Human Genius? Sorry, I’m a Deviant-Chapter 203: Defended

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on the five individuals.
"They held the position."
The scar-faced officer declared loudly: "Before reinforcements arrived, they didn't retreat a single step! They didn't abandon the outpost! They even eliminated over two-thirds of the attacking enemies!"
The square fell completely silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone was stunned by this news.
Held the position? How was that possible?!
The scar-faced officer's eyes swept across the crowd again as he said slowly: "I know what you're all thinking - with their strength level, under normal circumstances, they absolutely couldn't have held it.
But they did it!
It wasn't through overwhelming power, but through that fucking desperate determination to risk everything when cornered!
It was through mutual coordination, through the trust to hand their backs to their teammates!
It was through that stubborn grit to dig in and hold the line even when they knew death was likely!
I'm not calling you worthless today! For this matter alone, these five!
They performed decently! Showed some real soldier spirit! Didn't disgrace Vermilion Bird Academy, and didn't disgrace me either!
This never-retreat-even-in-death spirit is exactly what you rookies lack most and should learn from most!"
This was the first time since arriving at South Cang Fortress that they heard the scar-faced officer offer praise!
Although he praised their spirit and willpower more than anything.
But it was still enough to leave all the students utterly astonished!
Upon hearing this, Su Zhan and the others straightened their backs even more.
Even Su Zhan felt some satisfaction in his heart.
Being praised by a soldier like the scar-faced officer sounded much better than praise from random nobodies.
Students from other academies looked at them with complex expressions.
Surviving and holding position under such an attack deserved everyone's respect.
But immediately after.
The scar-faced officer resumed his cold expression: "But! Don't you fucking get cocky! Luck played a big part in your survival!
And if I hadn't arrived in time at the end, you'd all be shit in some monster's stomach by now!
So remember yesterday's lesson, all of you!
If your strength is lacking, then fucking train like your life depends on it!
If your coordination sucks, then fucking practice working together until it's perfect!
Next time, you might not be so lucky!
Dismissed!"
The briefing ended.
The students didn't disperse immediately.
Many crowded around Su Zhan's squad, eagerly asking about last night's details with voices full of curiosity and admiration.
"Oh my god! You really survived the attack from those two medium-risk Mist Creatures?"
"That's insane! How did you do it?"
"Weren't you scared at the time?"
...
Su Zhan's five-member team found themselves completely surrounded.
Watching the encircled five, the scar-faced officer's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly before he turned and strode away.
Surrounded by numerous admiring and respectful gazes.
Liu Ziming's vanity was immensely satisfied.
He immediately forgot all his aches and pains and began vividly boasting:
"Oh come on, standard procedure, just standard procedure! It was really nothing special, just a hundred or so Mist Creatures!
You should've seen it - when that Loathesome Butcher swung its hammer down, I didn't even blink, just countered with a Purple Thunder right in its damn face! Knocked it senseless on the spot!"
And that Shade Bat Demon, fast you say?
Facing our Brother Su's slowing ability, it was like watching slow-motion replay!
Feng Jue one-shotted it with a single sword strike! And Miss Xie's Destruction Scythe, wow! One swing and the battlefield was cleared!"
Liu Ziming didn't forget to praise his companions, appearing incredibly loyal.
The surrounding students gasped in amazement.
"Brothers, you're amazing!"
"Vermilion Bird Academy truly lives up to its reputation!"
"Incredible, just incredible!"
...
Su Zhan shook his head helplessly in his heart.
This Liu Ziming was really quite the character.
Seeing the slight smiles on his companions' faces, he knew that while they might pretend to look down on Liu Ziming's showboating behavior, deep down they only had two words for it - absolutely satisfying.
Liu Ziming put on an encouraging expression: "But brothers, sisters, don't think we're some kind of gods. Honestly, last night we were scared shitless, our legs were trembling!
But what's the use of being scared? Does being scared stop those monsters from eating you? No!"
Everyone who made it here is a genius, right? Everyone has some skills!
When it matters, you've got to be willing to go all out! Trust your teammates, confidently hand your back to them, then fight like your life depends on it!
Don't be fooled by how fierce we seemed - we were just backed into a corner!
I believe any of your teams in our position, pushed to that extreme, could also unleash unexpected potential!
Maybe you'd even do better than us!"
His half-boasting, half-encouraging speech had surprisingly good effect.
It satisfied everyone's admiration while reducing some of the distance they felt.
Making students from other academies feel that they might also be capable of similar feats.
"Brother Ziming is right!"
"Exactly! When truly cornered, who's afraid of who!"
"Next mission, we need to prove ourselves too!"
...
Seeing everyone's reaction, Liu Ziming proudly winked at Su Zhan and the others.
As if saying: See how well I handled that?
Su Zhan gave him a thumbs up.
Had to admit, Young Master Liu was quite good with people.
He really knew how to handle social situations.
Su Zhan enjoyed the praise.
But internally, he couldn't feel happy at all.
The reason was, he never got the chance to absorb the life essence from those Mist Creature corpses on the battlefield.
The good news: The battlefield could improve his practical combat experience, and battlefield experience in particular was especially valuable.
The bad news: He couldn't absorb life essence.