Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

After Abulaiti Asimu spoke, the telepath boy immediately thanked Ruo Manni as well: “Thank you, Goddess Ruo. If it weren’t for you, I would have been in danger. I’ll treat you to a meal when we get back to school.”

He was the most grateful in Team Asimu. Without Ruo Manni’s help, he didn’t know what kind of injuries he might have sustained or how much trouble he might have caused for his entire team.

“Goddess Ruo?” What was that? Had she reached the goddess level? Ruo Manni looked at the boy. His pale face and vacant eyes were clear signs of severe mental energy depletion. He was also physically injured, and his weak tone, combined with the thin air at high altitude, made his condition look very poor.

“No need to mention it; we are classmates after all,” Ruo Manni said with another saintly smile.

But inside, she was feeling dismayed. Did these steel-headed men not see the situation? How unflattering and undignified it was for her to be in this backpack accessory role. Couldn’t they choose another time to thank her? It would have been nicer to speak when everyone was in better spirits.

Over a thousand meters above, the instructor who had initially prepared to step in returned to his seat.

“Classmate Ruo’s character is quite good,” he said.

“She’s too soft-hearted. It’s fine for her own team, but if she’s like this with enemies, it would be troublesome. She acted recklessly without fully understanding the situation and almost faced a backlash,” Instructor Dudley said with a frown.

“Classmate Ruo Manni’s combat skills are indeed quite poor, but her on-the-spot intuition and reactions are extraordinary. Dudley, you should work on honing her abilities; she’s a natural-born warrior.”

“The Second Prince is also a true-born warrior. I was initially worried that he might be difficult to manage at school and cause trouble due to his special status. However, since his enrollment, he has completely changed. Over the past couple of days, he has proven to be a very competent leader, courageous and strategic, with decisive actions,” said the head instructor with satisfaction.

“His combat ability is even stronger than we anticipated. Judging by his aura when he acts, he’s probably seen battle and blood, otherwise, he wouldn’t have such combat intent.”

“Even if he hasn’t been to the battlefield, he’s experienced quite a lot of brutal real combat.”

“A sixteen-year-old mid-level fifth-grade warrior—who knows how much he will grow in ten years? It’s hard to believe that he was once considered a playboy. Almost everyone on the Imperial Capital Star knew of him.”

“He really was a playboy back then. It’s said that a few years ago, he was disciplined by the Crown Prince, and now he has completely transformed.”

“The Crown Prince has always earned respect. Although the two half-brothers have never gotten along, the Crown Prince still managed to turn the Second Prince around and train him so well.”

“It’s hard to say how the Empress feels about the Crown Prince; she behaves like a stepmother. But the Crown Prince himself would never hold anything against the Second Prince. The royal family’s power is vast, and the struggle for the throne is more intricate than the noble families. Who knows what inner workings there are? If the brothers are united, outsiders will find it very hard to break through…”

“Just like now, with the Crown Prince and the Second Prince united, their combined strength is immense.”

The cadets were unaware that their instructors were watching them not far away and were discussing their performance. After driving off the red-beaked alien birds and taking a break, they began climbing again with renewed effort.

Adam’s team took the lead, and once Asimu’s team was caught up by the Hua Deli team, they resumed climbing as well.

Fortunately, no further incidents occurred during the next phase of climbing. Despite their excellent physical condition, after more than four hours of continuous climbing and nearly an hour of battling monsters, everyone was out of breath when they finally reached the relatively flat summit of the cliff.

In the final few hundred meters, Sheila needed the assistance of three boys to reach the top, and once on the cliff, she sat down, exhausted.

Even Hebrew Adam was panting heavily. In contrast, Ruo Manni, who had been carried up by the big shots, looked in better condition after nearly an hour of rest. However, this was just superficial; her mental energy had only recovered by one-fifth.

Despite being tired, Hebrew Adam maintained his characteristic pride as he surveyed the area, ensuring there were no potential dangers before saying, “Rest for an hour and eat.”

The wind on the cliff was slightly less intense than on the cliff face, and the temperature had noticeably dropped. Their exposed skin felt the chill.

At this moment, everyone was both exhausted and hungry, and they didn’t even have the energy to gather firewood. They were once again impressed by their vice-captain’s attentiveness.

Tino Venamoinen followed Ruo Manni’s instructions and took out two blocks of fire starter from the backpack.

Everyone’s eyes lit up. These small blocks, about the size of a palm, could burn for twenty minutes and were unaffected by strong winds.

“Everyone, gather some stones for me,” Ruo Manni said.

The others quickly got to work, including Hebrew Adam. Soon, Ruo Manni had built a small stove out of stones.

Then Ruo Manni instructed Su Forty-Three to take out the rubber gold ball from his backpack.

Ruo Manni took the rubber gold ball, which was slightly larger than the backpack, twisted open the top which had been twisted into a corkscrew shape, and slowly shaped it into a large pot.

The pot contained the leftover meat and vegetable soup from the morning. After adding a bit more water to the soup, Ruo Manni put it on the fire, and soon a delicious aroma filled the air.

“Put the rubber gold balls you brought into the stove to roast for a while,” Ruo Manni directed.

“Fortunately, Captain Ruo is so clever. Otherwise, we’d be both hungry and exhausted and still have to find food,” Tamaki Kazia said as he took out the rubber gold ball that everyone had.

Each small rubber gold ball carried by them contained food prepared by Ruo Manni at the base of the mountain. She marinated the leftover beast meat with spices, then wrapped it in rubber gold and placed it in the fire to roast. Before eating, they didn’t open it but hung it in a mesh bag attached to the back of their backpacks.

Now, warming them in the fire, the aroma that wafted out when opened lifted everyone’s spirits.

Eating tender and fragrant meat and drinking the delicious hot soup at the mountain top, with temperatures around zero degrees, everyone in Adam’s team felt their fatigue completely dissipate.

“This is really delicious. I’ve never had beast meat prepared this way before. Captain Ruo, you’re so smart to make such tasty food,” Tamaki Kazia said happily, his mouth sweet as he enjoyed the meal.

Initially, everyone thought that Tamaki Kazia, with his baby face, was somewhat shy and introverted. It wasn’t until this morning that they realized he was a hidden foodie, with his eyes lighting up at Ruo Manni’s innovative food preparation and continuously asking questions.

For the sake of delicious food, his overly sweet talk became annoying to others in Adam’s team.

After about ten minutes, while Adam’s team was enjoying their meal, Hua’s team and Asimu’s team climbed up one after the other.

They really were one after the other, with less than a minute separating them; one would think they were all part of the same team.

As soon as they reached the top of the cliff, everyone collapsed on the ground, looking as if they couldn’t move another inch.

But just as they were lying there, feeling extremely hungry, they suddenly smelled a rich, meaty aroma…