Chapter 83: I Know It All

Seeing Jake’s stance, Ethan gulped down his anxiety. While he looked completely fine on the surface, he was more than just shaken within his mind.

The Jake Mercer, he had previously pressured into becoming indebted to him as Noah Reed had been nothing more than a near-death E-rank awakener, someone who had barely survived his battle with the white serpent and needed Ethan’s help just to recover from his injuries.

But now, that same man had completely healed his injuries and become a genuine D-rank powerhouse.

And with his experience, Ethan couldn’t guarantee his victory.

In a sense, Ethan had already imagined the scene of Jake going back on his word; after all, unlike the Ironfeather Eagle, he hadn’t signed a Soul Agreement with Jake.

There was nothing truly stopping this man from suddenly changing his mind and attacking him alongside the Envoy.

However, Jake had only appeared and saved the zombie because of Eris.

He hadn’t seen Noah Reed, but he had seen the Blood Ant Queen before.

He knew that she was only respectful towards Noah Reed. When he saw her treating this strange human-looking zombie with the same level of respect, Jake had no choice but to save him.

Of course, Jake was angry because he was saving a monster.

As an awakener who had seen countless cities being destroyed by monsters, he held a deep hatred towards them. That hatred wasn’t something that could simply disappear because one monster happened to possess intelligence.

Not to forget, he was also someone who had killed his own comrades.

Jake had never considered the Radiant Stars his true team. Since even he understood that, just like him, everyone had joined the team because of their own greed.

They wanted resources, fame, and power.

They wanted to climb higher within the Awakeners Association.

Even the most decent among them, Christine Frost, the leader of the seven Radiant Stars, only acted good on the surface while constantly trying to use others whenever it benefited her.

As for the others, they had even gone as far as planting spies within his team.

Jake felt little to no remorse regarding their deaths. Even so, he didn’t doubt his choice.

The Envoy, however, clearly didn’t share his thoughts.

Seeing Jake standing between him and the zombie, the Envoy’s expression twisted with anger as his Nox began surging through his body.

"Jake Mercer, I have come today as an Envoy of the Awakeners Association. I order you to move aside immediately!"

Even after hearing his words loud and clear, Jake acted as though he hadn’t heard a soul.

"Did you not hear me?" the Envoy shouted, his voice being carried across the surrounding winds. "You are an awakener of the Association, and you are required to follow the orders of your superiors!"

As he said so, Jake silently stared at him and continued his act.

The Envoy’s eyes narrowed, his facial muscles twitching with increasing anger. "You dare ignore me?"

The Envoy’s expression became uglier as he suddenly laughed loudly, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Is this what your righteousness amounts to?"

"Is this the righteousness you promised your filthy dog to uphold?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Jake’s figure suddenly disappeared.

A flaring silhouette of bright yellow lightning remained behind for only a fraction of a second.

In the next instant, using the lightning and wind currents around his body to push himself to his absolute limit, Jake appeared directly before the Envoy.

By then, his right golden gauntlet was already pulled back.

BAM!

Jake mercilessly punched directly into the Envoy’s stomach.

The impact caused the Envoy’s body to bend violently as all the air was forced out of his lungs. Before he could even gather his Nox to defend himself, the overwhelming force sent him flying high into the air.

The Envoy’s white robes fluttered wildly as his body spun through the sky.

But before he could stabilize himself, a massive shadow suddenly appeared above him.

The zombie Ironfeather Eagle had finally arrived as its enormous claws grabbed the Envoy’s body from the air, and without giving him any time to react, the eagle flapped its wings while swerving through the surrounding wind currents.

Its massive body suddenly flipped upside down at an incredible speed, and it released its claws.

The Envoy was launched towards the ground like a stone shot through a catapult.

BOOM!

His body crashed brutally into the earth, creating a small crater as dust exploded in every direction.

Jake, who had been watching the entire scene, couldn’t help but find the eagle somewhat amusing.

’So it actually understands how to cooperate.’

Jake’s own powers weren’t restricted only to manipulating lightning.

His class, Storm General, allowed him to march across the battlefield like a brewing storm, giving him control over both the destructive power of lightning and the movement of winds.

Lightning was his primary weapon, while Winds served as his battlefield.

Together, they allowed Jake to move at speeds that even top-tier D-rank awakeners could barely follow.

Even after crashing into the ground, however, the Envoy wasn’t defeated. The surrounding winds quickly gathered beneath his body and picked him up, allowing him to slowly rise from the crater.

His long veil was covered in dirt and blood, while his expression had become almost sickeningly distorted.

His teal bell earrings chimed violently.

Ching! Ching! Ching!

The surrounding winds began distorting further as enormous currents gathered around his body.

"That monster is only using you!"

"I know," Jake retorted instantly.

His expression remained completely calm.

"I know it all."

The Envoy’s eyes widened slightly as he realized something. "You—"

"Do you really think I’m stupid enough not to understand?" Jake interrupted him, his voice carrying no anger.

"The moment I met him again, I already knew that he was using me."

Hearing his words, the envoy fell silent.

As he continued speaking, Jake—unknowingly—slowly clenched his fingers into fists.

"You did the same thing."

"You used the bodies of innocent souls to carve out a path for yourself. You lied to them and deceived them at every turn. I, too, became a victim of that."

"Then the Radiant Stars did the same thing for their own sake."

"They joined me because they wanted something, and I joined them because I wanted something."

His gaze shifted briefly towards Ethan as he continued. "The strange zombie, Noah Reed, or whatever his name might be, is doing the same thing after all."

This time, Jake’s voice sounded surprisingly calm.

"However..." Then, a faint grin appeared on his face.

"He’s at least doing it to my face and isn’t acting all sweet just because he needs my strength."