Ancient Dragon in Arknights

As for the subsequent rules... Nesario stopped them, but it's not very meaningful.

Although a command post exists, it can be abandoned—once abandoned, communication between teams will be shut down; and the points accumulated over time will stop increasing; points can also be obtained by eliminating enemies and deciphering clues in the arena.

The former tests pure combat ability, while the latter tests adaptability to the battlefield environment and survival.

The school had set up multiple sets of ciphertexts in the field beforehand, which they collected and deciphered; Nesario didn't intend to tackle this—his ciphertext deciphering wasn't excellent, and defeating his opponent was relatively easy for him.

“Nesario, I have a feeling. An alliance will emerge to oppose us.”

"It's obvious that several eyes are already on us."

"Do we need to find allies? As long as we extend an invitation, there will definitely be people who defect to our side."

"There's no need... Giving up the command post doesn't mean we've lost. In other words—the higher the individual soldier's ability, the more advantageous it is in this game."

"..."

Rita wanted to say that wasn't the case—defend the command post, defeat the attacking enemies, send out a special team to collect the cipher, and rack up some kill points while the other classes were fighting amongst themselves.

A three-pronged approach – that's the right way to play this game.

Neltharion: As long as I kill more people than everyone else, victory will naturally be mine.

......

The other detailed rules of the exercise were quickly explained, and then all the students went to the exercise site under the guidance of the school.

When Nesario arrived at the training grounds, he finally realized why the place had become a training ground—it was almost completely abandoned.

The streets were deserted, and the scene was one of ruins: collapsed walls, rubble everywhere, and broken glass; some houses were even missing their doors!

"The perfect location for urban warfare."

After observing the surrounding environment, Chen made this judgment: the landing battle of the mobile city would start from the very edge of the plate, and most of the knowledge he learned from the book could probably be used in this exercise.

"It's a pity that we can't use real heavy firepower in the exercise, otherwise the captain's artillery alone could suppress an entire street."

Fiona, however, was somewhat disappointed. She had personally witnessed Rita using the cannon at the firing range, with its precise strikes, rapid reloading, and outstanding power!

There is a difference between exercises and actual combat. In actual combat, Rita's artillery can suppress an entire team by herself, while in exercises, as long as you stay away from the set explosion range, you will be fine.

The shockwave, bright light, vibration, and fragments of the explosion are all absent—most of the bomb's lethality is reduced.

"Luckily, I use melee weapons. Even with an unsharpened stick, I can knock out an enemy's teeth."

"That's right, my city-breaking spear can now easily pierce through walls!"

"Yes, we can handle the close combat. Rita, you just focus on commanding."

Chen, Fiona, and Nesario volunteered. Although there were other students in Class 10, it was Rita's job to give instructions, and the three of them only needed to do their own job.

“I was wondering... is it possible to call in outside help? This wasn't mentioned in the previous rules.”

"Foreign aid? Where will we get foreign aid? Other grades need to attend classes, and freelance mercenaries cannot be approved. The teachers need to supervise this exercise. We can only rely on ourselves for this exercise."

Chen had already thought of this, but unfortunately, there was no one he could use as an external aid.

"Some special classes don't need to participate in the drills... I wonder if they can help."

Rita knew very well that she only had the skills to decrypt, and the real expert was Rosselli—this girl was from the intelligence department class and did not need to participate in the exercise, so could she be brought over to help?

Chapter Ninety-One: Seeking External Aid

So, are you willing to help?

Inside the dormitory, Rita was drying Losily's hair, which was quite long and light green. What had initially amazed Nesario was this hair that almost covered his entire back—it was as if a touch of spring had been cut off.

"Hmm... the intelligence department doesn't need to participate in direct combat. But we do have a mission: to gather intelligence from each class and then make reasonable predictions about the outcome of the battle. Going into battle personally isn't really my style."

What Lori was worried about was not that her grades would be affected, after all, she was now considered a member of the military, and as long as she wasn't expelled from the Guard Academy, everything was fine.

What he was worried about was Nesario—wouldn't it give him away if Rita, Nesario, and Lothiri got together?

Both she and Nesario initially chose not to involve Rita in the incident.

"If you're not going to help, fine, but... my teammate said his roommate is also from the intelligence department, so he might be willing to lend a hand."

'Ne? Nesario... As for the intelligence department he knows... that guy Fisher?'

As the two most promising individuals in the intelligence department, Lothrie and Fisher, though never having spoken, both judged each other's abilities based on their assignments and course grades. One was an assistant to the Royal London Police, the other a member of the Victorian military—they were practically locked in a power struggle.

"I'm going! It's not like me, but I can't just watch so many credits slip away. I can't accept seeing your fruits of victory shared by another intelligence department."

In reality, Losley simply didn't want Fisher to steal the spotlight.

"Then it's a deal. Remember to come with me to the exercise."

"Okay."

......

Male dormitory

"Don't go."

"Why? Our team is sure to win in the end. These are free credits!"

