Chapter 279:Queen.
Their conversation was almost absurdly normal considering the situation around them.
Then the entire cavern shook. Everyone froze. A deep rumbling sound traveled through the ground. Dust fell from the ceiling and several worms stopped moving.
The eggs trembled.
Silver’s expression changed.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
Ravenna stepped forward.
Blazing Guard
A wall of fire formed around her. The first worm struck the flames and recoiled.
Ravenna moved through her own fire.
Burning Arc
Her blade swept upward and the creature was cut apart. The worms were easily susceptible to fire.
Silver fired at another.
[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated]
The shot struck its eye, it staggered.
Silver followed.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated]
He appeared directly beside it.
[Space Slash Lv2 Activated]
The spatial strike tore through its body but more were coming. The chamber was becoming chaotic. The Rank Fours were forced to fight multiple mature worms simultaneously.
Silver’s Spatial Sense stretched farther, then he felt it; a massive presence. It wasn’t moving quickly anymore, it had stopped.
Silver stared toward one of the largest tunnels in the chamber. Something was there.
The worms around them suddenly began retreating. They weren’t fleeing but making way.
Ravenna noticed.
"Silver."
"I know."
The ground trembled again.
A low, almost animalistic sound echoed through the cavern, then something struck the earth from below.
BOOM!
The entire chamber shook. Several contractors staggered. Silver immediately looked toward the ground. Cracks spread beneath their feet.
Larry shouted.
"Move!"
Everyone scattered.
The stone erupted and something enormous tore through the floor. A pale, armored body emerged from beneath the earth.
It was enormous; its head alone was larger than a human, rows of hooked teeth filled its mouth, thick plates covered its body, and several fleshy sensory organs moved around its face.
It raised its head and the entire chamber seemed to fall silent.
Silver instinctively activated Insight.
[Error... Level too high.]
He paled. He tried again.
’Why now, what in the world’
[Error... Level too high]
[Error... Level too high]
[Error... Level too high]
Just as he was about be gove up, another notification came on.
[Emergency protocol Activated. Host has been given two seconds permission to over ride restrictions]
He activated it immediately.
[Insight Activated]
Information appeared. For a moment, Silver couldn’t understand what he was seeing.
He stared, then his eyes widened.
[Special Target Analysis Complete]
{Species: Parasitic Burrow Worm Queen
Tier: 6
Warning: Extremely Dangerous
Warning: Target possesses advanced intelligence.}
Something was moving deep below them and it was coming toward them. The sound became louder. A Rank Four worm burst from the ground, then another and another. The Rank Fours immediately engaged.
Silver’s breathing stopped for a moment.
"Rank Six..."
Ravenna looked at him.
"What?"
Silver didn’t answer immediately but the others had heard him. Marcus slowly lowered his weapon.
"That’s impossible."
Larry’s face had gone pale.
"Rank Six? That’s impossible, they said it’s a rank five a newly one at at that so it’s still on it’s weaker form. We didn’t get paid for something like this."
Silver frowned at that but he didn’t have time to think about it.
The queen raised its enormous head. Its many eyes fixed on the contractors, then its gaze shifted toward the burning eggs, looking at what they had destroyed.
The queen opened its enormous jaws. A terrifying roar exploded through the chamber. The sound shook the cavern. Several contractors covered their ears.
The remaining eggs trembled and the worms screamed. Then the queen moved, far too fast for something of its size.
It lunged directly toward the nearest contractor.
"Move!"
The contractor tried but he wasn’t fast enough. The queen’s jaws snapped shut and he disappeared beneath them.
Silence followed.
Silver stared in shock. A rank four contractor had been killed in one move.
Larry’s group finally understood the difference. They weren’t hunting the queen anymore, they were fighting for survival.
The queen turned toward the remaining humans. Its enormous body shifted while the cave trembled.
Silver tightened his grip around his sword. Ravenna stepped beside him, flames gathering along her sword.
The moment the Parasitic Burrow Worm Queen turned its attention toward them, every instinct Silver possessed screamed at him to move.
The enormous creature’s body coiled through the center of the cavern, crushing eggs beneath its armored segments as it shifted. Its many eyes remained fixed on the contractors, and there was something disturbingly deliberate about the way it watched them. It wasn’t blindly attacking whatever moved. It was choosing targets. It slowly slithered towards them as though it was hunting them.
Silver raised his handgun.
[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated]
He fired. The bullet struck one of the softer sections around the queen’s head and ricocheted away.
Silver’s expression tightened.
"Armor."
Ravenna stepped forward, sword already engulfed in flames.
Flame Edge
"Then we cut through it."
The queen lunged.
Ravenna activated her fire.
Fire Step
Flames erupted beneath her feet, propelling her sideways just as the queen’s jaws slammed down. The impact shattered the stone where she had been standing. Ravenna spun around and brought her sword down.
Burning Arc
A crescent of fire tore across the queen’s exposed side. The flames struck and the queen recoiled but only slightly.
Ravenna’s eyes widened.
"It barely moved."
Silver immediately understood the problem. This wasn’t like fighting the Rank Four beasts they had encountered in the valley. Even their strongest attacks weren’t doing enough damage.
The queen swung its enormous body sideways. Several contractors were forced to jump away. Marcus struck its armored hide with a powerful ability, the impact sounding like metal hitting stone.
The queen barely reacted. Then its tail swept across the cavern. Three contractors were thrown several meters.
"Spread out!" Larry shouted. "Don’t let it hit more than one of you!"
The contractors responded quickly. They had fought together for a long time. Even without being able to seriously injure the queen, their coordination remained excellent.
Elena drew its attention, larry attacked from the side while Marcus targeted the softer sections beneath its body. The strategy worked for several seconds, then the queen adapted.
It stopped chasing the closest target and suddenly burrowed. Its enormous body disappeared beneath the ground.
Everyone froze.
Silver’s expression changed.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
His awareness expanded through the cavern. He could feel the queen, and it was moving underground.
"Everyone move!" Silver shouted.
The ground beneath Rebecca exploded. She jumped backward just before the queen erupted from below. She raised her weapon and struck.
The attack landed and the queen’s armor cracked slightly, but before she could retreat, the creature’s head whipped around.
Silver moved.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated]
Space compressed beneath his feet. He appeared beside her and grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Move!"
They disappeared from the queen’s immediate range. They landed heavily.
"Thanks."
Silver didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on the ground. The queen had already disappeared again.
Ravenna ran toward him.
"Where is it?"
"Under us."
She immediately stepped back.
"Can you track it?"
"I can."
Silver closed his eyes.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
The cavern became a map inside his mind. The queen was moving through a massive network beneath them. Silver suddenly realized something.
"This entire cavern is connected."
Ravenna looked at him.
"What?"
"The tunnels." Silver pointed toward the ground. "There are tunnels underneath almost every section of this chamber."
Larry heard him.
"Can you tell where it’s going?"
Silver concentrated.
"I think so."
The queen suddenly changed direction.
Silver’s eyes widened.
"It’s coming toward the center. Everyone move!"
The warning came too late.
The ground exploded and the queen erupted directly beneath the contractors. Rebecca was thrown into the air.
Ravenna jumped backward. Silver raised his sword, he didn’t have time to think.
[Space Slash Lv2 Activated]
The sword cut through the distorted space in front of him. The strike collided with the queen’s head. For the first time, the attack visibly damaged it; a thin wound appeared along its armored face.
The queen recoiled.