Saliya had been watching the battle closely and soon uncovered the reason behind it. “Those locusts... They survive in the poison mist because they have incredibly high poison resistance! I’ve never seen locusts endure poison without relying on Sacred Objects or Divine Skills before...”
The idea of someone nurturing a swarm of locusts resistant to poison had never crossed her mind. After all, locusts were fragile life forms, and attempting to boost their poison resistance was a risky gamble. Any effort or resources spent getting them used to weaker poisons would be wasted if they died trying to adapt to stronger toxins later.
Saliya admired what Han Wu had accomplished. He clearly understood his locusts’ poison resistance. Not only were his locusts naturally compatible with poisons, but he had also enhanced their toxicity using Sacred Objects. Yet the key factor behind their remarkable resistance lay in his Rank 7 Building, the labyrinth.
Han Wu had been delicately controlling the dense miasma cloud within the labyrinth to avoid killing his units. Instead, he used it to train their poison resistance to a terrifying degree. He nodded in approval as he watched the results unfold.
Meanwhile, the other students scrambled for alternatives now that poison had failed. They tried fire, water, wind, lightning, and various other attributes, but nothing worked. The locusts relentlessly launched explosive attacks, cutting down many from the opposing army.
The students didn’t know what to do. They were seriously wondering whether Han Wu’s locusts were actually some kind of indestructible cockroach. Each time a locust took damage, it regenerated almost instantly and attacked with even greater ferocity, like a berserker. None of them had ever faced an opponent this difficult to handle.
The locusts kept detonating themselves, wiping out all 30 million units of the opposing army within half an hour. Meanwhile, Han Wu lost only 200 million locusts.
The students were stunned. This was the first time they had suffered a total defeat. They expected Han Wu to celebrate, but instead, he looked surprisingly upset.
Han Wu’s dissatisfaction came from the cost: sacrificing 200 million locusts to eliminate 30 million foes meant a harsh death ratio of nearly 7:1. The outcome didn’t sit well with him at all. Fortunately, the skeletons had picked up the slack, converting 21 million of the fallen into new undead soldiers. At the very least, his reserves of cannon fodder had been partially restored.
“The test is over. Han Wu is victorious!” Saliya announced, her voice ringing like a bell.
The students no longer opposed Han Wu joining their class; his strength spoke for itself. The incident soon passed, and classes resumed as usual.
Han Wu listened to the lesson with focus, but having missed too many classes, he struggled to keep up with Saliya’s explanations. Qin Shuang noticed his difficulty and patiently clarified the material for him during class.
When the session ended, Han Wu realized he would need to study on his own to avoid falling further behind. Qin Shuang offered to tutor him, and from then on, they met in the library whenever they had free time to review together.
A month passed, and Han Wu’s progress improved steadily. He had just finished mastering the basic theory of Intermediate Mystic Arts when a group notification from Saliya arrived.
The third major class for first-year students would take place tomorrow. For the test, everyone would be sent to a ruined world that once belonged to an advanced civilization. The full details of the class had been sent to their inboxes.
Qin Shuang’s eyes sparkled as she read the details. “Han Wu, we’re going to the ruins of the Warring Kingdom Civilization.”
Han Wu scanned the details and recalled what he had learned about the place during his earlier library studies. “Hmm... The Warring Kingdom Civilization was obsessed with war. They are said to be one of the founding civilizations of the Divine Civilization.”
“Yeah. The various authorities in the Divine Civilization are based on the laws of the Warring Kingdom Civilization. I remember the most famous was the Army Caste System. I think the college wants us to figure out what role we should play in the future.” Qin Shuang then asked, “Han Wu, do you want to become an Invader or a Support?”
Han Wu paused to consider. “I think I can do both.”
Thanks to his overwhelming swarm of locusts, Han Wu felt confident he could match or surpass his peers in army strength, making him a strong candidate for the Invader role. At the same time, he also had the potential to thrive as a Support.
In his divine realm, the Tigermen and Epistians had recently launched an agricultural revolution. They had cultivated so much food that Han Wu no longer needed to buy corpses from other realms to feed his locusts.
Moreover, the intelligent races within his divine realm were already taking martial arts lessons from the Tigermen. As their skills improved, they produced more literature and scrolls related to their disciplines, generating a significant income for Han Wu.
To top it off, his units’ unwavering faith allowed him to accumulate enough Faith Points each day to condense a single Divine Essence. He anticipated the moment he could start generating even more.
Altogether, it was clear he had what it took to serve as both an Invader and a Support.
“Fine, you win. You are the best. Hmph,” Qin Shuang grumbled. Though she was a stellar student, she always felt inferior beside Han Wu.
“Hey, could you tell me more about the Warring Kingdom Civilization?” Han Wu asked. It was his first time attending a major class at Imperial College, and nerves had already crept in. He wanted to learn everything he could ahead of time.
Qin Shuang perked up. For once, she had found an area where she outshone him. “Fine. I shall grant you my infinite wisdom and tell you about the Warring Kingdom Civilization...”
The next day arrived quickly. All 51 students filed into the classroom on time, waiting as Saliya prepared to deliver a short introductory lecture. She took the task seriously, walking them through the key details of the Warring Kingdom Civilization with clarity and precision.
The Warring Kingdom Civilization was one of the founding pillars of the Divine Civilization. Yet it soon fell into ruin because its people relied too heavily on a power known as Martial Manifestation. Their overdependence on it led to its gradual decline under the relentless march of time. Still, Martial Manifestation remained a vital subject of study due to its formidable strength.
Saliya’s explanation was thorough, and the students listened with rapt attention. They took the lesson seriously. After all, their performance in the major class depended on it, and their scores were on the line.
Once she finished her detailed overview, the major class officially began.