Practical combat: the berserk orc!

Zhou Zheng lit a cigarette for him and put one in his own mouth. "Those three youngsters have good potential. They were still in a panic the first time they encountered a mist incident, but by the second time, they were already able to fight monsters head-on."

"Let's see how they perform in actual combat first," the middle-aged man called Director Liu said mildly. "Places for the Void Realm are tight this time. The old fellows in the other cities are also trying to force their people in."

"I'm only giving them a chance as a favor to you."

"Looks like my name still carries some weight, then," Zhou Zheng said with a smile. "Of course, that's only because you're willing to do me the favor, Director Liu."

"Cut the wisecracks." The middle-aged man gave him a cool glance. "Whether they can secure places will depend on the results of this match."

After a pause, he continued, "However, if they perform exceptionally well in actual combat, we can provide some additional support."

"Allocate them 2,000 contribution points in the name of the Jiangcheng Anomaly Handling Bureau."

"That many?" Zhou Zheng was slightly startled, then narrowed his eyes.

The middle-aged man seemed to see what he was planning and warned him, "Don't even think about skimming any off the top, brat. Otherwise, getting fired would be the least of your worries."

"Director Liu, you've got me all wrong. Am I that kind of person?" Zhou Zheng protested.

"Heh..." Director Liu sneered but didn't expose him. "These contribution points are the bureau's way of looking after newcomers."

"The higher-ups also hope more outstanding newcomers will emerge and grow stronger as quickly as possible. Otherwise, neither the Land of Mist nor the real world will be able to hold out much longer."

Zhou Zheng's expression tightened slightly. "Has the situation gotten that bad?"

"Yes..." Director Liu sighed. "Over the past two years, anomalies have been occurring frequently everywhere, and large-scale mist invasions have kept cropping up one after another."

"The ones inland aren't so bad. As soon as they were discovered, people were sent to stamp them out."

"The most dangerous ones are the leakage points at sea. You don't know when they appeared or how much mist energy has accumulated in them. Even satellites can't detect them."

"By the time they erupt completely, they have often already become massive disaster-level incidents."

"'Huajiasha' and 'Willow' making landfall cost us in Hua Country two master-level lords, one after the other."

"Over in the Land of Mist, three megacities were also swallowed by monsters during the Fallen Royal City uprising."

A grave look flashed through Zhou Zheng's eyes, and his expression grew serious.

"All right, you don't need to worry about all that. After all, it's still a long way off for you."

Director Liu patted him on the shoulder. "In short, we need to show these newcomers where we stand."

"Let them use everything they have in battle without holding anything back."

"As long as they show enough strength, we at the Anomaly Handling Bureau, and Hua Country itself, will devote all our resources to nurturing these newcomers."

Zhou Zheng nodded solemnly. "Yes, Director Liu!"

Chapter 35: Practical combat, the berserk orc!

"The match is about to start, you three. Please make your way onto the field."

At noon, Shen Xing and the others were making their final preparations in the waiting room.

When they heard the knock at the door, all three took off their glasses at the same time.

"How prepared are you?" Qin Lang asked.

"Passable."

"So-so."

"..." Qin Lang was speechless for a moment, then looked at Shen Xing. "What tactics should we use? Or should we just charge straight at them?"

Shen Xing was silent for a moment before replying, "Same as before."

Qin and Xu exchanged a glance and nodded.

Then the three of them headed out together.

Zhou Zheng was already waiting outside the door.

He smiled and reminded them, "Give it your best out there and use whatever tricks you have. I secured some benefits for you, so don't let me down."

The mention of "benefits" piqued their interest.

The match was being held in combat area eight, near the corner, and quite a few spectators had already gathered around it.

They had all heard that the match was a showdown between two teams of elite players from Jiangcheng, so they were looking forward to it.

A moment later, Qin Lang came onto the field, pushing Shen Xing in his wheelchair, alongside a girl with dark circles under her eyes, wearing pink pajamas and pink bunny-ear slippers.

The unusual group immediately set the crowd talking.

"Huh? This is Jiangcheng's elite team? I've never seen any of them before."

"There's even a disabled person. That's unusual."

"It really is. Doesn't the game sync completely with your real body? If he can't walk, how does he survive in the game?"

