Chapter 97:Subjugation success.
Chapter 97: 97:Subjugation success.
The six contractors crossed nearly a hundred meters in what seemed like a single heartbeat.
Even Silver’s enhanced perception struggled to follow them. One moment they were standing beside their captain; the next, they had already spread into a perfect semicircle around the Underground Worm.
The worm sensed the encirclement immediately. Its enormous body twisted violently, tearing through what remained of the lodging district. Reinforced concrete burst apart beneath its weight as it attempted to burrow back underground.
It never made it, one of the armored contractors slammed both hands onto the ground.
"Earth Lock."
The earth beneath the worm glowed bronze before an explosive shockwave rippled outward. Huge stone pillars erupted from deep underground, wrapping themselves around the creature’s lower body like gigantic chains.
The worm shrieked in surprise.
Silver’s eyes widened.
"They’re stopping it from diving."
Ravenna, still holding the frightened child she had rescued, could only stare.
"I thought... nothing could stop something that big underground."
"It normally couldn’t."
Silver never took his eyes off the battlefield.
"They prepared specifically for this."
The moment the worm realized it had been anchored, it lashed out with unbelievable violence. Its tail whipped across the battlefield and entire buildings disappeared beneath the impact. The sound alone was enough to rupture eardrums.
Yet before the shockwave reached the evacuation routes, four contractors stepped forward carrying tower shields nearly as tall as they were.
They planted them into the ground simultaneously. A translucent wall unfolded from each shield before linking together into one enormous barrier stretching across the checkpoint.
The impact struck. The barriers bent so deeply Silver thought they would shatter, instead, they held. Surprisingly, the contractors didn’t even take a step backward.
Only cracks spread beneath their boots as they redirected the force into the reinforced foundations below them.
"They’re using the checkpoint itself to absorb the impact," Silver muttered.
Ravenna looked at him.
"You figured that out just by watching?"
"The barriers didn’t stop the force, they redirected it."
She stared at him for a moment before looking back toward the battle.
"...You notice strange things."
Silver smiled faintly.
"My old instructor would’ve called it staying alive."
The worm’s frustration became obvious. Unable to burrow and unable to break through the defensive wall, it opened its enormous jaws.
The air suddenly distorted. Silver felt every hair on his arms stand upright.
"...Everyone down!"
The captain’s voice thundered across the battlefield. The entire Subjugation Team reacted instantly. A beam of compressed biological energy (stomach acid) erupted from the worm’s throat.
It carved across the checkpoint like a giant blade. Everything in its path simply vanished; steel melted and concrete evaporated. The reinforced watchtower nearest the eastern wall ceased to exist.
The attack continued for nearly five seconds before finally ending. When the dust settled, a trench almost three hundred meters long had been carved through the checkpoint.
Silver swallowed unconsciously.
"If that had hit the shelter..."
"No one would’ve survived," Ravenna finished quietly.
Before either of them could say another word, the captain moved. For the first time since arriving, he left his position.
Silver barely saw him disappear, one instant he stood beside his team and the next, he was standing on top of the worm’s head. The worm had healed considerably in those few seconds.
The captain drove his sword downward near the torn flesh. The impact sounded like a bell ringing across the battlefield. Instead of cutting through the armor, the blade stopped halfway.
The worm roared and violently shook its head, attempting to throw him off. The captain didn’t move an inch.
"He wasn’t trying to kill it," Silver realized.
"What?"
"He was testing the armor."
Almost as if confirming Silver’s deduction, the captain calmly spoke into his communicator.
"Outer plating hardness confirmed."
"Pattern Seven."
"Strike the fourth and seventh segments."
The entire formation changed immediately.
Silver eyes widened slightly.
"They already have different attack patterns..."
Ravenna slowly nodded.
"...Like they’re solving a problem instead of fighting."
Exactly, that was the difference. Silver had expected overwhelming power, instead, he was witnessing overwhelming discipline.
Three speed contractors darted beneath the worm’s body, weaving between its coils with impossible agility. Rather than attacking randomly, they struck the exact scales the captain had identified.
The first hit produced only sparks, the second created a small crack and the third contractor struck the same location with a massive war axe. The cracked scale shattered.
The worm screamed. For the first time... it had actually been wounded.
"Target exposed." The captain’s voice remained calm. "Elemental Unit."
Five contractors stepped forward together. One raised both hands. Cold mist spread across the battlefield as ice rapidly formed over the exposed flesh.
Another immediately followed with lightning, sending violent arcs through the frozen tissue. A third unleashed concentrated jets of flame.
But, instead of cancelling each other out, every element complemented the previous one. It was freeze, conduct, expand and fracture. The exposed flesh exploded apart.
Silver found himself unconsciously smiling.
"They’re using elemental synergy."
Ravenna looked at him.
"The same one you were trying to explain to me."
"Yes."
"But..." He couldn’t hide the admiration in his voice. "This is the perfected version."
He had read about it in the novel but putting it into words with directions had proven to be harder than he thought.
In this one, nothing was wasted. Every contractor attacked only when their role came. Nobody competed for glory or tried to land the finishing blow. Everyone trusted everyone else completely.
The worm finally began to panic. It abandoned all attempts to fight strategically. Its massive body slammed wildly against the stone restraints. One of the earth pillars cracked then another.
The captain noticed immediately.
"Three seconds."
"Prepare final sequence."
No hesitation followed the order. Every member already knew what that meant. The shield bearers withdrew, the elemental users retreated and even the heavy strength contractors stepped aside.
Only the captain remained. He slowly raised his sword and faint silver light flowed along the blade. It felt... sharp, even without getting closer.
Silver instinctively held his breath.
"Something’s different."
The captain lowered his stance.
Across the battlefield, every contractor became completely still, even the worm sensed danger. Its entire body coiled.
Then, with a deafening roar, it hurled itself directly toward the captain, sacrificing its remaining restraints in one desperate charge. The distance between them vanished almost instantly.
Ravenna unconsciously grabbed Silver’s sleeve.
"...He’s not moving."
Silver’s eyes never left the battlefield.
"No." A faint smile appeared on his face. "...He doesn’t need to."
The worm’s jaws descended, large enough to swallow a house whole. Everyone held their breath, one meter, then half a meter and then...
The captain finally stepped forward; a single, perfectly timed step. The world seemed to freeze.
No one saw the slash, not Silver or Ravenna. Even the veteran contractors watching from the walls didn’t see a thing.
The captain was suddenly standing behind the worm, his sword had already returned to its sheath.
For one long, silent second... nothing happened, then a thin silver line appeared across the worm’s neck starting from exactly where the still raw flesh had been.
The enormous body continued forward another twenty meters before stopping completely. A low cracking sound echoed through the checkpoint, then the head slowly separated from the body.
Gravity took over.
The colossal corpse crashed into the ruined checkpoint with an impact that shook the earth one final time.
Utter silence followed. Even Silver found himself unable to speak. He had thought he understood strength, he had been very wrong.
Just as the checkpoint began erupting into relieved cheers, the captain’s expression suddenly changed.
His hand moved back to his communicator. His voice, calm until now, carried an edge that Silver immediately recognized.
Concern.
"...Commander," he said quietly, his eyes turning toward the darkness beyond the checkpoint walls.
"...Something is wrong."
The celebration died almost instantly. The captain slowly looked toward the massive tunnel the worm had emerged from.
Fresh vibrations... Were coming from below.