Chapter 98: Clean up.
Chapter 98: 98: Clean up.
For several long seconds after the Underground Worm’s body struck the earth, nobody moved. The cheers that had begun spreading across the checkpoint faded almost as quickly as they had appeared.
The captain of Preventive Subjugation Squad Four remained standing with one hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword, his gaze fixed on the enormous tunnel that disappeared into darkness beneath the ruined lodging district.
His warning had been enough. Every veteran contractor became silent, even those who had started congratulating one another immediately returned to their positions.
Silver noticed it before anyone spoke, everyone had become cautious again and the tension could be cut with a knife.
The monster was dead but that did not necessarily mean the danger was over. The vibrations beneath the ground gradually grew stronger. They were nowhere near as heavy as before, but they were unmistakable.
Ravenna slowly tightened her grip around the handle of her sword and pulled the child in her arms closer to her.
"...Another one?"
Silver frowned.
"No, it feels different."
She looked at him.
"You can tell?"
"I think so. The first worm..." he searched for the words. "...It felt like the entire ground was breathing but this is lighter and smaller."
Almost on cue, one of the sensory contractors kneeling nearby opened his eyes.
"Multiple life signatures."
The checkpoint commander immediately looked over.
"Numbers?"
"Several dozen."
"Strength?"
The sensory contractor hesitated.
"...Weak."
The commander blinked.
"Weak?"
The man nodded.
"No individual signature is above Tier Two."
Before anyone could respond, the captain of the Subjugation Squad spoke calmly.
"Carrion followers."
The commander relaxed almost instantly.
"I see."
He raised his voice toward the surrounding contractors.
"Maintain positions, there is no need for panic. These are scavengers, they’ve followed the worm because of the corpse."
Silver quietly repeated the unfamiliar term, "...Carrion followers."
Standing a short distance away, one of the older contractors overheard him. The man chuckled before speaking.
"First time seeing a major subjugation?"
Silver nodded.
"Yes."
The veteran rested his rifle against one shoulder.
"It happens more often than you’d think. When something that large dies... It becomes food, for everything. Since it’s strong, its body is naturally nutritious and most of them are after its core. Any scavenger that eats it will naturally get a bigger boost in strength and power."
The explanation had barely ended when the first creature emerged. It wasn’t impressive. In fact, compared to the Underground Worm, it almost looked pathetic.
A dog-like beast climbed from one of the smaller tunnels, its body covered in patches of dull gray scales while long bony spikes protruded from its back.
Its nose twitched continuously. It wasn’t looking at the contractors, but was staring at the dead worm; then another appeared, and another.
Soon dozens of scavenger beasts crawled from cracks in the ground, abandoned drainage systems, and collapsed tunnels. Some resembled oversized lizards while others looked like hairless wolves with elongated limbs. A few were little more than giant insects.
None of them paid much attention to the humans. Every pair of eyes remained fixed on the enormous corpse lying in the middle of the ruined checkpoint.
"They’re hungry," Ravenna observed quietly.
Silver nodded.
"And desperate."
The beasts had probably followed the worm for days. An apex predator left behind scraps capable of feeding entire ecosystems. Unfortunately for them... those scraps were sitting inside a military checkpoint.
The captain didn’t even draw his weapon. He simply looked toward several members of his squad.
"Clean-up Team... Proceed."
"Yes, Captain."
Six contractors stepped forward. Unlike the earlier battle, there was no tension. One woman carrying a spear casually spun the weapon once before jogging toward the nearest group of scavengers.
Another contractor rested an enormous hammer over one shoulder as though he were taking an evening stroll.
Silver found himself staring.
"...They’re relaxed."
The older contractor beside him laughed.
"Of course they are, they’re only Tier One and Two. To those people... They’re about as dangerous as stray dogs."
The comparison felt almost unbelievable. Only a few days ago... a single Tier Two beast would have demanded Silver’s complete concentration. Now... An entire pack barely warranted attention.
The spearwoman reached the first beast, without slowing her pace, she thrust her spear once. The weapon pierced cleanly through the creature’s skull before she effortlessly pulled it free and continued walking.
Behind her, the hammer user swung lazily. His weapon struck one of the larger scavengers.
The beast simply... exploded, its body literally burst apart from the force. The contractor scratched the back of his neck.
"...Oops."
Another squad member laughed.
"You hit it too hard again."
"I was aiming for the one behind it."
"Sure you were."
Silver blinked.
"They’re joking..."
Ravenna couldn’t help smiling.
"They’re not even breathing hard. It kinda makes me feel pathetic"
Silver sighed then softly chuckled," I couldn’t agree more."
Within minutes, the dozens of scavengers had been eliminated. The entire engagement had looked less like a battle and more like routine maintenance. One contractor even complained about missing breakfast while cleaning blood from his boots.
The checkpoint commander finally lowered his communicator.
"Threat eliminated... Stand down."
A collective sigh spread across the checkpoint. People who had been clenching their shoulders finally relaxed.
Several civilians began crying, afraid, because they had somehow survived. Children who had spent the last hour hiding inside reinforced shelters cautiously stepped outside, staring at the dead Underground Worm with wide eyes.
One little boy tugged at his father’s sleeve.
"Is it really dead?"
His father looked toward the Preventive Squad before answering.
"It won’t hurt anyone anymore."
The child smiled.
"Those soldiers are amazing."
"They really are."
Silver watched the exchange silently. There was something comforting about it. Heroes existed here but not the kind from stories. These were professionals; people who trained, prepared, and worked together so that everyone else could sleep safely.
"Jayden!"
A male voice echoed throughout the ruined checkpoint dominating the other voices. Silver looked towards the caller, who was standing near the shelter that had children inside.
Silver could see that the man was frantically searching around. Before he could say anything, another voice came.
"Dad!"
The boy in Ravenna’s arms screamed and started squirming. He had been surprisingly docile while watching the fight but now, he finally turned into a child.
Ravenna let him down. His father’s gaze met his at that moment. The boy shot towards him, faster than Silver had anticipated.
His father met him in the middle and picked him, pulling him closer as though his life depended on it.
It was then that Silver noticed the clothes he was wearing and it dawned on him. He was one of the Soldiers with sensory abilities.
The man walked over and bowed the moment he stopped.
"Thank you for taking care of my child."
Silver nodded, "No worries, but do they allow you to come with children. "
The Soldier shook his head." Today was my leave day, my wife dropped him off before going on her hunt. It’s something we normally do since it’s a waste to go back to the Sanctuary."
Silver nodded.
"That makes sense. It seems today was a bad day?"
He chuckled, pulling the boy closer.
"It really was. Thank you again."
Silver nodded.
"No worries, anyone would have taken care of him."
He nodded, but more hesitantly.
"You’d be surprised," he smiled at them before continuing," thank you again, I should get going. "
He gestured to the other group of parents. Silver nodded.
"Sure, sure, sorry to keep you waiting. "
"No worries. And thank you again. "
Silver was sure that the man didn’t see the incident of the child’s near-death or he would be more freaked out than he was, but it was better this way. There was no need to stress and already stressed man.