In the dim and spacious hall, Hades stood on the podium on the second floor, and the cold and weak white light cast a layer of reflective light on his helmet.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the densely packed crowd in the hall on the first floor.
In the shadow behind Hades, the Primarch folded his arms, the poisonous gas in the incense burner slowly sinking, and he waited quietly for Hades to deliver his speech.
Originally, Mortarion only needed the first level of screening, but Hades chose to add another level of screening.
Mortarion held the report submitted by Hades and pondered.
"Can."
Finally, Mortarion put down the report and spoke slowly.
According to Hades' proposal, a temporary building for the selection was built.
This is a simple building, covering a large area, lying flat on the wasteland of Barbarus.
Inside, each room can accommodate 50 people and has simple sanitary facilities, but the people inside cannot get water.
There is a special water supply system that will flow a certain amount of water every hour.
Each room is also equipped with a lighting system, but it only provides minimal illumination.
Apart from that, the entire room was empty, no furniture, nothing.
And rooms like this are everywhere in this makeshift building.
Hades looked at the new recruits expressionlessly. In the first round of trials, they had all proved themselves to be tough enough.
But that’s not enough.
He needs someone who can hold his ground in extreme circumstances.
It's about time.
Hades raised his hand holding the obituary, then slammed it down heavily.
“Buzz—”
The dull sound created ripples in the hall, and the crowd, which had been a little agitated, suddenly fell silent.
The boys stared at Hades high up with fear, nervousness, and curiosity.
The servo skeleton extended from above Hades' left shoulder, staring at everyone coldly.
"I am the leader of the second trial, Death Guard Hades."
Hades spoke up and briefly introduced himself.
"First of all, I sincerely congratulate you on passing the first trial. You have proven that you are tough enough."
"Of course, I think you have discovered that the qualification standard for the first trial is not what was previously announced."
"And the passing criteria for the second trial will not be made clear."
Hades paused, looking at the different expressions of the boys in the hall, some were stunned, while others were not surprised at all.
"But I can give you some hints."
Hades was silent again for a short while. After making sure that every child's attention was fixed on him, Hades spoke again.
"You are human."
These are Hades' first words.
"If you pass the trial, you will become Death Guard, and together you will fight for humanity."
“You have to be tough enough.”
"Inside and outside."
People raised their heads and pricked up their ears, trying to sift out useful information from Hades' words.
The crowd was like a school of hungry fish, opening their mouths wide, waiting for Hades to continue feeding them information.
But Hades stopped.
"Okay, now get ready to start your second trial."
An Tai walked silently with the crowd.
On his wrist is a bracelet flashing "0077". It is said that this bracelet can monitor their physical data.
They were numbered and divided into different groups, then led into the room by the tall Death Guards.
The room was quite dark, and An Tai couldn't help but open his eyes wide.
There was something piled in the middle of the room. With the help of the dim light, An Tai recognized that it was a pile of food.
More than a dozen small knives were neatly placed on the ground, forming a circle around the pile of food. The tips of the knives flashed coldly, pointing straight at the pile of food.
An Tai swallowed subconsciously.
"Tick, tick."
The sound of water splashing echoed in the room.
An Tai looked closely and saw that in another corner, a thin tube was coming out of the wall, and water was dripping out from it drop by drop.
The Death Guard who brought them into the room signaled them to stand against the wall and wait until the indicator light came on before they could start moving.
The test begins when the indicator light comes on once, and ends when the indicator light comes on a second time.
An Tai stared at the pile of food and the dozen knives, and an uneasy thought began to form in his mind.
The others noticed this, and as the Death Guard arranged for them to stand against the wall, the children began to push each other, trying to stand closer to the food pile.
This caused some commotion, but the Death Guard did nothing to interfere.
An Tai swallowed his saliva, and influenced by the crowd, he also tried to get closer to the food pile. Perhaps because the children knew that he was the only one who climbed to the top of the mountain, no one came to squeeze him. He successfully stood in a fairly central position.
Seeing that the children were in place, the Death Guard left.
"Sizzle--"
The iron gate closed, isolating them from the outside world.
An Tai's eyes focused, and he saw - he saw - something that made his anxiety and despair soar to the peak -
There is a small rectangular door on the iron gate.
The size and height of the small door are just enough for someone to be carried out while lying down.
But those who can be sent out are most likely not alive.
"Hey!"
A muffled shout came into his ears, and Antaeus turned his head sharply and saw Io's face.
"The four of us were assigned to a group."
Io winked at him.
"What about the two of them?"
An Tai looked around and found that he did not see them in the crowd.
"I asked Lerna to take Pasteur to grab the water source."
Io whispered to him in a low voice, making sure that neither of them could be heard by anyone else.
"Let's form a team of four. I think I know what this is all about."
An Tai turned his head obscurely and stared at the pile of food.
"Shall we go grab the knife later?"
Io nodded.
"I might be able to guess a little bit about what the person in charge wants us to do."
"But I need to count the food to verify my guess."
"In short, grabbing the knife is not wrong."
Io patted Antaeus' shoulder.
"Help me control them."
"I?"
Antaeus stared at Io in disbelief, but Io's pale blue eyes were staring at him intently.
"We all know that you have reached the top of the mountain. This identity will come in handy."
“Take advantage of that when people are still kind of intimidated by you or whatever.”
Io whispered quickly, and Antaeus wanted to say something else, but he felt the pilot light coming on.
In the end, he could only look at Io with a complicated look and then prepare to sprint.
Thank you for subscribing, happy reading_(:з」∠)_
Also, I'm coding.
(End of this chapter)