Chapter 256

One moment, Ray was lingering on the sidelines, contemplating how to make his grand entrance sufficiently flashy, when he suddenly caught sight of Van in imminent peril.

His protective instincts ignited instantly.

He wasted no time, dashing toward his friend and bashing the beast away with a strike so powerful it sent the creature hurtling through a building—its body even bursting out the other side.

He then stood directly in front of his best friend, his eyes scanning their immediate vicinity lest any other monster attempted a flanking maneuver.

"Oh? You finally decided to join the fray?" Van questioned, wasting no time in moving to back the Tribrid.

Energy beams burst from his palms with every tactical turn of his body.

"I was always planning on joining. I can’t let these precious beast cores go to waste, now can I? So, let’s start farming." Ray grinned from ear to ear.

He snapped his head to the side just in time to catch one of the spiders swinging its serrated talons toward a member of the Iron Corps.

Unhesitatingly, he surged forward with blazing velocity, interposing himself between the beast and the soldier.

Angling his head slightly, Ray drove a punishing fist into the monster’s upper jaw, snapping the creature’s head upward.

Before the spider could be launched backward, its scythe-like limb flew toward the Tribrid with rapid speed.

Ray smirked.

[Halo of Protection Activated]

Sparks of light swirled around his body.

Within a blink, a shimmering spherical barrier manifested just in time to meet the assault.

WAM—!

The beast’s scythes smashed into the barrier, which held firm against the spider’s might, though the sheer impact forced the Tribrid a few inches backward across the pavement.

A well-timed beam from Van shot forward, crashing into one of the beast’s exposed joints and sending it stumbling for a crucial moment.

That window of opportunity was all Ray required.

Lightning crackled around his knuckles before he swung his arm forward, unleashing a concentrated strike of electricity that smashed into the beast’s open mandibles.

The spider let out a piercing screech of agony, staggering backward in pain.

Seizing the opening, the Aspirant vaulted into the air with the aid of his VMS boots.

He spun in mid-air and dove downward like a determined skydiver.

His arm cocked backward as raw power flowed through his muscles.

The Gauntlet wrapped firmly around his hand, and within a second—

BANG—!

Ray’s fist smashed into the beast’s head with crushing force.

The concrete beneath their feet split upward, and visible cracks spider-webbed across the monster’s carapace.

The sheer momentum of the punch drove the beast into the ground, causing dust to billow into the air like a localized storm.

The Iron Corps members in the area paused, squinting through the haze, only to see a massive body cut through the dust and fly into a nearby building.

The reverberating force sent window panels crashing down in a rain of glass.

Looking back at the settling dust, a lone human could be seen rising with a satisfied smile, as if the whole ordeal was merely amusing—ignoring the grim reality of people dying nearby.

[You have just defeated an Advanced-rank beast: Carapace Spider.]

[Rewa...]

’Not now.’

Shifting into a combat stance as his boots hummed to life, he locked his sights on another beast crawling atop a distant building.

’... Now, we grind some more.’

....

While the combat-ready Aspirants were busy handling the threat to the best of their abilities, those who couldn’t fight were working tirelessly to evacuate as many civilians as possible.

It was no easy task, given the stray attacks and the debris constantly falling their way.

If they were only navigating the terrain with their VMS gear, they would have easily maneuvered through the chaos; however, they were burdened with carrying children or leading the elderly by the hand.

"Come on, come on! Over here!" an Iron Corps member shouted, his rifle slung over his shoulder as he waved people toward his position.

He pointed toward a heavy metal door where the entrance to an underground bunker lay in wait.

The bunker was a temporary sanctuary designed to hold the population until the dust of the gate break settled and the survivors could be relocated to a more permanent shelter.

The Aspirants assisted, leading the frightened civilians toward the soldier.

"Gently! Don’t push!"

It was all for naught.

As survival instincts kicked in with the promise of safety dangling before them, the crowd began pushing and rushing frantically toward the security of the bunkers.

They would do anything to escape the madness unfolding behind them.

— "Out of my way!"

A man bellowed as he shoved a little girl aside, sending her crashing to the hard ground while he sped forward, desperate to catch up with those at the front of the line.

The girl was bruised from the impact, her small hand grazed sharply by a stone.

The man, however, was smiling with glee as he continued his selfish sprint, shoving anyone else aside.

Whether they were old, young, or crippled—whatever stood in his way, he pushed.

He was just about to reach the group when something flew from the side with massive force, smashing into his face before sending his entire body through a billboard that was already barely holding on.

Before he could even register what was happening, his frame went through the signage completely.

Something heavy pressed down on him with immense weight.

He glanced down through the pain to see that it was one of the dreadful beasts—dead.

It had been punched through the head with overwhelming force and tossed aside like trash.

"Wha—?!"

He wasn’t given the chance to finish his sentence.

The billboard swayed precariously for a few seconds before crashing onto his body with crushing momentum.

Dust billowed into the air as he was pinned instantly, while the little girl from earlier rose, staring at the scene with a look of disbelief.

Turning around, she caught sight of a silver-haired Aspirant rampaging through the midst of the beasts, tossing them around blindly.

Taking in his facial features for a few moments, she looked at her bruised, bleeding hand before smiling at the Aspirant and whispering softly.

"Thank you for punishing bad uncle..."

Then, another Aspirant grabbed her and sprinted forward, whisking her to safety just in time as a car smashed into the space she had occupied a moment ago.