Panic

The heavy rain quickly took care of the small fires around the destroyed troop carrier. Khan spent his time tending the recruits' injuries, but their situation didn't look good.

Flurris and Reebfell's injuries were lighter since they had been on the side that didn't slide across the ground. Their bodies were full of bruises and cuts, but their wounds had already stopped bleeding after hours spent unconscious.

The other two recruits were worse off. The boy had patches of scarred skin across the entire left side of his body. His uniform was also in pieces, and many metal scraps had ended up piercing his left arm, leg, and side.

The girl was in a similar situation, if not worse. Her body didn't suffer the same extensive injuries as her companion, but her right hand had turned into a bloody mess. Her fingers had bent toward unnatural angles, and her wrist had taken the same density of a jelly.

Khan couldn't do much while they remained unconscious. He proceeded to tear pieces of their robes to create bandages and cover their injuries. He even removed some of the metal shards stuck inside their bodies, but he left those that still released blood in their place.

Khan had placed the four recruits under a spot covered by the rain, but he regretted his decision when he saw that they continued to sleep. His patience eventually ran out, and he began to deliver light slaps to those who seemed better off.

"What is-," Flurris began to ask in a weak voice, but Khan placed a hand over his mouth and made him remain silent.

Khan then pointed at his various injuries and made it realize what had happened. The boy immediately started to panic while trying to break free of Khan's hand, and his struggles threatened to worsen the other recruits' injuries.

Khan rolled his eyes and dragged Flurris under the rain. The boy could finally see the entirety of the crash site, and his panic intensified. Retches even climbed down his throat when he saw the corpses of the pilots on the vehicle's side.

'He will need a while,' Khan sighed in his mind before approaching Reebfell and starting slapping her face.

The girl slowly woke up, and her reaction was almost identical to Flurris, so Khan dragged her under the rain too. The coldness of the water falling on her face and injuries seemed to bring some clarity in her case, but everything fell apart when she saw the two dead pilots.

Khan shook his head when Reebfell puked a mixture of saliva and blood. She would also need a bit to recover from the trauma, which brought his attention to the other two recruits.

'I can't wake them up before gaining their help,' Khan concluded when he reviewed the state of the boy and girl still under the vehicle's cover.

Their injuries were too deep. They would only worsen their condition if they fell prey to their panic like the other two recruits. Khan couldn't risk that, especially when he lacked the means to restrain them.

"Someone attacked us," Khan announced after turning toward the two recruits under the rain. "We crashed. We are the only survivors."

Khan partially lied, but he didn't care. He didn't know the location of the other two recruits, but he needed his group to believe that returning to the plain was a priority.

After all, Khan had every reason to believe that Tainted animals and rebels of the Kred species were roaming that jungle. There was even a high chance that they were hunting survivors.

The two awake recruits froze when they heard those words, and Khan couldn't help but recognize their expressions. Their whole world had turned upside-down. They were experiencing the same emotions that had afflicted him after the Second Impact.

"You need to calm down and meditate," Khan explained. "Stabilize your condition and help me with the other two. We aren't safe here."

The confidence and calm carried by Khan's voice helped the two recruits accept their situation. The Global Army had trained them to be soldiers for six months in the end. Part of them already knew what to do in those situations.

Flurris and Reebfell sat under the rain and closed their eyes to enter a meditative state. The falling water didn't disturb their concentration at all. The duo actually felt glad that their bodies could still sense something after everything that had happened to them.

Khan glanced at the two recruits sheltered by the broken vehicle and heaved a deep sigh. He was doing the best he could to keep the situation under control, but his power had clear limits. His knowledge was the same, especially when it came to the medical and technological fields. He wasn't the right person to be in command of the group.

A growl suddenly resounded among the trees and alerted his senses. Khan instinctively turned toward a seemingly random spot of the jungle and felt a chaotic mass of mana nearing his position. Something big was coming, and his two awake companions were in the way.

