A shoulder was pierced directly, flying over ten meters from the tree; another had his calf pierced, tearing a large chunk of flesh, and fainted upon falling to the ground.
As the final group in cage number 1 shouted withdraw, a group of Earth-digging Realm individuals who had long been ready outside the cage rushed in immediately and took everyone out.
"Group 29, eliminated!"
"These kids are so dumb, I can hardly bear to watch!"
Above the city gate, after watching group 29’s evaluation process, Lin Kai looked incredulous, and after speaking added, "Do they all not have brains? The Great Xia Cold Beast Record is just on the first floor of the main building, have they never flipped through it?"
"It’s not that they haven’t looked, it’s that they’ve been scared stupid..."
Yuan Cheng took over Lin Kai’s words, sneering: "These kids, most of them have never seen a living Cold Beast before. Some older ones, even when going out, at most chop trees or pick fruits. The younger ones don’t even know what the outside world is like; their daily food, clothing, and usage are all given by their parents and families. Don’t even mention getting injured, they don’t even know the feeling of freezing. Suddenly being forced to fight Cold Beasts, getting scared silly is normal."
Yuwen Dao also withdrew his gaze, stopped watching the evaluation below, and shook his head: "Though they are young, their strength isn’t weak. The basic strength of the Logging Realm is at least five thousand, peaks at over nine thousand. Iron armor, weapons, Dan medicine, and all those supplies from the Camp Supply Department are readily available. As long as they have a clear mind and match their efforts properly, they could even kill a fully mature low-level Cold Beast."
The ten Cold Beasts in the cage below have at least half their strength gone. Still, they manage to knock down hundreds from the Logging Realm, and up till now, not a single group has progressed.
A group of Cold Resistance Level individuals heard this, shook their heads, faces filled with a mix of emotion and helplessness, unsure of what to say.
"The leader was right; a greenhouse can only grow pretty flowers, not towering trees. This evaluation has exposed the extent of these kids’ capabilities. With such a group of people, even if they break through to the Earth-digging Realm and join the Hunting Team in the future, three to five would likely die. Once on the battlefield, it won’t just be themselves they harm but others as well!"
Among the Cold Resistance Level individuals above the city gate, Qiu Peng’s expression was the worst.
As the one overseeing this evaluation, each embarrassing withdrawal echoed below made his face darker. Hearing the words of Lin Kai, Yuan Cheng, and Yuwen Dao, he remained silent for a long time, saying nothing.
"Why not just call it off? The number of injured is increasing."
"I don’t foresee anyone progressing."
"It’s probably too early for them."
"No team has progressed, so let’s consider the Logging Realm grouping as concluded!"
Qiu Peng straightforwardly and resolutely rejected everyone’s suggestion, he turned his gaze downwards, sneered, "A hundred from the Logging Realm can’t even kill one already heavily injured Cold Beast. The camp has so many hunting teams, shedding blood outside every day, yet they’ve cultivated such a group of useless ones. If they can’t pass such a simple pre-selection, they might as well forget about the pre-competition rewards for the top hundred martial arts!"
Everyone detected the anger in Qiu Peng’s words and stopped speaking.
The evaluation below had already reached the fourth round.
Groups 33 to 43, ten groups finished drawing and entered their respective cages once again.
"Look at the group in cage number 2, they seem a bit different."
"The leader is Zhao Yuankong, I know him."
"The son of Steel Mane Team’s Captain Zhao Hu?"
Upon hearing the crowd’s discussions, Xiao Hen immediately looked towards cage number 2.
The group 38 selected cage number 2, indeed distinctly different from other teams.
Zhao Yuankong, like Liu Peng, should have also become the group leader.
Upon entering the cage, their team of a hundred remained silent.
While Zhao Yuankong, at first instance, gestured to those behind him.
The hundred quickly split into five squads, beginning to move slowly with the Golden-eyed Demon Sheep behind the faux rock as the center and along the cage’s walls, soon forming a large circle.
"The Demon Sheep has already been shot blind, they won’t attract the Demon Sheep’s attention if they remain silent, so smart!"
"It’s true, just now among the three rounds of evaluation, six cages had their Cold Beasts shot blind. As long as no loud noises are made, the Cold Beasts can’t discern the positions of nearby people."
"Zhao Yuankong just might have a chance to pass."
As praises spread, everyone in the remaining crowd on the square turned their attention to cage number 2.
This was expected, as the other nine cages remained mostly similar to the previous round, while cage number 2 hadn’t emitted any noise even after over ten minutes.
Seeing Zhao Yuankong’s composed and deft handling, naturally, everyone’s gaze shifted towards them.
Not just those on the square, even the Cold Resistance Level individuals above the city gate directed their interested gazes at cage number 2.
"Zhao Hu, this is your second child, right? Impressive!"
"Being willing to think and able to think already puts one above many others."
"They certainly have hope; I see they even brought torches."
"That kid moved to the rear, probably planning to climb a tree."
"The personnel distribution is also well designed; he divided fifteen from the Peak of Wood Cutting Realm into his team, likely planning to take the position on the tree for archery."