Survival Match (Seven)

They had stood atop the walls prepared to die. Killing even one enemy Beast Tamer would be a glory they could cherish for the rest of their lives.

Behind them, fifty thousand Beast Tamers watched enviously. Those were all opportunities to earn military merit.

The Shenzhou Kingdom had far more Beast Tamers than this. Although joining the army was considered a supreme honor, few had initially volunteered. After all, going to war was no laughing matter; they could lose their lives at any moment. For people who could enjoy long lives, staying alive came first.

The fifty thousand Beast Tamers who made up this army were not indifferent to their own lives. Rather, the terms the Shenzhou Royal Family had later offered to encourage enlistment were simply too tempting. First, promotions and noble titles were naturally part of the deal. Second came military pay: even the lowest-ranking Beast Tamer received fifty mid-grade beast crystals a month. With their abilities, earning fifty mid-grade beast crystals anywhere else would have been difficult.

Third, military merit could be used not only to gain promotions but also to exchange for beast crystals. One merit point bought one high-grade beast crystal. It was that simple and blunt.

Fourth, regardless of rank, the next three generations of anyone killed in the line of duty would receive an equivalent annual pension.

For example, if you were a deputy commandant earning ten high-grade beast crystals a month, that came to a hundred and twenty a year. If you died in the line of duty, your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren could each receive a hundred and twenty high-grade beast crystals from the state every year.

If your child was a Beast Tamer and also chose to enlist, he could inherit your former military rank. This effectively turned the pension into his military pay, while giving him a military position outright.

This was also one reason Jiang Hao and the other contestants had been so excited when they saw military ranks among the rewards.

Once these terms were announced, anyone who remained unmoved was either a genuine fool or a genuine coward. More Beast Tamers enlisted, and gradually, the camps became a jumble of fish and dragons. Petty thieves were beyond counting, and plenty used their power to bully others. Some Beast Tamers relied on their strength to oppress ordinary soldiers and refused to obey orders.

Gradually, the Shenzhou Kingdom drew up a series of military regulations, effectively raising the requirements for Beast Tamers to enlist.

Those with records of misconduct could not enlist. Those who were cowardly and afraid of death could not enlist. Those who refused discipline could not enlist. Anyone who fled in battle would have three branches of their family executed. Anyone who falsified military achievements or claimed another person's merit would forfeit a year's pay, and so on.

The siege continued. The North Sea Army was not alone in letting a gap slip through its meticulous defenses. Just as the Shenzhou Army's morale soared, a Frost Snow Wolf suddenly climbed onto the battlements while the defenders above were distracted.

It came face-to-face with a Shenzhou Army soldier. The soldier froze, forgetting to react at the sight of the enormous Snow Wolf that had appeared so abruptly. Only when the Frost Snow Wolf's breath struck his face did he remember that he was defending the wall. Instinctively, he raised his weapon and thrust, but before the strike was halfway through, a blast of freezing air erupted from the Frost Snow Wolf's mouth.

Every soldier within ten meters instantly became an ice sculpture. Those sculptures then shattered into heaps of fragments. Living people had died in less than a second, without even their bones remaining. It was utterly gruesome.

The other soldiers who witnessed it recoiled in terror. Death itself was not frightening; what frightened them was how cruelly these men had died.

"No retreating! Get in there, all of you! Kill it, now!"

The officer responsible for this short stretch of wall gave the order in horror. He was not afraid of dying. He feared that if the wall fell because of him, he would become a sinner against the entire Shenzhou Kingdom. He could not bear such a charge.

Not daring to disobey, several soldiers steeled themselves and charged the Frost Snow Wolf. Their fate was already sealed. The Frost Snow Wolf leaped down from the battlements and bit through one soldier's neck in a single snap, sending bright red blood spraying everywhere.

The North Sea soldier riding on its back wore a savage expression as he raised his long curved saber and slashed at another soldier, beheading him!

Working in perfect coordination, the man and wolf killed several soldiers in an instant. Everything happened far too quickly.

"Out of the way!" A deep, muffled roar rang out.

Suddenly, a massive figure charged from behind the defenders. He was a close-combat Beast Tamer. After merging, his upper body had become that of a dog-headed man with a pair of horns. He stood three meters tall, his upper body as powerful as an ox. In sheer imposing presence, he certainly delivered.

As soon as he appeared, the soldiers surrounding the Frost Snow Wolf backed away to give him plenty of room. Clearly, they had great confidence in this Beast Tamer's strength.

The dog-headed man strode up to the Frost Snow Wolf and clamped one huge hand over its mouth just as it was about to open, preventing it from releasing its freezing breath. For a moment, the Frost Snow Wolf could not break free of his brute strength. Its master swung his saber at him, but the dog-headed man raised his other hand, which began turning to stone as it rose. His petrified hand caught the incoming saber and twisted hard. With a clang, the sharp blade snapped in two.

After breaking the saber, the dog-headed man tossed the broken blade up, aimed its point at the Frost Snow Wolf's neck, and drove it down hard.

Thud!

"Awooo!"

The Frost Snow Wolf's agonized howl pierced the clouds.

