C28 Needlearmored Hedgehog!

All the examinees gradually made their way into the Iron Forest. In the vastness of this place, the few hundred people seemed to vanish like a drop of water into the ocean, quickly disappearing from sight.

As soon as Feng Yixiu entered, he was struck by a sense of vulnerability. The trees around him bore no resemblance to any plants he had seen before, their size and height were astonishingly exaggerated.

Nearly every colossal tree required the embrace of three people to encircle it, a clear sign that in the Era of Untamed Wilderness, evolution and a return to ancestral forms were not limited to animals; plants were experiencing the same phenomena.

Despite their utmost caution while navigating the Iron Forest, the trio couldn't prevent the dry leaves beneath their feet from crunching loudly.

They encountered numerous startling sights along the way, such as the decaying corpses of magic beasts, which reeked terribly.

More than once, they witnessed examinees frozen in terror at the sight of these gruesome scenes, some even screaming for help in their fright.

"We've only been in the assessment for over half an hour, and I can already see that quite a few have been eliminated," Feng Yixiu remarked, his brow furrowing.

Each of them had been given a signal flare before setting out, to be used if they decided to abandon the test. By releasing the flare, they would signal for rescue.

In just half an hour, Feng Yixiu had already seen numerous colorful signal flares lighting up the sky, as if it were a festive celebration.

"The real purpose of this test is to weed out those unsuited to be Fighters. No matter how gifted someone is, if they freeze at the sight of blood, the academy won't waste resources on training such failures," Han Xiao stated gravely.

"That's right. They're terrified by mere low-level magic beasts. Imagine if they encountered advanced or even Lord-level magic beasts—they'd probably run faster than their own Battle Companions!" Shen Ruyu added with a chuckle.

"This exam might be challenging for the other examinees, but for us, it should be a breeze. After all, we have the fire spirit, a Battle Companion with formidable offensive power," Han Xiao said, exuding confidence.

"Let's focus on finding a magic beast first! We've been here for almost an hour, hearing nothing but their roars all around us. How come we haven't spotted a single one?" Feng Yixiu lamented with frustration.

"Holy smokes! What on earth is that?"

Out of nowhere, Han Xiao let out a shrill scream, then clutched his foot, hopping up and down on the spot.

A mound of earth in front of Han Xiao began to shift, and a hedgehog, bristling with spikes, emerged from the small hillock. This wasn't your average hedgehog, though; it was more than five times the size of a normal one, with its body sheathed in sharp, metallic-gleaming spines that made one's skin crawl.

Feng Yixiu's mind was instantly flooded with details about the creature before him:

Magic Beast Name: Needle-Armored Hedgehog

Magic Beast Attribute: Gold

Magic Beast Level: Low level

Magic Beast Skills: Sharp Armor Defense, Sharp Spike Explosion

Magic Beast Weakness: Belly

Magic Beast Characteristics: When the Needle-Armored Hedgehog suffers a fatal wound, it will eject all the spikes from its body. Find cover to avoid them!

"Everyone, watch out! This is a low-level magic beast, the Needle-Armored Hedgehog. Beware its spikes—they can explode!" Feng Yixiu urgently pulled his companions back, putting distance between them and the metallic hedgehog.

As they retreated, all three simultaneously summoned their Battle Companions, who eyed the Needle-Armored Hedgehog with caution.