Boom—!
A black, cone-shaped drop pod, about five meters long and three meters wide, crashed through the street, landing directly onto the subway tracks below.
Whoosh—!
The powerful gust and clouds of dust stirred up by the pod instantly enveloped the entire platform.
"Ah!"
"Oh my god!"
The sudden impact intensified the fear among the already frightened civilians.
"Mommy!"
The little girl curled up in the arms of the middle-aged woman, covering her ears and shutting her eyes tightly, unwilling to look in the direction of the drop pod.
Meanwhile, the woman hugged her daughter tightly, silently praying to God, hoping for a miracle.
But the Mombasa SWAT officers who sought to drown the crowd in despair were baffled. They couldn't understand why a drop pod had landed here, and its design didn't resemble the Helljumpers' or even human technology at all.
Psst—boom!
At that moment, the drop pod's door burst open.
!!
Noticing the "passenger" stepping out of the pod onto the subway tracks, all the SWAT officers turned their guns toward the intruder.
Having pledged themselves to serve unknown subspace entities, they aimed to eliminate this intruder before resuming their grim task of terrorizing and tormenting the civilians, hoping their sacrifices would please their so-called "Lord."
Boom, boom!
But before they could fully aim their weapons, the "passenger" had already crossed to the other side of the platform with earth-shaking strides.
With each heavy step came the distinctive sound—
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The unique burst-fire of a 75-caliber explosive rifle echoed through the station.
Splut! Splurch!
In mere seconds, the SWAT officers were torn apart by the explosive rounds, some with heads blown open and others with their bodies split in two.
The shooter had even deactivated the rounds' contact explosions, perhaps to avoid accidental injuries to the civilians on the platform.
Within two seconds, the entire SWAT team lay dead, either decapitated or severed at the waist.
The crazed SWAT officer in the beret, who had ranted about "sacrifices," was also among them, his body now split in half but still clinging to life.
"My Lord… My Lord knows all…"
The officer muttered defiantly.
Boom, boom.
The figure wielding the explosive rifle stepped onto the platform, striding towards the wounded officer in the beret.
Now, the civilians could finally see their rescuer clearly.
It was a giant standing about 2.3 to 2.4 meters tall, clad in thick, dark power armor.
This giant was actually a young Astartes warrior, only 17 years old, from the "Salamanders" trainee chapter.
His Titan Mark I power armor, mostly black, was adorned with the Salamanders' colors: dark green, fiery red, and bright yellow.
On his left pauldron, he bore the symbol of a "fire dragon."
Due to their genetic heritage from Vulkan, the Salamanders tended to be taller and stronger than other chapters like the Ultramarines and Imperial Fists.
However, they were slightly slower in reflexes compared to chapters like the Blood Angels or Space Wolves.
In one-on-one combat training, the Salamanders often lost to these faster chapters, although they held their ground well against the Imperial Fists, who would sometimes "go easy" on them to keep things competitive.
But in real combat, especially against aliens, the Salamanders were second to none.
Their speed might have been slightly slower by Astartes standards, but it was still lightning-fast compared to ordinary humans.
As for the Salamander's presence in Mombasa, having traveled here in a non-human drop pod and breaching the subway—
This was due to a request for aid sent by Kris and Athena to the Eridani system. In response, a Migrant-class dreadnought, the CCS-class Wounds of the Warrior, and two shield-equipped Paris-class ships jumped into Halo's Earth's orbit.
The Migrant and Paris-class ships engaged the UNSC Earth Defense Fleet in a holding action, while Wounds of the Warrior advanced over Mombasa, engaging three Charon-class ships in a fierce artillery exchange. They then deployed Korax, Mortarion, and two hundred young Astartes into the chaos-infected city districts.
More than a thousand elite warriors from the Sangheili joined the Astartes in the orbital drop, ready to face off against the "demons" that disturbed reality itself.
As for the Astartes and Sangheili, they had to use the drop pods designed for Hunters to reach the ground.
At this moment, the Salamander warrior's helmet emitted a faint red glow as he approached the injured officer in the beret.
"Obey the false—"
Splurt!
Before the officer could finish his defiant words, the Salamander raised his left boot and crushed the officer's head, splattering brains and blood everywhere.
"Ah!"
"Please, don't kill us!"
However, the Salamander's actions terrified the surrounding civilians, some even kneeling and begging for mercy.
The little girl, now peeking through her fingers, saw the entire scene unfold and began to cry, shaking with fear.
Afraid her sobs would anger the Salamander, she quickly covered her mouth, trying not to draw his attention.
"…"
Seeing this, the Salamander remained silent.
But he soon began walking toward the little girl.
As the civilians moved aside, he reached into a pouch on his armor.
