In the clearing, members of the Patrol Team had Luo Zhe's demonstration echoing in their minds, their eyes shimmering.
Just a moment ago, Luo Zhe, using the strength of a First Layer Awakener, held an iron rod and managed to smash a huge rock to pieces in a single blow.
When did First Layer Awakeners possess such terrifying destructive power?
They didn't doubt Luo Zhe's words; it was just that Iron-faced Luo had also demonstrated his full strength, and that power... Compared with that, shattering a huge rock was, indeed, exerting far less force.
"Through training, a person can fully utilize their combat strength, and by mastering more advanced Power Manipulation Skills, they can exert far beyond their own level of power," Luo Zhe explained.
"We call these Power Manipulation Skills, 'Combat Skills.'"
The members of the Patrol Team's eyes gleamed.
Power Manipulation Skills, Combat Skills, these were things they hadn't even heard of before. It was as if they suddenly found themselves at the gateway of a new world, their breathing growing heavy.
"The technique I just used is a Combat Skill, called 'Heavy Slash,'" Luo Zhe explained as he held the steel rod and slowed down the motion from before, "Learning a Combat Skill is not easy. First and foremost, you need to become proficient in these movements. Once you have mastered these movements, even if you can't truly learn the Combat Skill, it will still significantly enhance your combat capabilities."
These movements, taken individually, looked awkward, but if one could complete them in a short span and link them together, they exhibited a kind of indescribable beauty.
Fluid, natural, and full of power!
They began to try imitating the movements. Despite the difficulty, each one of them was determined to persevere.
They never expected to come into contact with Combat Skills, let alone have the chance to learn them. The benefits of joining the Patrol Team were far beyond their expectations. They all felt incredibly fortunate. If they hadn't joined the Patrol Team, wouldn't they have missed out on Combat Skills altogether? They thought about how the Awakeners who hadn't joined the Patrol Team must be green with envy upon learning about this.
Of course, they wouldn't say a word, as this was a secret of the Patrol Team. Just the thought, however, was enough to fill them with excitement.
Luo Zhe was watching and correcting their movements, nodding in approval.
'Heavy Slash,' this particular Combat Skill, is a basic type, but as a universal Combat Skill for the Warrior profession, its adaptability is incredibly broad. Including the preceding movements of the Combat Skill, in the city he used to inhabit, every soldier was required to learn them.
Even though their foundations were weak, with several clearly lacking combat experience, they knew how to exert effort, which made them talents worth developing.
Seeing this, Luo Zhe contemplated and then released his aura, pressing down on the individuals.
Several members of the Patrol Team, who were diligently practicing the motions, turned pale and nearly collapsed. However, under such intense pressure, the movements they had struggled to perfect suddenly became much more accurate.
After lunch, Peng Bo rubbed his swollen belly, burping with satisfaction.
The morning's training had been intense, especially for him as the sole ability user. Captain Luo's outward projection of terrain affected him more and consumed more energy, so much so that he had experienced a breakthrough in his appetite just by noon.
Peng Bo was thrilled!
Hardship? What was that? His only hobby was eating, and his greatest hobby was eating even more.
After the high-intensity consumption in the morning, his appetite suddenly surpassed his previous limits. Before, he would either be not fully satisfied or, though full, not really expended much energy, so his appetite was not much different from any ordinary food lover's. It was only at today's lunch that his capability truly showed.
He left the other members of the Patrol Team far behind, and even several Awakeners couldn't compete with him.
When he heard that there was a special activity in the afternoon, Peng Bo arrived early.
He obviously wasn't the only one with that idea. Although Captain Luo had given them some rest time, one by one, all the members of the Patrol Team still arrived at the clearing and began practicing those odd poses again.
"Captain Luo is here!"
Someone called out, and Peng Bo turned from his awkward pose to see Captain Luo carrying a huge box.
This box was large and extremely heavy. As soon as it was placed on the ground, it landed with a clang, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Peng Bo's eyes widened. Inside were sets of brand-new equipment, including swords, firearms, and other weapons, as well as a full set of black-striped combat uniforms.
Luo Zhe pointed at the equipment, "This is one of the benefits for the Patrol Team, a full set of equipment prepared for you."
Peng Bo's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked up a gleaming longsword, making a casual slash.
The shriek of the wind cutting through the air could be heard, and Peng Bo could barely feel any resistance from the blade. He stumbled, and with a swish, the longsword struck a large boulder nearby, half of the blade already buried within the stone.
It wasn't just Peng Bo; the other Patrol Team members couldn't help but gasp. They saw clearly how Peng Bo hardly exerted any force and, moreover, he hadn't even stood firm, so the force of the strike wasn't strong. But that mere force was enough for more than half of the sword's blade to penetrate the rock.
Someone tried to touch the hilt and gave it a slight push, and the entire blade sank completely into the rock, leaving only the hilt exposed.
The Patrol Team members: "..."
These weapons were too brutal; they had never seen such sharpness before!
Why were most Awakeners not a match for Demonized Beasts of the same level? Aside from their insufficient combat skills, the largest factor was the weapons! The cold weapons used by the Awakeners, when slashed against Demonized Beasts, sometimes could barely cut through. In such cases, how could they possibly be a match for the Demonized Beasts?
Even cold weapons forged by modern techniques, those of truly high quality, were not this sharp. They might be adequate against ordinary Demonized Beasts, but against Second-tier or third-layer ones, probably, it would take considerable effort to breach the beasts' defenses.
They knew that after joining the Patrol Team, the Sanctuary would distribute weapons, but no one had expected the weapons to be this sharp, qualifying them as Divine Weapons!
The Patrol Team members were lost in fantasy.
Wielding such weapons, they could easily break through the scales or fur of Demonized Beasts, making killing them much simpler!
Everyone's faces showed excitement.
No wonder they had seen Director Tang dressed in a black combat uniform, no wonder Captain Luo always wore heavy armor; some people had been unable to understand, but now they realized, this was real equipment for the apocalypse, truly powerful!
The responsibility of the Patrol Team was to deal with Demonized Beasts, and originally they were quite nervous and worried, but now, with such equipment, facing the Demonized Beasts, they were no longer prey...
But instead, hunters!
Everyone happily changed into their equipment. After putting on the combat uniforms, the comfort and the ease of using their powers filled them with delight.
And they didn't yet know, this was only the Basic Type of equipment.
After the team assembled, Luo Zhe nodded his head, "You have ten minutes to familiarize yourselves with the equipment. Afterwards, follow me outside to clash with the Demonized Beasts; this will be this afternoon's training session."
Outside of the Sanctuary, the gate of the former resort villa.
All members of the Patrol Team, dressed in black-striped combat attire with swords at their waists and rifles on their backs, appeared much more formidable with this uniform equipment, rising several notches in presence.
Formerly, they seemed to be just ordinary combat personnel of the Sanctuary, but now, they had ascended to the level of elite soldiers from a large Sanctuary.
Luo Zhe's target this time was a county city ten-odd kilometers away.
The county city was not small and had plenty of resources. He had been there several times before but could not transport back much due to a shortage of manpower. This practical training for the Patrol Team was also their first mission outside, and Luo Zhe had specially requested a small truck, intending to haul back more items.
The team slowly progressed, each person's face maintaining alertness and excitement.
Every Patrol Team member had experience surviving in the post-apocalyptic wilderness, but this time was different from the past. Before, they would try every means possible to avoid Demonized Beasts, but this time they were to actively seek out and engage the Demonized Beasts.
Both tense and excited.