Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The holographic battlefield, along with the tall woman, faded as the data stream receded, leaving Eve sprawled, half-dead, on the training room floor.

The wounds on her face and body had vanished, yet the lingering pain confirmed that her recent ordeal was no illusion.

Grace crouched beside her, observing Eve’s eyes—exhausted yet astonishingly bright. She immediately understood that Eve had likely experienced a significant breakthrough during the simulated battle. With a hint of envy, she remarked, “Learned a lot, didn’t you? Sigh, why weren’t my seniors so generous with me?”

“You went straight for a marshal-level opponent—someone completely unrelated to our Medici family, and whose Spiritual State only shares the ‘offensive type’ with yours,” Eve, still prone, couldn’t resist teasing. “If you’re going to poach skills, at least pick someone you can cozy up to first. Miscalculated, didn’t you, Grace?”

Grace conceded the point; she had indeed brought it upon herself. She pinched Eve’s cheek and asked, “Can you still stand and fight tonight?”

“Yes!”

“Alright, I’ll give you ten minutes to recover,” Grace said, glancing at the control panel. “Dick will be here in ten minutes. Once he arrives, we’ll start our next formal practice.”

During the break, Eve and Grace continued to discuss their upcoming combat training schedule. Eve noted Grace’s remarkable precision, evident in everything from her insistence on balanced meals to her seemingly effortless ability to devise highly suitable training plans.

“Next, we can begin with Zerg battlefield training,” Grace announced, pulling a pair of glasses and a pointer from seemingly nowhere. She tapped the screen with the pointer, looking every bit the instructor. “First, none of us can operate mechs, so mech training is out. Second, you’ve experienced one-on-one combat; for now, prolonged high-intensity, high-damage practice isn’t suitable. Finally, the Zerg battlefield has the most comprehensive data. In this kind of practical combat, we can rapidly gain experience and improve our strength.”

Eve clapped in agreement, fully endorsing Coach Grace’s plan.

“What’s more,” Grace added, adjusting her glasses with a sly smile, “I had Dick inquire beforehand. First Empire Academy, as an established comprehensive university for both civilian and military applications, was repeatedly converted into a military institution during past Zerg wars. Because of this, it still retains some ancient and hardcore traditions. For example, internal practical assessments and comprehensive events like the Freshman Cup are all conducted in the form of Zerg battlefield simulations.”

“Although we won’t enter First Empire Academy for another two years, it’s not too early to start preparing now. Once we’re there, we’ll be surrounded by talented individuals who are both hardworking and well-resourced. Making targeted plans early won’t hurt us.”

Listening to Grace’s calm and measured analysis, Eve nodded eagerly, like a chick pecking rice, her enthusiasm amusing Grace. Grace bent down, placed a hand on Eve’s shoulder, and helped her sit up. Just then, Dick burst through the door, panting, “I’m here!”

“Your timing’s a bit off—I just finished a long speech.”

Despite her words, Grace patiently recounted everything she had just told Eve to Dick. Soon, another “chick” joined them, nodding earnestly in agreement.

Grace smiled, amused by the two of them. “Alright, are you both ready? Then I’ll begin.”

“Ready!” two voices chorused.

Grace selected the Zerg battlefield, easy mode, and set the rounds. Another wave of data fluctuations enveloped them, and when they opened their eyes again, the trio found themselves in a familiar wilderness.

Eve wiped her face, somewhat exasperated. “Why are we back here again… This is exactly where Marshal Maria gave me a beating earlier.”

“So, does that mean you’re very familiar with this environment?” Grace asked casually, simultaneously summoning her Spiritual State in her consciousness.

“Sort of, but during the solo battle, the system didn’t add any Zerg to our fight,” Eve observed the familiar dry grass and yellow sand, trying to recall the mystical sensation of merging with the environment as an intangible concept. She felt that her understanding of psychic energy had improved somewhat.

