The distance shrank. One thousand meters, eight hundred, six hundred…
Soon, they could make out the beasts' ferocious faces. Paige Summers shivered, suddenly remembering the White Lion from the U-Shaped Valley. 'Compared to these things,' she thought, 'it was practically an angel!'
Just then, Sylvester Marshall's heavy voice rang out with a command, "Prepare for battle!"
Fear crept into everyone's hearts, but the veteran members of the team had faced countless life-or-death situations and were already prepared for a fight. Their composure helped soothe some of the frayed nerves.
Paige Summers took out her Crossbow. The full Arrow Box still held four Poison Arrows, but it was hard to say how effective they would be. She touched the Short Sword at her waist and took a deep breath. 'In a situation like this, all I can do is give it my all.'
When the Mutant Beasts closed to just over fifty meters away, the rear doors of the vehicle were thrown open.
Jayden Yeats, Harold Finch, and the Wind Ability User Leon Churchill had already moved to the outermost positions. The moment the doors opened, Craig Churchill conjured a crosswind that kicked up a cloud of dust, sweeping it toward the Mutant Beasts. Taking advantage of the obscured vision, the other two unleashed four Fireballs and several metal spikes, respectively, aiming straight for the beasts' heads!
Paige Summers only caught a glimpse of this before she was pushed to the very back of the compartment.
Her view was blocked, so she couldn't see the ensuing battle clearly. However, judging by the continuous attacks from Jayden Yeats and the others, and the lack of any pained howls from the Mutant Beasts, it was clear their opening salvo had not found its mark. But at the very least, their assault was keeping the beasts from getting any closer to the vehicle.
A Superpower User's internal energy is finite; they couldn't maintain a constant barrage. The team members in the vehicle began to take turns fighting. Even the captain, Sylvester Marshall, timed his entry perfectly to relieve a pale-faced Jayden Yeats.
Of the ten people, besides the driver and the scout, Blue, Paige Summers was the only one who hadn't yet had a chance to fight.
It wasn't that she didn't want to. But just as her turn came, Jayden Yeats—who had just finished absorbing a Crystal Core to replenish his energy—grabbed her by the arm.
"How many more of those arrows do you have?"
'He must mean the Poison Arrows.' "Four."
"Then don't go yet."
Paige Summers nodded without hesitation. To be honest, she also felt the timing wasn't right and had been planning to use regular arrows, even though they probably wouldn't have any stopping power. But refusing to go up at a time like this would only attract resentment or damage morale. Now that Jayden Yeats had spoken, she was content to obey.
Naturally, some were displeased by this, but only one person spoke up. Quentin Carter, who had just been relieved, snorted derisively. "Useless!" Unwilling or perhaps afraid to target Jayden Yeats, he aimed his vitriol at Paige Summers instead.
Glancing at the man and his ulterior motives, Paige Summers actually felt a sense of relief. 'It's always better when the people who wish you harm are stupid.'
Not long after this unpleasant little interlude, the situation took a turn for the worse.
Using Crystal Cores was the fastest way to replenish their energy, but it still couldn't keep up with the rate of consumption. Often, a person who was swapped out would have to rejoin the fight before they had fully recovered. After a few rotations, the Hunting Party's attacks grew noticeably weaker. But the Mutant Beasts, with their overwhelmingly powerful physiques that far surpassed humans, were drawing ever closer to the rear of the vehicle.
The fastest of the Mutant Beasts took a huge leap and slammed a paw against the side of the vehicle, nearly flipping the SUV over! Fortunately, the driver was a team member with nerves of steel. He frantically spun the steering wheel, managing to stabilize the vehicle after a sharp turn.
The people inside were thrown about violently. The three attackers at the back were lucky they weren't tossed from the vehicle entirely.
But now the vehicle was facing a different direction, and the other Mutant Beasts immediately seized the opportunity.
Two of them, relying on their sheer physical strength, rammed headfirst into the previously unreachable front windshield and the driver's side window!
A sharp, ear-splitting crack of shattering glass, followed by a short human cry, and the vehicle, which had been about to accelerate again, deflated like a popped balloon and slowed to a halt.
The Mutant Beast that had broken through the window had slammed into the driver, throwing his upper body almost sideways onto the passenger seat. His lower body, however, was still pinned in place, his spine and waist twisted at an unnatural angle.
Everyone realized he was gone.
The battlefield shifted from inside the vehicle to the ground outside. The high-speed chase had turned into a direct confrontation. Seven people, including Sylvester Marshall, were already locked in combat with the Mutant Beasts.
But Paige Summers was not among them.
In fact, the moment before the Mutant Beast had shattered the glass, Jayden Yeats had already broken open the sunroof. As the driver was attacked, he had pulled Paige Summers up onto the roof of the vehicle. It was only thanks to his help that she hadn't fallen off during the violent collision.
Realizing his objective, Paige Summers had cooperated fully.
Crouching down, she surveyed the scene below. Of the four Mutant Beasts, one had some of its fur singed off by fire, another had been struck by metal spikes in its right side, and a third—the one that killed the driver—had a head injury. Only one remained completely unscathed.
Without waiting for Jayden Yeats to speak, she had already set her Crossbow to single-shot mode and braced it steadily.
The closest beast to them was the last one, the strongest of the group. It was ten meters away, and the one holding it at bay was Sylvester Marshall—the most powerful member of the team besides Jayden Yeats.
'More than enough.'
Paige Summers calculated its movement trajectory, aimed, and pulled the trigger!
The inconspicuous Poison Arrow shot through the air, landing squarely on the side of the Mutant Beast's neck.
'A hit!'
Although it only sank in half an arrowhead deep before the short arrow fell to the ground with the beast's movement, it was enough. To the beast, it probably felt like nothing more than a mosquito bite, if it felt any pain at all.
But as Paige Summers watched with delight and Jayden Yeats watched with a slight frown, the beast's movements grew more and more sluggish, until a bolt of electricity from Sylvester Marshall sent it crashing to the ground.
Compared to humans, beasts have far keener instincts.
While the members of the Hunting Party were inwardly celebrating this victory—even Sylvester Marshall turning toward the next Mutant Beast with a mix of confusion and pleasant surprise—the eyes of the other three beasts all locked onto Paige Summers.
A chill ran down her spine as she immediately realized the situation had turned dire.
Sure enough, the next moment, the Mutant Beasts roared, broke free from the siege, and—even at the cost of taking injuries themselves—viciously lunged in Paige Summers' direction!