Chapter 219:Fog 2.
Gunfire immediately followed. Silver slammed on the brakes, as the vehicle ahead swerved. Something huge had crossed the road.
"Everyone hold!" Captain Harry shouted.
Silver could feel movement. Multiple targets from all around them.
He immediately looked upward. A dark silhouette moved across the top of a rock formation, then disappeared.
Ravenna raised her rifle.
"There."
She fired.
BANG!
The shot echoed through the fog followed by a loud shriek and something falling from the rocks. The contractors nearest the vehicle opened fire.
Silver stepped out.
"Stay inside!"
Ravenna immediately objected.
"I can help."
"I know." He looked at her. "Then cover me."
She nodded.
Silver drew his sword, the fog pressed around him. He activated Spatial Sense, the world unfolded.
He found three targets then five. They were moving very fast in a loose circle around the convoy.
Silver could feel them moving through the grass, testing the convoy.
A creature suddenly rushed from the right.
Silver turned.
Its body appeared from the fog; i looked vaguely feline with long limbs,broad shoulders and a coat of pale grey fur that almost perfectly matched the mist.
Its eyes reflected the headlights.
A mist panther.
Tier Three.
Silver’s sword moved slashing towards the panther. The beast twisted midair, the blade grazing its shoulder instead of cutting through its body. It landed and immediately vanished.
Silver frowned.
"Fast."
The beast disappeared into the fog, then attacked from behind.
Silver sensed it.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated. ]
He vanished from the spot just as the claws swept through the air.
The panther landed. Silver appeared behind it.
[Space Slash Lv2 Activated]
The invisible strike tore across its back, blood spraying. The creature screamed and disappeared again.
"Silver!"
Ravenna fired.
The bullet passed directly beside his shoulder, and the panther behind him collapsed.
Silver looked at her.
"Good shot."
"I know."
She chambered another round. A second creature leapt toward her. Silver moved before it could reach her, hs sword strcking its side.
The panther spun away.
Ravenna followed with a burst of fire, flames wrapping around the creature. It screamed before disappearing into the fog.
"Two," Silver said.
Ravenna nodded.
"More are coming."
She was right. The fog seemed to move as shapes emerged from every direction.
The convoy immediately responded, gunfire erupting throughout the road, elemental attacks illuminating the mist, fireballs exploding and ice spears tore through the grass and wind blades scattered clouds of fog.
But the creatures used the environment intelligently, they never remained in one place. Whenever someone fired, they disappeared. Whenever someone pursued, another creature attacked from behind.
Captain Harry shouted through the radio.
"Do not chase! Stay with your vehicles! They’re trying to separate us!"
Silver immediately understood. The beasts weren’t merely hunting, they were herding them , trying to create gaps and isolate individual vehicles.
"Keep moving!"
The convoy began slowly advancing again. Vehicles moved through the fog while contractors defended them from every side.
Silver climbed back into the driver’s seat. Ravenna remained beside him, her rifle positioned through the partially opened window.
"Drive." She said. "I’ll cover you."
Silver nodded. The vehicle moved forward.
A panther appeared on the left, Ravenna fired and the creature dropped. Another attacked from the right, forcing Silver to swerve. Ravenna shot it through the shoulder.
Silver accelerated.
A third landed on the hood, its claws scraping across the metal. Ravenna fired at point-blank range. The creature disappeared from the hood.
Silver kept driving.
Their coordination was almost automatic, neither needed to explain what the other should do. Silver drove while Ravenna watched the blind spots.
When she fired, Silver adjusted. When Silver sensed movement, Ravenna was already preparing.
They didn’t even have to look at one another, yet neither of them commented on it. The emotional uncertainty from the previous night remained, but when danger appeared, that uncertainty disappeared.
The convoy continued forward and the fog became thicker, then something larger appeared. Silver’s Spatial Sense detected it before his eyes could.y
His expression changed.
"...Something big."
Ravenna immediately turned.
"How big?"
"Much bigger than the others."
A roar shook the fog causing the surrounding grass bent outward. Several contractors froze.
Captain Harry shouted.
"Everyone hold!"
A massive creature emerged, it resembled a panther, but it was almost twice the size. Its fur was dark grey with mist constantly curling around its body. Its eyes were pale blue that held power.
Silver immediately recognized its presence.
Tier Four.
The creature stared at the convoy, then, it vanished.
Silver’s eyes narrowed.
"Where..."
A massive impact struck the lead vehicle and the truck was thrown sideways.
