Chapter 248:Night attack.
The roar that had shattered the night was followed almost immediately by the sound of movement coming from every direction. Dry grass swayed violently as shadows pushed through it, and for several seconds Silver couldn’t make out exactly how many creatures were approaching.
The darkness made everything worse. Their eyes adjusted slowly to the dim light from the camp, while the beasts remained almost perfectly concealed among the rocks and grass.
"How many?" Ravenna asked, her tone restrained.
"Don’t know yet," Silver whispered back.
He drew his sword and moved toward the outer edge of the vehicle formation. The contractors were already awake, and the camp that had been quiet only moments earlier had transformed into an organized defensive position.
The Rank Four contractors moved with an efficiency that immediately reminded Silver why Larry had chosen them for the expedition. They simply took positions.
Larry stepped into the open space between the vehicles and raised his weapon.
"Stay inside the formation!" he shouted. "Don’t chase anything into the grass!"
Silver nodded.
That was an important instruction. The beasts were using the darkness and terrain to their advantage. If anyone pursued them too far, they could easily become surrounded.
The first creature emerged from the darkness.
It was a large, wolf-like beast with a body almost twice the size of an ordinary wolf. Its hide was covered in short, coarse fur, and several bone-like protrusions ran along its spine.
A second appeared behind it, then another, then several more. Silver narrowed his eyes.
There were at least twenty, perhaps more they had never seen.
"Small beast tide," Elena said.
"Don’t underestimate it."
The first beast charged.
A gunshot cracked through the night. The creature’s head snapped sideways as the bullet struck it. It rolled across the ground and stopped.
Another contractor fired the bullet hitting another beast. The rest didn’t hesitate. They charged harder.
Silver raised his firearm.
[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated]
The weapon felt almost like an extension of his arm.
Bang!
The bullet went directly through its skull. The creature collapsed. Silver immediately shifted his aim.
Another beast was already approaching from the left. He fired again and the bullet struck its eye.
It fell.
"Left!"
Ravenna shouted, and Silver turned. A beast had slipped between two vehicles.
Ravenna fired.
The shot hit its neck causing it to stagger. Silver finished it with another round.
Their movements were almost instinctive now. There was no need to shout instructions to each other. They simply reacted.
Ravenna moved whenever Silver moved. Silver covered whichever side Ravenna wasn’t watching. Their coordination had become almost effortless after everything they had survived together.
Antony emerged from his tent moments later while still adjusting his clothing.
"What happened?"
Silver glanced at him.
"Beasts."
Antony looked toward the charging creatures.
"Oh."
His expression changed, then he smiled.
"Finally."
Silver stared at him.
"You’re enjoying this?"
"A little."
He shifted his body and his form changed. The transformation was quick and smooth. His physical structure becoming more feminine as his beast integration responded. His agility increased dramatically.
Antony immediately moved. One moment he was standing near the vehicle amd the next, he had already crossed several meters.
A beast lunged at him which he sidestepped effortlessly. His weapon struck the creature from the side. The beast crashed into the ground. Antony spun away before another could reach him.
Silver watched briefly.
His ability really was still strange to watch. It was just too unimaginable and it was clear that the other contractors were confused by it.
His transformation made him difficult to predict.
Another beast charged Silver, he stepped sideways. The creature’s claws passed inches from his chest.
Silver’s sword flashed, the blade cutting across its throat. Blood sprayed across the dry grass and yhe creature collapsed.
Silver immediately moved again. Another beast came from the opposite side. He fired his gun at close range and the bullet struck its skull.
The entire fight was chaotic, but it wasn’t nearly as difficult as the larger beast encounters they had survived. The Rank Four contractors were simply too powerful. A single attack from one of them could kill or cripple most of the beasts immediately.
The only real danger came from the numbers and the darkness. Several creatures attempted to circle the camp.
Larry immediately noticed.
"Don’t let them spread!"