When he reached the girl and her mother, the mother bravely stepped forward, spreading her arms to shield her daughter.
Her expression was resolute, with no hint of fear in her gaze.
But then, the Salamander knelt to her level, meeting her eyes, and said:
"This is for her."
In his left hand, he gently held out a small teddy bear.
???
A nearly 2.4-meter-tall giant, with a metallic voice from his helmet, just took out a teddy bear??
The civilians stared in shock at the incongruous sight.
The young Salamanders had foreseen that many children in Mombasa might be terrified, so they had prepared small toys to calm them.
Still, the Salamander on the platform seemed aware that his appearance might be intimidating to most civilians.
So, he removed his helmet, revealing dark red eyes and short black hair, and slightly turned to look at the girl hiding behind her mother. He smiled, attempting a friendly expression:
"Don't be afraid, little one. My name is Yang Yan. I'm a Salamander, and I'm here to protect you."
"Yang Yan?"
Feeling reassured, the girl peered out from behind her mother, softly repeating his name.
A bit stunned, her mother accepted the teddy bear, handing it to her daughter.
"Thank you…"
The girl clutched the bear to her chest, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Haha, as long as you like it!" The Salamander let out a hearty laugh, then stood, gripping his rifle, and began moving toward the subway tracks, his voice once more metallic through his helmet:
"Please follow me. I will escort you all out of the city."
Boom, boom.
He descended from the platform, and the now-reassured civilians followed, sticking close to the giant, walking along the subway track toward the southern outskirts of Mombasa.
The Salamander slowed his pace, allowing the civilians to keep up with him.
Most other chapters would have returned to the surface after a rescue mission, resuming the purge of Chaos demons across Mombasa, leaving the civilians to fend for themselves.
But the Salamanders prioritized the safety of civilians, taking care to ensure they reached safety before continuing their mission.
Given that two Primarchs and a thousand elite Sangheili were stationed within the city, Yang Yan was more than willing to take on the role of bodyguard.
At this moment, from above, Mombasa was a ruin, with a three-kilometer radius of destruction centered around the portal.
The streets and buildings had collapsed, and the civilians in this area had been sacrificed by corrupted officers to summon the portal and the Chaos demons into reality.
The portal's pink and blue light illuminated the new and old districts of Mombasa.
Meanwhile, the UNSC's Sixth Army Division, stationed outside the city, hurriedly deployed the remaining forces to try to stabilize the situation, but they had little experience with demons.
Their standard weapons proved nearly ineffective, and only Scorpions and armored vehicles with cannons and heavy machine guns could deal any real damage.
The Sixth Army Division's arrival in Mombasa was tantamount to "feeding" Chaos.
However, after the UNSC force attempting to attack the Atlas base had been temporarily petrified by Athena, they witnessed the strange occurrences in Mombasa and decided to ally with Atlas.
The orbital drop from Wounds of the Warrior, along with the arrival of Primarchs, Astartes, and Sangheili warriors, had finally brought the situation under control.
---
Meanwhile, at the intersection of the old and new districts on Red Light Street:
Bang! Bang-bang!!
The sound of gunfire and explosions echoed through what should have been a lively nightlife street.
In a restaurant where Kris had once dined, many civilians were hiding.
A well-equipped UNSC reconnaissance platoon was stationed outside, engaged in a fierce firefight with humanoid demons wielding blades.
Suddenly, one soldier was struck by a pink fireball, screaming in agony before his body was incinerated, leaving only a pile of white bones.
!!
"Damn it! Take cover!"
The platoon leader shouted, using an abandoned vehicle as cover, angrily speaking into his comms "This is Captain Shell Nuspe! Our recon platoon is pinned down and surrounded! We're requesting immediate air support! … What?! We've lost air superiority? Is the Navy just twiddling their thumbs? We have civilians here that need evacuation! Tell the Navy to actually do their job!"
The captain's frustration grew as he cut off the transmission.
The recon platoon had been among the first to respond when the chaos erupted in Mombasa, heading to Red Light Street to evacuate civilians. But when they arrived, they were ambushed by Chaos demons, now hemmed in on all sides.
With only their standard-issue firearms, they were struggling to slow the demonic advance.
Every time they tried to call for air support, the response was the same: no air superiority.
"Roar—!"
Just as Captain Nuspe was at his wit's end, wondering how to save his men and the civilians, a different kind of battle cry rang out.
?
He raised his rifle and peered in the direction of the sound, spotting a group of over a dozen "aliens" clad in impressive armor, charging into the demon line and wielding double-bladed energy swords with wild fervor.
Zing—! Splurt!
These sword-wielding aliens slashed through the demons with ease, cutting them down as if harvesting a field.
_________________________
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