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Chapter 379: Not a Tinned Can

Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas

Zhang Shan started dancing the inside the capsule. Right, he knew that Wang Zheng could be relied upon.

"Where's Wang Zheng?"

Meng Tian and Zhang Runan looked at each other. "He's injured, unable to compete in the next round. Zhang Shan, even if we die, we will not fall at the next hurdle."

This was the thought of everyone in the Solar System team. Only after this experience did they understand how important this matter was. Perhaps they were indeed too weak and were not willing to take any risks. Although Lear was rather heartless, he was right on certain aspects.

And now, the chance was right back in their hands.

"Doctor, Doctor, I'm fine now, I need to get out. Doctor… I need to sh*t~~~"

Zhang Shan hollered out. The heck, he was not some tin can.

Although the first stage had ended, everyone knew that the second stage was about to start. The short amount of rest was unable to cure all of their fatigue. Other than Atlantis, Aslan, Arbiter, and the superpower countries who had arrived without much exertion, the faces on the majority of the teams were grim, as thirty teams had been eliminated in a single sitting. The subsequent round would still eliminate a large majority of them, as only a total of sixty-four teams would be able to participate in the actual competition.

Wang Zheng's injury still made Meng Ao a little anxious. The report was out, and although there were injuries all over the body, all of them were only external injuries, and only two of them were considerably more serious. However, that was not the problem. The main issue was that Wang Zheng may have overexerted his abilities. His Ability X indicator had still remained at zero. The medical instruments here were used by Aslan and were top of the line, yet it was still unable to detect any trace of Wang Zheng's ice abilities. It must be known that it was a C-class Ability X that was utilized during the combat, and the killing potential was somewhat surprising.

This was not an uncommon situation as the decrease could slowly be recovered. However, it was unknown how long it would take. This was not good news at this stage of the IG competition, but at least he was alive. Meng Ao did not wish for much, and regarding the next few rounds, it was all up to God to decide, not wishing to ruin all his hopes for just an IG competition.

Hence, when leaving the hospital, Meng Ao's feelings were still rather optimistic. He believed that after the performance this time round, the image of the Solar System had been significantly improved.

Other than Wang Zheng in the hospital, Max was also present. And there was one other person, Mallorca, the driver of the transport ship. Although he was affiliated with the Milky Way Alliance, he was still a citizen of the Silver Snake Republic. The Silver Snake Republic had a stable foundation and strong national power, and it had emerged as a powerful force for at least a hundred years.

"Senior, what happened, how did you get injured?" A young man walked over and smiled. "This is rare, I thought you wouldn't ever get injured."

Mallorca slowly sat up, and he was already mostly healed. When Wang Zheng struck the queen zerg, he was the first to drag Wang Zheng out of the cockpit. He had then been affected by Wang Zheng's spiritual backlash, which unfortunately had caused him to faint, and he only woke up after a full day, which could also be attributed to his own strength.

"Kong Zhan, sit down, I still have not congratulated you for the promotion." Mallorca smiled slightly, still feeling a little weakness.

Kong Zhan sat down. "Senior, don't say that. Our target is to enter the top four. Right, was there some kind of activity here? There has been such a commotion outside."

Top four…

Although Mallorca was serving the Milky Way Alliance, his heart was still with the Silver Snake Republic. "You are in the D zone in the preliminaries?"

"Yes, why?"

Mallorca heart sank a little. Damn, the Solar System team was also in the D zone.

After looking around, he said, "Let me show you something. Don't say anything else, don't ask me anything."

Kong Zhan was rather curious. Mallorca rarely had such an expression. It had to be known that Mallorca was a celebrity during his time in the academy, and he had led his team to enter the top eight before. Otherwise, it was not possible to directly enter the military of the Milky Way, as this was the core world of the humans.

His Skylink was switched on. This was a habit of Mallorca, to record down a day's happenings and then examine then in detail.

Adjusting the time.

Kong Zhan was taken aback… What was this, was this person a death row convict?

Just as he was about to speak, he saw Mallorca's gesture to keep silent and just continue watching.

A few minutes later, Kong Zhan's expression froze…

The air in the room seemed to have been drained. Both of them seemed to have been suffocated and quickly breathed out, and Mallorca immediately deleted the video afterwards.

"Now, do you know how I was injured? I had only touched his shoulder, but I was affected by his murderous aura."

It was as if Kong Zhang hadn't heard it; his whole body was still frozen. Was this even a human? This was totally a monster!

This was a technique that caused others to fall into desperation.

"You must be wary of the captain of the Solar System team, Wang Zheng!" Mallorca said. He was very conceited, and he remained proud after entering the Milky Way Alliance, but all his pride and confidence was destroyed overnight.

Kong Zhang still did not speak a single word, as if he had entered a nightmare. His whole brain was still filled with the images of that insane Golden Wheel Battle King.

Mallorca waved his hand. "Go back, and don't tell anyone. You understand what I mean."

Kong Zhan nodded. This type of team would not be disqualified easily. If… if they met them, they would have to find a method to give way to them, or else…

Against such an opponent, it was not a question of victory or defeat. If one was not careful, their whole spirit could be defeated by them.

The more confident the mech pilot, the more they would be affected. Simply just by watching the video, Kong Zhan had already lost his will to fight. This was a fatal blow to any pilot.

It was rumored that the Solar System had drawn a C-class mission. As a result, the team captain had still been injured and had shamed the entire planet. However, no one really cared, as this meant that they Solar System had just simply climbed out of a pit and would be eaten up by others.

C-class?

After exiting the room, although the outside temperature was still thirty degrees, Kong Zhan's body was still shivering….. He wanted to flick away the shadows in his mind, but they had already taken root and could not be removed.

"General Meng Ao, I'm Bole. I've heard that Wang Zhang will be fine, congratulations." After leaving the hospital, Meng Ao received a message from the general of Manalasuo.

"General Bole, thank you for your concern. Is anything the matter?" The relationship between the Solar System and Aslan was harmonious, but Aslan and Manalasuo were opposite poles. This was a fact that everyone was aware of.

"Haha, General Meng Ao. I've heard that the Solar System is preparing to update the air force's armaments. We from Manalasuo are the leading battleship designers in the Milky Way, and I believe that we have many topics to discuss."

Bole had already extended an olive branch, but it was also a situation that caused him to be depressed. The Golden Wheel Battle King could be used for actual combat, but he had just finished talking to the people in charge of the research. No matter what he said, they believed that that was absolutely impossible. However, Bole had seen it with his own eyes, but he was unable to acquire the video footage.

The key now was obviously the boy named Wang Zheng, who was unexpectedly able to use the Golden Wheel Battle King and must have understood the trick to it. If he was able to acquire this, it would undoubtedly give Manalasuo a huge upgrade, and more importantly, turn shame around to glory.

The Golden Wheel Battle King was often ridiculed by the opponents as the mother of all wheels, only able to support but not attack.

Meng Ao secretly smiled. "I've some matters to attend to right now, perhaps in the afternoon."

"Haha, sure, sure. No problem."

Bole was laughing on the surface, but he was scolding him in his heart. He had dared to hold him up. However, there was not a choice, as the Solar System was still hugging on to Aslan's thigh. They truly did not require their services, but they still needed their help.

Chapter 380: Hide and Seek

Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas

Meng Ao hung up the call. His heart was also filled with emotion. There was an uncertain future ahead, and although their relationship with Aslan was harmonious, the cooperation between both sides was not progressing smoothly. Aslan required the political influence of the Solar System, but they had not helped in increasing their military strength. The Solar System federation was in a weaker position, plus that group of bastards making the decisions only knew how to bow and bend their knees. This had caused Meng Ao and the rest to be absolutely helpless. Perhaps this was another opportunity that could cause Aslan to be nervous and allow the Solar System a chance to develop.

Any kind of alliance was simply a temporary solution; only one's own strength was absolute.

At the Planetary Base Hospital, in the 30-patient ward, there were ten different team members, and Fatty was sitting inside, energetically laughing and talking with his ward mates. His little injury had long since recovered as the medical treatment had been top notch. The AI-controlled operating table only required the military doctors to make a diagnosis, it would then complete the procedures on its own. Of course, the price was extremely steep; each operation would consume upwards of ten thousand nano robots, costing millions of dollars. However, no one cared about the costs here.

Although Taros and Zhang Shan had already been discharged, and Wang Zheng was in no grave danger, Fatty Luo was still lazing in the hospital. On one hand, it was just to hide and laze about, but on the other hand, it was to avoid Lear's temper. Being so easily injured as a scout had only brought down the team, and thinking back to Lear's stormy face, Luo Fei was uncomfortable with it. It was better to wait for his anger to subside.

"Fatty, your Solar System team's luck sure is pretty good. Originally, you had already been eliminated, but you were still able to come back! D*mn! Your team captain is too awesome."

