115. The Baryonyx Appears

The sun hung high above a two-star Desert Island. A vast expanse of pale-colored earth stretched out before them, broken up by large rocks and sparse patches of dry shrubs. In one part of the island, a group of Garuda Pioneers was working around a salpeter deposit.

Fajar stood near the mineral deposit, inspecting the results of their mining. Several other Garuda Pioneers were still busy breaking through layers of rock and collecting salpeter.

Their work had actually been going smoothly. Until footsteps could be heard from behind them.

Fajar turned and saw a group of Pioneers emerging from behind the rocks.

They came from several different countries. One of them was wearing Sakura Pioneer equipment, while several others wore equipment identifying them as Bald Eagle Pioneers.

One of the Sakura Pioneers immediately pointed toward the deposit.

“Leave.”

Fajar frowned.

“What?”

“We need this deposit. Find somewhere else.”

One of the Garuda Pioneers stopped working.

“Does this island belong to you?”

A Bald Eagle Pioneer stepped forward several paces.

“No. But we want you to leave.”

Fajar looked around.

“If you want to mine, then mine. We’ve been here for a while too.”

The Sakura Pioneer raised their weapon slightly.

“We don’t want to argue.”

Fajar looked at the weapon, then back at the person in front of him.

“You’re the ones who came here and told us to leave.”

“Because you’re Garuda Pioneers.”

The Sakura Pioneer’s tone began to sound sarcastic.

“You’ve been doing the same thing to other people for a month.”

Fajar immediately understood where this was going.

“So this is your retaliation?”

“Think of it that way.”

One of the Garuda Pioneers let out a short laugh.

“If you want revenge, you’ve got the wrong people.”

The Bald Eagle Pioneer replied.

“We don’t care who did what. You’re all Garuda.”

Fajar was beginning to lose his patience.

“So now every Garuda Pioneer has to leave whenever you show up?”

There was no answer.

Instead, several weapons began to point toward them, and the Garuda Pioneers who had been mining immediately took defensive positions.

The atmosphere in the middle of the desert became tense.

“Don’t even try it,” Fajar said.

The Bald Eagle Pioneer smiled faintly.

“You want to fight?”

Fajar tightened his grip on his weapon.

“If you start it, we’ll fight.”

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For a while, the two sides faced each other without moving.

But the Sakura and Bald Eagle groups outnumbered them. They had also already positioned themselves in a way that would put the Garuda group at a disadvantage if a battle actually broke out.

Fajar realized the situation, and he didn't like the decision he had to make.

But he also remembered Deri’s words.

Don’t start a war.

Fajar finally sighed.

“Just take it.”

One of the Garuda Pioneers turned toward him.

“Sir?”

“We’re leaving.”

The Bald Eagle Pioneer looked satisfied.

“Good.”

Fajar stored the salpeter they had already gathered in his inventory.

Before leaving the area, he looked at the foreign group.

“Don’t misunderstand.”

The Sakura Pioneer raised an eyebrow.

“We’re leaving because we don’t want to start a war. Not because you’re right.”

After saying that, Fajar signaled to his group.

They left the salpeter deposit behind, but not a single one of them was happy about it.

On another resource island, the situation was different.

Rangga and Andre were gathering rice in a fairly large valley. The plants grew in clusters around the moist soil, making their work much easier than searching for food supplies on other islands.

Andre was cutting several stalks when Rangga suddenly stopped.

“Ndre.”

“Hmm?”

“Look...”

Andre followed Rangga’s gaze.

In the distance, several groups of Pioneers were heading toward them.

Eastern Dragon Pioneers, Eastern Elephant Pioneers, and Sakura Pioneers.

There were quite a lot of them.

Andre immediately sighed.

“Don’t tell me...”

Rangga watched them approach.

“Looks like it.”

The group stopped several dozen meters away from them.

One of the Sakura Pioneers stepped forward.

“Garuda.”

Rangga raised his head.

“What?”

