I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 294: 294:Orders.

Several hours after Ravenna and the subjugation convoy had disappeared beyond the horizon, Death Row Valley had returned to its usual silence. The road they had travelled along was now empty, with only the occasional movement of distant beasts disturbing the seemingly endless grasslands.

The sun had already begun its descent, painting the enormous valley in shades of orange and red, while the shadows of the surrounding mountains stretched farther across the land.

Near the collapsed cave, however, a lone man stood at the edge of a rocky cliff. He had been there for quite some time.

His clothes were simple enough to avoid attracting attention, and his presence was so well concealed that even a passing Contractor would have struggled to notice him unless they were actively searching. He stood several meters away from the collapsed entrance, his gaze fixed on the enormous pile of stone that now covered the passage.

Beneath those rocks was Silver. At least, that was what the man believed. He had watched the entire incident from a distance.

He had seen the group enter the cave, watched them fight, seen the situation deteriorate,and he had witnessed the final collapse. He had remained hidden throughout it all.

Not because he didn’t care, quite the opposite. He had been specifically assigned to watch Silver.

Ravenna had never noticed him. Larry and his group had never noticed him.

Even Silver, despite possessing abilities that made ordinary surveillance difficult, had never realized that someone was following him.

The man had been very careful especially after being spotted once. He had encountered Silver before, only briefly. Silver had probably never even considered him important enough to remember, and that was exactly how the man preferred it.

He looked down at the collapsed entrance. His expression was unusually grim.

"Young master..."

He sighed.

There was no movement or sound. He pulled a small communication device from his coat. For a moment, he simply stared at it, then he activated it.

A faint light appeared.

The connection was established several seconds later.

"Report."

The voice on the other side was old, deep, and calm.

The man straightened slightly.

"Sir." He looked toward the collapsed cave. "The young master has been trapped."

There was silence.

"Explain."

"The cave collapsed before he could escape." The man swallowed. "I watched the entire incident. Miss Ravenna and the other companion escaped with the remaining members of the expedition, but the young master did not."

"You’re certain?"

"Yes."

"Did you see him die?"

The question was direct.

The man hesitated.

"No."

"Then don’t say he is dead."

"I wasn’t going to." The man looked down at the rubble. "He was injured before the collapse. He fought a Rank Six beast and was critically wounded."

The voice on the other side became quieter.

"Rank Six?"

"Yes."

A long silence followed. The man could almost imagine the expression on the old man’s face.

"How did he survive that long?"

"I don’t know." The man smiled bitterly. "He’s the young master."

The old man gave no response.

The man continued.

"The cave is completely sealed. There is no visible exit from this side."

"Any signs of movement?"

"None."

"Life signs?"

"We don’t have equipment capable of detecting him through that much rock."

Another silence, then the old man’s voice returned.

"Don’t interfere."

The man frowned.

"Sir?"

"Leave him."

The man stared at the cave.

"With all due respect, sir, if he’s injured..."

"Give him one week."

The man’s expression hardened.

"One week?"

"Yes."

"That’s too long."

"You think I don’t know that?"

The man’s mouth closed.

The old man’s voice remained calm.

"I know exactly what is at stake."

"Then why..."

"Because Silver needs to learn the meaning of impulsive decisions."

The man looked down.

The old man continued.

"My grandson has spent too much time believing that independence means refusing assistance. He has always been stubborn, that is putting it mildly."

There was the faintest trace of amusement in the old man’s voice.

"From the moment he decided to leave the family’s protection, he made it clear that he wanted to prove himself."

The man sighed.

"And the family allowed him to."

"Yes."

"Even now?"

"Especially now."

The man stared at the collapsed cave.

"Sir, this isn’t some ordinary hunting ground."

"I know."

"He’s in Death Row Valley."

"I know."

"There’s a Rank Six beast inside."

"I know."

"He could die."

The old man became silent for several seconds. When he spoke again, his voice was much softer.

"I know."