"Ahaha, it's still all right. Our luck has been great so far." Luo Fei was grinning widely. How would he put it? Although Wang Zheng had saved him, Luo Fei still felt that it was not a smart decision. Although he had just barely managed to save the team, if he had chosen the right decisions, there would've been no need to take such a risk.

"Sigh… our captain's luck, let's not mention it. He got the A-class mission and immediately gave up." An injured team member who had been eliminated spoke.

"Luck is also a strength. There's no choice, our team's luck was also poor. Midway through fighting the leader bug, we had suddenly entered the strange gravity zone. Sigh…"

"No worries, once we've recovered, everybody, let's drive our mecha and kill them all!" Fatty proudly said.

"Fatty, why are you still here? You should have been discharged."

The head nurse who had passed by the door heard the voice of Fatty, and angrily stormed in.

"Sister Leah, I still feel that my chest is tight, especially when you are glaring at me. I can't breathe…"

Fatty clutched his chest as if he was about to die.

"Impossible, yesterday you used the same trick on me…"

"Just let him stay here and lift our injured spirits, since the Solar System team also had a close shave."

A young nurse who was standing outside the door said before winking at Fatty. Only the heavens knew what had happened within these two days of time. Fatty and her had actually developed such a close relationship.

Ever since this Fatty had recovered, the surroundings had also brightened up.

Woong~~ Woong~~~

Just as the head nurse was deliberating, a piercing siren rang from the training grounds.

Immediately, the room quietened down.

Beep~~~

After the siren, was a long series of beeping noises.

This was an emergency alarm, requesting everyone to assemble.

The new round of the IG competition, after three full days of rest, had restarted once again. Fatty's Skylink had received a mail. The second stage was about to begin, and all members were to assemble.

At this point, Fatty leapt up from his bed. There was no time to fool around anymore, else Lear would really kill him.

"Beautiful Sis, I'll be back soon!"

Luo Fei threw on his clothes and rushed back. However, he could not avoid the iron fist of the head nurse, which struck his shoulder. "You little punk, stop coming back! I don't want to see you here anymore!"

"Fatty, stop acting already."

"You bastard, you promised to give me the Skylink number of the hottest woman on Mars. If you don't come back, I'll draw circles and curse you to death!"

The shouts of those scoundrels had a hint of envy within. However, the rest were only able to lie in bed, with disappointment evident in their eyes.

On the star base training grounds.

It was humongous, and could only be described as a 'great shore'. The huge space in here was able to accommodate at least fifty mecha fighting side by side, without getting into each other's way.

At this moment, there was an entire mech division here. The hundreds of gleaming mechs, arranged neatly on the training ground, exuded a dense killing aura.

Matching with the mechs, the infantry divisions of the two marine divisions were fully armed to the teeth, and the full range of Aslan's advanced equipment was deployed. Twenty thousand people were arranged here, a large mass of darkness, similar to that of a dark cloud in the sky.

Akerlof appeared, and his silver hair was particularly glaring under the light. "Soldiers from all over the galaxy, first of all, congratulations on passing the previous round of tests, which means that you have good judgment skills and team strength. The next round of tests is regarding your personal strength."

His voice fell, and with a clap, the buzzing sounds of everyone's Skylinks rang out. All of them had automatically displayed a time: "6:00:00".

What was this? Evening 6 o'clock? Or morning?

Everyone's gazed back at the silver-haired general on the stage.

"In front of you are the Seventh Marines Division and the Nineteenth Marines Division of Aslan, and the Third Armored Division of Aslan. These three armies have made outstanding achievements in Aslan and have brought us glory."

Boom, the marines saluted in response to the general's speech. The uniform movements let out a roar of thunder. It was not something ordinary military men could match up to.

However, this did not bring a shock to the participants present. They all had a sense of superiority in their hearts. After all, they were elites of other countries, and did not belong to Aslan. Only… why were they doing all this? Don't tell me it was a group battle???

"Now, they will be your opponents. From this time onwards, you have six hours to hide yourselves. After six hours, the will set off and commence the search operation. The amount of time you can stay hidden will be your score. When everything has ended, the points of each team will be totaled. The ten teams with the lowest score will be eliminated. If there are missing members on your team, there is only one choice. The rest of the team have to make up the difference!"

Akerlof's words led to a whisper amongst the crowd. Lear and the other's expressions were also dazed for a moment. With Wang Zheng absent, they had to share the burden. There wasn't much to say, only that they had not expected such a test. If they had listened to Lear in the first stage and abandoned them one at a time, even if they had cleared then, they would still be goners in this round.

However, it was not time to argue who was in the wrong or right. How to win this round was the key.

The countdown started: 5:57…5:50…..

With 98 teams, more than a thousand people rushed out. Time was of the essence, so they would run as far as their limits would allow. While the marines on the other side all had stern expressions on their faces, their glares frosty.

Chapter 381: A Test

Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas

This was to test their endurance and sneaking abilities, and their abilities in utilizing the environment to hide themselves.

After the Solar System team had gone a distance from the base, Lear signaled everyone to stop. "From here on, we'll split up. Everyone has to take individual action and choose the best course of action. However, remember this: this chance did not come by easily. Do not drag each other down, especially you, Zhang Shan!"

Lear did not give him any face, and Zhang Shan's expression darkened. However, everyone else was also silent. They had no advantages in this round, and were also missing a person. Additionally, it was Wang Zheng, which was not any good news for them.

Lear did not mention Luo Fei and Taros, as they had collapsed in the abnormal gravity field, but Zhang Shan had fallen behind due to his weaker physical strength. Even if the others had high capabilities, no one was here to babysit another person in the IG competition.

Other than Zhang Shan's ability to launch a surprise attack, there was no other use for it, and it would only drag the team down.

For him, who had changed his major midway, his fundamentals could not be compared to the rest.

"Lear, don't go too far!" Zhang Runan couldn't help but state.

Zhang Shan stopped Zhang Runan and remained silent. It was true that he was a burden on the team.

Lear coldly eyed Zhang Shan. Just after running a short while, he had already begun to hobble along, as he had still not fully recovered yet.

"Let's set off for the glory of the Solar System! This is also for the dignity of our fellow soldiers. I hope that you will give it your all this time, even if it's your life!"

After speaking, Lear was the first to rush out, ignoring everyone else. For this type of hide and seek, the less people around, the better.

Zhang Shan ran without stopping. While running and wondering, his right leg was hurting badly, but he was unable to bother with it. This was not his specialty, and he was afraid that he did not have the experience that the others had in this type of environment. His Ability X was also not useable, but he had to think of a solution. Even if was not for himself, he could not shame Wang Zheng, and he could be useful!

The countdown had ended ten minutes ago. The army that would be searching for them should have left at this point in time, and they were not using their legs to search. The time limit of six hours may sound long, but they were all trying to extend their distance on foot. The fighter jets and mecha would quickly catch up.

Zhang Shan hadn't stopped for the six hours, but he was still considered to be the slowest amongst the group. After all, this was not a race. Of course, some, such as Taros, did think that using this time to run as far as possible was the best solution. His Ability X was based on speed, and he was filled with confidence. Unfortunately, Taros was, in fact, the first to be captured.

The military did not give these players an unlimited area. At the periphery, a 50 meter high electromagnetic network had encircled and caught them.

Taros had rushed forward too quickly and landed within the nets, while the dozens of people that were hiding in the darkness disappeared into the jungle.

He had thought that he was the fastest, but in reality there were countless individuals that were faster than him.

Many generals saw the name of the captured team members on the screen, and they all smiled. Although there was a monster there, the overall strength of the Solar System team was too weak. Such an idiotic person, no one knew how this person had trained. They had originally lacked a member, now they had lost another one. The chances of the Solar System team progressing were slim.

Taros had made a crucial mistake. He was originally a very delicate person, with complicated inner thoughts. However, the rapid events that had occurred had disrupted his mentality. In particular, he always felt that he was strong and excellent, and always wanted to prove himself, but his attention had been spent on the wrong areas.

On the other hand, Zhang Shan had already stopped and forced himself to calm down. This option to continuously run would not work. Originally, his speed was not stellar. He would be caught if he continued on. Where should he hide then?

In all four directions were the calls and screeches of the Zerg. Now it was almost dusk, and as the light dimmed, the Zerg would gradually become more active.

Zhang Shan had to slow down, every step he took was very cautious. Once he died, the implant under his skin would activate and record down the current time. There was no need for the army to do it.

Death was not the scary part. It was that he would have died without doing anything meaningful.

The area in front of his eyes suddenly cleared up, and he saw a large canyon with its rocks exposed directly ahead. Several corrosion worms were doing some unintelligible things outside, and more than a dozen bone spur and sickle zergs were patrolling the area.

Through the narrow canyon path, he could see a cave. The nest!

