Randidly looked at bemusement at the notifications as the group walked toward the chosen space. Looks like getting enough PP for the Tithe wasn’t a big deal after all…

Congratulations! Your Skill Torch of Fast and Slow Silences (A) has grown to Level 233!

Congratulations! Your Skill Torch of Fast and Slow Silences (A) has grown to Level 234!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Torch of Fast and Slow Silences (A) has grown to Level 261!

Apparently, his short speech was enough to reach the hearts of his recruits. Because not only did he have a surge of Influence, but he also gained another sizable chunk of PP from the Torch of Fast and Slow Silences. The time filled with hardship, while Randidly was stuck inside the shaft, was also a chance for them to accumulate their understanding.

The first step was Randidly assisting now with their growth and the second would come when they put those lessons into action during the challenge.

The group proceeded forward, walking forward without any sense of urgency. But Randidly’s sharp senses didn’t miss the way that some thin flows of significance were gathering in the sky over the Fifth Cohort Rally Station. Thick braids wove themselves into a chaotic knot, indicating the plans of many significant individuals that were running through this juncture. Randidly barred his teeth to the dusty sky but didn’t alter his pace. He wasn’t afraid of this Challenge, win or lose. He was afraid of what came next.

This part was just play-acting.

The location that the Superintendent had selected for the Challenge was just a large canyon. The air, like basically everything else in the areas that hadn’t been terraformed by Randidly, was filled with red dust. There were some large rocks and gorges in the surrounding area that would create some interesting terrain, but Randidly doubted it would matter at all.

The elite squad moved forward past groups of other recruits making their own preparations as they approached. Those others looked at the elite squad with obvious antagonism in their eyes. The elite squad, to Randidly’s joy, didn’t miss a single marching step as they drew more and more ire from the surroundings. Yet the connections that had begun forming after his speech steadily strengthened.

This is basically all I can do for you. Randidly thought sadly as he looked around at the recruits. I’ve trained you. I’ve told you to have each other’s back. As long as you don’t fragment after this fight against Nether… well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? Without external threats, organizations break into pieces.

Very shortly, Heiffal led the recruits away as Randidly climbed a low slope that would lead to the viewing area. All the other Drill Sergeants were waiting there, along with the Superintendent. Most of their gazes toward Randidly weren’t hostile, just… pitying. Randidly’s face twitched as he had to suppress the urge to bare his teeth once more. Truly… they think that the outcome of this challenge is already determined…? Heheh, seems like some bigwigs are truly moving behind the scenes.

“Welcome, Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound.” Superintendent Xeruth spoke first, while Randidly scanned the surroundings. “We are prepared if you are. Still… are you sure you want the Challenge to be conducted in this manner? If there is no tension to the final Challenge-”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Randidly nodded. There was no need to drag this out for longer than it needed to be. He had made his preparations, apparently, the other factions had too. Now all that remained was to see which one would end today disappointed.

Still, some part of him was able to more fully relax when Randidly scanned the surroundings and made sure that Velio Dunn wasn’t present. He even found the skulking form of Lay’mel Tuellethe, but it seemed that crazy assassin wasn’t allowed back into the Rally Station. Truly, this was just a performance. So Randidly moved to stand next to Superintendent Xeruth at the edge of the canyon.

Without much fanfare whatsoever, the final Challenge began. The rest of the Drill Sergeants crowded closer to the edge to get a better look at the action, but they generally stayed away from where Randidly stood with his arms folded across his chest.

Below, Randidly’s elite squad gathered in the middle of the canyon near several large pillars of rock. If this was a battle fought between normal human beings, the terrain might actually play a significant role. With a hemmed in passageway to meet them, the smaller group would be able to steadily churn their way through the vastly superior numbers of the larger side. As long as they behaved prudently, the war would be a mostly internal one; it was their own exhaustion that would be the deadliest foe.

However, this was the Nexus. The first order of business for Randidly’s Squad was demolishing those stone pillars. If they left them up, their foes would just break them to pieces anyway. But even if the terrain wasn’t going to lend a helping hand to the elite squadron, that didn’t mean that they didn’t have their own advantages.

They had all trained together and were intimately familiar with each others’ images. Although it was still difficult for multiple images to run wild in the same place, theirs would find a more accepting home together than their foes’.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Randidly rubbed his chin as the first of the other squads began to arrive. “I hope no one minds if I act as… referee for this Challenge? I can use my Skill to remove the wounded. Otherwise, I fear my group will need to stack up bodies for room.”

Most of the Drill Sergeants shifted uneasily at that suggestion, but one stepped forward, popping the invisible bubble of space that existed around Randidly. It was someone he recognized too: a dog of the NLC, Banum Voloppesett.

“No problem, Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound,” Banum said with an affable smile. “We do not think you are such a petty man as to act with bias. Besides, I believe that the result will be suitably obvious to all who watch.”

