Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 115: Final Selection (2)

As a noble scion of the Hive City, Oskar would frequently pilot aircraft himself. But even so, within the bumpy cabin of the transport aircraft, his stomach was overturning like tempestuous seas.

Inside the cabin, he could still control his emotions. But when the transport aircraft landed and they walked out of the cabin doors, he instantly felt a wave of nausea.

But he suppressed the urge to vomit.

Time inside the crowded cabin seemed to pass even faster than outside, as if in a dream. When he recovered from his nausea, he found that he was already standing in an unfamiliar mountainous region.

The scope of this mountainous region was roughly 100 hectares. It was surrounded by a river, making this mountainous area look like an isolated island.

There were three main peaks in the mountainous region visible to the naked eye. Oskar visually estimated their altitudes to all be around seven hundred meters, not particularly high. The only rare thing was that the entire mountainous region was shrouded in lush, verdant forests; this was not commonly seen on Nathan IV.

Not long after the first transport aircraft landed, the rest of the transport aircraft also landed one after another. The boys walked out of the cabins in a daze, looking at this unfamiliar mountainous terrain.

A little later, that Thunderhawk branded with the Legion's mark also landed on a flat open space.

The black-armored Chaplain walked toward them.

At this time, Oskar's mind suddenly began to ponder a strange scenario—what kind of scene it would be if all these Candidates began to attack this Chaplain.The conclusion he subsequently arrived at was very simple: this god of death would effortlessly eliminate them all without suffering a single scratch.

"This mountainous region is the location where you shall fight."

The Chaplain said, extending his bloody hand to point at that lush, verdant mountainous terrain. His armor emitted a crisp clink as he did so.

"Once entered, you will be unable to leave it. If any of you leave it before the trial concludes, then you shall be killed on the spot."

As he spoke, a red-armored Astartes walked out from the Thunderhawk. His most prominent trait was that massive backpack, and the several mechanical appendages on the backpack.

"He looks very unique. Why is there a symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus on his shoulder?"

Dadd leaned in close to Oskar's ear and asked in a low whisper.

"Let me think... this one should be the Chapter's Techmarine."

Sure enough, when that warrior walked in front of the boys, the self-introduction he gave after coming to a halt confirmed Oskar's claim.

"I am Liko Rogelis, Techmarine of the Astral Knights Chapter! Now, all of you must put on this collar!"

As he spoke, the Space Marine raised his own arm. Dangling on his finger was a dark brown collar, which also had a small instrument on it.

"This collar is able to capture the location of every single one of you. Once any of you leaves the designated boundaries, the explosives inside this collar will blow your little heads right off your necks and into the sky!"

As soon as these words came out, all the boys could not help but shrink their necks.

"Furthermore, if anyone tries to take it off privately midway, it will also explode just the same!"

For a time, the boys were as silent as cicadas in winter.

"Now, everyone put it on voluntarily!"

When the Servitors delivered the collars before the boys one by one, although some among them were somewhat reluctant, they still put them all on.

After all, in this place, the words of the Space Marines were absolute authority.

"You might feel that this is inhumane, but it is completely reasonable."

Yazdan took over Rogelis's words and said loudly:

"Because a person who deserts in the face of battle is precisely defiling his own name with disgrace!"

The Chaplain's stern reprimand made everyone realize that this trial might no longer be those 'peaceful' competitions in the academy.

"Within this mountainous region, there are a total of ten strongholds. Therefore, the objective of this trial is also very simple! Over the five days of the trial, you will need to find one of the strongholds and hold it! Until five days later, the group still remaining inside the stronghold will become the victors! Note that one stronghold can only accommodate one group. If there are two groups inside it, then they will both become failures!"

As he spoke, the Chaplain lowered his arm, and his voice also lowered a bit.

"Victory does not mean everything. Simple ferocity is not the quality we are searching for. Brotherhood, honor, humility, mercy, discipline, and wisdom are the qualities we value the most. But similarly, do not harbor any illusions. This is not a civilized competition. If you are unwilling to kill people, then you will inevitably be killed by others."

"Decisiveness is the forerunner of success. You must seize opportunities, otherwise you will fail."

With that said, the Techmarine turned to the Servitors behind him. In groups of four, they pulled trailers up to the front of the formations.

Then the Techmarine reached out and lifted off the white cloths covering the trailers.

"Everyone will receive one set of standard equipment: a set of combat fatigues, a Tactical Knife, a small-caliber ballistic weapon, an external tactical flashlight, fifty rounds of ammunition, and a standard supply pack. But remember, the food and water inside are extremely limited. Additionally, each team will also be able to receive two walkie-talkies, three Smoke Grenades, a map, and a compass. The map indicates the terrain and the locations of the 9 strongholds."

Having finished saying this, the Techmarine turned to the other trailers and lifted the cloths off them one by one.

"Each team has one opportunity to choose one item of extra supplies. You have twenty minutes to deliberate. Please treat this with caution, because this will determine whether you will succeed or fail moving forward."

Oskar widened his eyes and looked over, discovering that the supplies on the trailers, in order, were:

An extra walkie-talkie, and a special map indicating the location of the tenth secret stronghold upon it.

Ten extra supply packs, equivalent to doubling the supplies and ammunition carried by everyone, along with two medical kits containing splints, gauze bandages, Hemostatic Agents, Painkillers, Antibiotics, and simple first-aid equipment.

Ten sets of Camo Cloaks and ten sets of night vision equipment.

Ten sets of carapace-type protective gear, including helmets and kneepads, with a certain probability of blocking small-caliber bullets at longer distances. Additionally, four blast shields capable of blocking small-caliber bullet fire at close range.

One heavy machine gun with 300 rounds of back-up ammunition, but it requires multiple people to operate.

Twenty Krak Grenades and three Remote Detonated Charges.

Two Cyber-mastiffs. They were both subjected to biological enhancement and mechanized augmentation, installed with sensors and identification devices. They can accurately sense abnormal activities and scents within a five hundred meter radius, can understand basic commands, and participate in reconnaissance and combat.

One flare gun and three flare shells. The red flare shell can summon an airdrop supply containing a small amount of food, water, and ammunition. The blue flare shell can summon a Battle Automata (manufactured by Loken, carrying ballistic weapons), but it can only fight for five minutes. The green flare shell can acquire an electronic map; the map will mark the positions of every team prior to the flare shell being fired.

"The signal for the trial's beginning is a golden firework. The signal for its conclusion is similarly a golden firework. When the second firework rises, all of you must immediately drop your weapons! If anyone is still fighting after the competition concludes, I will personally kill him."

The Chaplain finished speaking and looked down at them all. Oskar immediately pictured the scene of the other party's massive gauntlet crushing his head into pieces.

The boy immediately shuddered.

He guessed that there probably wouldn't be anyone who wanted to try it.