I only wanted to retire, but I ended up becoming an extremely popular character.

Chapter 103 The "Critical State" of a Level One "Hakuja"

Hitis quickly added, "Lieutenant Zod, Warrant Officer Cassius is right. Let the soldiers rest here for a bit! Don't worry, I'll keep watch. I'll let you know immediately if anything happens!"

Zod glanced at the two men's concerned eyes, then looked down at his still slightly trembling legs.

The "Shadow Step" technique is too strenuous; forcing yourself to travel will only make it harder for your legs and stamina to recover.

He nodded: "Then let all soldiers rest for five minutes. After five minutes, depart on time."

The troops rested for five minutes before continuing their journey.

Previously, Zod had always led the way, but this time it was Cassius's turn.

He volunteered to lead the team, explaining that Zod's health had not fully recovered.

Zod did not refuse; he did need to recover from his condition, so he stepped back to the middle of the group and let Cassius lead the way.

As Zod's footsteps trod on the dirt road, his thoughts drifted back to the battle he had just fought.

After his encounter with Lieutenant Patrick, he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

He was merely a lieutenant from the Holy Kingdom, and he had almost been defeated by his opponent just now.

If it weren't for that sudden surge in popularity and the lucky draw of a useful blue-quality physical technique, I probably would have been done for today.

And ahead, it's still unknown what kind of enemies they will encounter.

What if the next enemy is stronger than Lieutenant Patrick?

He can't keep relying on that "Shadow Step" technique with its huge side effects forever.

After only a short while, the strain and fatigue in my legs were already almost beyond their limits.

Fortunately, he didn't use it for very long or very often, otherwise he might not even be able to walk now.

In order to prepare for the potentially larger crisis that may follow, and in order to survive this war.

Zod must go a step further and master the deeper abilities of the "Kakuja," namely the "potential release" of the second-level "Kakuja."

Mastering the "potential release" in a short period of time is not a pipe dream for him.

It's worth a try.

His experience of using the "Shadow Step" earlier gave him a taste of the feeling of "potential" being imprisoned and unable to be fully unleashed.

The instructor once said: The key to leaping from a Level 1 "Kakuja" to a Level 2 "Kakuja" is to improve one's physical body to the bottleneck of Level 1 "Kakuja" before one can reach the "critical state" of leaping to Level 2.

Only by experiencing it firsthand and reaching that "critical state" can one possibly master the "unleashing of potential" and ascend to the second level of "Hakuja".

Only by mastering the "unleashing of potential" can the body achieve further release and breakthrough.

Under normal circumstances, Zod's current physical body has not yet reached the "critical state" that is sufficient for him to ascend.

In principle, it does not meet the prerequisites for leaping to the second level of "Hercules".

But it's different now.

The blue-quality physical technique he extracted, "Shadow Step," allowed him to prematurely access a domain that shouldn't have belonged to him.

This is like exploiting a bug in the system to know the final answer in advance.

He had already reached the "critical state" while using the "Shadow Step".

Throughout the journey, Zod kept sensing the "critical state" of that Level 1 "Hakuja".

If the method is appropriate, could he break through the "critical state" of the first-level "Kakuja" ahead of time and directly access the "potential release" of the second-level "Kakuja"?

In theory, this is indeed feasible.

In order to prepare for the potentially brutal battles to come, he now desperately wants to master a method to break through the "critical state" —

Zod clenched his fist.

While Zod led his troops to the town of Segner, another Holy Kingdom force was racing against time toward the city of Sallom.

Their mission was to act as the vanguard, constructing a defensive barrier on a high ground between the city of Sarlom and the town of Segna, completely severing the connection between the two places.

Then we await the arrival of the main force of the Holy National Preceptor Group.

However, on their journey, an imperial army that should not have appeared in their sight suddenly blocked their way.

Captain Axel Perry of the Holy Kingdom stood at the very front of the column, the captain's insignia on his shoulder epaulets shimmering faintly in the sunlight.

He was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a towering, imposing physique, broad shoulders and a thick back. Even in his military uniform, his bulging muscles were clearly visible.

His dark brown short hair was cut extremely short, almost touching his scalp, revealing his bluish scalp and an old scar that ran diagonally from his temple into his hairline.

His hands are the most striking feature.

Each finger was adorned with a black ring, which tightly bound the knuckles like a thumb ring.

"Captain Axel, what are Imperial troops doing ahead?"

A soldier hurried closer, his face filled with undisguised surprise: "Lieutenant Patrick was ahead of us; the Imperial army couldn't possibly have bypassed them and run right into us!"

Captain Axel squinted, his gaze fixed on the marching column in the distance.

He didn't answer immediately, several possibilities flashing through his mind.

Did Patrick change his route at the last minute?

The possibility is extremely slim.

Soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders, and Lieutenant Chuck knew him well; he wasn't the kind of officer who would disobey orders without authorization.

Then, there's only one other possibility left.

Although the idea was hard for Axel to accept, reason told him that Lieutenant Patrick had most likely already been defeated by the Imperial army in front of him.

He took a deep breath, and his eyes suddenly sharpened.

"Prepare for battle," Axel commanded in a deep voice. "Charge with the Imperial army ahead!"

Lieutenant Axel squinted and quickly scanned the approaching Imperial army ahead.

As an experienced captain of the Holy Kingdom, he could roughly estimate the enemy's strength by just the depth of their ranks and the dust they kicked up during their march; the enemy had at most about a hundred men.

His troops numbered over four hundred men.

Our forces are nearly twice the size of the enemy's, or even more.

This should have been a battle with no suspense whatsoever.

To Axel's surprise, the imperial army opposite them showed no sign of slowing down and continued to charge straight toward them at the same speed.

are you crazy?

A sinister smile flickered across Axel's lips as his mind raced.

What gives them the confidence to do so? Is it just bluffing, or do they actually have reinforcements hidden behind them?

Axel's gaze swept past the charging column, landing on the gentle slopes and sparse woodland in the distance.

It was quiet there, without any sound.

But who can predict what will happen on the battlefield?

Even if they had reinforcements behind them, Axel slowly moved the black rings on his fingers, his knuckles making a slight clicking sound.

His eyes suddenly turned cold and sharp, and they would all die here.

In any case, he had to find out the whereabouts of Patrick from this imperial army.

His subordinates suddenly went missing, and as their superior, he had to demand an explanation.

The answer most likely lies with the imperial army ahead.

He wants to see the person alive or dead.