Avoiding the Zerg's activity radius, Zhang Shan carefully climbed up the face of the canyon. His plan was to climb over both peaks of the canyon and find a cave where he could hide in. Although he would certainly be found by the military, in order to catch him, they would have to pass by the bugs' nest. In this early stage, the military should only be spreading out a large net. When it came to such barren areas, they would not be paying them too much attention. This way, he had the confidence to buy a little more time.

Both his legs were trembling. Although the injury had been healed, the strength that was lost would not recover soon, and he was unable to drag his legs any further…

Once he thought about Lear, Zhang Shan's mind immediately cleared up. Damn, that a*shole, there must be a way!

However, just after climbing out five meters, Zhang Shan's hand shook and almost missed the ledge. Right in front of him was a giant bug attached to the wall! Its six compound eyes were unblinking and staring in his direction.

Zhang Shan did not move a single inch. A wall spider zergling had a unique ability from birth. They were able to imitate spiders and could move about freely on the canyon wall.

The wall spider zergling was also motionless, only persistently staring at Zhang Shan, just like a cat watching a mouse, not dealing the killing blow until the very last moment.

Zhang Shan looked desperate, his plan having failed completely. With his current situation, he would have to escape even if he met with a single sickle zergling on the ground, not to mention the rock wall. At this time, he could only escape with his Ability X of warping. Perhaps he would be met with the pursuit of a hundred zerglings. Once he was discovered by a single zergling and was not able to kill it fast enough, there would be countless zerglings chasing him for the kill.

This damned wall spider zergling still remained motionless, just like a patient hunter, not acting until the last moment.

Zhang Shan gritted his teeth. He planned to release his grip and jump down, and subsequently use his Ability X to escape.

Suddenly, a small detail made Zhang Shan's originally loose hand grab back onto the rock face.

The wall spider zergling did not move because of Zhang Shan's movements, but there was a rustling sound around it… That was the sound of a large number of bugs coming close, and Zhang Shan's hair rose up…

Deep in the night.

The search operations of the 7th and 9th divisions of Aslan did not slow down. On the contrary, as more and more IG players were captured, the soldiers of the two squadrons were even more excited.

"Carl, how many have you caught on your side?"

"Two hundred exactly. This group of rabbits are just looking down on my troops. What about you?"

"Hah, your seventh division really can't make it. We're close to three hundred of them. Some of those idiots were even hidden near the base. They have no intelligence at all. So these are the guys who claim to be the elites in the Milky Way? I should really adjust my expectations."

"My apologies, we've just gotten another batch of a hundred. Don't tell me that your 19th division is sending them in one by one?"

The instructors of the two divisions were smiling, but everyone could tell that the tension between the two was a little fierce.

After hanging up the Skylink call, both instructors immediately shouted at the soldiers under them, "Pass down the order to every soldier. If we lose, the whole division will not be eating meat for a month! And no vacations for three months!"

The order was rapidly transmitted to the Skylinks of all the soldiers.

"Hmph! Speed up! Don't dream of resting, you know how I'll be like without a month of meat! If you don't wish to see such a situation, then move faster!"

"I was still wishing for a vacation to meet my wife and kids. If anyone makes me miss the chance to see my newborn son, I will send them to guard the border for three years!"

The heads of each brigade also began to shout commands quickly.

In the air, drone after drone was sweeping across the area, their searchlights plowing through the fields and closely scanning one zone after the other. The network of drones was accompanied by a signal receiving vehicle equipped with a towering antenna. It was receiving the video feeds of each drone, and each vehicle was equipped with five signal analysts that were analyzing the environment with the help of an intelligent AI system.

"D5 Zone, coordinates X59, Y49, found a suspicious entity."

An analyst made a statement, and from the video footage, it could be seen that the radiant heat emitted by a rock was abnormally fluctuating.

With this discovery, over the D5 area, the five unmanned drones flew past the area once again, setting down a tight layer of surveillance.

Within a minute, a team from the 7th Division had rushed to the scene and surrounded the area completely.

The rock moved, the soil was pushed aside, and a dirt-covered Aroto raised his hands, smiling in frustration. Although he was the main strength of Aslan, his forte lay in assault and offense. He had already tried his best. "I surrender, we're on the same side."

The soldiers simply smiled and lifted their stun guns in unison.

Aroto was shocked for a moment. "Don't shoot me, let me take a bath…"

Boom, psst…

An arc from the stun guns was emitted, and the powerful electric energy instantly knocked Aroto down to the ground.

"There are only enemies here, let's go."

The same thing happened in this area. No more rookies were caught, but people from Aslan, Arbiter, Manalasuo Republic, and even Atlantis had been caught.

Atlantis' capture was more difficult, as their unique runes were not only able to avoid the various reconnaissance scans of the drones, but also able to distort the air and form visual obstacles. However, the obstacles were not really invisible after all. With Aslan dispatching two video analysts that were familiar with the abilities of the Atlanteans, two Atlantean players were smoothly captured.

The 20,000 strong marine division had been completely dispersed. In addition to the unmanned drones, there was a large number of banshees, and the ground-based mech units were constantly expanding the reconnaissance area. Under the encirclement of superior strength and technology, each individual seemed to be insignificant. Even if one was a War God, here they were only a speck of dust in comparison to this army.

Hidden near a bugs' nest?

That's smart, but did you think the soldiers of Aslan were idiots? Every time they swept near a bugs' nest, they simply had to fire into the area, causing the al the bugs to be aggravated. You could imagine the outcome of those who were hiding nearby…

G7 Zone, bugs' nest area.

A team of a hundred marines were searching the edges of the nest.

"Reporting, scan of G7 zone complete. No targets found."

"Fire the shockwave."

"Captain, this is a large nest. Should we inform the heavy assault group?"

"Mm, report it as per normal. Fire it in five minutes, we'll rest for a while."

Haha, captain, these kids are really stupid. I heard that there were more than a dozen hiding near a nest, and they were almost eaten by the bugs."

"Who asked them to be that naive, choosing such a place to hide?"

Chapter 382: You Fight, I'll Struggle

Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas

Five minutes later, the shockwave was emitted. The bugs' nest was stirred, and countless bugs streamed up. If someone was indeed hiding nearby, that would really mean their death.

The corrosion worms first appeared, and then a large number of sickle zerglings swarmed out.

"F***, this is going to kill someone!"

Two shadows appeared amongst the sickle zerglings, madly avoiding their assault. It was a member of the Ghana team.

Dozens of mecha rushed towards the group of sickle zerglings, while suppressive fire rained from the sky and the ground. Finally, they manage to rescue the two men of Ghana from the swarm.

However, the next second, the assault captain coldly laughed. "Prepare the stun guns!"

Boom…

They immediately fainted without any objections. The team immediately suppressed their fire and began to retreat.

These two were considered smart. If they had delayed for a moment, then it was truly hopeless.

Zhang Runan was dug out from a patch of swampy land. She had relied on her old tricks and hidden herself in the swamp, using a strand of reed to breathe. While she had managed to avoid two waves of the sweep, the military sweep did not only consist of a single scan, but was fully combing the area. A zone would not be ignored just because they had been there before. On the contrary, the fewer people that were found within the zone, the more personnel would be sent to that zone for the search.

Time slowly passed by. Meng Tian, Lie Guang, and Raston had all been found separately. Lie Guang was the most ingenious, and had infiltrated into the military. A pity that such a move had already been done before, and a sudden inspection had uncovered him. At the same time, another Aslanian participant was also uncovered, someone who had greeted Lie Guang… Both having had the same idea.

Boom…

A giant tree was tightly surrounded, with several military dogs barking at it.

"Come out by yourself," the commanding officer instructed.

Everything within four meters on both sides of the giant tree suddenly twisted. The smooth bark disappeared, revealing a huge hole. An elegant Atlantean was focusing the rune power on himself, waiting gracefully. However, he was shot down with a single stun. There was no use in showing off, and nobody cared who you were.

The illusion ability rune could avoid the infrared scans, but it was not able to conceal a person's scent. However, the troops were still rather impressed, as the Atlanteans were indeed to hardest to catch.

At this time, the number of people who still had not been found only numbered in the tens. Other than utilizing military technology, the troops had also begun to use a few outdated methods of searching. The military dogs had done quite a bit of work, as even when the advanced sniffing machines were not able to do the job, the dogs were still able to find them. After all, the machines were inflexible objects. If there was not a 100% confirmation, they would not report the trace. On the other hand, even if the military dogs had a little trace, they would immediately raise an alarm. Some may say that it was a false positive, but sometimes, that little bit of intuition had dug up quite a number of participants.

Achilles had also fallen at this hurdle. He had locked all the pores on his body. Theoretically, there would be no residue of any odor in the air. However, the military dog ??still sensed him. Rubbing the dog's head, Achilles was also unable to curse out at it.

Another two hours had passed. The competition between the 7th and the 19th Divisions was also coming to an end. The 7th Division was leading by forty-seven people, and now, only twenty-four participants still had not been found, and five of them were from Atlantis.

"What? Still not admitting defeat?"

