I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 263: 263:The end.

For several seconds after the Rank Five beast crashed into the ground, the entire observation centre remained strangely quiet as they watched the two contractors drag themselves forward; no one wanted to be in the line of fire if it suddenly jumped up.

Silver could still hear the ringing in his ears from the final explosion, and the dust thrown into the air by the impact had spread across the eastern side of the compound, partially obscuring the enormous corpse lying beyond the defensive perimeter.

The soldiers who had been shouting commands only moments ago stood still, watching the crater and waiting for confirmation that the creature was truly dead. Even the remaining beasts seemed to hesitate, as though the death of the creature that had dominated the sky had somehow reached them.

The two stepped next to the birds head and mugged it a little; no reaction. They then stabbed but there was still on reaction.

Then one of the contractors shouted.

”Confirmed! The Rank Five is dead!”

The tension broke instantly.

”Ground teams, advance!”

”Clear the remaining beasts!”

”Don’t let them reach the inner perimeter!”

The battlefield erupted again as everyone went to the remaining beasts.

Silver barely had time to process what he had just witnessed before the contractors stationed along the walls surged forward. The smaller beasts that had survived the earlier waves were still scattered across the valley, and although most were attempting to flee, many were trapped between the advancing teams and the outer defenses.

This time, the fighting was even more one-sided.

Without the flying beast above them, the remaining creatures had lost whatever momentum they possessed. Rank Three beasts that had looked intimidating only minutes earlier were being cut down almost casually by the experienced contractors.

A large wolf-like beast lunged toward a soldier. The soldier stepped aside before slicing it in half. Another attempted to climb the defensive wall and a spear pierced its skull. It tumbled down the wall and into the group of it’s frightened kin.

Three more beasts charged together but a wave of fire consumed all three. Silver watched from behind the second defensive line, his expression becoming increasingly thoughtful.

They weren’t celebrating yet. Nobody was behaving as though the battle were completely over.

That was another lesson. Even after killing a Rank Five beast, the people here understood that carelessness could still get them killed.

”Don’t move forward.”

Larry’s voice came from behind him.

Silver turned.

Larry was watching the battlefield.

”We’re staying here?”

”Yes.”

Silver glanced toward the fallen Rank Five beast.

”It seems we’re going to be stuck here for a while. It’s fascinating seeing them this enthusiastic.”

”Yeah... The important part is over.” Larry folded his arms. ”But the valley isn’t empty yet, beast tides are dangerous because of the sheer numbers, some might even be underground. Those are the hardest to find.”

Silver nodded.

A beast tide wasn’t a single creature, it was a moving mass. Even if the strongest beast had been killed, hundreds of smaller creatures could still cause casualties if people became careless.

Ravenna stood beside Silver, watching the battle.

”They’re not even tired.”

Larry glanced at her.

”They’re experienced with this. It’s sort of a normal occurrence around this areas.” He paused. ”And they’re working together.”

Silver looked at him.

”You’ve fought beast tides before?”

”More times than I can remember.”

”That many?”

Larry gave a dry smile.

”You don’t work around Death Row Valley for long without seeing one. It’s like a welcoming ritual to new comers. You got yours pretty early.”

Antony approached them. His expression was unusually serious.

”I think I understand why this place has so many strong contractors now.”

Larry laughed.

”You just figured that out?”

”No.” Antony looked toward the battlefield. ”I figured out why they need so many.”

Another beast exploded beneath a contractor’s attack.

Antony watched silently. Silver couldn’t blame him. The battle had changed the way he looked at the observation centre.

Before, the facility had seemed like an expensive military outpost filled with arrogant high-ranked contractors. Now Silver understood that the people here weren’t strong simply because they wanted to be; they had to be since the environment demanded it.

A Rank Five beast could appear without warning, a beast tide could arrive at the gates, and sometimes, the only thing standing between hundreds of civilians and death was a group of people capable of killing monsters.

The final few beasts began retreating. Some disappeared into the surrounding hills while others attempted to follow the original path of the migration.

The military didn’t pursue them far. Once they were outside the immediate perimeter, the soldiers pulled back.

”Let them go.”

Silver looked toward the commander.

A younger contractor nearby seemed confused.

”Sir?”

”They’re migrating.” The commander pointed toward the valley. ”There’s no reason to waste resources chasing them. They’re leaving the area probably going to another part if the red zone or something.”

The contractor nodded.

The purpose of the defense wasn’t extermination, it was protection. As long as the beasts moved away from the observation centre, there was no reason to pursue them into the valley.

Within several minutes, the battle was over and the silence that followed was almost uncomfortable. Smoke drifted across the battlefield and the smell of blood filled the air.

Broken pieces of stone and damaged equipment were scattered everywhere. Several vehicles had suffered damage. One section of the outer wall had partially collapsed but the observation centre was still standing.

Silver looked toward the corpse of the Rank Five beast.

It was enormous.

Even from this distance, its body seemed almost unreal. A group of contractors approached it cautiously. One of them stopped beside its head while another inspected the wings. Someone else began preparing specialized equipment.

Silver watched them.

”Are they going to take the core?”

Larry nodded.

”And the useful materials.”

”How much would something like that be worth?”

Larry gave him a strange look.

”More than you can probably imagine.”

Silver smiled slightly.

He wasn’t surprised. A Rank Five beast core was something most contractors would never even have the opportunity to see, yet the people here were already discussing how to extract it.

The entire process was treated almost like routine work. That was perhaps the strangest thing.

Silver looked around.

The entire battle had lasted roughly ten minutes from the moment the Rank Five beast attacked until the moment it was dead and during that, the observation centre had demonstrated enough destructive power to completely change Silver’s understanding of the world.

He had always understood that higher ranks were stronger, that was obvious. But he had thought of the ranking system as a gradual staircase.

Rank One.

Rank Two.

Rank Three.

Rank Four.

Rank Five.

Each step represented a stronger body, stronger soul, stronger abilities.