"Achiford!"

The aft flight deck of the Poseidon.

Two gray-and-white CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters were being inspected by ground crew wearing reflective vests.

In the open area at the inner end of the deck, combat personnel were gathering.

Among them were Epsilon operatives in black combat uniforms, equipped with Octopus helmets and Mechanical Exoskeletons.

As the company's most elite and most taciturn unit, the twenty Epsilon operatives boarded the nearest CH-53 as soon as they had confirmed that everyone was present.

Joining them aboard were the members of the Charon Task Force, whose standard uniform was jungle camouflage, though each team member had added a personal touch.

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

Chris wore no helmet. Over his body armor he had a dark green vest, and he carried an M14EBR fitted with a scope, along with a wood-stocked Remington M870 slung over his back.

"Beautiful enough to make your eyes water," Jill wore the same jungle-camouflage combat pants as her comrades, but paired them with a tight black combat shirt, elbow pads, body armor, a tactical belt, and her signature beret.

Only the beret had changed from dark blue to black, and its insignia had gone from the Raccoon Police Department's STARS emblem to Umbrella's red-and-white umbrella.

Since this operation targeted humans and known B.O.W.s, there were no strict requirements for combat uniforms.

Besides, these "protagonists" might just unleash their true potential if they were allowed to dress in their own distinctive style.

The last unit assembling on the deck was the fifty-four UBCS personnel Sui Bian had brought back from Paris to Raccoon City three days earlier. They had since been renamed the Spear of Olympus.

However, the largest task force of them all had retained the UBCS's classic uniform.

White short-sleeved shirts, dark green combat pants and tactical belts, and body armor still bearing the UBCS insignia on the back.

Sui Bian's plan was for the Spear of Olympus to grow to regimental size, but with the purge of the Ashford family imminent, expansion had been put on hold for now.

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

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

Victor, wearing a dark red beret and a throat-mic headset, stood before them with his hands clasped behind his back, solemnly gazing at his younger subordinates.

He paused for a moment.

Then the veteran platoon leader, who had once gone toe-to-toe with the Pursuer in the game, raised his voice and shouted, "Kids! You used to fight for nothing but money, a bunch of soulless, aimless walking corpses!

"Now the company has placed its faith in us and shown us the truth behind this world. For our families, our parents, our loved ones and our children, we're ready to give our lives if we have to!

"Do you understand, you little punks?!"

"Hooyah!" the task force members roared in unison.

These soldiers had already been loyal to the company and were good people by nature. With "the Russian" Victor leading them, the Spear of Olympus was brimming with morale.

"Good! Very good!" Victor said, giving a satisfied nod. Then he raised his right hand and pointed toward the CH-53 at the edge of the deck. "Get those fat asses moving! Board up!"

"Yes, sir!"

The task force members turned in unison and jogged toward the CH-53, which could hold fifty-five fully equipped soldiers, then filed aboard.

Following behind them, Victor gave his report in a low voice through his throat-mic headset. "Sir, all personnel are ready for deployment. Yes, understood."

As he spoke, Victor boarded the helicopter.

The hatch closed under the pilot's control, and the helicopter engines started up.

The propellers and tail rotors of both helicopters spun faster and faster. Guided by two ground crew members holding glow sticks, they lifted off the deck one after another.

As the two CH-53s rose into the air, two AC-130 gunships passed right over the Poseidon, and then...

"Brrrrr—! Brrr!" The 20mm Vulcan cannons swept across the area.

"Pong! Pong!" The 40mm autocannons fired in measured bursts.

"Boom—!" The 105mm howitzers unleashed overwhelming firepower.

The remaining forces on Rockfort Island would be hit by all three calibers, leaving them no chance to threaten the CH-53 formation.

The CH-53 carrying the Spear of Olympus headed for Rockfort Island first, while the CH-53 carrying Charon and Epsilon hovered more than ten meters above the deck.

A huge hatch opened at the front of the ship. A crane built into the vessel lowered a cable and hoisted a small black shipping container, its sides marked with Umbrella's red-and-white insignia.

The crane moved the container to the center of the deck. There, with the ground crew's help, the CH-53's cargo slings hooked underneath it and lifted it.

With everything ready, the CH-53 picked up speed and headed for Rockfort Island.

After the two CH-53s had departed, the gate at the Poseidon's stern lowered. Four LCAC hovercraft then left the Poseidon's well deck one after another.

The landing craft carried two hundred elite security personnel, two M2 Bradley fighting vehicles equipped with 25mm chain guns and twin box missile launchers, and several black military Humvees.

More than eight hundred people were taking part in this operation, making it the first large-scale military operation Sui Bian had commanded since taking charge of Umbrella.

The scene shifted.

The CH-53 carrying the Spear of Olympus reached the skies above Rockfort Island first. It flew over the forest along the island's edge and hovered at the far end of the airport runway.

The small hatch beneath the cabin and the hatch at the rear opened simultaneously. The task force members threw out ropes and fast-roped down.

In less than a minute, all fifty-four members had been deployed. On Victor's orders, they split into five combat teams and began sweeping the facilities near the airport, covering and assisting one another.

The CH-53 that had dropped them off did not return to base. Instead, it circled overhead at low altitude, providing heavy machine-gun support for the Spear of Olympus.

Meanwhile,

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

The CH-53 hovered at the edge of the castle.

When it was thirty meters above the ground, the cables suspending the container snapped free. The container dropped more than ten meters before crashing into the castle's front courtyard with a BOOM!

Click! The container's hatch slowly unfolded.

Thud! Thud! Heavy footsteps sounded from within, and a giant nearly three meters tall emerged from the container.

The giant had a hideous face, a stitched-shut left eye, and a tight black armored coat. Thick red veins like tree roots bulged around his collarbone.

The big brute held a multi-round rocket launcher in his right hand, while a soft purple tentacle dangled from his left. He opened his mouth, exposing his gums, and growled:

"Ash...ford!"