Chapter 225:Leaving.
The gates closed behind them.
Silver watched them disappear in the rearview mirror as the convoy continued along the road.
Ravenna broke the silence that had fallen between them.
"That place was terrible."
Silver glanced at her.
"You mean the checkpoint?"
"I mean, everything; the checkpoint, the people, the room, the prices..." She paused. " urgh, just everything."
Silver laughed.
"I thought you liked the room."
Ravenna looked at him with disbelief.
"That room cost more than some proper hotels, and it wasn’t even comfortable."
"True."
"So no. I didn’t like it, it pisses me off that we had to pay that much money. Can you believe that, and the sanctuary is probably going to be much worse."
Silver smiled.
"At least we survived, right."
Ravenna leaned back in her seat.
"That’s becoming our standard excuse for every shit thing that happens to us."
"It works."
She looked through the windshield, while rolling her eyes.
The road ahead stretched across the savanna. There were fewer tall hills and the terrain was flatter. Grasslands extended in every direction, broken occasionally by clusters of trees and enormous rocks.
The sky was clear,and the sunlight was warm; there wasn’t even much wind, it looked almost too peaceful.
Silver kept one hand on the steering wheel while the other rested near the gear controls. The convoy moved steadily ahead.
Captain Harry’s vehicle remained at the front while the other cars followed in formation. For the first hour, nothing happened,not even a small beast.
Silver occasionally spotted birds flying overhead. A few distant animals could be seen moving through the grass, but none came close to the road.
Ravenna noticed it too.
"Where are all the beasts?"
Silver shrugged.
"Maybe they’re having a day off, I want one myself."
She turned toward him.
"Be serious."
"I am."
"You aren’t, stop joking around."
He smiled.
"You’re right, this might be our only vacation."
Ravenna didn’t respond, she looked forward again.
"This is strange."
"Very."
The previous sections had been filled with beasts. Even the relatively safe Green Zones had regular attacks, but now... Nothing.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
His awareness expanded around him. Everything entered his perception as vague spatial information. Nothing immediately stood out; no large movement, powerful presence, or a hidden creature close enough to attack.
He deactivated the skill.
"Nothing."
Ravenna nodded.
"That’s almost worse."
"Exactly, it’s almost foreboding."
They continued driving. A few minutes later, Ravenna reached toward the storage compartment.
"Do you want something to eat?"
"Already?"
"You’ve been driving for hours."
"I’m fine."
"You always say that."
Silver glanced at her.
"Are you worried about me?"
"Of course, why wouldn’t I be?"
She said it so casually that Silver smiled.
Ravenna noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You’re doing that again."
"Doing what?"
"Smiling whenever I say something, its cheesy."
Silver laughed, briefly glancing at her.
"I like hearing you worry about me."
She rolled her eyes.
"Then I’ll stop."
"Please no."
"Too late."
Silver laughed.
Ravenna opened a packet of dried food, tore it in half and handed some to Silver.
He accepted it, leaning in and biting it from her hand..
"Thanks."
"You’re welcome."
For several minutes, they ate while driving with Ravenna feeding him small portions. Silver occasionally glanced toward the convoy.
Everything seemed normal; the vehicles maintained their distance,nobody was slowing down or signaling danger.
Then Silver noticed something, there was no traffic around them. The road was completely empty.
Ravenna looked through the side window.
"There hasn’t been another vehicle since we left, not even one."
She frowned.
"This is supposed to be Delta Two, and this is one of the roads connecting the Green Zones, right?"
"Yeah."
"So where is everyone?"
Silver didn’t answer.
That was the problem, he didn’t know. The road was good and the weather was clear. The area was considered part of the Green Zone.
There should have been other contractors, supply vehicles, hunters returning from expeditions, and merchants traveling between checkpoints, just something.
Instead, their convoy was the only sign of human activity for kilometers. Silver looked toward Harry’s vehicle.
The radio suddenly crackled.
"Convoy, maintain formation." Harry’s voice came.
Nothing unusual about the order, but there was a slight tension in his voice which Silver picked.
A few minutes later, Harry spoke again.
"Drivers, keep your eyes open."
The radio went quiet. Ravenna looked at Silver.
"Even Harry noticed."