The dog-headed man swept the broken blade with force, slicing the enormous wolf's head clean off.

Holding the remaining half of his saber, the Snow Wolf's master saw his beast pet killed, and his fierce expression twisted into fury. Before he could strike again, however, the dog-headed man seized his head and wrenched it sharply. With a crack, the North Sea soldier breathed his last.

Having killed the Frost Snow Wolf and its master in two moves, the dog-headed man turned and glared at the surrounding soldiers. "What are you staring at? Hurry up and plug the gap! Are you trying to get yourselves killed?"

The officer approached the dog-headed man to thank him. "Thank you for stepping in, General Gong. I nearly caused a disaster."

The dog-headed man cast him a contemptuous sidelong glance. "These North Sea troops leading the charge are nothing but shrimp soldiers and crab generals. If you can't even hold them off, you might as well obediently clear out and give them the land!"

The officer did not get angry at the reprimand. "Yes, yes. I'm ashamed of myself."

Then he rounded on his soldiers and cursed, "You sons of turtles, keep your bloody eyes open! One more slipup, and you'll face military punishment!"

As the dog-headed man had said, the North Sea troops at the forefront were merely a bunch of small fry. Their beast pets had not even reached the golden body realm.

The Shenzhou Army's ordinary soldiers could only hold off troops of this caliber. Once opponents capable of merging appeared, they would have to fall back and be relieved.

"Woo-wooo, wooo, wooo-"

The horn calls from the rear of the North Sea Army suddenly changed.

Upon hearing the signal of one short blast followed by three long ones, the North Sea troops packed at the front moved aside to open lanes.

At the end of each lane stood riders mounted on Frost Snow Wolves a size larger than the beast pets beneath the other troops. They moved swiftly, completing their mergers the instant they neared the wall.

In the blink of an eye, tall, powerful Werewolves swept past with a roar, reaching the top of the wall in a single leap.

On the other side, Long Yun waved his hand after hearing the horns. The signal bearer beside him hurriedly waved the order to relieve the defenders.

The ordinary Shenzhou defenders began withdrawing, replaced by the fifty-thousand-strong army of Beast Tamers.

An even more brutal battle was about to begin.

The fourth day of the Survival Match.

Resources in the Spruce Forest were plentiful. The six-person team had hunted not only a considerable number of small animals such as Wild Pheasants and wild rabbits, but also an adult wild boar. Altogether, the food would last them ten days to half a month.

To preserve the food, Jiang Hao suggested turning all the meat into smoked meat, which delayed them another day.

The fifth day of the Survival Match.

The six-person team finally set out again. After passing through the Spruce Forest, they found a vast expanse of mountain ridges before them, each mountain higher than the last. Not a blade of grass grew in the Mountain Ridge Region. There was nothing but exposed rock upon rock. Fortunately, the weather was sunny and mild.

Climbing over mountains and ridges was one of the most exhausting things a person could do. By the time they climbed the first peak, Wen Ruxue and Chubby were already drenched in sweat and panting for breath.

Chubby said, "Let's rest a little. I really can't climb anymore."

Gongsun Qianxun eyed his bulk and rolled her eyes mercilessly. "From here to Wuji Peak, it's uphill all the way-nearly ten thousand meters high. If you're going to hold everyone up, you might as well quit the match now."

You might as well just call me fat.

Chubby was the one being scorned, but Wen Ruxue also felt embarrassed. She was a support-type Beast Tamer, so her physical fitness naturally could not compare with a close-combat specialist like Gongsun Qianxun.

After looking down on Chubby, Gongsun Qianxun seemed to sense something was wrong. Only when she noticed Wen Ruxue's slightly flushed face beside her did she realize she had misspoken.

"Xue'er, here, give me your backpack."

Wen Ruxue hastily refused. "I couldn't possibly."

"Give it to me!"

Without further ado, she snatched the backpack off Wen Ruxue and hung it in front of herself. Together with her own pack, the load weighed over fifty jin, yet she showed no sign that anything was amiss. Her steps remained swift and sure.

Chubby could not have been more envious. He also wanted someone to share his burden, so he looked plaintively at Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao refused without hesitation. "Don't look at me. You have your own beast pet, but you don't know how to use him. What am I supposed to say to you?"

"Oh, right! Why didn't I think of that?"

With that reminder from Jiang Hao, all of Chubby's worries were swept away in an instant.

Jiang Hao and the others did not use their beast pets to carry their things because their pets were small. How could they possibly haul those huge backpacks? His Brown Bear, however, was different. Here was free labor, ready and waiting!

Chubby summoned his beast pet, Brown Bear, and hummed a tune as he placed his large backpack on him. Much of his burden vanished at once, and he swaggered over to Gongsun Qianxun.

"Qianxun, want me to help you?"

The smugness in his voice was utterly undisguised.

"No. I can carry them."

Chubby shrugged. One day, you'll come begging me.

Yet that day never came. Even while climbing with two large backpacks, Gongsun Qianxun's breathing remained steady, and she showed no trace of fatigue.

Even Jiang Hao and the other men could not help seeing her in a new light. Her stamina and ability to regulate her own mental state were simply outstanding.