Chapter : 188 : Miserable

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Hearing Sebastian's words, the group was stunned but immediately reacted. It was estimated that this was a new weapon from the unit's awakening. Anyway, in the joint practice, all of them had seen the Musketeers' various odd weapons.

"You guys get ready too," Sebastian commanded.

Beside Sebastian, Jane was sitting, as it was Jane's first time participating in a group competition. He came from a mediocre background, and it was a fluke that he had passed the Epic Level this time. Sitting with Sebastian and the other geniuses, he felt some nervousness.

All the while, he had been working hard to command the Maze Puppets he had created to perform quick maze maneuvers. This was the first barrier on Sebastian's side, and in the middle of the maze, another race was present: the Goblins created by Clifford.

The Goblin race ranged from Low to Super Level. Ordinary goblins were just low-level creatures, but the one Clifford built was at the Super Level, the Goblin Chief. It was gigantic, holding a wolf's tooth stick in its hand, and was very powerful. Even Terrell's Blastoise couldn't withstand its attacks. However, its speed and agility were not high. In terms of mobility, it was somewhat weak. But with the cover of the maze, the Goblin Chief could hide in every corner, waiting for enemies to enter and then ambush them. Behind the Maze Puppet, there was Terrell's Blastoise.

With the Maze Puppet and the Goblin Chief blocking the front, the Blastoise could store power without worry. The Blastoise could also generate a puddle of water to effectively impede the enemy's advance. This gave the Demonized People and Musketeers at the rear a better attack environment.

To avoid accidentally injuring allies, Sebastian had Jane move some of the Maze Puppets to the back and pile them into a makeshift high platform. The Demonized People and Musketeers would stand on this platform, making it easier to target enemies.

Over the past half month of joint practice, everyone had become familiar with this setup. As soon as they entered, they quickly lined up in formation. But no formation was perfect or invincible; this formation had good ground defense, but it was vulnerable to underground attacks.

Sebastian had thought of this after some consideration. The Astra Militarum planted ground mines around the area. These weren't highly technological; they had been invented during the Elizabeth era. They were designed to deal with underground races and were very effective. These weren't ordinary mines, they were built to be detonated underground, containing toxic gas inside. The main purpose was to rely on this toxic gas to kill enemies underground.

The ground's creeping became more obvious. Looking at Sebastian's side, their hands were tied, they had no means to counter.

"The output of the Musketeers and Demonized People is impressive, but what can they do? They can't hit the ground," scoffed a sturdy girl who looked like an Amazonian warrior.

"The captain's strategy to exploit the opponent's weaknesses is brilliant," a cadet boasted.

"Not to mention them, Yeattine with his Golden Behemoth is of little use. The weaknesses of the Hope's Peak Academy team are too..." The bulky boy shook his head.

Before he could finish, they heard a loud, continuous explosion.

Members of Behemoth's Academy looked ahead and saw a dull explosion coming from underground near the Maze Puppet. It sounded quite bizarre.

The explosive power of the mines wasn't very strong; there were many mud and stone blocks to absorb the blast, so it didn't cause much damage to the underground race. But the real danger was the toxic gas released.

In Elizabeth's era, toxic gas wasn't potent enough for frequent use. But after decades, it had become more dangerous, these gases now contained supernatural ingredients from plants and animals.

Inhalation of this gas was lethal: even supernatural creatures could die instantly. It caused paralysis, foaming at the mouth, twitching, and eventually loss of combat ability.

As the explosions continued, the face of the girl who created this underground race changed, and she said, "The other side seems to be emitting some kind of toxic gas. They have poisoned my units."

"Toxic gas?" The bulky boy frowned slightly but quickly responded, "Then have your units retreat immediately, don't risk unnecessary casualties!"

The sturdy girl nodded in agreement.

"What should we do now?" asked another team member. The girl who created the underground race was now being restrained.

"Since the sneak attack didn't work, let's just attack," the bulky boy said with a smirk. "You guys don't think those Maze Puppets can stop our giant beast army, do you?!"

On Sebastian's side...

They heard a loud burst underground. Clifford couldn't help but ask, "Sebastian, what kind of weapon is this?"

"A mine with toxic gas inside," Sebastian explained.

Hearing this, they were speechless; it was too sinister. But then everyone burst into laughter. This was good, it meant they wouldn't need to worry about underground sneak attacks in the future.

"Be careful. They might attack directly," Sebastian warned, not daring to relax.

Above ground, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed. The Magic Apes pounded their chests with both arms, roaring in unison. Then they lunged toward the Maze Puppet frantically, their speed astonishing; they covered several meters with each step.

"So fast!" Clifford and the others exclaimed, their expressions changing.

This was far superior to Yeattine's Golden Behemoths. Although the Golden Behemoth had an outstanding physique, its speed and agility were lacking. The Magic Apes moved like phantoms, exceptionally fast.

"Magic Apes are immensely powerful, extremely fast, and have a strong physique. They have almost no weaknesses. They are even more formidable than the Golden Behemoth!" Prokopy and the coaching staff looked grave.

Besides the Magic Apes, other creatures followed, though not as strong. Their aura was still impressive.

