Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Upon entering the stadium, no a single command was needed for those military soldiers to form into a formation. With hands behind their backs and their heels locked, they stood in ramrod-straight forms with no emotions present on their expressionless faces, appearing as though the young elites present before them were non-existent.
"The tests conducted today will be very simple." with a grin, Cole Joseph stood before the participants as he gave his briefing. "You guys will be randomly paired up with them for a 1 on 1. As long as you're able to remain standing after 1 minute, you will be given a score. If you're able to endure for 5 minutes, you'll be able to get an A rank evaluation. Naturally, I have to remind all of you that they are from the elite mechanized battalion of the army. We've really pulled all the stops for this CHF!"
Explosions were immediately set off in the minds of the participants below. What the fuck is this! Although those who had entered the military's mechanized battalion might not be on the same calibre as those in the front line, all of them were outstanding people within the Heroic Soul Stage. Basically, there's a universal trend within the federation, that the people at the apex of all Heroic Soul Soldiers would be snatched up by the various great families, with the higher-ups of the federation's military snatching up the occasional few that have slipped out of the net. Those people were the cream of the crop, and were groomed to become elites by the military and the various great families. Those one level below apex would enter the mechanized battalion of the military. Although this doesn't seem like much, in reality, they were around the standard of B to ranked squadrons during their Casted Soul Stage. However, the problem was that all of them were now had already casted their Heroic Souls, and have already undergone tempering and training to become mature Heroic Soul Soldiers!
There was just no other way left for this bunch of participants. If those military soldiers acted just a bit ruthless, would it be straight out become a scenario of absolute suppression?
Some people could not help but muster the courage to speak out. "This...won't this be a bit too difficult? This isn't fair!"
"That's right, there are those that are offensive types, and there are those that are defensive types. What would happen if one is unlucky?"
"Haha. When you enter the real world, having good luck is something that's rather important. Let the test begin." replied Cole Joseph with a grin, looking at the participants below with a look akin to that of a cat staring at mice.
Although they claimed it was randomized, the first round was still occupied by a few bottom feeder squadrons.
After observing the standard of B-squadrons in the competition, they gave Wang Zhong and the rest the feeling that was most close to the standard of Adolf before their change, with the possibility of having 1 or 2 standouts within each of those squadrons. Other than that, the others could only be considered as elites in their local areas and regions. Despite having absolutely no hope in getting promoted or standing a fighting chance in any aspect, them carving the path for others to lengthen was considered a way to hype up the competition. Therefore, it wasn't totally useless for them to make the trip here.
One could clearly see that those Heroic Soul Soldiers were restraining their strength, with the soul power they used not exceeding 200 grassos. This was a restriction for the test, causing quite a few of those initially dejected fellows to see the light of hope again. However, this hope squashed as quickly as it was ignited.
Regardless of any restrictions, a Heroic Soul Soldier was a Heroic Soul Soldier. What's more, the elite mechanized battalion has been molded by the federation into genuine combat machines! Without even the need to rely on any powerful skills or techniques, them using their basic skills and a mere 200 grassos of soul power was already more than what those elite participants could handle.
One's depth of view had determined the strength of one. Basically speaking, they would know everything you know, and even more than that. What's more, they have even had experience in doing so.
The 6 people of the first batch managed to barely cross the 1-minute mark before being eliminated with a few casual and relaxed hand chops to the back of their heads, causing them to be instantly knocked unconscious. Even the style and time of defeat were the same for all of them. Clearly, the military soldiers had deliberately held themselves back, leaving a bit of face for the participants at the very least. As long as one was able to endure a few 200 grasso attacks, they would not be too forceful to the participant for the first minute.
However, due the entire period of the test, they appeared just like slippery monkeys hopping around as the teased their targets. From this, one could see that the disparity was indeed too, too large.
Although the 6 people from the first batch were located towards the bottom of all the participants in terms of strength, they were the mainstay soldiers that were chosen by their respective squadrons. After being bullied in such fashion, the other people immediately felt a suffocating wave of pressure engulfing them.
