Chapter 180 - 180 Leadership (II)

180 Leadership (II)

After handling the squad leaders, Cain stared at the rest of the soldiers, and his eyes glowed with red light as he unleashed the full power of his Ego Wave.

“All soldiers under my command, besides the squad leaders, adopt a meditative stance and relax your minds.”

Cain’s words confused the soldiers, but years of military training instilled a deep respect for the chain of command, so everybody did as their commanding officer told them.

A mighty force field emerged from Cain the next second, instantly covering the three hundred soldiers.

“Sleep.”

As soon as Cain uttered that word, the soldiers fell unconscious one by one. However, they were not simply falling asleep. Everybody saw how the Wave inside their bodies began to revolve much faster, and an expression of utter peace appeared on their faces.

All the Vice-Captains saw with utter shock as, in less than five minutes, all three hundred soldiers under Cain’s command entered Embryonic Breathing.

Cain felt tired after that, but a large smile was on his face. After his willpower evolved to the Wave King realm, the quality and quantity of his Ego Wave underwent an evolution. Before, it would have been a challenge to hypnotize thirty people, but now he could do three hundred.

Of course, it also helped that none of the soldiers under Cain’s command were above Level 5. The stronger the Wave Warrior, the greater their mental fortitude, and the harder it would be to put them in the state of compulsion needed for hypnosis.

.....

‘I wonder how powerful my current hypnosis ability has become. I should at least be a 4 Star Elementary Hypnosis Master by now.’

Cain did not lose too much time thinking about his power and instead began to discuss battle formations with his squad leaders.

The other Vice-Captains were silent for a moment, and their faces had awkward expressions as they stared at their battalions. They originally intended to render assistance to Cain, but this one needed none of it, and his legend only became stronger as he displayed his hypnosis and Genetic Coder abilities.

Of course, as seasoned soldiers, they did not let that bother them. All the Vice-Captains called their squad leaders forward and began to discuss strategies to face Wave Beasts’ hordes in their own terrain.

Cain was doing the same. He had used the [A.I. Chip Module] to scan all the soldiers and develop all sorts of battle formations to help them maximize their power and cover their weaknesses.

The squad leaders were surprised by Cain’s battle formation, and he was surprised by the input they gave to his strategists. While there were no massive changes, it would make things easier and possibly save lives.

Aaron returned after five days. He glanced at the soldiers and focused on Cain.

A smile appeared on the Captain’s face as he saw the squad leaders and how the rest of the soldiers were in a state of Embryonic Breathing.

Cain was not the only Hypnosis Master in the Imperial Lightning Fort, but there were many that would not use their abilities with their soldiers since no one would pay them.

“Sir.” All five Vice-Captains bowed once they saw Aaron arrive.

“Well done. I have good news. We will be part of the force that will strike one of the main clusters of Wave Beasts, the Blade Mountain.”

Cain’s eyes narrowed as he heard that. He knew about Blade Mountain due to the legends that originated around it and the fact it was a location marked as certain death for anyone that entered it, even if they were Peak Wave Champions.

“We will march in one week. You have until then to make preparations. We will gather in the port and aboard the Lightning Star Cruiser.”

Aaron waved his hand after that, sending the Vice-Captains a file with information about Blade Mountain before turning around and leaving.

Cain did not analyze the information on the spot. He turned toward his battalion first and woke them up.

“Disperse.”

That was all Cain and the other Vice-Captains said before leaving. They had a lot of things to do, and every minute counted.

Cain returned to his residence and bought all sorts of goods, working every single minute until it was finally time to depart. He and every soldier under Captain Aaron went to the Lightning Start Cruiser.

They were not alone since thousands of soldiers from other battalions were also getting into the Star Cruiser that would march to Blade Mountain.

It was not the first time Cain got into a ship like this, but luckily this time, he was a Vice-Captain and had his room.

As soon as Cain reached his residence, he took a long shower, ate a small meal, and slept. Once he woke up and felt all the past week’s exhaustion vanish, he began.

Cain waved his space ring, taking out several hearts from Level 7 Wave Beasts, three Whale Lightning Orbs, and dozens of wave crystals.

He waited until his body was in perfect harmony before starting to cultivate. It did not take him long before the Astral Wave inside his body burst with power, and the meridians pierced deep into his muscles.

The meridians reached deep into the muscle, merging with the muscle fibers, meaning that Cain was finally rising to Level 5. That would greatly boost his physical strength as the Astral Wave could now flow directly into his entire body’s musculature.

However, it was not the rise in his cultivation that drew such a solemn attitude in Cain or for which he made so many preparations. It was what would happen alongside it.

According to Apex’s information obtained from Empire Science Academy, once the perception of an Essence Wave Cultivator reached a certain level, they could begin to understand the Laws, which would greatly boost their battle power and talent.

Those that followed the Astral Rebirth Path of Power would find it almost impossible to perceive the laws, but they have access to something just as impressive. Once their marrow washing crossed the 75% threshold, they would experience a small form of rebirth.

Cain felt how the rise in his Astral Wave attempted to purge the pollution deep inside his body, but it proved extremely hard. He had expelled a significant amount of the filth accumulated since birth, but the one left was deep inside his marrow, making it much harder to remove.

Luckily, Cain had prepared. He used the Wave Beasts’ hearts to revolve the Blood Refinement Art, harvest the lightning power of the Whale Lightning Orbs, and draw the Wave from the wave crystals.

All that helped Cain’s body, and finally, after five minutes, he felt like a wall was breaking inside his body. The next second, a foul substance, much more disgusting than the ones he had seen before, was expelled from his body.

Cain smiled as the marrow washing finally crossed the 75% threshold, but he did not relax since he knew things were far from over.

Shortly after Cain expelled that foul substance, his entire body began to bleed. It was as if he was sweating blood, and it happened very fast.

Now that his marrow was more than 75% clean, it began to produce a new form of blood, and the old one had to disappear. The name of this process was Blood Renewal, and the benefits Cain would obtain were superb.

Blood Renewal required massive vitality to be completed, but Cain was ready. He pushed the Whale Lightning Orbs and wave crystals to the side, focusing solely on the Wave Beasts’ hearts.

Cain revolved the Blood Refinement Art as fast as he could, devouring those hearts’ vitality. Suddenly, he focused on his old blood and saw that while it was at best subpar compared with the new one, it was still full of energy.

A decisive light appeared in Cain’s eyes as he used his Ego Wave to focus on his blood vessels, perceiving the old blood and then using it as fuel for the Blood Refinement Art!

Cain was literally eating himself. Those were the actions of a madman, no matter how you look at them. However, the effect of that was incredible.

The Blood Refinement Art worked almost three times faster when Cain used his own blood to activate it. That surprised him, but he did not lose focus and carried on.

Cain felt how his old blood was gradually vanishing while the new one replaced it, and things did not end there. Along with the new blood, there was a reforge of his blood vessels.

The blood vessels were growing thicker, more resilient, and even more flexible as well. New branches emerged from them, making it easier for the blood to reach the organs.

Blood Renewal was divided into several steps, the first being the generation of new blood and the reconstruction of blood vessels. After that, there would be a gradual transformation of the viscera, with Cain’s body improving in every single aspect.