I Married A Degraded Alpha
Chapter 96: SSS-tier Beta

Chapter 96: SSS-tier Beta

Outside the ward, everything was hushed and still. Tuss leaned back in his chair, head tilted upwards, his eyes vacant, the recent scene playing over and over in his mind—the level 10 energy cannon explosion, and Yuri, covered in blood.

The energy was so intense that even level 8 insectoids couldn’t withstand it. He could only imagine its devastating power.

And the pain she must’ve felt.

But there was nothing he could do.

Tuss, the pride of the Alliance, for the first time in twenty years, loathed himself.

"Tuss, you need to get yourself together," Officer Lyao, who was standing beside him, suddenly broke the silence.

Jolted out of his musings, Tuss questioned, "Sir, why did you give Yuri a level 10 energy cannon while I only got a level 7?"

This question had been bugging Tuss for days now.

"Because she is stronger than you," Officer Lyao replied straightforwardly.

Tuss looked slightly taken aback.

"But it’s not only because of her strength. I thought she was calm, collected, well-rounded, so I gave her more authority. Who would’ve known? When she get crazy, she throws caution to the wind," Officer Lyao shook his head.

He thought he had understood Yuri. She seemed to enjoy freedom, appeared cold and arrogant, loved thrills, embraced challenges, and dared to face the impossible... He never expected that she’d be wilder than an alpha.

After four long hours of frantic medical work, when the hospital room door finally opened, Tuss and Officer Lyao rushed forward anxiously.

Neither man dared to speak. They stared, wide-eyed, at the doctors.

"She’s not going to die immediately," one doctor started.

"But her injuries are severe. She won’t recover for at least several months," the other added.

Hearing this, both guys heaved a sigh of relief. Their backs were drenched in sweat.

"First, you two will need to sign a confidentiality agreement," Officer Lyao instructed as he pulled out his opticomputer and quickly brought up two agreements. "This is a matter of great importance. I hope you understand."

The doctors shared a glance, their expressions serious. One of them asked curiously, "What is her rank—"

"I don’t know," Officer Lyao interrupted, shaking his head. "She’s never been tested. All you need to know is that she is extremely important to the Alliance. She is no less important than him."

Officer Lyao gestured towards Tuss.

Tuss: "...."

The doctors seemed to understand, "No wonder you even dared to defy the Second Commander for her."

"Now that you understand, treat her with utmost care. Only the two of you can know about her condition. No one else," Officer Lyao instructed.

"Understood," the doctors agreed, their minds filled with curiosity. This woman, Yuri, must have an exceptionally high beta rank for Officer Lyao to value her so much.

Besides, if her rank wasn’t incredibly high, she wouldn’t have been able to defeat that level 8 insectoid. After all, even the Second Commander hadn’t managed to harm it after days of trying.

The doctors were very curious. So, how high can her rank be? SS-tier? No, that’s not enough. SSS-tier?

The doctors sucked in a sharp breath, their eyes widening in disbelief. They locked their gaze onto Officer Lyao, as if searching for an answer.

Officer Lyao nodded slowly, "Keep it to yourselves."

"Understood," the doctors responded, their faces a mix of excitement, solemnity, and determination.

After confirming that Yuri was stable, Officer Lyao began to tackle the pile of tasks awaiting him, leaving Tuss behind in the hospital room.

Inside the room, Yuri lay in the healing pod, and Tuss lay on the bed, his eyes unwaveringly fixed on Yuri’s pale face.

Exhausted and drained, he was reluctant to close his eyes.

In his dried out crystal core, the drained Enova slowly rejuvenated. One hour, two hours, three hours passed... And on the sixth hour, a sudden snapping sound echoed from the compressed Enova as if a shield had been broken.

Enova level five.

Tuss blinked and the next second, he succumbed to his fatigue and passed out.

The level 8 insectoid was obliterated, leaving not a shred of flesh. The level 7 insectoids, scared witless, scampered off, while countless lower-level insectoids were caught in the energy wave, dying instantly.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the Alliance soldiers counterattacked. In just one night, they annihilated over 40,000 insectoids. The remaining ones fled beyond the borders, retreating back to the Insectoid Territory.

Thus, the war that had raged for nearly a month finally came to an end.

The entire Alliance celebrated jubilantly. Companies declared holidays, shops offered discounts, the atmosphere was festive.

Following this war, Yuri’s name became known to all, from three-year-old children to people over a hundred and fifty years old. Everyone knew about the young girl who obliterated a level 8 insectoid with a level 10 energy cannon.

Not only that, because of Officer Lyao’s command—"Even if the First Commander is injured, you must treat her first"—Yuri also drew the attention of the Alliance’s top brass.

They were curious about the woman who made Officer Lyao, the adopted son of the First Commander, value her even more than the First Commander himself. Does the First Commander know about this? What are his thoughts?

They wanted to interview the First Commander, but they dared not and didn’t have the authority to do so.

After five days of sleep in the healing pod, Yuri woke up to see a disheveled, fatigued Tuss on the bed. Their eyes met, and she guiltily touched her nose, saying, "The power of the level 10 energy cannon was more potent than I expected."

"Don’t speak." Tuss commanded curtly. After a beat, perhaps realizing his tone was too harsh, he softened his voice, "Don’t speak, your throat is too dry, you might hurt it."

Yuri obediently closed her mouth, blinking at him with a hint of a smile.

Tuss sighed, seemingly resigned. She was trying to appease him, probably acknowledging her mistake. Fine, he wouldn’t lecture her this time.

Upon learning that Yuri had awakened, the two doctors quickly came to check on her. After the results were reported, they breathed a sigh of relief, "Her recovery is remarkable, she’ll be completely healed in just a few days."

"Her physical fitness surpasses many alphas," one doctor marveled.

Yuri looked at Tuss, a triumphant glint in her eyes.

Tuss shot her a sidelong glance and thanked the doctors.

"It’s our duty, no need for thanks. But even though her physical condition is robust, she still needs to be careful. Don’t go risking your life on a whim." The doctor added the last part while glancing at Yuri.

Yuri: "..." I valued her life too much to risk it needlessly. That’s total misunderstandings.

The doctors left, and only Tuss and Yuri remained in the room.

"You’ve reached Enova level five." Yuri exclaimed in surprise.

"Mm, just advanced." Tuss’s expression remained indifferent, showing no trace of arrogance or pride.

"That’s a great mindset." Yuri gave him a thumbs up, genuinely happy for him. Then, changing the subject, she added, "Though my Enova hasn’t reached level five, my psychic power has."

She wasn’t sure if it was because she had differentiated into a beta in this life, but her psychic power was much easier to cultivate, with virtually no bottlenecks.

Tuss looked slightly taken aback, "Your beta rank is likely to reach unprecedented heights."

Suppressing a smile, Yuri agreed, "I think so, too."

There was a knock on the door.

Tuss answered it, and Bassus came in, his arms loaded with various items.

"What’s all this?" Yuri asked in surprise.

"These are local specialties and snacks everyone sent you." Bassus piled the gifts on the table, creating a mound that was half a person high.

"Who sent all these?" Yuri wondered aloud. She hadn’t met that many people here yet.

"All the soldiers on the warship." Bassus replied with a smile. "There were even more, but I told them you couldn’t possibly eat all that, so they took some back."