“You’re leaving this area.”

Andre immediately laughed in disbelief.

“Seriously?”

An Eastern Dragon Pioneer pointed toward the rice fields.

“We want to use this area.”

Rangga looked at the plants around them.

“There’s still plenty of space.”

“We’re still asking you to leave.”

Andre put down his harvesting tool.

“Why?”

The Sakura Pioneer answered coldly.

“Because you’ve been treating other Pioneers like this for too long.”

Rangga scratched his head.

“So now you’re going to do the same thing?”

“We’re only giving you the same treatment you gave us.”

Andre stepped forward.

“The thing is, we never said this island belonged to us.”

An Eastern Elephant Pioneer cut in.

“But you always drive other people away.”

“If they approach us and threaten us, then yeah,” Andre replied.

“And now we’re the ones threatening you.”

Andre snorted.

“Good. At least you’re being honest.”

Rangga was still trying to keep the situation under control.

“If you just want rice, take another section. There’s no need to make a fuss.”

The Sakura Pioneer shook their head.

“No.”

Rangga was starting to get annoyed.

“Then what the hell do you want?”

“You leave.”

Andre looked at Rangga.

“Boss, this is getting annoying.”

Rangga sighed.

“Yeah, I know.”

Several foreign Pioneers began spreading out, and their movements automatically caused Rangga and Andre to grip their weapons.

The Eastern Dragon Pioneer noticed the movement.

“Don’t make things worse.”

Andre replied,

“Who’s the one who showed up in a group?”

The tension increased.

Rangga looked around. The two of them were facing a much larger group.

He didn't want to repeat what had happened to Fajar.

But before Rangga could make a decision, a sound came from behind the trees.

DUM.

The ground trembled, and everyone froze.

Andre slowly turned his head.

“Boss...”

Rangga also looked toward the sound.

Something was moving behind the trees.

The tree trunks shook, and the ground trembled again.

DUM.

Then a large figure covered in dark metal emerged.

Baryonyx.

The mechanical creature that had been under Rangga’s control stepped out of the forest. Its massive body was covered in layers of armor and mechanical components. Its head moved slowly, then its eyes lit up as it detected a group of humans in front of Rangga.

Rangga smiled.

“Oh.”

Andre immediately grinned.

“There it is.”

Baryonyx emitted a low mechanical growl that echoed among the trees.

The foreign Pioneers immediately backed away.

The Sakura Pioneer who had been the most aggressive earlier now looked tense as they stared at the creature.

“That...”

An Eastern Dragon Pioneer drew their weapon, but their hand looked hesitant.

“A mechanical creature.”

Rangga stood casually beside it.

“So?”

An Eastern Elephant Pioneer took a step backward.

“That belongs to you?”

Rangga nodded.

“Yep.”

Baryonyx stepped forward.

DUM.

The foreign Pioneers backed away even farther, and Rangga patted Baryonyx on the side.

“Easy.”

Baryonyx stopped.

Rangga looked at the foreign group.

“If you just want to talk, then talk nicely.”

No one answered.

Andre let out a small laugh.

“They were pretty aggressive a minute ago.”

Baryonyx let out another low mechanical hum.

This time, the Sakura Pioneer immediately raised a hand.

“We’re leaving.”

The Eastern Dragon Pioneer also backed away.

“Yeah.”

The Eastern Elephant Pioneer didn't object.

In a short amount of time, the group that had originally come to drive Rangga and Andre away instead turned around and left the area.

Rangga watched them until they were far enough away, then turned toward Andre.

“I didn't even do anything.”

Andre shrugged.

“Baryonyx did.”

Rangga looked at the mechanical creature beside him.

Baryonyx simply stood there, as if completely unaware that its presence had just ended a conflict.

Rangga chuckled.

“Whatever.”

He picked up his harvesting tool again.

“Better to harvest than fight.”

Andre went back to work, but both of them realized the same thing.

The situation in the Pioneer world had changed.