hotmtlnovel 020 Kassel Starting Village
020 Kassel Starting Village
"when--!"
In the center of the square, Caesar's hunting knife clashed violently with Chu Zihang's Murasame sword. Amidst the flying sparks, the two leaders representing the two major societies of Kassel College passed each other.
"That was great! Let's do it again!" Caesar laughed and turned around.
Chu Zihang didn't speak, but silently lowered his center of gravity, the blade pointing diagonally at the ground.
"Excuse me."
A monotone voice broke in, extinguishing the tension in the room.
"Lu Mingfei?" Chu Zihang's golden eyes shifted slightly, and his grip on the knife tightened.
Caesar sized up Lu Mingfei. "You're the S-class guy from China?"
"Call me whatever you want," Lu Mingfei said coldly. "I'll only ask one question."
He frowned, his eyes showing confusion: "I've been watching from a distance for a while. During the recruitment process, they described you as elites, possessing the power of words. Instead of using those, you're pulling out melee weapons and practicing moves here… Are you filming a martial arts movie?"
Caesar chuckled and reversed the hilt of his sword: "Freshman, it seems Guderian didn't even teach you common sense. From the moment you stepped into Kassel, the entire campus has been under the vice-principal's 'rules.' Here, everyone's power of speech is suppressed."
"suppress?"
Lu Mingfei closed his eyes briefly to sense it, but didn't feel anything.
"So you just accepted the weakening of the system without a second thought," Lu Mingfei looked at them, "and started playing this fair 'turn-based pretend game' with melee weapons?"
"Newcomer." Caesar strode closer, flicking his wrist. "Since you think this is a game, why don't you step in and give me some pointers yourself?"
Chu Zihang remained silent, but silently took half a step, effectively blocking Lu Mingfei's retreat.
"I don't have time to play in the mud with the kids."
"Bang--!!!"
A light screen suddenly shot out, and Caesar and Chu Zihang, who had just approached Lu Mingfei, were like being hit head-on by a speeding heavy armored train.
An incomprehensible, absolute repulsive force erupted, and the two kings of Kassel simultaneously groaned as they were sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground.
Within three meters of Lu Mingfei, the grass was stripped clean by the repulsive force, revealing the brown soil underneath.
"Too weak to stop."
He tossed out this dry apology, walked past the two struggling bodies, and headed toward Fingal, who was cowering behind the Odin statue, clutching his head.
The powerful march resounded throughout the campus, as if the long-silent campus broadcasting system had just woken up from a nap.
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After the Angel invasion, NERV's logistics personnel began battlefield cleanup operations.
They carried folded stretchers and black containment bags, their steps hurried into the reopened refuge corridor. Lu Mingfei followed behind, pushing a logistics department metal cart, its wheels rattling through the cracks in the paving stones. The corridor ceiling had collapsed, steel bars protruding from the concrete like broken ribs.
The containment team stopped ahead and began loading people onto stretchers. Lu Mingfei worked behind them; he saw some things scattered on the ground: slippers, a thermos, a family photo…
Lu Mingfei pushed the cart forward, passing the spot where they had just been working. The people on the ground had been put into bags and carried away, leaving behind a dark, damp stain. A large pool of dark red splattered on the wall, from waist-high all the way to the ceiling.
He took the high-pressure water gun from the cart, connected it to the hose of the fire hydrant in the corridor, and pulled the trigger. The water jet shot up, splashing a layer of pink mist on the wall. He turned his head to the side and squinted, spraying section by section. Some wall cracks had to be sprayed three or four times before the color faded.
The cleaned hallway looks brand new, but the smell takes a long time to dissipate.
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"Oh, my Roman columns!"
The doors of an unnamed building opened, and doctors and nurses rushed out. Carrying first-aid kits bearing the emblem of the Half-Dead World Tree, they skillfully moved among the "corpses" scattered on the ground, some giving injections, others handing out saline solutions. The student who had just been shot in the head sat up, rubbing his neck, chatting and laughing about his movements.
A dead person wouldn't sit up cursing and rubbing their shoulders after receiving an injection.
An elderly man with a receding hairline, his nose covered with a handkerchief, his leather shoes slipping on the spent cartridge cases, stormed over in a fit of rage. He glared at Lu Mingfei, the only one standing, and roared, "Where did you come from, freshman?! Didn't the disciplinary committee teach you to stay away from firefight zones?!"
"I'm just passing by on my way back to the dorm," Lu Mingfei said expressionlessly.
