Chapter 278 - 378:Deeper.
The deeper they went, the less the cave resembled a natural formation. The narrow tunnels they had initially entered had gradually widened into passages large enough for several people to walk through side by side, and eventually even those passages began branching into enormous underground chambers.
The walls were no longer bare stone. Thick layers of pale organic material covered sections of them, stretching across the rock like veins. In some places, the material pulsed faintly, while in others it had hardened into a shell-like substance.
The smell had also become stronger, a mixture of damp earth, decay, and something sweet that made the back of Silver’s throat itch. Ravenna had even gagged a few times because the smell was just too much.
Silver kept his handgun raised as he walked, his sword secured at his side but not his primary weapon for this particular situation. His eyes constantly moved between the tunnels ahead and the information his Spatial Sense was giving him.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
The surrounding space unfolded inside his awareness.
He could feel the empty passages behind the walls, the narrow tunnels beneath their feet, and the countless movements crawling through the darkness. The ability didn’t give him perfect vision, but it gave him an understanding of the space around him that ordinary eyesight couldn’t provide.
And what he sensed made his expression increasingly grim.
"They’re everywhere."
Ravenna walked beside him with her sword drawn, a faint orange glow already dancing along the blade.
"How many?"
"I stopped counting a long ago. I think they’re even leaving there eggs at the moment. Elena was right they might be hatching somewhere at the moment."
She glanced toward the walls.
"I can believe that, this things are disgusting. How did the military not notice this. This doesn’t seem like something a few Contractors should do. It feels as though we’re not supposed to be in this area."
"Do you think they would burn the whole mountain to get rid of them. They seem scared of fire?" Silver asked her.
She was quiet for a moment as she thought.
"How will they even do that. They’ll notice when the ground starts becoming hot and then they’ll escape."
He chuckled.
"I’m not talking in the literal sense. My idea was like maybe pouring something flammable down this caves or pushing flammable has. A bomb could work too. Just Boom! And they’re all dead."
She nodded.
"That could work. The bomb would be better though."
He shot a few worms that were coming towards them. Ravenna did the same before they resumed their conversation.
"What if the noise attracts more beasts?"
"Then they can just fight them."
A worm crawled across the ceiling directly above them. Silver raised his handgun.
[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated]
The weapon appeared in his hand with a smooth, almost instantaneous motion, and he fired before the creature could drop.
The shot struck its head and the worm fell.
Ravenna glanced at him.
"Your shooting has gotten much faster."
Silver lowered the gun slightly.
"I’ve had practice."
She smiled.
"You’ve had a lot of practice."
Before Silver could answer, a series of clicking noises echoed through the tunnel. Everyone stopped.
The sound came from ahead, then from behind, then from the walls. Larry immediately raised his hand.
"Formation!"
His group moved. Their response was almost automatic.
The group tightened into a defensive formation as worms began crawling out from every opening around them. Some were barely the size of a human arm, while others were considerably larger. Their segmented bodies scraped against the stone as they emerged, and several opened their jaws to reveal rows of short, hooked teeth.
Ravenna stepped forward.
Flame Edge
Flames raced along her sword illuminating the dim cave. The first worm lunged. She swung, the blade cutting straight through it, and the heat from the weapon burned through the wound.
Another attacked from the side. Ravenna pivoted.
Burning Arc
A curved wave of fire swept across the tunnel. Several worms were engulfed at once. Silver stepped through the opening she created.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
He immediately detected movement above.
"Three overhead!"
Ravenna didn’t even look up since trusted him. Silver raised his handgun.
[Phantom Draw Lv3]
The first shot struck one of the worms. He fired again and the second creature was hit. The third was already falling.
Silver shifted his position.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated]
Space compressed around his body. He disappeared from his original position and reappeared several meters away. The worm crashed into the ground where he had been standing.
Silver turned and fired. The shot entered its head and it died instantly. The battle continued for several minutes.
Larry’s group carved through the colony’s defenders with brutal efficiency, but the number of creatures seemed endless. Every time they cleared one section of the tunnel, more worms emerged from somewhere deeper.
Eventually, Victor shouted.
