Chapter 47: The Four-Layer Trump Card
The brief intermission vanished in the blink of an eye.
The calm will from underground stabilized the psychic link once again. Hundreds of scaled beasts stirred in unison, their low roars merging into a continuous, deafening boom within the night. The two third-tier scaled beasts exerted their strength simultaneously, and their compounded psychic pressure surged anew, crashing fiercely into the secondary fortification.
The intensity of this round of psychic impact was more ferocious than any before.
The remaining warriors in the fortification had already overdrafted their Seas of Consciousness, and many were already suffering from internal injuries. In an instant, three consecutive soldiers groaned and collapsed, curling up in the bloody mud with both hands clutching their heads. Their Sea of Consciousness barriers shattered completely, and they could no longer rise to fight.
"Hold steady!"
Instructor Zhou let out a deep shout, fully deploying his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness. A thick, solid psychic barrier extended outward from his body, enveloping the few remaining warriors near the breach.
The power of the fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness was the ultimate trump card for this squad at this moment. The invisible mental barrier stubbornly bore the brunt of the overwhelming psychic pressure for everyone. The few who were on the verge of collapse instantly felt the excruciating pain in their skulls ease slightly, allowing them to steady their minds and continue swinging their blades.
But the cost of deploying such a large-scale Sea of Consciousness to share the burden was extremely heavy.
The veins on Instructor Zhou's forehead bulged, and his face instantly turned as pale as paper. A trace of pale red blood frothed at the corner of his mouth. The core of his Sea of Consciousness trembled violently. The continuous, overloaded output of power constantly tore at his Sea of Consciousness, which already harbored old wounds.
"Instructor!" Su Qing caught sight of this, her heart tightening.
"Don't worry about me, hold the breach!" Instructor Zhou roared through gritted teeth, his voice trembling slightly. The Sea of Consciousness barrier remained firmly expanded. "My Sea of Consciousness has old injuries; I can't hold out for long. Fifteen minutes at most! If reinforcements don't arrive within fifteen minutes, this barrier will shatter directly!"
Everyone's heart sank.
Fifteen minutes was their only remaining window. Once Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness overdrafted and collapsed, without the fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness to share the pressure, the remaining second-tier and first-tier warriors would never be able to withstand the combined psychic suppression of the two third-tier scaled beasts. At that point, without the scaled beasts even needing to close in, the psychic impacts alone would crush everyone.
At the breach, a new wave of the scaled beast tide had already rushed to the forefront. Massive dark shadows continuously poured in through the tilted steel plate seams.
Old Chen dragged his left leg, the wound on it having torn open again. He stood with his knife across the front, slashing at the face armor of the leading scaled beast, sending sparks flying. The beast, in pain, violently shook its head, its massive skull smashing hard into Old Chen's chest. Old Chen had no time to dodge; he was struck and sent flying, crashing heavily onto the muddy ground, a metallic taste of blood rising in his throat.
"Old Chen!" Su Qing hurried forward to deliver a finishing blow, piercing the scaled beast's eye socket.
Lin Yan immediately stepped up to fill the gap, taking over Old Chen's position to guard the frontal breach. Every movement tore at the flesh of his shoulder wound. Warm blood flowed down his arm to the knife handle, making his grip slippery and sticky. His feet remained firmly planted in his ancient martial arts stance, his short blade rising and falling as he consecutively slaughtered two low-level scaled beasts that had钻 (slipped) in.
While fighting, he sent out a few mental tentacles to probe downward.
Sensing the large-scale Sea of Consciousness barrier raised by Instructor Zhou, the controlling will underground immediately made adjustments. The two third-tier scaled beasts stopped distributing their psychic output evenly. Instead, they concentrated their forces, directing all their psychic power to bombard Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness barrier.
"They're targeting me!" Instructor Zhou groaned, his face growing even paler. "They can lock onto the person with the strongest Sea of Consciousness and concentrate their psychic power to pierce my barrier!"
Invisible psychic hammers struck Instructor Zhou's mental barrier one after another. The barrier rippled and swayed continuously, with cracks rapidly spreading. Instructor Zhou's whole body trembled slightly. Under the continuous, targeted psychic bombardment, his internal injuries were rapidly worsening.
Lin Yan saw this and understood immediately.
The洞察力 (insight) of the will behind the scenes was terrifyingly acute. In an instant, it had determined that Instructor Zhou was the core pillar of this defense line. As long as Instructor Zhou, with his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness, was defeated, the remaining defenders would collapse without a fight.
Lin Yan quickly pondered a countermeasure and loudly reminded him, "Instructor, don't endure all the pressure! Contract your Sea of Consciousness intermittently to reduce consumption!"
"The moment I reduce my force, you will all be instantly submerged by the psychic pressure," Instructor Zhou said with a bitter smile, forcibly stabilizing his swaying Sea of Consciousness barrier. "There's no other choice."
Several scaled beasts seized the moment the barrier wavered and fiercely rushed into the fortification. Lin Yan immediately stepped forward to intercept them. He thrust his short blade into the throat of one scaled beast, spun around, and kicked another in the chest and abdomen, sending it tumbling back outside the breach. But the endless stream of scaled beasts continued to advance, and the breach could never be completely sealed.
Su Qing helped the fallen Old Chen up and shoved a spare short knife into his hand. Old Chen struggled to his feet. The agonizing pain from his wound left his forehead drenched in cold sweat, yet he gritted his teeth and returned to the front line. The number of people who could still move inside the fortification was dwindling, and the moans of the wounded echoed incessantly.
