Chapter 124 Crossroads
Shang used both of his hands to grab the leg of the one that tried to kick him, blocking the kick.
The fist of the other one hit Shang's head.
BANG!
Shang angled his head and headbutted the incoming fist.
Shang had a far more powerful body, and his bones were tempered to the maximum for the Soldier Stage. On top of that, the forehead was incredibly hard in general.
CRK!
The hand of the punching guy broke, and Shang felt his brain being scrambled. However, he was used to getting struck in the head from all his fights on Earth. A normal person would become disoriented, but Shang could somewhat keep his mind going.
Being able to take a hit was a very important aspect of any kind of fighting sport on Earth.
Shang's eyes burned in fury and stress.
He was afraid of ruining his future at this very moment.
However, he needed to do that!
If the previous two strikes weren't enough to stop everyone from bothering him, he would have to go even further.
BANG!
Shang swung the guy he had a hold of and hit the other one.
A couple of bones inside them broke, and the other guy fell to the ground.
"You wanted this!" Shang shouted with anger.
While this was happening, one of the teachers grabbed the first student and brought him to the Water Mage. The teacher had realized that this student had been incredibly close to death, and if he didn't hurry up, that student might die.
Teachers allowed fighting between students, but they were also responsible for keeping the students alive if they could prevent their deaths.
Meanwhile, Shang didn't stop. He continued holding one of the students by the leg, lifted him up, and struck the ground with his full power.
BANG!
The sound of breaking bones could be heard, and even the ground beneath the student broke.
The skull of the student cracked open, his brain now visible.
BANG!
Shang let go of the student and kicked him to the side with his full power, his back and ribs breaking.
It was unknown if the student was alive or dead.
"You wanted this!" Shang shouted again.
Then, he went to the other student on the ground.
In the beginning, the watching students were excited about the show, but that excitement had somewhat vanished.
If things ended now, it would be a normal fight.
p??d? n?ve? However, Shang showed no sign of stopping.
Was he not afraid of being expelled?
"I'm sorry!" the student on the ground shouted in fear, looking into the cold eyes of Shang just before him. "I won't do it-"
BANG!
Shang hit the student's face with his fist.
The student on the ground had his face caved in, his skull splintered into pieces at the front.
Blood bubbled out of the student's face, making his face resemble a puddle.
The watching students took a deep breath.
"What will it take for you to stop bothering me?!" Shang shouted with a voice filled with fury.
Shang was no longer acting.
At the moment, he was actually filled with fury.
Currently, in Shang's mind, the night of the bandits reappeared.
Shang had killed several people during that night, and he had hated himself for letting them get away.
Letting some of them get away was the very reason why killing the others had become unnecessary.
He should have killed all of them!
However, Shang was still a person from Earth, and killing people wasn't normal to him.
Murderers were seen as monsters on Earth.
But Shang also knew that he had to kill people in this world.
This conflict of interest stressed and enraged Shang.
He didn't want to kill them, but he had to!
He had already made a mistake by not killing all the bandits, and he would not commit that same mistake again!
Earlier, Shang had only planned on bringing them close to death, but after he had actually become enraged, that plan vanished.
At this moment, Shang genuinely wanted to kill this student.
Shang lifted his fist again under the shocked eyes of the watching students.
Hey, dude, aren't you going a bit far?
Do you actually want to be expelled?!
Do you actually want to kill them?!
The night of the bandits replayed again and again in Shang's mind.
He remembered all the bandits he had killed, and he remembered their eyes in the last moments.
Their eyes had been filled with fear and terror.
They were genuinely afraid, and they heavily regretted their actions.
They were sorry.
"Hlp, hlrpsss," the student on the ground tried to shout for help through his crushed face, his arms moving around blindly. His eyes had been crushed, and he could no longer hear anything.
"Srssy, Srsshy," the student tried to say he was sorry, but his words couldn't be understood.
"Mhmmyy!"
Shang understood that word.
He was shouting for his mother.
At the moment of death, he was shouting for his mother.
He was only a kid.
He was only 16 years old.
When Shang heard that word, his insides shook.
These were just kids.
They only tried to steal from him.
He was killing a child right now.
For a moment, Shang paused.
But then, an explosion of rage appeared inside of him.
'I'm not on Earth anymore!'
'Empathy is weakness!'
'Feelings for others is weakness!'
The conflict of emotions only infuriated Shang even more.
The more he hated to do something, the angrier he got.
He didn't want to do it!
But he had to!
The ear grating, high-pitched sound of grinding teeth reverberated throughout Shang's body.
He hated it!
He hated it!
He hated it!
He hated it!
Shang's mind went blank.
At that moment, he felt like time had stopped.
He felt like this moment decided his future.
Was this what he wanted to become?
Would he kill a kid for trying to steal from him?
The three attackers were probably already traumatized by everything, and they would most likely not attack another student for a very, very long time, maybe even forever.
They would wake up in cold sweat at night.
They might not even decide to hunt beasts in the future since a deep fear of death would be implanted into them on this day.
It was enough.
Shang had done enough.
"DIE!" Shang shouted.
And then, Shang punched the student's chest with all of his power.
It was like everything was happening in slow-motion to the watching students.
BANG!
The fist hit the student's chest, activating the Magic Runes.
If the uniform hadn't blocked the attack, the student would have died.
The watching students felt shocked.
He had actually done it!
He had actually tried to kill him!
This was no longer normal!
If he killed this student, he would be expelled!
On top of that, nearly every student had a somewhat powerful background, and those families would want to find revenge. Without the protection of the academy, Shang would quickly be killed!
It was finally done.
Shang had finally managed to intimidate the students into never attacking again.
Most students would stop attacking someone if that person put them close to death, but that was only most of them.
But all of them would stop if they knew that they could actually die.
Shang had accomplished his goal.
No one would ever bother him again.
The guy on the ground had devolved into trying to shout for his mother.
When Shang heard these shouts, his hatred exploded.
He had long since lost his mind in rage.
These shouts made him feel bad, and in his rage-filled state, he saw these innocent shouts as an attack.
He hated himself for feeling bad.
And he hated the guy on the ground for making him feel bad.
He hated him!
Shang lifted his blood-covered fist again.
Time seemingly stopped for the watching students.
Was this actually happening?
Was he actually striking again?
Some of the older students thought about intervening, but after seeing Shang's face, they decided against it.
They could probably fight Shang, but they feared for their own future.
They could no longer anticipate Shang's actions since Shang had essentially become a crazy person.
If they angered him now, it was possible that he might actually try to kill them.
What then?
Then, they would have to actually risk their lives.
Was this worth it?
Was it worth it to risk their lives for a younger student?
The risk was too high.
They wouldn't intervene.
After lifting his fist, Shang swung again without waiting.
Time moved in slow motion.
Shang's fist hit the student's crushed face.
A loud cracking sound reverberated throughout the academy.
Blood splashed.
And Shang suddenly lost consciousness as something hit the side of his head.