Bulletproof?

Evan was more than happy to hold the final selection on this planet. After all, this wouldn't cost me a penny. His "landlord," Otist, would cover all the expenses. Of course, their partners now also included many nobles whose children had made it into the final selection.

Although Evan hated to cause casualties, the combat trial still had to involve a test where casualties were possible.

As for the creature used in the final trial... it was kindly supplied by a Techmarine from the Shadow Blades.

After leaving Atris aboard the Battle Barge they had acquired from the Storm Will Chapter, the Shadow Blades had gone to another planet to eradicate xenos. The creatures there were incredibly tough and adept at burrowing-the things that looked like a string of rocks had come to life.

One call went out to the Adeptus Mechanicus.

"Hello, Adeptus Mechanicus? Get me one of those rock monsters. Didn't the Shadow Blades sign an agreement with you? They've been wiped out. Give me a rock monster, and our Chapter will fulfill the agreement from now on."

Just a few days later, an Adeptus Mechanicus transport arrived. They were terrified Evan might change his mind. After all, they had already given their ammunition supplies to the Shadow Blades, only for the Chapter to cease to exist. Their advance payment had gone down the drain. Now that they had finally found another sucker, they couldn't let him get away.

Evan went in person to inspect the key to the final trial.

A string of rocks lay amid a mass of mechanical chains. Apparently, it had been injected with a powerful sedative.

Evan looked baffled. "Didn't I say one would be enough? Why are there so many?"

The tech-priest answered, "Esteemed Chapter Master Evan, these are different body segments of the same creature. We call it a Phenos Stone Serpent. We numbered their body segments and found that even the shortest had nineteen. The maximum length remains unknown. This particular Phenos Stone Serpent has a full twenty-two segments. Also, esteemed Chapter Master Evan, this is the contract you mentioned in your astropathic message. Please sign here."

The tech-priest really was anxious, afraid Evan would think things through and back out.

Evan took his time circling the Phenos Stone Serpent. From the Adeptus Mechanicus's data, he could see that this massive creature had a body structure similar to the turtles of Old Terra. Its outer armor was its skeleton, while the joints between its segments had a structure resembling that of tardigrades. Such structures had also frequently been used in human spacesuits during the 3K era.

The Phenos Stone Serpent's front end was conical, helping it pass through the earth and stone ahead. Its burrowing mechanism seemed similar to an earthworm's?

"Our research has shown that Phenos Stone Serpents become extremely violent in places without earth or stone, such as underwater or exposed to the air."

The question facing Evan now was how to ensure that exactly one hundred candidates advanced, no more and no fewer.

"Excluding the Phenos Stone Serpent's head and tail, find a way to put five Aquila Emblems inside each of its remaining twenty body segments."

Next, Evan planned to hold the final selection in a large arena with a steel floor and steel obstacles. The candidates would choose their own weapons. Once they defeated the Phenos Stone Serpent, the scramble for the Aquila Emblems would begin. Only those who returned to the starting point alive with an Aquila Emblem would qualify to become Astartes.

Of course, there was also the possibility that they wouldn't be able to defeat the Phenos Stone Serpent at all. In that case, it would come down to who was tough enough to survive until only one hundred remained.

This might have been the most dangerous selection method yet, but there was no other choice. Astartes not only needed to defeat powerful enemies, but also to leave the battlefield alive. Don't ask why. More than a thousand heroic souls were watching from above.

The candidates didn't know how brutal the coming struggle would be, but the firearms lessons and training organized under Evan's orders still made everyone nervous.

Their firearms training results wouldn't count toward the final selection. After all, many of the Upper Hive's elite had already learned the basics of handling guns. This training was mainly intended for the middle-hive and Underhive children who had never touched one.

With so many types of firearms available, the candidates could choose whichever gun they liked best and learn to use it. There were no restrictions at all.

Guided by the principle that bigger meant stronger, little Xiao Lan set his sights on a big Ion Pistol.

Of course, to a Space Marine, the commonly used Sunfury-pattern Ion Pistol was only a small weapon. To a twelve-year-old boy, however, it was far too heavy and bulky.

So what? The more you eat, the more work you do. I, Xiao Lan, will eat the most food and become the toughest Astartes!

Under the instructors' bemused gazes, Xiao Lan studied with great dedication. This was also the first time in his life that he had had "teachers"-people who genuinely wanted to teach him something.

Young Master William, meanwhile, had different ideas from Xiao Lan, but he also chose a large firearm he had never learned to use before-a Meltagun.

It wasn't that William wanted to learn something new. Mainly, he felt something was off. The presence of such large firearms suggested that their next opponent might be enormous. He needed to prepare these weapons that seemed out of place, just in case.

The Ultima-pattern Meltagun was huge. Even William, well-fed and robust as he was, struggled to lift it.

Generally, even in the Astra Militarum, only the bravest soldiers used this kind of weapon.

Another formidable candidate also chose a Meltagun: the exceptionally fierce fighter who had passed the trial riding a desert wolf.

