Elite Squad

In squad operational doctrine, intelligence was always the highest priority. Karen did not believe the trial organizers had designed every regulation to be flawless. In fact, he could clearly tell that this selection trial had an unpolished roughness about it everywhere. Once past security, no action would be deemed cheating, and anything was permitted. The clanking of iron cages came clearly from within the black vortex above. Barring any accidents, the test subjects for the second and third waves were already queued up behind it. Upon receiving the captain's order, Aisli immediately lowered her head and began searching across her arms. *The most useless, the most useless... this one!* Aisli placed a fingertip on a small totem and chanted: "Cindy, my dearest friend! "Now, I ask for your aid. May your power be conveyed to my side to help me through this peril." As soon as the words left her mouth, Aisli's eyes glazed over into a blank trance. Immediately after, a beam of white light radiated from her left arm, and the phantom silhouette of a large white bird materialized. Its eyes were azure blue, its feathers pure white, and its posture graceful. Its very presence seemed an embodiment of the sacred. Aisli had chosen it because this flying beast named Cindy had no practical use other than looking good. It usually appeared during ceremonies to add visual embellishment—it was a mascot. And so, in accordance with the captain's request, Aisli summoned it first. At this moment, Aisli was controlling this phantom silhouette—or rather, she was guiding Cindy's phantom. After circling once in the air, Cindy flew straight into the black vortex above. Not long after, a shrill, pitiful shriek echoed down, followed by a loud pop. Several spectral feathers drifted out of the black vortex, slowly dissipating. Clearly, the sacred Cindy had completed its sacred mission. Perhaps the organizers inside the black vortex had not expected such an occurrence either, but after a brief moment of shock, they promptly struck down this large bird that had dared fly in to sneak a peek at the exam questions. "*Cough, cough, cough...*" Focus returned to Aisli's eyes. She drew a deep breath, clutching her chest as she coughed violently several times. "Behind the cage holding Maika, there's another cage with the illusionary beast Zogai, and behind that is the illusionary beast Redina! I also saw the illusionary beast Puxien being loaded into a cage!" Aisli turned her head to look at Karen, swallowed hard, and shouted again, "I saw another huge silver gate, too! Cindy sensed a terrifying sealed aura—that's... a sealed space!" The role Aisli played far exceeded Karen's expectations. In fact, based solely on the information she had just provided, even if she did nothing else from here on out, she had already rendered an enormous service to the team. Since childhood, she and her parents had lived alongside rare monster beasts in the research institute. She was extraordinarily familiar with monster beasts—not the kind of familiarity gained from reading an illustrated bestiary, but from having touched them, lived with them, and perhaps even watched her parents dissect them. Karen had originally anticipated that Aisli could tell him what the upcoming monster beasts looked like, allowing him to deduce their likely abilities and deploy countermeasures in advance. But since Aisli had called them out by name one by one, it proved she actually "knew" them. This bypassed the guesswork entirely, allowing them to obtain concrete information on the upcoming trial targets directly from Aisli. It was the equivalent of turning a closed-book exam straight into an open-book one. After Maika, there were roughly three more illusionary beasts. If there were still more than two teams remaining by then, a soul-type sacred relic would have to be brought out of the Church of Order's sealed space to project its effects as the trial obstacle. Just then, the black vortex above vanished. Karen knew they were patching the loophole in time. Although the squads were separated within their respective barriers, their fields of vision were unobstructed. What had just transpired at Squad 3 would surely be seen by the other squads, who might follow suit. In fact, if taken to an extreme, someone might even toss a teammate up inside. After all, they could not very well slaughter a young candidate the way they had that big white bird. Rather than risk further accidents and unpredictability, it was better to shut down the black vortex originally meant to build atmosphere, and simply release the illusionary beasts when the time came. "The illusionary beast Maika resembles a giant eyeball. Its body structure is soft yet resilient, capable of exceptionally high soft defense. At the same time, its skin secretes a psychoactive hallucinogenic toxin, and its innate abilities are deep hypnosis and mental vortex." Aisli recited her knowledge of the illusionary beast Maika. Karen made immediate tactical adjustments: "Ventura, when Maika appears, pin it down. Bart, attack once Ventura has it restrained. Blanche, provide mental defense for Ventura and Bart!" "Yes, Captain!" "Yes, Captain!" Karen looked toward Mars. "Continue setting up the array." "Yes, Captain." "Aisli, rest." "Yes, Captain." Blanche began chanting, applying a layer of black protection over both Ventura and Bart. With a second round of incantations, the shape of an umbrella materialized behind each of them. The former was Purification Cloak; the latter was Soul Umbrella. After some time, the black vortex reappeared, and a monster the size of a two-story building, shaped like a massive eyeball, dropped down from the vortex. Ventura held out both hands. A layer of crystal instantly covered his body, and his originally small frame began expanding, shooting up to two meters in height. The accumulation of crystals created an effect resembling bulging muscles. "Order—Guardian Wall!" This was not an advanced spell; Karen used