Everyone had noticed that the first batch of squadrons to descend were the 2 biggest seeded squadrons in the Grozny City Competition Zone, Heaven's Fate Academy and Torres Academy. Following them were the A ranked squadrons, including Stowe Leag, which Reeves was in.
By the time the Tianjing squadron alighted from the carriage, it was already half a day later. Following them were the 2 other C ranked squadrons.
Senior Colonel Lennon, who had berated Casio yesterday, was currently waiting for them outside the carriage.
"Head towards your designated coordinates according to the instructions on your Skylink. There will be people there who will provide you with the mission items, as well as a further explanation of your mission. Okay, let's set off now!"
Without any superfluous words, the cold-faced instructor quickly left, leaving the 3 squadrons in the boundless glaciers.
Everyone immediately opened their Skylinks. Originally, they had assumed that the so-called designated coordinates would be located in an extremely distant place, or even within the depths of some restricted region. However, this clearly wasn't the case. Although the 3 squadrons' coordinates were different, the furthest they were from the location of the train was around 40 to 50 kilometres away. According to the map, they weren't in the vicinity of any restricted regions.
"Looks like we're all heading in different directions." After staying in the carriage for over a day, everyone could be considered to have gotten to know each other. With a smile, one of the captains said, "Let's part ways here. Good luck to everyone!"
Previously, they weren't able to feel it while sitting in the carriage. However, upon alighting from the carriage, they were finally able to feel exactly how biting cold the northern winds were.
This was an ordinary summer day. However, even in broad daylight, the temperature of the wilderness was still a few degrees below zero. The northern winds blew extremely fiercely, causing crystal-like snowflakes to brush against people's faces, causing them to appear as sharp as knives.
This region just happened to be the boundary region that everyone had seen on the map yesterday. It was said that this was once a restricted region, which had been turned into a wilderness by the Vasilyevich Family.
However, although it was easy to get rid of mutated beasts, the radiation levels were unable to be changed. The radiation levels present in the surroundings were rather severe, appearing to be close to that of an ordinary C ranked restricted region. If not for the fact that they had followed Teacher Grace to participate in the Disorderly Burial Lake Region's survival training, just the radiation alone might have caused quite a few people in the squadron to have some trouble. However, the consumption of their physical strength was unavoidable.
Using the navigation via Skylink, everyone quickly found the coordinates that had been given to the Tianjing squadron.
It was in a col of a snowy mountain, only a dozen or so miles away from where they had gotten off the train. There was a small tent in the col, and an instructor had been waiting there for a long time.
"The objective of the mission is very simple. Rely on your own judgement of the direction to reach Grozny City within a month. As long as the number of people in your squadron exceeds five, it'll be considered a success. As for the others, they'll all be considered as failures. There's no reason for them to do so." Said the instructor coldly. At the same time, he took out 10 backpacks that he had prepared beforehand. "All of your survival equipment, food, including your Skylink, are to be handed over. You can only carry the tactical backpacks that we have distributed. In addition, you can keep your own weapons."
At the same time, he took out a small disk-like object. "This is the identification badge of the battle team. Every battle team has one. If you encounter any danger and want to forfeit the match, you can use the identification badge to call for help from the headquarters. Of course, that also means forfeiting the match. If you want to make things a little easier, there is another way. You can get an additional three badges and combine the four badges to form a small signal transmitter. That way, you can advance immediately, and the committee will automatically send someone to pick you up. "
"Extra badge? Are they encouraging us to snatch the badges of other squadrons? "asked Colby.
The instructor's gaze was cold and detached, looking at Colby as if he was looking at an idiot. At this moment, everyone had also realised that this CHF was different from the rest. Not only was this a physical test, it was also a hunt.
In the end, Wang Zhong and the others were chased away. This time, the Federation had sent in many of such soldiers to carry out this mission. The reason why they had gone to such great lengths wasn't just to test the depth of the CHF, but also to reduce the number of casualties as much as possible. Once a rescue signal was sent out, they would be able to rush over in the shortest amount of time possible.
It wasn't that Wang Zhong and the others had not considered following the railway tracks. However, the problem was that they would definitely not make it in time if they were to follow the railway tracks. The committee had already considered this problem. This test wasn't about marathon soldiers. Naturally, it would be a different matter if the entire squadron was a speed-type. In any case, Tianjing wouldn't be able to make it through.
There were many shortcuts, but clearly, not all of them would allow them to reach their destination alive.