"Wake up and hide behind the carrier!" Khan shouted while stomping his foot near the two meditating recruits.

The two recruits instantly woke up, but they didn't understand the reason behind his words. Yet, they saw a large figure moving through the trees when they looked in the direction of Khan's gaze, and they quickly crouched to crawl behind the vehicle.

Khan remained in his position, and his mana started to flow through his legs. His mind had never been clearer. His emotions were in a separate part of his brain that didn't have any access to the side handling the technique.

A massive bear slowly came out of the jungle and stepped into the crash site. The creature was three meters tall and stood on its rear legs. Azure fur covered its entire body, and its drooling mouth hung open as its glowing eyes moved among Khan and the other recruits.

'Did the rebels remove the suppression from the Tainted animals?' Khan wondered when he saw that the bear didn't have any device meant to reduce its offensive ability.

Its long claws were in the open, and its paws hung on the side of its body. Its teeth were sharp, and its movements didn't show any trace of restraints.

'I'm not a kid scared of Tainted animals anymore,' Khan thought as his body crouched forward.

His left shoulder hurt when he tried to move his arms to balance his body, but nothing reached his mind. Khan was only thinking about his technique and his opponent. Everything else had disappeared.

The Tainted bear descended to stand on four legs before charging ahead. It closed the distance from Khan in two long jumps, and one of its paws swung toward his head once he entered its range.

The paw never managed to hit Khan. The bear's head shook as an invisible strike landed on its side and flung the entire creature away.

Khan had delivered a kick so fast it didn't even create afterimages. His left leg had only trembled for an instant before stopping moving. The attack had taken place during that short second.

The bear crashed to the ground and slid for a few meters. The side of its head had turned into a bloody mess, but its resilience was off the charts. The creature straightened its position and released an angry roar, but its vision soon went dark.

Khan had flowed into another technique instead of stopping to inspect the creature's condition. He had deployed mana while the bear was sliding on the ground. The preparation for his move had taken even less at that time.

A scorching sensation spread through his skin as the sole of his foot landed on the bear's eyes and dug through its skull. His shoes broke during the attack, but he barely felt anything. Khan didn't even sense the blood and brain matter falling on his naked skin.

Khan didn't lower his leg, and the Tainted bear fell on the ground. Tremors ran through its body before life completely abandoned its eyes. The animal died, and Khan dispersed the accumulated mana while lowering his leg.

'I can fight with mana,' Khan concluded in his mind. 'The techniques aren't completely reliable yet, but I'm getting there. I might be able to have an even fight with the seventh level of the training program now.'

Khan's success with the previous executions of the proper Lightning-demon style came from his completely calm mindset. He felt like a robot that gave orders to his body and managed his mana. Mistakes seemed impossible when his emotions didn't play a part in the battle.

Flurris and Reebfell had inspected the battle from a hidden area behind the troop carrier, and complete shock filled their minds after witnessing such a clean fight. Khan had taken care of a huge Tainted animal in two mere blows, but the surprises weren't over.

Khan had been shirtless since they awakened, but the two recruits had been too confused to notice the azure scar on his chest. However, they couldn't miss it now that he turned to walk toward them.

Khan's defined body, coupled with the azure scar and the hideous burn on his shoulder, removed every trace of youth from his figure. The lack of shoes and his broken trousers also gave him a wild aura. Reebfell even blushed when his azure eyes met her glance.

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Author's notes: Ok, real talk. Webnovel has accepted my contract, so I'll go premium soon. I'll tell you more about the locked chapters later on. I want to settle the matter of the word count now.

I'm finding it hard sticking between 1401 and 1600 words. Almost none of the previous chapters are like that. Only this one is 1595 (the others are longer, the previous is 1714 for example). Still, I don't want to lock myself behind the need to write chapters between 1601 and 1800 words out of fear of creating fillers. What would you say if I kept the length of the chapters between 1401 and 1800 words? (It means that the price will vary between 8 and 9 coins depending on the size)