Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Swimming endlessly in the vast, almost monotonously colored ocean must be exhausting not just for the body, but also for the eyes.

After swimming for so long, Ruo Manni noticed that her companions were beginning to show signs of fatigue, but Hebrew Adam still looked as composed as ever, his breathing steady.

It was clear that Hebrew Adam’s stamina far exceeded that of the others. He had only recently advanced to a mid-level fifth-grade warrior, yet his stamina had already reached eighty-seven points for his level. In contrast, Ruo Manni, who had advanced to an early-level fourth-grade warrior over two months ago, had only reached eighty points for her level.

Ruo Manni had previously felt that Hebrew Adam was moving with ease, and she guessed that if it weren’t for the rest of them slowing him down, he would probably have swum far ahead by now.

Carrying someone didn’t seem to affect Hebrew Adam at all; instead, he even increased his speed. Although she was the lightest in the Adam squad and was floating in the water, she was still heavier than his backpack. Yet, with her in tow, Hebrew Adam swam even faster. Not only that but the other four also picked up their pace.

This made Ruo Manni feel a bit embarrassed—it turned out she was the real burden.

No longer needing to swim with all her might, Ruo Manni expanded her “observation circle” of mental power, focusing her attention on the water above and below them.

Suddenly, Ruo Manni “saw” something, and her expression tightened as she said to Hebrew Adam, “Captain, a sea beast is approaching.”…

When Ruo Manni “saw” clearly what the black object entering her telepathic detection range was, she immediately reported with urgency, “Captain, a sea beast is coming—over fifty third-level Ani sea beasts, a thousand meters away. They’ve spotted us and are accelerating towards us from a depth of over ten meters. At their speed, they’ll reach us in a few seconds. We can’t avoid them.”

On land, fifty or sixty third-level beasts wouldn’t pose any threat to the Adam squad. But this was the sea, where human combat ability naturally decreases significantly. Moreover, this group of rookies had never fought sea beasts in the water before; they only had theoretical knowledge, with a serious lack of experience, so it was natural that they felt some panic.

Perhaps the school had anticipated this, as the instructors began teaching about the various sea beasts of Imperial Capital Star as soon as the term started. The Adam squad recalled the detailed knowledge they had learned about the Ani sea beasts, their weaknesses, and how to attack them, which gave them some reassurance.

Everyone present was academically gifted, and they remembered the instructor mentioning that while these sea beasts weren’t large, they were extremely ferocious and tended to swarm together. Once an Ani sea beast locked onto its prey, it wouldn’t let go unless the prey could overpower it with sheer force or numbers.

So, hearing Ruo Manni’s report, Hebrew Adam didn’t dare to be careless. He immediately instructed the squad to spread out in a ring formation to avoid injuring each other during the battle.

The team hurriedly drew their weapons and prepared for the attack coming from beneath the sea.

Although the other members of the Adam squad didn’t have as keen a sense as Ruo Manni, they could still sense abnormalities within two to three hundred meters. Therefore, despite the Ani sea beasts’ fierce attack, they weren’t harmed.

The third-level Ani beasts were at most only about one and a half meters long, and their mouths weren’t big enough to swallow a human whole. Their fearsome feature was their sharp-toothed mouths, with powerful jaws capable of biting off a prey’s arm or leg or tearing off a large chunk of flesh.

However, Ruo Manni and her companions were wearing specially made-combat suits. According to the data provided by the school, these suits had a tear resistance strong enough that even a fifth-level Ani sea beast couldn’t rip through them. So, even if an Ani sea beast bit their limbs, it wouldn’t tear off their muscles, which greatly reduced the team’s concerns.

But they were still inexperienced. Except for Hebrew Adam, the other five were somewhat flustered in dealing with the situation.

Not long after the battle began, Sheila was dealing with three Ani sea beasts at once and, unable to keep up, was bitten on the thigh by one that shot up from below, causing her to scream in pain and fright, startling everyone.

Tamaki Kazia, who was beside Sheila, disregarded his own danger in his haste, diving into the water to help her kill the Ani sea beast.

“Captain, cover me,” Ruo Manni shouted as she immediately used her mental power to form a barrier, protecting Tamaki Kazia as he dived, especially shielding his head, which absolutely couldn’t be bitten.

Although they had never worked together before, Hebrew Adam understood Ruo Manni’s intentions and quickly rushed to her side to shield her from the Ani sea beasts’ attacks.

The water turned red with blood, and the Ani sea beasts’ bodies floated to the surface, making it difficult to see clearly in the water. The Adam squad members, while flustered, anxiously asked, “How’s the injury?”

“The Ani sea beast didn’t tear through Sheila’s combat suit. Sheila, how’s your leg?” Tamaki Kazia said as he surfaced, “Vice-captain, I can handle it now.”

Tamaki Kazia had quickly noticed a thin, transparent barrier that had blocked the Ani sea beast’s attack, allowing him to dive and surface safely without being attacked. Only a telepath could do that.

Sheila, who was also under Ruo Manni’s protective barrier, found that apart from some lingering pain in her thigh, she wasn’t seriously injured and breathed a sigh of relief. “It hurt a lot when I was bitten, but the pain has subsided now. I don’t think I’m seriously injured. I can still move.”

Seeing that the crisis on their side was resolved, Ruo Manni immediately withdrew her mental power. Her head ached slightly—this technique was indeed useful, but it consumed a lot of her mental energy, and in just that short time, half of it was already depleted.

However, with the confirmation that their specially made combat suits were indeed effective, the team felt more confident and immediately fought with increased vigor.

Knowing that Ruo Manni had expended a lot of energy holding the line, Hebrew Adam stayed by her side to help fend off some of the attacks.

The resistance of the water made it hard to wield a longsword effectively, so Ruo Manni could only use about fifty percent of her usual strength in the water. Relying solely on her swordsmanship, she could probably only handle one Ani sea beast at a time, but with mental power attacks, it was different.

With Hebrew Adam’s strength, dealing with third-level sea beasts wasn’t difficult, but because there were so many of them, he couldn’t kill them all at once.

Seeing the other squad members struggling, Hebrew Adam continued to fight the sea beasts while keeping an eye on the situation, stepping in to help whenever any member was in danger.

Ruo Manni, who was closest to Hebrew Adam, first used her mental power to attack the Ani sea beast’s brain, slowing it down, and then swiftly sliced off half of its head with her sword. It was an extremely efficient kill, leaving the Ani sea beast with no chance to resist.

This was the most fearsome aspect of a telepath: whether animal or human, once attacked mentally, even a lower-level telepath could impair their actions to some extent.

In a battle, losing combat ability even for a moment was enough for even the weakest opponent to seize the opportunity and easily kill them.