Chapter 374.2: Heart Of Steel

He actually thought of extorting them, especially since their truck contained many valuable goods. His demands were very well justified as well...

However, the situation was different.

Listening to their conversation, the onlooking survivors exchanged surprised glances.

They also quickly whispered softly to themselves...

"New Alliance? They're from the Alliance!"

"I heard the warriors of the New Alliance are each worth 10 men each. They used 1,000 men to flatten the Bonechewer Clan...”

"No wonder..."

The New Alliance's strength may not match the Army, but no matter what, they were neighbours.

And the Army, on the other hand, was half a continent away, located on the distant West Coast.

"This could get tricky... From the New Alliance to this place, it's at most a week's journey, maybe even just 2 or 3 days if they hurry," a middle-aged man murmured next to the old man.

Nodding imperceptibly, Mudka stared intently at the young woman before him.

After a long while, he slowly spoke. "... We don't intend to interfere in your disputes, but we also hope you won't disturb our lives." With that, he waved his dry right hand and led his people away.

As for the compensation, it was never mentioned again.

Herrick, lying on the ground, watched the trio and the bear shift his gaze.

He had never heard of any New Alliance and had no interest in learning more. His mind was racing as he thought only about how to escape his current predicament.

But as his gaze landed on the dark barrel of the gun, he finally relaxed his tense shoulders, abandoning any thought of escaping.

The power displayed by the other party was beyond his understanding.

Whether it was the woman who took several shots and was fine, or the mysterious weapon that instantly killed his 5 brothers.

Even then, he didn’t know what that weapon was!

Maybe... Something significant really did happen in the River Valley Province.

"Are you sure you want to make enemies with the Army?" Herrick lowered his voice, invoking the Army's name in an attempt to intimidate them into releasing him.

Sisi looked down at him. "Even if we didn't intend to, would trouble not find us?"

With that, she shook the gun barrel. "Don't waste my time, your name?"

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Herrick..."

"What do you want with Luo Hua?"

The man's face darkened slightly, his lips curling in a slightly mocking arc. "Heh, thinking—"

Bang!

A sudden gunshot startled everyone nearby.

Of course, the person who was affected the most was Herrick who was lying face first on the ground. The bullet exploded in the ground happened next to his ear, splattering mud over half his face.

Looking at the smoking gun barrel and those merciless eyes, Herrick felt a bone-chilling cold.

"I, I was about to say..." He started to stutter, his previous bravado nowhere to be seen.

It wasn't out of fear, but an instinctive reaction.

"Hurry up." Turning on the recorder on her device, Sisi urged impatiently.

Herrick gasped, "The Enterprise! We’re looking for people from the Enterprise!”

"I obviously know the guy you're chasing is from the Enterprise, what else?"

Herrick swallowed hard, speaking rapidly. "That moving fortress... It rushed into the desert, our vassals heard they were looking for some treasure there. Whatever it is, we can't let them take it from our land."

"Vassals?" Tail cocked his head.

"Falcons..." Kariman, who had walked over, growled with an overcast expression, "The kingdom that rules Oasis No. 2. A bunch of spineless cowards who abandoned their dignity and faith, offering their souls to the barbarians of the lawless lands."

Tail frowned. "?"

Sisi sighed, pressing her slightly swollen brow. “Are they a vassal state now?”

Kariman stiffly nodded. "Yes."

At his answer, Sisi fell into thought once again.

Combining forum discussions and official information, she roughly understood the whole situation.

In simple terms, the Army's Vassal discovered the Pioneer, then reported the information to the Army.

To prevent the Enterprise from controlling their territory, the Army likely sent an unknown size of expeditionary force to the desert, cooperating with locals to trap the moving fortress.

Although the Pioneer had formidable firepower, even the best technology couldn't create resources out of nothing.

At least, electricity and minerals couldn't be conjured from thin air.

And Herrick's following statement also confirmed her guess. “We surrounded them while the Pioneer was searching for supplies; they had no choice but to retreat to the ruins with their fuel rods. Those exoframes are strong, but they're limited in number. We quickly divided and surrounded them. Some fled into the desert, some were trapped in the ruins, and a few were stuck in the fortress."

Sisi immediately asked. "Have you taken over the Pioneer?"

Herrick responded. "The battle is over, conquering it is just a matter of time, but we don't want a pile of scrap metal. They set a password for their control room and we can't get in from the outside. If we try to break in, it would trigger the remaining nuclear material to inject into the self-destruct unit... If that happens there'd be nothing left."

Sisi didn’t stop there. "Luo Hua knows the password?"

"I don't know, but he seems to be a key figure on the Pioneer, possibly holding some clues about it... The general ordered me to capture him before he could meet up with reinforcements from the Enterprise. If we can't capture him alive, bringing back his head will do."

"Reinforcements..."

Tail stroked her chin and pondered, "They’re not a simple bunch. They even know the Enterprise sent reinforcements."

Sesame Paste raised an eyebrow and mumbled softly, "Uh, do we even need to guess?"

Staring at Herrick lying on the ground, Sisi continued, "State your unit's number, your superior's name, and how many people you've sent into the desert."

"Heart of Steel..."

"What?"

"My unit," Herrick swallowed and spoke softly, "Heart of Steel, 29th Assault Team, our commander is McClennan."

"How far are they from here?"

"They’re right here."

"Here?!" Sisi paused.

Everyone froze.

Sisi was about to ask further, but she saw Herrick, whose face was filled with fear just a second ago, suddenly show a hint of fanaticism.

He stared straight at her.

But his pupils weren't focused on her face, but behind her.

Sisi's eyes gradually filled with an ominous premonition.

"He’s right behind you... Just turn around and take a look," Herrick said with a smile.

Regardless of what he was gloating about, Sisi was clear it was no ‘hey look, a UFO trick’.

Everyone who had been watching from the start turned to look at the sky in the distance. Those unfamiliar faces all reflected the same confusion, hesitation, and terror.

"What is that... thing?"

"A whale?"

"Great Deer God above..." Some herders knelt on the ground, their foreheads pressed firmly against the dirt.

Many mercenaries were at a loss, but some smart merchants recognized the object.

"An airship... It’s an Army airship!"

Looking towards the northwest of Lucky Valley Municipality, Kariman's eyes widened, his pupils shifting between confusion and fear.

And the guards standing beside him couldn't help but tighten their grip on their guns.

The towering steel emerged from beneath the clouds, like an iceberg surfacing from the sea. Its wings spread like the wings of a Roc, its rows of whirling turbines slicing through the mist, like the fangs of a beast.

So that's what an Army airship looks like.

He had often heard rumors about it, but it was his first time seeing it.

It was like a giant whale flying in the sky... Although he had only seen such animals in photos.

A few players were also stunned, especially Sisi.

More than where the airship came from, she wanted to know how that steel monstrosity could possibly fly.

Its metallic shell looked nothing like the painted canvas of typical airships. Iy was clearly not a conventional airship.

And if it was made of alloy... Even Aluminium, even if the thickest part of its armor was only 1mm, it would still be hundreds, if not thousands of tons!

How could such a freakish build that didn’t follow the laws of science be propelled by a row of parallel turbines?

She felt as though her intelligence was challenged, although not for the first time since playing Wasteland Online.

Lying on the ground, Herrick enjoyed the stunned look on her face. He let out a sinister growl, “It's not too late to surrender..."

Bang!