Chapter 3221
However, before Philip walked back, he saw Lorna with that big saber on her back again.
When she saw Philip, she walked up quickly. With her high leather boots and North Battle District’s uniform, she gave off a feeling of valor and heroism.
She blocked Philip’s path and said, “I heard that you want to form your own combat team and join Cougar Squad to go to Blackwater Forest.”
Philip nodded and asked, “Is there a problem?”
Lorna smiled and said, “Of course, there’s no problem. I just want to warn you not to drag the Finn family down when the time comes or I’ll kill you without hesitation!”
While talking, Lorna deliberately touched the big saber behind her.
Philip snorted softly and said, “Don’t worry. If you people from the Finn family drag your feet, I won’t be merciful either!”
After that, Philip left with the food he bought.
After returning to Leopard’s boxing arena, Philip divided the food among the three of them. By this time, none of them had any strength left, except to shove the food in their mouths.
After dinner, Philip fought against the three of them!
Even in a one versus three match, they were no match at all.
Philip just wanted to build some rapport with them, so he asked them to rest after that.
Early the next morning, Philip had already prepared breakfast. The three of them got up one after another.
While eating, Iris said to Philip, “Not bad, you have the potential to be a housekeeper!”
Philip just smiled lightly and said, “I’m better than you think!”
After joking with the three of them, Philip took them to Cougar Squad.
Philip joked around with them on purpose. After all, they had just developed their elemental talents, so going to Cougar Squad would inevitably make them nervous. Therefore, Philip tried to ease the atmosphere so that they were less reserved with him. After all, he had been in a commanding role since yesterday.
If Philip did not close the distance between them, problems would easily occur when fighting.
Soon, Philip led the three to Cougar Squad.
Cougar was not around, so Philip led the group slightly up to the front.
In an establishment with mostly seven people in a combat team, Philip’s team of only four people became very eye-catching. When those people saw Philip and the others, they immediately burst out laughing.
“Say, buddies, where did this Women’s Brigade come from?”
Hearing that, except for Philip, the faces of the other three did not look good.
“They don’t even have the proper equipment. Are they here to die?”
“What proper equipment? They don’t have any equipment at all!”
“I mean. It’s fine if you don’t have any equipment, but you don’t even have the numbers. Let’s see… There’s even a woman!”
“And a kid too!”
The more these people spoke, the harsher they became.
Leopard was the first to lose it. When Leopard was just about to start a fight with someone, Philip stopped him.
Philip turned to Emily and said, “Emily, take off their equipment and let them cool down!”
Philip knew what Emily could do. Using the space element to remove the equipment from these people was simply too easy.
Hearing that, Emily nodded with a smile. She stretched her hand out and move. It gently, and the armor on the person who was talking simply fell to the ground.
That person did not even realize it.
Chapter 3222
With Emily’s exquisite cutting ability through space, not to mention removing the armor and protective gear on the other party’s body, even if she had slashed his neck, he would not have noticed it.
Seeing that Philip and his gang had made their move, the people in that team could no longer bear it and wanted to rush toward Philip and the others.
Philip patted Iris on the shoulder and said, “Make your move as soon as they get here!”
Iris nodded.
Sure enough, as Philip expected, those people really rushed at them. However, before they could get close, Iris made her move.
On the alloy floor of this test hall, several vines suddenly emerged and wrapped around these people. They were promptly trapped.
Philip patted Leopard on the shoulder and said, “If they break free, don’t hesitate to blast them with your fire element!”
Leopard nodded. Then, he clenched his fists and waited.
The test hall went into an uproar.
At this time, those people broke free from their shackles. Leopard burst into flames and blasted at them.
As a whole seven-person team, no one expected that three people were enough to deal with them. They worked with each other seamlessly too.
Philip regarded this conflict as their actual combat performance.
Seeing that they were about to attack, Philip said to Iris, “Tie them up again!”
Iris immediately sprang into action!
As the movements of those people paused, Philip said to Emily, “Cut the vines!”
Emily did not hesitate at all. The people in that team fell to the ground due to the loss of momentum.
At this time, Philip said to Leopard, “That’s enough. Leopard, come back!”
Leopard, who wanted to step forward and give them a beating, backed away.
