From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 512 Geniuses are always different from ordinary people

There is no doubt that Johnny Riding has strong personal skills in HCP driving and combat. His comrades who have come into contact with him and the instructors who have guided him have all spoken highly of his personal skills.

But at the same time, his youthful and arrogant character also left a deep impression on others.

Because of this character, he had shortcomings in teamwork and tactical command, which made the instructors give him the lowest score in this regard without hesitation.

This is what the Atlas instructors said about Johnny Riding, the "genius pilot", after he completed basic training and the first half of his HCP combat training.

The instructors who were grading the students all felt sorry for such a rare "good seedling" who had such a character.

At the same time, he also hoped that the last part of the actual combat training, that is, the "enlightenment education" arranged by Major Murat (promoted after the fortress defense battle), would make this talented young man change.

And now, the expectations of these instructors seem to be coming true.

In the first actual combat training, Johnny Riding devoted himself to the HCP operation, but as the backbone of the team, he had no time to take care of the command, and he couldn't even do the simplest thing of supporting his teammates.

Although he successively destroyed 6 HCPs of the Avenger Squadron including the squadron leader, the destroyer that his squadron needed to protect was "sunk" by the enemy, and all his teammates were killed.

In the end, he himself was turned into dust in the universe under the salvo of the opponent's HCP+ destroyer.

This kind of confrontational training was carried out twice afterwards, one offensive battle and one defensive battle.

Although Johnny Riding always gets the highest number of kills, his mission always fails in the end.
When the three rounds of confrontation were over, the two HCP squadrons that participated in the confrontation returned to the heavy cruiser which was the flagship of this small mobile fleet and also where the instructors were stationed.

Inside the largest hangar, the other Rubion trainees remained silent as they watched Johnny Riding, who was holding his helmet and looking dejected, and his equally frustrated teammates behind him.

Their previous ambitions were actually mostly worn away soon after the training began, and the confrontation exercise just now made them realize how big the gap is between them, the "newbies", and the veterans who have fought on the battlefield.

Even Johnny Riding suffered three consecutive defeats, not to mention others.

Looking at Johnny Riding who kept his head down and said nothing, the head of the instructor group, thinking that this arrogant young man was finally willing to face his own problems, asked:
"Have you just experienced the despair of your comrades being killed in battle, and you having all the skills but being unable to do anything about it?"

Johnny Riding nodded: "Yes, instructor, this feeling is very uncomfortable. It makes me feel breathless."

"What I want to say is the same as what Captain Stark said. I hope you can remember this feeling well and I sincerely hope that you will never experience this feeling on a real battlefield."

The head of the instructor team's words were calm, but seemed to be full of stories. Johnny Riding and the other Rubion trainees couldn't help but look up at him.

"Instructor, have you really encountered such a situation on the battlefield?" Johnny Riding asked.

Hearing the question from the 'genius boy', the instructor was stunned for a moment, then revealed a bitter yet relieved smile.

"It's not just me. Most of the people you see here, including Major Murat and the others, and even the Boss have experienced this."

The atmosphere in the Gnakuli suddenly became solemn because of the words of the instructor leader.

All the Atlas employees present, whether they were HCP pilots, combat boat drivers, maintenance team members or Marines watching the fun, recalled the irreparable and heavy losses that the Atlas combat force had suffered previously.

Although the annihilation of the teaching team was only a double-digit number on the list of casualties, the status of the teaching team in the hearts of most members of the Atlas combat forces is unimaginable to outsiders.

Regardless of whether they are Roma or humans, after joining Atlas, they will go to the "Tower of Babel" for reorganization and receive some adaptive training, so the members of the teaching team are like teachers to them.

Not to mention that in subsequent battles, the teaching team also cooperated with various troops in combat many times, and often carried out some high-risk tasks, and had a deep comradeship with other troops.

So when the news spread that Banninger and his men had all been killed on Pella IV, the entire Atlas combat force was greatly shocked.

At the funeral later, it wasn't just Amber who shed tears, but everyone.

While the solemn atmosphere in the Gunaku slowly infected the Rubion trainees, in the virtual space 'Valhalla', Baninger and others who were originally watching the excitement fell into another kind of embarrassment.
Not everyone can have such an experience - watching their former comrades remember and mourn them with emotion.

