After some discussion, the group settled on a battle plan.
Elisa was the opposing team's undisputed main fighter. Once the battle began, Hannah would surely boost her with her ability, greatly increasing her strength. As things stood, no one on Cole's team could stop the little girl one-on-one.
Lancelot had kept his strength hidden all along, planning to reveal it bit by bit. So far, he had shown only a strong ability to learn and rapid improvement, especially with firearms.
Over the past three days, Lancelot had consistently averaged above 9.6 points per shot with a rifle at a fifty-meter target.
At a hundred meters, he averaged around 9.2 points, already no worse than the vast majority of veteran members.
Cole's team had therefore assigned him the role of gunner, with the main task of keeping Todd occupied. If he could find a chance to engage Todd in close combat, so much the better.
As for Elisa, Cole and Burke would hold her off together.
Burke would handle close combat, while Cole bombarded her.
Finally, Rui would keep Og and Hannah occupied and, if the chance arose, harass Elisa with a mental shock.
"Lancelot, be careful. Todd's ability mainly enhances his eyes and dynamic reflexes. They call him Hawkeye, and he's the best shot in our training camp. You still can't activate Body of Steel, so play it safe," Rui cautioned.
Lancelot nodded slightly in agreement.
"In this team battle, Rui should be evenly matched on his side. Burke and I can probably suppress Elisa even with her buffs. Lancelot's side is hard to predict. He might get taken out quickly, or he might make it to Todd and tie him down in close combat."
"As long as he can keep Todd tied down, Burke and I can deal with Elisa, and we'll win this battle."
As Cole spoke, he fixed his gaze on Lancelot. "Brother, the rest of us are counting on you this time."
"Ah, no need to be nervous. If we lose, we lose. We'll just win it back next time. Just give it your best shot," Burke said with a carefree laugh, revealing a neat row of big white teeth.
"Yeah, just give it your all. We won't really hit our stride until Lancelot's ability development level rises. Only then will our team's lineup be truly complete."
Rui also offered Lancelot a few words of reassurance, telling him not to put too much pressure on himself. The group then exchanged glances, their young eyes seeming to blaze with fire.
"Then let's get to it!"
"Start collecting your weapons and equipment. Each team may have at most two rifles, five pistols, and five standard combat suits. Each person may choose up to three melee weapons..."
When Instructor Tarn finished speaking, the teams began collecting their equipment in an orderly fashion. Lancelot took an assault rifle with four magazines, and a pistol with four magazines as well.
The magazines were loaded with blanks.
He also took a pair of metal gauntlets, standard military equipment. Pulling an internal mechanism with his fingers would make blades spring out at the knuckles.
In his previous life, his weapon had also been a pair of gauntlets. They were six-star, premium-quality weapons, a demigod artifact.
After putting on his combat suit, Lancelot donned the gauntlets and flexed his fingers, quickly getting used to his new equipment.
"Once you've put on your sensors, squads one and twelve may enter," Instructor Rosen announced loudly from the stage.
Hearing this, Lancelot picked up an object resembling a headband from the table and tied it around his head.
It was a sensor that could precisely detect the intensity of incoming attacks and assess injuries and physical condition.
If the sensor determined that a contestant had died, it would flash red and sound a shrill alert. The contestant then had to stop all action immediately or be disqualified.
The Supernatural Joint Entrance Examination also used sensors, but theirs were several generations more advanced and more accurate than the ones being used here.
Soon, the team competition officially began.
Squads one and twelve each had five members and were very close in strength. After a fiercely fought battle, squad twelve won a costly victory.
"Squads two and eleven, enter!" the instructor continued to announce loudly.
The four members of Cole's team lined up and entered from the eastern entrance, taking up their battle formation. Every one of them looked serious and ready for a fight.
The training ground was modeled after jungle terrain, with trees and rocks on both sides and a stream running down the middle.
"The ten-second countdown begins. Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
As the instructor called out one, two figures rushed out of the eastern jungle. They were Cole and Burke.
Burke activated Savage Physique. His muscles knotted and veins bulged, and his mane of unruly hair streamed down his back as he charged wildly toward the other side, sending leaves and dirt flying in his wake.
Cole held a rifle. Without bothering to aim, he opened fire before the enemy did.
Blazing red muzzle flashes burst from the barrel.
Smoking cartridge cases were ejected one after another, falling into the grass.
Amid the crisp reports of gunfire, projectiles the size of fingertips streaked toward Elisa's team.
"Hmph, trying to pin us down!"
Elisa scrunched up her nose and looked back at the mature beauty with the voluptuous figure behind her. "Hurry up, hurry up..." she said impatiently.
"Done!"
Hannah wiped the sweat from her forehead. A gold-green light shimmered around her slender fingers, dispersing into the air.
It was her enhancement energy, which could increase mental power, physical toughness and strength, as well as the rate at which health recovered.
"Oh yeah, I'm gonna smash them!!"
Feeling the extraordinary power and abundant energy filling her body, Elisa let out a strange cry. A mental fluctuation radiated from her pineal gland, filling every muscle fiber.
This was her compound ability, which used mental intent to strengthen her physique.
The double buffs, combined with her own Physical Enhancement ability, sent little Elisa's constitution soaring straight to ten points.
She bent her knees and leaped a full five meters into the air, silently crossing dozens of meters. When bullets came at her along the way, she even swatted them away with her small hands, which were enveloped in psychic power. She was ferocious beyond belief.
Her strength is probably at the upper end of the first tier, isn't it? Lancelot muttered to himself as he circled around from the left, preparing to swoop in and crush the enemy.
Just then, his senses warned him of danger to his left chest. Without thinking, Lancelot let his long-established muscle memory guide his body into a nimble dodge.
Bang! The bullet struck the tree trunk beside him.
"Huh? He actually dodged it?" More than a hundred meters away, Todd frowned from behind a large gray boulder. By his calculations, even if the shot hadn't hit the kid square in the chest, it should have struck his left arm.
"Found you!"
In the distance, Lancelot had quickly determined Todd's position from the bullet's trajectory.
His constitution was still low, so a rifle shot could do considerable damage. Lancelot didn't dare charge recklessly like Elisa. Instead, he zigzagged forward, using various forms of cover as he rushed toward Todd.
"So you do want to fight me up close. Hmph, let's see how many shots you can dodge."
Todd sneered and peeked out. His ability-enhanced eyes and dynamic vision instantly captured Lancelot's position. He anticipated his movement and fired immediately.
Bang, bang, bang!!
The highly seasoned, precise bursts cut off almost all of Lancelot's paths forward.
At the same time, Elisa clashed with Cole and Burke, and they immediately plunged into a fierce fight.
On Rui's side, Rui used mental shock waves to hold off Ola and Hannah.
Hannah's ability had a cooldown, so she couldn't buff Ola for the time being and could only attack Rui with her pistol.
But Rui didn't need to show himself to unleash mental waves. Rui hid behind a tree in a thoroughly underhanded manner, harassing the two of them from time to time and making himself a constant nuisance.
Just as they had surmised before the battle, the key to victory lay in the contest between Lancelot and Todd.
Bullets flew, weaving a precise web of fire in an attempt to pin Lancelot down.
Yet, under Todd's astonished gaze, Lancelot seemed to have anticipated his predictions.
Like a butterfly flitting through flowers, Lancelot passed nimbly through the web of fire. While leaping through the air, he seized the moment Todd was distracted,
raised his rifle, aimed, and pulled the trigger!
Bang!!
A headshot with a single shot!