The division commander of the 7th Division said on the Skynet communications while happily puffing on a cigar. This was a limited edition cigar, and he normally could not bear to smoke it.

The 19th division commander, Moria, had a gloomy face, while the faces of the other commanders beside him had all turned blue. No meat, no vacations, these were things that the division commander could indeed carry out, and it was not the first time. The next few months would be torturous.

"This hasn't ended. As we get nearer to the end, they get harder to catch. I feel that these last twenty-four guys count for three per head, how about it?"

The military's search methods were done layer by layer. The whole zone had already been combed through at least ten or twenty times. It was not an exaggeration that they had dug three feet down, but there were still twenty-four others that had not been found. It may be slightly difficult, but no one doubted that they would never be found. In the history of the IG competition, during this round, they had always found every single participant, and no one had been able to hide from the search. If they were dead, the life signal at the headquarters would then switch off automatically.

"Shall we continue?"

"Continue!"

The commander of the 19th division ignited his inner fire. Originally, this search was given as a mission. While it was fun to take it as a competition, it would be difficult to suffer through the lack of meat and vacations. However, Aslan's training program truly had such a course, and it was just advanced training for the troops.

However, this was now a battle of their honor. A difference of forty-seven people. If others heard about it, wouldn't they look down on the 19th Division in the future?

The 7th Division also picked up their pace. This was almost a certain victory, and they did not want it to fly out of their grasp. The title of being undefeated could not be taken for granted.

The unmanned drones in the air had doubled, and the timings at which the banshees were dispatched increased in frequency. Any sort of clue was investigated, no matter if it was left behind by a human or not.

The mecha pilots were watching the show, providing a hundred percent support to the troops.

"Target found in H18! Atlanteans, two of them!"

"An Arbiter found in the Y9 zone!"

…

…

The reports continuously came in. The Atlanteans were no longer able to withstand the drain of using their runes, and Aslan's soldiers and the level of military technology represented the peak of humanity. Without considering the costs, they had spent all their efforts in locating the participants, and the Atlanteans could only acknowledge that fact.

Rodriguez looked at the time. Almost twenty-four hours had passed, and basically everyone should have been caught. Although it was an IG game, if it took too long, it would also cause Aslanian soldiers to lose face.

Judging from the current situation, although it was a group of elites, the round-up of the Aslanian army was still difficult to escape from.

"General, currently there are still over ten people left," the officer under his command reported, and the time had just passed the twenty-four hour mark.

Rodriguez smiled slightly. His original intention was to solve the problem within 24 hours. Although there were still ten missing fish, the results were not too unexpected. This year's IG was the best in 20 years, and it was normal to have such performance.

"Raise the morale of the troops, and dig out these few cheeky brats."

"Yes, General!"

In the square, the captured participants had already assembled in their respective teams after being processed. Those that had been caught earlier watched as they brought the others in one by one, waking them up, treating them, and then dumping them here.

It was unavoidable that those who had been sent here the earliest were embarrassed with their performance. Near the end, the participants did not have any shame on their faces, and were even looking down on the others, yet the rest who had been crushed could only look on sullenly.

Of course, some of the participants were dissatisfied. For some countries, they indeed did not specialize in this area. However, a test was a test, and it was useless to be frustrated with the result. What's more, this test was a test of the individual's comprehensive ability.

As the participants increased in number, the count on the main screen got smaller and smaller. Finally, the number had reduced to ten. The ten people had the right to be arrogant, as they had survived for more than 24 hours.

"Aslan's Gemini, Sword Saint Aurora, Sword Magician Oz, Atlantis' Bordia, Arbiter's Olivios, Ghana Star's Leandre, Manalasuo's Vincent, Silver Snake Republic's Kong Zhan, Gemini Galaxy's Ao Ziwei, …Solar System's Lear and Zhang Shan."

The generals were also discussing the results, obviously proud of the warriors belonging to their own countries. There was nothing much more to be said about the Aslan Empire, who could be considered the most arrogant in the entire world. Atlantis' Bordia was also a famous character, proficient in both the techniques of Atlantis and that of humanity's. Arbiter's Olivios… this person was not an unknown, better known as a murderous killer, but he was still considered a hero in Arbiter. Ghana Star's Leandre was a Naga, and these type of races had an advantage living in the wilderness, thus the results were not too surprising. Manalasuo's Vincent was the leader of their new generation, and the Silver Snake Republic's Kong Zhan was the captain of the team, which had achieved great results the last competition. Gemini Galaxy's Ao Ziwei was the only female, and was able to be the captain of the Gemini team. Her strength was beyond doubt.

…but in the list of ten people, there were two inconspicuous ones…

Two members of the Solar System squad... the Earthlings.

Achilles and the rest had been captured, and Meng Tian had been caught even earlier. Faced with the huge numbers and superior equipment of the army, it was too difficult to hide. Everyone had tried their best, but there was no way to hide. Let alone them, even the other stronger competitors did not have a chance.

Therefore, they really did admire those who had still managed to remain concealed. Perhaps there was an element of luck, but only relying on luck was definitely not enough.

Chapter 383: The Undying Warrior

Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas

Rodriguez thought that the search would only last another six hours, but when the six hours were up, the remaining ten of them seemed to have vanished into thin air, and were impossible to find.

If they were dead, the monitor would be alerted to that fact. However, these ten people were still obviously alive.

The other generals who were present were more interested in Rodriguez's reaction. They had such an advantage in numbers. If there were still unable to find these few members, Aslan would be considered to have suffered a setback.

Meng Ao was also sweating for Lear and Zhang Shan. Honestly, Zhang Shan's performance was far from satisfactory, and although he had some inborn talent and genius, his training had started too late. His physical state was not comparable to the others, which could be the biggest pitfall for the Solar System team. However… Zhang Shan had still not been caught, yet Meng Ao had thought that he would be the first.

The other members had been waiting for such a long time, and could not help but chat. They couldn��t help but marvel at the place where they had been hiding. There were all sorts of places, but they had all been caught in the end, as Aslan was too well prepared.

They were truly clueless on where these ten of them could be hiding.

Back to the present, Zhang Shan's first reaction to seeing the insects was that he was finished. With his current pathetic fighting strength, he was definitely not a match for the bugs. Would his be how he died?

Zhang Shan could feel his heart beating rapidly and his pupils dilating. Once the bugs crawled over, he would definitely be dead. However, the more desperate the situation, the clearer his mind was.

He looked at the wall spider zergling in front of him, and a bold idea flashed in his mind.

There was an analysis of the Zerg in an anatomy class before, and especially on these types of low-ranking zerglings. They had a large space in their abdominal cavity, which was sufficient to hide a person.

At this moment, Zhang Shan couldn't bother too much, and activated his Ability X, disappearing in an instant.

But when his body reappeared…. Damn, he was stuck, hanging just under the cliff. This was simply courting death.

Zhang Shan took a deep breath. This was a matter of life and death. One more time!

The second spatial movement, and Zhang Shan's figure once again disappeared. This time, the bugs had also crowded around, but there were only a few of them, and two of them dragged the wall spider zergling away.

Zhang Shan's little heart was furiously beating away. It was pitch black, with an indescribably disgusting stench. However, Zhang Shan did not dare to make a single movement. Luckily for him, the mouth of the wall spider zergling was slightly ajar, preventing him from suffocating to death.

Zhang Shan followed the mountain path and was rolling all over the place, so much so that his internal organs were about to turned inside out. Where in the world was he heading to?

At this time, the worms were dragging various kinds of "food" into the cave. Some of them looked like ends, and the others looked like the corpses of some low-ranking bugs and a few other hunted animals. After an unknown amount of time, and with a loud crash, Zhang Shan felt himself being thrown onto an unknown surface, and then the surroundings became silent.

Zhang Shan did not dare to move, and simply remained hiding until the end of time.

At this juncture, if they still had not been caught, their hiding place would probably be rather extreme.

Rodriguez issued another order, to perform a B-level search, which had signified that the Aslanian army had not done their best previously.

Rodriguez had a slight smile on his face. This was getting interesting. He truly wanted to see who would still be able to avoid this round of searches.

Everyone was waiting in anticipation. Who would be the first to be caught amongst these ten monsters?

In the half hour of performing a B-level search, one person was finally caught.

It was Ghana Star's Leandre. This Naga had an extraordinary ability to integrate itself with nature, and had hidden himself within a tree trunk. When the soldiers caught him, they almost couldn't believe it. The hard Catalan Iron Tree was dug by him, and it was even dug in from the roots up. If not for the highest level of lifeform detection that they had used, it would have been overlooked with certainty. However, for this round of searches, any small trail would be investigated thoroughly.

When Leandre returned to the base, he was given a loud cheer by the Ghana team members, and his snake-like eyes also shone with pride. He had thought he would be the last one to be caught, but when he learned that there were still nine people, he was stunned.

Who else would be more familiar with nature than the Naga?

