Chapter 165: Gigantic Winged Silent Hawk

Howard knew he was going to get attacked by the Arthraku, but seemed completely focused on maintaining a stable slow walking speed in spite of that instinct.

In a large ice covered plain, thousands of geysers were releasing steam while a single glacier could be seen cutting the periphery in half with its beautiful ice covered exterior. However, a small little speck was approaching it at a modest speed, and that was Howard. He was currently walking at roughly 20 Kilometers an hour in order to try and ascertain the eye of life and death.

Though this is an obviously very impressive walking speed, for him it was nothing compared to his maximum speed of over 1000 kilometers an hour! Since he first arrived at the Furnace, his changes had been as drastic as the changes between night and day. Yet right now even though he was by himself in an cold arid land, he was trying his hardest to break open a door to a new place no one had ever entered before the SS rank. He was trying to figure out the feeling behind the eyes of life and death and learn to wield it in battle.

'It felt like when Waxel used the eye of life and death, he sensed all living things around him, but there was more to it. If I can just copy that feeling of his Ki, I can completely destroy the Arthraku even if they're faster then me! Come on Howard, find that door to use that skill!'

Howard had along time ago learned the principle of activating something unintentionally when he activated his Conjuring Door for the first time against the Aresoul. It was the exact opposite of what Waxel did when he fought him. The Eye of Life and Death was completely intentional. However, how could he learn this skill right now quickly? He didn't yet know, because Waxel hadn't told him, that this was an SS rank skill that no one else had ever even minorly grasped before the S rank.

However, during his last battle with Waxel, Howard had truly grasped many components of the Eye of Life and Death because of his Emperor's Ki. Though this was a huge achievement, Howard was trying to be able to use the skill at its maximum potential right now! He could do it! Even if it wasn't an exact replica of what Waxel did, there had to be someway for him shatter open the doorway to the eyes of life and death!

After all, Demon King Earl and him were the only ones he knew of that used Emperor's Ki! And sine Demon King Earl made thousands of techniques by himself, Howard could surely make one as well that somewhat mimicked the eyes of life and death!

'I bet if I can get a near death experience , I can bring the skill out to its fullest. Though I died all the time in prison because of Vicky, i never tried to grasp what it felt like at the moment of death. I was too worried about what kind of things they'd do to make me happier afterwards, haha. However, I'd be an idiot to just let myself get put in a near death situation. There must be something I can do to experience a life and death situation without dying. Think Howard harder! You got this!'

Howard smiled and muttered to himself continuously while he kept walking towards the glacier. However, above him, the two Arthraku flew high up above underneath the amber clouds. Their current Authoritarian form was known as the gigantic winged silent hawk. Though it was a rather ordinary Authoritarian, it was the only one raised in Arthraku's Seven Main Cities. In Carkham, the smallest of the seven cities, thousands of Gigantic Winded Silent Hawks were raised every year so the next generation of youth would possess an almost unrivaled scouting ability.

The Gigantic Winged Silent Hawk possessed an almost unthinkably normal ability, yet it was also extremely powerful. They gave off not a shred of Ki because instead of breathing Ki they had developed Ki Sacks in their chests that provided them with an extremely powerful ability to mask their presence. Though because of this, they never got passed the B rank, they could sometimes kill SS ranked Authoritarians when they were sleeping at night! It was the ultimate hunting hawk and also an extremely powerful tool in battle!

"Let's descend," Macaln said while Oclen simply watched with a mixture of curiosity and fear. "What are you waiting for? He's a sitting duck."

"We talked about ambushing him in a rocky terrain. He'll see two birds swooping in on him immediately! Why did we plan for a month just to not wait until he reaches a proper area?"

"Are you serious?" Maclan scoffed. He currently had large white wings that seemed to extend almost endlessly into the distance while they slowly soared forward. His current form also had yellow eyes and an almost uncanny sharp beak that the great hawk used to kill its prey. "His eyes are closed, and he's not even looking at where he's going. A car could probably kill him right now, let alone us."

"And what if he planned that," Oclen snapped, his rage manifesting in his voice. "Come on, Oclen! Two people died because we didn't follow the plan! We didn't follow the rule book of the Arthraku."

