Chapter 185: Graduation Ceremony (9)

Vishen Walta placed his foot down, feeling the contact with the ground, experiencing a sensation of numbness course through his leg. He immediately controlled the muscles in the region, causing them to exert their presence.

His aura was emitted in full strength, their area of effect solely focused on the wounded region, causing the seepage of the numbness to slow down to a crawl. The numbness was induced by the trace amount of Essence of Frenzy injected into him, the only reason its progression was slowed by his unleashed aura.

Also, he controlled the leg muscles, expanding and contracting them in the necessary locations, preventing most of the blood seepage. There was still a faint amount that leaked out, but it was marginal for now.

'Even though working as a team would have been better, thanks to the variety of Skills at play, the strength of my teammates is lacking. I probably would have lost one of them in that sneak attack now. Sadly, none of my teammates are even ranked under 600.'

He crossed 3-4 rock pillars along the way to the cave his team stayed in, coming to a stop after spotting a group of Floating Spiders. Due to the injury sustained, he couldn't use his agility to the full extent. If he exerted strength in his left leg, then the muscles in the region would move, causing the blood to seep out like before.

In order to prevent such a situation from happening, he had to constantly divert part of his attention in keeping the muscles in his left contracted around the damaged location. Upon spotting the Floating Spiders, he immediately paused, unwilling to engage in a battle for the time being.

The Floating Spiders seemed to be exchanging some information as two Floating Spiders carried the remains of their brethren, diced into numerous pieces. A series of cries followed suit, the voices ear-piercing, echoing off the rock pillars.

More Floating Spiders congregated around the region, carrying forth more dead bodies of their brethren, most of which had been dismembered. He could figure some carcasses were a result of him, but as for the rest, he couldn't figure out the culprit. Though, it could have been anyone from his Batch.

When battles occurred, dead bodies piled forth. Thanks to their inert advantage, and thanks to the ground staff pulling out any Cadet that was in a near-death state, they hadn't faced a single causality till now. As for the Floating Spiders, it was a different matter altogether, being the first ones to face the full-powered assault of the humans who had been dropped in their territory.

Vishen Walta slowly began to retreat, watching the number of Floating Spiders spiralling out of control, spurred by their cries. Soon, he heard a rumble, sensing a faint tremor course through the ground. Without needing to use any mode of investigation, he could figure out the cause behind it.

The Spider World began to make a move. As a result, a rock pillar had been smashed to the ground, resulting in such a tremor. Unwilling to delay any longer, Vishen Walta turned around and sprinted, disregarding everything else.

His abrupt movement garnered their attention, spurring many Floating Spiders to turn around, locking onto his position after activating their Tier 1 Skills.

Vishen Walta proceeded north, intending to use the Spindle Bees as his cover. He had spotted their presence and their general location while leading his team to hide within the cave, hence his decision.

Moreover, he noticed a certain someone proceed north, soon picking a route towards the west.

'She should be able to heal me. I'll be able to make a swift recovery through her help.'

The scent of human blood created a trail for the Floating Spiders to follow. Well-versed in the domain of scents due to their Skills falling under it, the Floating Spiders were bound to discover him sooner or later.

The main reason he created a commotion was to lure them away, acting like bait. Every action of his was observed by the staff, something he knew beforehand. Sacrificing his teammates just to save his skin, such an act was bound to limit his future development irrespective of his personal strength.

There had been many precedents of people, both in and out of the military academy, possessing great strength but lacking any morals. They were selfish and were willing to drop any mission the moment their lives were at risk. They even went to the extent of using their teammates as bait just to gain time for their escape.

Marble City had numerous means to track the activities of people in the Wilds. If not the people, they even interrogated the Frenzy Beasts for information. Frenzy Beasts were getting progressively intelligent over the years. With the increase in intelligence emerged the concept of individuality, logical reasoning, etc. forming a foothold for information transceiving.

To not be killed or threatened under any means, there existed Frenzy Beasts, hailing from weak races that acted as the spies for Marble City. Marble City in turn offered them limited protection, preventing them from being annihilated by stronger Frenzy Beast races.

Through many means, the higher-ups were privy of individuals who abandoned missions to save their skins, making up lies, sacrificing their teammates to prevent information leak, and followed by deceit, making up false reports. Such individuals were assigned guaranteed death missions, guised under normal missions, and sent away.

