61. Perfect Teamwork
Rangga didn't retreat immediately.
"Hold on a second, Major."
Mayor Deri maintained his stance, his eyes never leaving the Herrerasaurus perched above them.
"What is it?"
Rangga took a deep breath.
"Just follow my lead for a bit."
The Major spared him a quick glance.
"What's the plan?"
Rangga pointed at the creature.
"Get it to jump down again."
Mayor Deri fell silent for a moment.
It sounded like a strange request. But then he remembered something.
For the past several days, Rangga had always been the first to discover new islands.
The first to encounter new mechanical creatures.
Every piece of information Rangga had shared had proven accurate.
Besides, one of General Suryo's assignments had been to observe how Rangga obtained all that information.
In the end, Mayor Deri nodded.
"Very well."
He stepped forward again.
His shield rose in front of him while the sword in his right hand stood ready.
Meanwhile, Rangga backed away several meters.
His longbow was fully drawn, the tip of an explosive arrow aimed directly at the branch where the Herrerasaurus was perched.
Silence returned.
Then—
KREEEKK!
The Herrerasaurus let out a shrill mechanical screech.
It sprang from the tree, both claws aimed straight at Mayor Deri.
"Here it comes!"
Mayor Deri raised his shield.
DUANG!
The impact rattled his arm.
At the same instant, his sword slashed toward the Herrerasaurus's abdomen.
CLANG!
Sparks flew.
But the blade only left a shallow scratch across the creature's metallic hide.
"Damn..."
The Herrerasaurus immediately kicked away, preparing to leap back onto the tree. But Rangga had already anticipated it.
TWANG!
The explosive arrow flew.
THUNK!
It buried itself at the base of the Herrerasaurus's neck. A second later—
BOOM!
A small explosion rocked the mechanical predator.
It lost its balance. Its body was thrown away from the tree and slammed heavily onto the ground.
Mayor Deri wasted no time.
The instant the Herrerasaurus crashed down, still struggling to regain its balance, he charged.
"Hyaaah!"
His one-handed sword sliced toward the joint at its neck.
CRAAK!
The blade slipped perfectly into the gap between the metal plates.
Mayor Deri twisted his wrist.
KRAAKK!
Metal snapped.
The Herrerasaurus shuddered several times before slowly dissolving into particles of light.
Ding... Ding...
Two items dropped onto the ground. Zincorium Ingot and.Reinforced Anchor Bolt
Rangga stared at the loot.
"...That's it? Done already?"
Mayor Deri let out a relieved sigh.
"There we go."
He turned toward Rangga.
"So I was right."
The look made Rangga panic internally.
"Uh-oh... How am I supposed to explain this now?"
But Mayor Deri simply nodded to himself.
"I understand now."
Rangga blinked.
"Huh?"
A faint smile appeared on Mayor Deri's face.
"So that's the kind of person you are, Rangga... You aren't afraid to take risks."
"I hesitated earlier... But you insisted that I bait its attack again."
"When I think about it... That really was the only way to figure out its attack pattern and find an opening."
Rangga nodded rapidly.
"Yeah... More or less, Major."
Inside, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness the Major came to that conclusion on his own."
Mayor Deri looked back toward where the Herrerasaurus had fallen.
"If we hadn't tested it... We might have kept retreating without ever learning how to fight it."
Rangga immediately agreed.
"Exactly... That's pretty much it."
He quickly changed the subject.
"So... How should we split the loot, Major?"
Mayor Deri shook his head.
"No need... You keep this one... You're the one who found the creature."
Rangga immediately waved both hands.
"Come on, Major... How about this? I'll take this one. If we get another drop later... It's yours... We'll just take turns."
Mayor Deri thought about it for a few seconds before nodding.
"Very well... That sounds fair."
Rangga grinned.
"Now that's more like it."
He collected the two drops and stored them in his inventory.
Then he looked at Mayor Deri.
"Come on, Major... Let's keep going... There might be more."
The two of them continued deeper into the jungle. Their formation had become much cleaner.
Mayor Deri always led the way, shield raised. Rangga stayed several meters behind him, his bow constantly ready.
It didn't take long before another mechanical screech echoed through the treetops.
A second Herrerasaurus leaped down.
"It's coming!"
Mayor Deri deliberately stepped forward, receiving the attack with his shield.
DUANG!
The moment the Herrerasaurus bounced back toward the ground—Rangga's explosive arrow flew.
BOOM!
The creature instantly lost its balance.
Mayor Deri finished it with a single slash to the neck joint.
Several hundred meters later, they encountered a third Herrerasaurus.
This time, there were two of them.
"The one on the left!" Rangga shouted.
Mayor Deri immediately shifted his position, forcing one of the predators to target him first.
Meanwhile, the second Herrerasaurus tried circling around them.
Rangga swiftly adjusted his aim.
TWANG!
His first arrow forced the second predator to abandon its leap.
Mayor Deri seized the opportunity to finish the first one.
Only then did the two of them turn together toward the remaining Herrerasaurus.
Their teamwork was becoming noticeably smoother. Not long afterward, a fourth Herrerasaurus descended from the canopy.
This time, before the creature had even landed—Rangga had already predicted where it would touch down.
"Major! Left!"
Mayor Deri instantly sidestepped.
The Herrerasaurus landed exactly where Rangga had predicted.
For a brief moment—It lost its balance.
BOOM!
The explosive arrow struck and Mayor Deri charged immediately afterward.
CRAAK!
The fight ended within seconds.
Back on Earth, the comment sections of both livestreams exploded with excitement.
They're already perfectly synchronized.
They just met, and their teamwork is incredible.
One tanks, the other shoots.
If they keep fighting together, they're going to be insanely strong.
The Major and Rangga completely cover each other's weaknesses.
Inside the Garuda Presidential Palace's monitoring room, President Prabu watched the screen without looking away.
After a while, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Their teamwork is even better than I expected."
General Suryo nodded.
"Because each of them is playing the role they're best suited for."
He pointed toward the screen.
"Mayor Deri isn't trying to be the attacker."
"He serves as the shield, creating opportunities for Rangga to maximize his advantage as a ranged fighter."
One of the analysts nodded as well.
"And Rangga isn't recklessly charging in, either."
"He lets Mayor Deri control the enemy's position before delivering the decisive strike."
General Suryo looked back at the screen.
"The most interesting part... Neither of them is competing for the spotlight."
"Each understands exactly what the other's strengths are."
President Prabu smiled.
"If every Pioneer from the Garuda Nation can eventually work together like this..."
He left the sentence unfinished, but everyone in the room understood what he meant.
Just two Pioneers had already turned a battle that once seemed nearly impossible into something remarkably manageable.
If their numbers continued to grow... Then the Garuda Nation's chances of surviving in the world of the Pioneers would increase dramatically.