Whoosh—Boom!!
At that moment, a high-explosive round slipped through a gap, grazing the right side of the mithril shield and hitting the soldier boy's head, triggering a low-intensity explosion.
Smoke instantly engulfed the soldier's upper body.
However, such an attack didn't even tickle the soldier boy. On top of that, the biological division had equipped him with mithril armor forged by dwarves.
Although the mithril armor had no auxiliary power, and the helmet's screen only provided enhanced vision, it was more than sufficient for its primary purpose: protecting the soldier from conventional attacks.
As the smoke cleared, the soldier boy continued his rapid charge, breaking through into the base's front plaza.
What kind of monster is this?!
The elite UNSC infantry, who had just been deployed, grew increasingly frightened as they realized that bullets, rockets, and missiles were ineffective against this unstoppable force quickly closing the distance between them.
"Hold your ground! Steady!"
"Keep firing! We must stop this guy!"
Despite their fear, the UNSC infantry had no intention of retreating. They continued to fire at the soldier, determined to bring him down. After all, guarding headquarters meant they were the best of the best, fully committed and loyal.
But despite their resolve, the soldier boy remained unscathed by the barrage of gunfire.
Suddenly, the soldier leaped forward, covering over 20 meters in one jump, landing squarely on top of an armored vehicle's turret.
Boom!
With a single stomp, the soldier boy crushed the turret, causing the entire vehicle's chassis to deform under the pressure.
The infantry immediately spread out and aimed their weapons to continue firing.
But the soldier boy casually flung his mithril shield toward a lieutenant in command.
Thud!
With a dull thud, the shield knocked the lieutenant flying.
Incredibly, just before the shield hit the ground, it emitted a soft "buzz" and defied the laws of physics by returning to the soldier boy's left forearm.
The biological division had done more than just enhance the soldier's physical strength, speed, reflexes, and durability. They had also commissioned the dwarven forges of Terira to upgrade his equipment, including the shield.
Using superconducting minerals, the dwarves had crafted a magnetic shield that could quickly return to the soldier during combat.
Of course, if the shield were thrown more than a hundred meters away, the magnetic pull would fail, and it would need to be retrieved manually.
The soldier boy then plunged back into the crowd.
He alternated between throwing the shield to eliminate distant machine gunners or snipers and using brute force to incapacitate the infantry surrounding him.
The entire time, the soldier held back his strength, avoiding intentional kills.
Even so, more than half of the UNSC infantry lost their lives, as even with his restraint, the soldier boy still possessed more than a ton of force.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans and attack craft circling overhead ceased their strafing runs, worried about hitting their own troops.
At that moment;
A medium-sized transport ship, escorted by four specialized Pelicans, took off from the rear of the headquarters building, heading rapidly toward low-Earth orbit.
...
In the middle of the battle, the soldier boy glanced up at the rapidly receding flight formation.
Once the fleet carrying the high-ranking UNSC officers disappeared from sight, the soldier boy turned and ran.
Ignoring the heavy casualties of the infantry, he didn't look back, seemingly preparing to withdraw from the battle.
Seeing this, the Pelicans and attack craft quickly gave chase.
...
Inside the transport ship, now rising into the upper atmosphere;
"They're retreating?"
Margaret, seated in the middle of the cabin, looked puzzled as she received a status report via holographic communication.
Quickly, she realized that the soldier boy attacking their base was likely just a decoy.
The real purpose was to force them to board the transport and head toward low-Earth orbit.
But why?
At this stage, it wasn't just the four Pelicans providing escort. The fleet in orbit would detect any non-UNSC craft and respond with long-range fire.
Atlas would need a large-scale attack fleet to intercept them during the flight, something that didn't seem feasible.
After a brief wait, the Pelicans pursuing the soldier boy transmitted real-time footage.
The soldier was heading rapidly toward the city center of Sydney, causing Margaret's face to darken.
His actions meant they couldn't deploy a tactical nuke.
Even as reckless as ONI was, they wouldn't sacrifice tens of thousands, let alone millions, of civilians to eliminate a single super-soldier.
Of course, if it had only been a few thousand, Margaret might have still authorized it.
However, she wasn't focused on the soldier's actions but instead analyzing how Atlas planned to intercept them.
She also alerted the nearby fleet to closely monitor their surroundings.
Volkov and the other officers were busy sharing their opinions on the soldier's behavior when suddenly—
Beep-beep!
The cabin was filled with the sound of an urgent alarm.
The pilot's voice quickly followed over the intercom:
"Sir! An unidentified flying object has entered visual range and is approaching the fleet at high speed!"
The pilot shared his helmet's display feed on a holographic screen in front of Margaret, Volkov, and the others.
Through the screen, they saw a faint humanoid figure flying alongside the transport ship at the same speed, maintaining a steady pace.
When the pilot zoomed in, they realized that the "object" was indeed a person.
The individual wore a tight-fitting black combat suit, with its surface covered in numerous diamond-shaped modules.
It seemed that the suit had some kind of "stealth" function, allowing the figure to evade detection by the ship's radar until now.
Without waiting for orders from Volkov, one of the Pelicans adjusted its angle, preparing to eliminate the humanoid figure.
But before the Pelican could react, the figure turned to glance at the transport ship, then at the Pelican—
Ri~—Whoosh!
Two blinding red beams shot from the figure's helmet, striking the Pelican's rear engines, causing a massive explosion.
The figure, a heavily modified Atlas soldier, proceeded to fire three more laser beams, effortlessly dismantling the entire escort fleet of Pelicans.