People screamed.
The beast had appeared from the fog and struck the vehicle with enough force to move several tons of metal. Gunfire erupted but the creature disappeared again.
"Don’t chase it!"
Harry shouted.
"Keep formation!"
The convoy tightened.
Silver’s heart beat faster, this wasn’t going to be easy. The fog was the beast’s territory, and unlike the smaller predators, it understood exactly how dangerous the convoy was.
It wasn’t going to fight them directly; it was going to wait, test them and then strike when they were vulnerable.
Silver tightened his grip on the steering wheel while Ravenna raised her rifle. They both knew, the next attack, would be worse.
Silver could barely see the vehicle directly ahead anymore. Its rear lights were reduced to two faint red points floating in the white haze, then even those disappeared.
"Keep moving!" Captain Harry shouted over the radio. "Don’t stop unless your vehicle is disabled!"
Silver tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The engine responded with a low growl as he carefully kept the car moving forward.
Beside him, Ravenna had her sniper rifle braced against the window, her eyes searching the fog.
"Where is it?"
Silver didn’t answer immediately. His Spatial Sense Lv2 was active. The world around him felt different, all of them existed within his awareness as vague spatial shapes.
But the Tier Four beast was difficult to track since it had already moved.
Silver could feel the empty space where it had been moments ago, but its current position was unclear.
"It moved."
"Where?"
"...I don’t know."
Ravenna looked at him.
That answer alone told her how serious the situation was. Silver could normally detect movement with much greater precision.
If even he couldn’t locate the creature, they were fighting on its terms. A deep growl coming from suddenly rolled through the fog.
Silver immediately checked the rear mirror but found nothing, then...
BOOM!
The convoy vehicle behind them was struck from the side. The truck spun across the road, nearly colliding with another vehicle.
"Contact rear!" Someone shouted over the radio.
"Protect the damaged vehicle!"
Several contractors jumped out, gunfire erupting into the fog.
The Tier Four beast disappeared again.
Silver’s eyes narrowed.
"It isn’t trying to kill everyone."
Ravenna looked at him.
"What?"
"It’s testing the convoy, will probably attack at the smallest weakness."
Another roar echoed, this time from the left. Silver turned the steering wheel slightly.
The beast emerged from the fog, its enormous body appearing for less than a second.
Ravenna fired.
The sniper round struck its shoulder. The creature twisted in midair, the bullet failing to penetrate deeply; instead, it merely tore through flesh.
The beast roared, then vanished.
Ravenna immediately reloaded.
"That worked."
"Not enough."
Silver could feel the creature moving again.
Ravenna nodded.
"We can’t kill it easily."
Another attack came, this time from the right.
Silver swerved. The beast’s claws struck the side of their vehicle instead of the windshield and the entire car lurched sideways.
Ravenna grabbed the dashboard while Silver corrected the steering.
"Still good?"
"Yes."
She looked at the massive claw marks across the passenger door.
"It almost wasn’t."
Silver accelerated.
Behind them, the convoy had begun fighting back more aggressively. Several Awakeners launched fire attacks into the fog, the orange glow briefly illuminating the mist.
For a moment, dozens of silhouettes became visible. The smaller mist panthers were everywhereas they moved between the vehicles.
Some crawled beneath them,others climbed onto rocks while several attacked contractors directly. The battle had become chaotic but the convoy didn’t collapse.
Veteran contractors kept their formations. The less experienced ones stayed close to their vehicles. Elemental contractors used their powers to create temporary zones of visibility, the marksmen fired whenever a silhouette appeared and the drivers kept moving.
Silver understood why Captain Harry had insisted on traveling together. If everyone had entered this area alone,most of them would have died.
A mist panther suddenly leapt across their hood. Silver barely had time to react. Ravenna fired and the beast fell but another appeared.
Silver drew his pistol.
[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated. ]
Bang!
The bullet struck its skull, the creature dropping into the grass. A third rushed from the opposite side.
Silver grabbed his sword. The beast’s claws came toward his face forcing him to leaned back. The claws passed inches above him.
His sword slashed towards it. The creature recoiled with a deep cut across its chest.
Ravenna finished it with another shot. Silver glanced at her, coincidentally she looked back.
Silver felt something strange in his chest; even after last night’s conversation., even after learning she needed time... She still trusted him enough to fight beside him without hesitation.
He wouldn’t take that for granted.
"Left," Ravenna suddenly said.
Silver immediately turned.