Consequences.

Ch 10 - Consequences

Still holding the Dragon Courage Silver Spear in his hand, Jack approached Michael slowly. Michael recoiled. Jack was the most menacing person he had ever encountered.

Thunder rumbled constantly and lightning lit up the night sky. Heavy rain filled the oppressive air that still stank with the coppery scent of spilled blood and death. It poured on Michael, and he didn't know whether it was the cold or the fear that made him shake.

It could, he supposed, have been both. He wished desperately that he hadn't started this, that he had known the manner of man he had sought to provoke. The things he had said had been stupid and shameful.

The rain grew heavier. Jack kept walking. Every step caused Michael's heart to hammer wildly, for there was no mercy at all in the eyes glaring down at him. By the time Jack reached him, he was a wreck. He wasn't even aware that he had started to sob.

"This was Everett's order. Please don't kill me!" Michael tried wretchedly to explain himself. He had no desire to die here, now, in the cold rain and mud.

"Do you think your explanations, your excuses, will make any difference to me now?" Jack asked.

He couldn't think of the thing on the ground as a man anymore. In the face of death, Michael had completely collapsed, like a puppet whose strings had been cut – or, Jack thought, like a beast without a backbone.

"But I'll tell you what it is. A coward like you, a man without honor, has not earned the right to die under this spear," Jack said scornfully.

A glimmer of hope appeared in Michael's eyes. Could it be that Jack was going to let him go? He raised his head to thank Jack, but a bright flash of light stopped him.

For a moment he thought it was lightning. Then he felt warm wetness gush in his throat, and when he tried to speak he couldn't. The longsword in Jack's hand dripped blood. That sword, the flash of whose stroke Michael had thought was lightning, was his, but now it had become the instrument of his own end.

"I would not sully my spear. Your own sword is sufficient to kill you," Jack said dismissively.

He watched Michael fall to his knees, the life fading from his eyes as the blood streamed between the loosening fingers he clutched to his throat. Michael's mind endlessly returned to the scene of his arrogant humiliation of Jack. In his dying moments, all he could do was replay that fatal mistake.

His final wish was to turn back time, to prevent his error; his own foolishness, his own arrogance, had cost him everything. But it was too late now for anything but regret, and regret was all that was left.

When Michael's eyes finally closed, they did so for the last time, and Michael's humiliation was complete.

Jack wasn't a killer – at least, not in the way people normally thought of killers – but that didn't mean he felt compelled to show mercy to those who would kill him. It was, he hoped, a deterrent.

After Michael died, two things appeared on the ground. One was a book, and the other was a pair of fireworks. Jack knew that the book must be some kind of instructions for Cultivation Technique and Martial Technique. He put the book away.

Studying the fireworks, Jack realized that they must have been how Michael contacted Everett. Shielding them with his hand, he lit them. Hopefully, it would convince Everett that Michael had succeeded.

Two beams of light shot into the heavens and exploded, lighting up the rain-filled night: miles away, Everett stared at the sky with a satisfied smile on his face. Michael hadn't let him down.

Jack left, leaving behind more than twenty corpses. The rain softened their outlines and made them look like little more than huddled heaps of wet cloth. The conditions conspired to rob them of all dignity in death.

Jack was terribly tired. Being a Fifth-Level warrior, everyone he had killed had been at least equal in combat skill to him: three, including Michael, had been Seventh-Level experts who should have completely outmatched him.

The fact that he had prevailed had come at an enormous cost. Jack sheltered from the rain beneath an overhang on the mountainside. He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

He took two demonic cores from his pack and held them in his hands, where they shone brightly. Replenishing his body's energy, he channeled the cores' elemental energy into himself and recovered his strength.

He had obtained the demonic cores while hunting in the Blue Ridge mountains. A few hours later, after absorbing nearly ten of them in a row, he finally felt back in peak condition.

Tomorrow would be the day of the Corbenic Estate's recruitment examination. Jack needed to conserve the energy the cores provided and improve the cards he held.

He would be facing Scarlett, Everett and the others, and he wanted to see just how capable Scarlett and Everett were. A small booklet suddenly appeared in his hand. It was the one he had taken from Michael.

"Meteor Butterfly Steps!" Jack's eyes lit up. From the name of the technique, he could see that this was a complete set of movements. They would give him the ability to increase his speed and agility. He would be able to display a higher level of attack and defense, thus increasing his combat strength.

Jack had already achieved the silver lance. His attack power was wild and fierce. But he had been worried about not having a suitable movement technique or martial art to develop.

Obtaining the Meteor Butterfly Steps was like adding flowers to an existing bouquet. Opening the secret Meteor Butterfly Steps manual, Jack began to read it in detail. It emphasized speed, as fluid as flowing water.

