Chapter 561: Chapter 404 Arrival at the Destination
After listening to Gavin’s explanation, Dong Tianyu also understood the purpose of Sharp Blade Team. The Imperial Court used to have full control over the frontal battlefield, refusing any involvement from civilian forces.
However, outside the main battlefield, the Imperial Court had reassigned much of the regular defense elsewhere, leaving those areas poorly defended. Therefore, officials simply called for the assistance of civilian forces to support the defense effort.
Unlike other areas, the Imperial Court’s strong control over Kyoto meant that local Hunting Teams generally lacked strength. As a result, even with new recruits joining in the defense of these areas, their defensive capabilities were significantly weakened.
In the face of scattered attacks from Soldier Bugs, those defenses could barely cope. But in the event of an assault from a small Bug Nest, those defensive positions had no means of resistance.
This was why there was a need for powerful teams to act as fire brigades, rushing to the aid of locations that suffered from attacks too overwhelming to handle.
Under normal circumstances, to ensure the efficiency of the rescue teams, such teams were usually made up of retired soldiers directly under the Officials’ management. But since many troops were now tied up in a decisive battle with the Bug Race, the Officials had retained only three direct teams, recruiting other teams temporarily from civilians.
Despite being recruited from the civilian population, since these rescue teams needed to possess considerable strength and a strong sense of responsibility, anyone wishing to qualify had to find a guarantor recognized by the Officials.
The team organized by Gavin had its guarantor in him, unquestionably; while the stronger members of his family were off to undertake even more important tasks.
When Gavin led Dong Tianyu to the assembly point, the other members had already been waiting there. Before Gavin could introduce Dong Tianyu to the rest, a message suddenly popped up on his wristwatch.
After reading the message, Gavin said to everyone, "Command Post has dispatched our mission. We’ll head directly to the mission location, I will introduce everyone to each other en route."
Hearing Gavin’s arrangements, everyone fell silent, but they all followed quietly behind him.
The group quickly arrived at the parking lot. Unlike the jeep they had used the last time they came back, the vehicle Gavin had prepared this time was an all-terrain off-road vehicle, and it wasn’t just any ordinary off-road vehicle, but one that had been heavily modified.
The tyres on this off-road vehicle weren’t typical car tyres, but large tyres commonly seen on engineering vehicles, with a diameter close to two meters. With such large tyres, even the roughest of road conditions wouldn’t pose too great an obstacle to the vehicle’s passage,
While the oversized tyres ensured off-road capability, the energy required to turn them was more than ten times higher than that of standard vehicles.
A vehicle is a product that requires balance. Increasing tyre size guarantees off-road capability but inevitably sacrifices some performance in other areas. Thus, this type of vehicle, a special class with very high fuel consumption, is normal aside from its poor comfort levels.
Coming up to the vehicle, the others looked at this behemoth that was clearly several sizes larger than the other vehicles. Although it appeared somewhat rough around the edges, shock could still be seen in their eyes.
Gavin said to the middle-aged man wearing camouflage clothes, "Demetrius, I’ve sent the location of our mission to you. Among us, you have the best driving skills, so the vehicle is yours to drive."
Hearing Gavin’s words, Demetrius, dressed in camouflage, didn’t say much, but Leonard, standing by, muttered unhappily, "Why do you assume his driving skills are the best? I have a license, too."
Leonard’s muttering was quiet, but everyone present had abilities that were on par with those in the Path Entry Realm, with keen hearing and eyesight being standard, so the others heard every word he said quite clearly.
At this moment, Gavin, as team leader, directly responded, "So what if you have a license? You actually think your useless driver’s license is some sort of treasure? You ask me why I say Demetrius is the best driver."
"I’ll tell you this. Not only has Demetrius driven Missile trucks and tanks, but he also has experience piloting multiple types of aircraft. He can operate them all with ease. Tell me, isn’t that impressive? Isn’t he better than you?"
Upon hearing Gavin’s explanation, the others looked at Demetrius with eyes full of surprise, none of them expecting that this unassuming man before them possessed such formidable skills.
While others were discussing Demetrius, he himself paid little attention to what they were thinking. Upon receiving the mission map and target area from Gavin and swiftly simulating the best route in his mind, he didn’t bother with the looks he was receiving. Instead, he straightforwardly asked Gavin, "I’m about ready here. Are we sure we’re using this vehicle?"
When Gavin confirmed with a nod, Demetrius took the vehicle’s keys and began personally inspecting it.
Seeing Demetrius’ actions, everyone’s respect for him grew. After all, there were not many drivers who would bother to check an unfamiliar vehicle at such times. Nowadays, most drivers simply jumped into the driver’s seat and paid no mind to anything else.