Everyone spread open a rather simple and crude map in their backpacks. This map was completely incomparable to the detailed map on Skylink. However, it had now become their reliance. Survival in the wilderness, water, food and mutated beasts would all become the most difficult factors in this test. However, the greatest threat would still come from the various participating squadrons. Those with even the slightest bit of strength might not want to rely on their own legs to reach their destination. Defeating the other squadrons and snatching badges was undoubtedly a more convenient method.
"I feel that we should choose to hunt for badges," said Emily as she looked at the distance shown on the map.
Everyone raised their eyebrows. This wasn't something that little Emily would say in the past. Towards the Tianjing squadron, they had basically never considered this problem. It would already be good if they weren't hunted down.
Nodding his head, Wang Zhong replied, "That can be used as a backup. We'll choose a route. If we meet a suitable opponent, there's no harm in taking action. However, there's no need to specially search for them."
"I'm afraid that snatching the badges of the other squadrons will be extremely difficult." Scarlet shook her head as she held the mission badge in her hand. "This badge isn't made of any special materials and can be easily destroyed. If the losing side is forced into despair and forcefully destroys the badge, it would be a waste of time. This is also the worst point of this test."
"Indeed, not everyone is able to calmly accept defeat. Furthermore, having their badge taken away is a form of humiliation." Lily agreed with Scarlet's view. Even if they had the strength to do so, it didn't mean that their opponents would obediently send their badges to them. At the worst, they would just have to break up.
Although the competition didn't have any restrictions, the entire CHF had a basic rule, and that was that no one was allowed to intentionally kill someone. Ordinary threats would appear pale in this situation.
Although Wang Zhong didn't refute her words, he could tell from the expressions on Grai and Emily's faces that they didn't agree with her words. That's because there were many ways to prevent their opponents from destroying their badges. The only thing that could be said was that there was still a large disparity between the standards of the Tianjing squadron. However, Wang Zhong didn't feel the need to take the initiative to hunt for the badges of the other squadrons.
Scarlet had done a rather detailed understanding of the surroundings of Grozny City. Although the map was very simple, it was sufficient for her to make a judgement that it was definitely impossible to follow the railway. Even so, Scarlet was still able to find 3 paths. Everyone chose a path that was more in the middle, before happily setting off.
However, Scarlet wasn't the only person who had memorized the map. Similarly, there were also quite a few people who could make such a judgement under such circumstances. A fight towards their destination had begun.
… … …
They had chosen to hurry on with their journey. However, this journey was undoubtedly much more difficult than everyone had imagined.
First, it was the distance of the journey. Initially, it was estimated that they would be able to reach their destination within 30 days if they traveled normally. However, that was based on the most standard route designed according to the map. In reality, there was no such thing as a 'standard route' in the Northern River Icefield.
The geographical environment of this area was too complicated. Where there was a canyon yesterday, an avalanche on the mountain wall could block the road in the blink of an eye. Where there was a flat road yesterday, the ice on the ground could be blown away by a storm, revealing an icy riverbed or swamp overnight.
Especially when they passed by a huge river that was several miles wide. There was originally a suspension bridge, but now it had been destroyed. Looking at the damaged area, it was obvious that it had been destroyed by force at most half a day or a day ago. The squadrons in front of them had definitely destroyed the suspension bridge, causing the rest of the squadrons behind them to have nowhere to go. Clearly, the Tianjing squadron had still underestimated the shamelessness of the other squadrons.
Faced with the surging river below, Wang Zhong had no choice but to bring everyone to a more northerly location. Just staying here had taken up nearly a day's worth of time.
Furthermore, this was only in terms of the environment.
The entire Northern River Icefield was covered in snow, with the majority of the accumulated snow reaching up to their knees. There were some special places where the snow had even reached a depth of 2 metres. Clearly, the speed at which they advanced was incomparable to the speed at which they would normally run. Even the most ordinary glacial regions had slippery ice surfaces that made it extremely difficult for people to run. The wilder one was, the more extreme the environment would be. This was the current mainstream situation on Earth, and was something that no human could change.
There was no need to think about the normal route. Everyone in the Tianjing squadron had already pushed themselves to the limit, putting their lives on the line as they hurried along.
Hu …
An icy cold northern wind blew past, illuminating the cave with the faint glow of a fire, along with the faint smell of blood.
Under the illumination of the fire, Wang Zhong was currently using a small knife to clean up a gigantic ice field armor. This mutated beast looked a little like a pangolin, though it was much larger than a pangolin, weighing approximately 400 to 500 kilograms. This cave was its nest.
Beside the fire, all of the other members of the Tianjing squadron were making the best use of their time to sleep. A few girls were squeezed into a corner of the cave, wrapped in military blankets that weren't thick, but were still extremely warm. Grai and Colby were leaning against the fire, while Barran was also by their side. His sleeping posture was slightly exaggerated, with a super big word, while his snoring sounded like thunder.