“I took on other assignments, not from the school, and they were very difficult, so I couldn’t spare the time.”

"Okay, if you have any other ideas later, remember to let me know."

Unfortunately, unlike Rita's successful persuasion, Nesario ran into a wall.

Fisher wasn't lying; he really had been tied up lately. The Royal Police were currently investigating a serious smuggling case, with a massive amount of unstable Originium serum flowing from the black market into Lontinim—something that should have been caught by the black market's informants immediately.

But for some reason, this matter was not discovered.

That's true. If they were discovered, Fisher wouldn't be needed to take action.

"However, I can give you a clue—someone came to me wanting to buy your information. Like your weaknesses or battle plans?"

Blue-haired Vayvan gave a cold smile; it was the first time he had encountered something so amusing.

"Huh? So what did you do? Did you actually sell it?"

Although Nesario wasn't sure what his weaknesses were, if he had to say, it would be his inability to defend against Originium Arts—without Originium Arts adaptability, he couldn't sense the flow of Originium energy at all, so he couldn't sense spells in advance.

"Do I have any leads to sell? What are your weaknesses? The flaws in Originium Arts don't affect you at all, do they?"

"Actually, there is a little bit..."

"Judging from the information they revealed, they will probably form an alliance in order to eliminate you, their biggest threat, as soon as possible. Be careful, or you'll fail if you let your guard down."

"Thank you for reminding."

Nesario returned to his room to prepare for tomorrow's battle—the rehearsal was expected to last two to three days, and the following night would be spent in a "battlefield environment," which was not very comfortable.

Nesario entered the bathroom and turned on the shower. The Vayvans are probably one of the more convenient races to take a bath. They have no body hair, so there's no need to worry about insects or dust hiding in their fur. The only troublesome thing is that their horns need to be cleaned thoroughly.

'Why does my arm feel a little itchy...'

Nesario scratched the itchy spot on his arm—his fingers ran across the skin, revealing an unnatural bump beneath what was once smooth skin.

"A bump appeared? What kind of mosquito could work on me?"

Nesario scratched the protrusion, but the itching sensation didn't lessen; in fact, it intensified.

*Thud*—With a sound of skin being pierced, Nesario's expression twisted rapidly as he looked at his arm in horror.

The bump that was originally there is gone, replaced by a sharp thorn that pierces the skin—it is about five centimeters long, and the white keratin is very smooth, like a work of art.

Neltharion knew exactly what this was—Nergigante's Regenerating Thorns!

'Why is this happening to me?! The legacy of Nergigante?! No, no, no... I didn't enter the Hall of Dragons. And I have absolutely no memories related to Nergigante.'

Nesario had never encountered this situation before, and at this moment he didn't even know how to put away the spikes.

After quickly turning off the water and drying himself, Nesario began to carefully examine his body in front of the mirror.

Currently, only this one sharp thorn has grown on his arm; no other protruding "lumps" have been felt on other parts of his body.

If we were to describe it as a disease, it's currently in its early stages, and there's still hope!

With a snap, Nesario pulled out the spike and broke it off, leaving a small hole in the original skin that healed quickly and should not leave a scar.

But this incident forced Nesario to take it seriously: what exactly was wrong with him?

"Go to sleep first...maybe I'll get some insights in my dreams."

Filled with worry, Nesario managed to fall asleep peacefully.

This time, Nesario did not experience the weightlessness and ethereal feeling he usually did in his dream. Instead, he was overwhelmed by a constant stream of pain—as if his internal organs were being torn apart and his body was being pierced.

"Ah—! Hiss...Where am I?"

When Nesario opened his eyes, he found himself in neither the Hall of Dragons nor the Survey Corps' base, but in an endless white space—the concept of space was completely useless to him, and Nesario felt that every direction was either sky or earth.

The upside-down world began to confuse his perception.

A soft "plop" sound followed by intense pain as he burst out of his body. Nesario gritted his teeth and looked at his chest.

It was a bloody mess, with countless dark and milky-white thorns piercing his chest from where his heart was.

Chapter Ninety-Two: Erosion and Assimilation

‘Damn it! ’

Nesario knew that even he would have died after suffering such an injury, but he was still alive.

"These spikes have replaced my body...they form a new heart..."

Nesario didn't know what this phenomenon meant, but he knew for sure that he could no longer feel his heartbeat. The "newborn" body was not under his control; it had fallen from its very core, the heart.

"Is this also the power of the Nergigante? To shoot its thorns into the bodies of others, then split, multiply, and finally assimilate them?"

Neltharion had to admit he panicked; he had never been this flustered, not even when fighting Nergigante.

why?

Because if he dies in the New World, he can return to Terra completely intact, recuperate, and set off again.

Neltharion was not harmed by the Odogaron tearing him apart or the Zergling cutting him in half, and in the end, both monsters became his allies.

I thought Nergigante would be the same... but now I haven't even obtained Nergigante's power.