The 6 people obtained D rank scores, which was worse than the most pathetic assassin during the scout arena. Even though many had been instantly destroyed by the Lightning Evasion Formation, they were able to salvage their situation but obtaining quite a few points in the Sealed Room the recoup some of the points. However, a D was a D, causing the 6 people to feel somewhat disheartened, while clearly feeling slightly dejected and downcast.
The 2nd batch was quickly sent up, with the military soldiers being quickly swapped to the next batch. No one person would fight 2 participants in succession. This was set by the committee to remove the possibility of loopholes occurring, while also avoiding the observing participants from identifying the combat habits and styles in order to gain an advantage.
Although the military soldiers were swapped to another batch, the strength of those invigilators was considered to be on the same level, and had proceeded along with the request of their higher-ups to suppress those participants. Batch after batch of participants were eliminated, before being replaced by fresh batches of participants. There were a few especially miserable participants that weren't even able to obtain any points, with the main reason due to them being overly nervous. This caused them to be unable to even defend against a simple 200 grassos punch from the invigilators, with all of them being knocked unconscious. This was a model example of failing in the mental aspect. Frankly speaking, only the federation would produce such "geniuses". Being able to walk all the way till here as representatives of their respective academies showed that they definitely weren't lacking in strength. Therefore, the only possibility was the deficiency in strength on their mental aspect. This was the point of the federation that has always been picked on by the empires. Naturally, this was also the main reason why the Kaiser Empire had looked down on them.
Other than the slightly relaxed probing and observatory stance shown in the 1st minute, the invigilators did not hold back one little bit after its end. Other than the restriction of power to 200 grassos, they had displayed their might in all aspects, including speed, skills, and techniques. This was the real start of the nightmare.
Wang Zhong was finally able to see in person how Heroic Soul Soldiers of such caliber took action. This was honestly much, much more shocking that those videos that he had seen on the Skylink.
What is fighting? What is a genuine skill or technique? They weren't the Soul Domination abilities that Casted Soul Stage people always harped about, nor were there the various constraints present in the styles preached by the academies.
Real combat was simple, straightforward and direct. Using the greatest speed and energy efficient way to deal with one's opponent in the shortest time possible! This was real combat! This was a genuine skill!
That was their understanding of it.
Those Heroic Soul Soldiers before his eyes clearly had a profound understanding of this points, basically reaching the extreme point of stinginess with regards to "taking action". There was absolutely no waste in their moves or strength during their movements in combat. Although the masses might only feel the suffocating pressure and tightness in their movements, those movements were basically exquisite paintings in the eyes of experts like Wang Zhong and Mo Xingchen. Each of the simple looking quick moves contained the incomparably deep understanding the Heroic Soul Soldier possessed towards combat. Despite only possessing the might of 200 grassos, those attacks had already created an impossible gulf for the elite participants to cross.
"Soul Power and bodily strength can be accumulated and improved as time progresses. However, as for the essence of combat...the mechanized battalion of the federation is indeed worthy of their reputation." the students observing from away could not help but to sigh in admiration, their eyes brimming with the thirst to reach the Heroic Soul Stage. There were quite a few people that would become even strong after casting their Heroic Soul Stage.
On the contrary, Wang Zhong didn't pay much attention to that. To him, the so-called simplified movements primarily stemmed from the suppression, speed, accuracy, and decisiveness of strength. Such combat prowess also relied on the talents of those soldiers. If a portion of the participants here were to ramp up their practice and experience after casting their Heroic Souls, those military soldiers would not be a match for them. However, at this moment, they could only be beaten to such a miserable degree.
2 minutes to 3 minutes of enduring were the scores that the majority of the B- to even soldiers had obtained after giving their all. There was even a larger portion of soldiers from A rank squadrons that were unable to cross the great barrier of 5 minutes. The first participant to cross that limit was the captain of the New Holy City.