I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 96: 96:Subjugation team.

The moment the crimson eyes opened, the entire checkpoint seemed to stop breathing.

Dust still hung in the air, thick enough to obscure the creature’s full body, yet those two eyes burned through the haze like two furnaces.

Silver could feel the hunger in them without the need for an attack.

Then came the sound; a deep, guttural screech echoed from somewhere beneath the earth before erupting into an earsplitting roar that shook windows, rattled armored vehicles, and vibrated through every contractor’s bones.

The dust exploded outward and Silver finally saw it.

”...”

He didn’t say a word and neither did Ravenna. The Underground Worm dwarfed every beast either of them had ever encountered.

Nearly thirty meters of thick, armored body rose from the crater beneath the lodging district before disappearing underground again.

Layer upon layer of black segmented plates wrapped around its body like overlapping shields, each scale scarred from countless battles.

One side of its head was ripped open. A massive bite mark extended from the jaw to halfway down its neck and fresh blood flowed continuously from the wound but Silver could see a part of it visibly healing as a layer of hardened flesh covered the wound.

It wasn’t healthy. It had clearly survived something that could have killed almost anything else.

Even injured, its presence alone made Tier Three beasts seem harmless.

”...So that’s a Tier Five...” Ravenna whispered.

Silver didn’t answer immediately. He simply watched in awe.

’No, that’s an apex predator’

There was a difference. Even the Tier 5 ape Shawn had fought wasn’t as intimidating as this. It was clear there were still levels among the beasts in each Tier.

The worm disappeared without warning. The ground swallowed its enormous body within seconds and only the ruined crater remained.

Several rookie contractors instinctively stepped forward.

”Where did it...”

”Don’t move!”

The shout came from one of the checkpoint captains.

”Eyes on the ground!”

Every experienced contractor immediately spread apart, nobody stood close together or remained in open spaces.

Silver noticed.

”They know.”

Ravenna nodded.

”They’re watching the vibrations.”

The captain raised one arm.

”Ground Sensor Team!”

Four contractors wearing dark gray armor immediately knelt, placing one hand against the concrete, and closed their eyes.

Silver frowned.

”...Perception abilities.”

”Probably.”

The contractors remained completely still for a few seconds; three, four, five, then...

”COMING LEFT!”

The warning came so quickly it almost sounded instinctive. Every nearby contractor scattered. The Earth erupted right after.

BOOM!!

The worm burst upward beneath an armored transport, launching the ten-ton vehicle nearly twenty meters into the air.

But before it could fall, three figures moved in an almost blur. Silver barely saw them.

One contractor caught the front of the vehicle, another caught the rear and the third redirected its momentum. Instead of crashing into civilians, the transport landed upright fifty meters away.

Silver’s eyes widened.

”...They caught it.”

Ravenna looked equally stunned.

”That thing weighs... Several tons. And they stopped it.”

The worm lunged, its enormous jaws swallowed one of the defensive barricades whole. The steel disappeared like paper, yet before it could continue...

”Barrier Unit!”

Eight contractors slammed their palms into the ground simultaneously.

Golden geometric patterns spread across the ground and transparent walls erupted around nearby civilians. The worm crashed directly into the barrier. It bent and cracked but fortunately still held.

Silver instinctively calculated.

’Those barriers shouldn’t survive that impact’

Despite his thoughts, they did and the only reason was probably that eight people shared the burden.

”They’re using synchronization...” Silver muttered.

Ravenna looked over.

”What?”

”They’re combining identical abilities,” he excitedly said,” Instead of one contractor creating a barrier... They’re making one barrier together.”

She stared at the barrier.

”...Can people actually do that?”

”I didn’t know before but apparently... They can.”

Silver couldn’t hide the fascination in his voice. He had only one view of how to use his powers but now he was learning that he had been so close-minded before.

The checkpoint commander never stopped issuing orders.

”Medic Team Six!”

”North sector!”

”Barrier Unit rotate!”

”Heavy Support advance ten meters!”

”Do not pursue!”

Every command was immediate and the response was even faster. Nobody questioned him or even hesitated, years of training spoke louder than panic ever could.

Silver couldn’t help but admire it. This... Was what experience looked like.

A terrified child suddenly cried out nearby. Silver instinctively turned.

A young boy had become separated from his parents during the initial explosion. He stood frozen in the middle of an open roadway. Directly above him, the pavement cracked.

Silver’s instincts reacted instantly.

”Ravenna!”

She understood before he finished speaking.

”I’m on it!”

She sprinted toward the child and Silver moved with her.

The ground exploded immediately after and the worm burst upward, exactly where the boy had been standing.

Ravenna threw herself forward, her strengthened body covering the remaining distance in an instant. She grabbed the child around the waist. Silver appeared beside her using Short-Step.

His vision blurred from the familiar mental strain but he ignored it.

”Move!”

The three of them rolled across the pavement as jaws the size of buildings snapped shut behind them. The shockwave alone sent chunks of asphalt flying.

Ravenna landed hard, still clutching the child. Silver immediately stood between them and the worm since there was nothing else to do, not like he could fight the worm.

The worm’s crimson eyes locked onto him. For one terrifying second... the world became silent.

Then, a calm voice echoed overhead.

”Target acquired.”

Silver looked up. Something streaked across the night sky, he noticed it wasn’t one streak but five; they were black, angular military armored aircraft. Each bore the insignia of the Preventive Subjugation Corps.

They passed over the checkpoint in perfect formation. The worm noticed them immediately, its massive body twisted. The feeding frenzy... shifted. Its attention left the weaker civilians since it had found stronger prey.

The lead aircraft opened a communication channel and the pilot’s voice came through, perfectly composed.

*”Preventive Subjugation Squad Four has arrived.”

”Checkpoint Commander.”

”Maintain civilian evacuation.”

”The battlefield is now ours.”*

Relief spread across the checkpoint almost instantly. Veteran contractors visibly relaxed. Even one exhausted barrier user actually laughed out loud.

”They’re here...”

”We’re going to live.”

Silver caught that sentence.

Not...

”We’ll win.”

But...

”We’re going to live.”

That was the reputation these people carried. Silver could see how much faith everyone had in the team.

The aircraft circled once, then its rear cargo ramps opened. Figures stepped into the night without any hesitation, jumping one after another from dozens of meters above the ground and free-falling directly toward the monster.

Silver watched in disbelief.

”...They’re not opening parachutes.”

Ravenna’s eyes remained fixed upward.

”I don’t think... they need them.”

The first contractor struck the ground like a meteor.

BOOOOM!!

The concrete shattered beneath his boots, yet the man didn’t even bend his knees. He slowly straightened. The man was a little over one ninety centimeters and had on heavy black combat armor. A massive tower shield rested in one hand and a war hammer in the other.

Behind him, five more landed, then eight, then twelve. Each from impossible heights and landing as though gravity barely existed.

They went into combat mode without so much as a glance at the civilians. The captain of the squad calmly drew a single longsword from his waist, its blade shimmered with faint blue lines.

He glanced once at the worm then quietly spoke into his communicator.

”Formation Delta.”

”Twelve seconds.”

Every member moved instantly. Silver immediately recognized what he was seeing. They weren’t just improvising, they’d clearly fought together... hundreds of times.

The worm roared.

The captain raised his sword.

”...Begin.”

The ground beneath the monster suddenly exploded, simply because six contractors had charged simultaneously. Fast enough, that Silver almost couldn’t follow them.