Drake knew that he had held back somewhat during this combat examination and had not displayed his full strength.
Even so, being pushed down to third place was something he found difficult to believe.
“Hey, hey!
What the hell?!
Drake is third?!”
“Did they read it wrong?!”
The recruits immediately erupted into an uproar.
To them, Drake was practically acknowledged as the strongest—not merely the strongest recruit in their Fifth Team, but the strongest recruit across all ten teams of the ordinary camp.
Yet now, Drake had only ranked third within the Fifth Team?!
This had to be a joke!
Among the crowd, there was only one person who wasn’t surprised.
A strange glint flashed through her eyes as she took a deep breath.
That person was, of course, Hina.
She was the only one who could guess why things had turned out this way.
“Quiet!”
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, the Marine Rear Admiral frowned and shouted sharply.
His voice rang out like thunder, instantly silencing the plaza.
However, doubt and disbelief still filled the recruits’ eyes.
Faced with so many skeptical gazes, the Marine Rear Admiral couldn’t help smiling bitterly inwardly.
Although his expression remained stern, even he had been unable to remain calm when he first saw this ranking.
“Second place, Hina!”
The moment this name was announced, the recruits once again showed astonished expressions and couldn’t help speaking up.
“Hina actually surpassed Drake?!”
“Hina is certainly strong, but… surpassing Drake?
Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?”
Many recruits wore expressions of astonishment.
However, within the Fifth Team, the strongest recruit besides Drake was Hina.
So it was indeed possible that Hina’s performance during the combat examination had surpassed Drake’s.
But then… who was first?!
One name after another flashed through the recruits’ minds, only to be dismissed immediately.
Every one of those names had already appeared on the earlier rankings or had already been announced.
“Quiet!”
The Marine Rear Admiral sternly reprimanded them once more, finally restoring silence to the plaza.
Then he took a deep breath, lowered the list in his hand, and looked up at all the recruits.
In a deep voice, he announced,
“First place… Roya!”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
It was as though the sound of a needle dropping onto the ground could be heard clearly.
Nearly every recruit stared wide-eyed.
Some couldn’t even believe their own ears, wondering whether they had heard incorrectly.
Then, in the very next instant—
BOOM!!!
The entire plaza erupted.
The situation could no longer be suppressed.
“What the hell is this?!”
“What kind of ranking is this?!
Roya is first?
That weakest rookie?!”
“Even if he’s Vice Admiral Garp’s nephew, manipulating the results like this is going too far!”
The recruits were practically furious, their expressions filled with the anger of people who felt they had been deceived.
If Roya had used his connections to get third place, fourth place, or even second place, they might have been able to accept it.
But first place was simply too much!
Did they really think all of them were idiots?
Roya had always come in dead last even in something as simple as the weighted running drills.
For him to rank first in a combat examination like this was simply absurd!
“Silence!
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this ranking!”
“Quiet!!”
The Marine Rear Admiral had already anticipated this explosive reaction, but even so, he found himself suffering a tremendous headache.
He could only repeatedly shout them down.
But this time, some of the recruits were so angry that they even began talking back.
“Rear Admiral Cass!
Have you lost your mind too?!
How could Roya possibly rank first?!
Or is Roya relying on his relationship with Vice Admiral Garp so heavily that even you have to turn a blind eye?!”
“Shut up!!”
Upon hearing those words, Rear Admiral Cass’s expression finally changed.
He roared furiously, his voice shaking the entire plaza.
The force of his voice made the ears of many recruits ring, finally suppressing the uproar somewhat.
“Is that something you should be saying?!
Whoever just spoke, step forward!”
Cass glared furiously at the Marine recruits.
Yet no one answered.
Everyone looked at one another, and nobody stepped forward.
Although they were all furious, even an idiot knew that those words shouldn’t have been spoken.
They also knew what the consequences would be if they stepped forward and admitted it.
Seeing that nobody came forward, Cass couldn’t exactly interrogate every recruit individually.
He snorted coldly, threw the list onto the ground, and said,
“You’re all questioning the authenticity of these rankings, aren’t you?!”
Again, nobody spoke.
But the looks in everyone’s eyes made their answer obvious.
“Very well!”
“Then I’m informing you now: due to certain unexpected circumstances, the results of this combat examination will not serve as the final assessment for promotion to the Elite Camp.”
“Instead… they will serve as the basis for next month’s full-camp combat assessment!”
“The final selection for promotion to the Elite Camp will be decided through next month’s full-camp combat assessment in the ordinary camp.”
“This will be a direct combat assessment.
There will be absolutely no possibility of favoritism or manipulation.”
“So, everyone who’s dissatisfied—save your strength for next month!
Save it for the combat assessment!”
Cass’s furious voice echoed across the plaza.
The recruits finally calmed down.
They looked at one another, but no one continued arguing.
Even Drake, who had been frowning this entire time, finally relaxed his brow and returned to his usual calm expression.
A full-camp combat assessment?
Since it would be an assessment involving direct combat between the recruits, conducted under everyone’s watchful eyes, there was naturally no way for something like this to happen again.
There would be no way for someone to inexplicably manipulate the results and push him down to third place.
Who was stronger and who was weaker would inevitably be revealed.
“Did you all hear me?
Now get out of here and rest!
Training resumes tomorrow!”
Seeing that the recruits had finally stopped arguing, Cass snorted coldly.
After saying that, he turned around and walked away.
Once Rear Admiral Cass had left, the recruits remained silent for a while.
After exchanging glances, they gradually relaxed, various thoughts flickering in their eyes.
“I didn’t expect there would be another full-camp combat assessment a month from now.”
“It’s probably because certain people went too far with manipulating the results this time.
That’s why they had to arrange this full-camp combat assessment.”
“Since it’s a combat assessment, there’s no way anyone can manipulate the results.
I refuse to believe that guy can alter such an outrageous ranking while everyone is watching!”
The recruits discussed among themselves as they left with cold smiles on their faces.
Hina was also among the crowd, listening to the recruits’ comments.
She didn’t argue with them.
Instead, the corners of her lips curled slightly upward, and an unusual light flashed through her beautiful eyes.
“A combat assessment?
Now that’s going to be interesting…”
An image flashed through her mind—
Roya bathing in blazing flames, with a vast sea of fire raging behind him.
The curve of Hina’s lips lifted a little further.
“Hina is really looking forward to seeing what happens that day.”