The Floating Chariot had crashed into the mountain wall with a loud noise, naturally catching the attention of the Patrol Team members early on.
Without permission, they couldn't gather around to watch, but their curiosity scratched at them like a cat's claws.
The moment they had permission, they burst forth like wild horses set free.
Tang Yu shook his head.
Today, without any external missions, some members of the Patrol Team were on duty around various areas of the Sanctuary, while most of the rest, due to budget constraints, hadn't gone to training camp, practicing the preliminary moves for Heavy Slash wherever they could.
Older members of the Patrol Team, like Lu Xiaopeng and others, some had already successfully used Heavy Slash.
With two to three times the power of a regular slash, it was enough to make anyone envious.
Among the newer members of the Patrol Team, Lan Qingya had also learned Heavy Slash after a few days of practice... Many of the guys felt ashamed and were spurred on to train even harder.
"Although I can't use Heavy Slash yet, I've mastered the preliminary moves very well. I believe in at most three days, I'll be able to use Heavy Slash."
Zhao Ming was bursting with excitement, "And I've also found that even if I haven't fully learned Heavy Slash, just these preliminary moves have significantly enhanced my strength. Just last time, I killed a Second-tier Demonized Beast all by myself!"
Such an achievement was something Zhao Ming wouldn't have even dared to dream of before.
When the dozen or so members of the Patrol Team arrived, they saw this human-shaped puppet standing more than two meters tall.
From its design, it was streets ahead of the basic, round puppets.
"Director Tang, have you developed a new type of puppet?"
In the minds of the Patrol Team members, puppets were developed through Director Tang's capabilities.
Although they didn't underestimate the previous standard Warrior Puppets, their own increasing strength had left them behind, and now, seeing this, they realized that as they progressed, Tang Yu, too, hadn't stopped moving forward. In such a short time, he had developed even stronger puppets.
"That's right, the reason you were brought here was to test out the new puppet's strength. Just like before, the puppet isn't equipped with any weapons, but you can use anything at your disposal."
Tang Yu beckoned with his hand, and the Fighter Puppet stepped forward with several pounding steps. "The difference this time is that even without any equipment, this new kind of puppet can show the strength of a Second-tier Awakening. So, who wants to try it first?"
Looking at the people in front of him, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.
This was indeed the right way to use the members of the Patrol Team.
The moment his words fell.
Zhao Ming stepped forward, "Second-tier strength? Well, that's perfect. I had just broken through to Second-tier Awakening two days ago. I've been worried about not having a worthy opponent. Competing with others is not as exhilarating as fighting a puppet!"
A playing field was marked out, and the two stood opposite each other.
With the start command, the Fighter Puppet charged straightforwardly, each footstep leaving a solid imprint on the ground, like a tank charging into battle.
Zhao Ming pulled out a Standard Battle Saber, his gaze intense, keeping his eyes firmly on the puppet.
Compared to his first time fighting a basic Warrior Puppet, Zhao Ming had indeed grown a lot. He shouted loudly, raised his combat saber high, smoothly executed those preliminary moves for Heavy Slash, and with a whistling sound, he brought the blade slashing down towards the oncoming Fighter Puppet.
Although he still hadn't managed to invoke the Qi Blood Power to perform a true Heavy Slash, those preliminary moves had boosted his strength by at least two levels... He had tested this on the Punching Power Tester.
Confident about his strike, Zhao Ming believed that if he could land the hit successfully, he would gain a considerable advantage. Coupled with a series of combos, he could easily take down the puppet, which might also change a few girls' impression of him within the team!
That's what Zhao Ming thought.
In the next moment, the Fighter Puppet kicked out its leg. Before his combat saber could strike, a giant foot slammed into his stomach, sending him flying several meters away.
Zhao Ming was completely stunned.
This isn't right, how can they use their feet too!
Last time fighting with the basic Puppet, I had never seen a Puppet launch an attack with its legs; that's against the rules, coach!
Zhao Ming staggered as he tried to stand up, only to find the Fighter Puppet had somehow already got to his front, with a large foot stopping less than five centimeters from his face. As he moved, his face ran smack into it again.
The members of the Patrol Team couldn't help but cover their faces.
"This Zhao Ming, although I never had high hopes for him, getting KO'd in one round, isn't that a bit too quick?"
"Yeah, we've already seen those round, rolling Puppets last time. This time, since Director Tang said the Puppet had Second-tier Awakening strength, then in Second-tier, it's naturally top-notch. It's expected for Zhao Ming to lose, but to not last even one round... um, Zhao Ming is indeed too crappy."
"This is embarrassingly bad! Zhao Ming, just take off your skirt!"
Now, the general strength among Patrol Team members was of the Second-tier Awakening.
Although Zhao Ming had thrown in the towel, others were unconvinced. No matter what, they still had to perform well in front of Director Tang to prove that their strength wasn't that bad, it was just dragged down by Zhao Ming.
A robust big man stepped forward.
With Zhao Ming's performance as a warning, even though he thought he was much stronger than Zhao Ming, he didn't dare to be careless. As the battle began, the big man launched the attack first.
The robust big man ended face down, flopping onto the ground.
"How is this possible, even Xing lost, and so quickly!"
"How many rounds was that? One point one, one point two, or one point five? It feels like it wasn't much better than Zhao Ming. What on earth did Xing do last night? He's so frail!"
Another member of the Patrol Team with Second-tier strength entered.
The others watched nervously.
The shorter team member was even more cautious, moving around while tentatively attacking.
Others thought to themselves. Though this shorter team member could only strike at the Puppet's legs, there was an advantage to it—destroying the Puppet's leg joints would take away its speed advantage, then they would have the upper hand!
However, the next moment, everyone widened their eyes.
The Fighter Puppet suddenly lunged forward with a Violent Grab, lifting the short youth over its shoulder and smashing him down hard on the ground, following up with a combo, dealing a critical hit!
This team member, who was stronger and lasted longer, only made the gap more evident for everyone else.
Zhao Ming and the second team member who went up had lost too quickly, leading everyone to falsely believe it wasn't that the Puppet was too strong, but rather those two were too weak. However, the harsh truth was, against the Puppet, they were all weak.
After several fights, not a single scratch appeared on the Puppet; standing there, it seemed almost as if it was looking down on them.
The others hesitated to step forward.
Defeating the Puppet would of course score some points with Director Tang. If they could exchange a few rounds, they could also gain some insight, but...
Placing themselves in the shoes of those who had just fought, they realized that with their own strength, it wasn't about lasting a few rounds—lasting even one round would be a miracle.
The Patrol Team member who had just mockingly told Zhao Ming to take off his skirt was now incredibly embarrassed. If he were to go up and get KO'd in one round, would he have to dress in the same women's clothing and join Zhao Ming in taking off their skirts?
That would indeed be utterly humiliating!