Technically only one day passed since Kairos' squad had set out, yet they returned with 23 badges. An impressive record for a small group of five.

One must know that a little over 300 students are participating in this exercise, with each side made up of roughly 150 members. In such a short time, Luciette has already lost nearly a sixth of her badges. And it is achieved by a team that only have J ranked badges. Of course, by now, no one still thinks of them as only J ranked.

Though some of them are secretly jealous of their achievements, most openly cheered after hearing what Kairos' team had done. After the numerous setbacks, this is the first time they felt they truly have a chance to win.

George knew how important a morale boost is at this point, especially for their red team which is mainly filled with commoners. Most of them depend on this exam to enter the second year. Because of this, right after seeing the badges brought back by Kairos, George called for all the team captains into the war tent.

Among the insignias, there is one G ranked, five H ranked, seven I ranked, and ten J ranked. The higher the ranks are, the more points their entire red team would score, and Kairos’ group which brought it back would acquire doubled score, while the person that took the badge gains tripled points.

"We couldn’t expel them all. Only 15 got sent out" Kairos said in a manner that is neither obsequious nor boastful.

With a smile and a nod, George acknowledged him, but continue looking at Kairos in silence.

Catching the hint, Kairos continue his report on what happened in the forest. Hearing the tale of what happened caused everyone to stare. While George was not surprised by the quick reaction from Luciette's ambush he was simply speechless by the actions Kairos and team took.

It seems almost as if at every turn, Kairos somehow knew where the opposing team would come from. This ability could largely be attributed to the soul perception they have, but Kairos kept quiet about this from George. After all, who knows what would happen if others found out about soul force right now.

After the report, George started briefing Kairos about what had happened so far while his team were away.

"Currently, we have confirmed 30 blue team members are fortified in the East Hill base. And our scouts have reported a similar number in the west base

The rule of thumb in a siege requires four attackers to one defender against a defensive position, that means to take over just one base we will need 120 guys to swarm them, and I estimate in the process we are likely to lose at least a quarter of us.

At the same time, Luciette will try and stop us by attacking us from the rear, bringing up our number of casualties further.

In addition, we have already lost ten scouts, caught by them, leaving us with only 140 of us.

Though we outnumber them now, it is far from enough, and we will need to cut down her forces further before we can even dream of retaking our East base."

.....

At this time, on the other side of the training grounds, five elite squads from the blue team fans out and secretly surrounds an Orc village. They are made up of the strongest practitioners among the low-born, lead by Calculus, an E ranker from the noble house Devilheart. An elite among elites.

The Orcs within continued to bristle with activity in complete obliviousness to the danger that lurks outside their home.

Among the beasts of the training grounds, Orcs are apex on the food chain. Their ability to set up villages and using primitive weapons sets them apart from the other beasts. They are a purely carnivorous group that are known to hunts in large numbers.

In the past, the Orcs are even more intelligent and powerful than the ones found today, forming great armies that served under the banner of the Orc King. But a celestial war ended with the demise of the Orc God, and shortly thereafter without its protection, the Orc King is slain. The Orcs, as a race, quickly weakened and devolved into the feral state today, becoming much more aggressive and animalistic.

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A hundred years has already passed since their King had fallen, they are no longer the high-level creatures that they once were with none found at B rank or above. Their only benefits in all these are that their numbers have risen and their feral state aided their survival by granting them a brutality unlike before.

Even so, they had somehow managed to retain some of their former glory. With their limited intelligence, they operate as a group and are a considerable challenge for these young practitioners.

The blue team scouts located this village after a day of searching, and they reported signs of human tracks that indicated the flag might be hidden nearby. After checking the surrounding areas unsuccessfully for their prize, the Blue Team finally prepare for battle. Their last option is to raid the Orc Village.

During the exercise, because the students are vulnerable to monster attacks, they have also been given the ability to hunt magical beasts to protect themselves as well as to procure food supplies.

The gel coating on their weapons that blunts and reduces impacts towards other students also acts as a strong acid against magical beasts. It will quickly disintegrate their flesh, blood and mana, converting them into pure energy that immediately disperses into the air.

Of course, whatever that is not corroded by the gel can become their meal. Since the duration of this exercise is expected to last beyond one month, survival is also part of the test.

The 25 unsheathe their weapons at the same time. Most of them preferred the sword and many the bow. Only a few others handled odd weapons such as the staff, spiked gloves and even one student who swings around a humongous paint brush.

The leader of their group, Calculus, commanded his men to rush into the Orc village in full charge.

