87 First night

Cain frowned when he became the center of attention for those soldiers. That was the last thing he wanted, as he had already decided not to take a leadership position during the ensuing battles since his bloodline’s emotional instability could kick in at any moment.

In all fairness, someone like Cain, who could use Ego Wave, was a great leader, as that power could allow him to see everything from an objective point of view and think much faster. However, extended use generated a backlash, which he could not tolerate in battles that could stretch for hours.

Cain remained silent, but not before glancing at the cadets that turned to him, allowing a flash of his red light to appear in his eyes, scaring them. Those young people were too naive and lacked situational awareness, something he could not tolerate on the battlefield.

According to what Cain learned from Zarak’s information, people felt afraid when he activated his Ego Wave because it forced all who looked directly into his eyes into a clash of wills. It provoked the same feeling an average human would feel when looking directly into the eyes of a tiger about to jump toward them.

“Begin!” Lurin saw that the soldiers were distracted, so he shouted with a stern voice, forcing them into action and pushing their thoughts about Cain to the back of their minds.

Cain gave a soft nod when he saw how Lurin handled the situation, and his impression of the young scion improved. Knowing how to adapt to an unexpected problem was a fundamental skill for a commander.

One by one, the soldiers gave their descriptions. While they were doing that, Cain used the [A.I. Chip Module] to scan them, improving his data pool. None of the soldiers was above Level 3, so the system was able to analyze them at a fast speed.

However, designing the battle formation for them was a challenging task. The more moving pieces, the harder it was to make a battle formation.

The [A.I. Chip Module] could generate a battle formation involving one hundred soldiers, but it would be too hard for them to learn it with the little time they have until the next fight. That is why Cain decided to divide the soldiers into ten groups instead.

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Each group would have the same overall battle power, with members that could cover each other’s weaknesses and enhance their fortes.

Then, he would make a second battle formation that taught the ten groups to act together.

Lurin did not simply wait in silence as Cain worked. He acted immediately, guiding the soldiers to modify the terrain to the best of their abilities, so it would make it easier for them to face the Wave Beasts’ stampede.

The help those tactics could provide was not much, which is why some commanders did not pay too much attention to them. Still, Lurin’s father taught him that every single advantage, no matter how little, could generate a ripple effect with immense repercussions in the battle’s outcome.

As the system constructed those battle formations, Cain began to analyze their future battlefield. Five thousand meters in front of their position there was a forest, and it would be from there that the Wave Beasts would come.

Cain could feel the scent carried on by the wind and was sure those trees hid hundreds of Wave Beasts, ready to emerge at any moment. It would be easy for Major Luma or even Razmun to march into the forest and massacre those beasts, but that would be a deadly mistake.

If Luma or any Vice-Captain abandoned the northeast position, it would allow the truly powerful Wave Beasts to march into Korin City. Once there, those beasts could make their way into the underground tunnels and butcher the civilians in minutes.

Everybody had their jobs. Cain and these one hundred soldiers had to reduce the pressure Major Luma faced, as simple as that.

The passage of time helped Cain a lot. His brain finally recovered from the backlash of using Ego Wave, and his heart calmed down, no longer forcing him to suppress the wild rage that burned through his blood.

[Battle formations ready.]

Cain smiled when he heard that, and without wasting a moment, he sent them toward Lurin so that this one would pass them down toward the soldiers. Although he could have done it himself, soldiers needed a clear chain of command on the battlefield.

Lurin was in the middle of helping the wounded soldiers to heal with the medicine stored in his space ring when the message arrived. He glanced at Cain and nodded before passing the battle formations.

This chapter's initial release occurred on the N0v3l-B1n site.

Cain saw that and nodded. He was not afraid that someone else could take the credit for his actions since the Imperial Military Network recorded everything they did.

Although thinking of merits during a situation like this could sound selfish, the truth was that everybody wanted their hard work recognized. That is why the Merit Ruler was such a great tool, as it allowed soldiers to do their best without worrying about taking the spotlight or securing recognition for fear it would be overlooked.

Cain and the other cadets focused on getting to their peak condition while the soldiers had time to familiarize themselves with their new battle formations.

Finally, night came, and they heard it when it became pitch black.

“AHHHHHHH!” It was a feral roar that made all the soldiers and cadets tremble. It was so loud that it harmed their eardrums. The power of that beast was something none of them could imagine.

Of course, that roar did not come from their position but from the northeast, where Major Luma would be fighting.

Cain looked toward the origin of that mighty roar, and a sharp light appeared in his eyes as his understanding behind the stampedes grew even deeper. However, he did not have the luxury of distraction as roars emerged from the nearby forest.

Less than a second after that roar, hundreds of Wave Beasts emerged from the forest and marched with wild and furious gazes toward the broken city. Level 1 and 2 Wave Beasts made the bulk of the horde, but there were also dozens at Level 3.

Cain focused, and soon red light appeared in his eyes as he managed to activate his Ego Wave. Using it, he focused a significant amount of his Astral Wave into his eyes, allowing his vision to grow exponentially stronger.

In a moment, Cain’s eyes focused on a group of six Wave Beasts that remained at the forest entrance. They all were Horn-Flame Boars, boar-like Wave Beasts with flaming horns.

Cain focused on them because the aura they unleashed was much greater than the other Wave Beasts, especially the one at the center that measured almost two and a half meters tall.

Lurin saw how the hundreds of Wave Beasts marched toward them, full of maniacal wildness, and it would be a lie to say it did not affect him. However, he knew if he showed any form of fear or weakness, it would break the soldier’s battle spirit, and that was not something he could allow to happen.

Lurin raised his hands, signaling the soldiers to point their Wave Rifles toward the horde, but only commanded them to fire once it was five hundred meters from their position.

Wave Rifles were not very precise, but the horde was so densely packed that every shot found a target. The soldiers worked according to the battle formation that Cain gave them, dividing the battlefield into different parts and spreading their firepower. That way, the effect it would have on the overall battle power of the horde would be more significant.

Once the Wave Beasts reached the two hundred meters mark, some of them began to fall into hidden pits and were forced to split into smaller groups due to the debris in their paths.

Finally, the cadets marched forward in full armor once the Wave Beasts reached the one-hundred-meter mark. Cain and Levi led the group; Beelze took the middle with the other cadets around her and Lurin in the back.

Raging flames covered Levi’s body while lightning coated Cain’s extremities. Levi’s fire had grown stronger after his marrow washing and advancing to Level 3. As for Cain, he had already reached Lightning Armament’s second level, allowing the lightning to coat his legs and fists.

The duo could kill with a single blow all the Wave Beasts in front of them, and the other cadets made sure to rain destructive spells on the horde at point blank.

Those actions diminished the number of Wave Beasts even more while also drawing the attention of the others, decreasing the amount that reached the soldiers.

Of course, many Wave Beasts still reached the soldiers’ location, but the Wave Warriors capable of mele battle took care of them.

That was how the first night of Cain assuming the role of a true soldier began.