That was how the morally lacking individuals were gotten rid of, irrespective of their strength. Vishen Walta knew: as much emphasis on strength and talent the military academy placed, an even greater significance was given to a person's moral character.

It was better to have 20 weak dogs than one strong wolf.

Predicting the approach of the Spider World based on the sounds, and calculating the risk it posed to his hiding teammates, Vishen Walta took the role to act as bait. This didn't mean that he was trying to throw his life away for others; he wasn't such a gullible idiot.

Actions spoke volumes, he was putting up such a facade. Since the outcome also conformed to his facade, it morphed falsity into the truth, elevating his moral character in the eyes of others. Also, despite the injury, he had enough confidence in himself to survive, even if facing a Developer Floating Spider.

He unleashed his aura to the extreme, the pressure overwhelming the Floating Spiders that chased him, causing most of them to pause in place. Imbued in the aura was a feeling of primal viciousness, enhanced thanks to the number of Floating Spider he had killed, amplified due to the Floating Spider carcasses he wore.

This painted him as a killer that sought the blood of the Floating Spiders, imbuing in his chasers fear. His aura spread radially, his location obvious to every Frenzy Beast in the vicinity even without the aid of any Skills.

Three Floating Spiders stood before him, all Tier 1, immobilised thanks to his aura. His sword flashed thrice, severing their bodies. He caught hold of a severed Floating Spider's head, turning around as he activated his Tier 2 Skill.

He focused the effect in his left arm, the one holding the severed head, raising the power. His body revolved a couple of times, adding the rotational force into the throw executed with the complete activation of his Tier 2 Skill.

The severed head bolted through the sky, quickly flashing past the chasing Floating Spiders, making an arc in the air, its height crossing the peak of the rock pillars—80 metres. It travelled unhindered above the rock pillars, jumping past a column of water, heading down.

The momentum carried it towards a large spherical structure, one that spanned a radius of 10 metres, the Spider World housing a Developer, a Tier 3 being. The severed head of the Floating Spider impacted the Spider World, causing a splash of blood, the momentum bursting it upon the point of contact. Witnessing the blood of its brethren, the Spider World trembled, seething with rage.

"Screee!"

Hearing an enraged shout, one that travelled far and wide, carrying with it an overbearing aura, Vishen Walta smiled. His goal had been achieved with the shout. Thanks to the powerful shout and the accompanying aura, it basically announced every Cadet about its Tier 3 presence.

Now, everyone would be careful and not caught unawares. Focusing the effect of his Tier 2 Skill on his legs, Vishen Walta flashed around, experiencing a spike in his speed. He used the sides of the rock pillars as footholds, his momentum causing him to flash between them, quickly reaching the top.

"Kuoooohh!" Standing atop a rock pillar, Vishen Walta heard another large shout, noticing the volume of water—in the column of water floating in the air—doubling. Waves formed along its surface, causing the River Whales swimming within to turn restless.

The humidity in the air experienced a spike, almost as if they bordered a sea region. Having activated his Tier 1 Skill, Vishen Walta noticed the spread of humidity originating from the east, carrying with it slightly colder air.

"Hreeuhh!" Spurred by the second wave of aura, another sound originated from the west, carrying with it an aura not inferior to the previous two. Soon, Vishen Walta felt another spike in the humidity of the air, the only difference being the slight chillness from before turning warmer.

The air recovered to its previous temperature, the only difference being the massive increase in the humidity. The air also seemed slightly polluted as Vishen Walta experienced very mild difficulty in breathing.

"Kiezzzz!" Vishen Walta turned towards the north, feeling his legs slightly tremble as the fourth wave of aura impacted him. A sweet scent wafted through the air, carrying with it a feeling of intoxication.

"All their positions are known. Now that they are all alerted, they will keep each other in check for the time being. I can use this chance to scout the goals." Vishen Walta jumped from the top of one rock pillar to another, proceeding north-west.

He planned to scout a safe route towards the goal while at the same time search for the individual in mind. It was an Area Controller, one who possessed the Unranked Skill, Regen. Treating his current injury wouldn't be much of a problem for her.