Chapter 69

69 Improvement

Vice-Captain Josef’s Military Tactic Class went as usual. He taught the cadets several battle formations and showed videos where the human armies won and lost. In each case, he explained each scenario in detail, and more importantly, he gave guidance based on his experience handling unexpected threats and changes on the battlefield.

Those were insights that no book could give, and all the cadets gave it their full attention since it could save their life in the future.

As soon as the class ended, Cain and Beelze said goodbye to Levi before getting into a military truck and leaving the Lightning Imperial Fort.

Just like during his mission with Levi, once the military truck left the fort’s range, Cain glanced at Beelze, and both activated their armors.

Scales formed both armors, but while Cain’s was black, that of Beelze was sky-blue.

“Saint.”

“Lotus.”

The Wave Artifacts distorted Cain and Beelze’s voices as they uttered their code names. After that, they both went silent and focused on maintaining themselves at peak conditions. This trip was not a date but a mission where they would hunt a murderer.

Cain had already familiarized himself with the mission’s details. They were after a soldier who traveled to a nearby city named Korin City as part of a squad dispatched from the Lightning Imperial Fort tasked with erasing some gangs.

.....

The deserter in question was the squad leader, a young Level 4 Astral Wave Warrior named Salar Jones. He fulfilled his mission and killed the gangs’ leaders, but he raped and killed a few of the gangs’ female henchmen.

Although the Godslayer Humankind Empire was not known for its leniency toward criminals, acts like those of Salar Jones were not permitted and punishable by branding you as a Tier 0 Criminal.

The fact that the man was part of the military only worsened his case since the Godslayer Humankind Empire would not let anyone defile the Imperial Military Force’s name, especially its soldiers.

Once Salar Hones found that his acts would come to light, he fled from Korin City and headed deep into the forest that contained a Tier 1 Danger Zone.

Cain and Beelze’s mission did not involve apprehending Salar but only finding out his whereabouts. They were not the only ones since this was an open mission, and other teams made of cadets or even soldiers could participate.

Of all the information that Cain obtained for the mission, one thing bothered him. According to Salar Jones’ personal file, the man was somewhat unruly but did not seem capable of such heinous acts.

There was the chance someone used Salar Jones as a scapegoat, but Cain doubted something like that would happen. After all, there should be no one in Korin City that could have the type of background needed to incriminate a Level 4 Astral Wave Warrior.

‘I should not waste my time with useless assumptions. I will follow my heart if something unexpected happens.’

Cain glanced at Beelze as the military truck led them to Korin City, and he commanded the Absolute Life Form System to scan him and her.

He scanned himself to have an accurate measurement of his power. As for doing it with Beelze, there was no ill will behind that, but he also wanted to know just how strong she was as they would fight together.

[Scanning Vessel

—

Name: Cain Laurifer

Race: Godslayer Humankind

Path of Power: Astral Rebirth (Level 2 Wave Warrior)

Lineage: Lightning Lupus

Wave Talent: Low Tier 4

—

Stats:

Strength: 0.19–>0.26

Agility: 0.25–>0.32

Vitality: 0.23–>0.33

Wave: 0.22–>0.28]

Cain was a little surprised by the rise of his stats, especially those of strength and vitality. However, it made sense after taking into consideration the Blood Refinement Art.

[Scanning target.

—

Name: Beelze

Race: Godslayer Humankind

Path of Power: Essence Evolution (Level 2 Wave Warrior)

Lineage: ??

Wave Talent: ??

—

Stats:

Strength: 0.15

Agility: 0.19

Vitality: 0.31

Wave: 0.56]

Beelze’s strength and agility were typical of an Essence Wave Warrior with a Lineage, but her vitality and Wave were surprisingly high.

Cain was sure that, just like him, Beelze trained a high-level cultivation method that allowed her to have a larger reservoir of Wave and an auxiliary technique to improve her vitality.

That did not surprise Cain at all. After all, it was evident that Beelze came from a strong background.

Once Cain learned Beelze’s weak and strong points and knew how to help her during a battle best, he focused again on his cultivation.

It did not take long for the duo to reach Korin City. Unlike Cain’s experience with Roku City, this time, everything went smoothly.

He and Beelze did not even have to enter Korin City as the Mayor’s assistant waited for them with all the evidence and some of Salar’s blood and clothes at the city’s gates.

Korin City’s Mayor’s efficiency improved everything for the duo as time was of the essence. After thanking the assistant for the evidence, they entered the forest and advanced in the direction where the city’s guards saw Salar escaping.

Cain and Beelze ignored the Wave Beasts on their path since not only were the beasts too weak to be of any value, but there were only a few hours left of daylight, and they should take advantage of them.

Cain was in the lead since his body was stronger and his armor more suitable for defense in case of a surprise attack. He was following Salar’s scent that he learned from the clothes the Mayor’s assistant gave.

Salar committed his crimes on Monday and escaped the night of the same day, so his scent was clear and strong, making Cain’s job very easy.

The duo had run for less than three hours when the sun went down and night arrived. Cain had night vision, but that did not mean he could see as well as during the day. As for Beelze, her armor helped her in that aspect, but her sight was even worse than Cain’s.

In that condition, running deeper into the forest at full speed was not wise, but that did not mean they could only wait.

Cain’s eyes grew sharp as he caught the scent of a pack of Wave Beasts. He made a sign to Beelze, and the duo went after it.