Rhode Island Park Project

"Of course it's possible. The money we used to buy the medicine was quite a lot. We worked so hard for the noble lord to get it. It's more than any other money we've taken to the black market. Who knows if something will go wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just worried that they're being targeted. Am I really afraid that they'll run away?"

"you--!"

"Don't make any noise!"

"Should we go over and have a look too?"

"Both cars and fuel are problems, and there are so many people there that it's hard for strangers to get in. There are people everywhere who want to cause trouble for us. Guess how many bounty hunters have put a bounty on the captain's head and ours?"

"Are we just going to wait like this?!"

The noise of quarrels in the makeshift camp was gradually escalating. The most conspicuous person sitting in the crowd was covered in full-coverage protective armor. His figure was like a small mountain, but just like the heavy impression he gave people, he was always as calm as a mountain and did not make any sound.

However, this does not seem to be the case in reality.

"Wait a minute, stop arguing, the captain is talking! Be quiet!"

A member of the team sitting next to Mudstone, the iconic figure of the Mudstone Squad, noticed something and spoke loudly. After that, the quarrel among the crowd gradually subsided and everyone looked at their captain.

The faint voice, which was dull, heavy, and so subtle that it seemed as if it was speaking through a heavy door, finally reached everyone's ears.

"..."

"Uh, Captain, you said you wanted to go to the black market yourself? How can that be possible? They're targeting you the most!"

"That's right, if anything happens to you, Captain—"

"Wait, let the captain finish what he's saying! Shut up!"

So the group of people who were talking at once quickly and skillfully shut up, and the faint voices as thin as door panels finally broke through the noise and reached everyone's ears.

"..."

"That's true, but even if we go there now, it will be too late if something really happens, right?"

"I also don't agree with you going there in person, Captain—"

The conversation resumed.

But this time, when the others were halfway through their conversation, the huge mudstone suddenly stood up.

Several strong men who had experienced many battles in the wilderness immediately turned into skinny bamboo poles in front of the rising mudstone.

Mud Rock's sudden action interrupted their conversation. They were still wondering if they had said something wrong that caused their captain to react so strongly, but Mud Rock simply turned his head and looked into the distance.

"The ground is shaking and there are many people approaching."

A heavy but clear voice reached everyone's ears during the moment of surprised silence, and everyone's expression changed immediately.

"Take out your weapons!!"

"Everyone, alert!!"

Continuous shouts and commands spread throughout the camp. People who had lived in the wilderness for a long time ran to their respective positions busily but orderly, and thick smoke and dust rose in the distance.

One vehicle after another arrived around the well-prepared camp, forming a huge encirclement. The fully armed men who got out of the vehicles quickly made the entire encirclement impenetrable.

A middle-aged man dressed as a bounty hunter named Elafia stepped forward, picked up the Lethanian-style megaphone, and spoke to the camp in a calm tone, as if reading an official document:

"Sir Tepasta has officially ordered the elimination of the 'Mudstone Squad,' a roving operative of the terrorist organization Reunion, to maintain peace and stability in the territory.

I suggest you surrender now, and you will suffer less."

"How is that possible! We just cleared the Originium Bugs from the mine for Sir Tepasta!!"

Angry voices came from the camp, but the mercenary man's face remained unchanged:

"That's why Sir Tepasta, having been deceived, is deeply angry and determined to clear himself and the Integration Movement of the shame and guilt of collaborating with a group of terrorists and criminals."

"Bullshit!!! That guy hired us because he was counting on us infected people to clean up the Originium bugs for him!!

We were in Leithania more than half a year ago, and now the Ursus Reunion Movement is gone, what does it have to do with us? ! ! "

Furious roars echoed throughout the camp, but the mercenary simply calmly put down the loudspeaker in his hand and raised his hand.

Everyone in the dense encirclement immediately set up their crossbows and spellcasting components and set up a defense line.

There were no extra greetings. The brief reading was like a routine declaration of charges. The mercenaries had no intention of wasting any words or energy. Spells and crossbow bullets rising like fireworks flew into the sky and showered down on the camp in the center of the encirclement.

The battle began at the first moment.

Barriers made of rock and soil and scattered spells also rose from the Mudstone Squad's camp, but compared to the dense firepower surrounding the entire camp, the fragile defense was torn apart in the blink of an eye, and the roar and the glow of the spells fell on the camp.

Two rock giants, several meters high, rose from the earth and threw huge rocks towards the distant defense line.

The encirclement was counterattacked for the first time. The mercenary man, who had been expressionless until now, looked like a hunter who had waited for a long time and finally found his prey. His eyes flashed with a sharp look, and he tilted his head slightly:

"Keep your eyes on those two big rocks. I want to see them shattered into pieces."

Chapter 3 We Are the Integration Movement (k)

Inside the Mudstone Squad camp.

The enemy's firepower was concentrated on the two huge rock statues. The bombing in the camp slowed down slightly, but explosions were still everywhere.

Everyone knows that this is not a long-term solution.

"How did those guys know we were here?!"

"Do you need me to explain it more clearly? There's still no news from Mueller and the others!"

"Asshole! Things like this, /*Letania swears*/!!"

"Stop arguing about this. The main problem now is how to break through! How long do you expect the captain to hold out alone?!"

Several key members of the team were communicating noisily and angrily.

"Why do those guys have to keep an eye on us?!"

Someone roared angrily to the sky and earth, but no one answered.

