Chapter 260:Attack
Silver could see why the military wasn’t panicking. They had dealt with this before. The first wave reached the outer defensive line.
"FIRE!"
The command echoed across the facility. A multitude of contractors stepped forward.
The valley exploded as gunfire thundered from the walls, abilities erupted among the contractors, blades of wind tore through the beasts, spears of earth rose from the ground, lightning struck several creatures simultaneously, and a wave of fire swept across the front of the tide. Silver couldn’t even see probably who it was coming from cause there was just so much going around.
The first several dozen beasts were annihilated almost instantly.
Silver stared in awe. Ravenna stood beside him also fascinated. The difference was enormous; they had fought beasts during their journey, struggled, relied on careful positioning, and sometimes been forced to fight for minutes simply to kill a handful of creatures.
Here, dozens were dying in seconds. The defensive line didn’t even move. A group of Rank Three contractors worked together; a few created barriers, another manipulated the ground, a third unleashed powerful projectiles, and ghe last group attacked anything that made it through. There was no wasted movement or even time. No beast manage to make it through the solid defensive line.
Everything was coordinated.
Silver’s eyes narrowed. This was what experience looked like. They made it look so easy on the outside but Silver could imagine how many attacks they had to go through to be able to create a solid formation like that. It was impressive.
The beasts that survived the initial bombardment reached the first line. The Rank Three contractors moved from the walls and into the tide, jumping over twenty meters.
One man stepped forward and swung a massive axe, the weapon cutting through a beast from shoulder to waist. Another contractor kicked a creature backward before finishing it with a spear.
Someone else created a wall of stone that trapped several beasts together. A specialized team immediately destroyed them. The entire thing looked almost mechanical.
Ravenna whispered.
"They’re barely struggling."
Silver nodded.
"Because they’re used to it, they’ve probably fought this tides a lot. Look it’s actually only a few of them fighting, the stronger ones are still at the back."
A beast suddenly broke through the left side. Several contractors turned, and before it could reach the second line, a woman appeared in front of it.
She punched it, the impact sending the creature flying backward. It hit the ground and didn’t move again.
Antony stared in awe.
"That was Rank Three?"
"Probably."
He looked at Silver.
"She killed it with one punch."
Silver shrugged.
"People here are strong."
Antony looked dissatisfied.
"That’s becoming annoying."
Ravenna smiled.
"You’ll survive."
The tide continued.
More beasts entered the valley which the defenders continued killing. Silver noticed something important; the beasts weren’t actually fighting intelligently, they were simply trying to move forward but the contractors were now the barriers.
Some attempted to climb the walls while others ran around them and some attacked anything in their path. But there was no organized strategy and that made them much easier to deal with.
Silver watched the tide carefully.
"These aren’t attacking."
Ravenna looked at him.
"What?"
"They’re trying to get through."
She watched for a moment, then nodded.
"You’re right."
Silver’s expression became thoughtful.
"The observation centre is just in their path."
"Then why are they fighting them?"
"Because they can’t let them through imagine the chaos that would cause. It’s like allowing animals from another echo system into the next one, especially with such hige numbers. No one wants frequent territorial fights... I imagine what happens to those defeated?"
"They’ll move into the green zones."
"Exactly."
A group of larger beasts suddenly appeared. These were Rank Three. Their bodies resembled massive boars, with thick armored hides and enormous tusks. They charged the defensive line.
The military immediately reacted; several contractors moved together. One created a wall.
The boars smashed into it cracking it. A second contractor reinforced it as a third attacked from above aiming of their heads. The first boar collapsed and the others were killed shortly afterward.
Silver watched closely.
They were not stronger individually than the beasts he and Ravenna had encountered but the difference in teamwork was massive.
There was no hesitation and nobody interfered with someone else’s attack since everyone knew their role.
Silver quietly admired it. He had spent much of his life in his previous world as a soldier. He recognized disciplined coordination when he saw it.
The battle continued for several minutes. The number of beasts began to decrease, and the dust cloud became thinner.
The valley floor was covered with bodies with blood staining the rocks. Yet the defenders remained organized.
The commander watched the battlefield.
"Second wave!"
Another group of beasts emerged from the dust.
Silver frowned.
There were still hundreds but the second wave was smaller. The defenders immediately opened fire again. The observation centre shook with explosions.
Silver instinctively stepped back. Ravenna remained beside him.
"Do you think they’ll break through?"
"No."
"You’re sure?"
Silver watched the defenders.
"Look at them."
Ravenna followed his gaze.
The strongest contractors hadn’t even moved yet. The Rank Fours remained near the walls watching and waiting.
Silver got what they were doing. These first waves weren’t even worth their attention. They were saving their strength for something else, then one of the soldiers on the tower suddenly shouted.
"Contact!"
The entire defensive line froze for a fraction of a second.
"Air!"
Silver looked up.
At first, he saw nothing, then a shadow passed across the valley and it was enormous. The smaller beasts below suddenly scattered.
Silver’s expression changed. Whatever was above them was very different.
The commander looked toward the sky.
"All Rank Fours, prepare!"
The words immediately changed the atmosphere. The Rank Four contractors stepped forward.
Silver’s eyes narrowed, then looked toward Ravenna.
"Something big is coming."
She tightened her grip on her weapon.
"I can see that."
A roar descended from the sky. It was deeper than anything Silver had heard since entering the valley. The sound rolled across the mountains. The remaining beasts on the ground began fleeing, even the Rank Three creatures abandoned the migration.
The soldiers didn’t move but simply looked upward. A massive shape slowly emerged from the dust. Wings spread across the sky.
Silver stared.
The creature was enormous.
Its body resembled a combination of a giant bird and some kind of predatory reptile, with dark scales covering its torso and enormous wings extending from its back. Its claws were long enough to tear through reinforced steel, and its beak-like jaws opened as it descended.
The creature circled once, then its eyes settled on the observation centre. Silver felt his instincts scream; that wasn’t a normal beast.
Ravenna whispered.
"Silver."
"I know."
The commander raised his weapon.
"Rank Five confirmed."
Silence fell among the lower-ranked contractors. Silver’s eyes widened.
Rank Five.
The word carried far more weight than it had before. The creature screamed, the sound shaking the windows of the observation centre. The Rank Four contractors stepped forward. The military prepared their weapons.
Silver stood completely still.
For the first time since awakening in this world, he wasn’t wondering how he could help. He was wondering how long he would survive if that creature decided to attack him.
Then the Rank Five beast folded its wings and began its descent.