Even as I realized that the lives of every person here may be forfeit, I still maintained my telepathic connection with Umara.

And it seemed that she was able to feel my panic.

(It’s the single eyed Scout!)

(Shit.)

I could sense Umara’s initial panic turn to dread.

At the same time, I suddenly saw a twinkle from the direction of the Scout.

I grabbed Umara once more, throwing ourselves behind the cover of the truck.

*ZZT*

The laser shot right past us, burning a hole where we were not even a second ago.

After that, there were several shouts.

“That’s an Authority 7! Everyone retreat now! Scatter to the hills!”

“Fuck!”

“Run!”

All the knights started to sprint. The fastest ones were already halfway up the hill before anyone else could even get to the base.

At the same time, I tapped my Aerial, pulling up the Puppet Master’s profile.

But when I dialed in, the call never went through.

“Fuck…”

“John! Umara!”

“Right here!”

I yelled in response, subsequently hearing a thud as Feiden, Vetsmon, and Tana all landed near us, taking cover behind the truck.

With a thought I grabbed Feiden, pulling him in.

“You grab Umara! We need to run to cover! This thing’s attacks land instantly, so you can’t expose yourself for too long! There’s a forest nearby, so head to it!”

“Got it!”

“Vetsmon! I’m with you! Tana, I have a mission for you!”

I grabbed her next, bringing her close.

“My Aerial isn’t working, and we need to contact the base. Do you remember the way back?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Good. I need you to get there as fast as possible. Deliver the message, and get us a rescue team. Can you do that?”

“...Yes!”

She looked hesitant, perhaps not wanting to leave us behind.

But I had to at least guarantee that, so long as we survived long enough, we would get rescued. Without getting the message over, we might not survive unless we made it back to base ourselves. And I didn’t think we would be able to outrun that Scout so simply.

After all, who said the other scout wouldn’t have escorts?

If the escorts were on the same level, I couldn’t help but think we were fucked either way. But we had to try.

After nodding to Tana, I looked at everyone else.

“Attract the attention of anything looking at us. Tana, you focus on getting out first. Use people as bait if you have to. Just get to the base. Ready?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Go!”

I yelled, and everyone shot out from behind the truck.

Feiden, the fastest, grabbed Umara and held her against his body while dashing like a bolt of lightning.

Vetsmon grabbed me as well, bounding with obscene strength to ascend the hill. He wasn’t as fast as Feiden, but that was exactly why I had him carry me instead.

And as he seemed to fly through the air, every impact with the ground causing me to grunt in pain, I managed to peek over and get a look at what we were dealing with.

The other APC, which some people had tried to start and run off with, was rapidly decommissioned with a laser. After that, several beasts emerged and tore it open.

These beasts were much bigger than the other wolves. They were clearly of canine origin, but instead of being as large as a wolf, they were as large as a bear.

They weren’t as fast due to that, but they seemed impossible to kill with their fur that looked like metal bristles. And their ferocious look was by no means an exaggeration of their abilities as they tore the APC apart like it was plastic.

As for the Scout, it was undoubtedly the fastest of the group. It was able to charge up and down the mountain with ease, firing its laser at any escaping soldiers.

And what I saw clearly painted the difference between an Authority 5 soldier and an Authority 5 Elite from the Magisterium.

The student knights all scattered in different directions, their legs carrying them with uncanny agility. Whenever the Scout tried to fire at them, they were always able to dodge. They didn’t have to even take a glance back. They simply kept running, and because of that, they were the first to evacuate the immediate range of the beasts.

The soldiers, while strong, weren’t as amazing as the students. They didn’t match them in strength, agility, or stamina. There were only two soldiers who were able to make decisions fast enough to escape immediate death and keep up, and those two were Authority 6.

This hunt wasn’t supposed to surpass a certain level, and it was nearby the base as well. Anything as strong as the Authority 7 Scout wasn’t supposed to appear, especially not this close.

