Chapter 43 Chapter 43 “This doesn’t seem like the first time I bring in a new person…

Jiang Qing tilted his head. The other two people were obviously adapting well to this high-intensity pace.

She sighed and thought that the allowance of 10,000 or 20,000 yuan was not so easy to get.

After dinner, the three of them returned to the training camp.

Just then, footsteps were heard at the end of the corridor, and Huo Qiushan walked over with his arms folded.

He stood tall and straight, with a silver badge on his black uniform that symbolized a core member of the guard. His face was expressionless, yet he exuded an air of oppression.

"Follow me." He said briefly and turned to walk towards the tactical analysis room.

The three of them hurried to follow.

The tactical analysis room was more spacious than expected. In the center was a huge holographic sandbox, which clearly projected the terrain of the Fifth Beastmaster Academy and the surrounding 30 kilometers. The mountains, forests, and rivers were all clearly marked.

Several uniformed team members were discussing in low voices around the sand table. When they saw Huo Qiushan come in, they just raised their eyelids.

Huo Qiushan greeted the most capable female team member, then walked off the stage and found a seat to sit down.

The man nodded, and seeing that everyone was present, the team members who had gathered together for discussion finally dispersed.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Ma Chengying. I'm a third-year student in the auxiliary department and I'm also the person in charge of the guard team's affairs. I'm responsible for assigning tasks, daily chores, and external communications." The girl said earlier.

Ma Chengying's overall temperament is quite capable. Her hair is tied into a bun on top of her head, her sleeves are rolled up to her arms, and she wears a pair of silver-rimmed glasses on her nose.

"Tonight's mission is located in the Black Wind Grassland. A student who was reported missing this morning on a field collection mission went missing there. The patrol team discovered traces of a strange beast yesterday. The preliminary assessment is that it is a pack of Shadow Wolves, numbering no less than ten, and one of them may be a leader." She called up a blurry video.

In the picture, several black shadows were moving through the woods at such a fast speed that they almost left afterimages. Their fangs could be vaguely seen flashing with a faint light.

"The current school guard team of the college has limited members. Many sophomores and juniors have their own tasks to complete, and the fourth-year students have a lot to do due to graduation, so only you are left. I believe you have the ability to complete this task!" Ma Chengying raised the corner of his mouth, and his tone was encouraging.

"The investigation team has already synchronized the information from the scene." Ma Chengying glanced at the four people. "The Shadow Wolves are good at fighting in groups. They are extremely fast and can also manipulate small-scale shadows for surprise attacks. They are not very friendly to novices. The four of you will form a team with me. Qin Lie will lead the other three to flank from the east. Our goal is to eliminate the group and find the whereabouts of the missing students."

Zhao Peng was a little excited, rubbing his hands and saying, "A pack of wolves? Just a good opportunity for my armored bull to stretch its muscles."

His pet, the Iron-Armored Bear, is defensive, with thick skin and flesh, and is best suited to dealing with this kind of speed-type beast.

Meng Yanlang frowned. "The vegetation in the Black Wind Grassland is dense. The Shadow Wolves can attack from the shadows, which will limit our vision. Should we bring some rune tools for lighting?"

"No need." Ma Chengying shook his head and pulled up another map. "I've already deployed troops in advance. The main path will be illuminated after nightfall. Your mission is to follow me closely and don't act on your own."

When leaving the tactical analysis room, Zhao Peng was still excitedly muttering about tactics, while Meng Yanlang was quickly recording the terrain data of the Black Wind Grassland in his notebook.

7:30 in the evening.

A lot of people have gathered at the entrance of the training camp.

On the left are three team members led by Qin Lie, three girls, all sophomores.

They have upright postures and are well-equipped. The spirit pets are either crouching on the ground ready to strike, or hovering above their masters' shoulders. Their eyes are sharp, exuding the calmness and solemnity of those who have experienced actual combat.

Compared with Jiang Qing and other newly selected newcomers, his aura is completely different.

Ma Chengying stood in front of the team, his tight black combat uniform outlining his neat figure. Two short blades with streamlined grooves were slung across his waist, exuding a restrained cold light.

Behind her, a giant eagle with a completely snow-white body and a wingspan of nearly three meters stood quietly, its beak curved like a knife. It was her spiritual pet, the Wind-Splitting Eagle.

