"Ten whole Skeleton Soldiers? Unbelievable!"
"Wasn't this newcomer not a Rich Second Generation?"
"Even if he were a Rich Second Generation, it'd be difficult... No, it'd be nearly impossible to buy so many three-star Remnant Souls of the same troop type."
"This newcomer probably encountered a randomly spawned wild Troop Building, huh? Hmph, he's just another Lucky One."
"Lucky One? How could a wild Troop Building possibly have no monsters guarding it? If you encountered one as a newcomer, do you think you could recruit the troop?"
The examiners in the distance chattered among themselves. Ten Skeleton Soldiers were nothing to veteran players, but for a newbie who had only been chosen six or seven days ago, it was quite astonishing.
After all, this newbie came from a civilian background.
Comparing his current lineup to the one he had possessed back then, the civilian-born examiners in the assessment group looked at Mu Yuan with even greater approval. Some examiners even began spacing out, wondering whether they should introduce their daughters to this young man.
Especially since, after summoning ten Skeleton Soldiers, this young man was still nowhere near his limit. He clearly had an excellent physique and would be able to enjoy a happy marriage.
Across the arena, Chief Examiner Jiang Cheng was quite satisfied.
Whether it was the lineup Mu Yuan had brought out or Mu Yuan's physical fitness, both were impressive.
At this level, as long as he proceeded steadily, passing the Lord Trial would definitely not be difficult.
Thinking this, Examiner Jiang did not show it on his face. He merely reminded him, "You still have two and a half minutes to prepare. You can familiarize yourself with controlling your troops."
On the other side,
Mu Yuan was breathing slightly heavily. For one thing, he had to put on a bit of an act and show the other candidates some respect. For another, he had indeed expended some stamina and mental power.
If he had summoned Bone Two, Bone Three, or even Deathbone, the expenditure would have been lower. However, what he had summoned this time were merely Skeleton Soldiers that had evolved once, so it had still cost him somewhat.
He was indeed still too weak, far inferior to the Macho Man beside him.
As his thoughts raced, Mu Yuan also realized the difference in operating troops in reality.
--In reality, he had only summoned his general, Deathbone. Deathbone was different from the other Skeleton Soldiers; it was highly autonomous and had never needed his commands. Only now, after trying it himself, did he discover that it was as if a mental thread tightly connected him with the ten Skeleton Soldiers.
He did not need to speak or make any gestures. With merely a thought, he could order the Skeleton Soldiers to do whatever he wanted.
Moreover, controlling them was much more precise than controlling them through a computer.
At the very least, on a computer, he could only make the Skeleton Soldiers attack, defend, or move thirty centimeters to the left. Now, he could even specifically order a Skeleton Soldier to attack the upper or lower lane.
More specific maneuvers, such as the Thousand Years of Death or lethal attacks to the groin, still depended on the troop's individual comprehension.
Overall, personally commanding them was much faster, more convenient, and more precise than operating them through a computer. No wonder the Written Test in the Resource Assessment accounted for only twenty percent of the score.
Players only used medium-based controls during the early stages.
However, operating them in reality was not without flaws. Mu Yuan surmised that this "Mental Link" should consume his own mental strength. The more troops he controlled, the greater the expenditure.
At the same time, his control range was only fifty meters. Once they exceeded this maximum distance, they would experience "disconnection," "lag," "delay," and so on. This was something he needed to pay attention to.
Although Mu Yuan had summoned ten Skeleton Soldiers, giving him a far greater presence than his opponent, his strongest Skeleton Soldier, Bone Four, was only Level 5. Most of the other Skeleton Soldiers were still Level 3 or 4, far inferior to the opponent's "Level Nine Great Perfection expert."
At most, he held a slight advantage in grade and numbers.
Examiner: "???"
You call this a slight advantage?
But in Mu Yuan's view, without using skills, his total combat power was not much stronger than his opponent's. At most, the battle would be a seventy-thirty split in his favor.
At that moment, the burly Examiner Jiang across from him snapped his fingers again.
Amid the radiance of the snap, two figures walked out.
They were two burly Great Goblins with bulging muscles. Not only were they one star higher in grade, they were also "Level Nine Great Perfection" experts. Terrifying pressure radiated from their entire bodies.
Mu Yuan: "???" That's not playing fair!
Examiner Jiang Cheng grinned. "With your lineup, only three Spearmen wouldn't be enough to see your command ability. It's perfectly reasonable for me to call out two Great Goblins as well, right?"
"Of course, regardless of whether you win or lose this battle, you'll secure a spot in the next round. And..."
"If you can defeat this lineup of two plus three, I'll personally apply for an additional newcomer benefit for you."
Its full name was the Genius Newcomer Support Benefit, and it was only available to players from civilian backgrounds.
However, sometimes this support benefit was not activated even once in an entire year.
