Chapter 168: That’s it?

Cain blinked his eyes as he had expected more.

His gaze slowly moved toward the seven Solar lances still floating around him.

Cain had manifested twelve because he genuinely expected to need all of them.

His original intention had been simple.

Five to test the commander’s defenses.

If those were insufficient, the remaining seven would follow before that bastard had an opportunity to recover.

Apparently, there was no need to do all that.

Cain looked at the crater again.

’That’s it?’

He had known that his current Mana and Magic were ridiculous.

He also knew how powerful Origin Sun Manifestation made every Fire-attributed attack he used.

But knowing the numbers and actually watching five lances erase a 3rd Echelon commander were completely different things.

Cain had not even pushed the Origin Sun beyond its normal manifestation nor pouring everything he possessed into the attack.

Yet the result was already far beyond what he had expected.

Behind him, the battle had briefly stopped.

Ron stood with Lightning covering his body, his spear still buried halfway through the chest of a 1st Echelon soldier.

The zombie in front of him continued struggling.

Ron did not seem to notice as his eyes were fixed on the crater.

"...What the fuck?"

Even Nathan’s usual calm expression had disappeared.

Elara had already drawn her sword and frozen part of the ground in front of several approaching soldiers, but she was staring toward Cain as well.

Jack looked between the enormous Sun above Cain and the place where the 3rd Echelon commander had disappeared.

They had known Cain was confident.

If Cain truly believed he couldn’t handle the commander, he would never have stood there provoking that bastard for a while.

So none of them were surprised that Cain could win.

What shocked them was how little of a fight there had actually been.

A 3rd Echelon commander.

The first one they had ever encountered.

An enemy two entire Echelons above Cain, yet being killed by him so effortlessly.

Cain noticed everyone’s stares.

His eyebrow twitched.

"What are you looking at?"

Cain pointed toward the surrounding enemies.

"They’re still alive."

That finally broke the strange silence.

Ron pulled his spear free.

"You just fucking obliterated him so effortlessly!"

"So what?" Cain chuckled lightly.

"So what? you’re still a fucking 1st Echelon!"

Cain looked at him as though that information was irrelevant.

"Do you want to discuss it now?"

Ron opened his mouth, but shouting erupted among the Zombie Race soldiers as their commander’s death had finally come to their minds.

The reaction spread rapidly.

Several of the 2nd Echelons that had been advancing toward Cain’s group stopped.

One looked toward the crater, then toward Cain and the enormous Sun that was still burned above him, as well as the seven golden-white lances floated around his body.

Whatever courage had pushed them forward disappeared instantly.

The first soldier turned around and ran without a second thought.

That decision broke whatever remained of their formation as the Zombie Race soldiers began retreating toward the surrounding streets.

The 1st Echelons that had been prepared to surround Cain’s group abandoned their positions and fled in different directions.

Even the 2nd Echelons immediately moved toward the northern side of the town.

Cain raised an eyebrow.

"Oh no, you don’t."

Five of the remaining seven lances rotated in the air.

Cain’s eyes followed the fleeing 2nd Echelons.

Hitting stationary targets with several simultaneous attacks was quite easy enough, but doing the same against multiple enemies moving in different directions was considerably more troublesome.

Still, Cain wanted to test it.

The five lances immediately shot forward with a wave of his hand.

Golden-white streaks crossed the plaza.

The first 2nd Echelon soldier never managed to react as a lance pierced through the center of its back.

BOOM!

Its upper body disappeared inside the explosion.

Another lance struck a second soldier before it reached the road leading north.

The Solar weapon entered through its side and erupted immediately.

The zombie was thrown across the street before crashing into a building with most of its body missing.

The remaining attacks were less accurate as one lance struck the legs of a fleeing 2nd Echelon instead of its chest, causing both legs to disappear in the explosion.

The zombie collapsed violently and rolled several times across the ground.

Another soldier attempted to change direction after sensing the attack behind it.

That movement saved its life.

The lance missed the center of its body and tore through its right side instead, destroying an arm and part of its waist before exploding against the road beyond.

The final target moved behind a damaged building.

Cain adjusted the lance’s path slightly.

It struck the corner first.

BOOM!

The wall was blasted.

The remaining force smashed into the zombie’s lower body and sent it crashing onto the ground with both legs ruined.

"Aiming at multiple moving targets is annoying." Cain frowned and murmured to himself.

Still, the result was acceptable as two had died and the other three could no longer escape.

Cain turned toward the others.

"What are you waiting for?"

They did not need another instruction as they immediately made their move.

Ron disappeared in a flash of Lightning.

Nathan immediately fired toward one of the fleeing soldiers farther down the road.

Elara rushed toward the opposite side of the plaza, freezing the ground beneath several zombies and cutting off their retreat.

Jack and Maya followed the escaping enemies while Alex moved through another group with his greatsword.

Professor Ian had already understood what he needed to do.

He chose a cluster of fleeing 1st Echelons and chased them without asking for assistance.

Cain reminded the others.

"Leave Professor Ian’s targets alone."

He then watched the battlefield for a moment.

His group had the advantage now.

And the only enemy that had genuinely concerned him was already dead.

So, there was no reason to keep consuming Mana unnecessarily.

The enormous Sun above him began contracting.

Golden-white flames folded inward before the entire manifestation collapsed back toward Cain’s body.