"Heh, fine, but when he walks by that glacier, we're attacking," Maclan stared down at Howard and scoffed. "Just because you lost your Eighteen Eyed Authoritarian doesn't mean everything has to be exactly as planned. Your Snakeman form is just as strong."

"Fine, I'll give it to you, but you better remember who's in charge!" Oclen shook his head and watched the little black dot that was Howard slowly trudge forward. "Ugh, and he's learning a new skill! Agreed, we'll wipe him out as soon as we get a chance!"

###

Howard looked at a large glacier in front of him and tried to measure its height.

Though he was under the surface, the glacier had to be over 5 miles tall with a small slit to walk through.

'Well, that's a dangerous path. I'm not stupid enough to walk it slowly." Howard activated his Dream Ki and instantly soared forward. He also unleashed Fire King's Sprint and Fire King's Embrace to create a fire silhouette that had its hands out.

At this point, he'd gone well beyond the gauntlet stage of Fire King's Embrace, and could now easily get them to move their hands. He was just a small level away from understanding Ki Projection, but knew he had a long way to go. Reaching the silhouette, he skyrocketed into the air and instantly activated Ki Transformation to create three walls around him.

Waxel had taught him to always be prepared in these kind of strange environments. Though he didn't directly teach him to look out for danger at all times, he had a habit of hitting him to strange terrain around the mountain and fighting him in a variety of environments. In fact, Mountain Peak 56 seemed like the perfect place to train someone because of its unique caverns and slopes. which he imagined Waxel had done on purpose to bolster his training! Howard smiled thinking about his latest teacher and for a second felt a breeze touch against his back. It felt like Waxel was trying to warn him of something even now, but he couldn't put his hand on it.

'He's not here anymore Howard, so you have to take care of yourself. Now, damn it! Where are the Arthraku? They should have attacked me by now!' Howard quickly jumped from wall to wall along the icy path of the glacier and kept scouting his area for any potential signs of danger.

A few ice covered boulders bounced and clapped against the frigid terrain, but nothing seemed to be moving except for the small little specks of snow in the air. This made Howard, with his black hair flying behind him, look like a shooting arrow suddenly catapulting through the silent and endless mountainous terrain.

Yet even with Howard scouting constantly and using his maximum speed, this wasn't enough for him to feel safe in such a dangerous area. He activated his Dream Ki roughly halfway through the beautiful glacier, and sent it out in every direction to examine every surface in the nearby region.

He could sense a few small Authoritarians fighting in a small ice cavern, but for the most part everything felt safe. He slightly smiled realizing that the Arthraku were probably unaware of him leaving the mountain range. After all, they probably hid so deep in the earth like Waxel suspected, that even sensing Ki might be impossible.

"Eh, let me scout one more time!' Howard smiled and activated his Ki. 'There is no reason to not be safe.'

"Now!" Maclan screamed before a long silver hand from the Steel Rebel Ape came through the ice. 

Howard turned to the side to try and look with his Dream Ki activated, but it was slightly harder to focus on incoming attack with his Dream Ki activated. Instantly, he realized he had a tremendous weakness, had they figured out he slightly loses awareness of what's close to him when he scouts the environment?

'How the hell did they figure that out?' Howard crossed his arms to block the gigantic fist while his Dark Ki Surged to protect the rest of his body. 'No way! No way they noticed it! Damn it! Block it Howard!'

Waxel had made Howard activate his maximum defense anytime someone attacked for the first time, and he trusted this instinct now. However, even with that training, he still felt the steel rebel ape's hand somehow penetrating his layer of Ki and heading towards his arms.

Opening his eyes in shock, another force that seemed similar to a web seemed to be surrounding him dozens of times right when the Steel Rebel's fist was about to connect. This attack was happening all in less than a second of time, and in the air no less, but Howard still tried his hardest to plan for the right move. He decided to open up his hands at the last moment to take the hit of the Steel Ape in exchange for protecting his neck with his maximum Ki. He had no idea why, but it seemed to be the right decision and the only decision that would guarantee his survival.

Boom!

Howard felt a force pierce through his gut before he shot into the distance. Part of him felt like his head spun all the way around his body. He could barely blink before the world turned black.