Another half an hour passed, and the remaining nine were still missing. The detection of all vital signs had been ineffective, and it seemed as though these nine had all vanished.

Rodriguez did not expect that they would be so embarrassed. There were only two possibilities. One was that someone had broken through the line of defense and had gone outside the cordon, and the other was that they were hiding inside a bugs' nest.

For ordinary people, it may be impossible, but for these kids, that might not necessarily be the case.

"Activate the A class search!"

"Yes, General!"

The soldiers were also beginning to go insane. How long had it been? Yet they still had not managed to catch them all? Aslan's iron troops began to madly sweep the area, and did not seem to be too particular with the method.

It was impossible to break through the energy barrier quietly, but near the barrier?

They rushed over like a tide, and it turned out that there was a big discovery. Silver Snake Republic's Kong Zhan and Gemini Galaxy's Ao Ziwei had been found. Both of them had unique Ability Xs, and borrowed the magnetic field from the energy shield to interfere with the search instruments' functions. However, they were still caught.

But both of them had achieved glory for their own countries.

There were still seven remaining.

An A-level search was performed, and an unanticipated search was being made outside the magnetic field. However, the search outside was performed by other troops. Rodriguez, although the border did not have any traces of an attack, since it was possible for others to pass by underneath it, perhaps it was also possible for some to silently pass through it directly?

They had to be aware, as this was Atlantis' team captain. Their understanding of technology was far superior to that of humanity. Hence, they had to be prepared for all circumstances.

Even the soldiers who gave out the orders were shocked. To tell the truth, they did not believe that there were people could pass through the magnetic field silently.

The later it was, the more outrageous the methods would be. Achilles and the rest couldn't help but wonder where had Zhang Shan and Lear hidden themselves.

"Lear may indeed have a trick or two hidden, but where could Zhang Shan be? His injury hasn't even been fully healed." Lie Xin couldn't help but see Zhang Shan in another light. Lear's name could perhaps be left up there, but where could Zhang Shan be hiding?

"Command the army to start sweeping all the bugs' nests according to the area, regardless of size, but not to attack!"

Rodriguez issued a further order. Under a two-pronged approach, with just the magnetic bombs, the impact on these top players would not be too significant. Hence, it was necessary to carry out a comprehensive sweep of the nests. The meaning was clear for all to see, utilizing the harassment of the bugs' nests in order to search for problems within it.

It was to force the people inside to a combat state. Once they were in combat, the life signs would then be detectable by the instruments.

As soon as this trick was used, another four participants had been found. Aslan's Aurora and Oz had used some unknown method to control the brains of the bugs, and had hidden themselves in the deepest layer. A normal aggravation would not be able to affect them, but under a strong threat, all the Zerg would be mobilized, and the Queen Zerg had quickly found the irregularity in the minds, and started its counterattack. Aurora and Oz could also be considered lucky, as both of them managed to slaughter their way out.

Another one of them was Manalasuo's Vincent. This guy had surprisingly hidden in the initial nest that had been destroyed by the military. When the soldiers entered, he was sitting on the pile of bugs and eating their meat, showing off his cruel character.

Yet another three were found. These three had also thought that they were the last ones to be found, but after reaching the base, there were still four more that had not been caught.

Akerlof smiled. "Rodriguez, what is going on? It's been almost ten hours."

Rodriguez's gaze was still relatively calm. "The position of Arbiter's Olivios has been determined, but this kid…"

Everyone was stunned when they heard it. He had kidnapped the Queen Zerg?

What level was this guy at?

Inside a large nest, the Queen Zerg was crawling on the floor like a dog. Not too far away seated a young man, a faint, blood red color in his eyes, and a bunch of bugs had crowded at the door, not daring to enter.

The army was attacking outside, but the resistance of the bugs was not in sync, and they refused to go out. This had obviously violated the habits of the bugs, and the only possibility was that the Queen Zerg was being threatened.

Who would have thought that the bugs had instead become his protection? The army had spent a full three hours before breaching this nest. Once they had entered, Olivios simply chopped up the Queen Zerg before casually leaving. The Aslanian troops hurriedly made way for him, completely suppressed by his aura.

Known as the Slaughterer of Thousands, Arbiter's Undying Warrior Olivios. Any normal soldier who got close would immediately feel suffocated.

Even so, Olivios was still captured.

Now for the remaining three. Atlantis' Bordia… Solar System's Lear and Zhang Shan.

All of their attention was on the Solar System. Atlantis' Bordia was still Atlantis' team captain, so it was not surprising that he had such a performance. As for the Solar System, there were still two of them…

Was Aslan going easy on them?

That couldn't be right, they had even captured their own members. There was no need to go to such an extent for others.

However…

"Reporting. General, we found the whereabouts of Bordia outside the magnetic field," some soldiers reported.

Everyone who had heard it couldn't help but gasp in surprise. The Atlanteans were truly incredible, able to silently bypass the defense of the magnetic field. This was likely due to a much better understanding of energy, and it was something that they themselves were unaware of. However, once their traces had been found by the military, it would be impossible to escape. Outside the cordon, they had even more tricks up their sleeves.

But the two from Earth…

"Increase the detection of living things. Even if it's only a mouse, everything must be dug out!"

Rodriguez couldn't help but frown. According to his inference, there was no other way. Under the life detector, the bugs had already been swept once, and all the problematic bugs' nests had already been searched. The execution of the soldiers had been stellar; if there was even a slight issue, they would even slaughter an entire bugs' nest in order to look for the person.

Now that there were no problems with the nests, only the underground was left. Perhaps there were people able to reduce themselves into a hibernating state, just like some animals.

They had to admit that Rodriguez was really accurate, and had indeed guessed correctly.

Lear was currently underground. He was not breathing, and his whole body was similar to that of one in suspended animation. Using an expression from Earth, this was the state of a turtle, and his heartbeat was at the minimum. The energy produced by him was no different to that of a gopher. This was the Heavenly King Arts, able to take advantage of the world's numerous lifeforms.

Chapter 384: Everyone is Good for Something

Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas

Every living thing in the area had been destroyed. The Aslanian soldiers had received a torrent of abuse from their superiors – how could they still not have found them?

Bordia was still in hiding, but they had finally discovered Lear.

Even the troops who dug him out were flabbergasted. He had been like a corpse when they unearthed him, but in a mere few minutes he had been resuscitated, his body condition returning to normal. "How many are left…" had been the first words out of his mouth.

The soldiers did not dare to neglect his status. When he was informed that there were two left, he nodded his head slightly.

When he heard the first name, Lear was stunned. Zhang Shan…

The corner of Lear's mouth quirked with a curious smile.

Lear returned to cheers, like a hero. He had buried himself five or six meters below a sand bunker near the Zerg's cave, and had been deprived of oxygen for a considerable period of time. He truly was a monster.

The rest of the team admired him in part but still shook their heads. Although his ability was suited to concealment, it was truly taken to the extreme. In any case, Earth had proved themselves.

About an hour after Lear had been captured, Bordia of Atlantis was also captured. Only, nobody cared too much about this, because there was still one individual still on the loose, which was Zhang Shan from the Solar System Federation team.

The entire field was buzzing with speculation. Was this person dead? Otherwise, how could he still remain undiscovered?

Rodriguez looked over at Akerlof. Akerlof shook his head. Apparently Zhang Shan was not dead, but alive and kicking.

At that very moment, Zhang Shan was still lying in the worm's stomach. After such a long time, he felt like he was becoming a worm as well. When he got hungry, he would eat a few mouthfuls of the disgusting flesh. He had been disgusted at first, but then got used to it. Low grade worm flesh was all edible, just indescribably disgusting.

But Zhang Shan did not hesitate to do so. It was no big deal. Everybody in the Solar System team could do it, so Zhang Shan just went with it. In his heart, he had come to terms that it was probably normal.

He had to conserve his strength and stay alert. Judging by the movements in that period of time, he should have been dragged into the worms' lair. When food was scarce, the worms would forage for food. Regardless if it was corpses of the same species or whatever else, they would store everything edible.

Zhang Shan had no intentions whatsoever of moving. To him, this was undoubtedly the safest. Even the might of the Aslanian troops would require a stupendous amount of time to cleanly sweep through all the worm holes.

But if the worms started to eat…

Then he would accept his fate. He would rather die than go out!

Actually, he calculated that the time was almost up. Before they started, he had heard the previous records. On average, 24 hours were sufficient, but Zhang Shan knew that this was far from required. That a mid-way enlistee like him could be here, at Aslan, competing in this congregation of real warriors, was due to all the help that he had received on the way.

When he had first awakened his powers, he had felt that he was born to do great things. But the further he went, the more he saw, and he had come to accept that he was simply too weak. Even with his warp ability, he was still a small fry. However, the world was made out of small fry, and given the chance, he would seize his opportunity!

Others had laid down their lives for him to have this chance, and he was willing to put his own life on the line to repay their trust!

