Stars didn't know how to react. His strongest member had left just like that.
Why?
So what if that guy was strong? They were five! Why did he leave?!
On top of that, this guy was their age! How powerful could his body possibly be? Even if he somehow managed to get a body in the Middle Soldier Stage, the older student had several years of battle experience on him.
"And what will you do now?" Shang asked.
Stars turned to Shang when he spoke, but he noticed that Shang wasn't talking to him but to the other three students.
"Someone more powerful and more experienced than you realized that it's not a good idea to attack me. Will you mindlessly follow your leader's orders, or will you make the sensible decision and leave?"
"Don't listen to his empty words!" Stars shouted with a furious expression. His polite and civil demeanor had completely vanished as he realized that Shang was threatening the group of people he had built up with so much work.
"Jarem was a coward! We were five people, and he's several years older than him! So what if this guy is strong?! We are four! He is one! How strong can he be?! He's just as old as us!" Stars shouted.
The other three students were no longer calm. They had no idea what they should do now. They didn't have the experience or instincts to feel another human's power! They were simply new students from middle-ranked families! They didn't know how powerful their opponent was!
Two conflicting streams of logic collided in their minds.
Their squad leader had given up without a fight, which meant that this guy had to be really powerful.
However, he was also only 14 and 15. So, how powerful could he possibly be?
These were the two thoughts that collided with each other.
Which one was right?
They had no idea!
Meanwhile, several other students had stopped at the side. They had noticed that something interesting was going on, and they came to watch.
The more experienced one of the students felt Shang's power and became shocked. Someone that young had such a powerful body?! How was that even possible?! Did he come from some high-ranking noble family!?
But when they overcame their shock, they only grinned.
Oh, this was going to be good.
Stars noticed all the students stop around them to watch. As Stars saw all the eyes watching, his anxiety shot through the roof.
He couldn't humiliate himself in front of so many students!
He felt like the entire academy was watching! Stars had already begun to suspect that going against Shang might not have been the smartest idea, but he couldn't back down now. If he retreated now after putting on such a grand act, he wouldn't be able to look anyone in the eyes anymore.
He had to go through with it to the end! At worst, he would have to receive a slight beating. His family name would protect him from the worst, at least.
Stars turned to Shang again with gritted teeth. Then, he looked at his lackeys. "Don't forget, you signed a contract. Jarem didn't. You can't disobey a reasonable order," he said with a threatening tone.
Usually, Stars would have never threatened his underlings. After all, it was important that one's underlings liked the leader. If they didn't, lots of problems would occur.
However, Stars had no other choice! His underlings were already starting to hesitate. He had to push them forward!
When the three heard Stars' words, they grimaced.
He was right.
If they broke the contract, they would have to pay back everything they had received from Stars. Compared to Jarem, these three had joined Stars way earlier, which meant that they had already spent a lot of their wealth.
Paying everything back now would be nearly impossible! Even if they sold the wares they had purchased again, they wouldn't get the full price, and they would need to work their asses off for months.
They were only Early Soldier Stage warriors. There weren't many options to make a ton of money for them. They couldn't even kill Pest Cats!
In the end, the three of them gritted their teeth and looked at Shang helplessly.
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ They had decided that they would sacrifice their health today. Being beaten up was better than having to work for months.
When Shang saw their expressions, he narrowed his eyes. "I don't care if you are under orders. You are free to disobey said orders. If you attack me, I will treat you like an enemy," he said coldly.
The bodies of the three students shook, but they could only grit their teeth. Yes, they could decide to disobey the order, but the cost would be far too high!
By now, the three of them had realized that they probably had zero chance against Shang. If even their squad leader, whom they couldn't win against three on one, had left, they had no chance.
Because of that, it didn't matter how they fought. As long as they fought, they would be complying with the orders.
One of the three students gritted his teeth and readied a punch.
Then, he threw his punch at Shang.
Pack!
Shang caught the arm with narrowed eyes.
He had already planned to make an example of this group of students. The academy had several Water Mages, which meant that the students wouldn't die as long as Shang didn't kill them instantly.
Today, he would make sure that no one else would bother him.
Shang grabbed the forearm of the student with his full power, breaking the radius and the ulna, the two bones in the forearm.
The sound of bones breaking and the splinters digging through flesh rung throughout the courtyard as the face of the student widened in pain and horror.
Then, Shang grabbed the student's hand with his other arm and pulled.
RRRRIIIP!
Shang ripped the hand out of the forearm and threw it at the wall, breaking it into multiple bloody pieces.
The onlookers took a deep breath through their teeth.
BANG!
Lastly, Shang kicked the student.
BANG!
The student hit the wall of the main building with a resounding impact. More sounds of breaking bones could be heard in the courtyard.
When the student hit the ground, he didn't scream. Instead, he started convulsing as his body spasmed in place, thick bloody gurgling out of his mouth. He tried to breathe, but only blood entered his lungs, which then gurgled out again.
By now, the courtyard was dead silent.
The younger students were used to fighting with each other, but in a way, most of the fighting students were still teenagers.
Punching someone else and kicking them was normal. Getting bruised or one or two bones broken was also normal.
But this…
This was not normal for them.
This student was legitimately dying!
He was suffocating on his own blood!
Meanwhile, Shang looked with narrowed eyes at the other two students. "Move," he said coldly.
The other two students were frozen in terror. They had expected to be beaten up, but they hadn't expected that!
This was not normal!
This was not just a beating!
When they heard Shang's words, they very quickly jumped to the side. Their contract was long forgotten. Their fear was simply too powerful.
Shang walked over to Stars with narrowed eyes.
Stars was still looking at the dying student with terror, and he didn't notice Shang approach. When he did, it was already too late.
Stars' body froze in terror when he saw Shang's eyes directly in front of his own. "M-My family is ah-"
Before Stars could finish his sentence, Shang shoved his right hand into his mouth, taking hold of his jaw.
Stars' eyes widened in absolute terror.
No!
RRRIIIIIIP!
Shang tore his jaw off.
The younger students gasped in horror.
Of course, there were still several students that watched everything with calm eyes. They had also killed humans before, and they knew that these two students wouldn't die.
Yes, Shang had been rather brutal, but as long as he didn't kill them, he was allowed to do that.
Stars began to scream incoherent nonsense as he writhed on the ground.
BANG!
Shang squashed the jaw in his hand and threw the ball of gore on the ground beside Stars.
"Don't annoy me again," he said before he walked into the building.
From the side, one of the teachers sighed and picked the two students up.
He was used to bringing injured students to the Water Mage.
'But really, that guy was a bit too cruel. Regrowing something is many times more expensive than simply reattaching something. Did he really have to destroy that arm and jaw?'
'Well, I don't have to pay it.'