"Are they all here?" Ma Chengying's voice broke the silence, concise and powerful. Her eyes swept over the four people she led, finally landing on Qin Lie.

Qin Lie nodded slightly.

"Mission briefing, synchronized en route. Target: the eastern edge of Black Wind Grassland. Coordinates have been sent to everyone's communicators. Remember three things: One, maintain formation and follow my instructions. Two, if you encounter a wolf pack, prioritize self-preservation and coordinate your efforts. Three, be alert for any unusual energy fluctuations or suspicious traces, which may be related to the missing students."

Her gaze lingered on Jiang Qing and the other three for a moment. "Actual combat is different from selection. Any negligence could be fatal. Let's go!"

As soon as the words fell, the Wind-Splitting Eagle let out a clear cry that could pierce gold and split rocks. Its wings suddenly spread out, bringing up a strong airflow. Its huge body soared lightly into the air and instantly blended into the dim night, becoming a faint white dot in the sky, responsible for high-altitude reconnaissance and early warning.

Ma Chengying took the lead, his movements as swift as a cheetah. "Follow us, Qin Lie team, cut in from the east as planned!"

The two teams disappeared like arrows from a bow at the end of the passage leading to the back mountain of the academy and connecting to the vast Black Wind Grassland.

The night was as dark as ink, so thick that it could not be dissolved, and it pressed heavily on the Black Wind Grassland.

As the evening breeze blew, the grass, more than a meter tall, made a continuous rustling sound, as if countless whispers were surging in the darkness.

The air was filled with grass, soil, and a faint, fishy smell of wild beasts.

Ma Chengying was walking in the front, and his figure looked unusually agile in the dim light.

Her steps were light and swift, each step almost silent, like an experienced cheetah.

The Wind-Splitting Eagle circled high in the sky, its sharp gaze piercing the darkness, constantly transmitting a bird's-eye view to her through the mental link.

Jiang Qing and his four companions followed closely behind, forming a loose diamond formation.

Meng Yanlang and Zhao Peng were slightly forward on the left and right, while Jiang Qing and Huo Qiushan were in the middle and at the back.

Zhu Tianba was put down by Jiang Qing. Its speed was not slow. Its small figure nimbly shuttled through the grass. Its amber eyes vigilantly scanned the shadows around it. Its two small ears rotated at a high frequency like radar, capturing the slightest sound.

“Rustle…rustle…”

Except for the sound of wind and grass, there was dead silence all around, but this silence made people feel even more depressed.

"It's too quiet," Meng Yanlang whispered, his voice echoing over the public channel of the communicator. "Not even the sound of insects."

"The view ahead is normal. We haven't detected a large wolf pack gathering," Huo Qiushan's voice came calmly. "But there are fresh footprints and... drag marks on the ground, heading southeast. They're likely left by the target. We must remain vigilant; they may disperse and sneak around."

Jiang Qing followed behind the team, his eyes scanning the backs of his teammates in front of him, silently counting the number of people, and the strange feeling in his heart became more and more clear.

There are eight people in total.

There are too many people.

The last time she was in the cave of the iron-thorned lizard, the guard team sent out only four people to rescue, and one of them was the newcomer Huo Qiushan.

The Shadow Wolves are slightly higher in level than the Iron Thorn Lizards, but they don't need so many people.

If Ma Chengying and Qin Lie were using this mission to train new people, they could have explained all the procedures in detail, but she didn't.

Now the four of them... Jiang Qing wasn't sure whether Huoqiu Mountain was included. Apart from the mission briefings given by Ma Chengying, the sophomores led by Ma Chengying didn't tell them anything.

There is not even any information about the missing students.

And how come it was just such a coincidence that the only ones left in the guard team who could go on the mission were a few of them, the new recruits who had just joined?

From the time they set out until now, apart from Ma Chengying explaining the basic mission objectives and three points of discipline, Qin Lie and the second-year team members had hardly any communication with the four newcomers, and even their eyes were deliberately distant.

Jiang Qing felt that this didn't seem like a teaching mission for newcomers...

"Jiang Qing, pay attention to the depression in front of you on the right." Meng Yanlang's voice interrupted her thoughts with a reminder.

Jiang Qing immediately calmed down and looked in the direction Meng Yanlang indicated.

It was a slightly lower area with more lush grass, forming a thick and indissoluble shadow in the dim light.