Cougar came out at this time. He saw the event just now. He turned to the seven-member team and said, “Get out of my sight! You’re a disgrace!”
However, they were very indignant and said, “Commander Yorkshire, we were just careless.”
However, before the man could finish speaking, Cougar interrupted him. “Stop your meaningless explanation. If they had cut your neck with the space element, do you think you can still stand here and talk to me?”
Philip said to Cougar, “Commander Yorkshire, we were just having a friendly match with the other teams. It was just a fluke that we won. They held back on us.”
Cougar sighed and said, “Philip, you don’t have to speak up for them. They’re just a bunch of worthless things!”
After a pause, Cougar shouted, “Okay, enter the virtual battlefield one team at a time. The team with the shortest time gets the best equipment!”
After another glance at everyone, Cougar added, “Anyone who loses on the battlefield will have no dinner tonight!”
Chapter 3223
Seeing that all the squads were ready, Cougar said to Philip, “Come with me to get your equipment.”
Philip nodded.
Equipment could be crucial in some emergencies. However, Philip wanted to choose something most suitable for the four of them. Philip was also taken aback when Cougar led them into a splendid equipment arsenal.
As far as equipment was concerned, it was more than enough to arm a small combat team.
Cougar opened the door and said to Philip, “I’ll give you some leeway today. You can choose any equipment here!”
Hearing that, Philip and the other three immediately sprang into action. The other three took everything they could.
Philip only took one long spear, a handgun, and a saber. His gear was completed with armor.
Seeing that the other three were almost armed to the teeth, Philip smiled and said, “Leopard, keep all the defensive equipment and get rid of the rest.”
Then, Philip looked at Iris and said, “Iris, you only need a handgun. As for other offensive weapons, get rid of them.”
Only the things that Emily took were suitable for her element, and Emily also kept things to a minimum, which made Philip feel gratified.
When they were all armed, Philip followed Cougar out again.
At this time, most of the teams had returned from the virtual battlefield. The largest display screen also listed the time used by the top three teams.
“Commander Yorkshire, let’s see if Cougar Squad’s external team really has what it takes!” Someone urged at this time.
Philip smiled and said to his team, “Let’s go in!”
Philip knew that he had to enter the battlefield by this time, or Cougar would have a hard time explaining to his people.
Watching as Philip and the others entered, Cougar turned his attention to the screen. The fighting inside could be seen here, although it was virtual.
As soon as they entered the virtual battlefield, Philip said to Leopard, “Leopard, walk in front. Iris, follow Emily and protect her as your top priority.”
Hearing Philip’s arrangement, they moved out immediately.
With this allocation, Philip took the back position. He was here to cover the rear.
Seeing this scene, Cougar looked at the screen with narrowed eyes.
In this virtual battlefield, every battle was randomly generated, and the difficulty of the opponent was the same. Not far away, a huge exotic beast suddenly appeared in front of them.
“Whoa, no way. They actually got the strongest battlefield to kill exotic beasts. This is the most difficult virtual battlefield!”
While listening, Cougar kept his eyes glued to the screen.
In the virtual battlefield, Philip told Iris, “Bind it!”
Without waiting for Philip’s command, Emily used her space element to attack the exotic beast.
At this time, Philip suddenly said, “Iris, bind the vine around Leopard and toss him to the exotic beast!”
Chapter 3224
Hearing Philip’s words, Iris moved her hand, and a vine wrapped around Leopard’s feet.
Leopard roared, and his body burst into flames. Although he was not as imposing as Philip, his move was quite eye-catching.
With Iris’ control, Leopard charged at the exotic beast!
There were burning flames on his hand in the shape of a leopard.
Those who saw this scene snorted coldly and said, “That exotic beast is very strong. He’s simply courting death!”
The exotic beast suddenly stood up and grabbed Leopard with its forelegs. With the powerful physique of this beast, Leopard could easily be torn to shreds. However, before the attack landed, a surprising scene appeared.
The beast’s front paws could not be lifted at this time, and it could only watch helplessly as Leopard punched its head.
The raging flames engulfed the beast in an instant. That was because at that moment, Iris’ vines had wrapped around the beast from the ground and trapped it in place!
