Chapter 28: Silver orb

Nira did not know what to do. She became an absolute pariah in a second, and no one bothered to hide their scornful looks.

“Lord Zamir.” Nira attempted to get closer to Zamir, but this one gave him one final look full of disdain and walked away.

The woman crumpled to the ground as despair filled her eyes. She was alone, and her life in the military was over before it even started. However, no one cared about her. Those despicable actions and mentality had already pushed both commoners and nobles away.

Zamir walked toward Cain with a smile on his face. There was nothing of the scorn he had shown before. He even gave Levi a polite salute when he got near the duo.

“I had been deceived. I hope you can forgive my small mistake, but I could not simply ignore the words of a fellow cadet in her times of need. Anyway, you are a proud warrior, so what do you say if you let go of Victor and we get a fresh start? I am sure that a County’s assistance will greatly help someone like you.”

When the other cadets, soldiers, and even Vice-Captain Josef heard that, they all gave one meaningful look at the duo.

Zamir was smart enough to adapt to the circumstances. He apologized while wisely putting all the blame on Nira and even mentioned his County’s assistance, hinting that he could mobilize some of that wealth to help Cain if this one was smart enough.

.....

Cain saw Zamir extend his hand, and he knew that if he were to shake it, he would get access to great opportunities. Of course, that would also mean putting himself beneath the scion.

There was a broad smile on Zamir’s face as he was sure that Cain would accept his apology and prove to the others he could handle things without the need for violence.

“True friendship is valuable because very few are worthy of it.”

Those words confused Zamir, but Cain did not care as he was reciting some of his father’s teaching.

Cain then stared at Zamir’s palm, and a disgusted expression appeared on his face.

“What kind of man would I become if I accepted the shallow friendship of someone who a few minutes ago was insulting me.”

The idea of shaking Zamir’s hand and accepting to become part of this one’s group vanished before it appeared.

Cain took his foot out of Victor’s chest, finally allowing the poor cadet to lapse into unconsciousness. He did not do that to quarry favor with Zamir but because he no longer needed to have a hostage.

Zamir’s eyes twitched as he saw his hand still extended, yet there was no one to shake it. In all his life, he had never found himself in a situation quite like this one.

Even though Zamir’s status was inferior to that of his two older brothers, he was confident that his time in the military would be smooth due to his background. He even dreamed of the moment that his status would rise to the level he could control Jarken County.

However, everything went out of control, and whether or not he could recover from this setback was unknown.

“You!” Zamir yelled as he activated his Wave Cloak and fired a fist toward the one he considered the origin of all his problems, Cain.

Cain had predicted that such a thing would happen. That is why he did not deactivate his Wave Cloak. However, a smile appeared on his face as he felt a wind of air reach his back and knew he would not have to act.

“Boom.” A small blast occurred as Zamir’s punch clashed with Vice-Captain Josef’s palm.

All the cadets were surprised to see Vice-Captian Josef move at such striking speed without even needing to activate his Wave Cloak.

“I warned you all. None was allowed to harm someone unless it was in legitimized self-defense.”

“CRACK!”

The cadets heard Vice-Captain Josef’s words before the sound of broken bones echoed.

“AHHHH!” Zamir yelled in pain while Vice-Captain Josef shattered the bones on his hand.

Vice-Captain Josef’s face showed nothing as he kept squeezing, making the sound of shattering bones louder.

The scion fell to the ground, and he did his best to stop tears from rolling down his cheeks.

“Rules are something we soldiers take very seriously.” Vice-Captain Josef spoke to the cadets as he squeezed Zamir’s fist into a bloody mass. He then focused on Nira, and his eyes grew cold.

“Had you and James killed Cain, I would have cut your heads after the trial ended. If you think a measly Viscount could have protected you, you are even more stupid than I thought.”

Nira trembled when she saw those eyes. She had initially thought nothing would happen to her if she broke the rules because of her background.

All the nobles adopted a solemn expression as they reconsidered their understanding of the Imperial Military Force. The weight their background carried around here was much smaller than they thought.

Vice-Captain Josef finally let go of Zamir’s hand before turning around and walking toward the gate.

“Everybody must gather in an orderly fashion outside the Danger Zone in ten minutes.”

No one dared to disobey Vice-Captian Josef’s words, and they all walked toward the gate. Some nobles helped Zamir, and a few commoners did the same with Victor.

Cain was walking toward the gate when he noticed something coming toward his chest, and he caught it. His eyes narrowed as he saw a silver orb, similar to the ones he found in the Dark Race’s warriors he killed.

“The main reason I managed to defeat the Atrox was the severe lung trauma your attack caused on him. I always pay my debts, so that is yours. We are even.”

Levi said those words to Cain before walking away.

Cain’s eyes narrowed as he found the red-eyed youth extremely odd, but he said nothing and stored the orb before walking toward the gate.The primary upload of this chapter happened on N0v3l/B1n.