This tank looked somewhat similar to the one they faced back during their PvP quest, although with some notable differences. It had a more sloped front, its large circular turrets replaced with sloped armor. Its large single cannon faced southeast, away from the Five-Seven. 

In front of it was the twisted wreckage of an IFV, Ronald’s IFV. Its remains hadn’t despawned yet. Anton wished this tank was their only threat, as if that was the case, defeating it wouldn’t be hard. Kayla could fire at it with the Shwarier’s missiles. If that didn’t work, then Cecily can jump from the jet and use Light Pierce from above. That may work once, but multiple times against different enemies?

“You think we can negotiate with them?” Louis suggested.

“... Which quest are you referring to?”

“There’s this quest where some pirates kidnapped a prince. You’re asked to defeat the pirates and rescue the prince, but I and my AI companion tried negotiating. Turned out the pirate captain had a painting stolen by the kingdom, and after some negotiations, he returned the prince and retrieved the painting back.”

“Your AI companion… where is she now?”

“Ah, right,” Louis started typing through his virtual screen. Anton, meanwhile, adjusted the hatch’s angle to limit the amount of water coming into the vehicle. 

“She’s heading here with my starship.”

“Alright,” Anton decided that waiting for the others before taking action would be the best.

“... Wait, STARSHIP?” he jerked his head, half-yelling. 

“Umm… yeah?” Louis scratched his head.

“Why didn’t you say so? We can easily take them out with it.”

“Ah, it doesn’t have any weapons. It’s one of the smaller ones.”

“What’s the point of them if you don’t have any!?” 

“Well… I just enjoy flying, and it can carry some cargo. Plus weapons are expensive.” 

Anton sighed and opened his trade screen. 

“What’s this?”

“Tell your companion to equip weapons. Anti-tank missiles if available, but anything with large firepower should do.”

“Are you sure?”

“The faster you do it, the quicker we’ll finish this.”

“Alright,” Louis accepted the trade offer and started typing. Anton moved the LAV backward, slowly distancing himself from the tank. The tank stood there imposingly, not moving the slightest. 

Crrk

“What’s that sound?” Louis asked as the Five-Seven came to a halt. 

The turret rotated backward. Anton changed the screen, changing between cameras. He arrived at the one facing backward, finding a light tank blocking their way. The turrets moved toward each other, the barrels hitting each other down the middle. Louis fired first, drilling rounds into the light tank’s turret. The tank soon fell silent, consumed by flames. Anton looked back forward, the heavy tank’s turret turning toward him. 

He pushed the gas and slammed the wheel to the right, getting out of the way. The enemy’s shell cut through the rain and slammed into the unfortunate light tank, causing it to explode. Flames rose to the sky, the rain struggling to extinguish it. The shockwave shook Anton’s Five-Seven, momentarily stunning him from the shaking. He pushed the gas, taking a smaller road and heading northwest. 

The narrow roads weren’t designed to support a tank, the barrel crashed into some stone houses on the right side of the road. It pulled the Five-Seven into the side, crashing into a house. Louis quickly readjusted the barrel to aim at the LAV’s rear. Anton reversed and drove away, fleeing the enemy tank. 

“Just how many are there!?”

‘Everything alright over there?’ Kayla, who remained silent so far, asked through the voice chat.

“How long before you get here?”

‘ETA a minute. I’m flying as fast as I can.’

“Alright.”

Anton arrived at another intersection, but if his experiences taught him anything, another tank must be lurking somewhere, ready to shoot him the second he passed. He pushed the gas harder, as if it helped him gain speed. The Tarup 57 sped through the intersection, blasting through like a hungry cheetah. As expected, something exploded behind them.

“Anna-”

‘Two minutes fifteen seconds,’ the person called Anna finally answered. She had a soft voice, but the way she answered curtly made her feel cold.

“She’s shy, so I hope you excuse her,” Louis said, presumably to Anton. The girl didn’t say anything else. Anton returned his concentration to the streets, weaving through the narrow roadways. He searched for more intersections and roads that would lead back south. 