Boom!
The beast fell to the ground. Iris, Leopard, and Emily kept attacking it. Obviously, this beast could no longer resist!
“The test is over!”
Following the electronic voice, Philip and the others walked out of the virtual battlefield.
Their test record time had reached second place, which was something that no one expected. After all, they had gotten the most difficult exotic beast. Moreover, they were a four-person team, not a complete seven-person team!
Most importantly, Philip was in a commanding position the entire time without making a move at all!
In other words, only three people dealt with this exotic beast. If Philip had made a move, or if this was a seven-person team, Cougar Squad’s record would probably be broken.
When Cougar saw them coming out, he smiled and said, “Philip, I didn’t expect that you actually have a space element practitioner who can use space barriers. I’m really impressed!”
Hearing that, Philip merely smiled and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll bring my people to the lounge.”
Seeing a lounge on the side, Philip was about to bring his people over for a rest. He wanted to talk to the three of them about their teamwork, which they could have done better just now.
Philip wanted to talk them through the details.
Cougar promptly said, “Okay, you may take a break. Tonight, we’ll set off for Blackwater Forest!”
When Philip and the others left, Cougar said to his people, “Bring me the best equipment. I’ll send it to them personally.”
After that, Cougar also walked to Philip’s lounge.
Seeing this scene, the members of Cougar Squad started discussing.
“The commander is too much. He wants to send the equipment to them in person!”
“That’s right. They didn’t take first place. Why treat them like this?”
Although they were just grumbling, those words held a different meaning for the listener. The team that had won first place was celebrating before, but when they heard everyone talking about it, they became unhappy.
Chapter 3225
“What’s the big deal? They just gathered a few elemental talents together. On a real battlefield, I don’t believe they can take it so easy!”
After saying this, the teams that had already finished their challenges on the virtual battlefield returned to their lounges.
Back in the lounge, Philip began to explain the details of their teamwork to Emily and the others. There were two points to be exact.
One was how to protect their teammates, and the other was how to maximize the combat effectiveness of the team. However, before Philip talked for long, Cougar entered with someone.
The man behind Cougar held a few pieces of equipment and said to Philip, “This is the most cutting-edge and most powerful equipment we have in Cougar Squad. I’m giving them to you now!”
Philip merely smiled and said, “Commander Yorkshire, we didn’t get first place. Aren’t you afraid that the others will be unhappy by sending this equipment over so openly?”
Cougar laughed heartily and said, “Don’t worry. Those rascals deserve some thrashing so that they know there are always others better than them!”
Hearing that, Philip said no more. Taking this opportunity, they also upgraded all their weapons and equipment.
Their firearms were replaced with more powerful electromagnetic pulse guns, and their armor and shields were also lighter. The level of weaponry on the land of the other shore was very high, indeed.
In this group of four, only Leopard chose a hammer.
After Cougar left, Philip taught the three of them some practical fighting skills before he ordered them to rest and recover their strength.
At midnight, a bell suddenly rang in the room.
Philip opened his eyes and sat up.
The other three also got up at this time. Philip glanced at the three of them and said, “Remember, from now on, your priority is to ensure your own safety. The second is to protect the safety of your teammates!”
After saying this, Philip went out with them.
Outside, other teams were all lined up, and Philip led his team to the last position. When they came out, the people of Cougar Squad looked hostile at the sight of them!
Philip knew that the previous incident had caused some resentment, but this was not something he could control.
Cougar sent the target location to each person’s communicator and told them to get into the aircraft.
Along the way, Leopard, Iris, and Emily were nervous. None of them had encountered this before. Now that they were about to enter Blackwater Forest to fight those unknown beasts, of course, they were nervous!
The aircraft flew for a long time. Just when it was about to reach the marked target location, the entire aircraft shook!
Everyone’ s faces were filled with awe and tension.
Philip whispered to Iris, “Iris, try not to move too much, but use your vines to bind the four of us together!”
Hearing that, Iris nodded slightly.
The vines spread from Iris’ hands and wrapped around the arms of the four.
Right after that was done, a roar came from the aircraft!
It was closely followed by the alarm.
Chapter 3226
“Everyone, jump off the aircraft now!”
