Wu led the other group, going right. It was not out of cowardice, she told herself; she wanted to be the one to kill Gadreel for murdering her father. That meant fighting her way to the entrance, and if she had to shoot every giant in her path, so be it . . .

They ran across the park. Everything had gone unnervingly quiet, but that would not last—

Movement in the shadows beneath the fortress. ‘Cover!’ she barked, diving flat at the foot of a tree. Her men followed suit, using planters and benches for protection as they brought up their rifles. A towering figure rose under the dragon’s tail, golden spear in his hands.

Wu shot first, sending three rapid rounds at her target. As a special forces operative, marksmanship was not only an expected skill, but demanded. Her shots were true, striking the Nephilim’s chest – but his armour flared like the fortress’s hull, shielded. Her Type 95 had neither the stopping power nor the sheer rate of fire of a minigun. By the time she realised he was unharmed, he had recovered—

Rippling energy crackled from his spear – and the man to Wu’s left exploded in a shower of blood and shredded flesh. A hot wetness splattered her cheek.

Fighting shock, she flicked the rifle’s fire selector to full auto and pulled the trigger again. This time, half the magazine hit her target. A scarlet burst from the giant’s neck told her she had found a gap in his armour. He fell backwards.

Other dark shapes moved beneath the fortress. ‘Grenades!’ she shouted. ‘Clear those scum out!’

Two of her remaining men had grenade launchers beneath their rifle barrels. Wu and the others ducked as a pair of forty-millimetre fragmentation charges were unleashed. Explosions and razor-sharp shrapnel tore through the space under the fortress. Shrill screams replaced the echoes of the detonations.

Wu jumped up and sprinted towards the downed aircraft. ‘Move in! Kill them all!’

She ducked under the hull. The warrior she had shot lay on his back, clutching his throat as he gargled blood. She fired a single shot into his eye, then moved on. Another giant had been torn practically in half by a grenade, a second bloodied Nephilim on hands and knees several metres away. Wu ran up to him and jammed her rifle’s muzzle against the exposed nape of his neck, then fired. The huge figure flopped to the ground.

Chattering gunfire to her left. The other group was engaging the warriors—

An ear-splitting crackle from the main gun – and a huge blast tore a crater out of the park. Wu whipped her head around to see pieces of her soldiers tumbling back to earth.

But her way to the hatch was now clear – and she heard the thud of rotor blades. The support she had called in from Cangliang was finally here.