The darkness and the rain did nothing to help them. Anton took a branch on the road, heading north. They met another medium tank. It opened fire, narrowly missing Anton’s Five-Seven. Louis aimed and fired, the 25mm cannon doing a limited amount of damage. Anton managed to escape and headed east, before following another road traveling southeast. The two navigated the maze, dodging and weaving through enemy fire. They met some medium tanks, occasionally damaging them. They even crashed into a light tank that attempted to cut their path. 

It just so happens that there was a small stream right next to that light tank. Anton’s Five-Seven slammed to the light tank’s side, sending it into the river, while sending Anton’s head to the front console. He was lucky the game didn’t simulate pain. They turned and followed the river heading southwest.

The cat-and-mouse continued for another few seconds, a few seconds that felt like a few hours, before the Shwarier finally arrived above them. Anton marked the heavy tank’s last location, all while dodging fire himself. The Shwarier used its VTOL capabilities to its advantage, and Anton watched from the driver’s seat as it hovered above the tank. It fired a missile straight to the top of the heavy tank, followed by another missile not long after. The remaining two missiles were fired at the very same tank. 

It moved away, only to be greeted by anti-air fire. Tracers flew into the sky, forcing the Shwarier to weave through the air.

“Did you destroy it?”

‘Umm… No.’

Anton couldn’t tell the exact amount of damage they did. He decided that their best course of action would be to retreat. As he was about to turn into the road that linked the village and the beach, he saw a flash coming from the west. The next thing he felt was a large explosion. 

• ••

“Anton, wake up,” he heard Louis’ voice. He opened his eyes, founding himself on the beach. Louis kneeled in front of him, with Kayla and Cecily standing behind Louis. Behind them was the Shwarier. He pulled himself up, taking a look at his surroundings. The rain had stopped, the skies now clear of any clouds. The moon shone brightly in the night sky, painting the landscape with its cold glow. 

“What happened?” he asked. He checked his HP, only a pixel away from him dying. Louis handed him a potion. He took it and drank it. 

“We were destroyed.”

“That much I know,” Anton then stood up. A small starship, similar in shape to the one they used to return from the moon, landed behind the group. The pilot, a girl with a flight suit, took her helmet off as the cockpit opened, revealing a cute rounded face with short pink hair underneath. She approached Louis, standing behind him next to Kayla and Cecily.

“So, what now?”

‘We’re still a few minutes away,” Ronald replied through the radio. 

‘Brother, wait for me.’

“Don’t worry about it, Rito,” Louis replied calmly. Anton went forward, toward the AI companions, and stood there. He crossed his arms and let out a sigh. 

“Now what? Canceling is always an option.”  

Get back to Marrow and pretend none of this ever happened. The rewards weren’t that good, anyway. The medium tanks could be taken care of with the Shwarier’s missiles and the starship’s laser cannon. The light tanks could be handled with the Shwarier’s machine guns and the LAV and IFV’s cannons. The heavy tank was the issue, and they didn’t even know how many of them occupied the village. There could be only one, with the heavy tank that occupied the northern portion of the village moving south, or there could be two, or there could be more. 

Or they could go all in and grab themselves a tank. They could also upgrade their existing vehicles with TOW missiles, but the mere idea of it exhausted Anton. Going all the way back to Marrow, picking their vehicle up, upgrading it, then returning here. That would give him a limited amount of missiles. If it turned out to be more than two, maybe four, five, or more hidden in this large village, then they would need to return back to Marrow to resupply. 

If they get their own tanks, then the most advanced ones could go up to seventy kilometers per hour, slower when compared to Ronald’s IFV. It all felt like one big waste to Anton. If they spent this much money on battles, they wouldn’t break even with the rewards. 

‘... I really want to continue, though,’ Ronald replied. 

‘But if you wanted to cancel then I can’t stop you. Not like we’re getting anything from this,’ he added, but the solemn way he said that didn’t sit right with Anton. Anton let out another sigh. 

“We’ll finish it, then,” he said, looking at the people standing beyond them. 

“We’ll finish what we start.”