61: Chapter 61 The Special Features of the Elite Class

"The rules are simple: kill enemies, defend territory, perform rescues, and complete orders to earn merit points," Wei Ming continued to explain. "Click on each item, and you'll find more detailed sub-tasks and their corresponding military merit points."

Qin Ce casually clicked on [Kill Missions], and the list that popped up made his pupils contract slightly:

[Kill Fierce Beasts · Base Military Merit Value]

Black Iron Low-Grade: 1 point

Black Iron Mid-grade: 3 points

Black Iron High-grade: 5 points

Black Iron Peak: 8 points

bronze low-grade: 20 points

mid-grade bronze: 50 points

Upper Bronze Rank: 100 points

bronze peak: 300 points

Silver Rank Low-grade: 1000 points

...

Following that was a long list of "Coefficient Bonus" descriptions:

Flying-type Fierce Beasts ×1.2

Elemental-type Fierce Beasts ×1.3

Social-type Fierce Beasts (Kill Leader) ×1.5

Night Operations ×1.1

Important Nodes ×1.3

...

Wei Ming emphasized, "Merit points can be exchanged for wartime special-supply resources, including but not limited to high-level potions, talismanic equipment, disposable attack/defense equipment, rare materials, and even... the cultivation methods for the strictly controlled 'Star-Glow Rank Innate Method'!"

Star-Glow Rank Innate Method!

These words were mentioned again, like a bombshell, causing all the students' breathing to hitch and their eyes to erupt with a burning light!

That was the key to a higher level!

Something they normally had no access to was actually appearing on the exchange list now?

Even if it was just a fragment or a prerequisite, it was priceless!

Behind the cruelty of war, there were indeed massive opportunities!

"But!" Wei Ming's voice suddenly rose, suppressing the crowd's restlessness. "Merit points are good, but you must be alive to spend them! The battlefield is not a drill; the fierce beasts won't play by the rules with you, and death can strike at any moment! You are all the future hope of Fengling City, and I do not wish to see any senseless sacrifices!"

"So, remember, once you're on the battlefield: obey orders, obey orders, and obey orders!"

He took a deep breath, his tone softening but becoming even more serious. "Next is the most crucial step. The biggest difference between you and the ordinary students lies in your defense zones. They are only in the Outer City Suburbs, while you..."

"Watch closely." Wei Ming's voice drew everyone's attention to the electronic screen as he pointed at the map on it.

On the massive electronic screen, the areas of Fengling City were divided into concentric circles of different colors.

Among them:

The outermost white area was the "Outer City Suburbs," covered with countless red-marked buildings resembling bunkers, each with several miniature yellow defense devices on top.

The next layer inward, in light yellow, was the "Outer City Defense Zone," where long defensive walls connected larger wall towers, each with more than ten orange defense devices.

Further inward, the orange area was the "Main City Perimeter," with wider defensive walls and red defense devices scattered throughout.

Surrounded by the main city walls was the deep red "Main City Core," which featured taller towers, thick protection, and golden city defense weapons.

At the very center, the small golden area was labeled "Inner City." The top of every building was densely packed with city defense equipment, many of which were dazzling points of light.

"This should be quite obvious to see."

"The further inward you go, the stronger the defenses and the better the armaments. The harsher the means used against the fierce beasts, the higher the points you will inevitably earn."

Wei Ming said solemnly, "But more importantly—during a beast tide, high-level fierce beasts will prioritize attacking this core area. Because that's where the energy sources, population, and... the aura of high-level Beast Tamers they crave are located."

He looked around the room. "Therefore, when choosing a defense zone, the closer it is to the Inner City, the stronger the fierce beasts you'll encounter and the higher the combat intensity. The stronger the city defense weapons you can operate, the more military merit you will earn accordingly."

A student couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Wei, we're only below Bronze Rank. What do we do if we encounter Silver Rank or even Gold Rank fierce beasts?"

"That's the second point I wanted to mention." Wei Ming raised his hand, and the projection switched to show rows of menacing turrets and energy launchers on the walls. "The city defense system. Fengling City's walls aren't just for show; they're equipped with heavy weapons capable of threatening Gold Rank fierce beasts. While fighting in the defense zone, you can utilize these city defense facilities to attack—as long as you use them to kill the fierce beasts, the military merit will be credited to you."

He paused and added, "Of course, if a kill is made independently and purely by city defense weapons, seventy percent of the military merit goes to the City Defense Department. But when fierce beasts charge the defensive line, if you use weapons to weaken them, Pet Beasts to pin them down, and finally use the city defense weapons to deliver the finishing blow—all that military merit will be yours."

These words made many people's eyes light up.

Killing a Gold Rank as a Bronze Rank sounded impossible, but if the city defense weapons crippled a Gold Rank beast and they delivered the final blow... then the military merit would be...

"Don't get ahead of yourselves," Wei Ming threw cold water on their excitement. "High-level fierce beasts aren't stupid; they will prioritize destroying the city defense system. So, these will also be the areas with the highest combat intensity. You might even struggle to keep your footing, so act within your capabilities!"

Afterward, Wei Ming checked his watch.

"There are forty minutes left before the selection permissions for each defense zone open. You can first assess your own combat strength and consider which area is suitable for you."

"Of course, the military might also have some restrictive rules."

"In short, what suits you best is the best choice."

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the screen.

Only Qin Ce and Jiang Ruowei were different.

Jiang Ruowei looked calm, as if she had already known these rules and had a firm plan.

Meanwhile, Qin Ce looked down at the golden "Inner City" area on the map and then at the white "Outer City Suburbs" on the periphery.

His fingers gently brushed the surface of his squad badge.

His mother and little sister should be in Yuntai Town right now.

Yuntai Town is located southeast of Fengling City and belongs to the outermost "Suburbs" range.

This area didn't even appear on the screen.

According to the direction of the beast tide's advance, the west would bear the brunt, while the pressure on the east would be much less.

But "less pressure" didn't mean "safe," because the defensive forces in the suburbs were also the weakest.

If... if the beast tide split its forces, or if flying fierce beasts flanked from behind...

Qin Ce's brow gradually furrowed.

Just then, all the light points on the screen flashed.

A notification sound rang out.

[Defense Zone Selection Permission Opened]

The vibration of the squad badges drew everyone's attention back.

The interface on the large screen jumped, and a defense map detailed down to every street unfolded, marking the defense zone locations available for the Elite Class to choose from:

Inner City: 2 slots (Golden marker)

Main City Core: 3 slots (Red marker)

Outer City Defense Zone: 7 slots (Orange marker)

The edges of the map were large gray areas labeled "Peripheral Villages and Towns / Military Outposts," but those areas had no marked slots available for selection—clearly reserved for ordinary students outside the Elite Class or special arrangements for regular troops.

...