Under the curtain of night, outside the white factory buildings.
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.
Deafening gunfire rang out without pause.
From time to time, it was mixed with deep, bloodthirsty roars.
A five-man squad of Astral soldiers was fiercely firing at a streak of crimson closing in through the darkness.
They switched positions in seamless coordination, firing continuously as they retreated in orderly fashion.
Their breathing was rapid and their hearts pounded like drums, yet their movements showed no sign of panic.
Every step backward was accompanied by precise gunfire.
Countless bullets carved visible green tracers through the air, weaving together into a dense web of firepower.
Yet the expressions on their faces grew increasingly grim.
Because through their tactical goggles, they could clearly see it.
Their bullets could not harm the crimson demonic hound ahead, whose entire body was covered in eyes and whose mouth bristled with sharp fangs.
Just then.
The Baskerville Bloodhound's body suddenly twisted violently, extending an extremely slender blood spike that crossed dozens of meters in an instant.
It pierced through the chest of an Astral soldier positioned at the front.
A shrill scream echoed across the scene.
The combat suit he wore, capable of stopping small-caliber pistol rounds, proved completely useless.
"Maz!!!"
The Astral soldier beside him cried out in alarm, only to hear the squad leader suddenly shout in his ear.
"Get down!"
Years of training made him instinctively execute the tactical maneuver.
Almost at the same time, he felt something whip past the back of his head and heard a piercing shriek through the air.
"Flashbang!"
The squad leader's anxious shout rang out again.
The grenadier hurriedly threw the flashbang he had prepared beforehand.
[Bang!]
In an instant, the intense light dispelled the darkness ahead.