The roar of the Humvee's engine could be heard breaking through the crowd inside the refugee camp.

My current goal was to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Humvee given to me by the Goddess of War.

It wasn't that I didn't trust Amelia, who had given me this Humvee as a gift, I just simply testing it to ensure it was ready for use at any time. Especially with the GECAL 50 mounted on its roof, where there was a hatch ready to open at any time to use it.

As Amelia had said, the vehicle and the weapon mounted on the Humvee were connected to my Gunsmith ability, so both of them could be repaired simply by injecting my magical energy.

It was a bit of a hassle, but it was better than searching for spare parts that didn't exist in this world.

Sometimes, something simple and repairable with magic was a blessing.

Brrruuummm...

Brrruuummm...

The loud, roaring sound of the Humvee's engine had attracted the attention of several people, especially the royal knights patrolling the refugee camp.

As my foot pressed the accelerator, the Humvee accelerated, allowing further testing to begin.

Melissa and my stepfamily carefully surveyed their surroundings through the Humvee's wide windows. The two-way windows allowed them to see out, preventing outsiders from peeking in. The windows were also bulletproof, so I could rest assured if I were hit by an arrow or a heavy blunt object.

The windows were at least heavy enough to withstand four .50 BMG sniper rounds before the bulletproof glass shattered.

My hands gripped the steering wheel, aiming my sights at the outermost part of the refugee camp. With this acceleration, the Humvee could be used for reconnaissance, and the mounted weapons could be used to clear something on the way.

"Master Hans, where are we going?" Melissa asked, her eyes gleaming.

"Are we going to practice shooting with live targets?"

The question almost stunned me for a moment, but I managed to calm myself as I held the steering wheel.

"We're going on a reconnaissance trip before returning with the King's convoy."

"Reconnaissance, huh? If Master Hans was willing to go to such lengths, does that mean he knew something strange would happen that day?"

As expected of a former Master Assassin now working as a Maid. Melissa could see the future from this kind of small talk.

"Well, let's just say it's to test the forest road that this heavily armored vehicle will be traveling on. It wouldn't be fun if the ground collapsed as soon as this heavy vehicle passed, would it?" I replied, hiding my other intentions and focusing my gaze on the path leading to the forest.

"I'm sure... there more than that... testing," Melissa replied, taking out her replica of Glock 17 pistol.

"Then... I'll get ready first," with gentle and graceful movements, Melissa quickly installed a converter kit on the replica Glock 17 pistol, converting it into a submachine gun using a drum magazine.

Melissa's knowledge of weapons was impressive, and I was sure she would know how to use the HK-416 in no time.

For now, I'll limit her abilities to use a replica Glock 17 only.

Catac...

Melissa also attached a holoscope and magnifying scope to make aiming easier from a distance.

"You don't usually attach a scope like that, Mell."

"Even though your first pistol training session involved only iron sights."

"Did something happen that made you attach a scope to your replica pistol?" I asked, breaking the silence in the Humvee.

The speeding Humvee turned onto the same forest road I'd been on before, slowing down to take a closer look.

Skiittt...

Skiittt...

This time, Melissa was attaching a silencer to the end of her replica pistol's barrel.

"No particular reason, Master Hans. I just don't feel like walking and prefer to clean things from a distance, right now," Melissa replied with a wink.

"You already know what I'm doing, huh?"

"Nope. I just find it strange that there have been so many unknown faces on royal knights lately. Something must be wrong, right?" Melissa replied, pushing open the Humvee door.

"Huuukk!!" In her sweet voice, I could see Melissa's innocence, not knowing how to get out of the Humvee.

"Melissa..." Calling her name, I demonstrated the Humvee's door opening mechanism with ease.

Ctaakk...

Krraaakk...

Pulling the door lock up and push the small lever to open the door, Melissa did it quite well.

"Then, I'll guard the top of this vehicle—"

Kraanngg...

My hand also reached for the hatch lever and opened the roof.

"Master Hans..."

"Please tell me about something useful like that sooner," Melissa said respectfully.

Melissa slammed the Humvee door shut and began positioning herself to climb onto the roof from inside.

"Master Hans, there's a strange object that looks like a weapon here. Is this usable?" Melissa asked in a muffled voice from the roof.

Brruuummm...

I ignored Melissa's question and gently pressed the accelerator to slow the Humvee down. The gears were engaged slowly for reconnaissance.