The immortals were of course very moved, but after thinking it over, they couldn't help but feel a little strange.

Memphis: "Although theoretically we shouldn't feel anything about this kind of thing after we become digital life, why do I always feel something strange when I watch this scene?"

Baninger: "It is very touching. Our brothers have not forgotten us." However, when he thought about surfing the internal forum of the group every day, he would occasionally see some employees with "artistic talent" writing one or two short poems to commemorate the teaching team and mourn Captain Baninger, the expression on his face became a little strange.

Back in the hangar, the instructor group leader saw that the Rubion trainees seemed to have some realizations, and even the rebellious Johnny Riding was silent, so he asked again:
"I believe you all can understand something. So Johnny Riding, do you know where your problem lies?"

"Yes, instructor, I have figured out where the problem lies." The genius boy muttered with his head down.

"Very good, the fact that you can find the problem is the biggest progress. I believe that as long as you can correct your shortcomings, you will be able to become"

Johnny Riding: "Instructor, I think the level of my comrades is too low, which has caused our entire team to be out of touch. Or to put it bluntly, it has hindered my battle."

Instructors: “???”

Rubion trainee: “???”

After taking a transport boat from the asteroid fortress to the heavy cruiser, Murat, who was quietly walking into the hangar with Louis and Jacob, laughed when he saw this scene:

"Are all 'geniuses' really so unique in their thinking and different from ordinary people?"

As expected, Johnny Riding's words naturally dispelled the solemn atmosphere in the Gnacuri in an instant and directly lit the fire.

When the trainees of Rubion heard this at first, they were furious, especially the pilots who had just partnered with Johnny Riding. They almost rushed up and planned to have a "Mortal Kombat" on the spot.

But when they thought about the fact that this arrogant young man also scored an A+ in the physical combat subject, they stopped in their tracks rationally.

And they found that they really could not refute Johnny Riding's words, because the technical gap between them and this talented pilot was like heaven and earth.

Come to think of it, it seemed possible that they might have held Johnny Riding back in battle?

If they could stop the three HCPs that broke through from the right side in the first round of confrontation, or hold on until Johnny Riding killed the enemy on the other side and then returned to defend, perhaps the subsequent results would be different?

When these trainees fell into "reflection", Manfred, who was watching all this silently in the crowd, held his forehead helplessly.

The training he received in Atlas over the past few months did not seem to have dulled the sharpness of his good friend. Instead, it made him even more proud after he discovered how great his own talent was.

He wanted to persuade Johnny Riding to stop the current situation from becoming more tense - as one of the equally outstanding trainees, the 'Red Baron' also had a certain 'prestige' among this group of Rubion trainees, and Johnny Riding would occasionally accept his suggestions.

But when he thought of this guy's annoying personality, Manfred suddenly felt that if he could take this opportunity to let this guy "hit a wall", maybe it would be a good thing?

"Johnny, don't blame me for not speaking up for you. I'm doing this for your own good."

As he thought about this, Manfred stopped moving forward and simply stood among the crowd.

Johnny Riding became even more angry when he saw that his teammates did not refute him, and his good friend Manfred, who was always rational and would persuade him at critical moments, did not say anything.

"I believe that my piloting skills and talents are definitely not inferior to any so-called ace. And in the battle just now, I learned a truth, that is, the personal bravery of an HCP pilot may not determine the direction of a battle."

After these words were spoken, the people on Atlas' side became a little uneasy.

Although they didn't know what this guy was thinking, they still felt that his words were more or less offensive, as if he was questioning whether Amber's previous record was artistically processed.

But this directly touched the "reverse scale" of these HCP pilots. They could say anything else, but if it involved Amber, especially when it came to HCP operations, they had to think carefully about what they said.

Soon, a group of HCP pilots, maintenance personnel, and Marines, including Captain Stark, who had just tried to counsel Johnny Ridden, surrounded them.

Although the instructors were also dissatisfied with Johnny Riding's remarks, they still kept their rationality and stood in front of everyone to let them calm down first.

After all, these guys from the Rubion Galaxy are theoretically clients of the Atlas Group, and in common sense they are considered their "Party A".
Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, a voice floated in from outside the crowd.

"With your driving skills, you dare to say 'as good as any so-called ace'?"

(End of this chapter)