The team led by Ye Yingxuan from the First Military Academy had been advancing steadily, but during their march, they were targeted by a flock of strange star-beast birds. Unable to shake them off, they had no choice but to face them head-on!
"Wang Kaiyu, watch out! Dodge and slash its wings!"
Ye Yingxuan's orders were crystal clear.
These star-beasts were incredibly difficult to deal with. Their movements were swift, and their claws and beaks were razor-sharp!
They even knew how to use stones and branches to attack. Most importantly... these strange birds could spit fireballs!
The clothes on Wang Kaiyu's right shoulder were already scorched! The skin underneath was naturally burned as well... but he had no time to stop, apply medicine, and bandage it up right now.
These dozen or so star-beasts had been following them for half a day! If they didn't wipe them all out before dark, they wouldn't get a wink of sleep tonight!
Seeing their "prey" below brandishing blades, the strange birds immediately flew higher, reaching an altitude where the team couldn't touch them.
"Caw! Caw!"
Their cries were grating, seemingly laced with mockery.
Missing his strike, Wang Kaiyu immediately sheathed his blade, sprinted a few steps to hide behind a nearby tree, and switched to his rifle, aiming at the star-beasts circling in the sky.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
All three shots hit, but not a single bird fell!
"These birds are way too tanky! Their wings are practically shredded and they're still flying!?"
Xu Mo and Lucas were also hiding behind trees, aiming at the sky through their scopes. After a long moment, they lowered their guns.
"It's no use, they've flown even higher..."
Ye Yingxuan thought for a moment.
"This isn't working... You three find cover and prepare to shoot. I'll figure out a way to lure them down."
"Understood."
Once her three teammates were fully concealed, Ye Yingxuan put away her weapon and walked into the center of the clearing.
She projected her mental energy to bait the star-beasts into attacking her, while simultaneously providing a mental energy barrier to cover her three companions. The audience watching the live broadcast was absolutely stunned.
"Does this girl have a death wish!?"
"Isn't this way too risky!? Those star-beasts can breathe fire!"
"Oh my god! I can't watch this!!"
"Mental energy can be used like this!? I've been enlightened!"
After she walked forward for fifty meters, two "big birds" finally couldn't hold back and swooped down fiercely. But before they could spit their fireballs, the three team members simultaneously aimed and fired!
"Bang bang bang bang bang!!"
Accompanied by the rapid gunfire, two star-beast corpses finally crashed down behind her.
It worked!
Without even turning her head, Ye Yingxuan continued walking forward, and her squad members moved along with her.
"Captain! Slow down!"
Xu Mo kept reminding her over the team comms.
There was really nothing they could do with a fearless captain like theirs... Even as the one pulling the trigger, he was breaking out in a cold sweat!
"Got it. Keep aiming and don't relax."
Luring and shooting along the way, they finally whittled the flock down to the last five star-beasts! However, the remaining birds kept circling in mid-air, refusing to come down no matter what. It seemed they wanted to fight a war of attrition...
Ye Yingxuan simply stopped walking altogether. She looked up and observed for a moment, then returned to where the last star-beast corpse lay, drew her long blade, and started hacking at the carcass!
The five strange birds above watched as their "companion's" body was dismembered, spilling large amounts of blood, and slowly reducing in size...
They finally couldn't bear it and all dive-bombed together!!
"Caw!!"
Four of the strange birds spat fireballs at the same spot simultaneously. Ye Yingxuan accelerated her footwork to dodge the blast center, but the fifth bird's fireball seemed to anticipate her movement and shot right toward her!
She backhandedly pulled out the large shield she had brought along!
Hiding completely behind the shield, she avoided being burned directly, but she could still feel the intense heat that washed over the surroundings and slammed into her face!
Even the grip in her hand radiated the scorching temperature of the flames!
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!!!"
"Captain!!"
The sound of gunfire was incessant, and soon three more strange birds were shot down!
After the fireball died out, the shield took several vicious claw strikes!
Seizing the right moment, Ye Yingxuan let go of the shield, rolled outward, and fired a rapid burst from a kneeling position at the closest strange bird!
That star-beast couldn't muster another fireball before it died, struggling as it puffed out its last wisp of smoke!
"Caw, caw..."
Ye Yingxuan didn't pause; she changed angles and continued to attack the last star-beast bird that wasn't completely dead yet.
Once all the star-beasts were finally eliminated, the three boys ran over with wide strides from the rear, clutching their rifles.
"Phew!! Captain... could we use a different tactic next time? You really are... too terrifying!"
Xu Mo slumped onto the ground. He had been genuinely terrified that their captain would be roasted into jerky by those birds!
"If it comes to it, let me be the bait! Don't I run faster than you? Oh my god..."
Only after confirming that all the star-beasts were dead did Ye Yingxuan pull out some ointment from her spatial button and apply it to her hand.
The temperature had been too high just now, and the skin on her hand gripping the shield had been burned off... She finally wrapped it in bandages.
"Your mental energy isn't strong enough. You can't interfere with them, nor can you detect their attacks at the very first moment. You'd easily get your heads taken off."
"..."
"Moreover, my marksmanship isn't as good as yours. In that situation just now, it would be very difficult for me to consistently aim at a single point. Things might have been even more dangerous."
"Captain..."
"I'm fine. Everyone take a five-minute break to rest and apply medicine to your wounds."
An announcement soon echoed,
"First Military Academy, Second Squad: One hundred and forty points awarded."
Lucas was bandaging Wang Kaiyu's shoulder.
"Our military academy now has two hundred and sixty points! We've earned even more than Fu Xingyuan and his team!"
"That just means we need to be even more careful from now on. There's a water source ahead; let's head there first."
Ye Yingxuan had consumed a massive amount of mental energy just now, and she didn't hide this from her teammates.
"I need to recover my mental energy. Be extra careful while scouting the way. If you notice anything strange, avoid it first."
"Alright, you focus on your recovery."
Wang Kaiyu and the others released their mental energy, keeping vigilant of their surroundings as they headed toward the location Ye Yingxuan had pointed out.
"I wonder where the other two squads are? If we could link up, we'd be invincible!"
"The chances of running into them later are higher, but for now, we're more likely to encounter other military academies first."
"Then we'll just eliminate them all! Haha!"
Xu Mo walked at the very back, carrying his rifle on his shoulder.
"Hey? Kaiyu, what do you think we should do if we run into your sister's group? Should we do them a favor and let them off the hook?"
Ye Yingxuan, walking in the middle, didn't say a word.
She had already stated before that once they entered the arena, everyone else was an enemy. Even if Wang Kaiyu actually spoke up for his sister, she wouldn't listen.
Wang Kaiyu let out a scoff.
"Stop saying things that undermine our unity! I listen to the captain; the squad's interests take absolute priority!
But if you really underestimate my sister and her team, you might not be far from getting eliminated yourself!
If we face off, I won't hold back. Wang Tianwei and Jian Jingyu wouldn't allow me to hold back anyway..."
Hearing this, Xu Mo nodded.
"Alright! You're not one to lie anyway, so I believe you!"
Lucas also chimed in,
"Hearing you say that makes me want to witness their strength for myself... I hope they can survive until the mecha competition! I also want to see the mecha your sister designed!"
"By the way, Lucas, stop bringing up Fu Xingyuan in front of my sister! She doesn't like him anymore!"
"...Seriously?"
