Chapter 226 Military

Despite not thinking highly of the military, let alone the government, Dilan blasted forward to rescue them.

The huge Hyenas’ stats had not even reached an average of 25. That made it quite easy for Dilan to eliminate them.

With the Blazing Serpentine Blade in his hand, he emerged next to the first huge hyena. It was about to tear the poor Soldier apart in two. He was struggling in vain and would have died if not for Dilan who lashed out with his weapon and beheaded the monster.

The hyena’s head rolled to the ground, and soon its lifeless body followed suit. However, even before the Soldier, who had been struggling a moment before could say something, Dilan had already disappeared from his sight.

In the next few seconds, the remaining huge hyenas died at Dilan’s hand. They were actually not worth his attention because he was much stronger than them.

It took the soldiers a while to figure out that he had rushed to their aid. More than the hyenas, the rain of bullets had been far more annoying to him. It only ceased when the magazine of the Soldiers’ rifles had been emptied.

‘They’re still frightened, huh?’ He could only think when he saw how most Soldiers were desperately trying to throw out the emptied magazine to replace it with one that was still filled with bullets.

“Yo, they’re dead. There is no need to act like headless chickens.” He informed them without showing any respect to the Soldiers.

However, the Soldiers couldn’t care less about not receiving any respect right now. They feared Dilan more than the monsters he had just killed.

They knew that powerful humans were far scarier than wild monsters. Thus, they didn’t even think about listening to Dilan.

Only when their rifles were reloaded and the rifle’s barrels aimed at his head did their tension decrease just a little.

Dilan simply ignored this. Even before the first bullet would be fired, he could disappear using [Gale], or manifest [Aegis’ shield]..

His reaction speed was tens of times higher than the unleveled Soldiers.

There were only a few Soldiers, who were actually in possession of proper weapons. Two Ascenders were wielding bows as well. They were Tier-1 Ascenders, and thus a bigger threat than the Soldiers, who were pointing their rifles at him.

Nonetheless, Dilan was not exactly happy about their reaction because he had jumped into their fight to save them.

ɴ[0)ᴠᴇʟ Thus, he completely disregarded their authority as he turned toward the corpse of the hyena that was the closest to him.

“Why are you taking my Essence crystals?” Dilan asked in a cold voice when he saw that some soldiers had begun to carve the heads of the hyena corpses.

He took a step in the direction of the closest corpse to him, causing the Soldier, who had been working on the corpse to flinch.

“Stop! Don’t move, or we’ll shoot!!” The commanding voice of a woman reached Dilan’s ears.

At that moment, Dilan noticed for the first time that there was one Tier-1 Ascender, who was stronger than the rest.

She had a slim body, slender legs, and looked quite beautiful. Her body was also very attractive if one were to ignore that she didn’t have many curves.

Dilan looked at the woman with disinterest and was completely unbothered by the strength she released. The woman was likely to be the leader of the group, and the blood on her uniform indicated that she had been busy fighting a hyena.

‘She probably killed one single-handedly…what an ‘amazing’ feat.’ Dilan teased her in his mind but he didn’t say anything to provoke her.

He wanted to see where the situation was going, which was why he kept his calm, for now, at least.

“Why should I stop? They are taking my loot. I saved your people and killed the hyenas. Their Essence crystals are mine.” Dilan’s voice was not as cold as before anymore but held a trace of annoyance.

However, his eyes pierced straight through the woman, who was in her early 30s.

She couldn’t maintain eye contact with him because she felt as if she would be devoured and lose her sanity if she were to keep looking at him.

Distracted by Dilan’s intense gaze, she was momentarily lost, giving a young Soldier the opportunity to speak on behalf of their leader.

“What are you, a thief? The hyenas were obviously our prey and you stole them from us. Even if we get the Essence crystals now, their value has decreased drastically because you killed them!” He shot back angrily, sounding as if Dilan was an opportunist.

He was literally accusing Dilan and was fully convinced that he was correct.

