When the first ray of sunlight appeared, Cain and Levi saw Rouk City in the distance. It had a giant wall around its perimeter, and in the center, there was a large tower.
That tower barely reached five hundred meters, nothing compared with the striking ten thousand meters tall Titan Tower of the Lightning Imperial Fort, but it provided energy for the entire city.
Cain's eyes narrowed as they approached the gate and saw the soldiers stand there with Wave Rifles.
Rouk City was a somewhat small city with a population of nearly one million people. It was under the Lightning Imperial Fort's sphere of influence. Its defenses were enough to keep its people completely safe from Wave Beasts and other dangers.
Of course, there were mighty Wave Beasts that could overcome Roku City's defenses, but just like humans, those creatures grow brighter as they grow stronger. They are intelligent enough to understand that if they attack the city, the Lightning Imperial Fort will send Wave Champions after them.
The military truck stopped outside the gate that led into Rouk City. A soldier approached the passenger seat and froze for a moment as he saw the two people covered in Wave Artifacts.
Not only were the duo's armors visually impressive, but the soldier was smart enough to understand that anyone capable of having something like that could not be simple.
"Identification, please."
Levi handed the soldier a card with the information about their mission and status as cadets from Collapsing Lightning Military Academy.
The soldier's eyes narrowed as he saw the duo's status, but he did not dare to look down on them. Even if they were just cadets, there was a great chance they could be powerful scions that chose to enter the military academy.
Levi and Cain saw how the soldier stood in silence for a moment as he possibly used his A.I. Chip to pass the information to get the clearance for the duo to enter.
There should have been no problem since even if Cain and Levi were not in a Collapsing Lightning Military Academy's mission, they could enter Rouk City.
However, out of nowhere, a look of surprise and confusion appeared on the soldier. He did his best to hide it as soon as possible, but Cain and Levi saw it.
"Mmm, I am sorry, there has been some disturbance in the city. You two will have to wait for a moment before passing. Don't leave the military truck for the time being." The soldier handed Levi the card, and before they could ask anything, he walked back to his post.
Levi and Cain stared at each other and frowned as they did not know what had happened. If there were a problem with their identities, the soldiers would have arrested them or told them to go away if they were too afraid to do that.
However, the soldier just told Cain and Levi to wait. As for the disturbances, it was almost certainly a made-up excuse.
All that, plus the fact that the soldier was surprised to hear that he should not just let the duo enter, made it clear that there was something fishy about their mission, and someone was trying to keep things quiet.
Cain stared at the soldiers guarding the gate and commanded the Absolute Life Form System to scan them. Surprise appeared on his face as he saw that all the soldiers were Wave Warriors, many at Level 2, and even one who seemed to be the squad's leader reached Level 3.
'What, since when are Wave Warriors so common!?'
Before obtaining the Absolute Life Form System, becoming a Wave Warrior was a dream for Cain, yet now he found one at Level 3, working as the guard of a small city's gate.
"Brat, shouldn't you have gotten smarter after reaching Level 2?"
Cain was surprised to hear Apex's voice in his mind. The System Spirit had been quiet the last few days, mainly focusing on his hacking efforts.
"Listen, in your old home where the Wave's density was shockingly low, so only those with great talent and backing could become a Level 3 Wave Warrior, but here is different. Their Wave in the air is much higher, so their cultivation is easier.
All those people entered the military academy just like you and learned the cultivation basics. After decades, in a Wave-rich environment, it is not odd for someone with even little talent to become a Level 3 Wave Warrior."
Cain calmed down and began to analyze everything with a more critical mind. He saw how the squad's leader appeared to be a man in his fifties.
"Of course, those that cultivate like that have horrible foundations and find it almost impossible to cross bottlenecks. Not to mention the after-effects of their cultivation stagnation."
When Cain heard that last part, he focused on the stats of the squad's leader.
[Scan of target completed.
---
Name: ???
Race: Godslayer Humankind
Lineage: Human
Path of Power: Essence Evolution ( Level 3 Essence Wave Warrior)
---
Stats:
Strength:0.13
Agility:0.11
Vitality:0.22
Essence Wave:0.24]
The physical stats of the squad's leader matched those of a Level 3 Essence Wave Warrior with a Human Lineage, but his Wave was too low.
A Level 3 Wave Warrior usually had above 0.5 of Wave inside their bodies, yet the squad's leader had less than half of that.
"The lack of advance on his cultivation atrophied his meridians, which led to that state. The other soldiers should be in the same condition, if not worse."
Cain nodded and better understood the different types of Wave Warriors. Apex learned all that from hacking the Empire Science Academy.
"Of course, even if they are weak, it would be hard for you and the other brat to defeat them since they outnumber you and have those Wave Rifles. Not to mention that things would only grow more complicated for the two if you use force."
A profound light appeared in Cain's eyes as he heard Apex's words. In the Military Academy Secret Trial, he used brute power to handle all his problems, but things were not so simple now.
Suddenly an idea came to Cain's mind, and he almost laughed as he thought of the implications.
Levi attempted to figure out a way beyond this point when he saw how Cain got out of the military truck and walked toward the city's gate, only for the soldiers to grow alert and raise their Wave Rifles.
"Stop right there. Who do you think you are to disobey our commands!" The squad's leader yelled at Cain as he pointed his Wave Rifle.
Cain knew his Nullity Armor's ability would be able to block most of those blast's power, but he would still end up injured. Nevertheless, he did not lose calm and looked at the soldiers without pure contempt and disdain.
"Who do you think you are pointing your punny weapons to? I am Zamir Jarken, third son of Count Jarken!"