Chapter 92-3: Secret Assistance (3) |
This wasn’t something that could be called brave anymore.
It was suicide.
“Do you realize how much trouble your actions could bring to your people?” Ghost Eye said gravely, staring at Dirt Poor.
Hearing this, Li Zheng and the others, who had been slightly tense from the heavy atmosphere, burst out laughing.
To them, this so-called trouble was completely harmless.
Even genocide didn’t seem like much of a problem in their eyes.
“Kill!”
At that moment, Ice Snow let out a shout and charged at Dirt Poor with his nine racial kin following close behind.
Seeing this, Li Zheng immediately stepped forward, taking two quick strides to stand in front of Dirt Poor. He lifted his foot and delivered a precise kick to Ice Snow’s stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Under the stunned gazes of the other races, the player race began brawling with the Icecrack race members.
Both Ghost Eye and Elro were left dumbfounded by the scene.
They had personally witnessed the players’ courage these past days. Though they complained verbally, in their hearts they already acknowledged it.
But they never imagined the players were even bolder than they thought.
Not only did they provoke the Icecrack race, they actually dared to lay hands on the Icecrack juniors, it was practically playing with their own futures.
Outside the cafeteria, Mad Sand watched the scene unfold with a faint smile at the corner of his lips, but did not step in to stop it.
The rules of the training camp were ironclad, and he would not alter them for any race.
As long as no one starved to death, cafeteria brawls remained within the rules, even the Icecrack race had no authority to change that.
Allowing the Icecrack juniors to eat first was purely out of respect for their elders who bled on the front lines, that was already the maximum concession within the rules. No other adjustments would be made.
“Chief, are you really not going to interfere?” One instructor beside Mad Sand asked, observing the cafeteria situation with his perception.
“Tempering their arrogance is a good thing. Growth requires setbacks. Before I became a formal warrior, I trained alongside a group of royals. At first, they were just as arrogant as these kids. But after going through hardships together, they gradually learned to restrain themselves… This is something every warrior must experience.”
As he spoke, Mad Sand turned to his subordinate.
“Their arrogance is understandable. Since childhood, they’ve been taught the glorious history of their race and the great achievements of their ancestors. Who wouldn’t feel proud? I would too. But only when that pride is tempered by setbacks can it become the fearless strength they’ll need on the battlefield… As for now, their pride is just immature vanity.”
“I understand,” the subordinate nodded, but then couldn’t help asking.
“What about the player race?”
“They were brought here by Elder You. Do you think the Icecrack race would dare hold Elder You accountable?”
—
Inside the cafeteria.
The brawl had now become a full-on melee between Li Zheng’s group and the Icecrack members.
The other races’ trainees looked on in shock.
In terms of strength, Li Zheng and the others were clearly outmatched by the Icecrack race.
The Icecrack juniors averaged Hunt Level 25 and wore no power-suppressing bracelets, giving them a clear physical advantage over Li Zheng’s group.
Their only advantage was brawling skill.
After more than ten days of intense fighting, Li Zheng and the others had picked up plenty of dirty techniques.
Eye gouging, groin kicks, nut shots… all kinds of nasty moves bombarded the Icecrack juniors both physically and mentally.
The Icecrack trainees were nearly driven to emotional collapse.
In an effort to end the fight quickly, they began unleashing their racial abilities, raising their hands to gather extreme frost energy.
Each punch they landed on Li Zheng’s group sent shivers through their bodies, the bone-chilling cold invading them, slowing their movements, and causing frosty breath to escape from their nostrils.
Seeing this, Ghost Eye and Elro exchanged glances and quickly reached an unspoken agreement.
For the sake of their races’ futures, they wouldn’t join the fight to help the players directly.
But they could offer assistance in more subtle ways.
At that moment, Ghost Eye lunged at Elro. Elro caught Ghost Eye’s arm, spun his hips, and hurled him directly into an Icecrack member who was channeling frost energy.
Smack!
The Icecrack member was knocked down, his gathered frost energy dissipating. Ghost Eye quickly helped him back up, repeatedly apologizing while gritting his teeth and glaring at Elro as if scolding him, before pouncing back on Elro to continue their staged scuffle.
After days of brawling, the races had developed a silent understanding.
Seeing Ghost Eye and Elro’s actions, the others immediately grasped their true intent.
After a brief pause, the chaos resumed.
Throughout the brawl, many from the other races kept an eye on the players’ fight with the Icecrack race.
Whenever they saw the players falling behind, they would find ways to help, creating ‘accidental’ disruptions.
Their strategy was simple: secret assistance.
Though they didn’t like the player race, they disliked the arrogant Icecrack juniors even more.
The players were beasts, but the Icecrack race were arrogant beasts, even more detestable than beasts.
—
Three days later.
A shuttle tore open a spatial rift and descended onto the training field.
As the hatch opened, the elder of the Icecrack race stepped out.
But as he walked out smiling and looked at his juniors standing beside the training squad, his smile froze.
Before him, the Icecrack juniors had sunken cheeks, prominent cheekbones, skin tightly stretched over their bones, and their once-smooth blue hair was now tangled and messy.
Most striking were their eyes, which had lost all vitality, turning hollow as they stared blankly at a nearby snow tree. Their mouths were slightly open, and under perceptive vision, droplets of saliva gathered at their cracked lips, occasionally swallowed as their dry throats spasmed.
Their hands clutched their bellies unconsciously, as if trying to suppress the gnawing emptiness inside.
They wanted to eat the tree?!
This bizarre thought suddenly flashed through the Icecrack elder’s mind as he observed them.
At that moment, Ice Snow turned his head toward him, his lifeless eyes meeting the elder’s gaze. Within them swirled a complex mixture of emotions.
Surprise, hope, bitterness, grievance, resentment, joy… all tangled together, and finally tears welled up in his eyes.
Just then, Mad Sand approached the elder and greeted him respectfully.
“Icecrack Elder.”
“What… what happened?” The elder looked at his aggrieved juniors in astonishment, turning to Mad Sand.
In response, Mad Sand glanced at the Icecrack juniors, carefully choosing his words before explaining:
“They didn’t like to eat. I tried to persuade them…”
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