Seeing the hesitation clearly forming on Cornelia’s face, Cain almost lost control of his composure. His lips remained calm, his shoulders relaxed, yet inside his mind he was laughing with wild satisfaction, because confusion was exactly what he needed right now.
Yes. This is it. You looked very confused, my lady Corneli.
Good. Very good..
Co on, Cedrick. Step forward. Say what you are best at saying. I know you’re going to co up with a sche. Hurry and let ride it.
As if responding to that silent invitation, Cedrick took a breath, straightened his uniform, and raised his voice so it could carry across the entire training ground. His tone was firm and righteous, carefully shaped to sound like concern rather than accusation, and it imdiately drew the attention of every injured soldier present.
"Lady Cornelia," Cedrick said, bowing slightly before lifting his head again, "there is no longer any doubt. Master Cain used an enhancent spell."
Cornelia’s gaze snapped toward him, sharp and cold.
"Explain yourself," she said, her voice steady but tight.
Cedrick nodded, as though he had been waiting for permission all along.
"Steel armor does not collapse from bare fists," he said, slowly and clearly. "Blood-forged armor is layered with enchantnts. Even elite Blood Aura warriors must focus their aura to crack it, yet several breastplates were crushed inward as if struck by siege weapons."
He gestured toward a twisted piece of armor on the ground, its tal bent unnaturally.
"This was not slashing damage," Cedrick continued. "There were no burn marks, no mana scars, no residual aura signatures. The damage was blunt, concentrated, and overwhelming."
Cain listened quietly, his mind buzzing with amusent.
Good. Keep stacking it higher. Make it sound impossible. You are sharp... a sharp spy.
Cedrick took another step forward, warming to his own argunt.
"The shields shattered in a single hit," he said. "Bones broke instantly. Internal organs were damaged without external cuts. That level of force cannot be produced by a simple brute force."
Murmurs spread among the soldiers.
Cain nodded slightly in his head.
Yes. Exactly. That’s what they all should believe.
Cedrick pressed on, his confidence growing.
"The speed was abnormal. The power exceeded known limits. Yet when we examined the injured afterward, there was no lingering magic effect. This ans the enhancent was temporary."
He lifted his hand slightly.
"Only high-grade enhancent scrolls function this way. They boost physical strength dramatically and leave no trace once their effect ends."
Cain almost sighed in satisfaction.
Perfect. You couldn’t have frad it better.
By the ti Cedrick finished speaking, the injured soldiers began to murmur among themselves. Confusion turned into understanding, and understanding quickly beca anger.
"So that’s why," Trooper Captain William muttered through clenched teeth.
"No wonder," Blood Soldier Captain Hall said bitterly. "I knew sothing was wrong when he was beating us and no wonder he’s so confident at that ti. He used enhancent magic from a magic scroll!"
Vanguard Vice Captain Zed folded his arms, his face dark.
"He cheated," Zed said. "That explains everything."
Cain nearly wanted to clap.
Everything Cedrick said was wrong, yet it sounded so reasonable that no one questioned it. After all, Cain was known as a weak mana user. No one would ever imagine that the truth was far worse than a simple scroll.
Cain praised Cedrick silently.
You really are useful. A sha I’ll erase you soday. After all, you annoyed this Overgod. But I’ll make sure you disappear with a style. Right now, keep on going... you are doing your job well.
Then suddenly Cain stepped forward.
His expression hardened, and his voice cut through the murmurs like a blade.
"This bastard is lying."
The training ground fell silent.
Cain pointed directly at Cedrick.
"I did not use a scroll," he said, his voice cold and sharp. "Not once."
Cedrick frowned, but did not retreat.
"Master Cain," Cedrick replied calmly, "you can deny it all you want, but the evidence—"
"I deny everything," Cain snapped, his voice rising. "Every word you say is all nothing but nonsense."
He laughed harshly and shook his head.
"Enhancent scrolls? If I used one, there would be witnesses. There would be traces. There would be proof."
Cornelia’s head throbbed as she heard his thoughts beneath his words.
Everything he says is false. Completely false.
And yet...
She can hear him saying he must deny it. He must make her think he’s lying. After all, in the past, whenever Cain told the truth, she never believed him.
Suddenly, Cain began pacing slowly, his boots crunching against broken stone.
"You lost because you are weak," he said flatly. "Because you hesitated. Because you relied on numbers instead of skill."
His eyes swept across the injured soldiers.
"And now you hide behind excuses."
Inside his head, Cain grinned.
Yes. Hate . Despise . My lady Corneli... My lady Cornelia...
Cedrick tightened his jaw.
"Then prove it," Cedrick said. "Fight again."
The air grew heavy.
Cain’s eyes flickered.
Prove it?
Captain William suddenly stepped forward, ignoring Cornelia’s sharp intake of breath.
"I can still fight," William said, his voice rough but determined. "Let’s go again."
Cornelia turned toward him imdiately.
"You are injured," she said. "Stand down."
"I don’t care," William replied. "If he didn’t use a scroll, then he should have no problem fighting now."
Several soldiers stirred, stepping forward despite their wounds.
"That’s right."
"Let him prove it."
"But if he doesn’t accept, it ans the magic scroll effect is now worn off. He can’t fight anymore."
Cain took a step back, letting fear creep into his expression.
"Are you all insane?" he said, his voice shaking slightly. "You’re injured."
Inside his mind, he was cheering.
Yes. Push harder.
More soldiers advanced.
"We want justice."
"You refuse because you can’t."
Cain swallowed and stepped back again.
"This is madness," he said. "I don’t need to prove anything to you."
Cedrick seized the mont, lifting his voice.
"There," Cedrick said loudly. "He refuses."
Cain clenched his fists, trembling.
Act weak. Act afraid.
He turned toward Cornelia, his face pale.
"Wife," he said quietly, "stop this."
Cornelia froze.
Her chest tightened painfully.
Why does he look like that?
Beneath his calm surface, she could hear his thoughts screaming.
Judge . Judge now. Send away.
Cedrick pressed forward.
"Lady Cornelia," he said urgently, "Master Cain refuses because the enhancent has worn off. That alone proves his guilt."
Cain’s mind nearly burst with laughter.
Yes. Judge .
Banish .
Ten thousand years.
Ti will break the blood pact.
I will return whole.
The Moonshade family will fall.
The Ant Emperor will slaughter them.
And I will save you and your sisters from the shadows because I want to see your faces full of despair as you see your Moonshade family disappear... Hahaha!
Cornelia’s breathing beca uneven.
Her gaze darted between Cain and the soldiers.
Her thoughts tangled.
He sounds like he wants punishnt.
He sounds like this was planned.
Before she could speak, the ground trembled.
A deep rumble rolled through the air.
"What was that?" soone whispered.
Then—
BOOM.
A massive explosion tore through the far end of the training grounds. Flas surged upward, stone shattered violently, and a shockwave slamd into everyone present, throwing dust and debris into the air.
Soldiers scread and staggered.
Cornelia spun as fragnts flew past her.
Cain’s eyes widened slightly.
Oh.
That wasn’t .
Smoke billowed thickly into the sky, and from beyond the walls ca a roar that was not human, not beast, and not sothing this place should ever have faced.
In that instant, every accusation, every argunt, every doubt was swallowed by the sound of sothing far worse arriving.
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