Zhang Shan therefore lay thus, but, meanwhile, the outside world was going crazy.

Six hours after Bordia had been caught, the Aslanian troops had been whipped into a frenzy, but to no avail. This Earthling called Zhang Shan remained invisible.

They heard that he had warping abilities. Rodriguez was beginning to suspect that he had hidden himself in another dimension.

But this was merely wild imagination, because such an ability did not exist. Time ticked on, and the Aslanian troops used every trick in their book. They began a carpet-style search. The entire zone's ground surface had been torn open. Not even the slightest trace of life was left uninspected.

Yet still they found nothing. They increased the continual agitation of the worm caves to half an hour, but still found no unusual worm caves. The worms were more sensitive than humans, and it was impossible to hide under such circumstances. Furthermore, Zhang Shan's ability could not control the worm caves. Even if he could, he would have been discovered.

Warped outside of the magnetic field?

Impossible. Such abilities were especially susceptible to failure from magnetic interference. Besides, there were no tracks outside as well. He must still be inside the caves.

But they could not find him!

Everyone was buzzing with conversation. Rodriguez was embarrassed. This was a direct challenge to the Aslanian troops' ability and limits. If they could not find him, could he have vanished into thin air?

It was not just Rodriguez that was guessing, but everyone else as well. Lear remained expressionless.

The Solar System team was not too thrilled. They knew Zhang Shan's situation. The better one hid, the riskier it was. Where in the world had that guy hid himself?

"Lear, Zhang Shan has succeeded wonderfully. Even if he appears now, our Solar System team still passes," Lie Xin said.

Lear was noncommittal. "He has finally proved to be useful."

"Aslanian people are really useless. How could they not find him when it's so easy? Worthless bunch." The utterance was met by a collective exasperated sigh. Even those around him raised their eyebrows.

The Solar System team seemed to have some internal strife.

"Lear, must you brag so much all the time?" Lie Guang snapped.

Lear huffed and said nothing. Achilles' eyes were bright, as though he had thought of something.

They had to think this through clearly. Zhang Shan was not dead, and not outside. If they had moved heaven and earth and not found him, that truly meant there was only one place left.

Somehow, he had hidden himself in one of the worm caves. But there were countless worm caves – how were they to find him?

Rodriguez soon came to the same conclusion. The young Major General gave the order, and all the troops attacked every single worm cave according to their designated zone.

This was a huge effort, not something that could be accomplished in a day or two. But what could they do when faced with someone willing to go to such lengths?

After 36 hours, they again assembled the heavy artillery. All the worm caves had been swept clean, and still Zhang Shan could not be found. The Aslanian people were at their wits' end.

The Earthlings had become famous. This was the first time since the dawn of the IG's history that the Aslanian army had been helpless, even after such a drastic sweep had been carried out. The entire terrain had been razed, both aboveground and underground. It seemed like Zhang Shan must have flown himself into space.

In the end, Akerlof used the positioning device. This signaled the end of the segment. Only then was Zhang Shan found.

When the troopers cracked open the worm shell, Zhang Shan had cleaned out half the worm shell. His immediate reaction upon being discovered was dismay. "Am I the first to be found?" he blurted.

The Aslan troopers almost fainted. Damn it all, no one in their wildest dreams would have thought that somebody could hide in the food stores of a worm cave and not be found. This was unbelievable. The worms were unusually sensitive. Only someone like Zhang Shan could displace his way in a location which could seal his scent.

Once the secret was out, such a method was worthless. It depended on luck to a large degree. But as they stared at the half-eaten worm shell, the Aslanian troopers could not help but give silent respect.

Perhaps Zhang Shan was not as savage and domineering as those like Olivios, but he had done something that no one else could!

All things in their being are good for something!

Chapter 385: Examinations are Eternal

Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas

It could be said that Zhang Shan had completely redeemed himself. Meng Tian and the rest were over the moon, although nobody gave Lear a hard time either. Clearly, he had done better than the rest as well, and was much stronger than them. If it had not been for him and Zhang Shan, the Solar System Federation would definitely have failed at this stage, but now the Solar System team would enter the next phase with excellent results. Furthermore, Zhang Shan holding out had bought precious resting time for Wang Zheng.

Looking at the others celebrating, Lear departed alone. His sidekick Fatty Luo immediately caught up with him. "Boss, Boss, wait for me."

Lear ignored him, but Fatty Luo had skin as thick as city walls, and cared not at all. "Boss, it was really unexpected that that punk Zhang Shan would be so lucky."

"Even trash can shine sometimes," Lear said indifferently.

"Hehe, but that said, Boss, didn't you purposely taunt him before the competition?" Luo Fei pointed out smugly. He knew Lear all too well. He would not do needless things. Zhang Shan was the type to respond to taunts, performing better the more heat he received. To this type of person, conversely, encouragement was not useful.

Lear coldly looked at the overconfident Fatty. Fatty shuddered a little, and groveled behind Lear, making a note to speak more prudently.

A day later, Wang Zheng returned to the team. The official leader had returned. In truth, Lie Xin and the rest had been discussing who was more suited to be leader between Wang Zheng and Lear. At first they had favored Wang Zheng, and then later Lear, and now it seemed to be Wang Zheng again. Although the process had been a little convoluted, keeping and expelling Zhang Shan from the team would have led to vastly different results, because they now had another dependable teammate. That said, Lear's view was not completely unjustified either – such luck could not hold.

Nevertheless, peace was restored within the Solar System team, and their hearts were burning with a conviction that this IG would not end so quickly for them.

The next competition round had begun.

After the last competition, everyone had been anticipating the next competition's rule announcement.

After all the eliminations, things had reached a climax. Only one task remained. After its conclusion, the remaining 64 teams would enter elimination rounds. Those that had been offered direct invitations, such as Aslan, had requested that these invitations be canceled, as they were willing to compete through the elimination rounds in the spirit of fairness. However, given their standards, it was simply warm up, which would serve them well later.

Everybody was waiting in the great hall for the general's arrival.

"This time around it's really freaking difficult. Atlantis is really harsh this time, looks like they've hardened their hearts and are set on consolidating power."

"I hear the prince himself is leading a team. That's too much. But winning the whole thing is going to be no bed of roses. I'm betting on that monster from Arbiter."

"Eh, these are trivial concerns. The key to everything is the format of the IG. It's become even more difficult to predict. Although the previous years weren't too far off, at least they used to give some heads-up. This time, it's completely secret."

"The various big powers are using this IG to demonstrate their strength. It could be said that although this IG is more challenging than any previous one, it's definitely the fairest iteration as well."

In the past, the smaller countries could never access these rumors and hints. Although a semblance of fairness was maintained, when it came to the details, the influential countries always had a head start. This time was different. Everyone started on the same level field, and even the host, Aslan, had not an inkling of forewarning.

"But the most unconventional team has been the Solar System team – they actually struggled all the way till now. But they do have some undisputedly dodgy abilities. Who else could think of using displacement to bury himself in a dead worm's stomach, and be carted back as food?"

"Haha, thanks to him, we rested a few more days as well."

"Keke, besides, I can't wait for our team to go up against the Solar System."

The Solar System had been the main topic of discussion these few days. It was both unconventional and out of the blue. They had become the dark horse of the tournament.

Still, one did not begrudge them too much. The Solar System had languished for many years. They had accumulated talent for so long, and it was about time they made a name for themselves.

"See, he's here, isn't he?"

"Their leader is out of the hospital. Looks like it was nothing serious."

"Serious my ass. Sustaining injury in a C-rank mission, that's a disgrace."

"It could even be D-rank, haha."

Everyone was eyeing Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan. These two were definitely the MVPs of the Solar System.

Leader Wang Zheng, with his unparalleled luck. To be chosen for revival in the resurrection round.

And Zhang Shan, a freak of nature who had driven the Aslanian army crazy, driving the Solar System team's ranking up to the front. At the same time, their spectacular rise spelled trouble in the later days. Defeating the Solar System used to lack a sense of accomplishment, but things were different now. It would be a feather in someone's cap.

Aurora smiled, unruffled. "I hear the newcomer you invited to the monastic convention is that Wang Zheng? After IG ends, we could headhunt him."

Oz's mouth scrunched, then shook his head. "Could be difficult."

Aurora was surprised. "Hasn't his performance fulfilled our criteria? Even if you call it luck, his ability is recognized."

Oz shook his head. "It's not a limitation on our side. He might not be willing to join us."

"Even in this year, are there actually people willing to stay in the Solar System rather than join us at Aslan?"

Aurora was in disbelief. Overall, Aslan was entirely worthy of the title of first in the galaxy. Perhaps other empires like Arbiter, Manalasuo, or the Gabriel Alliance could hope to compete in terms of empire strength or military power, but in this aspect, Aslan was a cut above.

Oz still shook his head. "Aurora, not everybody admires Aslan!"

