Chapter 122: The Rescue

David did not consider himself a martyr, but he was not the type to stand idly by and watch someone die. He began to assess his chances of taking on Kush.

The man would never imagine that David was already an Armored Fighter, let alone one arriving in an exoskeleton. With a Grade 2 weapon at his disposal, he was not inferior to any other Armored Fighter in terms of equipment, and that was without even accounting for the bonus provided by his Force Oscillation talent.

He checked the time; there was no room left for hesitation.

He was already wearing his Land Lion exoskeleton. He slung his dual-sword scabbard across his back and equipped his Grade 1 military dagger to his leg. This was where the military logistics department truly shined—they had anticipated almost every scenario. The box of accessories included scabbards for various positions: legs, waist, and arms. David was currently using the specialized version designed for use with the exoskeleton. Because his suit was the Land Lion model, the Grade 1 dagger fit perfectly against his lower leg.

Finally, carrying the case containing his Grade 2 spear, he boarded his Type 2 Land Tiger armored vehicle and headed straight for the shooting range.

While seated in the armored hovercar, he took out his K2 military electronic warfare device, using the travel time to get a clear picture of the situation inside the shooting range. The range utilized a military-grade security system, but because the same system was used at his own shelter, David was intimately familiar with it. Borrowing some processing power from his home’s mid-range server, he cracked the facility’s security in five minutes.

He breached the surveillance system and surveyed the scene. In the center of the range sat Kush, accompanied by an exoskeleton storage crate and a heavy sword glowing with an eerie blue light. Such heavy swords were rarer than daggers among graded weapons because they were not popular in the Interstellar Federation. On one hand, they lacked the elegance and agility of standard longswords, which were the foundation of Federation sword mastery; holding a heavy sword meant sacrificing the inherent advantages of that style. On the other hand, they lacked the sheer mass of true heavy weapons, failing to provide the significant strength bonuses that heavy axes or warhammers offered against the Zerg.

Through the surveillance feed, David also spotted Jim and Daly. They were slumped against the wall of the underground shooting range. They had sustained some injuries, but none appeared life-threatening. However, they were bound together, making any escape attempt impossible.

A cold expression settled on David’s face. He had sparred with Jeremy the trainer; in truth, even while wearing his Land Lion exoskeleton, he had no desire to face Kush in a head-to-head fight. He was no lone-wolf hero. This was Perrin City, and even with the military conducting a major operation, he could have sent a distress signal to them—provided Jim and Daly’s safety was guaranteed.

"Kush is underestimating me," David muttered to himself.

Had he truly been just a high school student, he would have likely thrown his life away for his friends in a fit of hot-blooded impulse. But he had many tricks up his sleeve; he wouldn't risk his life against an unknown enemy unless it was his absolute last resort.

David noticed a detail: Kush was checking his identity bracelet. Through a nearby surveillance camera, he saw the display on Kush’s wrist showing the hovering Type 2 Land Tiger—it was David’s own vehicle. Given Kush’s status as a police officer, it was natural for him to have access to the city’s surveillance grid, but this only made rescuing his friends more difficult.

David packaged the surveillance footage he had just captured and, checking the time, set it to automatically send to Lieutenant Eaton and Lieutenant Elmer in seven minutes. He did this just in case one of them was busy; sending it to both was the safer bet.

The armored hovercar landed in the plaza. David chose a spot where the doors opened out of the view of city cameras, directly above the entrance to the underground utility tunnels. With the K2 electronic warfare device and the mid-range server’s processing power, it took him little time to retrieve the relevant blueprints from the Skynet database. These weren't classified, but the data volume was so massive that few ever bothered to look at them.

David opened the door and exited. Clad in his exoskeleton, he dared not be caught on city cameras. The moment Skynet detected an exoskeleton, it would flag him and trigger an alarm at the police station. If Kush realized he was an Armored Fighter, it would significantly hinder his plan.

He stepped out quickly, case in hand, pried open the iron grate to the utility tunnel, and descended into the network. The tunnels were two meters high, forcing David to stoop slightly as he moved. He pushed his speed to the limit, taking long, rapid strides.

Inside his Land Lion’s visor, a display projected the contents of the K2 device—a map of the underground utility network. A green route, calculated by the mid-range server, guided his path. As he hurried forward, a timer on his display ticked down, nearing the moment he had agreed to meet Kush.

Inside the shooting range, Kush watched the Type 2 Land Tiger parked in the plaza. As David failed to appear, he checked the time repeatedly. He had studied David’s life from childhood and, based on his findings, concluded that David was impulsive—someone who, despite having few friends, valued them above all else.

David had very few friends; from school to his current life, he could count them on one hand. Kush had originally intended to storm David’s residence, but after checking previous intelligence, he learned that David’s home security was under special monitoring by Skynet. Thus, he had chosen to force David out, using the lives of Jim and Daly as leverage to compel him to show himself.

There were very few Armored Fighters in Perrin City today. Through his own authority, Kush could monitor the city’s surveillance systems at any time; he would know the moment the military made a move. Given his strength, he could have simply seized David by force, but he hoped to complete the mission without exposing himself. So, he waited for David to walk into the range.

As time dragged on, he felt that something was wrong. No one had been seen leaving David’s vehicle. He glanced at Jim and Daly, a sense of unease rising in his chest. He stood up immediately, stepped into his exoskeleton, and the suit locked into place around him.

At that very moment, a deafening boom erupted from the wall behind Jim and Daly. A flash of azure light sliced through the structure, cutting away a large section of the wall. David stepped through, grabbed Jim and Daly—who were conveniently bound together, saving him the trouble—and hauled them up. To David in his exoskeleton, their weight was negligible.

Moments earlier, David had used the mid-range server to identify the point closest to the shooting range’s wall. With his Shadow Servant observing the interior, he had easily pinpointed the perfect spot to breach.

"Who are you?" Kush, now fully armored and brandishing his glowing blue Grade 2 heavy sword, roared as he rushed toward them.

He did not recognize David. Based on all the intelligence he had gathered, he was one hundred percent certain that David was not an Armored Fighter.

David had no time to answer. Kush’s speed was clearly beyond his expectations. Still holding Jim and Daly, David retreated into the wall breach, and once inside the utility tunnel, he slashed his Grade 2 spear backward. A massive section of the tunnel wall collapsed.

David did not assume this would keep him safe; it would only slightly delay Kush. It wouldn't stop him for long—not with that Grade 2 sword, or even a standard Grade 1 weapon, which could easily cut through the debris.