Enke's reasoning was very clear. With my terrible coordination, a little pistol and thicker body armor are the way to go. He quietly picked up a Mark IV "Ascetic" Laspistol, one of the classic weapons from the Karrick Sector.

Ah, too bad Frosa isn't here. Enke really had no confidence. His original plan had simply been to come and see the "unexpected" things beyond the data. He had never intended to actually become an Astartes. But as one round of selection followed another, he found himself getting more and more fired up. Now, almost despite himself, he had picked up a gun and begun preparing.

The 211 boys separated into clearly defined groups: 129 boys from the Upper Hive, seventy middle-hive children, ten Underhive children, and two hunters' sons from outside the Hive City. Each group occupied its own area and refused to speak to the others.

If not for this selection, they would never have met people from the Hive City's other levels in their entire lives.

The firearms instruction was neither particularly long nor particularly short. It was just enough for the children to learn the basics of using their guns, but expecting any real accuracy was out of the question.

The enormous steel arena was constructed, with all sorts of metal obstacles erected inside. Most were tower-like pillars, along with a few small hemispherical metal forts for emergency shelter. However, there were only three forts in total, and each could hold at most twenty people.

Given the strong possibility that those outside might end up fighting those inside the forts while also dodging the Phenos Stone Serpent, firing ports had thoughtfully been included.

The metal crate containing the Phenos Stone Serpent was placed in the clearing at the center of the arena.

The candidates took the firearms they were most comfortable with and headed to the central clearing, gathering around the strange black metal crate.

Everyone whispered, guessing what kind of monster it contained. The rumbling impacts from inside the metal crate left them uneasy.

"William, what do you think's in there? Could it be an Ork? I heard the angels just fought the Orks."

"Not likely. I haven't heard any roaring." The knowledge of a noble from this long-established Imperial World was not something those from a "rebel world" could match.

"Then what do you think it is?"

"I can't think of anything either. Something that big and strong should be a very rare xenos."

"Could it be a war machine rather than a living thing?"

"Then it wouldn't keep banging against this black metal crate. A war machine would probably use a strategy where it unleashed overwhelming firepower the instant the crate's door opened."

Several Upper Hive nobles discussed the possibilities with great interest.

Enke stood with a few middle-hive boys. His thick body armor and little Laspistol had now become the butt of their jokes.

Enke brushed off these middle-hive children without a care. In his view, almost none of them had a chance of passing the selection. Instead, among the Underhive children standing separately nearby, one boy chewing on a ration bar caught his interest.

The Underhive children and the hunters' sons were all highly wary of others. Long years of hardship had taught them never to trust anyone easily. They stood apart, keeping considerable distances between one another.

Each clutched his weapon and watched everyone else warily.

Xiao Lan sat on the ground, holding his Ion Gun. Even after several days of ample food and clothing, along with instruction from professional teachers, he could still only fire it while lying prone. No one knew what he would hit if he fired while standing.

Xiao Lan began quietly retreating behind the crowd. His weapon was too heavy. He had to find a position in advance; he couldn't wait for Evan to announce the start of the selection and then move quickly.

Watching that Underhive boy, Enke also quietly moved backward. He understood the boy's thinking, and the same strategy suited him too.

A tremendous roar sounded overhead. Chapter Master Evan leaped out of the aircraft and landed firmly atop the crate in the middle of the arena.

"All right, future of the Imperium, the final round of selection is about to begin. Get ready."

Everyone instinctively tightened their grip on their guns. An Astartes Chapter Master, together with the constant pounding from the enormous metal crate beneath his feet, filled the whole space with an invisible pressure.

"Here are the rules. You have two ways to win. First, kill the monster inside this crate. There are one hundred Aquila Emblems inside its body, representing one hundred places. Get one and reach the exit, and you advance."

"Second, if you can't kill it, the last one hundred survivors will be the winners."

"If an Aquila Emblem is destroyed, whoever holds its largest fragment qualifies. If it's blasted away without a scrap left, then run. The first person to reach the exit without an Aquila Emblem will qualify."

Enke worked out the most favorable outcome for himself almost instantly. Looking at the Meltaguns in several candidates' hands and the ion weapon held by that Underhive boy, he figured that some Aquila Emblems were almost certain to be shattered. There was a very high chance that one would be melted away entirely. He could head straight out of the exit the moment the selection began, gamble on that outcome, and become the first person without an Aquila Emblem.

But there was another problem. If none of them could beat the monster, the one hundred survivors would be considered qualified, while he would be treated as having withdrawn.

Should I gamble or not?

"You have two minutes to find your positions. All right, the clock starts now."

Evan turned and jumped onto a towering metal pillar. In the worst-case scenario, he would intervene and dispose of this xenos.

Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

After agonizing over it for a long time, Enke finally decided to stay. He was already running toward a metal artificial hill with a gentle slope, where he could observe the battle and collect data.

Didn't I come here precisely to see choices beyond the data?

Little William quickly searched for a fighting position. The other nobles, like him, had already scattered to find positions suitable for both attack and defense.