Aristocratic arrogance reared its ugly head again. They always thought they were the best. Aslan was indeed good, but not everybody was willing to abandon their own country, especially warriors.

Sword Saint Aurora gave a noncommittal smile. "Perhaps you are right."

All of the teams that had avoided elimination so far had gathered on a field, awaiting the next order to action.

At this moment, more than 10 IG officials and IG judges made their appearance on the field's main podium.

The atmosphere became nervous. They were about to announce the next round of IG's competition format.

"Everyone, you are indeed fortunate to have come this far. Your individual quality and ability have deemed yourselves worthy of being the elite in the Milky Way Galaxy. While you still may have some weaknesses, your advantage is your youth. Many are still students learning in the military. Very admirable. Although the path you walk is not cast in stone, many lie open before you. Your futures will be brighter than you are today…"

Akerlof's speech was galvanizing.

Below the stage, everybody listened intently. Yet, no matter how you took it in, something was off. It sounded like a principal's address at a school opening ceremony, or a class monitor's speech before the grade examination. But as an authority in the Milky Way, everybody still accorded him their respect. Many amongst them had their eyes set on the position of Akerlof's subordinate.

"Alright. My speech ends here. All of you, please enter the library classroom."

Huh… Everyone below was stunned. Wasn't today competition day?

Enter the library classroom? What was going on?

The team members began to feel uneasy…

The electronic classroom was capable of holding 2,000 people. Everybody was separated.

Words in various languages appeared on the screen. They all said the same thing – Cheating was prohibited.

Uproar…

The whispering had suddenly turned into a heated discussion.

What!

It was really an exam?

Damn it, what were they playing at? They had come to IG to compete. They had come to pit themselves against the elites of other countries in a head-on fight!

"Cease all chatter! Cheating, plagiarism, and communication will all be accorded 0 marks. A minor offence means suspension, a major offence means individual elimination." An official's voice roared out, subduing the commotion.

Wang Zheng was a little off-balance as well. He had not expected this round to be an examination, but after thinking about it, it made some sense.

The foundation of the IG was to have both brains and brawn. They were competing to be the elite of the Milky Way, and this was not something that could be determined by battles alone. As a result, the first round of IG selections had been restricted to the better military schools that had high standard results.

Some countries' members had black expressions. These had all not been military school candidates. Some had been directly selected out of the military. Their battle prowess was indisputable, but a writing test…

Tch! If they could score well, they would not have entered the military at such a young age, would they?

The examination had begun.

The test paper was directly transmitted to everybody's Skylinks, lighting up their screens. At this time, the dividers emitted a filtering beam, which restricted them to only be able to see their own screens, preventing cheating with the naked eye.

At this time, these so-called elites had all kinds of expressions on their faces. Some, who might not have batted an eyelid when faced with an army of thousands, stared at the screen sickly, as though they had been poisoned.

"Please elaborate on the specific role of planetary gravitation and stellar gravity in interplanetary starships. Please write specific parameters…"

It seemed rather easy. They had learned similar things in high school. It could be called general knowledge, but everybody was normally so damned busy with training that even remembering general knowledge was not bad. To remember specific parameters? This tested them on the mecha system, not battleship command systems!

Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan were clearly cocky, writing freely. Was this really a test? Kindergarten level stuff. They had underestimated their intellect, these two were physics geniuses!

The advancement classroom's atmosphere worsened. Those that were stumped by the paper made up the majority, although there were quite a few who were writing at tremendous speeds. The Aslanian team, especially, had faint smiles on their faces.

Arbiter had a few cocky faces as well, smirking. These questions? Easy peasy.

The Atlanteans, who had been comfortably leading until now, had run into trouble for the first time…

The first few questions that were related to battles were still manageable. There were common points that they could answer. However, the questions behind that were related to human technology…

How could they answer these?

Although everybody developed at roughly the same pace, everybody developed in completely different directions. Some of the questions were not even regarded as problems back on Atlantis. The basic power of runes could easily overcome these trivial problems, but for mankind, these were problems that fleet commanders had to seriously consider.

Difficult, too difficult!

Don't know, skip. Don't know again? Skip. Another blank? Continue skipping…

The good thing was that many were multiple choice questions, and one could still make a blind stab at them.

Chapter 386: Alternative Combat Strength

Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas

Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan were not, in fact, the first to finish. Aurora was the first to complete, pressing the submit button on his Skylink. One second later, the script was sent back to the main system, where further changes to answers could no longer be made. Aurora stood up and left the examination hall directly. Over 70 percent of the tested content was high school standard in Aslan. Worthless.

Following their leader's lead, the Aslanian people handed in their scripts soon after and left as well.

Following the Aslanian people's consecutive departures, the tension in the hall's atmosphere became more stifling. Anxiety rose. Most had barely finished half the paper, and some had already submitted. The pressure was unspeakable. Furthermore, nobody knew what the judging criteria for this test was.

Marks?

Really? Could it be so simple?

Impossible, this was IG! Could the time of submission also be included in the marking?

In their hearts, these contradictory thoughts followed, interfering with their attempts to do the questions. Damn, these were hard questions!

Over at the Solar System side…

Composure.

They were really too composed. Cultural nurturing had always been a priority in the Solar System. Although different regions had their own methods of education, regardless whether it was the liberal education style of Mars, or the conservative education style of Earth, tests were at the core of the pedagogy. Everybody was over-experienced. Biannual end-of-semester tests and mid-semester tests, monthly school tests, bi-monthly class tests, and various subjects' tests assigned by the teachers themselves…

Those who had been through a hundred battles were unshaken. You hand in your paper, and I'll just keep doing mine. Cool, calm, and collected.

The Arbitans were clearly panicking, speeding up their answering. But the pressure they felt did not emanate from the Aslanians, who had been the first to submit and take their leave, but…

Olivios!

His murderous spirit!

An aura of murder hung over Olivios like a cobra ready to strike at any moment.

Not to the computer, but at the other Arbitans.

Test? Olivios had never bothered with these things. He had always filled in his answers randomly. Could someone like that advance? His share of the marks now fell to his teammates.

To be eliminated because of a test would rain doom upon the other Arbitans' heads.

Besides them, the Atlanteans and some other foreign star clans were also facing difficulties, although everybody generally felt that this test was perhaps a final reference check. To eliminate experts simply because of cultural incompetence seemed to be too overboard.

Yet in today's world, a super soldier indeed had to possess all kinds of information and a worldly perspective.

Anything was possible.

Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan stood up at virtually the same time to hand in their papers. Zhang Shan went without saying. A gifted student in physics, the top student since elementary school. He would have continued this streak if it was not for the fact that he had switched streams. These questions? Keke, he could write a better test himself, let alone answer it.

Wang Zheng's results went without saying as well. Every since he entered Ares College, he was the benchmark.

Lear lifted his head and looked at Wang Zheng. Three seconds later, he turned in his test and left as well, his face cold as ever.

Zhang Shan gazed at him. "More airs again."

Zhang Shan acknowledged Lear's battle prowess. It could not be helped, strength was strength. As a warrior, one had to be fearful of one's betters. This was not mindless terror, but an instinct for self-preservation. Living on was the prerequisite to surpassing them. He could now look towards subduing Lear as his next target.

But in the aspect of examinations, Mountain Maiden was unafraid. From young, he had been the God of Examinations!

Wang Zheng laughed lightly. They walked out of the door, brushing past the Aslanian people who had been the first to submit.

The Aslan group's atmosphere was carefree. Indistinctly, their conversation topic was actually about the Aslan soccer club's Super League match.

The Sword Magician looked at Wang Zheng with nothing in his face, then swept past carelessly without a trace of anger.

"This bunch of punks are really stuck up. Is Aslan really that awesome?" Zhang Shan spat out.

Wang Zheng did not reply. Zhang Shan pondered his own question. They were indeed deserving of their arrogance, they had virtually no weaknesses.

Meng Tian, Zhang Runan, Lie Xin, Lie Guang, Luo Fei, and the rest also handed up their papers together. In a flash, the atmosphere in the large classroom became even more cloying.

The Ghana Star soldiers could endure no longer, and began to turn in their papers as well. Since they could not answer the rest anyway, they might as well turn in their papers a little earlier, in the hope of getting some time-based marks. At least doing so would demonstrate their decisiveness.

Seeing the Ghana Star soldiers' actions, many other teams also realized the same point. Truly, ruminating would yield no answers at this point. Super soldiers could afford to be a little ignorant, but decisiveness was a basic trait. Character flaws were always the most fatal.

Everybody sped up their answering speed. Those that they knew, they answered seriously. Those that were too complex, they relied on their instincts to guess.

In comparison…

The Atlanteans were completely absorbed in their work, oblivious to the atmosphere in the examination hall.

Those that they did not know? Spare no effort to understand the question. Anyway, there was still time before the examination ended. As long as they allocated time properly, they would definitely answer all the questions within the time limit. That would be enough.