Chief Examiner Jiang Cheng folded his arms and looked at Mu Yuan. Come on, let this examiner see what you can do.
Mu Yuan: "..."
If he summoned another Skeleton Warrior now, would it seem awkward?
But...
"Two Great Goblins and three Spearmen?"
He narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze over the Great Goblins' muscles, torsos, and thighs before deciding... to kill the Spearmen first.
Who could blame him? Great Goblins were too tanky.
The three minutes of preparation passed in the blink of an eye.
The instant the countdown reached zero, the two Great Goblins suddenly roared as if their restraints had been removed.
Their roars were deafening, making Mu Yuan's eardrums buzz. This was his first time facing troops in reality, and reality inevitably affected his own body as well.
Facing the pressure of the huge Goblins head-on, Mu Yuan wanted to say that only someone who had experienced it personally could understand.
He suddenly clenched his teeth. By the time he regained his senses, the two huge Goblins were already about to charge into the Skeleton Soldiers.
One defending, two attacking!
He quickly commanded one Skeleton Soldier to meet them head-on in a defensive stance, while ordering two others to move slightly slower. This way, when the Great Goblins attacked, they could seize the opening and land a vicious slash.
At the same time, the other Great Goblin also clashed with the Skeleton Soldiers' fists and blades.
Everything happened too quickly for Mu Yuan to think much, but as Great Lord Mu, he was already accustomed to multitasking. He watched the surroundings from the corners of his eyes and kept issuing orders.
Boom--
A green fist slammed into a Skeleton Soldier, smashing the small round shield it had used to block before continuing straight into its armor.
The armor caved in from the impact, and fragments flew everywhere.
One of the armor fragments shot toward Mu Yuan, rapidly enlarging in his pupils.
Splurt--
The fragment pierced the Skeleton Soldier that had moved to shield him. Mu Yuan discovered that he was unusually calm. Without panicking, he ordered the other Skeleton Soldiers to seize the opportunity, grip their blades, and slash viciously at the Great Goblin's legs.
A Life-Risking Slash!
Perhaps because they used Cleave so often in their daily training, the Skeleton Soldiers swung their blades with exceptional force. In just a few strikes, they had achieved noticeable results.
The two huge Goblins were inflicted with "Slow," "Bleeding," and other DEBUFFs.
This was the drawback of having no commander.
Although three Skeleton Soldiers had also been injured in this brief exchange, their armor caving in, they quickly climbed back up and continued fighting.
A slaughter!
A slaughter!
This was a true blood-soaked battle. Even though the Skeleton Soldiers had no blood, the Great Goblins and Spearmen were already spilling bright-red blood.
Mu Yuan adhered to the tactics of ganging up on the weak and trading wounds for wounds. However, the Skeleton Soldiers' levels were ultimately too low. By the time he had maneuvered around the Great Goblins while eliminating the three Spearmen, two of his own Skeleton Soldiers had been knocked out of bounds, and three had nearly lost their combat power.
He had five units of combat power remaining.
Across from him were two injured but still extremely frenzied Great Goblins.
It was time to fight to the bitter end.
Bone Four picked up a battle blade that had fallen to the ground and suddenly hurled it at a Great Goblin.
Immediately afterward, relying on its speed advantage, it kept kiting the injured Great Goblin, whose legs had become inconvenient to move. At times, it picked up sharp objects from the ground and threw them to harass it. At others, while the Great Goblin's attention was focused on the other Skeleton Soldiers, it would suddenly hack at it.
This continued for more than ten minutes. They fought until the heavens collapsed and the universe wore away, and the two Great Goblins finally fell to their knees after bleeding too much.
By then, Mu Yuan's side still had four Skeleton Soldiers remaining, and they had won the battle with a clear advantage.
Examiner Jiang: "..."
The other examiners: "..."
To be fair, this was actually a very good tactic. The troops had also performed steadily, and the newcomer's command ability was even more outstanding. But...
They had fought so fiercely at first, looking as though they were constantly trading units in a life-and-death struggle. How had they suddenly become so shameless?
This command was truly...
Brilliant!
Any tactic that could win was a good tactic.
As one of the top players and the examiner in charge of on-site commands, Jiang Cheng saw even more details.
The tactics in this battle had indeed been ingenious, but the reason he could steadily take down the two Great Goblins also came from the Skeleton Soldiers' abnormal damage output.
They were stronger than ordinary Skeleton Soldiers, and somewhat more agile as well.
So that was it.
Jiang Cheng understood. He understood completely.
This had to be the Skeleton Soldier Talent that had yet to truly awaken!
I'll update one chapter first. As usual, please support me with all kinds of data~
--
Book recommendation: "Killing the Immortal"
The male protagonist has a succubus constitution, and his bodily fluids make women addicted. The author is a god of NTL.
Before you continue