On the lawn, Caesar and Chu Zihang, who had just been hit hard, helped each other to their feet. These two proud lions, who had been scratching each other for a while, now stood on either side of Lu Mingfei with perfect understanding.
"Professor Manstein, it was I who smashed the flower bed." Caesar wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Send the bill to the student council."
"Lionheart will cover half of the repair costs," Chu Zihang interjected coldly.
"Good! Very good! Caesar, Chu Zihang, you two have some nerve! This isn't just about money anymore, this is provoking the Disciplinary Committee's bottom line!" Manstein was so angry his hands trembled. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and slammed the speakerphone button. "I'm reporting this directly to the principal!"
The square fell silent instantly, and all the students stopped what they were doing.
The call connected, and a slight laugh came through the speakerphone: "Manstein, another day's bill for freedom?"
"Headmaster Angers! You have no idea what those bastards have done!" Manstein cried out hoarsely. "They blew up the statues from the school's early days! They have absolutely no regard for discipline!"
"Young people always need to release their hormones. Caesar and Chu Zihang have always been like that, you should get used to it by now," the principal said. "The maintenance costs will be covered by the school board fund. After enjoying your 'day of freedom,' remember to study hard, my children."
The students in the square exchanged glances and then erupted in deafening cheers. They took off their armbands and threw them into the air, and some even made mocking faces at Manstein.
damn it.
A group of hybrid elites who claimed to be fighting against the world-destroying dragons turned the school into ruins. In the end, a kind old principal paid for it with a foundation, and everyone cheered and celebrated as if they had won a rugby game.
"I'd also like to say hello to someone else," the principal's voice came through the loudspeaker again, drowning out all the cheers.
The surroundings fell silent instantly.
"Is Lu Mingfei, one of our S-class freshmen, there?" Angers asked on the phone.
"He's here, Principal." Guderian appeared out of nowhere, jogged forward, and held the phone to Lu Mingfei's mouth.
"Welcome to Kassel, Lu Mingfei. This is your world. How does it feel?" The principal's voice echoed around them.
"Very disappointed."
"Disappointed?" Angers' voice held a hint of interest. "Could you elaborate?"
"I thought I had arrived at the highest fortress for humanity to resist the end of the world, but what I saw was just a theme park."
"A group of hybrid elites with the power of words were locked in a school where the power of words was suppressed. They drew their swords and fought each other. After the fight, the principal's foundation paid the bill, and everyone cheered and celebrated."
Lu Mingfei's voice grew colder and colder, "Principal, if the dragon race is really as terrible as you describe, then your teaching system is simply an irresponsible murder."
The entire hall was in an uproar. No one dared to speak to the legendary dragon-slaying leader like that, nor could anyone so brazenly provoke the entire Kassel College.
"Extremely insightful, every strike deadly. Lu Mingfei," Angers paused, "rest assured, Kassel's knife is still in its sheath, but on the day it truly draws blood, it will certainly not disappoint you."
"That would be best."
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Sunlight streamed in through the porthole. Angers hung up the phone and gazed at the waves outside.
"This...this is your rating of S-rank?" Professor Mance Lundstätter asked with some concern.
"You think he's arrogant?" Angers picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
"No." Mans shook his head. "I deliberately delayed the time CC1000 would pick him up to prolong the observation period. He seems to have severe PTSD."
Angers smiled and looked out the porthole at the two majestic mountain peaks that resembled the pillars of a gate—the Qutang Gorge.
"Don't be too surprised to hear this. I don't know Lu Mingfei well enough to know what he's capable of. But there's a reason for his 'S' rating, but I can't tell you right now."
"Ten years have passed since the tragedy in the Greenland ice sea. We've been reflecting on this. Do we need to build an army, or do we need to cultivate geniuses? But Lu Mingfei gave me a third answer."
"What answer?" Mans asked.
"We need a tyrant," Angers said. "Dragons are violent creatures. The one who can kill a dragon is never a gentle knight, but a monster that is more ruthless and more desperate than them."
"He's issuing a challenge to the entire Kassel College; he thinks we're not qualified to help him save the world." He chuckled. "Isn't it interesting? A real monster has finally entered our zoo."
Mans took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the deep river outside the window.
"I hope he really is as you think. The 'Kuimen Project' will begin in a week. Ye Sheng and Aki are already prepared for diving. If the King of Bronze and Fire is really in that underwater city..."
"Don't wake it." Angers' smile faded. "The noble first-generation species, no one can fathom its power. Return safely, Mans."