The review tests of the Bull Mercenary Group were essentially divided into three steps: identity verification, close combat test, and shooting test.

The identity verification was merely a formality, the focus was on the close combat and shooting aspects. Naturally, to become a mercenary, one needed a substantial combat power.

Among these, the close combat test was far more dangerous than the shooting test. The latter at most involved shooting at moving targets, while the former involved real fights with real weapons, hence deaths and injuries were often unavoidable.

Upon arriving at the training field (which was actually the local football field, with stands on both sides), everyone saw a certain Norman hulk slashing a training post with a sword, while some sparsely scattered spectators in the stands, seemingly Bull mercenaries as well, idly drank and played cards.

"Newcomer?" The hulking man turned around, faced the people entering from the football field, and revealed a slightly ferocious smile—a huge scar slanted down from his left eye, severing his nasal bone, and extended an ugly gash at the corner of his lip, making him look like a demon crawled out from Hell.

Each time he revealed this terrifying smile, the panic and fear displayed by the inexperienced newcomers were what Madman Barro enjoyed seeing most and used for amusement.

However, this newcomer simply curiously inspected the scars on his face as if they were some non-mainstream tattoos.

Barro: ...

It was the first time he had encountered such a bold newcomer, leaving him somewhat astonished and speechless for a moment. Soon, feeling a bit disgraced, he resumed his menacing expression and sinisterly said,

"Newcomer, are you here to sign up for your death?"

"Are you the close combat examiner?" Aske sized him up.

From the feedback of his intuition and the perception of his Spirituality, this "Madman Barro" seemed to be a Lv.10 Transcendent with his Bloodline Completion, just uncertain whether he had completed the Law Condensation Ritual yet.

"I am the examiner," Barro sneered coldly, his gaze shifting to a Bull mercenary beside him and darkly said, "So, this foolish calf is my opponent? Handling such a newcomer, I fear I might not control my strength…"

"Madman Barro, he was introduced by old Pedro!" someone shouted beside Aske, though the tone seemed somewhat blustery yet timorous.

"Oh dear, actually introduced by our Recruitment Officer old Pedro, it seems Madman Barro can't 'accidentally' mess up this time." Barro mocked strangely, placed his sword on his shoulder, and snorted in contempt, "Heh, do you really think you can intimidate me using Pedro's name?"

His fierce gaze with a murderous intent locked onto Aske, as if contemplating how to kill him next.

Yet, this newcomer showed no signs of fear, only turned to ask a person beside him:

"Is the test of your Bull Mercenary Group this reckless? Accidents that kill people during the assessment phase?"

"Cough." Someone nearby couldn't help but remind him, "Madman Barro is a Transcendent, a key member of the Aragon Assault Corps."

Aske muttered an 'oh', and understood the implication.

Since the person was a Lv.10 Transcendent, there was a high probability that he was undertaking some Ritual Task, such as needing to kill a certain number of humans, which is why he would take the opportunity to attack the newcomers severely under the guise of assessment. After all, the newcomers had to sign a waiver before participating in the tests, so accidental deaths in battle wouldn't cause any trouble.

Upon further consideration, since the upper management of the Bull Mercenary Group had arranged for Madman Barro in this position, they likely intended to expedite his Ritual Task progress using the lives of innocent newcomers. This meant that this guy probably had backers among the higher ranks of the mercenary group.

Of course, the external recruitment by the mercenary group was an essential pathway to replenish fresh blood. If a large number of newcomers were killed by Barro during the assessment phase, it would undoubtedly negatively impact the reputation of the Bull Mercenary Group itself.

Thus, the upper echelons had compromised with Recruitment Officer old Pedro (who apparently wasn't in the same faction as Madman Barro). If he deemed a newcomer valuable, he would signal Barro to let them off without killing them. That way, 'accidentally' killing a few poorly performing newcomers each day wouldn't arouse outside suspicion.

Thinking about it, Aske couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. He really had played games too much, still using the thought process of analyzing NPC tasks to guess the current situation... However, he wasn't here to really join the Bull Mercenary Group, so he wasn't worried about offending them, and decided to stir the waters even more by saying with a smile,

"So, my opponent is him now?"

Everyone was speechless. So everyone had said that Madman Barro was a Transcendent, so why did you still insist on challenging him alone?

"Since that's the case, let's get started right away." Aske didn't bother with a Conceptual Weapon, he just drew the Dragon Bone Longsword from his waist and stepped forward.

"Wait, you haven't signed the liability waiver yet…" someone called out from behind.

However, Madman Barro, who had been irked from the start, couldn't wait any longer and drew his sword to rush forward. Under the burst of Physical Power at level 10, he almost instantly closed the distance to Aske, his sword descending like a waterfall!

Aske hastily raised his longsword to block. At the moment of the weapons' clash, Barro's sword snapped into two pieces, followed by a surge of blood shooting skyward.

A huge wound burst open, spreading from Barro's lower right abdomen to his left shoulder as Aske's longsword continued its upward movement, with fresh blood continuously splattering along the blade's trajectory.

Barro's face hadn't had time to change expression when his badly injured body toppled backward, heavily falling onto the blood-drenched grass.

Everyone: ......

Was that... the outcome decided? And was it a one-hit kill?

The venue quieted down for a moment before someone abruptly stood up in the stands.

"Madman Barro is dead! Quick, go notify Prince Ferdinand!"

The patrol squad that had brought Aske was in a collective state of shock. However, the two mercenaries beside the arena reacted quickly, drawing their swords and rushing forward to separate Aske and the fallen Madman Barro.

One of them hurriedly knelt to check Barro's injuries, while the other stood sword in hand as if facing a fierce enemy, afraid the "newcomer" might continue attacking Barro.

But Aske simply hung his Dragon Bone Longsword back at his waist and said with a smile,

"Can we proceed to the next round of assessment now?"

"You're done for!" the Bull Mercenary in front of him said coldly, "You actually killed Madman Barro! No one can save you now; you won't leave here alive!"

"Oh?" Aske said nonchalantly, "He's not dead, I held back."

"Held back? Everyone saw the wound on him!" roared the mercenary fiercely.

He was about to continue with some harsh words when the partner behind him who had been checking Barro's injuries stood up, tapped his shoulder, and whispered quickly,

"The wound looks long but it isn't deep, and it hasn't damaged any internal organs. If we get medical help quickly and there's no subsequent infection, he might still survive."

Bull Mercenary: ......

"You see," Aske shrugged, "As a professional mercenary, how could I not control my strength and accidentally kill someone?"

His words sounded like an explanation but also mocked the so-called "accidental" threat of Madman Barrow, which was obviously false. As thick-skinned as the Bull Mercenary was, he couldn't come up with a rebuttal at that moment and could only glare at Aske with a murderous look.

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