Surprise Attack

The dark, rainy pre-dawn hours provided excellent cover, and perhaps good fortune was on their side as well; from the moment they took off from the forward base, the helicopter formation had neither been detected by the UDF nor suffered any attacks from the Mimics.

Inside the UH-53E, located in the center of the formation and capable of holding nearly sixty people:

Boom! Boom!

Click-clack! Click-clack!

The cabin was filled not only with the roar of the engines but also with the clatter and friction of metal firearm parts, such as charging handles and magazine covers.

The cabin was packed on both sides with mercenaries clad in black combat uniforms and Level IV body armor, all methodically checking their respective weapons and equipment.

The vast majority of these mercenaries were descendants of the security team formed by Arthur Morgan and others in the late 19th century. They were privy to the secret that their boss was an "Immortal," and through him, they had learned the characteristics of the Mimics in advance.

As for Sui Yang, he sat near the cockpit, dressed and equipped no differently from the mercenaries beside him.

Of course, Sui Yang could have worn a baseball cap or gone without any helmet or protective gear to highlight his unique status...

But executing a mission alongside his trusted subordinates was an inherently risky decision that had to be made; if he were to add any personal flair, wouldn't he just be telling the enemy, "Come and kill me"?

Although individual Mimics lacked self-awareness and intelligence, they could still distinguish who the commander was.

At this moment, Sui Yang confirmed the safety on his custom 1911 was off before sliding it back into the holster on his right thigh.

He then turned his left hand slightly, using the tablet strapped to his inner forearm and the dynamic map displayed on the screen to confirm that the formation was five kilometers from the Louvre.

The three crew members operating the .50-caliber rotary machine guns on the sides and tail of the cabin, their helmets equipped with HUD displays, sensed they were about to reach the airspace above the target area and immediately heightened their vigilance, placing their thumbs on the trigger buttons.

"Enemy contact! Prepare yourselves!"

"Ri~--Vroom!!!"

As the AH-1W gunner issued the warning over the communication channel, the distinct, crisp, and "melodious" sound of the rotary machine guns filled the cabin inside and out.

"Gentlemen." Sensing the sudden shift in the battle, Sui Yang spoke to everyone participating in the operation through his headset: "You are the core members of Atlas, the elite. It is my honor to work with you, and I have only two things to say: first, this battle will be won; second, you're all getting a raise when we get back. Finally...

Take down every alien piece of trash that stands in our way, except for the Alpha!"

"Hoo-rah!"

"All personnel, attention!" the pilot of the UH-53E shouted to everyone over the comms: "Landing in 30 seconds!"

Meanwhile, the scene outside the cabin was quite "spectacular," though not like the fireworks people lit to celebrate New Year's Day.

The fire and explosions occurring around and within the helicopter formation came from the muzzle flashes of machine guns and cannons pouring dense ammunition toward the ground, as well as from the Mimics, who hid half their bodies in the dirt and fired "energy projectiles" using their own cores.

The AH-1W, responsible for escorting the formation and equipped with three-barreled 20mm cannons and four 70mm rocket pods, bore the brunt of the formation's firepower.

Boom! Boom!

The AH-1W tore the Mimics and the earth they were hiding in wide open.

The four UH-1s, which were deliberately circling and guarding the UH-53E, had long since opened their side doors, allowing the crew members operating the .62 or .50-caliber machine guns, as well as the mercenaries using their own weapons, to suppress the ground.

In the movie, the Omega had not anticipated that any humans would know its hiding spot, so the defensive forces deployed around Paris were not particularly dense, which gave William Cage and his team their chance.

Although the same was true in reality, "not particularly dense" still meant hundreds of thousands of them.

Thirty seconds is a blink of an eye for people living in a stable world—barely enough time to scroll through two videos—but for the helicopter formation, it felt agonizingly long.

Boom!!

Facing the dense anti-aircraft barrage, one of the UH-1s on the right side of the formation failed to dodge in time; it was struck in the tail and cockpit by energy projectiles, triggering a violent explosion that sent the shattered fuselage spinning toward the ground.

The AH-1W providing fire support was specifically targeted by the Mimics, instantly turning into a fireball, and the explosion even affected another UH-1H.

However, the glass pyramid had already appeared in their line of sight.

The UH-1H that had been caught in the previous explosion and was teetering in the air managed, through the sheer skill of its two pilots, to make an emergency landing near the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel on the west side of the Louvre.

Immediately, several mercenaries crawled out of the cabin, either standing up unsteadily or slapping their helmets hard to try and regain their senses.

Within seconds, after shaking off the daze, these crash survivors used the wreckage of the UH-1H and the nearby low garden walls as cover, engaging the incoming Mimics in a firefight.

It wasn't just them; the remaining UH-1H and the UH-53E also successfully reached the plaza on the north side of the glass pyramid.

"Go, go, go!"

As soon as the three helicopters touched down, the mercenaries poured out of the cabins.

"Hudson! Hicks! Move your fat asses! Take your men twenty meters to the east and north, and hold that position for me!"

One officer, whose shoulder patch bore two red stripes and who bore a striking resemblance to Arthur Morgan, immediately issued the order.

The thirty-plus mercenaries who received the instructions split into two teams, advancing rapidly toward the east and north. They dispersed and took up defensive positions about twenty meters from the landing zone, coordinating with the crash site at the Arc de Triomphe and the landing zone to build a crossfire line, maximizing their lethality.

At the same time, the three helicopters that had finished "dropping off their passengers" rose into the air again, circling above the Louvre to provide fire support for the ground troops.

"Pete! Hall! Take your men and hold this position. The rest of you, with me—we're escorting the Boss to the target location."

Once the officer finished his orders, the remaining sixty or so mercenaries also split into two groups, with one part continuing to guard the landing zone.

The other part, moving in three-man squads with about six meters of spacing between them, escorted the officer and Sui Yang as they moved rapidly toward the glass pyramid.

The pyramid, which should have been neat, bright, and adorned with artwork, had fallen into ruin due to the war.

Splash! Splash!

Water poured through the shattered glass like a waterfall, cascading onto the cracked floor tiles. Before it could pool, gravity and the slope of the floor drew it toward the center of the hall, into a pit that looked as if it had been smashed open.

Thud! Thud!

The heavy sound of military boots echoed through the space.

Mercenaries entered in alternating waves, their rifles leveled at their respective sectors as they fanned out in three-man formations.

Two of the squads, unconcerned with potential threats in the hall, moved straight to the edge of the pit. They leaned over to peer down, catching sight of the underground parking garage twenty meters below.

That was where the mimic brain, Omega, was hiding.