Shortly after deploying, the teams moved out to their respective areas, setting up and deploying recon drones, utilising thermal scanners to get a better look at the pack.
The area was fairly barren, rocky terrain with multiple stone mounds, appearing like tiny volcanoes where the Yatzuls had buried into, forming hollow caves.
Covering the area were large patches of water, only covering up to the ankle - formed via the air condensing over the Geothermal pockets underground cooling over and reheating constantly. Due to this, the water was constantly evaporating into steam and condensing back, appearing like hot springs or geysers, making it a good area for hiding out or laying low. The water pooled out into the caves, allowing for drinking spots inside the dens for the Yatzuls.
Wachisaka had a team of forty set up communication arrays and medical tents, as well as heavy weapons set up along a ridge atop a hill dipping into the area, creating a sort of blockage, preventing Yatzul escapes to that area.
Snipers from outpost 68 had set themselves up on the stone mounds all around the area, creating a hypothetical "wall" to reap Yatzuls in - and who passed a certain point were to be gunned down by sniper fire.
Yasui's team prepared themselves by the north ridge, also creating a defensive area for falling back.
Maeda's team had landed further away, patrolling the perimeters to help the snipers in killing stragglers.
Lastly, Yanagi's team were deployed with Wachisaka, with Horuichi's team of a hundred troops moving with them to provide backup fire.
***
Strapping up his armoured vest, Yanagi glanced back at Kanesaki, who was staring across at him.
'Something up?'
Shaking his head, Kanesaki looked over Yanagi's gear.
'You don't wear a YNS? I thought captains of all people would wear them the most.'
Yanagi grinned, a low laugh leaving his throat. 'Nah, I'm not a full body kinda guy. I'm more into the gloves!'
As he spoke, he clenched his hands into fists, flexing purposefully to demonstrate his arm muscles. Kanesaki raised an eyebrow confusingly.
'Heh?'
Laughing a little more, Yanagi spoke proudly. 'Well, I'm not a fan of the full body YNS with that spinal stuff, so I opted for these specialised gloves, wear em' all the time without needing a whole implant. They're effective, help to boost the strength of my punches!'
He punched the air to emphasise the words, a large grin on his face - clearly enjoying his demonstration.
Sakaguchi walked up behind Kanesaki, already in his YNS.
'Captain, we moving out soon?'
Nodding and waving back weakly, Yanagi sighed, stretching his arms as he began walking over to the front of the group, slamming his hands together.
'All right! Listen up!'
The clattering of gear, the hum of drones above, and the low mutter of nervous troops quieted instantly as Yanagi stood before them, steam erupting behind him from a crack in the ground.
He scanned their faces - some were hard with focus, others pale under helmet visors, some shaking out nerves in their shoulders. Kanesaki stood quietly, arms crossed, watching him with a calm readiness.
Yanagi's grin faded, replaced with a confident seriousness as he began, his gloved fist tapping against his chest once.
'Tonight, we're not here for glory, or for stories, or for your own damn egos. We're here to hunt. Those Yatzuls have dug in, and they think these caves and this steam will hide them from us.'
He took a breath, his eyes narrowing as he let the silence draw the tension tight.
'They're wrong.'
A few heads lifted, steam swirling around them, reflecting the dim blinking lights of drones above.
'We're not here to rush in screaming. We're here to cut them down with precision, one by one, until the caves run empty and their screams stop echoing off these rocks.'
Yanagi raised a finger, pointing out across the rocky fields and the steaming pools, toward the dark caves under the shadow of the ridge.
'Watch your feet in the water, keep your lines clear, and for god's sake, don't go playing hero in those dens alone. Stick to your teams, check your backs, and if you get separated, hunker down until we sweep through.'
He let his hands fall, eyes steady.
'If we do this right, no one's going home in a box today.'
Yanagi's grin returned for just a moment, a sharp glint in his eyes as he turned back toward the steaming fields, cracking his knuckles loudly.
'Let's get to work, sweepers.'
With that, he motioned the squads forward, boots splashing in the shallow steaming pools, rifles lifted, drones buzzing low as they began their sweep toward the caves - thermal scans flashing on screens, the quiet tension of the hunt taking hold as they moved under the steam-wreathed dawn.
***
The squad moved out under the low, pitch black sky, steam rising in thick curls around their legs as they stepped into the ankle-deep pools, boots sloshing softly.
Yanagi walked near the center, his gloves flexing, scanning the ridges and steam with a sharp-eyed calm, while Wachisaka oversaw the heavy gunners setting up fallback positions on the sloped ridge behind.
Up front, Yasuko and Kanesaki broke ahead in a low, cautious dash, scanning their corners, pushing past the thicker curtains of steam near the first set of hollow cave mounds.
Every sound felt amplified in the silence.
The clink of loose metal on chest rigs, the drip of condensation rolling off rifle barrels, a soldier's soft cough, stifled under a breath mask, boots shifting in wet gravel and muddy water, splashing quietly.
Somewhere, distant but clear, a scream - a horrible, drawn-out screech that echoed off the rocks and steam. It was followed by another, closer this time, before cutting off into a gargled, bone-hollow silence.
Kanesaki paused, glancing back at Yasuko. She gave a small nod, her breathing controlled but quick.
Behind them, the low hum of drones passed overhead, their lights blinking as Horuichi checked his scanner. The tablet flickered with thermal outlines of the terrain, but the heat from the vents made clear readings difficult. Shapes flickered in and out, false positives against real movement.
'Can't get a clear reading,' Horuichi whispered, 'too much heat bleed.'
'Keep watching,' Yanagi replied lowly, eyes forward, hand up to halt the back lines momentarily.
The faintest splash echoed off to the left, beyond a large, steaming rock. It was not the rhythm of water dripping or the splash of wind-stirred pools. It was heavier, deliberate.
Yasuko froze, dropping to a knee, her eyes trained on the sound. Kanesaki followed, eyes narrowed, scanning the shifting steam with calm readiness.
For a moment, silence.
The splash came again, closer this time.
A shape flickered on Horuichi's scanner, a spike of heat for just a moment before vanishing.
'Movement, one o'clock,' he whispered, turning the screen to Yanagi, who watched silently, eyes cold.
Kanesaki slowly shifted his position, stepping forward as Yasuko followed close, taking cover behind a jagged rock mound as they peered around the corner.
Another faint skitter of claws on stone. Another splash.
Somewhere out there, in the darkness, they were not alone.
Yanagi gave a slow hand signal, the squad moving in careful, silent formations through the steaming pools, rifles up, eyes scanning, as the fog swallowed their outlines, the tension gripping every breath.
And in the far distance, another scream - closer, clearer, echoed, promising the hunt was about to begin.
Chapter 41 - end