19 018 - Lurking

Lei Ao returned his utensils as he noticed movement around him. The recruits were being assigned to their posts.

Intrigued by this, Lei Ao carefully listens to the conversation.

"Group A will be assigned to the quarters in the west! Group B will fill up the room in the East! Group C... Follow me!" A commanding and deafening tone was directed towards the recruits. They were divided into three groups by the officer in command.

'Hmmm~' Lei Ao quietly hummed, he noticed the change of expression in the officer as he mentioned the last group. No one noticed his existence, for he quietly hid his aura in the corner of the dining hall, lurking in the shadows. Soldiers quickly passed to and fro near him, yet no one felt his presence.

As the recruits organised themselves, a quiet breeze entered the dining hall, causing the clothes of the beings in it to flutter.

'It appears something interesting is going to happen.' Lei Ao breathed in the breeze, a small smile betraying his serious attitude appearing.

The heavens churned and flickered, streaks of bright light flashed across the now cloudy sky, the surrounding earth became shrouded in temporary darkness, a bleak atmosphere engulfing all the beings in the vicinity.

--------------------------------

A continuous breeze swept past the camp, as the distant sound of thunder approached, lighting the buildings with light as lightning streaked across the sky.

The recruits had begun to move after having separated into three groups, a messy entourage of recruits followed separate officers in an orderly yet inexperienced fashion.

Lei Ao ignored groups A and B and decided to focus his attention on the last group.

The group was being led by a man who wore a tight-fitting black dress that covered his torso and legs, he possessed a scar that drew a line from the top right of his face straight to the bottom left. His scary demeanour forced the recruits into submission all of them not daring to produce an ounce of sound as they followed the officer.

Lei Ao quickly began to move, deciding to trail behind them under the cover of the shadows. His silhouette appeared from within the shadows as the lightning blessed the skies.

Bang!

Lightning roared as it struck the ground, damping the noise Lei Ao made as he dashed building to building through the street, leaving shadows behind as he took cover against another building before dashing to the next.

Bang!

Lei Ao suddenly felt a slight tingle on his forearm, a light droplet had fallen onto him. He looked up towards the clouds. It was beginning to rain.

He only spent an instance realising this before he continued with his spying.

Bang!

A bright light illuminated the scarred face of the officer, creating a drastic contrast between the sides of his face, he appeared menacing under the illumination of the lightning. The officer's ponytail flickered under the strong gust of wind ahead, yet he stood unfettered under the assault of the wind.

Lei Ao closely followed behind the group, his faint figure appearing in the background under the flash of light. If any being were to notice this, they would believe him to be a ghost flickering in the distance. He appeared to be ephemeral, only being discoverable under the intensity of the lightning as he walked behind the group.

--------------------------------

Lei Ao closely followed behind the group. This continued under the torrent of rain until the group walked to the northern outskirts of the encampment. A clearing filled with bushes, shrubs, boulders and trees appeared in front of the group.

The clearance was awfully still in the torrent of rain and wind, extremely surreal, if one were to not pay attention, you wouldn't notice this, but due to the current conditions Lei Ao instantly grasped the abnormality in the situation.

'Is this… an illusion?' Lei Ao was assured that this phenomenon was not normal, he instinctively felt that with these conditions, the strong wind and rain, if it wasn't for some sort of illusion the trees and bushes would have no way to remain so still.

Concerned, Lei Ao didn't dare approach the clearance before knowing what was happening, his instincts screaming at him to wait.

The recruits stopped behind the officer, they stood behind him silently, not daring to speak out.

The officer remained still and stared directly ahead.