Most of the discussion focused on Shen Xing. His physical condition was unusual, after all.

About three minutes later, their opponents entered the field.

Like Shen Xing's group, they were a team of two men and one woman.

But their opponents looked young, with the innocence of youth still on their faces. They were probably students.

Yet each of them had a distinctive air, and their speech and manner were dignified.

Well, that settled it. They were probably rich.

Or perhaps their families were well-off, and long exposure to high society had given them that air.

There was no pre-match trash talk, nor was there a scenario where they underestimated Shen Xing because of his disability and got proven wrong.

Not only that, each of them looked serious and was treating the match with considerable importance.

A liquid crystal display hung above the combat field, counting down.

5...

4...

3...

When the countdown reached zero, a middle-aged man standing nearby announced in a deep voice:

"The match has officially begun. All contestants, summon your troops!"

The three opponents raised their arms at the same time. Their Flowers of Mist began spinning rapidly, spewing out dense mist.

When the gray mist dissipated, three unusual figures appeared before them.

On the left was a tall, wheat-skinned dark elf archer holding a longbow, elite ★.

On the right was a spearman in light armor, holding a knight's lance, elite ★.

The most unusual was the figure in the middle.

He carried a tower shield and stood over two meters tall, giving off an imposing sense of immovability.

Iron-armored shield guard, elite ★★.

The team's composition could be called perfect, with ranged attacks, a tank, and burst damage. In the early game, they were virtually unstoppable.

Ordinary novice lords who encountered them would be crushed in an instant.

Shen Xing and the others exchanged glances, then raised their arms at the same time and connected their minds to their Flowers of Mist.

"Come out! ×3"

"Da Hou!"

"Moon Arrow!"

"Little Shadow!"

When the dense mist dissipated, three figures appeared before them, familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar.

They were an elite ★★ orc warrior, an elite ★ halfling assassin, and an elite ★ human archer.

The three looked at one another, knowing smiles appearing on their faces.

"Whoa, they both have Elite Two Stars troops! These two teams are pretty strong!"

"Definitely. They really are Jiangcheng's new generation of elites. But both sides are about evenly matched, so it's hard to say who'll win."

"My bet's on those three students. A two-star iron-armored shield guard is just too hard to deal with. You can barely hurt one in the early game."

"I think I recognize the guy who summoned the iron-armored shield guard. His older brother is Luo Xichen, a transcendent-level lord."

"I was wondering how he got such a rare troop. Turns out he has a transcendent-level older brother."

The spectators chattered among themselves, guessing at the outcome of the match.

But most favored the team with the two-star shield guard.

Even Zhou Zheng, standing to the side, frowned slightly, his hands unconsciously clenching inside his windbreaker.

After all, iron-armored shield guards were no ordinary troops. They were extremely rare and couldn't be recruited through troop nests.

They could only be obtained through recruitment scrolls or by subduing the inhabitants of the Land of Mist.

The rarity of troops with such special classes was precisely what made them so expensive.

A single recruitment scroll cost as much as a troop nest of the same tier. Ordinary novice lords simply couldn't afford one.

On the field.

All three of them felt a special connection form in their minds after manifesting their troops in reality.

It was as though they could control their troops' every movement with their minds.

As previously stated, once troops were manifested in reality, maintaining their existence required a constant expenditure of their lord's mental power.

Likewise, lords could use that mental connection to control their troops' actions.

It was a completely different way of fighting from the game.

Thud! Thud, thud!

Heavy footsteps sounded as the iron-armored shield guard raised his tower shield and pressed forward with an overwhelming momentum!

"Same as usual. Go."

At Shen Xing's command, the dual-axe orc quickly strode forward to meet the shield guard at an even greater speed.

Boom! Boom, boom!

Elite Two Stars against Elite Two Stars, both sides' auras kept rising, like two bombs about to collide!

But just as they were about to make contact, the dual-axe orc suddenly darted to the side and circled behind the shield guard.

However, he didn't attack him.

Instead, he burst forward at an unprecedented speed, charging toward the dark elf archer!

Not only that, Qin Lang's halfling assassin had slipped behind the dark elf at some point and stabbed viciously at her slender waist.

Xu Jiayi's archer also abruptly changed direction, sending arrow after arrow shooting straight at the dark elf's head!