121. A New Kind of Threat

The two Vespesaurus raced across the vast stretch of sand. Every mechanical footfall sent sand spraying backward, leaving two long trails of dust behind them.

Siska laughed excitedly.

“WHOOOOOAA! IT’S SO FAST!”

Rangga, riding several meters beside her, immediately turned toward her.

“Careful! Don’t fall!”

Siska quickly adjusted her position on the Vespesaurus.

“Yeah, yeah!”

But a few seconds later, she started laughing again. The Vespesaurus’s speed made traveling through the desert much easier. Sand dunes that they previously had to cross on foot could now be traversed in a matter of moments.

After riding for several minutes, Rangga spotted something in the distance.

“Hey, look!”

He pointed toward an area between two sand dunes. The color of the ground there was different, with chunks of mineral sticking out of the surface.

“Salpeter!” Siska shouted.

Rangga nodded.

“Let’s go.”

The two Vespesaurus immediately changed direction. Dust billowed again as they descended the sandy slope and headed toward the deposit.

However, as they drew closer, Rangga began noticing several figures around the deposit.

A group of Pioneers was mining there. As the sound of the Vespesaurus’s footsteps grew louder, one of them turned around.

At first, all he saw was a cloud of dust. Then something emerged from behind it.

A Mechanical Vespesaurus was racing toward them. Standing on top of it was a Pioneer wearing dark-colored predator armor.

Before they could even process what they were seeing, a second Vespesaurus appeared beside it.

Another Pioneer was riding on top of it, wearing Scout Armor that also had a raptor-like predator design.

The two mechanical creatures stopped not far from the deposit.

The sand kicked up by their footsteps slowly settled and the group of foreign Pioneers froze.

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“What the hell is that...?”

“The other one has one too?”

“They’re both riding Vespesaurus?”

One of them even took a step backward.

Rangga looked down at them from atop his mount. Meanwhile, Siska looked extremely pleased.

She turned toward Rangga.

“Bang.”

“Hmm?”

“They’re the ones who drove our friends away yesterday, right?”

Rangga understood what she meant and Siska then guided her Vespesaurus slightly forward.

“Looks like it’s our turn now.”

Rangga held back a laugh.

“You want to drive them away?”

“Yep.”

Siska looked at the group in front of them.

“We’ll tell them to leave.”

Rangga nodded, then guided his Vespesaurus closer to the deposit.

“Hey.”

The group immediately tensed.

“We’re using this deposit.”

One of the foreign Pioneers tried to maintain his courage.

“We got here first.”

Siska immediately replied.

“So?”

The Pioneer fell silent, and Rangga pointed toward the deposit.

“You move.”

Several members of the group began exchanging glances. Clearly, they weren't happy about being treated that way. One of them even began raising his weapon.

“There are six of us,” he said. “There are only two of you.”

Siska looked at Rangga, then smiled.

“Bang, I think they forgot to count.”

Rangga frowned, but Siska pointed at the Vespesaurus beneath her.

“The dinosaurs.”

Rangga immediately chuckled.

The foreign group looked at the two mechanical creatures again.

Both Vespesaurus stood low to the ground, their heads lowered and their legs ready to move at any moment. On top of them, the two Pioneers wearing predator armor looked far more intimidating than two people carrying ordinary weapons.

One of the foreign Pioneers still tried to act tough.

“We’re not afraid.”

Siska raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, good.”

She pulled slightly on the reins, and her Vespesaurus took one step forward.

Thud.

It was only one step, but all six Pioneers in front of them immediately stepped backward almost simultaneously.

Siska smiled in satisfaction.

“A little fear is fine too.”

Rangga held back his laughter.

“All right, don't bully them.”

He turned back toward the group.

“So? Are you leaving on your own, or do you want us to help?”

Nobody answered.

The group leader looked at the two Vespesaurus, then at his companions. He clearly wanted to hold onto the deposit, but none of them actually wanted to find out whether the two mechanical mounts merely looked intimidating or could actually fight.

Finally, he sighed.

“Fine.”

He gestured to his group.

“We'll find somewhere else.”

One of his companions looked reluctant.

“But—”

“Enough.”

The leader gave him a sharp look.

“We'll find somewhere else.”

They began packing up their belongings, while Siska watched them with a broad smile. After the group had walked away, she turned toward Rangga.

“This is kinda nice.”

“What?”

“Driving people away.”

Rangga laughed.

“Don't get carried away.”

Siska shrugged.

“I mean, we're just getting a little payback.”

Rangga watched the foreign group as they grew farther away.

He didn't chase them. They had simply done what others had been doing to the Garuda Pioneers for the past few weeks: show up, demonstrate that they were stronger, then tell the other side to find somewhere else.

The difference was that this time, Rangga and Siska didn't even need to draw their weapons.

Siska got off her Vespesaurus and walked toward the deposit.

“Bang, should we mine?”

Rangga got off as well.

“Mine.”

Siska smiled with satisfaction.

“Great.”

They finally began working on the salpeter deposit they had just claimed, while the two Vespesaurus stood not far away, almost as if they were guarding them in the middle of the desert.