Many of the middle-hive boys lacked that awareness. Some ran straight into death traps, such as metal pillars with only one route to the top. Once their retreat was blocked, they would be like Ma Su at Jieting.

The Underhive children actually reacted the fastest. Their response boiled down to one word: run.

Hide first and see what happened.

The enormous black metal crate collapsed in an instant. Evan quietly took out some sunflower seeds.

The Phenos Stone Serpent burst out and slithered toward the largest concentration of people.

The Phenos Stone Serpent mainly relied on vibrations to determine its enemies' direction, but its vibration-sensing organs were inside its hard exoskeleton. If it had any weak point, perhaps its feeding mouth was the softest spot when open.

A powerful barrage swept across the center of the arena in an instant. Boys from every direction opened fire simultaneously. Lasguns left only faint marks on the Phenos Stone Serpent, while the pathetic bullets couldn't hurt it at all. The Meltaguns were too far away to fire, and as for the Ion Gun... Xiao Lan was still carrying the only one up a slope.

The Phenos Stone Serpent broke through the barrage in just a few movements and lunged toward the crowd.

The boys quickly scattered. Some ducked straight into the forts and kept shooting. Some climbed metal pillars and attempted long-range sniping. Others fled in every direction, spreading out. And a few were particularly bold, such as William.

William hid behind a metal pillar with his back pressed firmly against it, holding his Meltagun in the proper firing stance with both hands as he waited for the Phenos Stone Serpent to pass.

The giant serpent looked huge and cumbersome, but it moved extremely fast over the steel ground. Its twisting body gave it astonishing speed, while its friction against the floor produced a sound that set teeth on edge.

Steady. It's getting closer. The Phenos Stone Serpent tossed a boy into the air. The poor child screamed as he slammed into a metal pillar, then went still.

The Phenos Stone Serpent drew closer. The tremendous scraping noise raised goosebumps all over William's body. Bullets ricocheted everywhere around him, and several nearly struck his thigh.

Another armor-piercing round failed to penetrate the giant serpent's defenses and bounced away.

The serpent's pointed head swept toward him with a rushing gust.

The pointed head appeared before William's eyes. Now. Fire.

The serpent's head slid past. The Meltagun's brief charging time allowed its first segment-the all-important head-to pass him.

The devastating melta blast struck the serpent's second and third segments, carving a long, bloody gouge.

It worked. If we can find a way to stop it, a little more time under the Meltagun's fire will kill it.

The Phenos Stone Serpent flew into a rage, whipping its tail in every direction and sending several candidates who had tried to attack from behind and to the side flying.

The monster's strength was terrifying. Anyone it hit was as good as dead.

Many people hid inside the forts and began shooting. Some of the smarter ones had stopped attacking the Phenos Stone Serpent with bullets. Those rounds couldn't penetrate the monster's hard armor.

But they could penetrate people.

If I kill enough people to leave only one hundred, won't I advance too?

Several candidates were tempted, but things hadn't deteriorated to that point yet.

"The serpent's armor has been breached!"

Many saw smoke hissing from the Phenos Stone Serpent's body, and their spirits lifted at once. The boys stopped conserving ammunition, took aim, and fired at its wound.

William was now running for his life with every ounce of strength he had.

He wasn't really afraid of the Phenos Stone Serpent. From his observations just now, its structure didn't seem to allow it to turn more than ninety degrees. But the ricocheting bullets were genuinely terrifying. These people clearly couldn't penetrate the Phenos Stone Serpent's outer armor, yet they kept firing. Deflected bullets flew everywhere. He had already seen several unlucky boys struck by stray rounds.

Damn, this Meltagun is heavy. I can't run fast!

After being wounded, the Phenos Stone Serpent tried to find its attacker. But as a creature that lived underground, it had no sight. Now, violent vibrations came from every direction, with humans running and firing everywhere. It seemed somewhat bewildered.

If everything was an enemy, it didn't matter which way it attacked.

The Phenos Stone Serpent charged with all its strength toward the area ahead with the most gunfire.

Clang! The giant serpent slammed into one of the humans' hemispherical forts, denting its metal wall inward. Everyone jumped in fright. Was even this metal fort not completely safe?

Many froze.

Up above, Enke wanted to slap them awake with the Emperor's stinking slipper. He shouted, "What are you standing around for? It's stopped moving! Burn it with the Meltaguns!"

The Phenos Stone Serpent quickly recovered and twisted its body. By sheer chance, it dodged a lethal attack.

Although the tremendous noise of gunfire drowned out Enke's words, Xiao Lan, who had finally struggled to the top of the neighboring hill, heard his shout. He immediately aimed at the giant serpent and fired a shot from his Ion Pistol.

If the serpent hadn't recovered so quickly, that shot would at least have wounded it severely. Unfortunately, all it did now was send metal fragments flying.

The battle seemed to have reached a stalemate. The giant serpent angrily attacked people everywhere, constantly sending boys flying, while those in the forts and on high ground could do little against the Phenos Stone Serpent.

Do we really have to wait until only one hundred of us are left alive?

I can't accept that. Can more than two hundred candidates good enough to become Astartes really not handle this thing?