It had to be said that Rhodes Island was truly powerful in many of the finer details.
In just a short while, the deck level had been transformed into a quite realistic exercise field.
There were high platforms to block lines of sight and corridors that only allowed about two people to pass at a time.
“It’s simulating an urban warfare environment.” Fuyuki interlaced her fingers and pushed outward, giving a deep stretch and letting out a very comfortable hum.
She then looked toward the A4 Reserve Team, who were already making defensive preparations.
The mission target that needed to be destroyed was placed far in the rear relative to Fuyuki’s starting point.
However, it was still fairly conspicuous and hadn’t been intentionally hidden much.
Clearly, the members of the A4 Reserve Team shared a consensus—if Fuyuki broke through the defensive line, it wouldn’t matter where it was placed.
So, they simply placed it in a visible but absolutely safe position.
“But…
that’s only based on common sense.
They’re acting this way…
it seems Instructor Dober didn’t reveal a single bit of information about me to them.” But this was also part of the exercise; one couldn’t always have prior information about the enemy in every operation.
Fuyuki blinked, her bright eyes flickering with intelligence.
Foxes are very cunning; it is the nature of the Vulpo.
In her mind, she had already devised six plans that could easily achieve the exercise goal by exploiting the information gap.
Even if her fighting techniques still needed practice, as a fox lady, she absolutely could not be lacking in a mischievous streak!
“However…
that’s probably not what Instructor Dober wants to see…
Mmh!
Then let’s do it this way!” Fuyuki reached her starting position.
Serving as the referee, Dober checked the time in her hand, and seeing it was about time, she announced: “The exercise is about to begin.
Both sides, take your positions!” Naturally, as a rare reserve team exercise on Rhodes Island, there were many people who had applied to observe.
Besides Gavial, who was already waving flags and shouting on the sidelines to act as the hype squad, there were many more quite young-looking boys and girls.
They were likely members of other reserve teams.
*Tap*, *tap*.
Fuyuki’s thick-soled sneakers stepped onto the Rhodes Island deck, making a crisp sound.
“Phew~” On the already high-altitude deck where the wind blew constantly, the wind suddenly became even stronger.
Her uniform jacket, embroidered with the name ‘Rhodes Island’, fluttered continuously, accompanied by the crisp ‘ring-ring’ of her bells.
Fuyuki reached the attacking position.
“The distance from this position…
is enough!” Cardigan stood in the path ahead, holding her shield.
Two boys lay in ambush atop the high platforms.
Melantha was nowhere to be seen for the moment.
And Ansel was at the very back, ready to provide medical support at any moment.
“Now, let the exercise begin.” *Bang!* The moment it began, Fuyuki extended her arm and gave her wrist a slight flick toward the front.
Somatic casting!
Storm Surge!
Equipped with a Casting Unit, performing Originium Arts was much easier for Fuyuki than in the past.
Correspondingly, on the premise of not harming her own body, the output of the Originium Arts had to be slightly discounted.
But…
it was enough!
The members of the A4 Action Reserve Team never expected Fuyuki to possess such long-range attack methods!
And it wasn’t a projectile flying over; instead, a Directional Storm impact formed directly at the target location!
Without prior information, there was naturally no way to intercept it!
The mission objective was swept up by the storm, and the Wind Blades contained within tore through the crate—which wasn’t particularly sturdy and was built to be destroyed by force.
*Clatter!* The box hit the ground, and debris scattered everywhere.
“Eh…
Eh?!!!” Cardigan, who was guarding the front, only realized what had happened behind her after the mission objective had been completely destroyed by Fuyuki.
She immediately let out a startled cry.
Indeed, if the goal was the outcome of the exercise…
then at this point, it could be said the winner had already been decided.
“Next time, remember to ‘hide’ your valuables properly,” Fuyuki said as she walked with her hands behind her back, her toes lightly tapping the ground, a cunning smile on her face.
“However, if it ends just like this, it would be a bit of a disservice to the field Gavial spent so long setting up.” Fuyuki looked toward Dober.
“Sigh…” Dober let out a helpless sigh.
“These guys…
I’m really going to have to give them a proper lesson later.” Being so careless and underestimating an enemy with unknown attack methods was truly unacceptable.
But Fuyuki was also right; Dober had originally wanted to see an intense fight, both to test the A4 Reserve Team’s recent training results and to personally confirm the strength of Fuyuki’s combat capabilities for future targeted training.
Ending it like this would be a bit of a waste of the effort put into setting up the field.
Hadn’t they heard Gavial already starting to yell?!!
“Continue the exercise.
But the winner has already been determined.” Dober shot a fierce glare that sent a shiver through every member of the A4 Reserve Team.
“If you don’t want to be severely over-trained later, then give me a good performance!” “Well then~” Fuyuki clenched her fists, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly to reveal her pearly white teeth, as her footsteps began to subtly build power.
This kind of smile felt slightly familiar to Cardigan, who was seeing it head-on.
Who was it she had seen something similar on?
But this version of Fuyuki was different from the playful, cute, and beautiful impression she gave before.
She was dangerous!
Cardigan gripped her shield tightly, her arms exerting force to hold it steady.
In the next moment, Fuyuki’s figure, riding the rising storm, charged rapidly toward Cardigan’s shield!
*Thump!* The shields used as Operator equipment were by no means inferior; they were heavy shields capable of withstanding most impacts, piercings, and explosions!
Even though Cardigan’s strength meant she couldn’t use Rhodes Island’s highest-spec heavy shields, the one in her hand was certainly not light.
The ground beneath was a deck, not soil, so the leverage wasn’t very good.
Cardigan, meeting this strike head-on, suddenly felt as if she had lost all sensation in both arms.
The force transmitted through the shield caused her to lose control of her footing, and she was forced back several meters!
And that heavy shield now had a deep dent in it!
“Wh-!” Cardigan was inwardly horrified, but her long-term training allowed her to quickly calm down.
There was no time to think about random things; the moment she blocked this blow, the opportunity to deal with Fuyuki had already been created!
Without needing a word, a powerful crossbow bolt and a condensed ice spike already came flying from above!
At the same time, a flash of cold steel swung toward Fuyuki from the shadows.
However, in contrast to her heavy artillery-like strength, Fuyuki’s movements appeared light and graceful.
With just a slight push of her feet and a backward lean, she used the wind to retreat out of the danger zone.
“Cardigan!” A bandage coated with emergency medicine had already been thrown to Cardigan’s side.
Taking advantage of the brief gap, Cardigan wrapped the bandage around her palms, which had been somewhat injured by the shock; the cooling medicine made her feel a bit better.
“Truly, you can’t judge a person by their appearance…” Fuyuki looked like the type to give you a cute little love-tap, but how did she throw such a heavy punch!
Cardigan felt cold sweat starting to break out on her forehead.
Gavial’s cheers reached Cardigan’s ears from afar.
She remembered whose face she had seen a smile similar to Fuyuki’s on just now.
That wild and bold smile that appeared the moment a fight started was exactly the same as Gavial’s.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”