Zhu Tianba also stopped, sniffed hard with his little nose, and made a very slight "kang" sound in his throat, which carried a strong warning.

"There's something!?" Zhao Peng also noticed it. His Iron-Armored Bull growled and stood in front of his master. The thick shell shone coldly in the dim light.

Almost at the moment Zhao Peng finished speaking.

“Ouch—”

A long, shrill wolf howl pierced the silent night sky.

Several black shadows as fast as ghosts suddenly shot out from the shadows of the depression.

They were larger than ordinary wild wolves, with fur as black as ink, almost blending into the night. Only their eyes, flashing with a cold green light, were like will-o'-the-wisp from hell, rushing forward with bloodthirsty greed.

It was Shadow Wolf.

They are so fast!

Zhu Tianba, who was the first to discover the abnormality, just took a look and then lost interest, and quietly retreated to stay beside Jiang Qing.

The shadow wolf was in the shadows one moment, and right in front of him the next, its sharp claws tearing through the air and making a shrill scream.

"Defensive formation!" Ma Chengying shouted, reacting as fast as lightning.

The two short blades at her waist were unsheathed in an instant, and the blades drew two cold arcs of light in the darkness, accurately blocking the sharp claws of a shadow wolf that pounced on her, making a "clang" sound.

The Wind-Splitting Eagle let out a cry that pierced the clouds and split the rocks in the sky. It flapped its wings and sent out several wind blades that were as solid as substance. They whistled towards the wolf shadow that was trying to outflank it on the other side.

"Armored Bull, hold on!" Zhao Peng roared, and the Armored Bull roared as it rushed towards a Shadow Wolf. Its heavy body was like a moving fortress.

With a dull "bang", the wolf was knocked over and rolled out.

But another cunning shadow wolf suddenly jumped out from the shadows on the side and pounced on Zhao Peng's exposed ribs!

"Be careful!" Meng Yanlang's eyes narrowed, and the undead rat beside him trembled rapidly. An ice-blue cold air instantly gushed out and accurately covered Zhao Peng's side.

The attacking shadow wolf suddenly froze, and a thin layer of ice quickly condensed on its body surface, greatly reducing its speed. It was forced back by Zhao Peng's backhand knife.

Huoqiu Mountain appears unusually stable.

He didn't even summon a pet, but just moved his body slightly, taking half a step to the side like a ghost, and narrowly avoided the frontal attack. At the same time, a short staff with a strange shape appeared in his hand. The crystal stone inlaid on the top of the staff glowed slightly, and an invisible mental shock wave spread out.

The two shadow wolves that pounced on him stopped moving at the same time, and the dark green light in their eyes flashed violently, as if they were strongly disturbed, and their offensive immediately collapsed.

The moment the Shadow Wolf rushed out, Jiang Qing picked up Zhu Tianba and opened the golden light shield.

Two shadow wolves stood on her left and right, like hunters working in perfect harmony, rushing towards her with a bloody breeze.

Their claws tore through the air, and their green eyes locked onto her with cruel excitement.

There were dull thuds and harsh scratching sounds coming from the golden light shield. The two shadow wolves seemed to have hit an invisible iron wall. Their fangs and sharp claws caused ripples on the golden light curtain, but they could not advance an inch.

A trace of astonishment and rage flashed in their dark green eyes, and an unwilling growl came from their throats.

Jiang Qing ignored the two wolves in front of her. Her heart sank and a cold feeling instantly spread throughout her body.

Gone!

Qin Lie and the remaining three guards are gone!

When did it happen?

Jiang Qing frowned. She had clearly been paying attention to her surroundings.

Zhu Tianba calmly sat down at her feet, his eyes no longer showing any previous alertness, and he even licked his paws leisurely.

She tried to use the communicator, but found that there was no signal at this time, so she had to change her strategy and slowly moved towards Ma Chengying.

"Senior Ma!" Jiang Qing's voice cut through the clatter of wolf howls and battle, reaching Ma Chengying, who was locked in a fierce struggle with an Alpha-level Shadow Wolf. "Who are the missing students? What did they collect? Have all the veteran members of the guard team gone on more important missions?"

Her tone was questioning with an almost certainty, and her eyes were staring sharply at Ma Chengying's actions.

