CHAPTER 632: CHAPTER 266: ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVE, HELL LEVEL DIFFICULTY

"So scared before it even starts?"

"Teams of a hundred, weapons, bows and arrows, armor, Dan Medicine... you can bring everything you can carry, and the Cold Beasts have already been weakened substantially, what’s there to fear?"

"Well, none of us have ever actually faced a Cold Beast, so it’s normal to be afraid."

"The youngest is just over 9 years old, they’re half-grown kids, having them deal with Cold Beasts is indeed a bit early."

"This selection method is still a bit early for them."

......

As the crowd below stirred with discussions, the Cold Resistance Level individuals above the city gate also expressed their opinions. Some thought the Logging Realm individuals below performed poorly, while others believed the preliminary round was too harsh, making these kids face Cold Beasts now felt premature.

Yuan Cheng, Lin Kai, and Lu Yang looked grim, remaining silent.

The host, Qiu Peng, wore an even more somber expression, with a hint of anger.

But he didn’t say much more, simply yelled downwards:

"Stop all the nonsense, we’re starting the draw now. Ten groups per round, whichever number you draw is the cage number you’ll get. Participation in the selection is not compulsory. If more than one-tenth of your team chooses to give up, the whole group is considered to have forfeited. Additionally, there’s one rule I forgot to mention earlier..."

Qiu Peng paused, with a touch of contempt on his face, continued, "We won’t waste too much time on you parasites and wastes, so each group’s assessment time is limited to one hour. If you don’t succeed in hunting within an hour, you fail. Begin now!"

Wow........

Not only do they have to hunt Cold Beasts, but also within an hour.

The rule that Qiu Peng added was so extreme that many were in shock, not even noticing how Qiu Peng referred to them.

"In the Director’s eyes, are we all just parasites and wastes?"

In the formation of Group 51, Xiao Hen looked around, seeing that most people in the team wore expressions of deep pessimism. Although there was some anger on their faces, deep down, they couldn’t help but agree that this label was quite fitting for them.

"Killing a Cold Beast within an hour, it’s impossible!"

"Our camp’s Low-level Hunting Teams have a personnel configuration of 20, a team made up of 20 people from the Earth-digging Realm, and they can’t even ensure a 100% successful hunt, how could we with just us?"

"Most of us are equipped with Five-stone Bows, which can’t even pierce the Cold Beast’s skin. Should we give up?"

"Qiu Sizheng didn’t say whether there would be casualties in this selection. If anything unexpected happens, we..."

.........

"Everyone, calm down, listen to me!"

Seeing that some were even contemplating giving up, Xiao Hen knew he couldn’t just stand by anymore. He interrupted everyone’s discussion and walked to the center of the group.

Within the camp’s circle of young people, Xiao Hen still held a certain level of fame.

Once he stood up, many recognized him immediately.

"Is that Xiao Hen?"

"Xiao Hen is with our team."

"He’s the Minister’s brother-in-law, right?"

"It’s useless, the Minister’s brother-in-law is just a Logging Realm too."

.........

Xiao Hen took a deep breath and continued in a loud voice, "I will only ask you one question: is there any possibility for a hundred Logging Realm individuals, working together, to hunt a Low-level Cold Beast?"

"Of course not!"

"Impossible, the Logging Realm doesn’t even have the qualification to hunt!"

"No way, absolutely not."

......

It’s common knowledge for the Ice Abyss humans that the Logging Realm cannot hunt!

Hearing their unanimous response, Xiao Hen did not argue but nodded first. After the crowd quieted down, he continued, "I only became a member of Great Xia in April of the first year, some of you have been here earlier, some later. I’d like to ask those with a bit more experience, about one particular tale of a leader, tell me, is it true or false..."

Xiao Hen paused and then said, "When the Leader just broke through the Logging Realm, he went out alone and brought back a young Snow Mane. Later, when the Minister and Yuan Sizheng both broke through to the Logging Realm, the three of them together hunted an adult Snow Mane that very night. This can’t be false, can it?"

As soon as his words fell, the surrounding crowd instantly fell silent.

Everyone looked at each other, and soon some lowered their heads in guilty silence.

There are many stories about Leader Xia Hong, but the one about hunting a Cold Beast right after breaking through the Logging Realm has the highest credibility because many eyewitnesses are still around.

Besides, when they practiced martial arts below the main building, many had heard directly from the Minister and Yuan Sizheng about this incident.

"Of course, it’s true. This happened only four years ago. I was one of the eyewitnesses from that very slope. I’ve just been listening on the sidelines, and to use the words parasites and wastes by Qiu Sizheng to describe you all couldn’t be more apt."

From the back of Team 52 came a contemptuous voice.

Upon hearing the words parasites and wastes, a slight anger arose on everyone’s faces as they turned to look towards the back.

In the back of the team, a young man in light gold armor, holding a horizontal blade, looked at them with a face full of disdain.

Beside the young man stood six others, around his age, also dressed in light gold armor and holding blades made in Great Xia, mostly with contempt on their faces.

"Liu Peng!"

"Aren’t you just a Logging Realm too?"

"You’re just like us, what are you being all arrogant for!"

.........

Liu Peng is the one who broke the Logging Realm record last May.

Unlike others’ intense reactions, the moment Xiao Hen saw the group of seven led by Liu Peng, his expression immediately grew much more solemn.