“Everyone, now! Quickly!” The pilot’s anxious voice came from the speaker.
At this time, the door of the aircraft opened, and a strong airflow rushed into the aircraft compartment. One by one, the members of Cougar Squad jumped out of the door.
Philip said to the other three, “Are you ready?”
Hearing Philip’s question, all three nodded.
Philip suddenly stomped on the floor and made a big hole in the aircraft compartment. The four fell from the aircraft. As they were bound together, no one was left behind at all.
Philip said calmly, “Don’t turn on the propeller on the armor yet. Listen to my command!”
While calculating the time, Philip whispered, “Three, two, one!”
On the count of one, the four turned on the propeller in unison.
This thing allowed them to land on the ground steadily. Finally, when they landed safely, Philip ordered them to break apart.
It was midnight, and Blackwater Forest was beneath the underground city, so no one could see anything except with night vision goggles.
Of course, Philip was an exception. He did not wear night vision goggles at all, not even a helmet.
“Boss, shall we go to the assembly point now?” Leopard asked immediately after landing.
Philip said indifferently, “Evacuate the landing point first and find a place to observe the surroundings.”
After Philip finished speaking, he said to Leopard, “I’ll go ahead, and you take the rear.”
Then, Philip walked to the side.
The ground was brown soil with a slightly damp smell. The place was surrounded by black towering trees. Leading the three to the side, Philip climbed the tree, and the three followed suit.
Philip took out the electromagnetic pulse sniper rifle he was carrying. However, before Philip could observe the surroundings, he heard gunshots from another direction!
Philip frowned and looked through the sniper rifle in the direction of the gunshots.
At this time, Philip saw people of the Cougar Squad fighting nearby. In front of them was a group of black humanoid creatures.
Seeing this scene, Philip immediately fired at the black creatures. The head of a black humanoid creature promptly exploded.
The person who was almost killed looked at the fallen black humanoid creature with horror and gave a thumbs up in Philip’s direction.
Philip chuckled. Although it was a sniper rifle, the sound was reduced by an electromagnetic pulse.
At this moment, Emily knocked on the radio.
“Brother Philip, there’s someone under my tree!”
Hearing Emily’s voice, Philip immediately looked down. The man seemed to have found someone on the tree and laughed lightly as if he was about to climb up the tree.
At this time, Philip saw a lot of black humanoid creatures behind him.
Philip frowned seeing this scene.
Chapter 3227
If this man climbed the tree, Emily would be in danger.
Philip immediately said into the walkie-talkie, “Kill him. Don’t let him climb up!”
However, Philip overlooked something. Emily was a kind-hearted child. Besides, she had never killed before. Thus, Emily kept shaking her head.
Philip snorted coldly. The man’s purpose was obvious. If he got to the top of the tree, he would throw Emily down. However, before Philip could make his move, Iris had already done so!
The vines pulled the man down and threw him among the black humanoid creatures. However, there was a flash from a saber at this moment. In an instant, the black humanoid creature fell, and the person who fell from the tree had become a corpse, his body bitten out of shape.
Immediately after, the flash of light from the saber disappeared, and Philip saw the familiar figure of Lorna.
Several people followed behind her, obviously here in a joint operation.
Philip did not know if the other party was a friend or foe.
At this moment, Lorna looked in the direction of Emily’s tree, where she was sobbing.
No matter who saw this scene, they would assume that Emily had caused that person to fall.
“In order to save yourself, you actually resorted to killing others too. Get down here at once!”
As soon as Lorna finished speaking, she kicked the tree and caused it to sway.
Emily grabbed the tree tightly, not daring to move at all!
Leopard could no longer bear it. He jumped down from the tree and swung his hammer at Lorna. Iris did not hesitate either and urged many vines on the ground to tie Lorna up.
Lorna promptly jumped several times and dodged the attacks from the two.
Philip took advantage of this opportunity to jump up and catch Emily in his arms before landing on the ground.
Seeing Philip, Lorna narrowed her eyes and said, “I didn’t expect to see you here, but I think you need to explain this first!”
Lorna pointed to the corpse on the ground and asked Philip.
Philip merely snorted coldly and said, “What’s there to explain? He died because of those monsters, not me.”
