Chapter 266 - Good Ruler
The student tried to talk to Shang some more, but Shang only gave short and concise answers.
Luckily, the awkwardness was alleviated as another three students arrived.
The student quickly fell into a conversation with the other three, who then also said thanks to Shang for his sacrifice.
Shang felt quite awkward right now.
Now that all the students were present, Shang could also feel the average Battle-Strength of these students.
In Shang's opinion, they were quite powerful.
If this were inside the trial, these four would probably count as "powerful Initial General Stage warriors", excluding their procedure.
Even more, from what Shang had heard from these students, one of them didn't even have a warrior's body.
This was groundbreaking news!
This meant that the procedure could now be applied to a much greater range of warriors.
No wonder Duke Whirlwind and the Dean wanted to go public with the procedure. If they got the go-ahead from King Skythunder, they could roll out the procedure on a massive scale.
By listening to the students, Shang also learned that the passive regeneration was also present in them, but to a weaker degree. While Shang would need about 30 seconds to fully heal his body without any Mana, they needed around 90 seconds.
A couple of minutes later, the last two people arrived.
"Dean, Duke Whirlwind," teacher Loran said from in front of the gate to the last two people.
"Loran, it's been a while since I've seen you. How have things been?" Duke Whirlwind asked with a polite smile.
"Everything is going very well. Thank you for asking, Duke Whirlwind," teacher Loran said with a polite bow.
Just like Vice-Dean Soran, Duke Whirlwind exchanged a couple of polite words with teacher Loran.
Only when the followers had a good impression of their leader would things go smoothly during a rule.
Duke Whirlwind knew that, which was why he never acted like someone didn't deserve to talk to him due to his status.
Even when some random Soldier Stage warrior had appeared in his garden, he had still taken the time to talk to him on a basically equal field, which showed that this was how Duke Whirlwind genuinely felt and that it wasn't just an act.
Duke Whirlwind could have killed Shang back then without any consequences, and no one would have even known.
The Dean, on the other hand, didn't talk a lot with anyone. He always only said as much as necessary.
The gates of the academy opened, and the five students stepped out.
"Greetings to the Dean and Duke Whirlwind," the students said, except for Shang.
Shang only nodded in greeting.
The Dean introduced the other four students to Duke Whirlwind, who gave them some small compliments.
The students felt honored beyond belief when they heard the Duke personally compliment them. Even more, the Duke didn't just say empty words, but he perfectly highlighted the things these students were really good in.
The Duke hadn't been present during the other procedures, and today was the first time he saw the other four students.
Of course, the Dean completely skipped Shang's introduction.
The Dean only said as much as he needed, and the Duke didn't need an introduction to Shang.
After the introductions were finished, Duke Whirlwind gestured to the north. "Alright, enough small talk. We have a long day ahead of us, and I want to be back before night hits."
The Dean passed by the students and stopped behind them.
These students were important for the future of all warriors, and the Dean wouldn't take any chances, which was why he was guarding the rear while Duke Whirlwind took the front.
"Little friend Shang, I want someone to talk to during the boring journey. Would you mind coming forward and accompanying me?" the Duke said with a smile.
Shang only nodded and stopped just a bit behind the Duke.
The other students looked with a bit of shock at Shang.
They didn't know much about Shang, which was why they had no idea that Shang was this close to the Duke.
The Duke saw that everyone was ready to depart and nodded.
Then, he spoke a couple of unfamiliar words, which meant that he was casting a Spell.
Shang knew a lot about Spells, but he had no idea what this Spell would do.
It was probably far too advanced for him.
After the Duke was done, a green barrier made of Wind Mana appeared around the five students.
"This Spell is called Blessing of the Wind," Duke Whirlwind said. "It has a minor protective effect, and it helps you all move faster. Don't be surprised when you suddenly move several times faster than normal when you start running. Your speed should now be equal to Initial Commander Stage warriors."
The students nodded in wonder.
They had never heard of this kind of Spell.
"Let's go," the Duke said.
And then, he lightly stepped forward, but that light step already made him accelerate to quite a fast speed.
The other students followed, and a couple of them nearly stumbled.
They had moved far too fast for their liking.
Luckily, basically all warriors had superb coordination abilities when it came to their bodies.
About a minute later, they left the city through the main gates, which had been opened early due to the Duke's orders.
As everyone ran down the long road, Shang looked to the side.
He was moving so fast!
'That's probably around 200 kph, and if I wanted, I could probably become even faster,' Shang thought.
"Shang, I found a Peak Adept that just looked at you with quite a lot of interest," Duke Whirlwind said from in front of Shang.
Shang's eyes narrowed.
Sure enough, the next Cleaner had already been sent.
"You seem to have some problems," Duke Whirlwind said.
"It's not a problem," Shang answered.
"You know," Duke Whirlwind said, "I was thinking about what I should give you for your excellent service in my new territory. Just giving you some ore doesn't seem to be enough as a repayment."
"Want me to take care of this problem? You won't owe me anything, and you won't get more involved in my political faction."
"It's just a little repayment."
Shang didn't immediately answer.