"Fire!" "Keep firing!"
"Throw every Flying Snake Spear you've got!"
Chi the Eighth surveyed the battlefield and immediately shouted his orders.
He could already see that if they didn't hurl every Flying Snake Spear before the enemy reached them, they might not get another chance to use them.
A succession of thunderous booms rang out as iron pillars, each like a massive spear, were hurled through the air. They flew at tremendous speed, one volley after another. Often, before the first volley had even hit the ground, the second was already on its way, growing denser with each wave.
The Half-Dragonfolk's Hegemonic Body gave them immense strength and stamina. They had no trouble hurling spears at top speed for a short time.
Under such a dense barrage, even the Spotted Serpentfolk—despite their wealth of combat experience and formidable skills—were struck by more and more of the iron-pillar spears.
In particular, when they reached the many traps dug by the Half-Dragonfolk, they had to spread out, making it even harder to dodge the Flying Snake Spears. At last, one Spotted Serpentfolk after another had their shields smashed by the relentless barrage, leaving the spears to strike their bodies.
At that moment, the spots covering their bodies suddenly turned brilliantly vivid, as if gleaming with light. Their intricate patterns linked together, looking like one rune after another.
The iron-pillar spears hurled by the Half-Dragonfolk struck the Spotted Serpentfolk with tremendous force, yet still couldn't pierce the bright, vivid rune-scales covering their bodies.
Clearly, this was another difference in the foundation of First-Order Vassals on a Fourth-Order Star.
They were all First-Order Spotted Serpentfolk, but the Spotted Serpentfolk Vassals of the other ordinary students' First-Order Stars were synonymous with weakness. Teacher Du's First-Order Spotted Serpentfolk, on the other hand, already possessed the Barbarian Body aptitude of being "impervious to blades and spears." They could slaughter their way through the mutated, money-powered Vassals of the top Star Lord students.
Watching the performance of Teacher Du's First-Order Spotted Serpentfolk Vassals, Liang Ji suddenly understood a little. This mock exam wasn't just testing the Vassals of the Star Lord students in the class; it was probably also meant to encourage the many ordinary Star Lord students.
After all, more than half the Star Lord students in the class had the most ordinary Spotted Serpentfolk as their Vassals. In the trials before this, they had probably seen the gap between their own Vassals and those of the top Star Lord students.
It was enough to make anyone despair.
But in this mock exam, their homeroom teacher, Teacher Du, had shown them the potential for growth in ordinary Spotted Serpentfolk.
There was no need to fear being ordinary, and no need to worry about being weak.
Cultivation and advancement were the greatest, finest stepping-stones.
As long as they completed their Star Lord cultivation step by step and raised the rank of their Natal Star, they would naturally keep improving the foundations and abilities of their Spotted Serpentfolk, allowing them to catch up with, or even surpass, those with special Vassals.
As thoughts turned in Liang Ji's mind, the examination on the battlefield continued.
He noticed that although the Half-Dragonfolk's earlier attempts to dig pits and pile up earth to create obstacles had restricted and slowed Teacher Du's Spotted Serpentfolk, they had also given them more ways to dodge and block the Flying Snake Spears.
The Spotted Serpentfolk adapted to the battlefield with remarkable speed, then put the huge pits, deep trenches, and mounds of earth to use, turning the terrain to their own advantage.
Now, though the Half-Dragonfolk had fired many Flying Snake Spears, almost none of them could hit the Spotted Serpentfolk. The damage they inflicted was even smaller.
"That was a mistake in the setup..."
"Perhaps it wasn't a mistake, exactly. The gap in combat experience and skill between the two sides was simply too great. Any setup would probably end up being a mistake—a failed arrangement."
Liang Ji reflected on the lesson, quickly summed it up, and recorded it in his study notes.
The most important purpose of the school's mock exams was to let students see their own strengths and weaknesses, so they could target them in their upcoming studies and cultivation.
The examination continued on the battlefield.
The Spotted Serpentfolk Vassals assigned to the homeroom teacher, Teacher Du, finally charged through the area where Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk had hurled their Flying Snake Spears and reached the "Iron Fortress" they had built.
In the end, the Half-Dragonfolk hadn't managed to throw all the Flying Snake Spears they had brought into the examination ground. They still had nearly half left.
The Spotted Serpentfolk had advanced across the battlefield far faster than expected.
The only consolation was that the barrage of Flying Snake Spears hadn't been entirely without results.
Of Teacher Du's hundred Spotted Serpentfolk, three had been killed by the dense barrage along the way, and nearly ten more had been wounded.
"These should all count toward the score."
"The overwhelming might of the Half-Dragonfolk's Hegemonic Body does have some 'merit' to it after all."
What's more, under the dense barrage of Flying Snake Spears, almost every Spotted Serpentfolk's shield had been destroyed along the way.
Now, the Spotted Serpentfolk who had reached the Iron Fortress had only one spear left in their hands.
And standing in their way was an iron wall, piled high from the Half-Dragonfolk's many iron-ingot-like shields. It stood over two meters tall and nearly a meter thick.
The Half-Dragonfolk's next task wasn't to fight the Spotted Serpentfolk head-on, but to use the iron wall to hold back their attack for as long as possible and stretch out the examination.
Liang Ji had never forgotten that this mock exam was testing how long each Star Lord student's Vassals could hold out against the teacher's hundred Spotted Serpentfolk.
Thirty minutes was a passing grade; sixty minutes earned full marks.
He had never expected his Half-Dragonfolk to kill the teacher's Spotted Serpentfolk. So, in the battle, their focus was naturally on defense and stalling for time.
"The examination has only been going for ten minutes. There's still a ways to go before a passing grade, let alone the full sixty minutes."
"I wonder how long these iron walls can hold off Teacher Du's Spotted Serpentfolk."
Liang Ji hadn't expected the walls to completely stop the Spotted Serpentfolk's attack, but every extra moment they could buy was worthwhile.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In front of the iron wall, Teacher Du's Spotted Serpentfolk had already raised their spears and thrust them into it, each strike ringing out with a crisp clang.
These spears had also been forged from the iron and metal found on Teacher Du's Fourth-Order Star. They bore no carved runes and were ordinary weapons, but they were extremely hard and sharp.
Liang Ji could even see the spears pierce straight into the iron wall, boring out one pit after another.
But the iron wall built by his Half-Dragonfolk was thick—nearly a meter thick. The deepest holes the Spotted Serpentfolk's spears could gouge were only twenty or thirty centimeters deep. Breaking through the wall clearly wouldn't be easy.
Liang Ji felt a little relieved. At this rate, at least a passing grade should be within easy reach, right?
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