I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 286: 286:Back.

The journey back to the observation centre felt nothing like the journey that had brought them into Death Row Valley. When they had first entered the valley, there had been conversation, occasional jokes from Antony, Silver’s quiet observations, Ravenna’s comments whenever something caught her attention, and the constant expectation that they would eventually find whatever it was they had come here to search for.

Now there was nothing only a heavy silence filled with emotions that non of them could fully describe.

The vehicle moved through the darkness with only the sound of the engine and the occasional bump of the uneven road disturbing the silence.

Antony remained behind the wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, while Ravenna sat in the passenger seat with her hands clasped tightly together, staring through the windshield without really seeing anything.

She had not spoken much since they left. Every few minutes, however, her hand would move toward the tracker.

She would activate it, stare at the display and get nothing. Silver’s signal remained absent. She would deactivate it and put it down, only to pick it up again several minutes later.

So much for military grade

Antony noticed but didn’t say anything.

He understood that there was no point telling her to stop checking. If he told her the tracker wouldn’t suddenly start working simply because she checked it another hundred times, she would probably ignore him anyway.

And perhaps, deep down, he understood why she kept doing it. As long as she was looking at the tracker, there was still something she could do. She could watch the screen, wait, and hope.

If she stopped checking it, then she would have nothing left except uncertainty.

Ravenna stared at the dark screen again, still nothing. Her fingers tightened around the device.

"He’s alive."

The words came out quietly.

Antony kept his eyes on the road.

"Yeah, he is."

"You don’t sound convinced."

"I didn’t say I wasn’t."

Ravenna turned toward him. Antony glanced at her briefly before returning his attention to the road.

"I said he’s alive," Antony quietly said

"You don’t know that," she countered.

"No."

His answer was painfully honest. Ravenna looked away again.

"Then don’t say it like you do."

Antony was quiet for several seconds.

"Fine." He paused. "But I’m not going to tell you he’s dead either, if you want to hear it from someone; it’s not going to be me."

Ravenna’s fingers tightened around the tracker. She didn’t respond.

The vehicle continued through the valley.

The journey that should have taken them much longer was made faster by their refusal to stop. They didn’t establish camp, stop for dinner, or even properly rest when they found relatively safe sections of the road.

Antony simply kept driving while Ravenna remained beside him, occasionally checking the tracker and staring toward the dark landscape outside.

The deeper parts of Death Row Valley were behind them now. The surroundings gradually became more familiar, the density of the beasts decreased, and the terrain became easier to navigate.

The massive rocky formations and thick vegetation gave way to the routes they had previously travelled.

Yet Ravenna couldn’t bring herself to feel relieved. Every kilometer they travelled away from the cave felt wrong. She knew it was irrational but she couldn’t help the way she felt.

They had to return because they needed help. They couldn’t rescue Silver by sitting outside the collapsed cave with no resources. But every time the vehicle moved farther away, Ravenna felt as though she were abandoning him.

She looked through the side window.

"How far?"

Antony glanced at the navigation display.

"Still a while."

Ravenna nodded, then returned her attention to the tracker.

Nothing.

Her chest tightened.

"Maybe the signal is blocked."

Antony didn’t answer immediately.

"Probably."

Ravenna looked at him.

"You’re lying."

Antony sighed.

"I don’t know."

"Then say that."

"I don’t know."

She nodded.

That answer was somehow easier to accept.

The first attack came roughly an three hours after they had left the cave. There was almost no warning. A large beast burst from the grass and charged directly toward the vehicle.

Antony reacted immediately and swerved. The beast slammed into the side of the vehicle, sending it violently sideways.

Ravenna’s shoulder struck the door but she barely noticed. Her sword was already in her hand.

The vehicle stopped.

The beast turned. It was a large quadrupedal creature covered in dark scales, its mouth filled with rows of short, sharp teeth.

Antony shifted into his female form.

"I’ll handle it."

Ravenna opened the door.

"No."

Antony looked at her.

"I need to fight."

Her voice was quiet but firm.

Antony understood that she needed something to occupy her mind. The e two stepped out.

The beast charged.

Ravenna moved first.

Flame Edge

Fire spread along her sword.

She stepped forward and swung. The flaming blade cut across the beast’s shoulder.

The creature roared.

Antony appeared beside it and struck from the opposite side. The fight didn’t last long. The beast was already wounded from the earlier battle, and Ravenna’s attacks were far more aggressive than usual.

Within a few minutes, it collapsed.

Ravenna stood over the corpse. Her sword continued burning. She stared at the beast without expression.

Antony walked toward her.

"You okay?"

Ravenna wiped the blood from her blade.

"No."

She returned to the vehicle.

Antony watched her for a moment before following. Neither of them spoke about the fight.

They continued driving.

Several hours later, the second attack came. This time, it was a group of smaller beasts. They surrounded the vehicle and attempted to tear at the tires.

Antony changed forms and dealt with most of them while Ravenna used her sword to eliminate the ones that came from the opposite side.

Again, it was over quickly.

Again, Ravenna barely reacted, she simply returned to the vehicle. The rest of the journey passed without another major incident.

The moon moved across the sky and the darkness gradually began thinning, yet they still didn’t stop.

Ravenna’s exhaustion was becoming obvious. Her eyes were red, her body ached and her mind felt numb, but she refused to sleep.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Silver falling, the ground disappearing beneath him, the queen attacking,and him telling her not to worry.

’I’ll teleport there.’

Those had been his words. He had sounded so confident, so certain. As though there was no possibility that he wouldn’t return.

Ravenna pressed her forehead against the window.

"Idiot."

Antony glanced at her.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She looked at the tracker again. Her eyes burned but she forced herself not to cry. She had already cried enough.

At least, that was what she told herself. But the tears still came which she quickly wiped them away.

Antony pretended not to notice.

Eventually, the familiar lights of the observation centre appeared in the distance. Ravenna straightened, her exhausted eyes immediately focusing.

"The centre."

Antony nodded.

"Yeah."

For the first time in hours, there was something resembling urgency in his voice. He increased their speed.

The massive military observation centre gradually came into view.

Its defensive walls were illuminated by powerful lights, and several watchtowers stood above them. Vehicles moved through the outer area, while armed Contractors patrolled the perimeter.

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