She turned her head and saw that both Grace and Dick had already summoned their Spiritual States. She paused, as if remembering something, and added:

“My Spiritual State was dispersed once during the battle earlier, so I might not be at my best right now.” Eve stated truthfully.

Grace immediately felt sympathetic. “No wonder you still look out of breath after lying there for so long. Having your Spiritual State dispersed is no joke.”

“What dispersed Spiritual State? Why are you two talking about things I don’t understand again?” Dick pricked up his ears, looking confused. Then, suddenly, a light bulb went off, and he exclaimed angrily, “Are you two grinding without me again?!”

Eve offered a half-hearted consolation. “Sorry, Dick, but it’s not that we’re excluding you—you were just late.”

“Don’t be angry, Dick,” Grace said, her massive lavender wind chimes swaying gently in the windless environment. “It’s just a mode in the simulation room. Remember to come earlier tomorrow, and you can try it too.”

Dick said suspiciously, “You’re rarely this nice to me. I’m almost suspicious there’s a trick.”

Eve thought his intuition was quite accurate—Grace was just waiting for him to volunteer to get beaten up. She was indeed a cunning, sly girl.

She turned her head, squinting at the suddenly rustling grass, and warned, “Stop being suspicious. I think we’d better stay alert now. Enemy bugs are here.”

No sooner had she spoken than a black, gleaming ironclad beetle, about half a person tall and two meters long, slowly crawled out of the grass. Its carapace shone like the hardest black iron, and its spike-like forelimbs were razor-sharp. The ironclad beetle growled at the trio, revealing green, viscous secretions from its mouth.

As if sensing the threat from the opposite side, the ironclad beetle didn’t move immediately. This type of Zerg was a low-tier breed with low intelligence and slow reactions. They often relied on their hard shells, remaining motionless like turtles when faced with threats. Thus, they were considered easy to kill—as long as you could breach their shells.

The problem was—

“We probably can’t break its shell right now,” Dick stated honestly, his slender mayfly quietly hovering beside him, its translucent body emitting a faint blue glow.

Although Grace’s Burst Wind Chime possessed strong explosive power, the ironclad beetle’s tough shell was particularly adept at defending against area-of-effect explosions. The correct approach was to concentrate attacks on its weak point—the abdomen.

Eve said, “I have an idea, but I’ll need both of you to cooperate.”

During her earlier battle with Maria, Eve had not only improved her mastery of her Spiritual State but also gained insights into the application of psychic energy. She felt like those sword cultivators in cultivation novels who had to challenge stronger opponents to achieve extraordinary gains—especially when the stronger opponent was intentionally guiding her.

A smaller, fainter full moon slowly ascended to the zenith. The moment the moonlight touched them, Grace and Dick simultaneously felt a surge of power enter their bodies. It wasn’t overwhelming, but it made them feel that both their own strength and their Spiritual States’ power had been enhanced.

The Burst Wind Chime bloomed more vibrantly, and the mayfly comfortably raised its upper body.

The two exchanged glances, seeing surprise in each other’s eyes.

Support roles might seem inconspicuous on the battlefield, but a good support could sometimes be the key to turning the tide. Moreover, the moon’s support range was so vast—wherever the moonlight shone, it brought benefits.

Grace made a quick decision and said firmly, “Eve, you command. Dick and I will cooperate fully.”

“Understood,” Eve replied.

A long, sharp lightsaber suddenly appeared in Eve’s hand. The Luna Butterfly, shrunk to palm size, clung firmly to her shoulder. This time, she didn’t vanish to the exaggerated extent of conceptual disappearance.

She and Grace and Dick still lacked synergy. Disappearing too thoroughly might hinder their coordination.

If the three of them could achieve sufficient synergy in the future, with two in the open and one concealed, able to coordinate without excessive communication, the effect would undoubtedly be astonishing.

Just thinking about it made Eve feel a thrill of anticipation.

A teammate’s sudden disappearance was indeed startling, but since Grace and Dick had been focused on her, their surprise lasted only a moment. Eve intended to command the battle while simultaneously leveraging all three of their abilities. After a moment’s thought, she transmitted her voice to the other two.

