171 Blood Lightning (I)

Today was a special day for the Imperial Lightning Fort. Thousands of cadets were in a perfect military formation in the central area of the fort, all in absolute silence.

Although everybody was a cadet, the ones at the front row were the stars, and their auras were the greatest. They were the ones that obtained the highest scores in their classes, harvested the most military merits, and whose cultivations rose above all others, with many of them reaching Level 4 Wave Warrior!

On a large battlefield with dozens of thousands of soldiers fighting, the damage a single Level 4 Wave Warrior could do was minor. Still, that power could allow them to preserve their lives, something those at Level 3 and beneath found much more challenging.

The fate of most soldiers with a Level 4 cultivation or higher was not dying on the battlefield but enduring wounds so severe they could not return. In that case, the Imperial Military Force would give them administrative jobs in other branches.

Respect and care for war veterans was a rule engraved in the empire by the First Emperor of Humankind, Adam.

If you give your health to the Imperial Military Force, this one will pay you back.

The front row of the military formation had faces Cain would have recognized, like Levi, Lurin, Orin, Lumir, and Zamir. There were also individuals who had kept an extremely low profile during the military academy but finally decided to show their true power.

Those cadets chose to reveal their power since this ceremony not only marked the end of their life in the military academy, but it was also the time when those that had done exceptional work this past year would be rewarded.

Suppose their battle power and military merits were high enough. In that case, the Imperial Military Force could reward them with titles such as First Lieutenant, granting them a giant leap forward in their path in the military.

.....

Levi stood by Lurin’s side, and the duo could not help but show complicated expressions as they noticed the one cadet that was missing. Cain had not returned to the fort and would miss the graduation.

Of course, the fact that Cain was not here did not necessarily mean he was dead, but missing the graduation would mean that all the merits he gained the past year would become null. He would have to start his military path from the lowest stage.

Unlike Levi and Lurin, others were delighted to see that Cain was missing. There were those like Zamir and Lumir that hated him, while other geniuses were happy that they would not have to compete with the genius no one could surpass.

In front of the cadets, there was a large podium with dozens of teachers. Those were the people that guided these youths during their time in the military academy.

And flanking the podium were twenty young men and women. Each of them had an aura mightier than any cadets’, and they were the new generation of Vice-Captains.

Since those cadets would most likely end up under one of them, it was suitable for the Vice-Captains to be present. Among those twenty, there was someone that Cain loathed, Uriel.

A man walked to the front of the podium and stared at the cadets with a solemn expression. He had gray hair and a thin constitution, but anyone who focused on his body would feel crushing pressure, making it clear he was not weak.

That man’s name was Rodrick, and while none of the cadets had seen him before, he was the one in charge of the Collapsing Lightning Military Academy. All the decisions that affected the cadets had to come through him first.

“I congratulate all of you for finishing your mandatory service. If you choose to live as a civilian, I wish you all the luck in the world, and may you have a life full of peace and happiness in our prosperous empire.

As for those who will join the Imperial Military Force, I tell you right now, we are a meritocracy. There are no treasures or resources so precious you can not obtain them as long you prove your worth to the military.

I will give you the first proof of the rewards that hard work provides by granting the ranks to those who have proven worthy of them.”

Rodrick waved his hand, and the next second, a giant holographic screen appeared above him with the title of Lightning Cadets.

On that screen, there were 72 names. Those were this generation’s best cadets, and each of them would get a rank in the military according to their power.

Rodrick made that list according to the cadets’ battle power and the amount of Imperial Military Credits they had gathered since those were the most reliable form of measuring someone’s merits.

Everybody immediately focused on the N°1, and most cadets could not help but feel awe as they saw that name.

N°1 Cain Laurifer – +1.5M Imperial Military Credits/ Early Level 6 Battle Power.

Despite Cain not having returned to the Imperial Military Fort for over a month, he still secured 1st place in the Lightning Cadet Ranking, and the 2nd place was not even close.

N°2 Lumir Huren- 679.250 Imperial Military Credits / Pseudo Level 5 Battle Power.

Unlike the awe that caused Cain’s numbers, when the cadets focused on those of Lumir, many of them sneered. They suspected that Lumir had requested the help of soldiers to carry on with multiple missions at once, so he could inflate the number of Imperial Military Credits he had gained.

That was, of course, against the rules, but none of the cadets could provide evidence of that, and accusing someone of a crime without proof was a grave crime in the Godslayer Humankind Empire.

Lumir did not care about the gazes of the rest of the cadets since he was about to be pushed to 1st place in the Lightning Cadet Ranking. The fact he would be stealing Cain’s place filled him with excitement.

Rodrick gazed at the screen above his face and saw that the N°1 Lightning Cadet was not present. He was about to erase Cain’s name from the ranking when his eyes narrowed as he looked to the distance, and he was not alone since Jonathan did the same.

A figure flashed toward the military cadet formation at an incredible speed and appeared beside them before they could even react. He was a young man with black hair, green eyes, and arcs of red lightning moving around his body.

Shock, excitement, happiness, awe, anger, rage, and many more emotions appeared on the cadets as they saw that the strongest cadet in the Imperial Lightning Fort had returned.

Cain was exhausted since he pushed himself to the limit to arrive in time, but he did his best to hide it, showing no weakness at all since it would not fit the N°1 Lightning Cadet.

Cain would have wanted to arrive before the ceremony, but not everything was possible. He saw the expression of Rodrick and knew he was not out of the woods yet.

The Imperial Military Force valued talent, but it also valued discipline and a sense of responsibility. Arriving at the last second was not proof of that.

It was clear to Cain that Rodrick intended to punish him for his mistake, but he was smart enough to act first. Before the man could even say a word, he brought a large beast from his space ring.

“I apologize for arriving so late, but I encountered this Shadow Phanter during my travels, and I took the chance to test my assassination skills.”

Teachers, soldiers, and cadets focused on the beast after Cain took it out of his space ring, and they saw that it was intact other than a small hole on the back of its head.

However, that was not the most impressive thing. What shocked everybody was the strength of the Wave Beast, which they were able to deduct by its size and other physical characteristics.

“That is a Level 6 Shadow Panther!”

One of the cadets was unable to remain calm and shouted once he realized the strength of the Wave Beast.

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All the cadets stared at Cain with a sense of utter amazement. The assassination of a Level 6 Wave Beast would be challenging, but that of a Shadow Panther, a beast known for its speed and reflexes, was beyond shocking.

Cain noticed how the harsh light in Rodrick’s eyes weakened a little but was still there since the Level 6 Shadow Phanter’s assassination did not explain his delay.

He expected something like that, which is why he took another body from his space ring.

Everybody saw a large Wave Beast emerge from Cain’s space ring. It was so mangled that they found it hard to discern its type, but after a few seconds, they did it. If they were shocked before, now a sense of utter stupefaction assaulted them.

“That is... that is a Level 7 Golden Back Gorilla!”

Cain saw all those eyes focusing on him, and he smiled.

“Soon after killing the Shadow Panther, I encountered this Golden Back Gorilla and was forced to run and hide. However, I managed to turn the tables and beat him to death.”