Lorna slowly pulled out her big saber and said coldly, “Really? I think if it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t have died here at all!”
As she spoke, several people rushed up behind her.
Seeing that the other party was ready to make a move, Leopard immediately blocked in front of the three people, while Iris was on Emily’s left and Philip was on Emily’s right.
Lorna suddenly smiled and said, “Although your fight response is not bad, don’t forget that you’re just casual mercenaries of Cougar Squad!”
“Catch them alive!”
At Lorna’s command, those people rushed to the four of them immediately.
Suddenly, a wave of water vapor surged, and Philip knew that an elemental practitioner from the other party had taken action.
Chapter 3228
Philip patted Emily on her shoulder and said, “Be prepared to create a space barrier in front of Leopard.”
Although Emily was still a little agitated, she nodded after hearing Philip’s words.
Philip said to Leopard, “Leopard, listen to my command and prepare to attack!”
Then, Philip glanced at Iris, who immediately understood that he was telling her to stay on alert.
At this moment, drops of water suddenly appeared next to the people behind Lorna. As the wind element emerged from one of them, those water droplets fired at Philip and the others like bullets.
At this moment, Philip gently patted Emily on the shoulder. In an instant, those zooming water droplets seemed to disappear in thin air!
No matter how many were fired, they were absorbed by Emily’s space barrier.
Lorna sneered at this scene and slashed her big saber in this direction.
Philip jumped up at this time. In everyone’s astonished eyes, Philip actually grabbed Lorna’s big saber with both hands.
No one expected this. Even Lorna was surprised.
Her strength was seven stars. However, in front of Philip, it seemed like child’s play!
Philip shook his head at Lorna and said, “Your technical flaws are horrendous. Stop using this saber! By the way, let me warn you again. If you dare touch my people again, I won’t show any mercy!”
After saying that, Philip tossed Lorna’s saber aside.
At this time, Lorna was still holding the hilt of the saber in her hand. Seeing that, she staggered and nearly fell. However, when she saw the expression on Philip’s face, seven rays of light burst out from her body.
“Not only do I want to touch your people, but I won’t let you off either!”
Seeing that Lorna was about to kill them, Philip snorted and said, “You’re out of your depths!”
Just when Philip was about to make a move, he suddenly heard Cougar’s voice.
“Stop! Don’t you know where this is? How dare you fight here?”
Hearing that, both Lorna and Philip stopped their movements.
Although Lorna was from North Battle District, she seemed quite apprehensive of Cougar, and now that Philip was a member of Cougar Squad, he had to obey the other party’s orders.
“Commander Yorkshire, my people died here because of your people. Don’t you think you should give me an explanation?”
Hearing that, Cougar asked Philip, “Philip, what’s going on?”
Philip replied indifferently, “He saw my team member on the tree, but he still lured those unknown creatures over on purpose. As for the reason, I don’t think I need to mention it!”
Although Philip was explaining to Cougar, his eyes were on Lorna.
Hearing Philip’s words, Lorna snorted coldly and said, “Anyway, since your commander is here, you can say whatever you want. Philip Clarke, I won’ t forget this. Just you wait!”
With that said, Lorna left with her people.
As for Cougar, he asked Philip, “Have you noticed anything wrong with Lorna?”
Philip shook his head.
Of course, he knew that Cougar was asking him if he noticed anything amiss about the attack.
“I didn’t notice anything unusual about Lorna and the others.”
However, Philip suddenly recalled the stains on Lorna’s North Battle District uniform and promptly said, “Oh, I think they suffered an attack from the air!”
Chapter 3229
Philip told Cougar his suspicions, and Cougar said to Philip and the others, “Go to our assembly point first!”
Philip nodded before heading to the assembly point marked on the communicator. However, before they got to the assembly point, Philip and the others were surrounded.
“Oh, so it’s our elite team. Look, a member of the elite team is so scared that she’s crying!”
“Haha, why don’t you go home? This isn’t a place people like you should come to!”
As soon as they arrived at the assembly point, those people started taunting Philip and his team.
Philip simply exhaled and said to the other three, “Just ignore them. Let’s take a break”
At their silence, those people’s words became harsher.
