RB Chapter 168 Instant Death

"Captain, when can we disable the forcefield?" Cardy asked, shifting around in his seat. He was one of the four passengers occupying the car that was pursuing Monki's convoy.

All four passengers were dressed in body hugging bio-suits, the SYMORS. The group was composed of two men and two women. Cardy, the thin man with a hilarious looking face was the driver. The captain was the man at his side, and the two women were occupying the backseat.

The captain was a brawny man who was spotting a calm face. He looked to be an experienced veteran, his gaze alone would make someone with a weak will pee in their pants, though, right now that gaze was peering out the wind shield glass.

"Not now, their laser weapons are still a threat. I wouldn't want us to lose the vehicle. Nancy, how long can the forcefield be sustained?" The man asked one of the women at the back. She had a cold face and her hair was tied into a ponytail down her back, emphasizing her forehead. She was beautiful, but not to the level that could make men drool and lose their minds. Her body was also more on the muscular side than curvy.

"Its at 64% it can last for another half hour if they keep shooting at this frequency." The woman answered after gazing at a miniature holographic screen, showing the data being transmitted by the forcefield device located underneath the car.

"Right now, we have to keep Monki occupied by the drones, if he decides to make a shot with his spear, the force field's duration would be cut down significantly." The captain said. He was wary of the spear. It was a physical construct, and the forcefield was weak against such items.

"That's why I am distracting him with a few of my creations...there is no need to speak more about it. I will keep him occupied until their laser guns run out of juice, captain!" A woman butted into the conversation enthusiastically. She was the second woman on the team. Her hair was short, like that of a soldier and she appeared to be petit. A liveliness and mischievousness could be seen in her eyes. A hologram, projected into the shape of a laptop was at lap. She was tapping away while viewing the live feed captured by her drones as they harassed the convoy. She appeared to be having fun playing dodge with Monki.

"How long do you think he will keep his attention on those toys of yours Mutono! They aren't attacking or anything, just dodging his attacks, after a while, he will get bored. I sometimes fail to understand why such weird things trigger your emotions." Cardy said. His mouth was moving, apparently chewing something.

"Shut up Cardy! Always chewing something...tsk! Tsk! As expected of someone whose genes were merged with that of a normal goat. Is it the reason you are so talkative?" Mutono taunted.

"Keok!" Cardy almost accidentally swallowed whatever he was chewing.

"Hehehehe...." Nancy chuckled at their antics while the captain kept his focus on the targets.

'The elder wants Monki alive, but this is going to prove troublesome. The kidnapped girl and the minions can be ignored. After the laser guns run out of energy, we should take care of that car. Its blocking our way to him.'

'The elder also said that multiple parties will be competing with us...'

"Mutono, is their someone trailing behind us?" He asked.

"Yes, I threw some of my toys in the road though, so probably, they will be delayed quite a bit. He he he...though I do hope they aren't too incompetent." She answered.

"Let's just hope that they buy us enough time to capture Monki." He said.

Their car was just a few meters away from the one at the rear of Monki's convoy. But they didn't take any action to overtake it. They wanted to eliminate it, permanently!

"By the way, captain, do you have any idea as to who we will be competing with? They better be good, cause it will be boring if they aren't." Cardy asked while cracking his neck. Even at this speed, he appeared relaxed on the steering wheel. The car appeared to be an extension of his body, easily reacting to his whims, suggesting plenty of experience in the area.

"I, Mutono will enlighten you, a plebeian." She raised one of her hands enthusiastically, the other, continuing to tap at the keyboard.

"I asked the captain, moron." Cardy, not to be outdone, spat back.

"One team is from the Black Diamond group, the other...are friends of the kidnapped girl." The captain said. He didn't shout at his teammates, apparently already used to their bickering.

'There is another, in the shadows.' He didn't say that though.

"Hohohoho...a chance to tussle with the best of the best!" Cardy whistled in excitement.

"You mean the Black Diamond Group?" Nancy asked.

"Who else but them! The others are at best stars surrounding the moon! Nancy how could you ask the obvious? Finally! After fighting brainless monsters we get to go against humans! Isn't it exciting? Don't you feel your bodies tingling with excitement?" Cardy's mouth spewed out words like a machine gun due to his excitement.  

"We aren't perverts like you! We only get turned in by men, not such weird things!" Mutono countered, earning Cardy's glare through the rear view mirror.

"The forces trained by those mega corporations have plenty of resources at their disposal, so don't underestimate them!" The captain warned.

"Of course, we won't." Nancy answered back seriously.

"Seriously! How long are these guys going to keep shooting at us, wasting the energy in their laser guns? Are they idiots?" Cardy dragged their attention towards the vehicle at the front.

"They aren't thinking clearly. Look! Look at those dilated pupils! They are clearly simply firing, while their minds are captured by fear. How could someone from the ten clans have hired such brainless idiots!" Mutono didn't mince her words. She bickered with Cardy the most, but also got along very well with him, always making sure to put in a word, if he talked.

"The opponent's disadvantage is our advantage." The captain commented sagely.

"Hmmm!? Look here! Monki is grinning at my drones. Why?" Mutono asked in puzzlement. She had been staring at his body, something she always did in order to capture clues in their body language.

The captain felt a chill the moment Mutono spoke. 

'Something ominous is in the air, a trap? But I don't see anything.' The captain shifted his vision to look around. All he could see were trees scattered at the side of the road. The ground was level with the road and grass grew in a haphard way on the sides of the road.

