Although the First Military Academy initially had no concept of what minus sixty degrees Celsius truly meant, after several matches and daily practice, they adapted to the environment at an astonishing speed.
Leola's modifications were also spot-on; each cadet piloting their mecha through the fierce wind and snow felt hardly hindered at all.
He Siyu, for the first time, fully extended her spiritual energy from the very start. Her early warnings came even faster than radar, and by concentrating, she could even detect that the ice beneath her feet was dozens of meters thick.
Everyone had undergone hellish physical training, so simply driving mecha through the snowstorm didn't even feel tiring.
But what the four cadets hadn't expected was that at over sixty degrees below zero, star beasts would actually come to attack them!
These star beasts were exceptionally ferocious, the kind that would latch onto a target and never let go.
Fu Xingyuan fought solo against three giant frost wolves, spending five minutes to slay them all. The situation with his other teammates was similar.
"First Military Academy, First Squad: plus eleven points."
Even after the point announcement ended, the First Squad members didn't let their guard down.
They could sense that the frost wolves still had companions, lurking nearby the whole time, refusing to show themselves.
Whenever He Siyu tried to use her spiritual energy to finish them off, the frost wolves would keenly retreat beyond the range of her attack.
Once she retracted her range to conserve energy, they would creep back again. The two sides had been locked in this stalemate for over an hour.
At one point, she even tried using the Hirano family's spiritual illusion technique to lure the star beasts, but the moment her spiritual energy touched the frost wolves, they fled instantly! This showed that the star beasts were extremely sensitive to spiritual energy—that approach wouldn't work.
A prolonged war of attrition did them no favors. After all, frost wolves had unmatched endurance. Sometimes they could track prey for days, waiting until the target was exhausted or trapped before swarming in together.
"Maybe we should just deal with them now?"
Fu Xingyuan felt that waiting passively like this wasn't a viable strategy—it drained too much of their focus and energy.
Wu Pingzhuo also offered his suggestion.
"Yeah, what if these things attack while we're resting? The harsher the environment, the more we need to ensure we get adequate rest."
He Siyu was also thinking it over. Trekking through endless white snowfields for long periods was a severe test of their mental resilience.
Having a threat constantly tailing them, even if their energy and ammunition were sufficient, could easily push them to a breaking point, leading to completely wrong decisions.
Teacher Selena had shown them the recording of the finals from the second inter-academy league. That year, a team had cracked under the psychological pressure and hadn't even lasted twenty-four hours. They couldn't afford to make the same mistake.
"Move to A Formation and pursue the frost wolves at full speed. Everyone joins the fight—we finish this quickly."
"Yes, sir!"
Leola added over the channel,
"In such heavy snow, try not to use transformation attacks. The more components are exposed, the more likely the mecha will develop problems.
Plus, the strong wind might destabilize the mecha's hover, affecting our attack accuracy."
"Got it."
"Understood."
Just one hour after departure, the First Squad veered off their planned route to hunt the frost wolves.
This meant they had to not only directly fight a dangerous pack star beast in a harsh natural environment but also return to the main route as quickly as possible after dealing with the enemy.
The round trip cost both time and energy, but it was already the safest option available.
Selena, watching from the screen, approved of her students' decision. A short delay to sharpen the axe wouldn't spoil the woodcutting—the students had undergone long-term physical training; a bit more hardship wouldn't hurt.
Blizar's environment shared similarities with Keshler: both would severely test a person's mental fortitude.
Eliminating the threat before the frost wolves could wear down all their patience was the best course of action.
The other teachers and the two commanders watching the livestream also nodded in agreement. This was something they often encountered on the battlefield. For instance, a sudden surge of star beasts could be handled easily with proper emergency preparations.
But once the beast tide dragged on, the difficulty of clearing them would skyrocket.
By then, it wasn't just about more enemies—as time passed, more variables would arise, placing extremely high demands on the soldiers' mental resilience.
The audience watching the stream couldn't help but sweat for the four cadets diving into the wolf den.
"Go, First Military Academy!"
"That drone footage just showed more than twenty wolves, and they're all huge—what did they eat to grow that big on Blizar?"
"I'm guessing you don't want to know..."
"It's all white everywhere. Will they even find their way back?"
"How can you doubt Leola's radar and Captain He's spiritual energy?"
"Frost wolves are the most threatening star beasts in the ice fields—their endurance is way better than humans'. If you don't kill them, they'll follow you forever. The First Squad made the right call!"
"Exactly! If you don't deal with them now, they'll come back to kill you later. Never underestimate any enemy."
"Are star beasts on these resource planets always this terrifying? And their looks... if it weren't for the academy league, I might never know how our current good life came to be."
"That's why the Federation's military academies hold such a high status. I sure don't envy them."
"Found them! Fu Xingyuan is fast!"
As soon as the First Squad got closer, the frost wolves backed away. Their enormous red eyes seemed to hold intelligence, always keeping a set distance.
Leola frowned.
"They're too crafty."
Fu Xingyuan replied,
"They probably saw how we fought their companions earlier and have a measure of our combat power. They don't think it's time to attack yet."
The lead frost wolf, with its pure white fur, not only ran the fastest but also led them toward areas full of pitfalls.
Without He Siyu, they might have already fallen into an ice crevasse!
Wu Pingzhuo restlessly pushed his mecha's speed to the maximum. Right now, he was a bit envious of Zhang Lyra's mecha with its boost-assisted takeoff—if he could do that, he'd already be slaughtering left and right!
But Leola said the parts on his mecha weren't compatible with that engine; he'd have to wait until they got back to replace everything entirely...
Fu Xingyuan pulled out a cold weapon.
"I'll go stall them first. You all provide support."
His light mecha should be fast enough to catch the frost wolves. Continuing to let them lead them around would only take them farther from the planned route.
"Alright, try to keep some distance when attacking so we can supply fire support.
Everyone else, full speed ahead. Aim carefully before you fire."
"Got it."
"Yes, sir!"