“The Women’s Brigade has joined forces with the Boy Scouts. I say they should just go home and take care of the children. With their looks, even if they encounter those special creatures, they won’t be able to deal with them!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Philip suddenly picked up his sniper rifle.
Everyone got nervous.
Cougar Squad members aimed their guns at Philip and his team.
Leopard got ready to fight, and even Emily was stirred up by these people. As long as Philip gave the order, they would make a move.
The next second, Philip fired!
However, no one was hurt.
Seeing this scene, those people immediately snorted coldly and said, “You can’t even hit anyone at this distance. A gun is useless in your hands. It might as well be a burning stick!”
Hearing that, Philip merely sneered and said, “Your eyes are useless on your face. They might as well be decorations!”
Members of Cougar Squad stood up at Philip’s words.
Philip motioned for them to look behind.
At this time, they discovered a black humanoid creature with a bullet in its head lying behind them at some point.
Philip said lightly, “You don’t even understand basic vigilance. All your energy is focused on bickering with others!”
The Cougar Squad members became flushed and pale at Philip’s words.
Philip was right. They were not on alert at all. If Philip had not fired just now, someone might have died here. Some people promptly stood on guard.
Philip suddenly shouted, “Don’t move!”
Everyone was taken aback by Philip’s shout.
Philip said to everyone, “Now, anyone who wants to live should listen to me. Climb the trees now!”
Chapter 3230
At Philip’s command, his tour-person team had already climbed the trees. The remaining members of Cougar Squad did not seem to believe Philip’s words that much.
Philip merely shook his head at this sight.
These people’s combat intellect was very bad. Even if the combat effectiveness of an individual was strong, combat intellect and teamwork must not be neglected either.
At this time, a group of black humanoid creatures suddenly appeared behind those people in Cougar Squad. This time, they did not just bite. Black silky threads sprang out of their bodies and wrapped around the Cougar Squad members.
At this scene, Philip said to his team on the walkie-talkie, “Protect yourselves. Without my order, you’re not allowed to save others!”
Philip was very serious with an indisputable air. This was the experience he gathered from surviving in the wild during his Dragon Warrior days.
When there was no absolute certainty, they would only bring danger to themselves if they saved others recklessly.
To be honest, as a half-step to the other shore, nothing here was Philip’s match. However, he did not want to expose his true strength so easily. Moreover, Emily and the others were still around. Besides, in Blackwater Forest, there seemed to be an existence watching them secretly in the dark, and it made Philip apprehensive.
Although they were caught off guard this time, the people from Cougar Squad quickly reacted and began to organize a counterattack!
At this time, Philip said to Leopard and the others, “Now, attack the enemy who’s far away from us!”
Philip’s command was very simple. Four of them should attack in one direction, which was the most efficient.
Soon, an area not far away was cleared by Philip and the others. Philip followed this route and told the others to clear the way to a nearby area.
He ordered, “Follow me down!”
At his command, they climbed down the trees.
Following the cleared path, he gathered the people from Cougar Squad around along the way.
Soon, the entire Cougar Squad was centered around Philip and his team. The advantage of doing this was to bring everyone together in the shortest possible time. Their efficiency was very high, and the attacks of those black humanoids were quickly blocked. An effective counterattack could be launched as well.
As Philip’s team of four was in the middle, they did not have to make a move at all.
They just had to wait for this wave of black humanoid creatures to recede.
No one else but Philip paid attention to the time. Only half an hour had passed since the last attack by those black humanoids. Although Philip was not sure if these creatures would attack once every half an hour, at least he was already prepared.
At this time, Cougar arrived.
He did not follow the large group and was seemingly in a discussion with other commanders.
“What are the casualties?”
Cougar’s face was grim as he asked. Needless to say, Cougar was unhappy.
Each team reported its casualties. When it came to Philip’s team, he said lightly, “Our team has zero casualties.”
At this time, the people of Cougar Squad either looked at them in surprise or jealousy.
However, someone said, “What’s the big deal? All of them are elemental practitioners. It’s normal to have no casualties!”
Someone immediately answered, “That’s right. You were protected by everyone in the middle. What’s there to be proud of?”
Philip simply snorted.