Two Rank Fours moved toward the flank. Their attacks tore through the approaching beasts. Silver fired another burst killing three of the beasts at once.
A fourth beast attempted to leap over the vehicle. Ravenna shot it midair. It crashed onto the hood.
Silver glanced at her.
"Nice."
She smiled.
"You’re welcome."
Another roar came from the darkness. Everyone paused for half a second.
Silver immediately turned toward the sound as a much larger silhouette emerged. The creature was nearly three meters long.
Its body resembled a massive hyena, but its jaws were far too large, and its forelimbs were thick enough to crush a person.
Silver’s eyes narrowed.
"That one’s bigger."
Larry immediately moved.
"Leave it!"
One of the Rank Four contractors stepped forward as the beast charged. The contractor didn’t retreat.
He swung his weapon. The impact was brutal. The creature was thrown sideways and crashed into a rock. Before it could recover, the contractor struck again and the beast stopped moving.
Silver stared for a moment. That was the difference between Rank Two and Rank Four. Even the larger beast hadn’t lasted more than a few seconds. The remaining creatures began retreating.
Larry raised his weapon.
"Don’t chase!"
Everyone stopped.
The beasts disappeared into the grass and silence returned. For several seconds, nobody moved.
Silver kept his sword raised as he waited, but nothing else came.
Larry scanned the surrounding area.
"Hold."
Everyone remained ready. Another minute passed, still nothing.
Larry finally lowered his weapon.
"Check the camp."
The contractors began inspecting the vehicles and tents. Silver looked around. Several dead beasts were scattered around the perimeter.
Blood covered the ground, one vehicle had claw marks along its side, and another had a damaged rear panel. But nobody appeared seriously injured.
Ravenna walked toward Silver.
"Are you hurt?"
Silver shook his head.
"You?"
"No."
Antony walked over. He had blood splattered across his clothes.
"That was fun."
Ravenna looked at him.
"You have a strange definition of fun."
Antony laughed.
Larry approached.
"Everyone accounted for?"
One of the contractors called out.
"All present."
"Any injuries?"
"Minor."
Larry nodded.
"Good."
He looked toward the dead beasts.
"Collect the cores."
Several contractors immediately began doing so. Silver helped with the cleanup. The attack had been short,maybe fifteen minutes. Yet it had changed the mood of the entire camp.
Nobody was relaxed anymore. The earlier peace of the journey had disappeared. Every contractor was now looking toward the darkness.
The beasts had found them and that meant other beasts could as well.
Larry gathered everyone together.
"From now on, nobody leaves the formation alone."
He looked around.
"We increase patrol frequency."
"Understood."
"And keep weapons within reach."
Silver nodded.
He returned to the vehicle and checked it. The scratches weren’t severe. The damage was mostly superficial which was fortunate.
Ravenna stood beside him.
"Not too bad."
"No." Silver looked toward the darkness. "But it’s a warning."
"About tomorrow?"
"About everything especially where we are heading."
Ravenna nodded.
They returned to their tent after the cleanup. Neither of them went immediately back to sleep.
Silver sat down. Ravenna remained beside him.
"You think there will be more?"
"Maybe."
"But the attack was small."
"That’s what worries me."
Ravenna looked at him.
"Why?"
Silver looked toward the tent opening.
"Because if this was just a random beast attack, there’s nothing to worry about."
"And if it wasn’t?"
Silver didn’t answer immediately.
"The Yellow Zone is changing."
Ravenna frowned.
"Because we’re getting closer to Death Row Valley?"
"Possibly or something worse."
She sighed.
"Then tomorrow will be interesting."
Silver smiled faintly.
"That’s one word for it."
They eventually returned to bed. Silver didn’t sleep immediately, he listened to the activities outside. The patrol teams were still moving around the camp.
Every few minutes, he could hear footsteps but the night remained quiet. Eventually, exhaustion overcame him and he closed his eyes.