Chapter 57: Sunset Canyon

Qin Chuan emphasized the phrase ‘so your life won’t go to waste’, prompting everyone to immediately put on a serious look. One death in the exam would deduct 10 years of their life, but many people were actually quite confused. If Dawn Academy—an academy whose target was to colonize new worlds and ought to have armies or colonists specifically for that purpose—really had the ability to reduce one’s life, why would they needlessly waste the students’ lives in an exam simulation?

However, no one dared express their curiosity because of one reason: all things said and done, everyone still felt nervous regardless of whether their feelings toward the monthly exam was novelty, anticipation, or indifference.

Xiao Lin buried his head and looked at the data book in his hand. The first was a large color map titled Sunset Canyon. It was a topographic map with 1:5000 scale. A series of markers with various symbols were beside the map, and as one could easily guess, it contained strange symbols.

Continuing further with the topographic map, the second piece of information was a text introduction, the contents of which was the background to the map for that monthly exam. It was rather interesting and Xiao Lin looked at it carefully.

‘Sunset Canyon was hot all year round, sporting a very dry climate. The area was inaccessible and infested with heat-resistant desert cryptids. About one-third of the canyon was under the jurisdiction of the Thunder Kingdom. The kingdom garrisoned two light infantry squadrons and one wolf cavalry squadron at its borders.

‘New Century Calendar Year 45. In order to seize control of Planet Norma’s Thunder Kingdom, America’s Judge Academy dispatched their elites to Sunset Canyon for the purposes of infiltrating the kingdom’s borders and obtaining information. Their reconnaissance on the kingdom’s defense was successful, but carelessness betrayed their presence. The Thunder Kingdom dispatched a light infantry squadron and a wolf cavalry squadron to chase and intercept Judge Academy’s squad. A week later, Judge Academy’s squad managed to escape the pursuit, inflict severe damage on the enemy, and bring back intelligence.’

The above was an introduction to Sunset Canyon’s history.

The so-called New Century Calendar was a brand-new calendar set by education institutions who aimed to colonize Planet Norma. Its purpose was to distinguish the years in Planet Norma and Earth.

The New Century Calendar started with the year when the first pioneers made initial contact with Planet Norma. At present, it was year 210 N.C. in the New Century Calendar.

The battle described in the information took place in the Year 45; more than a century ago.

Then, there was one last piece of information, which happened to be the task that the freshmen would be facing during the monthly exam. In that task, the freshmen would be playing the role of America’s Judge Academy.

‘Combat goal: Escape the pursuit of the Thunder Kingdom’s army within a week and arrive at a safe location. Those who complete the mission will get 10 credits and 100 redemption points.

‘Optional tasks:

‘1. Infiltrate the Thunder Kingdom’s border army and draw a map of the area where the troops are stationed. You are successful if the accuracy of your map exceeds 70% and you will get 10 credits as well as 200 redemption points.

‘2. Kill the wolf cavalry squadron’s captain. Reward: 15 credits and 300 redemption points.’

Those were all the contents of that monthly exam. The amount of information contained in the handouts were quite weighty and there was silence throughout the classroom. Everyone either pursed their lips or concentrated quietly, digesting the information.

Indeed, it was vastly different from the admission test!

Xiao Lin somehow understood why Qin Chuan showed up in person to gather everyone together. A similar scenario happened to the other classes, with the instructors giving the freshmen a detailed explanation of the monthly exam.

“If I remember correctly, the Thunder Kingdom is a country that belongs to Planet Norma, right?” Xiao Lin thought for a while and tilted his head toward Gu Xiaoyue.

Gu Xiaoyue pushed the frame of her glasses and whispered, “The Thunder Kingdom is a very small country that lies southeast of Planet Norma’s main continent. In the year 48 N.C., the capital of the Thunder Kingdom was attacked by the American academy and the entire kingdom fell. After close to a century of governance by America, the territory of the former kingdom is now the main colony of the America’s Judge Academy in the New World.”

After a pause, Gu Xiaoyue added, in a crisp tone, “It was mentioned in our history class.”

Xiao Lin coughed a few times. Professor Dai briefly introduced that country in the third week of Planet Norma’s sociology lesson. However, Xiao Lin obviously did not pay much attention in class, and it just so happened that he ate Department Head Song’s fire chicken the previous day. With all the vomiting and diarrhea, he was weak and drowsy throughout the entire lesson.

Xiao Lin changed the subject and said enthusiastically, “They invaded the Thunder Kingdom in 45 N.C. and seized the capital in 48 N.C. It only took them three years to conquer a country. The American academy must be very powerful.”

That particular piece of knowledge had been explained in Professor Dai’s history class, but for freshmen who only just arrived at the academy, the concept of the New Century Calendar was still very vague.

Gu Xiaoyue turned her head again and looked at Xiao Lin with brightened eyes. “The Thunder Kingdom had a population of about one million before it was destroyed by America. The country’s area is about the size of a small to medium-sized city in our country, so their strength is very weak. This was all mentioned in the geography class. ”

Xiao Lin touched his nose and felt a little embarrassed. He had to admit that whenever it came to subjects requiring memorization, such as history and geography, he was hardly on the same level as Gu Xiaoyue, even with his Academic Genius talent.

“Are we really going to the New World for actual combat?” Xiao Lin raised his question to the instructor Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan looked rather displeased, but the questioner was a class monitor who had the right to put forth their own questions. Meanwhile, Qin Chuan was an instructor whose responsibility was to answer those questions. He therefore suppressed his discomfort and explained, “It’s now 210 N.C., and it’s been about a century since the Thunder Kingdom was destroyed by Judge Academy. It goes without saying that there’s no way we can send you to Planet Norma for your monthly exam. You’re still not yet eligible to enter the New World!”

Many people were disappointed.

Qin Chuan explained, “This so-called monthly exam is to create a completely realistic simulation space for reconnaissance, combat, and other tasks in various environments and under various conditions. It ensures that you are brought into a warzone that resembles the real deal as closely as possible, allowing you to adapt to battles in the New World. I prefer to call these monthly exams exercises rather than exams! It is a preparatory exercise for your future entry into Planet Norma’s colonial army!”

Those remarks gave the entire class a big shock. In comparison, the admissions test was simply a test on a very small scale

As acting class monitor, Xiao Lin continued to ask, “In other words, we’ll be playing the role of Judge Academy in this monthly exam, I mean, this simulated exercise, and we’re to do what they did in the past?”

“Yes! Of course! You can also do better than what they did in the past! For example, when gathering intelligence, one of the mistakes their academy committed was getting detected by the border army’s scouts. That was the reason for the pursuit,” Qin Chuan affirmed.

“But we’re just freshmen. How can we compare to America’s elite students?” someone questioned.

Qin Chuan snorted. “When the earliest colonists invaded Planet Norma, their team was not only small, but they were generally very weak too. Although the team from Judge Academy is remembered as elites, their strength was only around Black Iron and Bronze. Of course, that was already considered outstanding enough at the time.”

“Is it difficult to face an entire army? We have only a few people in one class! By the way, will our entire freshman year be taking the exam together?” someone asked.

Qin Chuan replied somewhat sarcastically. “Dream on. This is an exam that will be taken by each individual class. Look clearly at the combat objectives in the handouts! It’s not asking you to go to war! If you’re proficient enough in history, you’ll know that this was one the most well-known reconnaissance operations in the history of colonization. Judge Academy relied heavily on their findings to push deeply into the heart of the Thunder Kingdom and destroy their elite troops. Until now, many of the world’s colonist academies continue to simulate this battle, be it for freshman or sophomore exams.”

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