The mission briefing was vague, the personnel allocation was extremely unreasonable, and the veteran team members were deliberately alienated and completely disappeared at this moment...

Everything represents abnormality.

Ma Chengying's body was as fast as lightning, and the double blades in her hands flew, forcing back the wolf leader in front of her. Her movements were still smooth and fierce, but when she heard Jiang Qing's questioning, the corners of her mouth seemed to pull up very quickly while she was blocking.

That arc wasn't the tension of facing real danger, but more like a kind of...playfulness of being exposed.

At this moment, Zhu Tianba under Jiang Qing's feet made another "kang" sound, this time with obvious impatience in his voice, and even dug the ground with his little hooves.

It looked up at its master, then at the ferociously attacking shadow wolves, its little eyes filled with a look of disdain, as if to say, "Have you guys acted enough?"

This further confirmed Jiang Qing's guess.

Jiang Qing looked at Ma Chengying steadily.

Ma Chengying chuckled and did not answer Jiang Qing's question.

It was seen, but it doesn’t matter.

She dodged the fight with the shadow wolf in front of her, and her body gradually faded backwards. In the dim light, her figure seemed to blend into the swaying grass shadows, and along with the Wind-Splitting Eagle circling high in the sky, she disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye, as if she had never existed.

Jiang Qing's heart tightened, and she subconsciously wanted to chase, but the two shadow wolves that were blocked by the golden light shield seized the moment when the light shield disappeared, and pounced on her again with a fishy wind, their sharp claws almost brushing against the corner of her clothes.

"Kang!" Zhu Tianba let out an angry growl, and his body suddenly arched forward. An invisible force spread out like ripples, accurately hitting the weak points of the waist and abdomen of the two shadow wolves.

The two ferocious beasts whimpered and rolled out after being knocked, temporarily losing their threat.

Although he didn't know how the guards drove these shadow wolves to attack them, Jiang Qing could only deal with these shadow wolves for the time being.

"What's going on?!" Zhao Peng was commanding the Iron Bull to resist the bite of a Shadow Wolf. The heavy crashing sounds continued to his ears. He heard Jiang Qing's shout and saw Ma Chengying disappear. He turned back in shock, "Where's Senior Ma?!"

Meng Yanlang's undead rats unleashed an ice wall, temporarily blocking the wolves charging towards him. He quickly glanced around, his expression instantly turning extremely grim. "It's not just Ma Chengying... Qin Lie and the others were gone from the beginning, and there's no signal on the communicator either."

Huo Qiushan remained silent, but the light at the tip of his short staff suddenly lit up, and a mental shock stronger than before spread out in a fan shape, accurately covering the several shadow wolves that were besieging him and Zhao Peng.

The movements of those ferocious beasts froze instantly, green light flickered chaotically in their eyes, and they staggered as if they were drunk.

"It's an exercise." Jiang Qing said in a low voice.

"What?" Zhao Peng and Meng Yanlang turned around at the same time.

"There was no rescue mission from the beginning. It was all fake." Jiang Qing's voice was terrifyingly calm.

Zhao Peng looked at the shallow white marks on his armored bull. They were left by the sharp claws of the shadow wolf. They should have torn the skin and flesh, but now they only scratched the bull's thick shell.

He suddenly came to his senses. "I was wondering why this didn't feel right! These wolves look fierce, but their claws scratch at me like they're tickling me. They're holding back!"

Meng Yanlang quickly calmed down and analyzed the situation. "The simulated environment is realistic, but the details are off. Real Shadow Wolves hunting with shadows would use sneak attacks more cunningly and coordinate more closely. These... seem to be executing some kind of pre-set attack pattern, and... they seem to be restrained by some force, preventing them from causing serious injuries."

He pointed at a few wolves in the distance that were dazed by Huoqiu Mountain's mental shock and said, "They are recovering too quickly, but their aggression is weakening."

As if to prove his words, the seven or eight shadow wolves surrounding them still bared their fangs and growled threateningly, but the pace of their attack slowed down significantly, and they even hesitated to move forward.

"No." Jiang Qing shook his head. "The environment is real. We are indeed in the Black Wind Grassland now, but the Shadow Wolf is fake."

She said this in an almost affirmative tone.

While keeping a vigilant eye on the surrounding shadow wolves that might pounce at any moment, she asked Huo Qiushan, "Did you know about the exercise?"