“Thief? Well, that is a new way of thanking me for saving your comrades. I wonder how many Soldiers would have died without my interference.”

The moment Dilan finished speaking, he disappeared from his location.

He had used [Gale] once, appearing behind the young man, who had spoken to him.

“I have a little tip for you,” Dilan said before he continued in a clipped tone as his hand shot forward, lightly grasping the young man’s neck.

“Don’t talk shit in front of those who are stronger than you.”

Afterward, Dilan disappeared once again, using [Gale] for the second time.

He reappeared in the same position he had been in before and acted as if nothing had happened.

In the end, he didn’t actually care about the Essence crystals of the Bronze Tier-1 hyenas. He wouldn’t even receive a single Status point from absorbing their Essence, let alone enough Essence to make use of.

Dilan was just a bit annoyed that the Soldiers believed they could act however they pleased.

Thus, he did the same and acted the way he wanted to.

The sole difference between him and the Soldiers was the fact that he had the right to act arrogantly and as if everything belonged to him.

After all, if he wanted to, he could do whatever he wanted, and the remaining Soldiers wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop him.

“Hand over the Essence crystals,” Dilan said as his eyes darted to the few Soldiers, who had worked on the hyena’s bodies and cut open their heads.

One could see the Bronze Essence crystals glimmering in their hands. The Soldiers grasped them tightly as if their life depended on those Essence crystals.

Yet, when they were subjected to Dilan’s soul-piercing gaze, their willpower crumbled and they nearly handed him the Essence crystal, just to regain their senses at the last moment.

“Just give it to him.” The woman gave an exasperated sigh before she added, “And lower the guns. Even if you aim at him, you’re the one to get killed.”

Felia Mahn knew that the young man in front of them was not to be taken lightly.

She hadn’t even seen him move before he had appeared behind the soldier, who had spoken up, only to return to his earlier position a moment later.

This was more than enough to show that he was stronger and faster than her.

Being the leader of the military’s scout group that had been tasked with the responsibility of searching for human survivors in Shiron and the nearby cities, Felia Mahn had to protect her people.

25 Soldiers had died because she hadn’t been strong enough, and it would have been far more if not for the help of the powerful human.

After receiving her command, the soldiers lowered their rifles, while Dilan was given his Essence crystals.

He stored them in his storage ring without intending to hide them.

‘A storage device?’ Felia Mahn immediately understood, and her expression changed once again.

‘Not even our leader has a storage device…’ She could only think before she reassessed her opinion of Dilan once again.

“I sincerely apologize for my subordinate’s behavior. We are a little exhausted and tense after traveling through the Shikan plains. As you might be able to imagine, it has become quite dangerous to travel around.

Thank you very much for protecting my subordinates. More would have died without your interference.” Felia expressed her gratitude, before falling silent and waiting for a reaction from Dilan.

However, he didn’t intend to say anything. Dilan was suspicious of the military, especially because he was pretty sure that they wouldn’t travel through the Shikan plains, just for the sake of it.

Felia noticed that Dilan didn’t wasn’t interested in small talk. She tensed up a bit and began to sweat, thinking about a way to break the awkward silence.

“My name is Felia Mahn, and I’m the Captain of the 18th Scouting Group. We belong to the Blue Star Camp and are Mayor Clerens’ people. Our mission is to search for more survivors and to bring them to our camp.

How about you and your group? Do you want to follow us? You will definitely be treated well!” Felia gained courage the more she spoke.

She was ready to take Dilan into their group the moment he accepted her proposal. She would try her best to recommend him to a good position in the Blue Star Camp.

However, what Felia didn’t expect was to hear Dilan starting to laugh all of a sudden.

“Did…I say something funny?” Felia asked, utterly confused.

“Ah…noo..well yes, maybe,” Dilan replied and calmed down after noticing that dozens of pairs of eyes were staring at him.

But just when he was about to say something, Yvonne appeared behind him. She landed on the ground with a loud thud with her black feathered wings spread out wide.

“Took you guys long enough to arrive.”