!!!
The high-ranking officials in the cabin were stunned.
Even Margaret, the ONI director, muttered in disbelief, "Atlas... really has super soldiers that can fly through the atmosphere..."
Once the shock wore off, the cabin erupted into a familiar argument:
"What the hell is that?!"
"Get the fleet to dispatch fighter squadrons and take that thing down!!"
"No! Who knows what other abilities it has?"
"Who cares? If we don't take it down, we're all doomed!"
Meanwhile, the Atlas soldier, with his enhanced hearing, couldn't hear the chaos in the cabin. At an altitude of nearly 200 kilometers, the air was too thin to carry sound.
Not that it mattered to him. He didn't care what the UNSC officers were feeling or thinking.
After dismantling the escort fleet, the Atlas soldier moved closer to the transport's cockpit. Once his hands made contact with the cockpit's sealed window, he latched onto it firmly.
Ri~!
The glowing red of the laser beams began to charge once more from his helmet.
Seeing this, the cabin fell silent.
No matter how much power Volkov and Margaret wielded, they were utterly helpless against the Atlas soldier's laser beams.
Their breathing quickened, cold sweat trickling down their faces, terrified that they would be incinerated in an instant.
Fortunately for them, the Atlas soldier didn't destroy the transport. Instead, he used his suit's systems to hack into the cockpit's communication channel.
With a cold, emotionless voice, he said:
"Attention, everyone. As of this moment, you are all prisoners of Atlas.
If you wish to live, follow my instructions."
The soldier lowered his head slightly, his glowing red eyes staring directly into the cockpit, and continued:
"Proceed to the civilian orbital station at coordinates 470, 414, 366. You have 30 seconds to comply.
If you refuse, I will destroy your transport immediately.
30... 29..."
The soldier began the classic Atlas countdown.
All eyes in the cabin turned toward Volkov.
"Sir! What should we do?!" the pilot asked urgently over the intercom.
Their fate was now in the hands of the Naval Operations Chief.
Of course, even if Volkov chose not to comply, the officers wouldn't hold it against him.
They had always underestimated Atlas and were overconfident in themselves.
After all, who would have ever believed that a "flying" super soldier could actually exist?
Their opponent's hidden capabilities seemed endless.
"General, we need to consider the greater good of humanity. Let's follow their instructions for now," Margaret suggested.
Volkov's eye twitched, and he hesitated for a moment, clearly torn over what to do.
But when the countdown reached "8... 7...", he sighed deeply and gave the order to the pilot:
"Follow their instructions."
"Yes, sir."
Relieved, the pilot adjusted the ship's course and headed toward the civilian space station over 500 kilometers away.
Seeing this, the Atlas soldier deactivated his lasers, allowing the red glow in his helmet to fade away.
"Thank you for your cooperation," he said. "And one more thing: don't bother asking your fleet for assistance.
Only a nuclear missile or an electromagnetic railgun could penetrate my defenses.
In other words, if you try to kill me, you'll all die with me. So, abandon any hope and accept your fate as prisoners."
The Atlas soldier then silently remained attached to
the transport, watching the crew's every move.
Under the crew's control, the transport ship accelerated toward its destination.
Meanwhile, the UNSC, having realized that their high-ranking officers had been captured, dispatched a large fleet of frigates and destroyers to the civilian station at 470, 414, 366.
From a distance, the space station seemed unremarkable. It was just a place where ordinary cruise liners and cargo ships docked.
Currently, two cruise liners resembling the old Neptune class, and a cargo ship the size of a cruiser, were docked at the station.
Ten UNSC frigates and destroyers had already arrived and positioned themselves near the station.
Their main and secondary guns all locked onto the Atlas soldier.
However, firing their weapons would risk killing Volkov, Margaret, and the others in the blast.
No ship captain wanted to be responsible for such a crime, especially one that might be linked to Atlas or the rebels.
Even if Volkov ordered them to "Fire! We must not bow to them!" UNSC would be hesitant to comply.
Who knew if firing might be twisted by others to serve a different agenda?
Thus, the UNSC ships could only watch as the transport ship flew directly into the cargo ship's hangar.
...
Inside the cargo hold;
The Atlas soldier left the observation window and stepped onto the metal deck.
The transport ship landed, and its crew brought it to a stop.
Tap-tap!
More than a dozen special forces soldiers from the Atlas Investigations Division, dressed in smuggled sealed suits, immediately surrounded the transport ship.
Two of them pointed Gauss rifles at the door, patiently waiting for the cargo bay to pressurize and oxygenate.
Once their helmet screens indicated that it was safe to breathe, the Atlas soldier moved to the rear of the transport.
Then, this biological weapon, the most powerful of its kind, carefully controlled his laser beams to cut open the rear door of the transport.
With the door removed, Volkov, Margaret, and the other high-ranking officers were exposed to the Atlas special forces.
"Place your hands on your heads and exit the cabin immediately. Don't force us to use coercive measures," one of the special forces soldiers warned loudly.
With no other choice, the officers who had once held the future of the UNSC in their hands were forced to step out of the cabin, hands on their heads.
Outside the cargo hold;
The civilian cargo ship quickly undocked from the station and changed course, accelerating away from the orbital facility.
Once it reached a safe distance, a glowing blue vortex appeared in front of the ship.
In full view of the UNSC ships, the cargo ship entered the slipstream space, heading for Atlas' home system in the Eridanus sector.
_________________________
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Hello, if you enjoy mythology novels, I invite you to check out "I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother", a story inspired by Norse mythology