Sebastian had prepared well. Otwin's Demonized People had long since finished transforming, and their attack power was now very high. However, they had two critical weaknesses:

First, their defense was too fragile; a single ordinary bullet could wound them.

Second, the transformation duration was limited, about ten minutes, after which they reverted to their original form. This couldn't be helped; each planet's conditions dictated the most suitable race they could create.

They weren't the strongest. In a one-on-one fight, Demonized People were easy targets. During the previous Freshman Challenge, the Astra Militarum had crushed them. But in group combat, they could leverage their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

The Demonized People launched the first attack. After reaching Level 2, their strength increased, and their range extended to 800 meters. From 800 meters away, they targeted the Magic Apes.

The Astra Militarum set up their machine guns, which had been upgraded once again. The new armor-piercing rounds were fired.

Since Terra had been upgraded to Level 2, the quality of raw materials had improved, especially with the introduction of Tearstone, a new metal. When combined, the alloy's effect was extraordinary, armor-piercing ammunition became smaller but more powerful, more than doubling in effectiveness compared to previous rounds.

On a high platform built by the Maze Puppet, the Astra Militarum placed a thousand machine guns. With the current capabilities of the Imperium, deploying 10,000 units would be feasible if space permitted, but 1,000 were sufficient, firing at 8,000 rounds per minute simultaneously.

And then...

VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTT-T-T-T-T-T-T-T!!!

A mechanical whirring erupted into a storm of metal as barrels spun at blinding speed, unleashing a hail of rounds.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTT!!!

The deafening roar persisted, a grinding, chattering noise that shook the earth, like an angry machine god.

THUM-THUM-THUM-THUM-THUM-THUM-THUM!!

Each impact sounded like thunder cracking against steel as rounds tore into targets.

Thousands of rounds rained over the battlefield. The weapon's noise drowned out the movement of the Magic Apes and other beasts.

Under this relentless barrage, large portions of the beast army were decimated in an instant. Even the most aggressive Magic Apes at the front couldn't withstand the new armor-piercing rounds.

While the Magic Apes resembled the Golden Behemoth in physique, they were superior in speed and agility. Despite being Level 2, their physical enhancement was limited. One armor-piercing bullet was manageable, but facing many such rounds simultaneously was deadly.

In this ten-second burst, nearly a thousand Magic Apes had fallen. The observers' faces changed.

"This Musketeer firepower is even stronger than before!" the sturdy girl said with a frown.

"It doesn't matter. The planet has been upgraded to Level 2, and the creatures it produces will be stronger. We should stick to the original plan," the bulky boy said, slightly surprised but unfazed.

Inside the battlefield, watching a Magic Ape that was dragging a fallen comrade to act as a shield, the group's expressions changed.

"Armor-piercing bullets can't penetrate their bodies?" Yuuki frowned and asked.

"Most of the other giant beasts are barely okay, but for these Magic Apes, they can only be penetrated once at most," a scientist replied.

The Astra Militarum had brought a team of 300 scientists.

"Alright," Yuuki nodded slightly, then turned to Yamamoto. "Would you like to use that weapon now?"

"No need," Yamamoto shook his head. "I've studied past expeditions, so I want to hold some weapons for more powerful enemies later. Although these Magic Apes are strong and nearly invulnerable, it's not worth using that weapon now."

"Then let's continue fighting and keep firing the machine guns," Yuuki ordered.

Although Magic Apes served as shields, they couldn't block every gap. Armor-piercing rounds still found weaknesses and pierced through. The meat shields slowed the Magic Apes, making them more vulnerable.

The Magic Apes used as shields suffered hundreds or thousands of armor-piercing hits, rendering them ineffective as shields. They then grabbed fallen comrades to use as new shields.

Besides the Magic Apes, other giant beasts had weaker physiques and defenses, suffering heavy casualties. Eventually, they had to retreat and hide behind the Magic Apes.

Progression of distances: 3,000 meters, 2,000 meters, 1,000 meters...

After suffering significant casualties, the beast army advanced closer. When only 1,000 meters remained, Otwin's Demonized People launched their attack. Combined with the machine guns, the Magic Apes couldn't lift their heads.

Each hit was like a cannonball strike, powerful enough to kill Magic Apes. Unlike machine guns, which require multiple shots to be effective, this attack relied on numbers. After the planet's upgrade, the Demonized People's numbers increased. Over 10,000 were deployed this time.

Under this heavy fire, the beast army was pinned down at 800 meters. They couldn't advance further.

Just as Prokopy and others watching the battle felt relieved, several gigantic figures suddenly appeared from within the beast army. They leapt into the air, unfolding black wings, and soared upward.

"Flying Magic Apes!" exclaimed Prokopy and his group. "The opponent created even this mythical creature?!"

"Be careful!" Sebastian shouted as he saw the flying figures.

"A Magic Ape that can fly?" both Yuuki and Yamamoto said, wide-eyed but remaining calm.

Flying creatures had been anticipated by the Astra Militarum since the Elizabeth era, so preparations had been made.

"Shoot them down!" Yamamoto ordered decisively.

Against aerial supernatural creatures, the Astra Militarum lacked a perfect solution. However, after decades, they had developed specialized weapons.