Even then, an Authority 7 Warlock was still assigned to our detachment as our leader. However, he alone couldn’t handle all those beasts, let alone save us in the process.

He had already ascended the hill, launching out various spells to try and suppress the Scout. But it was clear that the laser was a great threat to him as he always hunkered down whenever he attracted its attention.

Soon, everyone who wasn’t killed in the first several seconds was able to ascend the hill. And in the distance, there was a dense forest.

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Everyone made a beeline for it, having the same idea as me. More coverage meant that we would be able to prolong our lives.

Feiden and Vetsmon didn’t need to be told anything, dashing off as soon as they saw the forest. As for Tana, she was already well ahead of us. Although she couldn’t compare to Feiden’s sheer speed, she had more stamina and could cross a longer distance faster than anyone on the team. It was exactly why she was our scout.

She didn’t even bother with the forest, diverging in another direction and disappearing over some hills. A few lasers were fired her way in the process, but she was able to dodge them all. Her Aura definitely wasn’t lacking.

Once I lost sight of her, I turned back to the Scout. It continued to try and kill soldiers and students, and it managed to get a few of the soldiers while they ran to the forest. By now, 8 of the initial 12 soldiers had perished, only the best of them surviving.

And none of the Elites had died.

I felt that we had done pretty good. However, as I looked back and focused on the wolves, I suddenly felt my neck tingle.

I yelled.

“Dodge!”

“Hah!”

Vetsmon and Feiden jumped without hesitation. However, I still saw that beam of light flash right under me.

It pierced straight into Vetsmon’s leg, as if his armor didn’t even exist.

*ZZT*

“AGH!”

“Shit!”

We went tumbling through the treeline, but the big man kept his hold on me and jumped right back up despite the injury.

“Keep going!”

He yelled, pushing through with even greater strength as we disappeared into the trees.

We lost sight of all the other soldiers and Elites, only the sound of that Authority 7 Warlock doing light battle with anything that came near him.

We slowed down considerably having to dodge all the plant life, but after a while of running, we got to a point where I no longer felt threatened.

That’s when I announced.

“Hey! We’re good! Stop here.”

“Ugh…”

Vetsmon grunted as we came to a stop, putting me down before going to the floor.

His breathing was labored and his face scrunched in agony.

“Let me see.”

I jumped around and took a look, seeing how the armor had basically melted to his skin around the entry wound. The hole wasn’t large and didn’t go all the way through, but it was still deep and couldn’t completely seal itself up.

Under normal circumstances I would tie off the leg so it would stop bleeding, but the wound had been mostly cauterized by the attack anyway. Plus, Vetsmon was a knight. Certain medical practices simply wouldn’t work on someone like him.

Still, I looked inside the wound to assess the damage. And I saw a little bit of white, an indication of the bone.

“It grazed the femur, but only slightly. The only real damage is to the muscles. Do you have recovery pills?”

“Yea.”

He nodded, waving his hand and taking one out. Mine weren’t potent enough to do much for him. It was good that he came prepared.

I did have something though. I took out my foaming device, locking a canister into place before spraying it into the wound.

I filled it completely, letting it foam up and seal it. It had some numbing properties and would at least prevent anything undesirable like bleeding, or infection if that was even possible for someone like him.

“Alright. That’ll prevent bleeding even while moving. It’ll hurt, but it's still functional. You can push through it, because I sure as hell can’t carry you.”

“Hah, yea…”

He let out a shuddering chuckle, beginning to calm down as the wound stabilized.

After that, I looked up, scanning the forest around me.

*Awwoo!!*

The call of a wolf echoed, likely indicating that it had found some unfortunate prey. We had to avoid that if we wanted to live.

I let out a long breath.

“I don’t know how long it will take for help to come. We need to keep making distance though. Scouts are meant to find people regardless of the terrain. This forest won’t help us that much. Besides, I have a feeling it was particularly interested in us.”

“I noticed that.”

Umara suddenly chimed in.

“Of all the people it could have targeted out in the open, it had to choose us, who were inside the APC. It shot at us again afterward.”

