It was about five meters tall, walking upright, somewhat human-like in appearance, and it had a pair of fangs. It wasn't the pair of fangs that stood out the most, rather the extremely large ax in their hands. The size of the ax was almost as big as their body size.
Seeing this species, all the contestants froze. Not only the participants, but even the group of Planetary Lords outside was a little baffled. They had never seen this kind of Supernatural creature before, either.
"What is this?" A Planetary Lord asked.
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the... Giant Ax Warrior!" Volkmar spoke up.
"Giant Ax Warrior?" It was the first time they had heard such a creature.
"The Giant Ax Warriors' strength is..." Volkmar continued, "The giant ax in their hands. These giant axes are not built or made, but this race was awakened with them. With those giant axes, these warriors can be classified among the Peak Super-Civilization."
"Then..." Bru continued: "The only thing to worry about these Giant Ax Warriors is probably the giant ax in their hands."
The participants were also a bit confused. What the heck is that?
The Astra Militarum were also a little curious. The scientist's eyes were shining; they were excited to see a brand new species. Especially for the anatomy majors, it was like seeing a treasure.
The Giant Ax Warrior surveyed the enemy personnel and formation. Not like those before, charging up at the drop of a hat. Not long after, a situation that surprised everyone happened. They saw that some Giant Ax Warriors spread out in advance; they were separated by a suitable distance. Only then did they launch a charge.
"What a speed," Sebastian couldn't help but sigh.
Although these Giant Ax Warriors were melee fighters, they ran like a gust of wind. It was not something that the Goblin Chief or the Half-Human Mammoth could compare to. In the eyes of ordinary people, it was a phantom.
"Not bad for a Peak Super-Civilization." People outside were also nodding and lamenting.
Needless to say, the Astra Militarum had long formed a set of relatively skilled tactics. Waiting until the enemy is within range, then start firing away.
The current electromagnetic rifle, compared to the one that was used before, has slightly improved in power. The previous rifles can be fired at over 3,000 meters per second, and now it had reached 4,000. Its accuracy had also been greatly improved. Against the not-so-powerful creatures, there was no need for other weapons. The rifle alone could crack it.
The moment the Guardsmen raised their rifles, those Giant Ax Warriors also responded in time. Immediately, an enormous ax blocked their bodies from the front.
Clang!
The bullets hit the enormous axes, and surprisingly, the axes were not shot through. This result made Lando's eyes widen, and the scientists were even surprised. In the Star Tower, this is the first time they had encountered creatures that could actually block the bullets.
At a closer look, the scientists found that although the enormous ax was not shot through, it had a deep hollow on its surface. That made them slightly relieved. If it had not been penetrated at all, then they would have had a headache.
"What a powerful axe. I wonder what kind of material it's made of?" An expert in material science was fascinated by those axes. No need to think about it to know, if it could stop spiked bullets, it is going to be a very great material!
They fired again. But without exception, the Giant Axes blocked all across the front of the Giant Ax Warriors. But there was no way to shoot more bullets hitting the same location.
"Hit their hands and feet!" A scientist said.
Some Guardsmen had already noticed the weakness in the Giant Ax Warrior's defense. Although the giant ax was big, it couldn't block the entire body; there would always be some gaps left. For example, the hand holding the giant ax and the feet were points that could be targeted.
After discovering some of these, the Guardsmen aimed and shot with precision. The rifles were equipped with many instruments to help aim, letting the hit rate increase year by year.
A Giant Ax Warrior's hand, followed by a "clang" sound, the bullet pierced through the back of the Giant Ax Warrior's hand.
"The defensive power of these Giant Ax Warriors is like that of the Half-Human Mammoth." Through this shot, the team of scientists quickly judged this.
"But their recovery power might be stronger," another scientist added. Just hitting the hand had little effect.
The Giant Ax Warrior's right hand trembled slightly, changed the giant ax to their left hand, and still charged forward quickly. Since the hit was not fatal, the Guardsmen kept targeting the enemy' exposed hands and feet.
Rounds of bullets went by, so even if the Giant Ax Warrior was strong in recovery, that limp was useless. Not to mention the feet, only a few rounds could make a Giant Ax Warrior lose the ability to run.
Under the firepower of the Astra Militarum, these Giant Ax fighters moved extremely slowly, and their companions fell from time to time.
The Typhoon Fighter in the sky also swooped down from time to time to help, sometimes launching a missile, and sometimes strafing with a Machine Gun.
But the Giant Ax Warriors were very fearless; even if their leader fell, the rest of the Warriors were still charging forward without fear of death.
"This is also another hidden trait of the Giant Ax Warriors, the fervent blood!" Volkmar explained, "Once on the battlefield, it's almost like being immortal. So... no one wants to be an enemy of this race."