it frequently himself. But when Ventura cast it, the summoned walls actually extended directly from his arms. He had incorporated his personal traits into the Order spell, giving his walls a silvery hue. Not only that, but the two massive walls summoned appeared as if embedded into his arms. Before Maika could even hit the ground, the two giant walls clamped it tight in midair! The scene looked comical, yet it had actually happened. Karen had long anticipated that soul-based abilities were not Ventura's forte. However, because Ventura had spent almost every day since birth enduring the torment of contamination, his soul was far tougher than that of ordinary priests, which was how he had passed the regional selection. Yet the true manifestation of his strength lay in his body. He had broken through his own contamination and utilized it, stepping over the very agony that had tormented him to attain even greater power. When the youth drew upon his strength in earnest, his normally bashful self transformed into a rampaging giant. Trapped between the walls, Maika instinctively struggled to break free, but Ventura's arms remained motionless, and the twin giant walls pinning Maika naturally did not budge either. Unable to escape, Maika's massive eyeball instantly turned blood-red. In a flash, the vision of the three people closest to Maika—Ventura, Bart, and Blanche—was tinted crimson. Even Karen, Mars, and Aisli, standing further away, noticed a shift in their vision. Blanche began retreating to establish a safe distance suited to the situation, but throughout her retreat, she continued applying mental defenses to Ventura and Bart. The two black umbrellas spun ceaselessly above their heads, neutralizing the mental impact emanating from Maika. Seeing that Maika was securely pinned, Bart leaned forward, his arms drooping, and snapped them down violently. From the palms of both hands, the flesh split open, revealing a short segment of white bone spur, upon which distinct carvings were visible. It was hard to imagine how those runes had been carved directly into his bones, and how much agony Bart must have endured for it. If Ventura had grown stronger by overcoming his own suffering, Bart had actively sought suffering purely to enhance his strength. After a brief chant, two black scimitars manifested in Bart's hands. Karen, observing the battle closely from behind, knew Bart had "transformed" his own bones into something akin to a sacred relic. This not only bolstered his physical enhancement but also allowed him to use his bones as an anchor to elevate the potency of his spells. Bart had originally leaned toward the warrior system of Dark Moon Island, but what he wanted was far more than just that. With a flicker of his figure, Bart appeared above Maika, plunging both black scimitars straight down into its body. Two identical copies of Blanche appeared beside her. In an instant, all three Blanches chanted in unison, bestowing another round of buffs upon herself, Bart, and Ventura. In truth, Blanche had been slightly slow; she should have done this earlier. But Bart's speed had exceeded her expectations—or perhaps Bart had pushed the tempo too fast, failing to sync with Blanche's rhythm. In short, the squad's teamwork was not yet well-coordinated. *Hum!* The black scimitars stabbed into Maika's body but failed to pierce its outer skin. Yet before Maika's skin could cave in to absorb the kinetic force, Bart's elbows jerked back to recoil the power. Rather than pressing further down, the twin scimitars retracted slightly, and then, snapping his arms back, Bart thrust them in again with violent force. He already understood Maika's defensive properties, so he naturally would not treat his offensive as a one-shot deal. Instead, he employed high-frequency, high-vibration continuous pressure. "*Wuuu...*" Maika let out a howl of agony. That section of its skin began cracking; the soft-skin defense it took pride in lost its efficacy before Bart's targeted assault. However, minute pores appeared across its skin, spraying out plumes of green mist. By then, Blanche's protection had already enveloped Bart's body, helping him neutralize the effects of the psychoactive toxic mist so he could concentrate fully on continuing his assault. Maika's toxic mist and psychic assault in its near-frenzied state simply could not breach the defenses Blanche had established for her teammates. "Roar!" Ventura let out an enraged roar. His body seemed to expand another size, his arms swelling thicker, which caused the two massive guardian walls to become even larger and sturdier. Spreading his feet slightly, he began exerting greater force to compress Maika. This not only pinned it further in place but also stretched its skin taut under all-around pressure, significantly boosting the impact of Bart's strikes. Seeing this, Karen could not help but marvel inwardly: these three were true geniuses. At their core, they were just like him. While peers of their age progressed through realms step by step according to the routine, they had long begun digging deep horizontally, tapping into their potential while laying foundations for their future development. That was the biggest difference between Richard and them. The former Richard had a slack personality; there was no way he would have been this ruthless with himself. Fortunately, Richard's father had already begun helping him catch up on his homework. Karen could not help but sigh wistfully: *If only all these youngsters belonged to my core team.