Since the twin queens came to power, Letania has changed its policy and adopted a gentle approach towards the infected. This has indeed resulted in no harsh persecution of the infected, at least on the surface.

However, the pressure and trouble brought to local governments by infected people who carry high-risk infections and require heavy long-term medical costs will not disappear.

Since there is no obvious solution, each region can only consider its own solutions.

——And the integration movement of the ‘violent terrorist organization’ is undoubtedly a good reason.

Mudrock, the team leader, still had the Reunion Movement armband on his arm. The Mudrock team's assistance to the infected and Mudrock's own kindness, which was rare in the wilderness, really attracted many infected people to join them.

In fact, the number of infected people who seemed to be driven here recently has reached a disturbing level, but facing their fellow infected people, the Mudrock Team really cannot ignore them.

And the conspiracy never hesitated to reveal its hideousness at the right time.

Everyone knew that the reputation of the Mudrock Squad had spread more than half a year ago, and of course they also knew that the Integration Movement had been defeated in the Battle of Lungmen.

But the Jazz needs to deal with the infected problem in his territory, and the mercenaries need to earn commissions.

The truth is always in everyone's eyes, but no one cares.

"Well."

The heavy mudstone body suddenly shook.

The rock colossus standing outside the camp, which is nearly three stories high, throws boulders with incredible power every time. However, its huge size also carries the same brilliant firepower as a dance floor light ball under the enemy's concentrated fire.

"Captain! Damn it, forget about it, let's rush out together!!"

"F*cking this bunch of ***, let's fight them!!"

Mudstone on the side raised his hand silently, but none of the excited team members calmed down to listen to the captain's speech. Instead, they were already preparing vehicles and weapons one by one.

"..."

Mudstone silently lowered his raised hand again.

The only two old cars left in the camp were filled with the last bit of fuel and drove out. This time, Mudstone climbed directly onto the cargo bed behind one of the pickup trucks.

"I hope this old guy can still drag the captain..."

"--cover!"

As the command spread, a wave of firepower of considerable scale erupted from the chaotic camp, heading towards the enemy. Two vehicles and a small team of fast-moving commandos followed the dazzling fire and rushed out of the camp, heading straight for a mercenary standing in the encirclement in the distance.

"You finally couldn't help it?"

The mercenary man whispered.

Two vehicles and a squad of 14 men, that's all it took to charge their lines.

However, this pitiful team was able to advance under the bombardment of constantly rising rock barriers, withstanding the explosions and spells along the way with almost no casualties. In the distance, there were two huge rock statues throwing boulders.

“…Mudstone.”

The mercenary narrowed his eyes and looked at the heavy figure squatting behind the pickup truck.

The reason why 'Mudrock Squad' was named after an individual and has never wavered is clear.

——That person is the soul and pillar of the entire Mudrock Team.

The mercenary raised his hand and snapped his finger at the people around him, pointing to one of the two rock giants that always stood near the camp in the distance.

Facing the charging team coming straight forward, the firepower of the encirclement did not increase but decreased, and all of it flew over the team's heads almost without being noticed.

The pressure in front of them suddenly decreased, and the charging team members turned around following the fire above their heads, only to see a rock giant whose entire body was shining with fire and magic stars.

"team leader?!"

Mudstone, squatting behind the pickup truck, gripped the metal guardrail tightly. The rusty metal was twisted and deformed like marshmallow under his thick gloves. Mudstone himself was as silent as before, or perhaps it was just that they could hardly hear the captain's surprisingly small voice.

The team members' eyes also turned red.

"What the hell! These bastards!!"

half a minute.

The entire team crossed the open space between the camp and the encirclement almost unimpeded. The standing rock giant also withstood all the firepower, glowing and heating dazzlingly for half a minute, and finally collapsed in front of everyone's gaze.

Of the two giant door-god-like statues, only one remains.

The furious team members finally approached the mercenary men and the encirclement. Just as they were about to rush forward with their weapons and chop up a target they hated the most, the expressionless man's calm voice came clearly:

"All firepower, aim at the enemy camp, fire in full coverage."

"—"

The team members who had already come close to the enemy suddenly became stiff, and the dense flames rose again without hesitation in front of their eyes and passed over their heads.

The camp, which was only guarded by a colossus, was instantly engulfed in flames, and the roar and shouting seemed to be heard from far away with the spreading heat.

"I don't recommend that you continue to act rashly at this time."

The mercenary's calm voice resounded, faintly masking the roar of the battlefield. "After all, my team came out with a lot of ammunition this time. Unless you think you can defeat all of us in a few hits, otherwise—"

Only then did the man finally grin:

"I'm afraid the result won't be something people would like to see."

"You /*Letania swear*/!!!"

One team member roared and rushed forward, but was held back by others beside him.

"Ah--"

The mercenary smiled as he watched this scene. Suddenly, a crossbow arrow shot out from his side, pointing directly at the most conspicuous mudstone in the team in front of him.

"boom!"

The crossbow arrow, or more accurately the crossbow bullet, directly hit Mudstone's body, igniting a huge flame.

"Asshole!!!"

The excited team could no longer restrain themselves and wanted to rush forward, but the mud extending from the ground grabbed everyone's ankles.

A heavy figure wrapped in black smoke slowly walked out of the fire. The slightly bloated protective armor was covered with black marks and black smoke, and there was a hideous wound on the shoulder, but one could still see the inner structure was completely and firmly protecting the core of the body.