Chapter 73
73 Answer (II)
Silence reigned in the auditorium as all the cadets felt a coldness a.s.saulting their hearts. Those with weak wills could not even look at Cain’s eyes, as that red light in his eyes terrified them.
However, that silence did not remain long as a blast echoed the next second when Cain’s Wave Cloak emerged, bursting with immense power. The Wave output surpa.s.sed Wink’s from the beginning and kept growing stronger.
‘450%, 500%. What! His Wave Burst has already reached 600% and is still rising!’ Wink’s eyes widened as he calculated Cain’s Wave Burst percentage.
Cain’s talent could be considered among the best of the cla.s.s, but it was very far from what Wink was seeing now, not to mention that red light rose along with the power.
It was not only an incredible level of Wave Burst that Cain was showing, but his Wave Cloak remained steady, showing an extreme proficiency in Synergy Flow.
The higher the Wave output, the harder it would be to control it, but even when Cain’s Wave Burst reached 800%, the Wave Cloak showed no sign of instability or leakage.
A blast of dense air blasted in every direction once Cain’s Wave Cloak reached 1000% Wave Burst!
None of the cadets said a word, as they could not even process what was happening. Cain’s eyes glowed with a red light, and he showed a level of proficiency over the Four Wave Arts that seemed to surpa.s.s that of Wink.
Cain’s eyes were still not fully focused and seemed to be in automatic mode, but that did not affect his movements. In a second, all of his Wave concentrated in his right fist, reaching a might that could destroy a Level 3 Wave Warrior with a single strike!
.....
‘It’s not only Wave Cloak and Wave Burst that reached a shocking level, but also Wave Focus. What is happening with this boy!?’ Wink was full of curiosity, which is why he let things play out. Even if Cain began to act wild, he still could immobilize this one without a problem.
“?Boom!”
A small blast echoed through the auditorium when Cain stroked the wall behind him. While that attack had great strength, it was not enough to harm the structure.
It made sense. After all, the building could endure the might of Wave Champions, and no matter how much strength Cain had gathered in his fist, it did not reach that level.
Wink and the other cadets did not understand Cain’s goal with that attack, but this one was unable to explain. He looked around the auditorium before walking to the closest bench.
The cadet near the bench was terrified and moved away, but Cain did not care, and with that fist that contained all of his Wave, he shattered it.
Unlike the auditorium’s walls, the bench and chairs were ordinary and could not endure the might of Cain’s fist.
The confusion in their eyes of everybody only grew as they saw Cain destroying the bench before bending. The cadets and Wink could only see his back, so they did not know what he was doing, but once he rose, his hands were full of pieces of steel.
All of Cain’s actions became clear the next second as he turned toward Wink and shot one of those steel pieces.
Wink immediately put his hand on the path of the steel piece. There was a tremendous amount of Essence Wave with a sponge-like consistency in his palm, so the object should not even touch his skin.
However, as the steel piece reached his palm, a sense of utter awe a.s.saulted Wink. His Essence Wave diminished a significant amount of the steel piece’s momentum, but this one still managed to reach his flesh!
Of course, there was no damage, as Wink’s body was just too powerful for something like that to harm him, but that did not diminish the shock that a.s.saulted his heart.
Before Wink could get over the shock, Cain shot another piece of steel toward him. Like before, he managed to block it, reducing most of its power with his Essence Wave but was unable to stop it from reaching the flesh.
Cain began to walk toward Wink as he shot more and more of those pieces of steel.
After blocking the teenth piece of steel, Wink finally understood the reason behind their power.
‘He used Direct Flow to cover the steel pieces with his Astral Wave before using Wave Trans.m.u.tation to grant it lightning properties. What kind of monstrous talent is that!’
Wink’s shock and awe have already reached an unprecedented level.
Direct Flow and Wave Trans.m.u.tation were arts that Astral Wave Cultivators found very hard to perform independently, much less simultaneously. Still, Cain was doing it as if they were as normal as breathing.
The closer Cain got to Wink, the faster he shot the steel pieces. However, Wink still managed to block them with nothing more than his palms.
Wink might have sealed his Essence Wave and restricted his martial arts, but his speed of thought was still working unhindered. Cain’s attacks moved in slow motion for a Wave Champion like him, so it was easy to block them.
Cain’s face showed no facial expression from the moment he stood up, and that did not change for the fact that Wink blocked every one of his shots. Once there was less than a meter of distance between them, his Wave Burst grew even stronger, and he shot one steel piece from each hand before flashing forward.
Wink had just used both palms to block the steel pieces when Cain appeared in front of him and sent a right punch to his face. If that punch landed, even if it did no damage, he would lose according to his rules.
Cain saw how Wink managed to grab his right wrist, stopping his fist, but then he shot a new piece of steel that he had hidden between his fingers.
Wink’s eyes widened as he saw that, and he moved his head to dodge the steel piece, putting it in the path of Cain’s left fist. Like before, he grabbed the arm’s wrist, stopping the attack, and again, Cain shot a hidden piece of steel toward his head.
Wink easily dodged that second sneak attack since he expected it, but then it happened. Cain’s head moved forward, getting extremely close to his, and he saw it.
Cain’s lips split apart, showing a final piece of steel between his teeth. This one had much more Astral Wave infused in it, and arcs of lightning surrounded it, hinting at its extremely piercing power.
He shot that hazardous project straight toward Wink’s right eye!
Wink’s instincts began to scream danger. Even if he was a Wave Champion with an extremely powerful body, there was no way his eye could resist that attack!
Redirecting all of his current Essence Wave to his eyelid would still not be enough, as that steel piece could pierce it.
‘DAMMIT!’ Wink could not help but curse in his mind before hastily breaking the seal over his Essence Wave and making it explode with the full power of someone at the Wave Champion rank.
An immense amount of Essence Wave blasted out of Wink’s body, sending Cain flying away.
Cain clashed with the ceiling before falling to the ground, and this time he seemed to have been thoroughly knocked out.
When the cadets stared at Wink, they could not believe what they saw.
Wink’s right eyelid was bleeding!
A Level 2 Astral Wave Warrior made a Wave Champion bleed. No one would believe such a thing to be possible, yet it happened.
Wink was doing his best to remain calm, but his heart still beat like crazy. Had he not released the full power of his Essence Wave, that steel piece would have destroyed his right eye and possibly reached all the way to his brain.
‘He never intended to win by landing a direct blow. Everything he did from the moment he stood up was done with the sole purpose of killing me!’ A flash of dread appeared in Wink’s eyes as he stared at the unconscious Cain. Someone so young, with such monstrous talent, scheming mind, and ruthless heart, was destined to be a horrible monster.
As the dread vanished and his heartbeat began to slow down, a vicious smile appeared on Wink’s face, one that he had never shown to the cadets before.
The cadets were surprised by Wink’s change. Before, he gave them the feeling of a great beast in slumber, but now he resembled a monster ready to jump into a killing frenzy.
That was a sight of Wink that only those that had fought by his side had seen.
‘This brat, if he manages to survive the tribulations in his path, will become a true monster. Excellent!’
The reason for Wink’s murderous aura was the picture he had of Cain butchering members of the Dark Races. There was no more beautiful scenery for a soldier of the Imperial Military Force than that.