By borrowing the Power of the Heavens and the Earth, one could use the Star Atlas to guide one's movements, reaching a speed that exceeded the limits of the human body.

Jack closed his eyes and meditated. The Meteor Butterfly Steps incantation was imprinted in his heart. A Star Atlas faintly appeared in his mind.

Specks of starlight sparkled and gathered to form an incomparably complicated totem. The streaks of wheeling constellations surged on it. Jack arrived at the center of the totem and was illuminated by the starlight.

The Power of the Stars wrapped around him, and a strange force spread throughout his body. It gave him a special perception of the Star Atlas. The lines on the map were clearly visible as if they were guiding him forward.

Jack subconsciously took a step forward, then another. The Power of the Stars motivated him, making his body feel lighter. Following the route on the map, Jack gingerly took a few more steps.

"So mysterious!" Jack was delighted.

The Meteor Butterfly Steps allowed him to use Divine Senses to enter the star space and develop his skills. With the guidance of the Star Atlas, it would be twice as effective as before!

Following the guiding path shown on the Star Atlas, Jack kept moving forward. The starlight wrapped around his body, making him look magnificent.

After thousands of attempts, Jack's footwork finally became more and more proficient. Better yet, it began to have a certain degree of consistency.

As he stepped forward, his understanding of the Power of the Stars Comprehension became deeper and deeper. With every step he took, he could make use of the Power of the Stars to make his body seem lighter and lighter.

Only when the sun rose from the horizon did Jack withdraw from the Star Atlas. His Meteor Butterfly Steps had already reached the beginner level. It would be very difficult for an ordinary Sixth- or Seventh-Level warrior to hurt him.

* * *

Corbenic was a martial estate whose founding went back to the earliest days of the settling of the New World. Its power was deep-rooted; neither men of laws nor leaders could restrain it. It contained a vast Martial Arts Practice Field that today was filled with people.

The best and brightest the country had to offer were congregated here. They were there for the recruitment test that the Corbenic estate was about to hold. The field had a number of stands for onlookers. Each stand could accommodate thousands of people.

On top of the main stand in the center stood Henry, his face suffused with happiness.Beside him stood his daughter, Scarlett. Her skin was as smooth as ivory; a white robe clung perfectly to her slim figure. Her beauty could move one's heart and soul.

"That's Scarlett Fisher! She awoke a jade Green Rank Phoenix battle spirit! Who knew that kind of talent could look that good? She'll be fantastic as America's new Heaven's Pride Girl," someone said, and many people looked at Scarlett with admiration.

Both father and daughter had been invited to Corbenic as distinguished guests. They were on equal footing with the representatives of the major martial arts schools in Washington. This had greatly satisfied Henry's vanity.

Sitting beside Henry and his daughter were several members of the Howard family. They were here to assist Scarlett. Among them was a young man who seemed to be in his twenties. He had a handsome face and an imposing manner. He exuded a luxurious aura and was full of the kind of confidence that sometimes leads to heroism.

"Steven Howard's here too!" a member of the crowd exclaimed."It seems like the rumored marriage alliance between the Howards and the Fishers is likely true!" Many in the crowd looked with approval at the handsome young couple.

Who in D.C. wouldn't recognize Steven Howard? The gossip, always a favorite pastime among the Washington community, continued. "But I heard she was already engaged to someone. One of the Watsons, I think. A family that's served this country since the Civil War," a man in the group uttered.

"I'd also heard that, but come on – the Watsons collapsed in scandal a decade or more ago. That person must be no more than martial trash, cannon fodder, these days. Now that Scarlett had awakened the Phoenix battle spirit, how could that person be worthy of her? Only Steven Howard is man enough," another person declared.

Seeing Scarlett and Steven appear on the grandstand together, and noticing that they stood very close to each other, people couldn't help but remember Jack Watson. And, after remembering him, they dismissed him. Surely he wasn't good enough for Scarlett.

"You performed well in the exam. It won't be difficult for someone with your talent to get first place. I want everyone in Washington to see how extraordinary my woman is," Steven told Scarlett with a smile.

He took her arm as he spoke to her. His actions were very intimate."I'll do my best," Scarlett nodded. Her beautiful face was flushed.

"I have already made things clear to my family. After the examination, you and I can get married. You are going to be my wife and the mother to the next generation of Howards," Steven continued.

Scarlett looked at Steven, her beautiful eyes filled with emotion. Her efforts had finally paid off, and she had become the focal point of the entire country. She was going to marry into society!

These weren't things that Jack Watson could give her. She was the true phoenix of the world, and she was going to spread her wings and fly.

{[(TO BE CONTINUED)]}