As the Humvee entered the dense forest road, I could hear Melissa's gunshots.

Peeww...

Peeww...

The muffled gunshots rang out repeatedly.

"They're already setting up an ambush in the forest, aren't they?"

"This is going to be a hassle," I grumbled in annoyance and I wanted to hunt bandits, too.

If only Melissa could drive this Humvee, we could take turns hunting bandits.

Step by step, the Humvee I was driving entered the forest, and the camera system mounted next to the GECAL 50 weapon system activated. The thermal imaging camera's optical sight revealed several suspicious heat sources.

I wanted to shoot them with the GECAL 50, but the noise would startle Melissa, who would surely be curious about how to use it.

The only option now was to slowly enter the forest and conduct a stealthy clearing operation.

This would be very boring.

Peeww...

Peeww...

Peeww...

Melissa's multiple shots sounded like a predator stalking its prey from behind the bushes.

My view inside the Humvee was limited, and it wasn't high enough to see the bandits hiding. Occasionally, my gaze would drift to the monitor connected to the camera on the Humvee's roof, piquing Vivian's curiosity.

"Brother Hans, what's that?" Vivian asked, her eyes fixed on the monitor displaying a wide-angle view from above.

"It's nothing, Vivian. It's just a tool to help me drive this vehicle," I replied, keeping my focus on the scene before me.

"Hmm~ Does that have anything to do with what Melissa is shooting?" Vivian inquired further.

Before I could answer that question, I suddenly saw a bandit crawl out of the bushes on the monitor and be shot dead by Melissa.

The monitor Vivian was looking at also displayed the fresh corpse of a bandit.

"Well, yes, Melissa is clearing the path leading to the forest."

"Ah, so that's why. No wonder," Vivian replied, as if she understood the situation and keep calm.

"Melissa, if you're tired, I'll take over shooting from above!" Vivian shouted, almost startling me.

I didn't hear that right, did I?

How could a girl as innocent as Vivian say something like that?

Am I really that exhausted now?

"No need, Young Lady. I'll do this cleaning job well."

Peeww...

"Aren't you tired after training my mother and me?"

Peeww...

"Not as tired as Master Hans' training. I can still shoot until nightfall!" Melissa shouted enthusiastically.

Peeww...

"Brother Hans, did you hear this? What did you do to make Melissa like this?"

Peeww...

"I didn't do anything excessive," I replied as I continued into the forest.

On this hot afternoon, the sound of gunfire from Melissa's replica pistol rang out in silence. This long-range combat felt tedious, like a hunter shooting its prey.

The thermal sensor installed in the camera was unreliable at this time. The temperature on the thermal camera was too high in the heat of the day. If moving at night, this thermal camera would be effective for night combat.

In these boring moments, my hand reflexively reached for my smartphone and tapped on a game app.

"Ah, it seems this has become muscle memory that's hard to shake," I muttered under my breath, trying to control the Humvee's speed so as not to crash into a tree.

Beep...

"Hmmm?" As my muscle memory kicked in, my phone screen suddenly displayed a map showing my position and a red area that looked dangerous.

Beep...

"Hmm? What's this?"

As I muttered something strange on my phone screen, a message suddenly came in from Amelia with a black-and-red flag icon.

"Amelia's War Flag?"

"What has she done to my phone?"

Curious about what Amelia had done, I literally set off a "War Flag."

"Oh, shit..." With that one heavy word, I could see dozens of war proposals Amelia had submitted, rewarding me with EXP and rare items.

As a former gamer and mercenary, these war proposals were tempting even for me, the most bored of me.

I wasn't the main character in this world, and the only way to gain EXP in this world was by killing powerful monsters or completing these kinds of war proposals.

If Amelia had called them "Missions" or "Quest" instead of "War Proposals," I would have gladly agreed.

"War proposals, huh?"

"This further confirms your status as the Goddess of War."

I, who had been muttering to myself, immediately accepted one of Amelia's war proposals and carried it out.

[ War Proposal accepted! ]

[ Total number of bandits to be killed: 0/200 ]

[ Total number of bandits to be killed: 3/200 ]

When Melissa kills a bandit in hiding spot, it still counts as my "War Proposal".

In other words, this war proposal can be carried out by multiple people at once, as long they are on the same group..

"Nice one, Amelia."

"I like this your war proposal."

Brruumm...

The Humvee I was driving continued to speed into the forest.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.