Chapter 269:Iced out.
Victor walked past them without saying a word, his eyes briefly moving over Silver before settling on Ravenna. Rebecca was talking to Elena near the front vehicle, and although Silver couldn’t hear everything they were saying, he caught enough to understand the subject.
"They should’ve stayed,this is really annoying."
"They’ll only slow us down."
"If something happens, Larry will have to account for them."
Silver heard it and Ravenna heard it too. She looked at him.
Silver simply shrugged. He wasn’t going to waste his energy on it. He had more important things to think about.
"Ready?" he asked.
Ravenna nodded.
"Yes."
Antony pushed himself away from the vehicle.
"I’ve been ready for the last twenty minutes."
Silver glanced at him.
"You’ve been eating the whole time. Me and Ravenna have basically been doing all the work while ti just sat there."
"I was preparing."
"By eating?"
"No, mentally. What if one of you needs saving I’m just getting ready."
"As if."
Ravenna laughed. Silver shook his head before opening the driver’s door.
The convoy began moving a few minutes later.
The observation centre slowly disappeared behind them as the vehicles followed the rocky road leading deeper into Death Row Valley. Larry’s vehicle remained at the front, followed by several of the contractors.
Silver and Ravenna’s vehicle was toward the rear, with Antony following close behind in the second vehicle assigned to the three of them. They had decided to take a second vehicle incase of an accident since they weren’t sure the team would help them.
For the first several minutes, nobody spoke over the communication system. The road itself was rough but manageable.
The valley stretched endlessly ahead of them.
Rocky hills rose on either side, while patches of dry grass and scattered shrubs filled the lower ground. The recent beast tide had changed the landscape in subtle ways. Broken branches covered portions of the road, footprints were scattered everywhere, and several areas of vegetation had been flattened by creatures moving through them.
Silver noticed the tracks almost immediately.
"There are more than yesterday."
Ravenna looked out of the window.
"Beasts?"
"Tracks."
She leaned closer to the glass.
"You’re right, it looks like a badly done painting."
"How does that even correlate woth anything."
"You wouldn’t understand art even if it’s placed infront of you, so don’t try to."
"And you do?" Silver fired back.
Ravenna flipped her hair dramatically before responding.
"Yap."
Silver slowed the vehicle slightly.
He could see dozens of different footprints crossing the road. Some belonged to creatures he recognized while others didn’t.
There were large claw marks pressed into the dirt, narrow tracks resembling those of antelope, circular impressions left by something heavy, and several strange marks that looked as though something had dragged its body across the ground.
The valley had always been dangerous, but something had changed. The beast tide had disturbed the ecosystem, and now creatures that normally stayed hidden were being forced into areas where humans traveled.
Silver increased his focus.
"Keep an eye out."
Ravenna nodded.
"You too."
They continued.
For almost an hour, nothing happened. The Rank Fours handled the first encounter.
A pack of large hyena-like beasts emerged from behind a rocky ridge, perhaps twenty of them, their bodies covered in thick patches of dark fur. They were only Teir Two and Teir Three, but there were enough of them that a weaker convoy might have struggled.
Silver barely had time to stop the vehicle before the Rank Fours were already moving.
One contractor jumped from the lead vehicle and released a wave of energy that knocked several beasts aside. Marcus drew a massive weapon and charged directly into the pack. Two more attacked from opposite sides, forcing the beasts into a narrow formation.
Within minutes, the entire pack was dead.
Silver watched from inside the vehicle. He hadn’t even drawn his sword. Ravenna had kept her rifle lowered. Antony, who had stopped his vehicle behind them, stepped out and stared.
"That was fast."
Silver nodded.
"They’re Rank Fours."
"Still." Antony scratched his chin. "I think they were offended."
Ravenna laughed.
Silver smiled.
The group returned to their vehicles without celebration. Marcus of them glanced toward Silver.
"Stay inside next time, we don’t need you guys weighting us down."
Silver’s expression remained neutral.
"Understood."
If they wanted to do all the heavy lifting then he was more than happy to let them do, he could pick the scraps they left behind.
Marcus looked surprised by the lack of argument and walked away. Ravenna waited until he was gone before speaking.
"They really don’t like us."
"I noticed."
"Doesn’t it bother you?"
Silver shook his head.
"No." He looked ahead. "They can think whatever they want, they’re not really our friends just some people we met and we’ll go our separate ways in a few days. We probably won’t ever meet them again."
Ravenna smiled.
"You’re unusually calm."
"I’m saving my energy."
"For what?"
"Training."
That answer made her smile.
Silver wasn’t going to prove himself to those people. He didn’t need their approval. If anything, being ignored gave him more freedom.
Whenever the convoy stopped, he could train without worrying about impressing anyone. Whenever a beast was killed, he could collect cores without having to explain why he wanted them. And when the others fought, he could observe.
There was a certain advantage to being underestimated.
The convoy continued deeper into the valley. As the hours passed, the number of beasts increased. The first few encounters had been small; a pack of hyena-like creatures and a group of oversized boars.
Several strange reptilian beasts hiding beneath rocks. But eventually, they began seeing individual creatures simply crossing the road.
A large antelope-like beast sprinted across the road and vanished into the grass. A pair of enormous birds flew overhead. Far in the distance, something resembling a rhinoceros moved between the rocks.
None attacked, but their presence was enough to make Silver realize just how much the beast tide had affected the region.
"Why are there so many?" Ravenna asked.
Silver looked at the surrounding terrain.
"They were probably pushed out of their territories."
"By the Rank Fives?"
"Maybe." He frowned. "Or by the tide itself."
Ravenna looked at him.
"You think there might be another tide coming?"
Silver didn’t answer immediately.
"I don’t know but I won’t dismiss the probability."
He had been thinking about it since yesterday but he was too inexperienced to comprehend it. The valley seemed to contain more beasts than usual.
There was a pattern forming, but he couldn’t see it yet and he didn’t want to force one into existence either.
The original story gave him information about the valley, but it wasn’t a detailed map. Most of the events that happened here were described only briefly. He remembered that Dillain eventually found the multicolored Awakening Stone somewhere within Death Row Valley, but the exact route had never been important to the readers.
Now it was everything to Silver. He had to find the place without looking like he was searching for something.
That was going to be difficult.
The convoy stopped around midday.
The Rank Fours immediately began setting up a temporary defensive position while the drivers checked their vehicles. Silver stepped out with Ravenna and opened the rear compartment.
He pulled out several beast cores they had collected earlier.
Ravenna looked at them.
"You’re going to absorb them now?"
"Some of them."
She nodded.
They had start to develop a routine. Whenever there was a safe opportunity, they absorbed cores. It was one of the simplest ways for them to strengthen themselves without drawing attention.
Silver sat on a flat rock.
He placed a Rank Two core in his palm and the energy began flowing into his body. His breathing slowed and his senses sharpened.
The familiar warmth spread through his body as the core’s energy was gradually absorbed.
He didn’t rush.
The shared Beast Core Absorption skill had already made the process considerably more efficient, and Silver had been slowly improving his own control as well.
When the absorption ended, he opened his eyes.
No notification appeared.
That was fine. Not every improvement needed a reward.
Ravenna sat beside him and began absorbing her own core. Silver watched her quietly. Their relationship had changed considerably since the beginning of the journey.
It was different now, softer and almost suggestive. Like an invite Silver didn’t know he should take or not. But he knew it wouldn’t be long before he was given the invite, he just had to bid his time.