Under normal circumstances, such loud snoring would definitely cause the girls to be unable to fall asleep. However, as of now, they had already gotten used to it. Perhaps due to them being too tired, they were already unable to open their eyes the moment they laid down. Fortunately, Ma Dong had the foresight to not act pretentiously and follow everyone onto the carriage, choosing to head straight for Grozny City. Fortunately, Ma Dong had the foresight to not act pretentiously and follow everyone onto the carriage, choosing to head straight for Grozny City. Fortunately, Ma Dong had the foresight to not act pretentiously and follow everyone onto the carriage, choosing to head straight for Grozny City.
This was already the sixth day since they had entered the icy plains. They had only entered the Tarma Mountain Range yesterday. During these six days, everyone had already passed through quite a few periods of physical fatigue, causing their initial excitement to turn into complete silence. Being the captain, Wang Zhong had been constantly observing the physical conditions of his squadron members. He, Grai and Emily were completely fine, while Colby, Lily and Barran were slightly strained. However, they were still able to endure it. On the other hand, Scarlet, Milami and Hymin were slightly unable to endure it. Girls were already at a disadvantage when it came to physical strength, with such a long and torturous journey being the greatest test for them. Nevertheless, everyone could feel that the effects of such training were completely different. If they were able to endure till the end of the journey, it would definitely be a baptism for their minds and bodies.
For the past few days, they had not been able to sleep well. Therefore, Wang Zhong felt that it was necessary for everyone to rest for a while, as they could not truly collapse. Therefore, he and Grai took turns to be on guard duty. According to the situation at the broken bridge, the road ahead might not be too optimistic. If he was the one doing the hunting, he would definitely choose to wait for the time when the various great squadrons were tired and relaxed.
Today, their luck was good. Originally, they had found a mountain cave that could shield them from the wind and snow, and wanted to allow everyone to completely relax and rest. However, they never imagined that this mountain cave would actually be the nest of an icy plains spiked beetle. Barran had nearly been pierced through his buttocks by the spikes of that fellow when he had entered the cave.
A rank 3 mutated beast! This was a feast that had delivered itself to their doorstep. Wang Zhong had taken care of the task of keeping watch and roasting the meat, while the others made the most of their time to rest and recover.
A tent was placed at the entrance of the cave to block the cold winds, while crackling sounds rang out from the bonfire, causing the temperature within the cave to rise by quite a bit. The fragrance of roasted meat gradually pervaded the cave, causing Barran, who was sleeping by the side, to drool in his dreams.
"Senior, you should go and rest for a while." Grai had already woken up at an unknown time. Stealthily walking over, he said, "There's still over 2 hours before daybreak."
"I'm fine." Wang Zhong replied with a smile. For something like fatigue, the stronger one's willpower or soul was, the more one would be able to persevere and overcome it. While the others in the squadron were unable to bear it, he had completely treated it as a form of tempering for himself.
Nodding his head, Grai sat by the side of the bonfire. The stronger one was, the greater their recovery rate would be. From the looks of it, Grai was already glowing with energy and had completely recovered. With him around, Wang Zhong would be able to relax by at least half. Emily was still resting. Although her willpower was very strong, that did not mean that her body did not need rest.
All of a sudden, a beeping sound rang out from the badge in Wang Zhong's bosom, followed by a mechanical notification: Nuo Nuo An Academy, lost contact, eliminated.
The badge would notify all squadrons of their elimination. Previously, Wang Zhong had already heard this notification five times. However, the notification from the badge had always been "XXX Academy, abandoned, eliminated". The word "abandoned" was very easy to understand, as it definitely meant that they had pressed the rescue signal on the badge. There weren't many mutated beasts in this region of the glaciers. Furthermore, they were all low rank beasts, so they wouldn't pose any life-threatening threats. Beasts like the Icy Plains Spiky Beetle that lived alone were easier to deal with. However, if they were to occasionally encounter a group of mutated beasts that mainly consisted of 3rd and 4th rank Icy Plains Wolves, the role of a scout would be displayed. Previously, Tianjing had bumped into a wolf pack that mainly consisted of 4th rank Icy Plains Wolves. Fortunately, Emily, who was the scout, had discovered them in advance, allowing everyone to take a detour around them. The role of a scout was extremely important. If it was the Emily of the past, she wouldn't have been so reliable. Over the past few days, everyone had a whole new level of respect for this little lass. At the same time, they could only admire her. The inheritance of the Assassin Family was indeed different.
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