"Controlling the Situation"

Bang!

Jake Sully's head... or rather, the head of his Avatar, exploded instantly. His skull and brain matter splattered everywhere like a watermelon dropped on the ground, spraying pulp and fluids in every direction.

Thud!

The headless body collapsed with a boom, its limbs twitching in a continuous spasm.

Looking at the corpse, it wasn't just the head that had suffered a fatal shot; four bloody holes had been blasted into its chest by .500 Magnum rounds.

"No! No! My Jake!"

Neytiri, who hadn't yet recovered from the shock, had witnessed her lover's head explode at point-blank range.

She scrambled to embrace the headless corpse, wailing in a hoarse voice, completely devoid of any further will to fight.

At this moment, several ARS soldiers not equipped with mechanical exoskeletons emerged from the nearby dense forest, slowly approaching the distraught Neytiri.

The leader reloaded his custom revolver while speaking into his mask's comms: "This is Arthur. The Avatar piloted by Jake Sully has been neutralized. Search team, please remain vigilant for Jake Sully's original body."

The one who had pulled off the kill with a .500 Magnum caliber revolver was none other than Arthur Morgan, who had arrived here early to wait on Sui Yang's orders.

Just as Arthur finished his warning, a reply crackled over the comms: "This is the search team. Per the Boss's instructions, we have successfully secured the target before he could escape. We are currently preparing for transport."

"Good."

Upon learning that the search team's side was also proceeding smoothly, Arthur reloaded his custom revolver and aimed it at Neytiri, warning her loudly:

"Surrender immediately, or you will meet the same end as that traitor!"

"You killed my Jake... you killed..."

Clearly, Neytiri had lost all ability to judge her surroundings, merely staring blankly while clutching the corpse of Jake's Avatar.

Seeing this, Arthur waved his hand, signaling the hunters beside him to use tranquilizer guns for the capture, facilitating the subsequent collection of live blood and tissue samples by the technical staff.

"ROAR!!!"

However, the Leonopteryx, which had been pierced through the body by a metal spear from the very beginning, erupted with unprecedented strength. Its four scarlet eyes were locked firmly onto Arthur, the man who had killed its master.

By the look of it, it was preparing to avenge Jake Sully.

Yet, before it could rise again, a white blur descended from the sky at high speed, diving toward the Leonopteryx.

"Boom!" A muffled sound echoed.

"Awoo..."

The Leonopteryx, suffering a head injury, let out a miserable howl and lost consciousness entirely, its massive body crashing heavily to the ground.

As the white blur landed on the ground, his figure became clear. It was Sanguinius, also wearing a black combat suit and a respirator, but with pure white wings sprouting from his back.

The young Primarch folded his wings, bypassed the Leonopteryx to the other side, reached out his right hand to grip the end of the spear, and with a slight tug, pulled his silver metal spear out of the beast's body.

He shook off the bloodstains, pressed the embedded button in the center of the hilt to retract the spear to a suitable size, then pointed his left hand at the Leonopteryx and said to Arthur and the others:

"Uncle Morgan, I saw this fellow wasn't being obedient, so I helped you finish it off. But... could you have someone transport it away? I think it would make for excellent experimental material."

"Of course." Arthur naturally had no objections. He immediately used his comms to call for a Red Hawk, preparing to "package and take away" the Leonopteryx along with the Na'vi captives, including Neytiri, while adding a word of caution:

"Kid, don't rely on your strength to be reckless. Be careful."

"Don't worry, Uncle Morgan!"

As Sanguinius spoke, he spread his wings once more and vanished from the sight of Arthur and his men.

"..."

Hearing Sanguinius constantly refer to him as "Uncle Morgan" couldn't help but remind Arthur of a story his father had told him about a "lazy uncle" from a century ago who did nothing but lounge around their boss's estate.

Through his mask, he rubbed his stubble and muttered to himself: "I need to shave when I get back."

Not long after, a Red Hawk arrived over the forest and began searching for a suitable clearing to land.

Glancing at the Red Hawk, Arthur's expression turned serious. He spoke into the comms in a low voice: "All units, pay attention. The Hunter Company's 3rd Combat Platoon is about to launch an assault. We have only twelve minutes left. Once the 3rd Platoon completes its objective, ensure you maintain control of the situation and avoid any mistakes."

"This is 3rd Company, understood."

"2nd Company, understood."

"4th Company, understood."

Replies came in from all units over the comms.

Away from Arthur's position.

High above, at an altitude of several thousand meters, clear of the interference from the intense magnetic field.

Two AC-130 gunships, heavily modified by Atlas, were circling the entire war zone, providing continuous fire support for the ground troops.

Inside the well-sealed cabin.

Roboute (Guilliman), also dressed in black, stood behind several observers, observing the entire battle situation at a glance through the details presented on the holographic screen.

It was not difficult to see that the scales of victory had long since tipped in favor of the RDA and the ARS company; there was simply no suspense left.

However, Roboute keenly sensed that whether it was their timely rescue or the pace of the battle, every single timing node had been perfectly calculated.

Furthermore, the current RDA ground forces, emboldened by their high morale, were pushing deeper and deeper, inadvertently exposing their backs to the ARS company and leaving themselves in a state of encirclement.

Based on the operational plan and the detailed orders issued to every combat squad and platoon, it seemed as though his father had rehearsed this countless times, understanding every single detail.

Is this really just a coincidence?

After reaching this conclusion, Roboute's brows furrowed tightly, as if he were struggling with whether or not to ask his father what exactly was going on once the fighting ended.

Forty kilometers south of the Na'vi Sanctuary.

Located here was the mining base built and operated by the RDA: Hell's Gate.

The base was pentagonal in its overall layout, with a perimeter security fence stretching approximately 12 kilometers.

Slightly more than one-third of the base's interior was occupied by aircraft runways and vertical takeoff and landing pads.

The remaining two-thirds of the area included a maintenance and operations workshop for armored units, as well as a light industrial factory and an oil refinery. The complex of buildings housing the command center, barracks, apartments, storage depots, and even recreational facilities was situated on the western side of the base.

Every enclosed facility was equipped with air filtration units to facilitate the normal life and work of RDA personnel within the base.

Yet, this base, which should have been heavily fortified against external threats, was currently mired in internal strife and utter chaos.

Mutinous researchers had seized the storage depots, arming over twenty Avatars with machine guns, rocket launchers, and other weapons, quickly inciting a rebellion.

The RDA mercenaries left behind to guard the base numbered fewer than fifty, and they were scattered throughout the facility, leaving them completely unable to respond effectively.

However, it was precisely because the RDA was locked in such intense infighting that neither side noticed a combat platoon had already traversed the rainforest and was rapidly approaching the perimeter of Hell's Gate.