A Desperate Diversion

But at that moment, no one was making a move for the crate.

Surrounding the beast's corpse, two squads of survivors were engaged in a brutal, blood-soaked firefight.

The larger squad had five people: four men and one woman. Their gear was highly uniform, and each bore a guild emblem on their chest resembling an onyx falcon spreading its wings.

Their team composition was textbook: a heavily armored