They didn't come in at the same time as Huoqiushan, maybe he would know something.

Huo Qiushan nodded and then shook his head: "I knew about the exercise, but I didn't know it was today."

The surroundings fell into silence. After a while, the four of them suddenly felt an invisible pressure, as if countless pairs of eyes were staring at them from the depths of darkness.

"What should we do now? Since the mission objectives of eliminating the wolves and finding the students are fake, what is the real mission?" Zhao Peng looked at Jiang Qing. He had habitually handed over the command to the calmest person among them.

Jiang Qing took a deep breath and forced himself to ignore the Shadow Wolf actors who were still lingering around, looking somewhat dedicated yet a little overwhelmed.

Her mind raced.

"Since the goal is to observe us, then the test isn't over yet." Jiang Qing's eyes sharpened as he scanned the wolf pack, shrouded in darkness. It seemed perilous, but in reality, it was full of deception. "There must be clues left around."

What could it be?

Jiang Qing fell into deep thought again. After a while, Zhu Tianba started digging around again.

Jiang Qing followed its line of sight and noticed something that looked like a stone.

Zhu Tianba gnawed and bit the stone as if he wanted to dig it out.

There are many light and shadow stones around, which are said to have been placed there in advance by Ma Chengying. Apart from them, there is only a depression, the area of ​​which is neither big nor small.

It was night time, and with the interweaving of light and shadow, a white mist rose above the depression.

When I went to amusement parks in the past, in order to keep things fresh, they liked to use water mist and light and shadow to create some illusions. At night, those illusions could even be so realistic that they were indistinguishable from the real thing.

This would explain why these shadow wolves appeared here.

Jiang Qing controlled his source power and attacked the light and shadow stones.

The light and shadow stone in front of Zhu Tianba was hit by a beam of light and exploded instantly. It also staggered and fell. With a ferocious look on its face, it turned around to look for who wanted to harm it!

She turned her head so that her eyes could meet Jiang Qing's.

Zhu Tianba: “…”

Okay, this can't be fierce.

"Jiang Qing, it works!" Zhao Peng exclaimed, his tone filled with joy.

Just after she smashed a piece of light and shadow stone, Zhao Peng clearly saw the body of a shadow wolf shaking.

This proves that those light and shadow stones are indeed the source.

The four of them then focused entirely on attacking the light and shadow stones. The moment the last light and shadow stone dimmed, the surrounding shadow wolves also disappeared like bubbles.

The Black Wind Grassland fell into darkness.

After a while.

Zhu Tianba's vigilant hum was particularly clear in the silent grassland, and his amber pupils were fixed on the shadow in front of him on the left, which was darker than the night.

Jiang Qing and the other three immediately tensed up and looked in the direction it was looking.

Silently, as if peeling off from the ink, several figures slowly walked out.

The leader had a tall and straight figure, and his aura was as solemn as a mountain.

She was wearing a black guard uniform similar to Ma Chengying's, but the epaulettes and emblems were more complicated and severe, and a long, narrow straight knife was slung across her left shoulder.

The moonlight sprinkled down sparingly, outlining her cold jawline and a pair of eyes so deep that they seemed to absorb all the light.

It was the captain of the guard, Renata, whom I had met some time ago.

Ma Chengying lagged behind her by half a step, with an undisguised smile of approval on his face, clapping his hands one after another.

The Wind-Splitting Eagle behind her also folded its wings, and its sharp eyes swept over Jiang Qing and others with a hint of scrutiny.

"Not bad," Ma Chengying's voice broke the silence with a relaxed smile, "breaking the record for the fastest detection and breaking of a trap in the history of the Guard Corps' rookie exercises."

Renata's gaze was like a physical probe, slowly sweeping over the four people.

He paused on Huoqiu Mountain for a moment, as if confirming something, and then his focus fell on Jiang Qing's face, with an evaluating look in his eyes.

Renata: "With sharp insights, clear logic, and decisive actions, it's definitely not a selection that was made by luck alone."

Jiang Qing blinked.

Huo Qiushan whispered to the side: "The captain has recognized you."

There was a strong sense of envy in his words, as if being recognized by Renata was a great honor.

Although Huo Qiushan joined the team the earliest, Renata always had a cold attitude towards him.

In comparison, Jiang Qing is obviously more special.