“I have a feeling it deliberately targeted the White Crystal inside the APC first since its shot wasn’t actually directly toward us. But the second time, it was definitely going for us. I don’t know why, but we have to assume the worst. We can’t let it find us, or things will become much more difficult.”

“Let’s go then.”

Vetsmon grabbed a nearby rock, pushing himself up.

I stood with him, looking in the direction opposite from where we came.

And we started walking.

I focused on my Aura as we did so, keeping track of anything negative that I felt. We likely wouldn’t be able to see our enemy if it started to come close, so I was now acting as a living threat detector.

Unfortunately, we didn’t even pass 10 minutes before I suddenly felt my spine shudder, turning around.

“Dodge!”

“Shit!”

Everyone jumped as my coat suddenly activated, dilating time.

With a glance, I saw the Scout about 50 yards away, looking right at me.

I used all my strength to move behind cover, but it wasn’t fast enough. I couldn’t move faster than light.

And I watched as its eye flashed, a laser suddenly appearing and shooting straight for the center of my chest.

It hit my coat, and for a second, I felt utter dread and desperation.

But it faded just as quickly when I saw smoke rise from the leather, feeling no pain in my chest.

“Huh?”

“JOHN!”

I heard Umara’s scream as my momentum threw me to the side behind a rock. I almost couldn’t process it for a second, but my coat had in fact eaten that shot like it was a laser pointer on a keychain.

“Heh… Hehehehe…”

I couldn’t hold back the laugh, feeling inexplicable.

A coat that could block the laser attack from an Authority 7 Scout that could pierce through Vetsmons armor.

Maxwell, you son of a bitch. How far into your debt was I?

Several thoughts and emotions ran through my mind all at once, but none of it could compare to the overwhelming confidence that had appeared because of this piece of clothing.

So with a thought, I jumped out from behind cover and found the Scout.

And without a word I sprinted toward it, weaving between the trees, and reaching it in mere seconds.

In my hand appeared a grenade. When I was only 10 yards away from it, I pulled the pin, loosening my fingers and letting the trigger fly off with a cling as a large chunk of my Psyka was stripped away.

I held it for two seconds before tossing it toward the scout and dipping behind a nearby tree.

*BANG*

*SCREE*

The Scout screamed, not dead, but injured. After that I grabbed a Trench Gun and flew out from behind the tree.

I found the Scout, still stumbling from the impact of the grenade but still getting ready to escape.

However, with a bit of time dilation, I was able to aim right at its leg and pull the trigger.

*BOOM*

*SCRE!*

*BOOM*

After I blew off its long leg I targeted its torso and arms. It stumbled to the floor while trying to defend itself, but my shotgun only blew off chunks of its flesh in the process.

Then I saw its eye flash. I reflexively turned my head right before the beam appeared, letting it singe my coat instead of my face.

I felt warmth as it lasered me for several seconds in desperation. But once the light disappeared and I appeared unscathed, I went right back to shooting it.

I let off 6 rounds in quick succession, the slam fire working its magic as two more of its limbs flew off. It continued to scream all the while, probably calling for help as it had bit off more than it could chew.

This thing was an Authority 7, but it was dedicated entirely toward scouting, shooting that laser beam, and running. It had no defensive abilities at all, especially considering how it was a warlock-type beast.

*BOOM*

*SCREEEE!!*

“That’s right, you lanky piece of shit.”

I walked up to it after it had already been blown to pieces. Blood sprayed everywhere as it unsuccessfully scrambled around. It didn’t even have the energy to shoot.

And without hesitation, I took out a shotgun shell and slotted it directly into my empty chamber, closing it before placing the barrel against the top of its chest where its neck sat.

*BOOM!*

With that shot I separated its head from its body, leaving its giant eye completely untouched.

And I grabbed the head by some loose skin, throwing it into my spatial sack before running back.

I appeared covered in blood, but didn’t give my squad any time for questions before yelling.

“Let’s go! We need to get the hell out of here!”