* So far, only Ventura was someone he could recruit. Bart and Blanche both had backgrounds tied to the knight orders—what a pity. If Captain Neo saw a Whip of Order squad formed from geniuses like this, his mouth would water with envy. The situation here was essentially stabilized; resolving the fight was only a matter of waiting for Bart's continuous pressure to breach Maika's tolerance threshold. Thus, Karen did not make a move. He first looked up toward the statue of Augurev high above. He was certain true higher-ups were watching this trial through the statue's eyes, so his Dark Moon Blade and Sea God's Armor... He could use them, but he could not use them too overtly. Though he had developed methods to conceal the visual forms of both spells, he still preferred not to take unnecessary risks in matters like this. Karen looked in the direction of the other squads. Everything had to be judged by comparison. His side had completely pinned down Maika using only half their manpower, needing only time to conclude the battle. That did not mean Maika was weak; in fact, several neighboring squads were already being thrown into utter disarray by the giant eyeball, struggling in an evenly matched slugfest. Without advance preparations or this specific lineup, facing Maika's psychic harassment, toxic mist secretion, and resilient soft skin would truly give anyone a massive headache. Yet Karen noticed that Squad 1 had already concluded their battle. All six members sat cross-legged, adjusting their condition. *So fast?* In another direction, Squad 7 had also finished their fight. These were the two fastest squads. However, the second target—the illusionary beast Zogai—had not appeared above Squad 1 or Squad 7. This meant the second round would not commence until all other squads had finished their fights. In other words, finishing early simply granted more rest time. Even after understanding this rule, Karen still had no intention of intervening, for he already had a holistic plan in mind. Finally, with a sound like a bursting rubber ball, Maika's body could no longer withstand the pressure and exploded. Although Karen's squad had not been the fastest, the Maika dropped on them had undoubtedly died the most aggrieved death. It had not even touched the ground, having been seized in midair from start to finish until its demise. "Ventura, Bart, fall back and rest. The second illusionary beast won't appear until the other squads finish off their targets. Blanche, rest as well. Don't waste energy accelerating their recovery; use time to rest." "Yes, Captain." The three acknowledged his order and retreated toward the array. By now, Mars had finally finished setting up his array, but per Karen's instructions, it had not been activated and remained dormant. "An adult illusionary beast Zogai is more than double Maika's size," Aisli explained. "It looks like an octopus with numerous tentacles. Its mental power is vastly stronger than Maika's, and every single tentacle can serve as an origin point for psychic attacks. In addition, it can spit venom imbued with contamination attributes." "Contamination?" "Yes, Captain. However, once refined, its venom can serve as a very precious ingredient for potions." Karen nodded and said to Aisli, "Are you well-rested?" "I'm rested, Captain." "Spread out your arms and let me see." "All right, Captain." Aisli rolled up her sleeves and displayed her arms before Karen. Karen observed them for a moment, then pointed at a fire salamander totem. "Summon this one later." "Captain, it's not strong... aside from carrying flames on its body, it has no other means of attack. If it weren't because it can't fly, I wouldn't have summoned Cindy earlier—I would've summoned it directly." "This one will do. It's fine." At that moment, all squads concluded their battles, with two squads suffering elimination in the first round. One had half its members trapped in the mental vortex and unable to wake, leading to internal strife within the squad under Maika's control. The other had failed to breach Maika's defense and was picked off one by one instead. The former had voluntarily chosen to end the trial, while the organizers had terminated the trial for the latter. In an instant, the barriers surrounding those squads contracted, sealing the two Maikas away. The remaining squads had completed the first round—some crisp and clean, some steady and unhurried, others in battered disarray. Next, eighteen squads advanced to the second round. Dark storm clouds gathered above. Due to Squad 3's earlier maneuver, the organizers could now only use storm clouds as a countdown. Bart, Ventura, and Blanche all stood up, but Karen said, "Keep resting and recover your stamina. Mars, set up another array to establish a mental bridge." After issuing his orders, Karen glanced at Aisli, gesturing for her to follow him. Karen walked beneath the storm clouds, with Aisli standing behind him. In an instant, a massive rift tore through the clouds, and a gargantuan octopus plunged from the fissure, crashing into the barrier with a resounding boom. Upon landing, the illusionary beast Zogai raised its twelve tentacles and unleashed an ear-splitting roar. Karen held both hands behind his back as a wisp of black mist coiled around him. He hovered upward, feet lifting off the ground. In a flash, hundreds of chains shot out from around Karen, binding every single one of Zogai's tentacles, as well as its head. *Boom!* Another roar thundered out. The illusionary beast Zogai, utterly overbearing moments ago, was pinned rigidly to the ground by a dense web of black chains. Aisli's eyes widened at the sight. Similar expressions appeared on the faces of the other teammates resting in the rear. "Summon it," Karen reminded her. "Oh, yes, Captain!" Aisli began the summoning. Soon, the phantom of a fire salamander appeared. Flaming fire enveloped its form, and once it crawled onto Zogai's body, the flames spread to Zogai as well, inflicting sustained damage. Wisps of white smoke from melting flesh drifted from Zogai's head from time to time, but compared to Zogai's massive frame, the effect was far too minute. Zogai let out a low growl of fury, unclear whether it was aggrieved at being unable to move, or humiliated that something like this was being used to attack it. Aisli reminded him again in a low voice, "Captain, its attack power isn't very high." Karen nodded placidly and said, "No rush. Let it burn slowly."