I am the Emperor of Humanity across the Multiverse

At the outskirts of the Forerunner city:

Thud. Thud.

The sound of magnetic boots echoed across the overgrown streets.

Leman was the first to arrive, holding his custom bolter in his right hand and tightly gripping the psychic sword, "Winter's Blade," forged by his father, in his left. His eyes were alert, scanning the surroundings.

Though he often appeared carefree and reckless, in reality, he was one of the most meticulous among his brothers.

As Leman reached the outskirts, the feedback from his powered armor indicated that everything was fine. Yet, his instincts told him there might be an ambush ahead. 

An ambush?

Before coming here, their father had privately told him and his brothers about Shield World 0459, mentioning that even if the Flood had Graveminds, they would be in a primitive form.

But could a primitive Gravemind have already sensed their arrival and set up a rudimentary trap?

"Heh! So what if it's an ambush."

Leman dismissed the thought. He planned to rely on brute strength to break through, using his helmet's display to mark the intersection ahead and alert the ODSTs behind him to be on the lookout for enemies. Then, he quickened his pace and charged forward.

Thud, thud!

His large frame made increasingly louder noises as he moved.

Just as Leman was about to reach the intersection, the edge of his minimap began to show a dense cluster of red dots.

Seeing this, Leman acted without hesitation, aiming at what appeared to be an empty rooftop ahead and pulling the trigger.

Boom! Boom!

The bolter round, trailing a fiery tail from its secondary acceleration, flew through the air and struck the edge of the building.

Boom! Boom!

The violent explosion tore the top of the building apart, leaving it in ruins.

In the midst of the explosion, there was a sharp, screeching wail—clearly not from a human source.

Leman squinted beneath his helmet and, before his screen even updated, saw a flood of infection forms. They resembled rotting octopuses with slimy, segmented tentacles, surging toward him like a breached dam.

"Now I see why Father called them the Flood! Damn, they really do come like a flood! Hahaha! Well, bring it on! Come at me!" 

Rather than retreat, Leman became even more excited at the sight of the approaching infection forms. His finger tightened on the trigger, sending explosive bolter rounds filled with steel pellets and iron shrapnel into the horde.

Boom! Boom!

The explosions and shrapnel tore through countless infection forms, popping them like balloons.

Each one that exploded triggered a chain reaction, leading to more ruptures among the horde.

"First squad, second squad! Assist the Primarch and cover the flanks!"

"Negative!"

Upon hearing the ODST major's order, Leman immediately intervened, explaining quickly:

"Being near me puts you in danger! Let me handle the front alone, Major. Stick to your original tactical plans!"

After that, Leman attached his empty bolter to his waist and, using near-teleportation speed, charged forward fearlessly into the flood of infection forms.

Buzz! Buzz!

Leman swung Winter's Blade, its blue psychic lightning crackling along the blade, roasting and "freezing" the infection forms that tried to pierce his armor and turn him into one of the Flood.

The scene was reminiscent of Leman's childhood when he played his company's "Dynasty Warriors" game. No matter how many infection forms came at him, they posed no threat.

The only issue was the sheer exertion of effort.

Behind him, Thunder Warriors driven by Samuel Young's psychic powers followed, systematically using 0.75cal bolter rounds and 1.0cal heavy bolter machine guns to push forward alongside Leman, clearing every visible threat.

As for not using plasma rifles or Gauss weapons, it was because against Flood-like swarm creatures, physical ammunition, especially with explosive and shrapnel effects, was more effective.

Besides, condensed-state plasma batteries were more expensive than standard bolter rounds, and Gauss weapons excelled more in single-target penetration.

Seeing this battle unfold, the ODST major knew their individual combat power paled in comparison to the Primarch and Thunder Warriors. Moreover, understanding the terror of the Flood, the major refrained from his usual aggressive tactics.

He gave the following orders:

"Squad 1, eliminate any stragglers. Squad 2, maintain formation, guard the flanks and rear, and prepare to receive the two AI units arriving shortly!"

"Hooah!"

Bang! Bang-bang!

Following the battle cry, the sounds of the Modular Standard Weapons (AMWS) echoed through the Forerunner city.

Though the 6.2x35mm and 5.7x28mm explosive rounds weren't as powerful as the bolter rounds, the combined firepower of over 120 ODSTs was enough to suppress the seemingly endless swarm of Flood.

Moreover, the dozen breachers wielding 20mm shotguns had firepower that rivaled even the Thunder Warriors at the front when it came to "pest control."

Two heavily armored ODST soldiers, towering above their comrades thanks to their exoskeletons, wielded rotary triple-barrel cannons and shoulder-mounted missile pods, resembling human-shaped tanks.

In less than five minutes, Leman, the Thunder Warriors, and the ODSTs had successfully cleared the area of infection forms.

Though some straggling infection forms and other Flood creatures remained, they no longer posed a significant threat to the operation.

However, the decaying Flood bodies released countless spores into the air, worsening an already harsh environment.

Fortunately, everyone's sealed suits could block the spores, but when returning to the Beacon, the biology department would need to conduct thorough decontamination and disinfection.

At this point, Vulcan escorted Arp and Melissa into the city.

Surveying the war-torn streets, Arp looked up at Vulcan and said:

"With this much commotion, it won't be long before a Forerunner AI known as the Sanctuary Defender comes to clean up. All we need to do is follow its path to track it back to the central control room.

If our calculations are correct, we should be able to open a gravity well from the control room and pull the Covenant fleet into the core world of 0459.

The core world can effectively block slipspace communication and any known forms of contact.

At that point, we can complete the company's strategic objective: severing the Covenant fleet's external communications and creating the time and space needed for the company to capture their ships and crew."

Just as Arp finished speaking—

Buzz! Buzz!

The sound of hovering engines could be heard in the distance.

Looking toward the source, they saw hundreds of small- to medium-sized drones rapidly approaching their location.

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