Zhao Mu crouched beside the trembling team member and placed a steady hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down."
His voice was firm but reassuring.
"You're still alive. That means you still have a chance to fight back."
The terrified young man gasped heavily, his entire body shaking uncontrollably. Sweat mixed with dust on his pale face as panic overwhelmed his mind.
Ever since the Remnant Beast had appeared, fear had completely crushed his will to resist.
The only thought left in his mind had been escape.
Run.
Survive.
Forget everything else.
But Zhao Mu's calm words gradually pulled him back from the edge of collapse.
Only then did the young Trainee suddenly realize something important—
He was not helpless.
He still possessed strength.
He still had a weapon.
And he could still fight.
Meanwhile, amidst the ruins nearby, the scene had already become horrifying.
A Remnant Beast stood over the corpse of a young female Trainee.
She was beautiful.
Zhao Mu vaguely remembered her because Meng Qiuqiu had once jokingly given her an "A-minus" appearance score during casual conversation.
But now, that flower-like girl had become nothing more than prey.
The Remnant Beast was crouched over her body, feeding in an extremely grotesque manner.
It ignored the rest of her flesh completely.
Instead, it had peeled open her skull and was devouring only her brain.
Blood and gray matter dripped from its mouth as it chewed slowly.
The sight was so nauseating that even experienced Trainees felt sick.
Not far away, another Trainee named Zhang Cheng had collapsed onto the ground in terror.
His face was completely pale.
His entire body trembled as he stared helplessly at his teammate's corpse.
The fear in his heart only grew stronger.
To him, the Remnant Beast no longer looked like something that could be defeated.
It looked like death itself.
Yet at that moment, Zhao Mu's voice suddenly echoed through his communicator.
"Staying there means certain death!"
"Pick up your weapon and fight!"
The words struck Zhang Cheng like lightning.
Fight?
His stunned mind finally reacted.
That's right.
If he simply lay there waiting, he would eventually die anyway.
At that moment, the Remnant Beast finished consuming the girl's brain.
Slowly…
It turned its head toward Zhang Cheng.
Fresh blood dripped from its mouth.
Chunks of flesh hung between its sharp teeth.
Compared to the grotesque creatures feeding from the Organ Pool earlier, this scene was even more horrifying.
Zhang Cheng's breathing became ragged.
But this time—
Instead of despair, anger suddenly erupted inside him.
He gritted his teeth fiercely and tightened his grip on the alloy spear in his hand.
"The Captain will arrive soon…"
"I can't just wait to die!"
"I have to fight!"
A trace of clarity finally returned to his mind.
Spiritual Power surged through his body.
He stood up abruptly and raised the long spear before him.
Facing the monster directly.
"Jie jie jie…"
The Remnant Beast let out a shrill and terrifying laugh.
Then suddenly—
WHOOSH!
Its massive body shot forward like a monkey springing through the jungle.
Although it stood nearly three meters tall, its speed was unbelievably fast.
In the blink of an eye, it crossed dozens of meters and appeared directly before Zhang Cheng.
The pressure nearly suffocated him.
Fear reached its absolute limit—
And then transformed into fury.
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
Zhang Cheng roared wildly as he thrust his spear forward with all his strength.
The weapon was forged from B-grade alloy.
Its destructive power was tremendous.
Even the Remnant Beast instinctively reacted.
The moment the spear lunged toward its chest, the creature suddenly twisted backward and retreated several meters.
Seeing this, Zhang Cheng's eyes widened slightly.
Confidence surged within him.
The Remnant Beast…
Could also feel fear.
It was still flesh and blood.
It could still die.
If that was the case—
Then what exactly was he so afraid of?
At that moment, Zhang Cheng completely abandoned all hesitation.
To survive.
To avenge his teammate.
He roared loudly to strengthen his courage and charged forward again with his spear.
The Remnant Beast immediately swung its long, withered arms toward him.
Its emaciated body swayed strangely like a bamboo pole in the wind.
Yet despite its thin appearance, its strength was terrifying.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The spear collided violently against the creature's arms, producing metallic sounds like steel striking steel.
Sparks erupted continuously.
For a brief moment, Zhang Cheng actually managed to suppress the Remnant Beast through sheer determination.
But reality quickly caught up.
The monster's strength was simply too overwhelming.
The courage he relied on began fading under the pressure of absolute power.
His palms became numb from the impact.
Cold sweat drenched his back.
Then suddenly—
BANG!
The Remnant Beast swung one enormous arm sideways.
The terrifying force smashed directly into Zhang Cheng's spear and sent him flying backward several meters.
He crashed heavily into the rubble.
The alloy spear nearly slipped from his hands.
Zhang Cheng stared at the giant humanoid monster approaching him and felt despair rise once more.
At this distance, even summoning the Giant Eagle for support would already be too late.
The Remnant Beast slowly raised its claws.
Death approached again.
But at that exact moment—
SHRIIIIK!
A sharp sound pierced through the air like the cry of a hunting hawk.
An arrow shot across the battlefield with astonishing speed.
PFFT!
The arrow pierced directly through the Remnant Beast's temple.
Its massive head jerked violently to the side.
