I started with a portal, then turned around and handed it over to the nation.

The roar, almost tearing his throat apart, echoed through the hills, eventually shattering into fragments by the cold night wind.

Renn knelt on the corpses and blood-soaked mud, his whole body trembling violently as if all his strength had been drained away.

That long howl exhausted his last bit of energy; he lowered his head, his forehead pressed against the cold ground.

His shoulders heaved violently, and suppressed, intermittent sobs escaped from deep within his throat.

Lin Mo stood beside him, motionless for a moment. The night wind carried a heavy stench of blood, mixed with the smell of gunpowder, making one's nose sting.

He watched Ryan's trembling back, and saw the man completely break down after killing his enemy. A complex emotion welled up in his heart.

"drop."

A very soft electronic sound on his wrist pulled him back to reality from his reverie.

Lin Mo suddenly looked up, and a line of cold, emotionless white text silently appeared on the system panel.

Main Quest: Hunt down ten minotaurs (17/10)

[Task exceeded expectations]

[Task Evaluation: A]

[Reward: Spatial Beacon Fragment x2]

Lin Mo's pupils contracted. He instinctively pressed his earpiece, his voice extremely low, yet revealing an barely suppressed urgency.

"Team Leader Long, Lin Mo reports. System notification: Mission complete."

The channel remained silent for several seconds, with only heavy, suppressed breathing coming from all directions.

The soldiers quickly checked their ammunition and changed magazines, their tense nerves not yet fully relaxed after the battle.

Long Fei's calm voice quickly rang out, like a reassuring balm.

"Roger that. All units, take inventory of ammunition and prepare for withdrawal..."

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp, urgent voice with obvious electrical noise suddenly cut in. It was Wang Hao, the drone operator, whose voice was slightly distorted due to tension.

"Team Leader Long! The drone has detected a new heat source signal in the northwest! It's huge! And it's moving towards us at high speed!"

"That thermal image... oh my god, that thermal image is almost purple with all that red!"

Purple!

In the definition of military thermal imaging, this color represents only one thing—extremely high temperature and extremely high energy reaction!

That would mean an unimaginably huge behemoth, or an army so numerous it would inspire despair!

Everyone's breathing stopped instantly.

"retreat!!"

Long Fei's voice was like a thunderclap, instantly exploding in everyone's headphones, carrying an unquestionable determination.

"Retreat! Immediately! Abandon all unnecessary equipment!"

Lin Mo felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

Without thinking, he grabbed Ryan's arm, who was still kneeling on the ground, and pulled him up with all his might.

"Go! Hurry! Something's coming!"

Raine stumbled as he was pulled, his empty eyes filled with confusion, clearly still caught up in the emotions he had just experienced.

But the increasingly clear, dull vibrations coming from the ground in the distance, as if resonating with his heartbeat, sent out the most primal alarm from every cell in his body.

The team reacted incredibly quickly.

The Snow Wolf and Fierce Tiger special forces teams immediately regrouped upon receiving the order, without hesitation, and began taking turns providing cover as they raced towards the hill entrance they had come from.

Just then, the voice of the Eagle Team captain, who had been in charge of guarding the rear, rang out in the channel, calm yet solemn.

"Team Leader Dragon, there's something going on at the entrance! A huge group of goblins are gathered outside, a dark mass, at least two hundred of them!!"

"They seemed to hear the noise inside, but they didn't dare come in and blocked the exit!"

Blocked ahead and pursued from behind!!

This news sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"understood."

Long Fei's voice remained terrifyingly calm, as if no desperate situation could shake his will.

"Break through along the original planned route! Tigers!"

"Here!" Shi Lei replied as he ran, his voice steady and powerful.

"It's too heavy for you to run on; it's time to lighten your load."

Long Fei's tone was ambiguous, neither an order nor a joke: "Leave some 'local specialties' as souvenirs for our friends who are catching up later."

Shi Lei was stunned for a moment, then grinned, revealing a ferocious smile.

"clear!"

He turned and roared behind him, "Last two rows! Bray! Give the scum in the back some extra food!"

The four Tigers members at the back of the group immediately slowed down. They didn't even turn around, but simply took out a few palm-sized dark green discs from the side pockets of their tactical backpacks.

With a few quick flicks of his fingers, he activated the delay and vibration sensing fuse.

Without even glancing at it, he tossed it into the bushes and pile of rocks behind him, like throwing away trash.

After doing all that, they immediately sped up and caught up with the group again in a few big strides.

Renn was half-dragged and half-pulled along by Lin Mo, running until he was out of breath.

He saw the soldiers break away from the group and then return, and he was full of questions, but the earth-shaking noise behind him was getting closer and closer.

It felt as if a mountain was moving, and the terrifying pressure made it hard for him to breathe. He had no time to think and could only move his legs with all his might.

The group moved swiftly through the dark hills, each person's steps heavy yet rapid.

When they were about a kilometer from the exit, Long Fei's voice, tinged with dark humor, rang out again on the channel.

"Tigers, I see you're carrying quite a lot of good stuff. It's too heavy and you won't be able to run fast. Lighten up your load a bit more."

Shi Lei understood immediately, burst into laughter, his voice filled with fervent fighting spirit.

"Okay!"

"Mechanical team! Unleash the dogs!"

"receive!"

Several more Tiger team members broke away from the group and rushed to a relatively open area, throwing off the huge and peculiar metal backpacks on their backs.

"Click—"

"laugh--"

Several crisp metallic unlocking sounds and the ear-piercing sound of hydraulic rod depressurization rang out almost simultaneously.

The three heavy metal backpacks crashed to the ground, but instead of breaking, they unfolded, folded, and reassembled themselves as if they were alive.

The complex mechanical structure gleamed with a cold luster under the moonlight.

When Ryan caught a glimpse of this unbelievable scene out of the corner of his eye, he subconsciously slowed his pace by half a beat.

He saw that the backpacks had transformed into steel hounds—completely black, exuding a metallic and powerful aura—within just a few seconds!

They walk on all fours, their bodies as sleek as prehistoric predators, every inch of their armor exuding an explosive beauty.

The exposed joints are covered with complex hydraulic lines and servo motors, while the head is a cold face made up of composite sensors.

Before Ryan's brain could even process this shocking scene...

"Buzz—"

The red strip-shaped optical sensors on the heads of the six mechanical dogs lit up simultaneously, drawing six ominous red streaks in the darkness and emitting a low, humming electrical current.

"Eagle! Prepare your flashbangs! We're coming!"

Long Fei gave the final command, his voice resolute.

"Everyone! Break through with all your might!"

"receive!"

A unified response rang out from the channel.

next second.

"Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap—!"

A series of incredibly loud, chilling metallic clanging sounds suddenly erupted from behind!

The sounds were synchronized, carrying a cold, merciless rhythm of death, like the war drums beating in hell!

Renn subconsciously glanced back.

He froze.

The six steel hounds that had just completed their "transformation" were rushing toward the main force at a speed beyond his imagination!

Their four-legged running posture is more agile than the fastest cheetah on the grassland and more ferocious than the most vicious wolf in the mountains!

The gravel was crushed under their sharp metal claws, and a series of clear indentations were trodden into the hard ground!

In just a few breaths, this death squad, made of steel and programs, rushed from the back of the line to the front!

They whizzed past Lin Mo and Raine, the strong winds they created almost making the two of them lose their footing.

They didn't even pay attention to the two "obstacles" blocking their way; the cold program only had one command: "rush forward."

Six black shadows, like six arrows released from a bow, instantly surpassed the main force and plunged into the dark hill exit blocked by goblins.