The man lowered his eyes. For the first time, he heard something beneath the old man’s calm exterior.

Worry.

It was faint, almost impossible to detect but it was there. The old man cared deeply about Silver. He simply refused to let that concern dictate his actions.

"Your orders?"

"Watch the entrance."

"Understood."

"Do not enter."

The man frowned.

"And if he emerges?"

"Contact me immediately."

"And if he doesn’t?"

"Then after one week, begin the rescue."

The man was silent.

"Use the family resources?"

"Yes."

"Military?"

"If necessary."

The man nodded.

"And the helicopter?"

"Have it ready."

The order was delivered without hesitation.

"If Silver doesn’t escape on his own, we will retrieve him."

The man finally understood. This wasn’t abandonment, it was a test. A dangerous, cruel, and perhaps unnecessarily harsh test, but still a test.

Silver had wanted independence, so his family had given it to him. Now they were giving him the opportunity to prove that he could survive it.

The old man’s voice came again.

"Don’t misunderstand me."

The man straightened.

"Sir?"

"I know he’s alive."

The man looked toward the cave.

"You’re certain?"

"Yes."

"How?"

The old man gave a quiet chuckle.

"Because I know my grandson."

The man remained silent.

"He is stubborn." A pause. "Very stubborn."

Another pause.

"And he has always had an unfortunate talent for surviving situations that should have killed him."

The man couldn’t help smiling.

"That’s true."

"Then let him prove me right."

The communication went silent.

The man lowered the device. The call had ended.

For several moments, he simply stood there. The wind moved across the valley, carrying dust and the faint smell of beasts from somewhere in the distance. He looked toward the collapsed cave again.

"One week..." he shook his head. "You’re making this difficult, young master."

He knew what Silver would say if he knew about the conversation.

He would probably be furious. He would probably accuse his family of treating him like a child. And knowing Silver, he would probably insist that he could handle everything himself.

The man smiled faintly.

"That’s exactly why you’re in there."

He walked closer to the edge of the cliff. From this position, the collapsed entrance was clearly visible. There was no obvious way inside.

The rocks were enormous. The cave had collapsed deep into itself, sealing the passage with layers upon layers of stone.

The man could only imagine what it looked like below. He knew the Rank Six queen was somewhere inside, and that Silver had been injured badly enough that surviving the initial attack alone would have been difficult.

Yet something told him the young master was still alive. Perhaps it was experience, perhaps it was instinct, or perhaps it was simply the knowledge that Silver had never been particularly good at dying when people expected him to.

The man pulled out a small chair from his storage equipment and placed it near the edge, then he sat down.

He would wait.

A week wasn’t that long, at least, that was what he told himself. His eyes remained fixed on the cave.

Far away, beyond the valley, Ravenna was travelling toward Alpha Three. She believed Silver had been abandoned and nobody was coming for him.

She believed that she would have to find Shawn and somehow convince someone powerful enough to return to Death Row Valley.

She had no idea that a rescue operation had already been planned, and that Silver’s family was aware of what had happened.

She certainly didn’t know that someone had been watching Silver throughout the journey. The man looked toward the distant road where the convoy had disappeared.

"She really doesn’t know."

He shook his head.

Perhaps that was for the best. If Ravenna knew Silver’s family had been following him, she might have stayed behind. And if she had stayed behind, the family would have been forced to intervene much sooner.

At least she was safe now.

The man looked back at the cave.

"I hope you know what you’re doing, young master."

His expression softened.

Despite his orders, despite the family’s confidence, despite the fact that he had spent some time following Silver from a distance, he couldn’t completely suppress the concern inside him.

Silver wasn’t merely an assignment. Anyone given the opportunity to go to the academy had basically been given the approval stamp by the patriarch.

The man sighed.

"Don’t make me wait the entire week."

He leaned back.

The wind continued blowing through Death Row Valley. The sun finally disappeared beyond the mountains. Darkness descended over the collapsed cave.

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