The heart of Ve Drasik's stronghold came into view, a t industrial aer encased in yers of reinforced steel and pulsating with energy duits. The pound's sprawliwork of produ lines and warehouses was rgely in ruins, smoke billowing into the air as guild aance forces pressed deeper into the facility.

  Ethan advanced alongside Zyrix, their boots g over shattered crete. The air was thick with tension and the acrid st of burned circuitry. Every step toward the tral pound brought them closer to the culmination of their mission and deeper into the unknown dahat Ve had prepared.

  Kael's voice crackled over the s. "You're closing in on the aer, Ethan. Expect heavy resistance. Ve won't leave without a fight, and her most dangerous assets are likely still ahead."

  Ethan tightened his grip on his psma dagger. "Aowledged. We'll ha."

  The tral pound's gates groaned open, revealing an interior alive with motion. Advanced bat drones armed with alloy-based energy ons hovered in defensive formations, their shields shimmering ominously. Syndicate soldiers in experimental gear patrolled the area, their movements precise and unnervingly coordinated.

  Suddenly, a deafening explosion rocked the ground behihan's group. Mines embedded in the rubble erupted, releasing clouds of incapacitating alloy-based gas. Resistance fighters coughed and staggered, their coordination faltering as the gas took effect.

  "Fall back!" Ethan barked, waving toward the choking fighters. "Guild teams, disable those mines! Resistance, pull your wounded back to cover!"

  Zyrix fired a precise psma shot, detonating one of the remaining mines before it could release its payload. "These traps are everywhere," he muttered, sing the pound. "Ve really doesn't want us getting close."

  "She's stalling," Ethan said, sing his HUD for any sign of the drone hubs trolling the aerial assault. "Kael, where are the drone and points?"

  Kael's voice came through with urgency. "Two hubs oher side of the pound. Disabling them will force the drones into manual trol, but they're heavily guarded."

  Ethan turo his Velkran E-rank merary ally Thalor Veskra, whose stoic demeanor hadn't wavered despite the chaos. "Thalor, take a small squad and hahe left hub. Zyrix and I will hahe right. Resistance fighters led by Ta focus on keeping the Syndicate soldiers occupied."

  Thalor nodded silently and moved toward his objective, leading a group of meraries with steady fidence.

  Ethan and Zyrix advaoward the right drone hub, dug behind cover as the aerial drones unleashed energy bsts that tore through walls and scattered debris.

  "Keep moving," Ethan urged. "We 't let them pin us down."

  Zyrix's rifle hummed as he took out a drone in a burst of sparks. "One down. Dozens to go."

  They reached the hub, a tower-like structure guarded by Syndicate soldiers wielding prototype ons. The oed waves of distortion that made Ethan's head throb, but he pushed through the disfort, fog on the oints in their defenses.

  Zyrix provided cover fire, his shots precise and deadly. Ethan surged forward, using his psma dagger to take down two guards before pnting an EMP charge on the hub's core. The explosion short-circuited the and systems, causing the drones overhead to stutter and falter.

  "Hub disabled," Ethaed. "Thalor, status?"

  "Left hub ralized," came Thalor's calm reply. "Drones are erratiow."

  The way to the aer was now clear, but as Ethan's team approached, the doors slid open to reveal two t figures Syndicate-grade exosuits. The enforcers stood motionless for a moment, their glowing visors sing the intruders.

  "Wele to the end of the line," one of them growled, his voice distorted through the helmet's speaker.

  The other enforcer hefted a massive alloy-enhanced melee on, its bde humming with energy. "Ve sends her regards," he said mogly.

  Ethan didn't wait for them to make the first move. "Zyrix, take the one on the left. I'll hahe other. Keep your distand target the armor's oints."

  The enforcers charged simultaneously, their speed belying their heavy frames. Ethan ducked under a wild swing, the bde narrowly missing his shoulder. He tered with a quick strike from his psma dagger, but the enforcer's energy shield absorbed the blow.

  "These suits are no joke," Ethan muttered, rolling away as the enforcer swung again.

  Zyrix took up a position on a raised ptform, firing armor-pierg rounds at the sed enforcer. Sparks flew as the rounds struck exposed joints, slowing the enforcer's movements but not stopping him entirely.

  Ethan focused on exploiting openings in his oppo's attacks, darting in and out with precision strikes. His enhanced reflexes allowed him to stay ahead of the enforcer's brutal swings, but the exertion was taking its toll.

  "Zyrix, I need a distra!" Ethan called out.

  "On it," Zyrix replied, firing an explosive round that detonated he first enforcer. The bst staggered the armored figure, givihan the opening he needed.

  He drove his psma dagger into the enforcer's power core, a burst of energy surging through the on as the suit's systems failed. The enforcer colpsed, his on cttering to the ground.

  Ethan turo see Zyrix finishing off the sed enforcer with a perfectly pced shot to the helmet's visor, shattering it and rendering the oct unscious.

  "Nice work," Ethan said, catg his breath.

  "Don't mention it," Zyrix replied, reloading his rifle.

  The aer was eerily quiet as Ethan and Zyrix ehe room dominated by a massive server array glowing faintly with blue light.

  "Kael, we're inside," Ethaed.

  "Copy that," Kael replied. "Download everything you . We need intel on their produethods."

  Ethan moved to the terminal, but before he could begin the download though his AI Iris, an arm bred. Ve's voice echoed through the room, ced with both amusement and pt.

  "Did you really think I'd let you walk out with my secrets?" she said. "Initiating data purge."

  The servers began to overheat, their ss fshing red warnings. Ve's image appeared on a monitor, her expression calm despite the chaos. "You've caused me a lot of trouble, mercs. But don't worry. This is far from over and you will pay for my losses."

  Through a side window, Ethan glimpsed Ve's voy speeding away, fnked by Syndicate vehicles.

  "She's heading to Rath Zorrek's territory," Zyrix said grimly.

  Ethan smmed his fist against the terminal. "We're too te."

  The aer and its surrounding facilities y in ruins, the joint forces standing amidst the wreckage. Resistance fighters mourheir fallen rades, and guild meraries worked troup.

  Kael's voice came through the s once more. "Etha."

  "We destroyed the base, but Ve escaped," Ethan said bitterly. "And the servers were wiped. No intel on their produethods."

  Kael sighed. "A mixed victory, then. But we've dealt a signifit blow to their supply lines and achieved our primary goal. Focus on that for now."

  Ethan hough his frustration lihe fight against the Syndicate was far from over, and the cost of each battle was only growing steeper.

  As the joint forces prepared to withdraw, Ethan looked toward the horizon, where Ve's voy had disappeared. His resolve burned brighter than ever.

  "We'll get her ime," he muttered.