There is no guarantee for the lottery? So what?

#400 - Chapter 399 Commanding the Battle

"Report, sir, there's a skinny, one-armed Hook Ape approaching. Permission to fire?"

"Negative."

"Roger that, commencing fire... Negative? Why?"

The recruit, Xu Sanpao, looked at his beloved superior officer with a puzzled expression.

"Because it looks weak. It's perfect for testing your skills. Go on, get your teammates and play with it."

"Roger!"

"No heavy weaponry allowed."

Watching Xu Sanpao run off, the officer behind the desk lit a cigarette.

He had just received a call saying that a Hook Ape would soon be attacking their sector, and he was instructed to let his recruits practice against it. He didn't expect it to arrive so soon.

Wasn't it slower last time? And the time before that? And the time before that?

Never mind, it's not important. Nothing bad will happen anyway.

He'd rather watch how these recruits, who've never seen a Hook Ape before, will handle it.

Scene change.

In less than half a minute, Xu Sanpao had gathered his teammates and equipped them with their specialized weapons and gear.

"Sanpao, that's a Hook Ape! Why not just blast it with the base cannon?" his teammate asked.

Xu Sanpao replied, "The boss said no heavy weapons. We have to use our own skills to kill it."

A veteran from the previous batch leisurely said, "Go on, it's fine. High-level beast sieges are a time-honored tradition, specifically designed to train you newbies. Back in my day, we…"

"Stop, stop, stop! We'll reminisce when we get back. Let's go!"

Now wasn't the time for idle chatter. Xu Sanpao led his team out the door in a mountain hovercraft, leaving the veteran's words hanging in the air.

"Back in my day, we charged valiantly, only to be utterly crushed…"

…

"Brother Sanpao, can we really beat a Hook Ape?"

Hearing his teammate's words, Xu Sanpao said, "Normally, we definitely could. But this isn't normal. We don't have our equipment advantage."

No Aurora Cannon, no nuclear-powered electromagnetic railgun, no Starfall Ground Cannon, no…

This is really hard!

"We're the defense force, not the attack force. Why do we have to go out and fight it?"

"This is to train our field combat skills! We're here. Prepare for battle."

Although most of their practice usually involves using large defensive equipment, they still spend a few hours each day practicing their abilities and physical fitness.

Plus, with advanced equipment, taking down a crippled Hook Ape shouldn't be a problem.

"Fire!"

As a gunner, Xu Sanpao's most familiar weapon was the cannon.

Even though the portable cannon he was carrying was far inferior to the base's cannon, with much lower speed and power, it was still usable.

He fired a shell the moment he saw the Hook Ape.

But the Hook Ape was too fast. It dodged the blast radius with a single leap.

"Quick, scatter!"

The Hook Ape used its only arm to grab a pile of gravel from the ground and hurled it at their open-topped mountain hovercraft like a shotgun.

Bail out! Move!

Without hesitation, the four team members jumped to the other side of the vehicle, using it as cover to shield themselves from the deadly stones.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A barrage of stones hit the side of the hovercraft, causing no damage.

"Damn it, give it another shot!"

Xu Sanpao poked the cannon barrel out from under the hovercraft and pulled the trigger.

Boom~

This time, the shell was much faster than before.

«Quick, dodge!»

Hook Ape Four heard Qi Jing's command and leaped to the left, dodging the shell.

"So stupid. I have to order it around."

Qi Jing realized that this Hook Ape wasn't very bright. It wanted to get bigger when attacking, and it wanted to get bigger when defending, as if that was the only move it knew.

If Qi Jing hadn't directed it, Hook Ape Four would have definitely chosen to get bigger and take the hit head-on.

«Pick up the big rock at your feet and throw it over there!»

Four executed Qi Jing's order without hesitation, sending a large rock flying and smashing the enemy's hovercraft.

«Charge!»

He had to admit, commanding it in battle was quite interesting, especially when the opponents had all sorts of life-saving equipment and weren't holding back, allowing him to improvise freely.

It's just a shame that it had a few too many arms chopped off. Having only one arm is a bit frustrating.

(Four: You're frustrated?)

«Approach quickly, then shrink by half to increase defense and speed!»

Under Qi Jing's command, Hook Ape Four dashed towards Xu Sanpao's team like a ground-hugging missile.

Although its speed couldn't match Qi Jing's, not everyone was Qi Jing.

For these four recruits who didn't have any speed-related abilities, it was a terrifying existence, a monstrous beast that even cannon shells couldn't hit.

Xu Sanpao calmly switched the shell type and quickly fired two shots in front of him.

They didn't explode upon landing. Instead, they erected two electric arc pillars that connected to form a small electric net in front of them.

At the same time, his teammates fired six chili smoke bombs around them, directly covering the surrounding hundreds of meters, preventing the Hook Ape from using its sense of smell to detect their location.

But they could use infrared vision.

This was a battle with asymmetric information.

"Ah-choo~"

Seeing Four sneeze in the smoke, Qi Jing ordered, «Reduce your sense of smell!»

He was genuinely puzzled how Hook Ape Four had grown so big. When encountering irritating smells, it didn't instinctively reduce its sense of smell? Was it just inhaling like crazy?

Was it a mentally retarded ape?

Or had he beaten its brains out?

«Get bigger, run wildly to the right with small steps, and stomp them to death!»

"You're basically giving the Hook Ape a cheat code, using Color of Observation Haki to cheat for it."

On the flying sword, Tan Zuoyin watched the unfair battle below and said to Qi Jing, "With a trainer like you, it's hard for the Hook Ape to lose."

Qi Jing spread his hands: "I can't help it. Who told it to be a disabled ape? If it was at full strength, I definitely wouldn't interfere."

Not only was its body incomplete, but its brain was also not working well. Without guidance, it would definitely be a pushover.

Xiao Shiwu raised the corners of his mouth: "If it was at full strength, there would be more than just these few people coming."

In the past, he had never sent a powerful species like the Hook Ape for drills. They were all weaker alien beasts.

If a complete Hook Ape were sent over, these recruits would have to be equipped with heavy weapons, or bring a few veterans, otherwise it would be almost certain death, and there would be no point in the drill.

"Why aren't these recruits using their own abilities?" Qi Jing asked, looking at the recruits being chased closely by Four below.

Tan Zuoyin explained: "Not everyone's abilities can be useful in this kind of battle.

We're not like you, the King of Newcomers. Before our abilities grow, we ordinary ability users can only use weapons and equipment to fight."

"No, no, no, Little Yin Yin, you're not ordinary."

"That's true. I have an excellent boyfriend."

"That's right. With me around, you can't be ordinary even if you want to."

"Hmm~ Why are you saying such sweet things?"

"Isn't that because I have you?"

"Hurry up and give commands. Your Four is about to step on a trap."

"No, it's your Four."