from personnel in every unit.

But the Na'vi's "good fortune" did not last long.

Splat! Splat!

Just as the beast reinforcements were about to inflict heavy casualties upon the RDA, the thousands of Banshees flying in the air were instantly blasted into chunks of flesh by a dense barrage of large-caliber shells.

"Rii~ Bzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!"

Immediately afterward, the sky above the battlefield rang with the remarkably "pleasant," crisp fury of autocannons.

??

Every RDA member, including Quaritch, froze at that. At the same time, an unfamiliar greeting rang through their communications channel:

"Hey, guys! This is Major Arthur Morgan of the Atlas Rapid Response Force. I heard you ran into a wildlife overpopulation problem? Hahaha! Don't worry. Please sit back and enjoy a barbecue show led by artillery!"

(End of Chapter)