The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

206  Silent hypnosis

The soldiers had already left their tents by the time the first ray of sunlight appeared in the sky but were in disarray as they did not know what was happening. Not only was yesterday's battle futile, but now hundreds of soldiers were missing, including all Vice-Captains except for Uriel's group.

Uriel and the other four Vice-Captains had already assembled their soldiers and were in formation, ready to march into the forest. From the moment Cain became the Hunt Leader, they had been working on their own, so the disappearance of the other Vice-Captains did not affect their battle formations.

Nevertheless, Uriel could not help but frown. He had planned to summon all the Vice-Captains yesterday in order to remove Cain from his role as Hunt Leader, but they just vanished without saying a word.

'What is happening? Why would the strongest soldiers leave at night and shut down all communication with the main force?'

As Uriel was trying to figure out what happened, he saw that the soldiers began to focus on him. He was the highest-ranking commander present, which incited the soldiers to seek his guidance.

Uriel's eyes narrowed as a smile emerged on his face. He knew as much as the rest of the soldiers, but that would not stop him from taking advantage of the situation.

"There are military movements taking place right now under the command of the Hunt Leader. You are not fit to take part in it and should wait for further information if you are deemed worthy."

Although vague, that answer helped the soldiers solve some of their doubts.

Uriel would have wanted to spread malice against Cain and the other Vice-Captains among the troops but had no idea what was happening to them and was smart enough not to spread misinformation with the Captains looking from a distance.

"I will take the role of commander for the time being. All squad leaders should come to me so I can brief you on the current situation and also ask some questions." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Taking orders from someone else but their Vice-Captains was odd for those soldiers. Still, they were confused, so many were ready to follow Uriel's words.

Uriel's smile widened as he saw that. The goal of talking with the squad leaders was to recollect information about the other battalions. He was only slightly bending the rules, so the Captains could say nothing.

"Hmph, what kind of report can you give if you know nothing?"

All the squad leaders froze when they heard that voice, and Uriel's smile changed into a grimace. The one that shouted those words was no other than Cain. He had silently reached the encampment, and everybody could see the blood and burn wounds all over his body.

"YOU!"

Uriel usually had great control over his emotions, but Cain always managed to make him angry. The young man informed everybody he was lying to the soldiers and was not worthy of knowing the movements of the other Vice-Captains.

Cain did not bother with Uriel and turned toward the soldiers as his eyes burst with red light.

"A mission took place to handle the Lightning-Fall Mantis during the night. That is all you need to know. Now get back to your tents."

Cain did not raise his voice, but it reached all the soldiers, and the willpower in it was so powerful that all of them saluted to him before marching to their tents.

"What do you think you are doing by looking down on us like that!"

Uriel's rage reached such a level that he could barely contain it, but it grew even more when he saw that Cain did not even look at him.

"You should watch your back, brat!"

It was only at this point that Cain stopped, and he was not alone since the rest of the soldiers also halted. Uriel's words could be constructed as a threat, which was a severe offense in the military.

Cain turned toward Uriel, and the red light in his eyes exploded as he unleashed his Ego Wave.

When the soldiers saw that red force field emerge from Cain's mind, they moved away since no one wanted to get caught in the crossfire.

Uriel's eyes widened as he was surprised that Cain would act like that, inciting a physical conflict after a few words, but it made him happy. His cultivation was near the peak of Level 9, and he was confident in overcoming Cain.

There was no way for a Wave Warrior to avoid an Ego Wave that moved so fast that not even Wave Champion could dodge it, so Uriel just received it before making his Astral Wave burst.

The Captains saw that and frowned as they found it hard to figure out how to proceed. Infight during a military mission was absolutely against the rules, and although Uriel started it with that threat, Cain escalated things into a physical conflict. The student forces had not left their encampment. Amos and Dominic saw with excitement the discord generated between Cain and Uriel. Any weakness in the military force was good for them, not to mention that Cain was digging his grave by breaking the rules in the presence of the Imperial Lightning Fort's Captains.

Golden light covered Uriel's body as he was ready to fight against Cain, but suddenly, a sense of absolute doom assaulted him as his instincts began to scream danger. Before Uriel could even take a step, four weapons charged with Wave appeared on top of his head, heart, neck, and spine. The attackers were not other than the Vice-Captains in Uriel's group!

"Simon, Anton, Harol, Jack. What do you think you are doing!?"

Uriel shouted, but then he saw that the eyes of the four had lost focus.

"You hypnotized them!"

Those words shocked everybody. The Captains, Wave University's teachers, soldiers, and students could not believe what they heard.

The fact that Cain was an Elementary Hypnosis Master was not a secret, but being able to instantly hypnotize four Level 8 Wave Warriors against their will without saying a single word was shocking. Hypnosis skills at that level meant that Cain was one step away from becoming a Grand Hypnosis Master!