Chapter 181: Unexpected Development

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The pack of Demon Wolves and Hyenas, as well as the Broodmother, wasn't the end of their battle.

Squad #1 faced more trouble along the way, ones that they couldn't avoid so they could only fight to eliminate them. The migrating Demon Beasts had completely forgotten what they were supposed to be doing, and it was because of the temptation of the dead Nightmare Worm.

The good news is, they're halfway out of the active zone. The bad news is that battles are getting worse, and it's draining their stamina pretty quickly.

Also, they're behind on their schedule because of the fights they had to go through. They're five hours in their patrol yet barely covering the 100th-kilometer mark on the route. They need to speed up or else they will fail this mission.

"Whew...there's just no end to them." One of his squad members sighed after killing the last of the hostiles, for now at least.

"And there will be more coming." Another one replied, "We're really gonna be busy here."

"Let me just remind everybody that we're behind our schedule." #5 announced to the team, not that anybody was surprised since they too know that. "So far, we've only reached the 100th-kilometer rank and it's been five hours. We have 11 hours left to cover 400 kilometers more. If we keep getting delayed like this, we might not be able to make it."

"We're moving out of the active zone, though." One of the scanners stated, "Beyond that, we shouldn't encounter this many demons. We could speed up past this point."

"That's the plan." Another scanner added, "But you know what they say, no plan survives the first contact with the enemy, so don't put your hopes into it."

"I'll take on an active role to remedy that." Cedric suddenly announced, causing the team to look at him. "I need some exercise anyway. Besides, we really need to get out of here soon. The meaner demons are starting to show up. Even they can't resist the allure of the dead Nightmare Worm."

Although the range of his senses was suppressed here, Cedric could still see pretty far ahead. Of course, he could tell that things were gonna get more chaotic here from the signs he saw.

Nobody disagreed with his decision. They knew that Cedric wouldn't make any rash decisions and once he decided, he already considered all options available and chose what was best for the squad, how can they oppose that?

So, from this point onwards, Cedric took an active role. He brought out his sword and cleaved through demons like he was harvesting wheat.

Because he'd be stuck at managerial duty, it's easy to forget how overwhelmingly efficient Cedric was at killing demons and how fast he was. He would take out dozens of demons before the scanners even saw them coming, reducing them to ashes with ruthless precision.

They were initially worried that Cedric was spending a lot of his ki and stamina to cover them but they were reminded of his frankly unfair amounts of it.

Right, this was the guy who could wrestle nonstop against a Cerberus all day long, what were they worried about? To Cedric, this was nothing but a light workout.

Because Cedric was active, the squad formation changed to the base one; allowing them to move faster. Sure, they're making a lot of noise and attracting more demons to their spot but Cedric handled everything, only leaving stragglers for them to take care of every now and then.

Their speed picked up and after an hour or so, they left the active zone and were back on track. They kept up with their progress too; reaching the 180th kilometer mark at the 6th hour of their patrol.

"#1 to HQ, I hear you loud and clear." Cedric replied.

"Good. If an emergency occurs, take your squad to the nearest extraction point for retrieval and make it quick. A Demon Beast Horde is coming."

Every member of Squad #1 felt chills running down their spine when they heard that. The majority of them suddenly felt fear gripping their hearts and clouding their mind.

"Size and distance?" Cedric asked.

"Unclear." The person on the other line replied, "They have Smog Belchers obscuring them. But we have a feeling that it's somewhere between Medium to Large. They're moving fast, but still pretty far from your location. Anyway, just get your assess out of there if you wanna live."

"Will do, thanks for the heads up. We should arrive at the nearest extraction point within 10 minutes. I'll buzz you up once we're close. Over and out." Cedric replied.

"Understood. Over and out."

Cedric released a tense breath as he continued rushing out with his squad. He momentarily glanced at his team and saw their clouded expressions. He sighed once more and yelled:

"Pulse. Now!"

The team jolted in surprise before following his orders. 20 Ki Pulses swept over the team, with Cedric's being larger and stronger, it even contained a distinct warmth that provided them comfort.

"What's our new directive?" He asked the team.

"To reach the nearest extraction point, Sir." His squad replied in unison.

"#5 What's the likelihood of us reaching that place before getting swallowed up by the upcoming horde?" He asked again.

"95% of success, Sir, the remaining 5% is for unforeseen accident and unlikely happenstance." The man replied with confidence.

"Remind me of our ultimate goal." Cedric ordered.

"To finish our service and return to our normal lives alive and intact, Sir!!" His squad replied vigorously.

"And we're doing exactly that now." Cedric stressed, "We might've been caught off guard but we're making it. Straighten your backs and fix your faces, we're nearly there."

With the squad's spirit revived, they continued rushing out, not minding that they were making a lot of noise while moving.

Cedric said it himself. They're making it out of here. They've trusted him then and he hasn't failed them. There's no reason to start doubting him now.

They're gonna make it out here alive and intact. That's his promise.