Then the arrow tore completely through the opposite side of its skull.
The monster froze.
For a moment, it remained standing motionless.
Then—
BOOM!
Its gigantic body collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Dead.
The Remnant Beast that had hunted humans moments earlier died without even seeing its killer.
Zhang Cheng stared blankly at the corpse.
Only after confirming the creature was truly dead did all the strength leave his body.
He collapsed onto the ground completely exhausted.
Soon afterward, Zhao Mu and the others rushed over.
The moment they saw the girl's corpse lying amidst the ruins, everyone's expressions turned grim.
Someone had already died.
And this was only the beginning of the Final Trial.
"It seems," Zhao Mu said quietly, "that this trial is far more brutal than we imagined."
The atmosphere became heavy.
Everyone understood what those words meant.
Before they had entered the ruins, many Trainees still treated the Final Trial as an opportunity to earn points and show off their strength.
But reality had shattered those illusions almost immediately.
This was not training anymore.
This was war.
Zhao Mu crouched beside Zhang Cheng.
"Where are the other members of your squad?"
Zhang Cheng's eyes were still filled with fear and grief.
"We got separated…"
He lowered his head painfully.
"After entering the deeper areas of the ruins, that Remnant Beast suddenly targeted us."
"Everyone panicked."
"We didn't even know how many enemies were hiding nearby."
"No one could protect each other."
Zhao Mu listened silently before speaking seriously.
"If all five of you had fought together, you could've killed that Remnant Beast."
Zhang Cheng froze.
Deep regret appeared on his face.
Zhao Mu then activated his electronic wristband communication system.
His voice echoed through every connected channel.
"Everyone listen carefully."
"This is no longer a simple trial."
"This is a real battlefield."
"If you refuse to fight, you will truly die."
His sharp voice caused many scattered Trainees to fall silent.
After asking several more questions, Zhao Mu confirmed that only one casualty had occurred within their group so far.
That slightly eased his concerns.
But only slightly.
He immediately stood up and issued new orders.
"All squads gather immediately."
"It will become even more dangerous deeper inside the ruins."
"From now on, we move together."
His gaze swept across everyone present.
"Right now, our priority is not earning points."
"It's survival."
Everyone's expressions changed slightly.
Zhao Mu's words were absolutely correct.
They had already suffered casualties before even encountering Private-level Exotic Beasts.
If stronger creatures appeared later…
How many inexperienced Cadet Soldiers would survive?
No one knew.
Therefore, Zhao Mu decided to completely change tactics.
Instead of spreading out to hunt individually, they would advance together like a real military force.
Carefully.
Methodically.
No more reckless ambition.
The earlier arrogance within the group had vanished completely.
Originally, many people believed the Final Trial would simply be an opportunity to slaughter Exotic Beasts and gather points easily.
But after experiencing real combat, they finally understood how terrifying these creatures truly were.
Even the weakest Crimson Demon Hound could threaten their lives.
No one dared underestimate the battlefield anymore.
Using the distant TV Tower as a landmark, the scattered Trainees quickly regrouped around Zhao Mu's location.
However, once everyone gathered, Zhao Mu noticed something strange.
There were extra people present.
Quite a few extra people.
He frowned slightly and pointed toward a group standing awkwardly at the edge of the formation.
"What's going on?"
"Aren't those people from Team Two?"
The surrounding Trainees exchanged uncertain looks.
Finally, one young man stepped forward awkwardly.
"We…"
"We're members of Team Two."
His expression was extremely embarrassed.
"Our captain brought the stronger members deeper into the ruins…"
His voice gradually became quieter.
Then, after hesitating briefly, he finally asked carefully:
"Can we… move together with your group?"
The others behind him all lowered their heads awkwardly.
Their expressions looked terrible.
Clearly, they had been abandoned.
Shao Han, Team Two's captain, had obviously prioritized efficiency over responsibility.
Since scores in the Final Trial depended entirely on kill counts, Shao Han considered weaker members burdens rather than teammates.
So he simply discarded them.
He ordered them to remain near the outer regions while he led the elite members deeper inside to hunt stronger Exotic Beasts.
Although he claimed they could enter dangerous areas if they wished, he made one thing clear—
He would not support them.
Unwilling to remain useless on the outskirts, these abandoned members eventually gathered together and entered the deeper ruins themselves.
Unfortunately, reality quickly taught them how dangerous that decision truly was.
Zhao Mu looked at them quietly for several seconds.
Then—
He smiled.
"Since you wish to move with us…"
"Then from this moment onward, there is no distinction between Team One and Team Two anymore."
Everyone looked toward him.
Zhao Mu's voice became firm and powerful.
"In the future, when we step onto a real battlefield…"
"We will only have one identity."
He looked at every Trainee present one by one.
"Warriors of the Xuanfeng Empire."
The atmosphere suddenly changed.
Many people straightened instinctively.
The fear and uncertainty in their hearts gradually settled.
Zhao Mu then raised his hand toward the ruins ahead.
"So from now on…"
"Fight with everything you have."
"Follow me."
"And together…"
"We will slaughter every Exotic Beast standing in our way."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)