They did not feel that earlier submissions would receive extra merit. There were many different approaches. The key was to commit unwaveringly after making one's decision. The rules had been stipulated, and submitting within the time limit could not be penalized.

Time ticked on, and one by one the teams handed in their papers…

Outside the venue, many were comparing answers, and complaints flew thick and loud. Evidently, their results were not ideal.

"There was too many trap questions! That question looked easy, we did it before in high school, but who would have known there were so many pitfalls in it?"

"Don't panic. This test is only a component in determining our quality. It's for moderation. To the middle-of-the-pack teams like us, it has minimal effects. The ones hit hardest by it would be Atlantis." The Caragal captain, Max, comforted his team calmly.

They were third-tier teams with realistic goals. Their goal from the start had been to enter the top 128, and they had already accomplished their national mission. Every step from now on was an unexpected bonus, and from the way things looked, they stood a chance.

Everybody milled around, waiting for the results. It was a weird feeling, like they were all back in school again.

An IG member stood up and announced, "Everybody, please do not leave. The tabulation of marks will be released very shortly. Following that, we will announce the top 64." At this time, besides the Atlanteans in the venue, every other team had already submitted their scripts and exited.

"Are the Atlanteans really going to write to the last second?"

Everybody was discussing such things. In truth, everybody was stressed, even Max of Caragal. Although he had said those things about accomplishing the national mission and unexpected bonuses, who did not dream of becoming a dark horse and taking the championship?

It was exactly because they had come so far without being eliminated, that they had started to dare to dream a little.

Chapter 387: Unconventional Disdain

Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas

The bigger one's hopes, the more anxious one became, especially when it was not in one's forte.

The second round would directly eliminate half of the participants, a staggering number. Besides those that had absolute confidence in their qualification, those hovering on the borderline became even more anxious.

The Solar System team was also checking answers. Lear stood at the fringe, uninterested in such things beneath him.

Zhang Shan and Lie Guang were going at it heatedly. On the whole, Lie Guang did not seem to have done badly, although the gap between him and Zhang Shan was clear.

"Out of a hundred, I've definitely got at least 90."

Zhang Shan was brimming with confidence. He was just shy of calling himself the God of Examinations, and he vowed to bring his aura of awe from the last round to this.

After an hour, the Atlanteans also handed in their scripts, at the very last minute.

Everybody was now accounted for. The marking and totaling had already begun the moment the Aslanian people handed in their scripts.

As the examination ended, the results were announced readily, the marks being transmitted to the Skylinks in each candidate's hand.

The Aslanian people all had smug smiles as they looked at the Skylink's results. As expected, they had all scored well in those questions they knew well. Those they didn't had yielded a few lucky guesses as well. Their average score hovered around 85, which was definitely the high score. Sword Saint and Sword Magician even had the same exact score – 90.

Sword Magician Oz was the picture of regret. "It can't be, a draw? Aurora, you wouldn't have done it on purpose, would you?"

Was it so difficult to determine who was better? Damn, they had even scored the same in the examination.

Sword Saint's face was deadpan. "You explain to me how I did it on purpose, and I'll admit defeat right here."

The other Aslanian members choked back a laugh.

Lie Guang looked at the results. "Tch, 73? Examination God Maiden, how did you do?"

Zhang Shan was in a daze.

Lie Guang peeked. "86? Didn't you say you were guaranteed 90 and above?"

Zhang Shan reddened. "Even gods slip up sometimes, let alone mortals. I shouldn't have gotten these few questions wrong. I overlooked a few differentials in the essential conditions, which would lead to variations in the results. I chose based on experience, and fell into the trap."

The fall after the pride.

Wang Zheng laughed as well. "Me too, too careless. I guess I was affected by the Aslanian team's early submissions as well. 87."

Lie Xin and the rest were all smiles, having scored 75 and above. Furthermore, Achilles had 83. Within the Solar System team, they already had three people in the 80s.

Lie Guang rubbed the back of his head. "It couldn't be. I'm the worst scorer? Oh, right, there's still Lear."

At this moment, everybody turned to Lear, who was standing apart from them.

Besides them, the other teams' results were not too ideal. Over snatches of conversation, they seemed to be in the range between 60 and 75. If Lear had 80 as well, then the Solar System would have four in the 80s, and they would have creamed this round easily.

Lear was emotionless, clearly having no intention of revealing his result.

Over at the Arbitans, under the gaze of Olivios, the other team members heaved a collective sigh of relief. Their results were not bad, with an average of 72.

Some teams were ecstatic, some gloomy.

The final elimination tally was released quickly as well.

Akerlof walked out, looking down upon the waiting masses below the stage. He began to read out the chosen teams' names: Atlantis Alliance's team, although their test average was not shockingly high, their outstanding earlier performance had secured them first place at present.

The Atlanteans did not cheer, receiving their first place calmly.

Arbiter Republic team…

Aslan Empire team…

Manalasuo Empire team… Gemini Union team… Silver Snake Coalition team…

When the later names were being read, they elicited loud cheers. Not everyone was as composed as the stronger nations like Atlantis. To be able to enter the top 64 was already an admirable feat.

Solar System Federation team…

As reasonably expected, the Solar System Federation team was also comfortably ahead. Zhang Shan had earned the Solar System too many points in the previous round.

The Solar System team was cheering as well. Hey! This result was definitely a milestone victory!

But Akerlof's next words gave the Solar System's cheers brief pause for a second: Additionally, the Solar System Federation team's Lear had scored the highest in this test, with 97 points, and so the Solar System Federation team would earn an additional 10 points!

Zhang Shan, who had been celebrating with abandon, sobered up immediately. Damn, it couldn't be, Lear? The top scorer? 97? And the highest scorer this time around? Invigilator, sir, you must have made a mistake, the name should be Zhang Shan, right???

Lear was heedless to the gazes he was receiving, causing the celebratory mood to wane. After all, Lear's forte was in ruining the mood, that was for sure.

Akerlof continued to announce the 64 names.

The cheers were rising. Every team that had their name read was in a frenzy. Some were crying, a rare time for the men who did not cry easily. On the other hand, the teams which had not been called became even more nervous, muttering the count to themselves. 31, 32… This was the number of teams that had been called. As it increased, it meant that their chances were diminishing.

Akerlof read with an even pace, reading the team names without pause. Very quickly, only 10 names out of the 64 remained unread.

Some teams had started to despair, but looked hopefully towards Akerlof, with complex gazes, as though they bore the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Some team captains had already started to console their members. "Don't mind it. We've done well enough. It's not that we're not capable, but rather that our time hasn't come. We should be happy that we made it to the IG, and can bring back happy memories. Perhaps some amongst you can make a comeback next time. As for me, I can't, so don't hang your heads in despair. Raise them up. We're all heroes for having made it this far."

The team names left Akerlof's mouth one after the other. At this time, those that were called were truly over the moon, as though they had been to hell and back. Their happiness was truly sweet.

The last team. Akerlof's reading pace had slowed, and the atmosphere became incomparably thick. The qualified teams were still celebrating, while those that had not were at once despairing and hopeful, even praying.

"Caragal team. The previous mentioned 64 teams enter the main competition."

Akerlof had finished reading.

The entire scene was polarized.

After panicking for so long, and even resigning themselves to returning disappointed, the Caragal team leaped up as one. They had the last chance – the last name to be read out. Max hugged his teammates tightly, howling…

They could count themselves the dark horse as well. Ever since Max had passed a B-rank mission, the Caragal team members were afire as well. They had exploded with a fearsome battle prowess. When their morale was high, they could definitely bring to bear their strongest power.

As for the teams that had not been called, they had sunk into darkness. Many had sunk to their knees unbearably. How could this be? How could this have happened? They had brought their best ability to bear, even surpassing themselves. Their battles were faultless. Everybody had been cheering for them to advance, advance, advance, and they had let everybody down…

Uncontrollable tears fell. They were not just weeping, but howling in anguish!

They had endured too much, prepared too much in coming here. They would rather have fallen or died in battle than to be eliminated in such a fashion, but there were no more chances.

To them, this iteration of IG ended here. Some might have another chance, while the door would close forever on others.

Only entering the main competition could rightly be counted as the official IG.

The Solar System team could feel the envious gazes. The countless Solar System teams in the past had been the same. In this moment, they had finally broken through to the main IG.

Meng Ao, who had just received the news, could not resist twirling his fist in triumph. This bunch of little brats were really too impressive. Although they had seen some rough patches, they had succeeded!

Entering the main competition had already exceeded their initial expectations, but after witnessing Wang Zheng's performance, Meng Ao decided that simply aiming for the main competition was insufficient. The Solar System team definitely had a shot at moving a step further. As long as they utilized their battle strategy well, they could definitely have the potential to advance even further.

The qualified and eliminated members left as two separate droves, only, one was returning home, while the other would soon commence another round of fighting – the real battle was about to start.

Perhaps to some teams, being eliminated in this round was not necessarily a stroke of misfortune.