"Achiford!"

The flight deck at the rear of the Poseidon.

Two gray-white CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters were undergoing inspections by ground crew wearing reflective vests.

On the open area at the inner end of the deck, combat personnel were assembling.

Among them were the Epsilons, clad in black combat gear and equipped with octopus-head masks and Mechanical Exoskeletons.

As the company's current elite and most taciturn USS, the twenty Epsilons simply confirmed that everyone was present before boarding the nearest CH-53 cabin.

Joining the Epsilons in the cabin was the Charon Task Force, whose members wore standard-issue jungle camouflage but maintained personalized touches to their gear.

The most eye-catching members of the task force were undoubtedly Chris and Jill.

Chris wore no helmet, sporting a dark green vest over his body armor, holding an M14EBR equipped with a scope, and carrying a Remington M870 with a wooden stock on his back.

As for the 'stunningly beautiful' Jill, she wore the same jungle camouflage combat pants as her comrades, paired with a black tight-fitting short-sleeved combat shirt, elbow pads, body armor, a tactical belt, and her signature beret.

The only difference was that the beret had been changed from the original dark blue to black, and the insignia had been updated from the Raccoon City Police Department's STARS to Umbrella's red-and-white umbrella.

Given that this operation was directed against humans and known B.O.W.s, there were no overly strict requirements regarding combat attire.

Besides, letting these 'protagonists' dress with a bit of personality might just allow them to unleash their true potential as 'protagonists.'

The final unit to assemble on the deck was the 54-man UBCS that Sui Bian had brought back to Raccoon City from Paris three days ago, now renamed the Spear of Olympus.

However, this largest task force had inherited the most classic UBCS combat uniforms.

White short-sleeved shirts, dark green combat pants, and tactical belts, with the UBCS insignia still printed on the back of their black body armor.

According to Sui Bian's vision, the Spear of Olympus would eventually reach regimental size, but due to the impending purge of the Ashford family, no expansion had been carried out yet.

Michel Vick was the leader of the Spear of Olympus, with Carlos and Tyrone serving as his deputies.

Now, the 53 task force members, including Carlos and Tyrone, stood in five neat rows on the deck.

Victor, wearing a dark red beret and a throat microphone, stood with his hands behind his back in front of his subordinates, looking at the younger men with a solemn expression.

He paused for a moment.

This veteran squad leader, who had once gone toe-to-toe with the Pursuer in the game, raised his voice and shouted: "Children! Once, you were nothing but walking corpses fighting for money, without soul or purpose!

Now, the company has placed great expectations on us, letting us understand the truth behind this world. For your families, for your parents, for your lovers and children, you should be willing to sacrifice your lives without hesitation!

Do you hear me?! You brats!"

"Hoo-rah!" The task force members roared in unison.

These soldiers, who were already loyal to the company and fundamentally 'good people,' found their morale soaring under the leadership of the 'Old Russian' Victor.

"Hmm! Not bad!" Victor nodded with satisfaction, then raised his right hand to point at the CH-53 at the edge of the deck. "Get your fat asses moving! Board the aircraft!"

"Yes!"

The task force members turned in unison and jogged toward the CH-53, which could accommodate 55 fully armed soldiers, before entering the cabin one by one.

Following behind his men, Victor spoke into his throat mic in a low voice: "Sir, all combat personnel are ready. Yes, understood."

As he spoke, Victor boarded the cabin.

Immediately after, the cabin door closed under the pilot's operation, and the helicopter engines started.

The rotors and tail fins of the two helicopters spun faster and faster, and under the guidance of two ground crew members holding glow sticks, they left the deck one after another and rose into the air.

As the two CH-53s ascended, two AC-130 gunships swept over the Poseidon, and then...

"Buzz—! Buzz—!" The strafing of 20mm Vulcan cannons.

"Pong! Pong!" The intermittent fire of 40mm autocannons.

"Boom—!" The absolute fire suppression of 105mm howitzers.

The remnants on Rockfort Island would soon be subjected to these three different calibers of firepower, leaving them no time to threaten the CH-53 flight formation.

The CH-53s loaded with the Spear of Olympus flew toward Rockfort Island first, while the CH-53 carrying Charon and the Epsilons hovered more than ten meters above the deck.

The massive gate at the front of the deck opened, and the ship's crane lowered cables to hoist a small black container, which bore the red-and-white umbrella insignia on both sides.

The crane moved the container to the center of the deck, where, with the assistance of the ground crew, it was hooked onto the cargo suspension cables beneath the CH-53.

Everything was ready, and the CH-53 accelerated toward Rockfort Island.

After the two CH-53s flew away, the gate at the stern of the Poseidon lowered, and four LCAC hovercrafts departed from the ship's dock in sequence.

The landing craft carried two hundred elite security guards, two M2 Bradley armored vehicles equipped with 25mm chain guns and twin-tube missile launchers, and several black military Humvees.

A total of over eight hundred people were involved in this operation, marking the largest-scale military action Sui Bian had commanded since taking charge of Umbrella.

The scene shifted.

The CH-53 carrying the Spear of Olympus arrived over Rockfort Island first, flying over the forest area at the edge of the island and hovering at the end of the airport runway.

The small hatch directly beneath the cabin and the rear ramp opened simultaneously, and the task force members inside threw out ropes for a rapid descent.

Within a minute, all 54 task force members were deployed on the ground and, under Victor's orders, divided into five combat teams to begin sweeping the facilities near the airport with mutual cover and assistance.

The CH-53 that completed the drop did not return, but instead circled at low altitude, providing heavy machine gun support for the Spear of Olympus.

Meanwhile.

The CH-53 carrying Charon, Epsilon, and the container holding unknown cargo swept past the airport area, heading toward the island's control center: Ashford Castle, built by Alfred.

The CH-53 flew to the edge of the castle and hovered.

As it descended to thirty meters above the ground, the ropes suspending the container detached automatically. The container went into freefall for over ten meters before crashing into the castle's front courtyard with a thunderous "BOOM!"

Click! The container's gate slowly unfolded.

Thud! Thud! Heavy footsteps echoed from within the crate as a giant nearly three meters tall stepped out.

The giant's face was hideous, his left eye stitched shut, and he wore a tight black bulletproof trench coat, with thick, root-like red veins pulsing at his collarbone.

This massive creature held a multi-round rocket launcher in his right hand while lashing out with flexible purple tentacles from his left, his mouth opening to reveal exposed gums as he let out a low roar:

"Ash...ford!"