Chapter 562: Chapter 404 Arrival at the Destination_2
Because it was just a preliminary inspection, and since Demetrius knew that the task they had undertaken came with a time limit, he focused only on certain key areas and gave the rest a cursory glance. Satisfied that he had a general overview, he then disregarded the rest.
Within just a few minutes, Demetrius completed the inspection and joined the others, saying to Gavin, "I’ve given this vehicle a once-over; there are some minor issues with it, but these small problems are not significant."
Upon hearing Demetrius, Gavin gestured broadly with his hand and told the others, "Get on, we can talk as we go." The group didn’t even bother with the ladder; they just jumped into the truck bed.
Seeing this, everyone clearly trusted Demetrius’s driving skills, but they still subconsciously chose the option that was most advantageous for themselves.
Although the comfort level in the truck bed was somewhat inferior to that of the seats, the difference wasn’t actually very pronounced. After all, the vehicle had willingly sacrificed some of its comfort during its modification in exchange for enhanced off-road capabilities.
Their tacit choice of the truck bed was primarily because everyone felt that, in case of an encounter, it would take time to unbuckle seat belts inside the vehicle before getting out, while from the truck bed, one could simply jump out if needed.
Given this relatively minor difference in options, safety was clearly everyone’s top priority before they would consider comfort.
After getting in, Demetrius, noticing that no one else had entered the cabin but had all stood in the truck bed, showed no expression on his face. However, deep inside, he felt a slight irritation due to the others’ distrust.
Once everyone was aboard, Demetrius didn’t suddenly accelerate to assert his dominance; instead, he increased the speed gradually, as he would during a regular drive, until, unknowingly, they reached about a hundred kilometers an hour.
For this speed, which was actually quite fast, especially since they were still in the city center, not the task area they were assigned to.
Even though the scenery outside was quickly receding, the people sitting in the truck bed didn’t feel much jostling and deepened their impression of Demetrius’s driving skills.
As the vehicle departed from the city center and entered the rural outskirts, they drew ever closer to the emergency location of their mission. Each time they encountered Soldier Bugs, Dong Tianyu would kill them directly, either with firearms or with magic.
It was unclear how Gavin had modified such a vehicle; though it was a massive beast, it had the heart of something much more nimble.
As they neared the emergency location, before Demetrius could stop the vehicle, Gavin entered the cabin.
Seeing Gavin take a seat in the passenger’s side, Demetrius directly asked him, "Where should I park the car?"
Before Demetrius could answer, Dong Tianyu also arrived below and listened to the two discussing while eating.
Demetrius wanted to park the vehicle close to the battlefield so that even if the fight became intense, the vehicle wouldn’t be damaged.
Gavin, even more extreme, suggested that Demetrius drive straight into the fray to provide the fastest support possible.
Although there were some disagreements between the two regarding the handling of the vehicle, Demetrius did not slow down its pace.
As they approached the distress signal, Demetrius finally began to slow down the vehicle. Just as Gavin was about to ask Demetrius to speed up again, Dong Tianyu spoke, "Prepare for battle; it looks like we’ve been surrounded."
Hearing Dong Tianyu say this, neither Demetrius nor Gavin showed any surprise. Demetrius remained calm, figuring that since Dong Tianyu was personally recruited by Gavin, he must possess some exceptional abilities that made Gavin seek him out to join their team.
And Gavin’s expression remained calm because he guessed that Dong Tianyu had previously lacked the power, which was why he had chosen to hide in the shadows. Now that his cultivation level had increased, he no longer concealed his whereabouts and origins.
Because of Zachary’s reminder, the speed of the vehicle had, without them realizing it, decreased significantly, yet not far ahead, they still discovered someone intentionally luring monsters their way.
However, now was not the time to contemplate such matters; what was most important was to ensure their own safety and to see which traitor from the Human Clan was responsible for this utterly conscienceless act.
When the vehicle finally came to a stop, they were completely surrounded by Soldier Bugs. At this point, the passengers’ faces showed only confusion, with no fear for the situation at hand.
After all, those in the vehicle possessed battle power of the Path Entry Realm, and so the encircling Soldier Bugs did not incite fear in them.
Looking at the surrounding Soldier Bugs, Dong Tianyu took the lead. His Flying Swords, like a beam of light piercing through darkness, began to weave around the battlefield, shredding the standing Soldier Bugs around them into pieces.
More and more Soldier Bugs appeared in their field of vision, making it clear that this battle was not going to be simple.
As yet more Soldier Bugs appeared, Dong Tianyu, now equipped with new gear, naturally didn’t want to get involved in the fray. Just as he was about to persuade Gavin to take a detour, Gavin slowly said, "We should pass through this road under normal circumstances, but if we take a detour, it will take a significantly longer time.
Moreover, I have a premonition that whether we decide to fight in this battle or not, we actually won’t be able to move away quickly from this place."
Faced with Gavin’s doubts, Dong Tianyu’s thoughts were simpler. Since they were surrounded by Soldier Bugs, by killing them all, at least for a while, the Soldier Bugs would not pose a danger; this would also conveniently allow them to complete a mission.
By now, Zachary had a bad feeling that perhaps the mission Gavin had received was flawed. As the number of Soldier Bugs around them intensified, those who had been resting inside the vehicle started to move about, warming up for the fight.
With the others joining the fight, Zachary’s Flying Swords also appropriately returned behind him, after all, this was not a game and there was no immunity to friendly fire in combat. So if he carelessly interfered with others’ battles, their wide-ranging attack abilities could potentially damage the Flying Swords.
Zachary, finding himself with a moment of downtime, suddenly realized why he had been distracted; it dawned on him that there might be something wrong with their mission.
The mission, though seemingly a rescue operation, left Zachary feeling that the source of the distress signal, after going through so much, was probably already massacred by the Bug Race.
The distress signal received from Kyoto’s side might very well have been sent under the manipulation of the Bug Race, possibly with the intention of encircling them and targeting the rescuers.
Looking at the increasing number of Soldier Bug corpses around them, Zachary knew that if they continued like this, they might be able to hold out for a while, but not for much longer.
With this in mind, Zachary glanced at Gavin; Gavin also felt that he had been rather unlucky recently. The mission he had accepted was supposed to be a simple exploration and combat mission.
Yet, no one had expected it to end up like the battle in the Ping’an Gler TV series, where what seemed to be a matter between two individuals ended up entangling many unforeseen complications.
As time passed, the intensity of the Soldier Bug attacks decreased slightly. But unexpectedly, the Soldier Bugs merely surrounded them without actively attacking.
While Zachary was still pondering the reason for their behavior, several graceful plasma bombs suddenly appeared in the sky. Watching them draw closer and closer above, if they couldn’t come up with an adequate solution promptly, it wasn’t just this building that would be affected, but the entire district would face problems.