"There’s an opening ahead!"
Larry looked toward him.
"How large?"
"Large enough for all of us."
"Move!"
The group advanced.
Silver followed while keeping his Spatial Sense active. The passage widened, then widened again and suddenly, they emerged into an enormous underground chamber.
Everyone stopped. For several seconds, nobody said anything.
The chamber was enormous.
It stretched so far into the darkness that the lamps couldn’t illuminate its far end. Massive tunnels opened from almost every direction, some high above the ground and others disappearing beneath raised sections of stone. The walls were covered with organic material, and countless worms moved through the openings like blood circulating through veins.
But that wasn’t what caught Silver’s attention. It was the eggs, they were everywhere. Thousands upon thousands of pale eggs covered the chamber floor. Some were attached to the walls while others hung from the ceiling. Entire sections of the cavern had become nurseries.
Ravenna stared eyes widened.
"There are..."
She stopped.
She couldn’t finish the sentence. There were simply too many. Larry’s expression became grim.
"This is the main colony."
Rebecca slowly raised his weapon.
"How the hell did something like this grow beneath the valley without anyone noticing? I think the time period they appeared is whole cause this is ridiculous. One month is too little."
Nobody answered.
Silver activated Insight and the information appeared in front of him.
[Target Analysis]
Species: Parasitic Burrow Worm
Rank: Various
Colony Status: Highly Developed
Warning: Multiple Mature Individuals Detected
Silver’s eyes narrowed.
"Mature individuals."
Larry heard him.
"Where?"
Silver closed his eyes.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
His awareness expanded. The chamber seemed to disappear and h could feel the tunnels. There were eggs, movement, countless bodies, then he felt something else; something enormous.
Silver’s eyes opened.
"Something is here."
Everyone immediately became alert.
"What?"
Silver looked deeper into the chamber.
"Something much bigger than the others. I think it’s the one I felt the first time"
Larry’s expression hardened.
"Could it be the queen?"
"It might be."
One of the contractors pointed toward a large tunnel.
"Then that’s probably where she is."
Larry nodded.
"Everyone, destroy the eggs first. Elena collect the samples, we’ll get a lot from that."
Silver looked at him.
"Shouldn’t we find the queen first?"
"If we kill the queen first, the colony may scatter." Larry gestured toward the eggs. "We eliminate their ability to reproduce, then kill the queen."
Silver considered it.
The plan made sense, at least on the surface. He couldn’t really contend since he was out numbered and, they were the experts.
The group spread out.
Ravenna moved toward one side of the chamber. Silver followed.
She looked at him.
"Stay close."
"I will."
She smiled, then she raised her sword.
Flame Edge Lv2
Fire enveloped the blade and she swung. The burning sword tore through a cluster of eggs. The translucent shells burst. Flammable fluid spilled across the ground and ignited. Several nearby worms immediately began rushing toward her.
Ravenna stepped forward.
Fire Step Lv1
Flames erupted beneath her feet. Her body surged forward. She slashed, then again and again. Each movement was accompanied by fire.
She wasn’t simply burning everything around her. She was controlling the flames carefully, keeping them concentrated on the eggs and worms while avoiding the surrounding contractors.
Silver watched her for half a second. She had become extremely proficient at combining her swordsmanship with her fire element.
He turned toward another section. A group of worms emerged from a tunnel.
Silver raised his handgun.
[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated]
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
He immediately moved.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated]
His body shifted several meters. Another worm lunged. Silver fired from an awkward angle and the bullet entered its open mouth. The creature collapsed.
A larger worm suddenly burst from the ground behind him. Silver’s Spatial Sense warned him before it attacked. He twisted around.
[Space Slash Lv2 Activated]
Space itself distorted along the path of his strike. The worm’s body was sliced open. Silver stepped backward.
"That was close."
Ravenna glanced at him.
"Are you talking to yourself?"
"Maybe."
"You’re getting strange."
"You’ve been with me long enough to know that."
Ravenna’s face warmed slightly.
"Don’t say things like that in front of everyone."
Silver smiled.
"Why?"
"Because..." she looked away. "...just don’t."
Silver laughed.