Chapter 167: The Bitter Truth
A few days later Cian and Samba finally regained consciousness.
As they opened their eyes they were greeted by the sight of their fellow Red Team members gathered around their beds in the Academy’s infirmary.
Their faces were downcast. Their expressions were a mixture of somber disappointment and a profound shared sense of humiliation.
Samba while a prominent and influential member was not yet a senior student. Cian however was. He was a fourth-year a powerhouse within the Academy a figure who commanded immense respect from his peers.
More than that he hailed from one of the most powerful noble families in the entire Empire.
It was a family whose wealth and influence stemmed from supplying high-quality weapons to other kingdoms.
To be from such a family to possess such immense personal power and prestige and to have been so utterly defeated by a first-year... it was an unprecedented blow to his pride. It was a stain on his honor.
As Cian sat up in his bed the last thing he remembered was the blur of "Eric’s" fist wreathed in that strange white energy. He remembered the explosive impact and then... nothing.
The memory of that moment of the searing pain and the instant oblivion that followed caused a fresh wave of rage to surge through him. He wanted revenge.
He wanted to make Eric pay. He wanted to crush him to erase the stain of this terrible humiliation from his memory.
He had been so certain of their plan. The entire Red Team leadership had discussed it beforehand. If Eric reacted to their provocations if he started a fight they would retaliate with overwhelming force.