A loud war horn of the Orcs sounded off this raid, but before any of their warriors could retaliate, many defenceless Orc females and children have already been cut down mercilessly.

Calculus had given the orders to wipe out everything they could see, and they faithfully obeyed, slaughtering the sentient Orcs that they view no more than animals.

The Orc warriors soon assembled and closed in on their little group, turning the battle turned into a brutal gruel.

The leader of the Blue Team’s expedition group, however, did not join the battle. He is most unwilling to risk his own skin. Besides, his objective lies within the Orcs’ hatchery. While the others are fighting bitterly under his commanders, in his eyes, they are only his tools to drive his motives further. Groomed, since young, to believe he is far superior to his peers, Calculus cared little for his subordinates.

While his men had believed that their mission here is to clean out the beasts to find the flag, but in fact, it is already sitting, crumpled in a ball, in one of the young noble’s pouch. Their raid, is, of course, planned by Calculus for his own unexplained agenda.

Entering the crystal hatchery with his four teammates, they saw thousands upon thousands of beautiful shining orc crystals, proving the frightening reproduction ability of the Orcs indeed!

Many types of monsters, such as the Orcs, are magical beasts and reproduce from materialising their mana and solidifying it into a mana crystal. When that crystal egg gathers enough energy from the heavens and the Earth, it will hatch into a new-born Orc.

"Smash everything you see!" Calculus ordered his teammates with an evil glint in his eyes and his voice condescending. They might be in his squad, but he does not seem them as equals.

Because the gel coating is practically useless against dense and solid mana like the Orc crystal, the guys had to break apart the sturdy crystals by smashing them against rocks. As the crystals break and crumbles, foul smelling liquid mana started to leak out.

Seeing the purple liquid mana seeping out, Calculus quickly removed a small silk cloth from his person and sponged up the liquid, making sure that the fabric fully absorbs as much as possible and then sealed it back into one of his belt pouches.

"We're done here! Everyone, let's leave now!" Calculus yells with impatience.

The battles raging outside of the hatchery had grown so intense that he had to shout at the top of his lungs to be heard. A corner of his stone-cold heart felt concerned that his subordinates might fall should he tarry. This sentiment, however, is not out of regard for them.

Calculus’ only interest is how his reputation would be affected should the Orcs kill his men, and turn into an unforgivable shame on his records.

Whatever sacrifices his subordinates made did not cross his mind for even a second. As long as he himself is safe, it did not matter to him that being defeated in battle against the Orcs will result in a fate crueller than simply expelled from this match.

That is because, while most regard the Orcs as mere animals, the Orcs see men as their prey.

They left the hatchery after almost half of the Orc crystal eggs were destroyed. The sight that he saw outside, as Calculus had expected, was a tough enduring battle. He quickly directed his men towards escape, using a spearhead formation to cut a path through the midst of the Orc warriors. He knew that the smell of the liquid mana he took from the eggs would only attract more of them, making their retreat a difficult one, but any death on his team is a willing sacrifice he would make.

Making use of their superior martial techniques and equipment, they quickly gain a distance against their foes. Finally having time to rest, they counted two less in their numbers, already fallen in battle, and more than ten more incapacitated. Except for the five in Calculus’ team, none came out unscathed.

Groans and crying became a common thing in the midst of those gathered here. The worst among them suffered a gnawed off leg, and no one could tell if he would eventually survive.

When Calculus saw all these, only anger flashed across his eyes, and he said in an irksome tone, "Carry the wounded and the dead, we are heading back!"

He felt no regards towards any of them whom he deems inferior to himself, though they went through an unnecessary scuffle because of his orders.

The men are immediately enraged by his lack of empathy. They could see his anger is an accusation of them being incompetent, and staining his test score. Their lives are worth lesser than his results.

However, no one dared to voice out their anger, fearing the family behind him. The Devilheart house are such high ranking nobles that even the other nobles have to back down and stay respectfully silent in front of his arrogance, how could mere commoners like them compare?

.....

Three days later.

The Orcs gathered around their dead after losing sight of the humans they were chasing. Wrath and bloodlust were tainting their brutal, feral, visages. Their maws, dripping with froth and drool, while their claws, gripped their heavy clubs tightly.

What the humans had done to them is unforgivable. The warriors had found their children dead in their crystal eggs, and many of their women and young slaughtered. The Orcs does not know of the emotion called sorrow. But they do know of war. And they can smell it brewing in the air.

They are ready for that coming confrontation which will soon erupt when they find the culprits with the scent of their children's blood.

.....