Which is essentially boasting that you are going to crush me, huh…? Randidly returned the affability with a mild smile, while also feeding a thread of Mana into Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil. Tiny microorganisms in the ground bulged and swelled. His eyes narrowed as his senses spread through the area above the canyon.

With a light touch, he tasted the unfamiliar images of those gathering. Heh, well, certainly it’s not this motley crew that’s going to be the issue… I suppose even those who plan on humiliating me want the elite squad, who is related to so many influential figures in the Nexus, to appear competent…

About five thousand of the fellow recruits started swiftly marching forward, wasting no time in approaching Randidly’s two hundred. However, the air above these recruits was filled with chaotic and conflicting images as each recruit desperately flared their image in an attempt to prove themselves. Before the battle even started, they weakened themselves in their jockeying. Gradually, the five thousand recruits’ speed increased to a jog and then a dead sprint. The elite squad waited, loosely organized in its groupings, without even manifesting their images.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 391!

Seeing the heavy and invisible mist of significance curling around the elite squad, Randidly smirked.

A particularly tall individual bearing a massive ax surged forward out of the aggressors. He raised his weapon above his head while sprinting, bellowing his fury to the orange sky. Yet just after he had declared his intent to slaughter the elite squad to the world and lowered his gaze toward his foes, it was too late for him.

With their significant physical gifts, one of the five-person squads surged forward while the opposing recruit was distracted. One recruit swept the giant’s legs while another disdainfully smacked his throat with the flat of his blade.

Lightning fast, a root surge out of the ground, wrapped around the giant’s waist, and then tossed him in a spinning arc in the air. He landed with a crash, well away from the action. Randidly folded his arms as his elite recruits got to work.

They rapidly split into their squads, moving tightly as several independent units. They didn’t bother to stay clustered in the center, but rather rapidly fanned out through the approaching hordes. Even while several more thousand recruits streamed in and formed up their ranks, the elite group wrecked the first assault formation. The speed that they cut down their foes impressed even Randidly.

To put it mildly, they completely outclassed the average recruits. Their physical abilities were all they needed to forcefully suppress the attackers. Images were shattered and bones were broken by their brutal counter attack. Bodies littered the ground only to be picked up and moved away by Randidly. By the end of the clinic on incapacitation, they were all slapping their foes on their necks and then tossing them bodily up into the air, where Randidly’s roots would seize them and throw them to the side.

Very soon, all five thousand had been summarily defeated. Without a single injury, the elite group trotted back to the center of the field and waited for the next wave. Next to Randidly, Banum cleared his throat. “Heh. You’ve been on the frontlines, have you not, Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound? If only Nether Beasts could be so casually dealt with, this war would be a much easier trial.”

Honestly, Randidly was amused by the snide insult. So much so that he couldn’t help but reply with a similar jab. “Ah. Are you the type to use a knife to strangle chickens?”

Yet Banum Voloppesett’s expression remained gloating. He shook his head in mock sorrow and acted as if he hadn’t even heard Randidly. Below them, the fifteen thousand more troops charged forward to meet the elite group. “As expected, your teaching methods are quite impressive. But in the end… I fear that they simply aren’t experienced enough. At this rate, they will tire themselves out.”

Randidly didn’t even bother to respond. This second grouping clearly had some capable individuals commanding them behind the scenes, because they separated off into larger groups to surround and crush the five-person squads of the elite group. Plus, each of their five hundred person squads was centered around an individual with a powerful image.

Even if they had the advantage in numbers, these groups had to give each other some space. If two unfamiliar images were used in close proximity, one would inevitably push down the others.

Formed up in their tight bunch, the elite group just waited for the others to approach. This time, they made no move to have a pre-emptive attack.

The large groups charged forward, clearly expecting a similar offensive strategy as they neared… but soon only about fifty meters separated the sea of bodies from the placid two hundred. At that distance, the non-elite groups began to stall out as the core images of each of the larger formations clashed with those nearby.

Just as near as they were to the elite squad, they were also very close to each other. The dash forward fell down to a jog and then a walk. And right as the groups began to communicate with each other to avoid interference, an explosive image erupted from the elite group and claimed its dominance in the surrounding space. The other images were forcefully pressed downward.

Charlotte Wick’s Primal Force sent a rejuvenating force outward that faintly resembled the raw lifeforce of Yggdrasil. In addition to restoring some of the elite squad’s Stamina, their movements now were so abrupt and brutal that Randidly could sense the shock quickly rising from the Drill Sergeants around him.

Just like the first, the second wave of troops was also slaughtered. The more powerful images didn’t matter. The increased numbers only meant the exercise lasted a bit longer. At the end of it, watching Charlotte’s image, even Banum had a sour expression on his face. “I suppose it’s about time the warm-up finished.”

Randidly snorted. “I agree. My forces down there are getting bored.”