Chapter 23

The fishy and bitter smell of the sea breeze rolled up violently like a wave. Xiu gasped heavily, his broad and hard back slightly bulged, and his bloodshot eyes clasped the neck of the Alpha under him. He looked embarrassed and furious at this moment, his naked wheat-colored muscular upper body was covered with dust and bloodstains, and dark blood beads flowed from his thin and cracked lips.

The Alpha, pinned down by him, felt a wave of pheromones choking him, his head spinning. The pain, like his internal organs and bones shifting, was less of a concern than the provocation of his opponent's pheromones. His expression twisted slightly, and then veins popped on the back of his hand as he grasped Xiu's arm, attempting to break free and launch a new counterattack.

——Central layer rock area.

Unlike most of the winding terrain inside the snow-capped mountains, this place has an open and flat area. The towering layers of rock tightly trap a space that can accommodate hundreds of people, like an iron cage that imprisons wild beasts in the arena.

Noah stood far away from the battle with his arms folded, his posture as elegant and straight as a cedar, his calm and gentle purple eyes looking towards the center of the field, at Hugh Hoffman.

This was the third day after the second phase of the training camp began, and last night, his teammates were almost out of control.

Alphas possessed remarkable resilience, both physically and mentally. Noah didn't believe that Xiu's previous bout of pseudo-passion, caused by a disturbed mental state, would have caused him to nearly lose his mind. While he possessed a ferocious and brutal side in battle, Xiu was actually quite rational, cautious, and resilient in his daily lives.

As far as Noah knew, Xiu had not overused his mental power in the past few days, and he had not suffered a second mental attack before the current situation developed. According to Noah's estimation, Xiu should normally be able to get out of the pseudo-passionate state within 48 hours.

So, what is it...

…

The smell floating in the air gradually made Noah unable to concentrate on his thoughts. The silver-haired Alpha frowned slightly, then bent his slender white knuckles and covered his nose with discomfort.

As he expected, there was indeed a place for group melee below the teleportation point. The military academy has always admired Alphas who are both bloody and brave. Melee is also a traditional assessment point, and performance points will be higher. Those military academy students who are too lazy to deal with it and are quite confident in their own abilities will choose to fight here.

Their points were like chips on the gambling table; whoever won took it, while the loser had to leave quickly. Even the most arrogant Alpha didn't want to suffer a second defeat here.

Xiu's exceptional strength and adept fighting style made him a natural in this situation, even eliminating several equally skilled Alphas. However, this wasn't a good thing. Xiu's fighting power was gradually eroding in the relentless fighting, while more and more Alphas surrounded him. After all, Noah and Xiu's combined points had reached a terrifying level, making them the undisputed target of public criticism.

The more eye-catching it is, the more unpredictable the consequences will be... Noah decided not to let Xiu continue fighting like this.

He waved his hand to indicate that Xiu was in a better condition than yesterday, at least he could continue to perform his guard duties - so after obtaining the points of another Alpha, Xiu Hoffman was successfully called back to Noah's side.

"Xiu, how are you? Are you feeling better?"

Noah asked, his purple eyes looking at him warmly and worriedly, and his tone was slightly filled with just the right amount of worry.

When passionate Alphas have no other options, fighting is the best way to release their energy. Noah originally thought that some fighting could ease Xiu's situation, but the pheromones on Xiu's body that could not be contained still powerfully declared their existence.

“…”

The handsome Alpha, with his upper body naked and deep eyebrows, was half-crouching a little away from Noah, breathing heavily. He lowered his brown eyes and wiped the blood from his lips without any expression. Sweat and blood dripped onto the ground along the boy's strong and muscular outline.

Noah saw his companion's brows furrowed, and before he could utter an unusually hoarse "no", the proud Alpha began to cough uncontrollably. The air pulled at his vocal cords anxiously, like the panting of a wild beast.

Noah glanced around at the Alphas who seemed unusually excited by the impact of pheromones. Without much hesitation, he said after thinking for a while, "Let's leave here first and talk about it when we're on the way."

Perhaps because they were of the same level, Noah and Xiu were able to leave the central rock area smoothly. However, Noah knew that the scent of an Alpha in passion could not be avoided from being sensed by its own kind, and the troubles that would follow would probably not be reduced.

...But it's not too late to consider how to deal with this matter later. He has something more he wants to confirm now.

Leading Xiu to a cave, Noah sighed softly and finally stopped.

"build."

The silver-haired boy looked calm. He didn't turn around, but asked in a gentle tone, "Is it because of Shigure?"

“…” Xiu was silent for a while, his cracked lips moved slightly, but he said nothing. He glanced at the rock wall, his reddish brown eyes deep and silent.

As an Alpha, Noah's subtle intuition allowed him to vaguely grasp a clue of something.

Thinking of Xiuren's reluctant expression before he marked himself, Noah chuckled helplessly, looking a little unsure of what to say. He paused before saying, "There's clearly no mark..."

"If you could control your instincts," Noah said, hinting at something, "you wouldn't be like this now."

Alphas are driven by scent, while Betas are naturally weak in pheromones and lack the necessary conditions to seduce an Alpha. Although Xiu was already in a state of pseudo-passion, if he had been resolute enough when facing Shigure, then Shigure's capture and the forced termination of the marking wouldn't have led to his current predicament.