Mutono, who was staring at the screen had her face morph into one of disgust as Monki kept on grinning crazily. He waved one of his hands, causing her to focus on it, only to see his silver patch, reflecting a bit of the light with the shake of his hands.

"What is he up to?" Nancy was also leaning closer to Mutono.

"What's happening? Is something weird? Is Monki doing a hilarious dance?" Cardy asked, trying to chase away the gloomy atmosphere. The captain was looking out the window as if searching for something, while the women appeared to be creeped out. He could feel a dangerous vibe from their actions, like something bad was about to happen. His face adopted a nervous expression.

"GET OFF THE ROA...!?" The captain's voice caused Cardy's eardrums to explode before everything turned white in his eyes.

Laser beams had hit the car, the forcefield, had failed to stop them. It was akin to paper in front of thses powerful beams of light, far surpassing the laser guns in the hands of Monki's minions.

Holes were burnt through the chassis, the armoured plates not even holding for a single second! The occupants and the vehicle were burnt so thoroughly that metal melted and and the captain and his team turned into ashes instantly. Screams failed to escape due to the instantaneous obliteration. The light had been so concentrated that the forcefield didn't even manage to impede it for a split second for anyone to utter a scream.

"Woah! Wow! I never thought these things would be so effective!" Monki cheered as the convoy vanished into the distance. Grooves, with molten earth at the sides had appeared from the car to the side of the road diagonally. They led deep into the earth where a few advanced laser cannons were hidden. They could produce powerful beams with a width of 30cm! 

Boom!

Explosions rocked the sides of the road, throwing soil into the air. The laser cannons had self-destructed to hide the evidence. Among the drones, some had survived and continued after the convoy, while others, which had been controlled by Mutono and her AI crashed into the road.

Elder Muti's prized team had been eliminated instantly, from a carefully laid trap.

"Too bad it wasn't the brat!" Monki said while looking back at his work. He clicked his tongue before entering the car. He didn't continue trying to destroy the drones.

"Hahahahahahaha...did you see that? The young master's plan worked perfectly!"

"Aren't l a good actor! I should have joined the television industry!"

"Don't lie! That was all real! You weren't acting!" 

The two men joyously conversed while Leah, tended to her wounds. She hadn't seen anything, but she had gotten the gist. The pursuers had been destroyed. They were thoroughly dead!

'Laser canons! Those are forbidden! They can't be used without the authorization of the city lord, not to mention lending or trading them!' She paled. Those weapons were terrifying! Even Spectrum warriors would be killed instantly!

'Could it be that he was preparing them for...' She didn't continue that terrifying thought.

-----

Beep!

The sound appeared conspicuous in the silence that enveloped the inside of the car.

Chloe was still driving as fast as possible while the others were silently contemplating in their minds.

The beep had come from the patch on Sally's left hand, the back of the palm.

She opened the message only for a video to manifest in the form of a hologram. No one would have looked at her message if it had been inconspicuous, but the hologram drew their gazes, those of Eric and Elena.

The video played. It was silent as the drone which had captured the footage lacked a microphone.

Sally was puzzled by the footage. It was sent by Leni, her close confidant.

As they were watching, ten thick beams of white light came from the side of the road and the car melted instantly, the forcefield, melted through like glass!

"Oh!" Elena's eyes widened and her hands covered her lips, stifling a scream.

Sally's eyes widened, before returning back to normal, but only for a fraction of a second. Eric lost his words, face pale, like a ghost.

"That...that...that wouldn't have been prepared for us, right!?" Elena asked incredulously, her voice a pitch higher.

"You said Monki wouldn't dare bring harm to Leah, but this..." Eric started, staring Sally straight in her face. Her facial expression was calm.

"So this was prepared for us?" Chloe had managed to to take a glimpse, hence the question.

"Even I didn't know. Monki...has become something different." Sally commented.

"Who were the pursuers?" Eric asked.

"Elder Muti's people. He must be furious. This was his elite hidden team, probably his trump card." Sally answered.

"So that leaves us and the Black Diamond squad on their tail. Though we shouldn't forget those in the shadows." Chloe surmised.

"What if those in the shadows have already hatched a plan to get rid of him? They knew of his plan, so they might have laid a trap of their own, just waiting for him to fall into it." Sally wondered.

"If they have, then we better pray that we get to them before the plan hatches, or that Leah survives and escapes." Eric said. His hands were clenched into fists. He wished that he could reach their faster than they were currently travelling.

"Don't worry, she will survive." Chloe, who saw his feelings assured.

"I hope so." He answered.

"If you have a drone too, why aren't we watching a live footage?" Elena asked Sally, having picked up something in between the lines.

"The drone was hijacked into by my surbodinate, so she's currently battling with the original owners in a hacking battle." Sally answered.

"Don't lie. You could still share the footage." Eric argued.

"Okay, I give up! The footage is from Njibwa. She's sharing it with me."

"Is it because you are on our team?" Chloe asked, gritting her teeth.

"Yes."

"Yes!? Is that all? You might have been transmitting our location too, right?" Elena became savage. She looked to be about to pounce.

"You refused straightforward help, so they decided to do it secretly." She answered.

"Oh! You just told us that miss Njibwa's kindness is a facade, so what gives?" Chloe asked.

"Orders from above. That 'woman' is watching this mission closely." Sally's answer caused the trio to be at a loss.

"You should have told us from the start." Eric sighed.

"All of you looked ready to murder, so I couldn't." She explained.

"Now you can show us the live feed. No need to hide." Eric said. 

He could see that Elena looked disgruntled, but she didn't speak out.

He had an urge to sigh once again but held it in.