Shang only looked at Duke Whirlwind. "A lot of things happened, and I came back with a lot of information regarding the Grandmountain Kingdom."
Duke Whirlwind looked at Shang with a complex expression.
He wasn't sure if Shang understood what he had actually meant.
However, Duke Whirlwind was also interested in what actually happened to Shang in the last decade. What could change someone to such a degree?
Shang told Duke Whirlwind basically everything except for the trial and the Abominations. He only used the Abominations once, which was when he escaped from the Grandmountain Kingdom initially.
As Duke Whirlwind listened more to Shang's story, his focus shifted to the actual intelligence Shang brought back.
The information he brought back was monumental!
How the barbarians trained.
The way the Grandmountain Kingdom organized its forces.
Insight into the distribution of their forces.
And, most importantly, the method the Mages had created to stack so many Strengthening Spells on a single barbarian.
Shang had been that researcher's plaything for several months, and he had also been under the effect of these Spells while assaulting the Plague Rat Zone.
During these months, he had learned a lot about how the Mages accomplished these things.
When Shang came to the part where he killed Lash, Duke Whirlwind noticed that something wasn't right.
Doing this was unlike the Shang he had just heard of a minute ago.
Duke Whirlwind would have bet that Shang would have simply trusted Lash. After all, he was an old friend, and the Mages wouldn't even interrogate him.
Duke Whirlwind even remembered hearing about a similar incident before Shang had left.
A couple of students of the Warrior's Academy had found out about Shang's Affinity, but even at the behest of the Dean, Shang had decided to keep them alive.
That risk was far greater than the risk Lash had posed, but Shang had still let them go.
Even when Shang arrived at the Grandmountain Kingdom, he didn't seem much different from what Duke Whirlwind was hearing.
But after Shang left the Grandmountain Kingdom and returned, it was like they had been switched out.
Something must have happened in the Tide Serpent Zone, and that something was the catalyst for Shang's rapid change.
But what could have motivated Shang to change that drastically in a Zone without any humans and only beasts?
After that point, Shang's tales became much darker, but Duke Whirlwind noticed that Shang didn't seem to notice the change in his behavior.
Shang had killed several weak people that had only accidentally come close to his hiding spots.
The chances of them actually finding Shang were slim, and if Shang wanted to escape, they would never find him.
However, instead of simply leaving, Shang always killed them.
And by the way Shang was talking, it seemed to be the only solution.
It was like, in his mind, this was the only thing he could do.
It was the only solution he could come up with to the problem at hand.
'Is he so used to killing everything that poses a risk that he now even perceives a minor inconvenience as a risk and treats it as such, regardless of the cost?' Duke Whirlwind thought.
'He doesn't even seem to think about his actions or the impact. It's like he is forcing himself to do these things just to prove something to himself.'
Several potential reasons shot through Duke Whirlwind's mind, but he couldn't be certain.
Maybe Shang had always been like this, but he hadn't noticed?
Maybe Shang was subconsciously venting?
Maybe Shang was so aggrieved by his own guilt that he completely blocked it out of his being, isolated the feeling, and acted like an emotionless machine?
Even though Duke Whirlwind was old and knew a lot about people, he couldn't be certain.
As Shang continued narrating, the Duke stopped paying attention.
'He seems more and more like George,' Duke Whirlwind thought.
'I don't think that's a good thing. I'm pretty sure it would be better if he could get some empathy back, even if it were for the sole reason of not killing absolutely everyone that even slightly steps in front of his goal.'
Duke Whirlwind mulled over these thoughts for a bit, but in the end, he only released a hidden sigh Shang couldn't see.
'But that's not my business,' he thought helplessly. 'I'm not his teacher or father. It's not my place to dictate how another adult should act.'
'This is his life, not mine, and I should afford him the freedom to make his own choices.'
'If that is what he wants, it's fine. I only hope that he won't become an enemy in the future due to some ridiculous reason born of his own paranoia.'
And then, Duke Whirlwind's thoughts were pulled back to Shang's tale.
He had been ambushed in the Empress Cobra Zone?
Duke Whirlwind's eyes became colder as he heard Shang narrate the battle, which had been very short.
Duke Whirlwind had to keep his facial expressions in check as Shang told him how easy and natural it was to kill a Mage on his level.
He didn't even see it as anything special.
It was just normal.
It was just a bit of practice.
At that moment, Duke Whirlwind focused more on Shang's aura in terms of threat.
The more he looked at Shang's aura, the more he realized how threatening it actually felt.
And he became even more shocked when he realized something.
'Shang feels as powerful as George was when he had just advanced to the True Path Stage.'
'He might actually be the third strongest physi in existence right now.'
Just ten years.
In just ten years, Shang had grown by so much.
It was ridiculous!
Really talented warriors reached the Initial Commander Stage in their early thirties, but Shang was already at the Mid Commander Stage, and his Battle-Strength was ridiculous.
And then, Duke Whirlwind had a shocking thought.
'He might actually be able to defeat an average Peak True Mage as a Mid Commander Stage warrior.'
Duke Whirlwind would have never thought that he would one day believe something like this.
He also realized that this insane growth couldn't have only come from what Shang told him.
Shang mostly skipped the parts where he was training. He had basically said that he had remained in the Tide Serpent Zone for seven or eight years to train, and that was it.
'Something must have happened in the Tide Serpent Zone. Not only did he suddenly become incredibly powerful for his level, but his personality also underwent a drastic development,' Duke Whirlwind thought.
'What could have happened in such an isolated Zone?'
Then, Duke Whirlwind heard of what Shang had done to Kiva Orvis, and a cold shudder ran down his spine.
That was very unusual for Shang!
He would have never done something like this ten years ago!
'However, as much as it pains me to admit, his actions are very effective,' Duke Whirlwind thought with a frown. 'The psychological impact won't be great at the start, but if I manage to push further, this event will gain more and more significance in my enemy's mind.'
'I need to make use of that.'
Then, Duke Whirlwind noticed that Shang had stopped talking.
'I think it would be best to treat Shang similarly to George.'
'Be honest, don't become his enemy, and treat him like an equal.'
