Everyone looked down from the aerial vehicles as soon as the person spoke. A figure wielding a large saber was cutting through the horde of star beasts, taking down one beast with a single strike.
These were, of course, low-level star beasts. While each kill yielded few points, the sheer number of them added up quickly.
As Meng Huai’s score began to climb rapidly, the students were utterly astonished.
The groups descended into internal arguments, especially the three solo fighters, who began accusing each other, “Look at them, then look at her rapid score increase.”
The student who spoke showed his optical computer to his companions, displaying Meng Huai’s soaring point count. Her progress was indeed incredibly swift, having already surpassed nearly ten individuals. And it was still climbing. The rankings ahead were closely contested, and with everyone else resting, their scores remained stagnant, while Meng Huai’s grew exponentially, causing the rankings to change by the minute.
The solo fighter voiced his displeasure, and the others, already agitated, were not about to let him rant unchallenged. They retaliated with indiscriminate taunts, “When the star beasts attacked, you were the first one to run!”
“Talking about looking at them, you need the talent to match the ambition. Can you, like her, weave through a beast horde without taking a single hit?”
“Stop spectating; it’s because you failed to spot the situation in time that we were eliminated.”
Soon, the solo fighters’ bickering escalated to include their commander.
The rescuer who had helped them onto the aerial vehicle shook his head, observing the group. How could such individuals be expected to fight in future battles? After all, military academy students were all destined to become soldiers. Their current demeanor was truly…
The rescuer sighed, deciding not to dwell on it. He refocused on the scene below, which was a true feast for the eyes.
Meng Huai was not only facing the full onslaught of the star beasts but also evading sudden artillery fire. The shells had a wide blast radius, yet Meng Huai weaved through them with ease, demonstrating remarkable control of the situation.
However, three of the five original double-S class star beasts had been severely wounded by the artillery, and even the S-class beasts were only half-injured. Thus, Meng Huai had to remain constantly vigilant against these higher-tier beasts. Just then, a giant eagle swooped towards her.
On its way, it slammed into the large building where Meng Huai had lodged for the night, knocking it down. Although the eagle’s size was less than a tenth of the building’s, the structure could not withstand its impact.
The eagle had long noticed the insignificant human in its midst slaughtering its kin, many of whom were also its food. It felt that allowing these creatures to be so easily butchered was a blatant disrespect. It then charged forward, intending to devour the human.
But no matter how fast its movements or how immense its size, Meng Huai showed no fear. The low-level star beasts around her, fearing collateral damage from the eagle, quickly retreated.
This action pleased the eagle. It opened its beak, aiming to swallow Meng Huai whole. However, Meng Huai raised her great saber and slashed directly towards its maw.
The eagle paid the weapon no mind, confident that few human weapons could be sharper than its beak. Furthermore, it had claws, which it extended towards Meng Huai in a scratching motion.
But the outcome was far beyond its expectations. The saber sliced off half of its supposedly formidable beak. Seeing its claws flailing wildly, Meng Huai promptly produced a spirit-binding rope and securely tethered both its legs.
She didn't destroy them immediately because she had taken a liking to the beast's claws, deeming them excellent material for refining.
The eagle was already enraged by the partial amputation of its beak. Now, with its legs bound, it became even more frantic. It thrashed, struggling to break free from the rope. However, the spirit-binding rope was one of Meng Huai’s proudest creations; escape was impossible.
The eagle’s struggles were futile. With its beak partially gone, its screeches were incredibly jarring. Eventually, the eagle met its end at Meng Huai’s saber, its claws also severed.
With the giant eagle’s death, many of the star beasts scattered. Some of the lower-level ones fled in all directions. Meng Huai, being alone, acknowledged that while these beasts were all potential points, she had no choice but to let them go. She knew she couldn't capture all of them by herself, but for now, she had to prioritize the higher-scoring ones. With that thought, Meng Huai moved towards the remaining surviving double-S class star beast.
This beast, witnessing the human effortlessly bring down the giant eagle, desperately tried to flee outwards. But could it escape? In Meng Huai’s eyes, this beast represented a substantial amount of points. And what were points? Points were directly related to scholarships!
Thus, Meng Huai pursued the last remaining double-S "point," determined not to let it get away.
While the double-S class star beast was troublesome, for Meng Huai, it was merely a matter of time. During this period, however, most of the other star beasts had already fled. Therefore, after accumulating points for killing two double-S class star beasts, Meng Huai could only randomly dispatch a few low-level ones. The rest had simply escaped, and there was nothing she could do.
Looking at the toppled building before her, Meng Huai realized she could no longer stay there. She had to find alternative lodging. After fumbling in the dark to locate another place to stay, Meng Huai resumed her rest.
Guarded by the eight small paper figures, Meng Huai’s sleep was undisturbed for the latter half of the night.
However, the students who awoke during the night wondered who this individual was who had suddenly broken into the top twenty.
The student who had suffered the most awoke and immediately checked his ranking for reassurance. To his horror, he saw that he had fallen out of the top twenty and cried out in disbelief, “Ah! How did I become twenty-first? I just went to sleep, how could I have dropped out of the top twenty?”
Heaven knows what preparations he had made to enter the top twenty. He had used his energy-intensive weapons quite liberally, and he doubted if his energy reserves would last for the remaining four days. And now, upon waking, he had fallen from his hard-won top twenty spot?
His teammates, hearing his lament, responded dismissively, “Maybe it was some night owl, someone who specifically comes out at night to farm points!”
“We should continue too; our points are being caught up to, we need to hurry!”
The group didn't take the matter too seriously, their only concern being to quickly accumulate more points to help their teammate reclaim his spot in the top twenty.
Even the audience was stunned by Meng Huai’s score. Rebirth of Hope: Huh? Did I miss something? I didn't watch for a night, how did this person gain so many points?
Golden Ore: Right, how did the points suddenly increase so much?
然eeer: For those who want to know what happened, just scroll back! Pointing you to around 2:20 AM!