She compressed her voice into a thread of psychic energy, delivering it directly and accurately into their ears.

“Dick, your mayfly can lure enemies and draw fire. It moves extremely fast. Try to make the ironclad beetle turn its head sideways toward us.”

“Okay,” Dick thought, and the mayfly’s tail glowed brighter, gradually attracting the ironclad beetle’s attention. It moved its sluggish body, crawling toward the lightly hovering mayfly.

“Grace…” Before Eve could finish, Grace responded loudly, “I know!”

She had trained on the Zerg battlefield a few times before the other two, so compared to Dick, she had a better understanding of the ironclad beetle. For example, Grace had discovered that the abdominal joint was the best place to attack the ironclad beetle.

The Burst Wind Chime emitted a pungent scent, indicating its excitement matched its owner’s. Then, one of its bell-shaped flowers detached from the stem and flew straight toward the ironclad beetle. The moment it touched the ground, it exploded. Amplified by the moon’s projection, the Burst Wind Chime’s explosive power was at least doubled compared to when Grace fought alone. The ironclad beetle was immediately engulfed by the exploding sand, flipping onto its back like a skidding truck, its abdomen exposed to the sky.

Dick, who was not far from the ironclad beetle, was caught off guard by the blast and sent flying backward.

“…Damn it,” Dick emerged from the grass, covered in dust, and roared furiously, “Grace—did you do that on purpose?!”

Grace offered an awkward smile. “My bad, my bad! This time it really was an accident!”

She and Eve moved simultaneously the moment the flower exploded, leaping up and rushing toward the ironclad beetle. Although the ironclad beetle couldn’t right itself, its raised limbs were still sharp and powerful, slashing toward Grace like an array of blades. Eve seized the opportunity to blur her form and, under Grace’s cover, nimbly climbed onto the ironclad beetle’s abdomen, which was as tall as a low wall. She found the muscle with the densest nerve clusters—also the weak point between the layers of iron armor.

Due to the Zerg’s biology, decapitation wouldn’t kill it. Only by destroying the muscle with the densest nerve clusters in its neural core could it be quickly dispatched.

Eve raised the sword with both hands high above her head, channeling all her mental energy into her wrists and the lightsaber. For a moment, the psychically activated lightsaber emitted a dazzling glare so intense that Grace, who was dodging the serrated limbs nearby, found her vision briefly disrupted, nearly getting her face grazed.

“What’s going on?” Grace quickly readjusted her guard stance, positioning herself where she could clearly see Eve’s movements, and muttered inexplicably.

Did the sun just come out?

Eve brought the lightsaber down with immense force, relying purely on brute strength rather than technique. Her combat experience was still limited, so she could only depend on the little fighting skill she had just learned and pour all her energy into it.

—She pushed off with her foot, slid down along the carapace, and forcefully drove the hilt forward, slicing through the insectoid’s muscle. As a result, the creature’s limb-armor shuddered violently and then fell still, followed by a gush of thick white ooze oozing from the wound.

Grace, who was nearby, witnessed the scene and exclaimed in amazement, “How did you manage to pierce through? I knew it was a weak point, but I couldn’t get through.”

“Focus your mental energy, then thrust with all your might.”

“If I remember correctly, the concrete application of mental energy is supposed to be part of the university curriculum.”

“I thought the essence of elite education was learning ahead of the curve,” Eve said with a bright smile, kneeling at the edge of the ironclad beetle’s carcass. She reached out to pull Dick up, then shook her sword lightly. “Fresh specimen—while the insect carcass is still active, both of you should give it a try.”

“…You devil!”

Over on his side, Dick had just dusted off the dirt from his face and painstakingly climbed onto the insect’s corpse when he heard Eve’s gentle yet cruel suggestion. He finally couldn’t take it anymore and snapped like he was dealing with two battle demons, “It’s already dead! Give the poor insect carcass a break!”