"Yeah."
Silver slowed slightly, not enough to create a gap, but just enough to give himself more reaction time. He scanned the road ahead, still nothing.
Everything looked normal, then something strange happened, all the birds suddenly changed direction at once.
Silver’s eyes narrowed.
"Ravenna."
She immediately looked up.
"What?"
"Watch the ground."
She did.
Nothing seemed wrong at first, then she noticed a small movement in the grass.
"Something?"
"Maybe."
Silver activated Spatial Sense, his perception spreading outward. There was something deep beneath the ground. He couldn’t determine its exact shape, but he could feel fast movement.
"Harry."
Silver pressed the radio.
"Something is under the road."
There was a brief pause, then Harry responded.
"How far?"
"I don’t know."
Silver’s awareness followed the disturbance, and it was moving, straight toward them.
"Fast."
Harry immediately shouted through the radio.
"All vehicles slow down!"
The convoy began responding; some drivers didn’t understand why while others reacted immediately.
Silver kept his eyes on the road. He noticed that the disturbance was getting closer. With breath held, he felt the distance close in, then, the ground ahead of the convoy exploded.
"Brace!"
Silver slammed on the brakes.
The road erupted, a gigantic mass of earth and stone shooting into the air. The vehicle ahead was lifted off the ground.
Ravenna grabbed the dashboard.
"What the...!"
A massive roar shook the entire road.
Silver’s vehicle skidded sideways as he fought the steering wheel. The car stopped just before the newly formed crater. Behind them, another vehicle wasn’t so lucky, it struck the edge of the collapsed road and spun sideways.
Screams filled the air as gunfire erupted almost immediately.
An enormous beast emerged from the earth; its body was covered in thick, dark armor, its head resembled some monstrous combination of a burrowing insect and a heavily armored predator.
Rows of teeth appeared between powerful mandibles the moment it’s mouth opened. Dust poured from its body as it rose.
Silver stared, his eyes widening in the process.
Ravenna immediately reached for her rifle.
"That’s big."
The beast roared again, then disappeared back into the ground which collapsed beneath it.
Silver’s expression changed.
"It’s underground."
Harry’s voice came over the radio.
"Everyone stay calm! Vehicles that can move, reposition! Don’t let it separate the convoy!"
Several contractors jumped from their vehicles, weapons drawn. Elemental abilities began activating.
Silver looked at the damaged vehicles; some had been thrown aside, while others were trapped near the crater, but most of the convoy remained operational.
Ravenna opened her door.
"Should we get out?"
Silver shook his head.
"Not yet."
The ground trembled beneath them, prompting him to look down.
"Wait."
A violent impact came from their left. The beast emerged again shooting debris out into the open.
Silver pressed onto the brakes hard. The creature’s jaws snapped shut where their vehicle had been.
Ravenna raised her rifle and fired, the shot striking the beast’s exposed neck. Blood splattered accompanied by the creature roaring.
Silver accelerated around it.
"Good hit."
Ravenna chambered another round.
"Thanks."
The beast disappeared again. Silver looked toward the road and noticed there were holes everywhere now. The creature wasn’t simply attacking, it was destroying the road, making movement more difficult.
"That’s annoying."
Ravenna glanced at him.
"Very."
Another tremor came, shaking them harder than before. Silver turned the steering wheel, creating an opening. As expected, the beast erupted from the ground behind them.
Several contractors fired simultaneously, the attacks striking the beast from multiple directions. The creature roared and retreated underground.
Silver watched.
"It doesn’t want to stay exposed, because we’re hurting it."
Ravenna looked toward the surrounding road.
"Then we just have to keep hitting it."
Silver shook his head.
"If only it were that simple."
The ground trembled again and this time, directly beneath the convoy. The vibrations were much worse than before, the tires seem to be lifting from the ground every now and then.
Silver’s eyes widened.
"Move!"
He slammed the accelerator, and their vehicle surged forward. Behind them, the road erupted with debris. Three vehicles were thrown sideways; one nearly rolled over and contractors rushed to help.
The beast disappeared again. Silver gritted his teeth.
"This is going to be a long fight."
Ravenna loaded another magazine.
"Then we’d better finish it quickly."
Silver nodded.