Chapter 1538 (1/2)
Randidly shook his head, almost sadly. The emotions from the recruits in front of him swiftly turned extremely chaotic. So much so that he knew there were multiple that likely had made some sort of deal.
Yet amongst these recruits, there was one that went beyond that; someone was trying to bring something foreign in.
Randidly wouldn’t have been as confident in his discernment a day ago, but Commandant Wick had given him some hands-on experience with drawing out an unwanted foreign image. As the recruits paused and turned around to face Randidly, he calmly mobilized the Nether flows in the surrounding space.
It would have been difficult out in the broader Rally Station. But under Randidly’s training area, he was king. A foreign entity passing into his territory meant that it was governed by his laws.
Also, Randidly was aware that he couldn’t completely shield his recruits from the mundane persuasions that other entities could offer them. From the uneasy guilt wafting through the air, at least a dozen had reached a verbal agreement with the enemies of Military High Command. They might even be curious about the elite training being conducted by the Head Drill Sergeant.
But Randidly had a suspicion that the waves made by Military High Command’s report on corruption might push individuals to do something rather… drastic. He didn’t have any real awareness of how the population of the Nexus would react, but Commandant Wick’s obvious relish of the event informed his understanding.
This was big. Which would make the NLC and its allies desperate. And desperate individuals took risks.
Randidly spread his arms. His Nether Nebula began to accelerate, resisting the immense inertia of its weight. His body became the mouth of a river of Nether. It came out of him in waves, flowing through the recruits in front of him without much resistance; they were used to the strange effect the energy had on them.
But when that flood of energy passed through the recruits, at a depth and density that was many times higher than what they had normally experienced, their eyes went wide and they swayed where they were standing. Many of them tensed and frowned; no doubt suddenly accommodating Nether at that density was uncomfortable even with their powerful bodies.
A few looked like they were about to faint.
But Randidly didn’t relent. He narrowed his eyes and scanned through the recruits as the Nether flowed ceaselessly out from the sea contained in his body. It was an unintended benefit, but it appeared his array was preparing him for a situation exactly like this. And, when the Nether wave had resonance through almost all of the recruits and hit the squad that was second from the front that was following Helen…
“Ah…. AHHHHHHHH!” A recruit began to scream. His hands went to his right side, as though one of his organs was rupturing.
Instantly, Helen barked out an Order. “Everyone back away from Recruit Quewn. NOW!”
The recruits twisted around and looked at their fellow recruit, bewildered by the sudden intensity conveyed by Helen’s order. Randidly didn’t bother to wait for them to obey. All three of his images spread out in the surrounding space, but the one that cast a long shadow over the situation was Yggdrasil. The World Tree erupted upward like a long frustrated volcanic explosion, a geyser of rune-covered bark that sent emerald leaves spinning across the surroundings.
In the next moment, Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil manifested. Thick golden roots erupted out of the ground and swelled until they were large enough to overpower a normal-sized human. Still, Randidly was glad to see that most of the recruits were already reacting to the sudden actions, proof that the training was having some effect; a month ago, they would have stood around slack-jawed for long enough for them to be dragged into the confrontation. But there were a few exceptions.
Djark Quewn was a Squad Leader that had been chosen primarily for his leadership abilities, and his fellow squad members were especially hesitant to the sudden shift. In this case, the current orders clashed with their previous training. They were not supposed to abandon an injured squad member.
So Randidly forcefully smashed them backward with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil as the Nether spiraled around the panting recruit. They skidded across the surrounding dirt with pained cries; he hadn’t attacked them, but Randidly Ghosthound didn’t bother to treat these recruits with kid gloves.
Congratulations! Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil (T) has grown to Level 322!
Seeing Randidly intervening directly with impunity, the other Squad Leaders realized that this wasn’t a joke and seized the initiative. In their small groups, they rapidly retreated from the area. Very quickly, it was only three of them on the dirt road back into Randidly’s territory. So he barred his teeth and slowly walked forward. It was time to see what sort of image he was dealing with.
Helen folded her arms across her chest. Her expression was stormy.
Meanwhile, Recruit Quewn continued to scream. “Ah…. what… what the hell is happening?!? I didn’t-”
His words were cut off as the flesh by his waist began to bulge outward. A half-formed image flickered around his body and the young man collapsed. He looked down at his side in shock, clearly unaware of what was occurring within his body. Randidly did possess some sympathy for the recruit; it was very likely that he hadn’t understood what he had agreed to. But he wasn’t willing to give him the benefit of the not, considering how powerful the incomplete image was that was clawing its way out of him.
Not that it’s having an easy time...
Randidly chuckled as the image tried to break out of its hiding spot in the recruit’s body but couldn’t quite manage it. Some of the tension he felt eased. Based on its strength, this image wasn’t a pushover. But the lessons that Randidly had learned on the frontlines during his time as an image held true. Maintaining an image’s clarity while it was submerged in Nether was extremely difficult, especially when you didn’t have much experience in that area.