Translator: mianbao Editor: Aelryinth
Edited by RED
The sounds of gunfire weren’t very far away from them.
Everyone’s faces changed drastically, including Second Lieutenant Qi.
They had actually used guns! It seemed like the number of spiders in that Five-Colored Poison Spider nest was definitely not low. The beastmasters deployed by the military for security were actually not enough to handle them, and they were forced to use firearms.
There were still quite a number of beasts in the suburbs that weren’t killed off. Under normal circumstances, it was best to leave them to the beastmasters if they had the option of not employing the use of firearms.
That was because exotic beasts from the beast horde were very sensitive to the sound of gunfire. They might even lure every beast within several kilometers to them.
If it came to that, then it would really be dangerous!
“Hurry hurry hurry, everyone pick up your pace. You must get to the ad hoc camp as soon as possible!”
Lieutenant Qi’s expression turned a little fierce. He had participated in the last beast horde, and understood how dangerous this situation was. He couldn’t help but started yelling at the students.
They also understood that danger was imminent, and ran like their lives depended on it. Even though they were already out of breath, they didn’t dare to stop for even a moment.
“Don’t be afraid, Zhang Xiaoche. If the exotic beasts really come at us, I will protect you!”
Huang Tielan consoled Zhang Che as she ran by his side. She shouldn’t be underestimated, despite the fact that she had a big body. Although she had run several hundred meters, she didn’t look tired at all, forcing Zhang Che to renew his opinion of her.
-But, Miss, are you sure you didn’t speak wrongly?-
Zhang Che decided to ignore her.
The sounds of gunfire were still rising continuously in the forest behind them. It was obvious that the situation was very serious, casting a dark cloud into the hearts of those running.
In the depths of the forest, a deep valley...
A large number of Five-Colored Poison Spiders, each about the size of a millstone, were gushing out endlessly from a cave in the depths of the valley. Their densely packed furry bodies caused one’s scalp to go numb after seeing them.
In the area above the mouth of the valley, a group of about fifty soldiers were wielding their firearms, shooting madly at the wave of spiders.
Even within the army, there weren’t many mid- and high-tier beastmasters. Under such circumstances, the most reliable weapons were still the firearms in their possession.
The Five-Colored Poison Spiders were only three-star bronze-quality beasts, after all. Although their carapaces were very tough, they couldn’t withstand rifle bullets. Under the heavy fire, the body parts of the exotic beasts were flying everywhere, thick yellow fluid splashing in all directions.
Under such a fierce assault, a Five-Colored Poison Spider would die from time to time, turning into a streak of light and dissipating away.
Although the soldiers felt a slight heartache seeing that, they didn’t have a choice under such circumstances, either.
There were too many Five-Colored Poison Spiders. Moreover, these exotic beasts knew how to push their advantages and minimize the opposite. After rushing out of the valley, they immediately spread out and sped off to the surrounding forest. Even though the soldiers were trying their best to kill them all, there were still quite a number of them that slipped away.
A commanding officer who held the rank of Captain was urging the Year 3 students and teachers through his communication device, telling them to hurry to the camp with an anxious expression.
The military had surveyed the area very thoroughly for this outdoor training, but unexpectedly, there was still an undiscovered cave in the valley. Only the heavens knew how many Five-Colored Poison Spiders were hiding in it.
With such an unexpected incident, the soldiers in charge of security could only do their best to delay the Five-Colored Poison Spiders in order to buy time for the students to retreat.
As more and more Five-Colored Poison Spiders broke through the perimeter set up by the group of soldiers, the battles started widening to a much larger area.
The sounds of gunfire began to spread in all directions, too.
What was more worrying was that as the sound of gunfire spread, the surrounding exotic beasts would definitely be lured over. It would truly be a huge problem then.
Even so, the soldiers were left with no other choice. Their reinforcements needed some time to rush over here. Every soldier here were basically prepared to sacrifice themselves.
“Hurry! Persevere on, everyone, we’ll reach the camp in just a little bit!”
Within the forest, the preparatory beastmasters of Class 2 were running out of breath. If it wasn’t for the fact that they knew the Five-Colored Poison Spiders would catch up to them if they stopped to rest, they would have collapsed on the grass field.
Lieutenant Qi was creasing his brow, cheering on the students as they ran. Currently, they were barely a kilometer away from the military camp. They would be in a much safer position if they held on for a few minutes more.
Anxiety could be seen all over Class 2’s homeroom teacher, Han Sheqing. He was similarly cheering on his students, telling the students who were at the limits of their strength to not give up.
“Everyone, hang on for another few minutes. We’ll be safe once we reach the camp. You mustn’t give up!”
Running with the group, Zhang Che felt his lungs burning, his legs turning limp. He almost couldn’t run any longer.
However, he felt embarrassed after taking a look at Huang Tielan by his side, who was only breathing slightly heavily. -I’m a freaking man; how could I possibly be weaker than a girl?-
Ugh... alright. Huang Tielan was surely not a weak little girl, but Zhang Che didn’t want to admit defeat, either. He was someone with a cheat, after all. How could he be so weak?
At this moment, the few people who were at the back of the ground suddenly heard ‘shasha’ sounds from the bushes behind them. They turned back in shock to take a look, and were almost scared into having their souls leave their bodies.
“Ah— the spiders have caught up!”
Everyone turned to look after hearing that scream, and saw three Five-Colored Poison Spiders as big as millstones scuttling in their direction, chasing them with their pedipalps raised.
“Teacher Han, you bring the students away first!”
Lieutenant Qi turned back resolutely, with his blade in hand and the Eagle-Beak Pheasant alongside him, engaging the three Five-Colored Poison Spiders.
There weren’t any traces of hesitation in his movements!
If Lieutenant Qi could easily win against a single Five-Colored Poison Spider with his original combat form-type beast, then two of those spiders would be able to stand against him evenly.
However, there were three spiders this time around. Even though Lieutenant Qi was unusually brave, he would probably find self-preservation difficult. Without any reinforcements, it was very likely that he would lose horribly and be killed by the Five-Colored Poison Spiders.
Even so, in order to keep the Class 2 students safe, Lieutenant Qi turned back without any hesitation, not taking his personal safety into account.
After witnessing this scene, every student felt a surge of warmth in their hearts. At the same time, they felt their eyes turning sour and were almost touched to tears.
As Lu Xun1 had once said: A true warrior would face a bleak life head on, and dared to look straight ahead at the dripping of blood.
And Lieutenant Qi, who intentionally faced off against three Five-Colored Poison Spiders, was definitely worthy of the title, “A true warrior”!
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Translator’s Note:
1: A reference to real life. Lu Xun was the pen name of an actual Chinese literature writer (AD 1881-1936)