Chapter 338: Learning the Wind

"I told my brothers that you were different, but they wouldn’t listen," Volcan said, still wearing the small grin from before.

"But maybe you are even better than I thought."

His gaze settled on Yohan, carrying genuine admiration.

"Although, figuring out how my ability works and defeating me are two different things."

A smile also spread across Yohan’s lips.

"For me, they’re practically the same thing."

His confidence wasn’t merely a bluff.

Now that Volcan had confirmed it himself, all Yohan had to do was study his attack pattern and figure out its limitations.

This time, Yohan attacked first.

He lunged forward and tried to grab the shirtless man, but Volcan slipped away before Yohan could even get close.

He reappeared behind him, a hand already raised to deliver a killing blow.

Only to be met by an elbow straight to the middle of his nose.

"Argh!"

Volcan stumbled backward, clutching his face, while Yohan stood there with an even wider grin.

It was satisfying to see Volcan fall for his own trick.

By setting up that fake attack, Yohan had forced Volcan to evade. All he needed to do was prepare for the counterattack.

The moment Volcan’s feet touched the ground and Yohan confirmed his position, he spun around with explosive speed.

Volcan wiped the bloody snot from his nose before once again readying himself to face Yohan.

But Yohan didn’t rush in again.

He had already gotten what he needed from that single attack.

"Come on. Don’t slow down now," he taunted.

The look on Volcan’s face was exactly what anyone in his position would expect.

Even with the wind supporting his speed, Yohan had managed to hit him.

This wasn’t simply a matter of predicting his movements.

Yohan had moved as if he was certain he would land the hit.

That realization made Volcan understand that Yohan wasn’t messing around.

"I’m getting fired up," he mumbled excitedly.

He suddenly leaped into the air and came down with a dropkick, this time from a distance.

The force of the wind that followed slammed into Yohan, pushing him several meters backward.

He barely took any damage, but he immediately realized that wasn’t the point of the attack.

Before he could fully regain his balance, a foot came swinging down toward him.

Yohan raised both hands and caught it.

The wind that followed showed just how much force was behind the kick, but Volcan didn’t stop there.

He quickly planted his other foot and swung his hand like a blade cutting through the air, aiming directly for Yohan’s throat.

Yohan leaned to the side at the last possible moment, allowing the attack to sweep past him.

"Now it’s my turn."

He stepped inside Volcan’s range and drove his fist straight into his gut.

The punch landed with a heavy thud.

Yohan knew Volcan couldn’t change his movement in the middle of an attack. That was why he had waited for the right moment.

His control over wind wasn’t really ’control’ in the traditional sense.

It was more like redirection.

He could use the wind to carry his body and move at incredible speeds, but that speed didn’t directly translate into physical strength.

His hands and feet were what he used to redirect the wind, which was why his attacks became faster and stronger the more momentum and rhythm he built.

But right at the beginning of a sequence, before he had gathered enough momentum, Volcan wasn’t nearly as difficult to hit.

Especially when his torso was completely stationary.

"Now, do you see?"

He asked as Volcan folded over. A weak grunt escaped him.

Yohan bent down slightly to see if he was okay.

Volcan’s eyes were almost completely white, tears rolling down his cheeks while a thin string of saliva hung from his mouth.

Yohan wanted to gloat some more, but seeing him like this made him feel a little guilty.

’Did I put too much power into that?’

He had a feeling that Volcan had been holding back from the beginning. The man hadn’t really been trying to kill him.

Yohan didn’t want to be the one to take things too far. If he wanted to, killing Volcan at this point wouldn’t be difficult.

’Just crush his skull and get it over with...’

The thought came so naturally that Yohan caught himself.

He actually considered something that dark.

He sighed and turned away.

"Next time, don’t be so careless."

With that final piece of advice, Yohan pushed open the wooden gate and stepped outside.

His shirt had already been ruined by the slash, so he grabbed it and ripped it off his body.

He made his way to the parking lot, where the commotion coming from the storehouse immediately caught his attention.

The other Tau men were definitely inside.

’In that case, there’s no need to sneak around if they’re just going to find me anyway.’

He walked to the back of his car and pulled the red book from his back pocket.

Yohan had gotten into the habit of flipping through the book at random moments, hoping he would somehow stumble across a new technique.

But, just like always, there was nothing.

It was almost as if he hadn’t met whatever requirement was needed to unlock another technique.

’Alfredo said it was basically random.’

He consoled himself with that thought before opening the trunk and pulling out something he’d prepared for a special occasion like this.

A solid metal bat.

The kind that wasn’t going to bend easily.

Yohan swung it a few times, testing its weight and durability.

An evil grin slowly crept across his face.

With a confident stride, he walked toward the front of the storehouse and knocked on the large metal gate.

The commotion inside immediately grew louder.

"Hey! What do you think you’re doing?"

Four men came rushing down the road from the other side.

Yohan suspected they had been stationed farther ahead to warn the others of any intruders.

’They didn’t expect the intruder to come out from their own village.’

That alone showed how much they trusted Volcan.

’But even if I had come down the road, these four couldn’t stop me.’

He could tell from their stances alone.

None of them could put up a fight like Volcan had.

"Are you deaf?" one of them shouted. "Answer me, or we’re going to gut you like a fish!"

He flashed the sharp steak knife in his hand.

Yohan’s eyes immediately dropped to the weapon.

"You have a weapon?"

He sounded almost excited.

Then he raised the metal bat onto his shoulder.

"I have one of my own, too."