Because of the axe's resistance, the speed of the Astra Militarum killing the enemy was slow, allowing the giant ax warriors to break through some distance. Finally, they were within 3 kilometers. This was a very dangerous distance inside the War.
But coming to this stage, the price they paid was also extremely high. There were over 10,000 who fell under the assaults. But because the vital parts were blocked, most of them were only seriously injured. The remaining kilometers would be very difficult to break in.
With every 100 meters forward, there were groups of warriors who fell. Although the Giant Ax Warriors were powerful and brave, they still couldn't pass the defense line laid by the Astra Militarum. After some more hours of sniping, the last warrior fell, and the 61st Floor was also cleared successfully. So far, this was the most powerful opponent the Astra Militarum had encountered and also the most time-consuming.
"As expected of a Peak Super-Civilization, there is such a tremendous gap between having weapons and not having weapons," Sebastian thought darkly.
The most powerful thing about these Giant Ax Warriors was the giant axe. If there were no giant axes, they would be even weaker than the Half-Human Mammoth. But with a giant axe, they stood at the peak of their tier.
The other were very miserable. Even the spiked bullets could not break their defense, let alone the various attacks of other creatures. There was nothing they could do against those giant axes.
But they weren't foolish, so they used the same strategy as the Astra Militarum. Since they couldn't break through head-on, they searched for the weak points to attack. But the Giant Ax Warriors were difficult to handle as their close combat ability was quite powerful, with one swing of their axe, and a Flame Giant could be killed instantly.
As time passed, some could no longer hold out and were crushed. In the end, they could only choose to retire. The other were desperately searching for opportunities, especially the two, Patton and Shia.
This wasn't quite the same as the usual competition. Normally, the matches were controlled and measured. But here, even if they paid more than half the price, many still chose to persevere, just to fight their way into that top 10,000.
It eliminated more and more contestants from the competition, which was quite heartbreaking to watch for Svananóg.
"Hmm?" At this time, Bru suddenly spoke out in surprise: "Svananóg, that freshman of yours, it seems he's almost finished fighting?"
Svananóg looked hurriedly. In a flash, he saw that the Astra Militarum was finishing off the last few Giant Ax Warriors. Seeing this scene, he faintly breathed a sigh of relief.
"This budding kid has created a truly peculiar race." Bru couldn't help but look at the Astra Militarum and said in admiration, "I've come across all kinds of species, but this is the first time I've seen such a peculiar one. Their power is indeed very high. There shouldn't be much pressure for this kid to enter the top 10,000."
Svananóg still couldn't relax. If only Sebastian had made it into the top 10,000, that would not have been enough.
Another three hours passed before the battle on the 61st Floor came to a close. Patton and Shia were very thrilled to clear this floor, but almost half of the unit that fought was devastated. Huo Kong relied on the aerial advantage of the Phenoix, so he was in a little better shape. What surprised Svananóg even more was that the Crown Prince also cleared this difficult level without much effort.
But the top 10,000 were still undecided, because there were still more than 20,000 people who cleared this floor.
"The 62nd Floor, it is then," a Planetary Lord said.
There was nothing to question at this point. In fact, it was true. On the 62nd Floor, a species even more powerful than the Giant Ax Warriors appeared. Patton and Shia gritted their teeth and refused to give up, but there were too many casualties on the previous floor, so they couldn't last long and were eliminated.
Seeing Patton and Shia being eliminated, Bru couldn't help but shake his head. Because nearly half of the other participants were in the same situation.
"As long as they had lasted for half an hour more, they probably could've squeezed into the top 10,000." Svananóg was a bit helpless, as there was nothing that could be done. This was the Group Star Competition, and strength made all the difference.
"Look at Sebastian, Huo Kong, and the Crown Prince." Svananóg's gaze turned to the screens of the respective remaining contestants.
The strength of the species that appeared on the sixty-second floor was stronger than the Giant Ax Warriors, though it lacked the terrifying defense of those giant axes. So the threat to the Astra Militarum was much less.
"Sebastian is good," seeing this, Bru asserted.
Svananóg also showed a hint of joy on his face. He hadn't expected that he could achieve such smooth sailing. There was hardly any trouble.
"Have you all noticed something?" At this time, a Planetary Lord said, "This year's battles seem to be dominated by species with strong defenses."
"I did notice it," another Planetary Lord frowned slightly. "That's really true."
"Could it be related to the current situation?"
Everyone looked at Volkmar, who was presiding over the competition.
Volkmar smiled and said, "You've probably already realized it. That's right, the council favors teams with strong output capabilities this year. That's why we set up these levels."
"No wonder Patton and Shia were both eliminated so early!" Svananóg sighed.
"But it's very beneficial to Sebastian and Huo Kong," Bru added.
"It's hard to say. Each one is very powerful this year." There was no optimism on Svananóg's face. In the Star Tower, most of the participants were still holding on, so were Huo kong and the Crown Prince.