However, there may be another possibility.

But that was a bit far-fetched. Noah couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Putting aside the fact that the Beta named Shigure had absolutely no pheromones, if she were truly an Omega, then how could she still smell clean even surrounded by Alphas? Wasn't that too much to ask of these hot-blooded Alphas?

"Let's focus on adjusting our own condition first." Facing his companion whose condition had deteriorated into a true estrus state, Noah smiled and lowered his head to adjust his rolled-up cuffs. He was in an unexpectedly good mood and had no intention of scolding him.

During the several days of training, the boy still maintained an incongruous neatness and composure, but his usually steady, gentle and non-threatening tone now contained a subtle reminder to stop.

Noah said, "I won't pursue this matter this time, but Xiu, don't let me down again."

…

Is Wayne gone...?

At first, Shi Yu didn't smell the scent of chili pepper. She was still half asleep when she was suddenly startled. She rubbed her eyes and quickly sat up, only to find that there was no one around her for who knows how long.

Shi Yu was stunned for a moment, her eyes wide open. The girl with fluffy and messy black hair looked like an incredulous cat. She turned her head and looked around, and saw that Loren and Wayne were not there... Xia Feng was resting with her eyes closed on the other side. Simon and another boy who were tied up beside her met her gaze unexpectedly.

The other one is awake too... Shi Yu thought as he scratched his hair.

The silver-haired boy might have woken up last night, but Shi Yu went to bed early and didn't notice. Now, she finally made eye contact with him, but he seemed to be ignoring her. Shi Yu was clearly looking at him in a friendly way, but the silver-haired boy snorted softly, turned his head away with a red face, and looked angry and embarrassed... Uh, Shi Yu felt that she didn't do anything, right?

Simon's face was gloomy, and the corners of his eyes twitched slightly. If the situation allowed, he looked like he would just want to burn off his hands that were tied to Yulai.

"Won't you sleep a little longer?"

Shi Yu rubbed her face, trying to cheer herself up, when she suddenly heard Xia Feng's gentle voice. Shi Yu hadn't made any particularly loud noises. Was it because she was a cadet? She felt like everyone here was incredibly perceptive.

"Not sleepy, not sleepy!" Shi Yu was full of energy, unlike the past two days when she would collapse as soon as she felt sleepy. Now, Shi Yu could wake up at any time and fall asleep at any time. Today, she even felt more energetic than before. She recalled and chatted with Xia Feng, "I may have slept too much in the past two days. I haven't been so sleepy lately!"

“…”

Simon listened to all of Shi Yu's words, narrowed his golden eyes gloomily, and said nothing.

Xia Feng uttered a muffled "hmm" as a brief response. Simon noticed that although the Alpha, who was pretending to be asleep, had a calm expression, she had quietly and deftly pressed a stack of paper bags into the gap between the leather straps around her thighs, out of sight of the Beta.

She didn't take Wayne's instructions before he left to heart at all.

That was the "medicine" that Wayne took from him and used specifically on Beta. Although there was not much left, it was enough for Beta's physique.

Simon sneered in his heart. The rumors about Clement were half true and half false. Although they could still cooperate, this attitude of being at odds with each other was far worse than before.

——After a while, having escaped the disaster, Shigure, full of energy, began to entertain himself.

She didn't want to talk to Simon and the silver-haired girl, and she wanted Xia Feng to have a good rest... so she could only do something that didn't require her to move her mouth or feet. So when Loren came back at noon, she saw the petite black-haired Beta with her back to him, carving something on the wall. Shi Yu heard the footsteps and happily called him over: "Loren!"

Loren paused slightly, and his black eyes with a somewhat mechanical feel under the lenses silently glanced at his companion who had slightly opened his eyes and was waiting for him to come over. Under the deep gaze of the girl Alpha, Loren pushed his lenses, thought for a moment, then obediently changed direction and walked towards Shigure.

Xia Feng: “…”

The girl closed her dark eyes wordlessly and leaned her slender back against the rock wall.

After arriving next to the Beta, Shigure stealthily pointed to the painting she had just carved. As if afraid of being overheard by other Alphas who might be in the way, she whispered, "It's you and Xia Feng."

...Loren silently stared at the unremarkable little figure painting on the rock wall. He considered it politely and carefully, then nodded and said, "Thank you. It fits the bill."

After being encouraged, Shi Yu continued to paint happily. Loren came to Xia Feng and explained to her what had just happened.

"So far, 25 people have been eliminated, leaving 100 people on the leaderboard. The standings changed half an hour ago, with the top spot going from Xiu and Noah to Wayne. While this was expected, it's a little suspicious."

Loren said, "After obtaining the points that Xiu and Noah failed to obtain in the first round, Wayne's location remained in the same place for nearly fifteen minutes, and he did not try to obtain the points that Xiu and Noah failed to obtain in the second round."

Xia Feng replied softly: "It's okay, don't worry about him otherwise."

"What do you think about what Wayne said here this morning?" Xia Feng raised her eyes, and her dark and beautiful eyes looked at the other two Alphas beside her. The girl's white fingertips gently stroked the saber on her thigh, and her expressionless proposal looked more like a threat.

"Team formation for the third phase, do you agree?"