62: The battle is about to accelerate

Fang Yun, who had returned to the scene of the firefight, did not drive "thunder" to charge at the remaining Nightwalkers again.

Fang Yun stopped the car at the front line of the gun battle, then pushed the door open and got out, drawing his pistol to join the fight.

With Fang Yun's addition, the Nightwalkers, who were already retreating, saw their formation collapse even faster.

Just as Fang Yun expected, the people from the Black Hand settlement simply couldn't break his defense.

Whether the Nightwalkers used pistols, revolvers, assault rifles, or submachine guns.

Bullets hitting Fang Yun's body only produced a "clanging" sound as they collided with Fang Yun's mimetic skin; they had no other effect whatsoever.

"Can't even penetrate my subcutaneous armor, truly weak."

"It seems the defensive shield will have to wait until later to be tested."

Those Nightwalkers who died under Fang Yun's gun would probably not rest in peace if they heard Fang Yun's assessment of their firepower.

Fang Yun, barely dodging, shot one after another, cooperating with the Bakker Family to kill all the slower Nightwalkers.

The last Nightwalker was shot dead by Valentine.

After checking the battlefield and confirming there were no surviving enemies, the members of the Buckle Family finally relaxed temporarily.

The logistics squad entered the scene and began providing supplies and treatment to the members of the combat squads.

The three combat squads began setting up perimeters in three different directions.

The First Combat Squad was responsible for guarding the direction of the Aureole Valley entrance.

After the battle came to an end, Fang Yun put away his pistol, got back into his car, and drove next to Karl.

Karl had parked his SUV at the entrance of Aureole Valley, gotten out of the car, and was standing still, doing who knows what.

After getting out of the car, Fang Yun greeted Glenn, Valentine, and others who were guarding Karl.

Seeing Fang Yun walk over, Valentine grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Alright, Fang Yun. I didn't expect you to be so fierce."

Fang Yun chuckled and replied:

"Hehe. There's still a lot you don't know. This is just the tip of the iceberg of my strength."

Valentine laughed after hearing this, patted Fang Yun on the shoulder, and expressed his affirmation again.

Toke didn't come over to talk to Fang Yun, but he sent him a thumbs-up emoji in the communication channel.

Vavinia's gaze had been fixed on Fang Yun ever since he got out of the car.

Seeing Fang Yun and Valentine chatting and laughing, Vavinia understood that he should not be injured, and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Afterward, Vavinia walked up to Fang Yun and said in a low voice:

"Fang Yun, although the First Combat Squad is the vanguard of the family's convoy, you don't need to rush to the very front by yourself."

"After all, if you charge too far ahead, I... and Toke, won't be able to cover you in time."

Fang Yun turned around and met Vavinia's gaze, seeing the worry in her eyes, and his heart warmed.

Fang Yun showed a happy smile and said to Vavinia:

"Okay. I won't charge so far ahead by myself next time."

"Doing that is indeed a bit dangerous."

Hearing Fang Yun's answer, Vavinia smiled and nodded with some relief.

Valentine, watching the two interact from the side, slowly had a question mark appear above his head.

"?"

〖Valentine: "No. Sister, I'm your brother. Why aren't you concerned about me?"〗

〖Valentine: "So, love disappears, right?"〗

...

Leaving Fang Yun aside for now, let's see what Karl was doing.

After getting out of the car, Karl stood beside his SUV, deep in thought:

『Hmm...』

『The people from the Black Hand settlement didn't come out of Aureole Valley. Why?』

『Is it because there's an unexpected helper like Fang Yun, so they don't dare to act rashly before figuring out his strength?』

『...That makes sense.』

『But, with the Black Hand leader's cautious personality, how could he dare to attack the Buckle Family?』

『Could it really be...』

Thinking of this, two words slowly emerged in Karl's mind—Traitor.

『...』

『The most important thing now is to defeat the Black Hand settlement.』

『Until the very last moment, until the Black Hand leader is captured, the traitor should not appear.』

『With the arrangements I've made and Fang Yun, an unexpected helper for the traitor, the problem shouldn't be big.』

Just then, the logistics squad leader sent a communication, interrupting Karl's thoughts.

"Clan Leader, everyone has finished resting and is ready to continue the attack on the 'Black Hand' settlement."

After his thoughts were interrupted, Karl stopped thinking further.

Facing the deep entrance of Aureole Valley, Karl issued the order to continue the attack.

"Everyone be careful of the 'Black Hand' settlement's ambushes and traps."

"Clansmen, continue the attack!"

At Karl's command, the members of the Buckle Family got into their vehicles one after another and drove into Aureole Valley.

Fang Yun, as a member of the First Combat Squad, still drove "thunder" at the front of the convoy.

However, unlike before, "thunder" was no longer the foremost vehicle in the convoy; its place was taken by Glenn's "thunder·Modified".

Behind Glenn was Valentine, and next to Valentine was Fang Yun.

Toke followed Valentine, and Vavinia followed Fang Yun.

According to the intelligence Fang Yun had 'borrowed' from the Black Hand settlement's public network, there were no fortifications, ambushes, or traps on the road from the entrance to the interior of Aureole Valley.

〖Fang Yun: What are these words, what kind of words are these? How can a scholar's actions be called stealing? That's called taking (laugh).〗

However, the members of the Buckle Family maintained due vigilance while traversing this section of the road.

Driving through the valley, the roar of the vehicle engines echoed continuously between the walls on both sides of the valley.

Sitting in "thunder", Fang Yun listened to the System's notification sound.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host. <Combat Mission: The Beginning of Blood and Fire Trial · First Ring (Unexpected Ambush)> has been completed."

"Mission Reward Issued: 200 System Points."

After listening to the System's notification, Fang Yun couldn't help but have a question.

So, Fang Yun asked the System:

「Tong Zi, the mission completion notification was only given to me now.」

「Could it be because, only now, I have truly and completely finished the mission?」

"Ding! That is not the case."

"The reason for informing the Host of mission completion now is purely because this System feels that this is a better time to notify."

Fang Yun fell silent.

「...」

「In other words, when you give notifications is purely based on your mood?」

"Ding! That is correct."

「...」

〖Author (clearing throat): Cough cough. Silence is the Cambridge of this evening, even the summer insects are silent for you.〗