Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

After taking the air pills, the members of Adam’s squad gradually no longer felt shortness of breath, and their breathing began to stabilize. Ruo Manni also no longer felt as fatigued as before, when even breathing was difficult.

Feeling much better, the members of Adam’s squad continued to climb. When they reached two-thirds of the cliff’s height, even though it was only about a thousand meters higher, the wind was at least two levels stronger than it had been at the base of the cliff.

Ruo Manni and Sheila, who were both light and slender, were almost blown off the cliff several times by the strong wind. Ruo Manni heard Sheila cry out in alarm twice.

In such conditions, Ruo Manni increased the suction of her boots to stabilize herself, but this also meant she had to exert more effort to climb.

For the past several minutes, Hebrew Adam had been glancing back at Ruo Manni now and then. Clearly, he had gained some understanding of her physical condition and estimated that she was nearing her limit.

Seeing Ruo Manni struggling, Hebrew Adam stopped and said to her, “Manni, grab onto my backpack and only use your legs.”

Ruo Manni looked up at him, a bit unwilling. She didn’t want to be carried by the leader the entire way—if she did that, it would defeat the purpose of the training.

Reluctantly, she said, “But…”

“Follow orders. We’re only halfway up, and we don’t know what dangers await at the summit. You need to conserve enough energy to handle whatever comes. Don’t forget, you’re a telekinetic,” Hebrew Adam said firmly.

Since they set out in the morning, they had been climbing for over three hours, yet Hebrew Adam’s expression and breathing remained relatively steady, indicating that he hadn’t expended much energy.

During missions, team members need to follow the captain’s orders, and since Hebrew Adam had already issued a command, Ruo Manni had no choice but to obey.

She was also aware that if she hadn’t been slowing them down, the Adam squad might have already caught up with the Asimu squad ahead of them.

As it stood, the Asimu squad was only about twenty meters ahead of them in altitude.

Ruo Manni climbed up to Hebrew Adam’s side, and as he turned slightly towards her, Ruo Manni grabbed the top strap of his backpack, essentially becoming a large attachment to it.

With this, most of Ruo Manni’s weight was now being carried by Hebrew Adam, and all she needed to do was keep herself steady against the strong winds and use her feet to lightly push off the cliff for additional support.

Sure enough, Ruo Manni had guessed correctly—it was her that had been holding the team back. Now, with Hebrew Adam effectively carrying another person, the team actually started climbing faster, and their teammates had no trouble keeping up.

Gradually, Adam’s squad caught up to the Asimu squad, but just as the two squads were within six or seven meters of each other, Ruo Manni’s expression tightened, and she issued an urgent warning.

“A large flock of red-beaked birds is diving down from the mountaintop—one at the fourth tier, twenty-five at the third tier, and hundreds at the second tier.”

The red-beaked birds have long, hard beaks and are notorious for attacking groups of prey on mountain peaks or cliffs, causing them to fall to their deaths before feasting on them.

As soon as the members of the Adam Squad heard this, they quickly pulled long pitons from the outer pockets of their backpacks and punched them directly into the cliffside with their fists. They then secured themselves to the pitons with climbing ropes, switched their climbing boots to combat mode, and, facing the void with their backs against the cliff, drew their weapons and prepared for battle.

The telekinetic in the Asimu Squad reacted slower than Ruo Manni, only noticing the danger after she issued her warning. Fortunately, Ruo Manni had shouted loudly, so the Asimu Squad heard her in time and reacted immediately.

However, because they were positioned higher up, they had just barely secured themselves when the red-beaked birds began their dive. The long, red, sword-like beaks were already stabbing down at them.

Since the Asimu Squad was higher up, they were the first to be attacked. The Adam Squad below only heard the “ding, ding” sounds of impact.

Shortly afterward, the Adam Squad also felt the oppressive force overhead. Ruo Manni noticed Hebrew Adam’s Tang knife slicing through the air like lightning. A sharp, ear-piercing screech resounded above her, followed by the sensation of warm blood splattering on her face.

At that moment, Ruo Manni couldn’t be bothered to wipe the blood off her face because she saw a third-tier white bird plummeting from the air above her, just as Hebrew Adam’s Tang knife was still mid-swing. The red-beaked bird hadn’t died immediately and was still flapping its wings, trying to fly upwards, but its weakened wings couldn’t support its body, causing the entire bird to fall.

Ruo Manni was once again convinced of the academy’s “premeditation,” because among the lessons they had studied this month was information about red-beaked birds. The red-beaked birds on Imperial Star had feathers as tough as metal, impervious to ordinary weapons. The only weak spot was their short necks.

Hebrew Adam had managed to injure one with a single strike, even though his Tang knife was no ordinary blade. It also required him to have great strength and quick reflexes to slash the neck of a bird in mid-flight.

At this point, the dense flock of red-beaked birds filled the sky in front of Ruo Manni on the cliffside, making the cadets on the cliff seem like vulnerable prey.

One of the red-beaked birds attacked Ruo Manni. Although she was prepared, her position wasn’t ideal for attacking the bird’s neck directly. She had no choice but to thrust her sword at its head to counter the fierce attack.

However, the tip of her sword met resistance as if it had struck a hard, smooth metal surface, failing to penetrate and even being deflected. The bird’s attack was only slightly slowed by the impact of her sword, but its long, sharp beak still aimed directly at Ruo Manni with relentless force.

After Ruo Manni’s initial sword strike missed, the red-beaked bird was already too close for her to recover in time. As its sharp beak was about to pierce her body, she used her telekinesis to forcefully “push” the bird’s head to the side. The bird’s long beak grazed her arm and struck the cliff instead.

Seizing the opportunity, Ruo Manni used her telekinesis to “shove” the bird hard, causing the red-beaked bird’s 20-centimeter-long beak to penetrate more than 10 centimeters into the cliff before getting stuck.

The red-beaked bird relies on its long beak for attacks, so when it got lodged in the cliff, it immediately tried to use its claws to push off and free its beak.

Ruo Manni wasn’t about to give it the chance. She swiftly lifted her sword and slashed the bird’s neck. Blood splattered as the three-meter wingspan bird’s body suddenly went limp. Although it didn’t die immediately, its flapping grew weaker until it finally went still.

With half of its long beak still stuck in the cliff, the red-beaked bird’s body hung down from the cliffside. Ruo Manni shifted her position so that the bird’s corpse covered most of her body, making it an ideal shield.

Ruo Manni thought that with this cover, she could kill the other birds without worry. However, to her surprise, once she took cover, it was as if the other red-beaked birds couldn’t see her anymore. All their attacks were redirected toward her teammates, leaving her standing there alone, surrounded by the sounds of battle above and below.
Suddenly, Ruo Manni’s eyes widened as she looked at the sky not far away…