Chapter 80 – New Tropical Rain Forest
Wang Zhong quickly got out of bed. In less than a minute, he was already dressed well and appeared on the drilling grounds.
Markis and Markos were slightly surprised. Although that jostling yesterday hadn’t been that bad, it was still a hard lesson for the students. This brat’s response, on the other hand, wasn’t any worse than their own.
They were indeed quite surprised since not only had Wang Zhong been fast and dress properly, even his state of mind was clear. Although it was still night, his eyes were keen and sharp.
Still, the two didn’t show too much of a change in expression, after all… everyone else’s performance was just too terrible!
“Fuck, it’s still early morning, what’s all this about…?” A few of the students were still yawning. Yesterday’s events had been too chaotic and they also had to eat all that disgusting stuff. Quite a few of them had nightmares due to this, so they didn’t have any true sleep.
“Where is Teacher Grace?”
“Is the group training starting now?”
“Shut it, you bunch of wastes!” Markis explosively shouted. His soul power erupted out and the tyrannical strength of a Heroic Soul stage instantly pressed down on them.
“If you want to withdraw, then scram! Otherwise, we will be starting our first night training!” Markis’ voice was cold and detached. “Record their performance. Other than Wang Zhong, take off three points for everyone!”
The nearby Markos wore a face of ridicule as he said, “I don’t think anyone in this batch of wastes is eligible. That’s fine too, they can avoid disgracing the Federation.”
Markis didn’t continue conversing with Markos and glared at the bunch of silly and ignorant students instead. “I originally planned to test your nighttime capabilities, but now I’ve changed my mind. I am going to flush away your laziness and stupidity!”
He then sent a message through his skylink. A few minutes later, several soldiers carrying hoses appeared on the drilling grounds.
They’ll know what’s going soon, he thought as the high-pressure hose started to shoot an intense blast of water at the group of students.
“Stand still! You’re not allowed to back off!”
This was the wilderness, and it was still night. The temperature was -10° celsius. Everyone experienced a foreign feeling as the water jet struck their bodies, so they tried to moved their soul power in order to resist the water. Whether they would be eliminated or not wasn’t the issue now; if they did not take this seriously, they might lose their little lives in this place.
Markis and Markos didn’t stop them from using their soul power. Although they were strict, they knew some restraint. This group of little chicks might actually die if they didn’t use their soul power. Markis was assigned to instruct while Markos was to observe. This also included watching the physical condition of every student.
… but there was actually one that hadn’t used any soul power…
No, there were two!
One of them was the first person to appear, Wang Zhong. Although this fellow’s body didn’t seem that sturdy, he actually resisted without the use of soul power.
The other one had actually been that handsome boy. Fair and clean, slim and small, he actually didn’t seem to care about this situation.
Markis and Markos shot a glance at each other. They could see hope in the others’ eyes. Perhaps this group might be worthy of training.
Barran continued to clench his teeth. Although the high-pressure water stream wasn’t much for a heavy soldier like him, it’s chill made it unbearable for anyone. As such, soul power needed to be used to resist it. As he did so, Barran subconsciously looked at the nearby Wang Zhong.
Senior Wang Zhong stood straight like a javelin that was pierced into the ground… and he actually wasn’t using any soul power…
Three seconds after seeing this, BarraN withdrew his own soul power. This is training. If I can’t even endure this, then why should I continue to stay here?
After a while, Reeves seemed to have discovered this situation and helplessly withdrew his soul power. As the one who would inevitably become a captain in the future, his performance couldn’t be worse than anyone else’s. These little bastards, was there a need to show off like that!?
Unknowingly, a competitive spirit started to rise within the group of youths.
The special training from hell officially started!
✶
The distant land of South America had once been a beautiful continent known for its wonderful rainforests. It was the holy land for yearning explorers. Now, this place was even more ‘beautiful’ than ever before. The dimension energy that had spilled onto the land had accelerated the growth of the wild and the vitality within.
Mankind’s ability of prediction through science would always be limited. Old-era South America had few resources, so it was quickly abandoned. The surviving people there, however, received a blessing and were rewarded with powerful energy.
Hundreds of small and large powers rose up from this new South America, the strongest and greatest being the Amazon Empire. At least, that was what the Freedom Federation felt when they chose that empire as a point of contact with South America. This then led to the swift and violent expansion of the Amazon Empire as their complementary resource trading pushed them further along the path of development.
After humanity were split into four completely new continents, it was this continent that had the most chaos between the empire and the separatist regimes. The wilderness made people unable to resign themselves to being fettered, so they pursued freedom and the belief in natural strength.
The lush tropical forest and surrounding jungles were brimming with vigor and vitality. Although the scars of the Great Change was still present, this only served to show the great power of nature. Yet, even now, the Amazon people don’t readily head further into the depths of the forest. The changes that had occurred within each region was different.
For example, in Africa, the biggest danger wasn’t its animals, but the different kinds of insects. In South America, however, there weren’t just strange mutated beasts. The most frightening threat there was the mutated plants. They truly brought about a sense of despair.
No one knew exactly what hid behind the covers of the dense tree leaves or beneath the tranquil surface of the water.
Perhaps it was a terrifying Shadow Demon Jaguar, or a violent Champsosaurus. It may even be the small, but extremely fatal hundred-jointed silver ring. While it may seem like a tranquil forest, much of it had undergone tremendous changes after the great catastrophe, such as frightening man-eating spores
But right now, a youth sat alone at a riverside in the forest. He held a crude-looking carving knife and was completely absorbed in whittling a piece of wood.
His eyes revealed an expression of extreme concentration as he held the carving knife with a steady, but quick hand. Tsic, tsic, tsic, tsic… The sounds linked together to form a line of music as countless pieces of wood shavings flew through the air. Rune symbols, one after the other, appeared on the surface of the piece of wood and emitted a mysterious aura. This average and mediocre block had now gained an unexpectedly solemn and dignified air.
The youth’s expression was quite earnest. Neither the sultry heat of the rainforest, nor the sunlight shining on the crown of his head affected him in the slightest. He had a strong and slim upper body, and that slightly curled deep-brown hair and bronze-coloured skin was untouched by even a drop of sweat.
An Iron-backed Champsosaurus hid quietly no less than six to seven meters away. It slid beneath the waters as it quietly swam over.
Crocodiles were a species that existed since the ancient times and held a history of over two hundred million years. The species had gone through various momentous changes and had been able to survive tenaciously up until now. After the great catastrophe caused by mankind, they once more walked at the front of the evolution world.
They were now able to completely leave the waters and became a powerful mutated beast that could move on dry land. It seemed that the dinosaur gene in their DNA had been stimulated with their mutation, causing their limbs to become more sturdy and powerful and their backs to swell into a small hill. They became the absolute overlords of the forests, nicknamed the Iron-backed Champsosaurus by locals. More commonly, they were known as an Earth Dragon.
This was its territory!
This youngling from the human race looked very healthy. The beautiful lines of his muscles made him seem like the best delicacy!
This Earth Dragon couldn’t help drooling from the corner of its mouth. After obtaining greater strength, the intelligence of these mutated beasts had also experienced an improvement, especially when it involved thoughts about hunting.
Twenty meters… the gigantic Earth Dragon moved slowly through the water.
This youth was like an artist that was completely immersed in his creation. His hands continued to move, a growing excitement appeared on his face.
The carving blade in his hands moved faster and faster until it became almost like a blur!