Chapter 29 Lose more face
“You bastard! You dared to use underhanded methods to nearly kill me and now you have the audacity to join the enforcers!” the broad-shouldered youth snarled. “You have no virtue and no abilities. That is why you kept rushing me like a coward.”
“Hutrar, shut up!” Sabine stepped forward, her voice rising. “I literally had to beg him to stop hitting you or you would have died!”
Vandal gently pulled Sabine behind him. A calm smile touched his lips as he stared straight at Hutrar. “Let him finish. What do you want to do about it? Yes, I am now a member of the enforcers. So what?”
“You lost fair and square,” Vandal continued, his tone steady. “And you tried to kill me first. You literally tried to fry me with your flames.”
“You are not worthy to join the enforcers!” Hutrar bellowed.
Jaden stepped in beside him, his voice dripping with poison. “Hutrar is right. You are not worthy. The test clearly showed you have no proper resonance energy and your talent is tier zero.”
Jaden swept his gaze across the other enforcers, raising his voice as if addressing a trial. “Brothers and sisters, think about it. That test has never failed for generations. How else could he fight like that and even achieve that absurd form if not through evil or unscrupulous means? By extension, his victory over Hutrar should be investigated. Where is the resonance energy coming from? How does a nobody possess a berserk form with no element type? Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
Vandal’s expression darkened. In a blur, he thrust his palm forward. A force echo palm projection shot toward Jaden.
“Projection Palm?” Jaden’s eyes widened in recognition. The move came straight from the enforcer library.
Jaden spun and punched out. Stage six resonance aura exploded around him as a wave of crackling electric power surged from his fist.
Vandal felt a flicker of surprise but no fear. He shifted his stance and activated another technique he had learned from the library. Dash Step. Resonance energy surged through his legs. He blurred behind Jaden in an instant. Before Jaden could turn, another force palm slammed into his back, followed immediately by a solid fist to the face.
Jaden flew backward, skidded several meters across the ground, and crashed hard.
Shock rippled through the enforcers. Eyes widened, especially Mael’s. The white-cloaked leader who had constantly called Vandal weak and a liability stared in disbelief. The two moves Vandal had just used were complex echo techniques that normally required months of repeated practice to master. Yet he had executed them cleanly after only a short time in the library.
Inside, Vandal smiled to himself. I didn’t know I could learn this fast just by passively using my left eye. What started as a mistake is really helping me. Since the entity was sealed, he no longer had to worry about the eye turning black and chaotic. The pupil was now only a slightly darker shade of blue than his right eye. Alarik had warned him to be careful with heavy usage because it risked weakening the seal, but for now it felt like a hidden advantage.
“You think you have won!” Jaden roared as he pushed himself up and leaped toward Vandal again.
Whoosh!
Teion’s body flashed forward and appeared between them. He blocked the incoming surge of electricity with a heavy palm. “Just now, Vandal already left you some face,” he said in a deep, warning voice. “Do not look for unhappiness.”
His aura burst forth, thick and oppressive. Chan’s eyes widened in shock.
“This… this feels like… eighth stage resonance?” Chan stammered, running a hand through his shaggy hair. “Brother Teion, when were you going to tell me you reached the eighth stage?”
Teion did not reply. His sharp gaze stayed locked on Jaden. Mael remained silent, watching the scene like a spectator at a show.
Hutrar stayed quiet. He had only recently recovered from his injuries, and the memory of broken bones and torn tissues still lingered. Deep down, he felt a spark of fear. He did not want Vandal to turn that same brutal force on him again.
“Okay, this is what they call ‘you won’t know each other without fighting’,” Chan said brightly, trying to ease the tension. “Time is tight, so let’s hurry up and go.”
Under Chan’s cheerful call, the heavy atmosphere broke. The group began walking out of the enforcers’ exclusive courtyard.
Sabine fell into step beside Vandal. She glanced up at him with a bright smile. “You are quite overbearing. Mael had not even said anything yet, and you attacked Jaden directly.”
“He asked for it,” Vandal replied, the corner of his mouth curling.
Sabine’s smile turned sweet. “Fine. Actually, I like your temper when it is like this.”
She reached into the small purse at her waist and pulled out an old book. The pages looked shabby and ready to crumble. She pressed it into Vandal’s hands.
“What is this?” he asked.
When Vandal opened the cover and saw the title, his eyes lit up. Advanced Echo Projection Technique.
“It is actually advanced le-”
“Quiet!” Sabine quickly pressed her hand over his mouth. She glanced nervously toward the courtyard entrance, afraid someone outside might have heard. “This is nothing,” she whispered. “My mother has many things stashed away that are not in the enforcer library. Just learn it.”
Vandal felt a wave of gratitude. He lowered his voice. “Thanks.”
“What thanks? Hurry up and put it away. Do not let them see it.” Sabine waved her small fist playfully in front of his face. “Also, do not give it to anyone else to study or I will break your nose!”
With that, she ran ahead, jumping and bouncing lightly with each step.
Watching the cute, sincere girl, Vandal felt his impression of Sabine improve several times over.
They were all heading toward the hall to collect the mission token and receive a briefing on the prominent sect members they would be protecting.