Leonel cocked an eyebrow. There was something weird about this situation. It was missing the edge it should have, or maybe it was something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.
However, Leonel had already suffered once today from not being cautious enough. He had no intention of making the same mistake twice. Instead, he silently observed, his senses primed to their peak. He seemed to be relaxed, but there wasn't a single detail within 200 meters of him that he missed.
Captain Sela's eyes flashed with happiness when she heard the man's words. As a Captain, of course she knew who this man was.
"Make things a bit easier on yourself, young man. Don't resist and come with me."
"… It's no wonder you all have never stood a chance against the Empire."
Even in the 25th century, there were certain offensive things one should never say. Racial slurs, culturally insensitive phrases, ignorant and uninformed statements… However, even among all of these things, maybe saying such a thing amongst a field of rebels was amongst the worst.
At that point, even the carefree man who had just rode a wave to block Leonel's path had a stiff expression. If Leonel could read the man's mind, he might have felt a little bad.
The truth was that this man hadn't come here to make trouble for Leonel. He had said those things, but that was only to keep up a certain facade. He had good reasons for treating Leonel the way he did and if the boy just cooperated a little bit, he would know the reasons why in just a few moments.
But this boy just had to go and say these things. Why was he so brazen? Doesn't he know that he's surrounded by 200 people? Even if he took down the gorilla, he would die meeting such a large group as long as there was one person near his battle strength. As far as the man was concerned, Leonel could at best match him. In that case, getting into a fight with their group would only lead to his death.
'… Ah, dammit, kid. How am I supposed to continue now? If I don't respond with anger, those with eyes here will get suspicious. But, if I do fight you, how can we end this peacefully? Dammit, dammit.'
At this point, the man realized he had acted a bit too rashly. He should have approached with a better plan, but this was the best he could do in such a short time.
If he waited any longer, Leonel would have left. After Leonel left, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't be secretly watched by others. In this case, it would be even more suspicious if he tried to meet him in secret.
Even if by some miracle he managed to successfully meet Leonel after he left without alerting anyone else, there was no guarantee that he would be able to sneak Leonel back like he wanted to.
This should have been the perfect opportunity. He should have been able to 'arrest' Leonel while showing favoritism he shouldn't have. Then, he would have been able to 'imprison' him and thus gain a perfect excuse for why Leonel was with them.
In this way, those keeping an eye on the rebels would underestimate them more, thinking that their leaders were trash for getting rid of a talent like Leonel for short term benefits. And, at the same time, they would be able to secretly bring Leonel to their side and gain yet another hidden trump card.
Everything was so perfect, but this boy was displaying too much confidence which left the man uneasy. Suddenly, something that should have been a simple task became incredibly difficult and there was no longer a path for him to take it easy on Leonel.
'Damned hot blooded kids and their damned pride, fuck.'
With no other choice, the man's face twisted into a feigned rage.
"Kid, you sure have a big mouth." He growled. "Remember this well, I am Lieutenant Damian Warner. Today, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents!"
Leonel's expression darkened.
He couldn't read the man's mind. Even if he found this situation weird, he tossed all thoughts of finding out what was wrong after hearing such words. His dad had disappeared to who knows where, but that didn't give this man the right to comment on it.
Leonel's aura grew heavy, the silver pole of his bike appearing in his hands.
Damian realized that there was something wrong with the atmosphere almost immediately, but by the time he realized he might have said something wrong, the blunt tip of Leonel's rod was already before him.
'Shit, shit, shit!'
This speed, this technique, this strength. Each and every one was far beyond Damian's expectations. He felt as though a whole world was bearing down on him and that no matter what he did, he wouldn't be able to dodge.
The shadow of a spear was projected into his mind. He couldn't help but think… 'If this was a spear, wouldn't I be dead now?'
Damian quickly crossed his arms, taking the brunt of Leonel's strike with his forearms.
BANG!
Without suspense, he was sent flying. It wasn't until he had moved back almost ten meters that the ground beneath him suddenly 'awakened', stretching up into the skies like a wave and catching him like a soft pillow.
Leonel's eyes narrowed. 'It seems his ability isn't as simple as water control. This is an S-grade power at worst, and I still feel like I'm underestimating it.'
Leonel was using his rod instead of his spear because he wanted to separate himself from the influence of his Spear Domain Lineage. He felt that his comprehension of his Lineage Factor was too weak and that the only way to find out exactly what made it tick was by comparing his abilities with it and without it. In addition, he felt that he didn't need his Lineage Factor to defeat this man.
However, this ability put quite a bit of pressure on him. He had only seen a small glimpse of it, but he saw endless possibilities. If this man was even somewhat competent, he too should be able to handle A-grade threats just as easily as Leonel did.
What Leonel didn't know was that the man's expression was growing gloomier and gloomier. Having sensed Leonel's strength, he realized that taking him in like this would be even more difficult. As if things weren't bad enough… His arms were broken.
'This little devil. No wonder he embarrassed Royal Blue Fort and the Leum family like that. Who created this little monster?'
Damian's arms hung limply to his side, wanting to shed real tears when he saw Leonel charging toward him again.