While continuously resisting the close-quarters attacks of the scaled beasts, Lin Yan continued to sense the underground.
The controlling will remained stable, continuously fine-tuning the frequency of the psychic attacks from the two third-tier scaled beasts to steadily drain Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness. Once again, Lin Yan caught that fleeting stagnation. After the opponent concentrated all its computing power to target Instructor Zhou, the synchronization of commands to some of the peripheral low-level scaled beasts experienced a brief delay, causing their charging movements to pause for half a beat.
It was still that same weakness.
Computing power had a limit. Concentrating forces to target a single point would inevitably cause brief flaws elsewhere.
Lin Yan quickly scanned the battlefield, his mind racing with calculations. This flaw lasted too briefly. As a second-tier peak, he had no ability to seize this opportunity to attack the true body of the will underground. The only thing he could do was seize every brief pause to slay as many scaled beasts entering the fortification as possible, reducing the pressure on the breach and saving a trace of Sea of Consciousness power for Instructor Zhou.
"Attention! Their charge will briefly stall. Seize the opportunity to clear the monsters!" Lin Yan loudly reminded everyone around him.
Everyone immediately paid close attention.
Sure enough, whenever the third-tier scaled beasts concentrated their psychic power to bombard Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness barrier, the movements of some of the scaled beasts charging in the rear would briefly stutter. The warriors seized this fleeting window to strike together, slaughtering a batch of scaled beasts and slightly easing the pressure on the breach.
But this was merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.
The cracks on Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness barrier multiplied. Blood from the corner of his mouth dripped continuously, and his breath grew weaker and weaker. The fifteen-minute time limit he had bought by playing his four-layer Sea of Consciousness trump card was ticking away, minute by minute.
The distant horizon remained pitch black, with no sign of any signals from reinforcements.
Lin Yan swung his blade to slay another pouncing scaled beast, his eyes as calm as still water. The wound on his shoulder burned with pain, and his Sea of Consciousness, repeatedly battered by impacts, was covered in cracks. The barrier of the second-tier peak remained solid, but he knew clearly in his heart that the time left for all of them was running out.
Deep underground, that cold will continued to observe quietly, waiting for the moment Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness shattered completely.
The calm will from underground stabilized the psychic link once again. Hundreds of scaled beasts stirred in unison, their low roars merging into a continuous, deafening boom within the night. The two third-tier scaled beasts exerted their strength simultaneously, and their compounded psychic pressure surged anew, crashing fiercely into the secondary fortification.
The intensity of this round of psychic impact was more ferocious than any before.
The remaining warriors in the fortification had already overdrafted their Seas of Consciousness, and many were already suffering from internal injuries. In an instant, three consecutive soldiers groaned and collapsed, curling up in the bloody mud with both hands clutching their heads. Their Sea of Consciousness barriers shattered completely, and they could no longer rise to fight.
"Hold steady!"
Instructor Zhou let out a deep shout, fully deploying his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness. A thick, solid psychic barrier extended outward from his body, enveloping the few remaining warriors near the breach.
The power of the fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness was the ultimate trump card for this squad at this moment. The invisible mental barrier stubbornly bore the brunt of the overwhelming psychic pressure for everyone. The few who were on the verge of collapse instantly felt the excruciating pain in their skulls ease slightly, allowing them to steady their minds and continue swinging their blades.
But the cost of deploying such a large-scale Sea of Consciousness to share the burden was extremely heavy.
The veins on Instructor Zhou's forehead bulged, and his face instantly turned as pale as paper. A trace of pale red blood frothed at the corner of his mouth. The core of his Sea of Consciousness trembled violently. The continuous, overloaded output of power constantly tore at his Sea of Consciousness, which already harbored old wounds.
"Instructor!" Su Qing caught sight of this, her heart tightening.
"Don't worry about me, hold the breach!" Instructor Zhou roared through gritted teeth, his voice trembling slightly. The Sea of Consciousness barrier remained firmly expanded. "My Sea of Consciousness has old injuries; I can't hold out for long. Fifteen minutes at most! If reinforcements don't arrive within fifteen minutes, this barrier will shatter directly!"
Everyone's heart sank.
Fifteen minutes was their only remaining window. Once Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness overdrafted and collapsed, without the fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness to share the pressure, the remaining second-tier and first-tier warriors would never be able to withstand the combined psychic suppression of the two third-tier scaled beasts. At that point, without the scaled beasts even needing to close in, the psychic impacts alone would crush everyone.
At the breach, a new wave of the scaled beast tide had already rushed to the forefront. Massive dark shadows continuously poured in through the tilted steel plate seams.
Old Chen dragged his left leg, the wound on it having torn open again. He stood with his knife across the front, slashing at the face armor of the leading scaled beast, sending sparks flying. The beast, in pain, violently shook its head, its massive skull smashing hard into Old Chen's chest. Old Chen had no time to dodge; he was struck and sent flying, crashing heavily onto the muddy ground, a metallic taste of blood rising in his throat.
"Old Chen!" Su Qing hurried forward to deliver a finishing blow, piercing the scaled beast's eye socket.
Lin Yan immediately stepped up to fill the gap, taking over Old Chen's position to guard the frontal breach. Every movement tore at the flesh of his shoulder wound. Warm blood flowed down his arm to the knife handle, making his grip slippery and sticky. His feet remained firmly planted in his ancient martial arts stance, his short blade rising and falling as he consecutively slaughtered two low-level scaled beasts that had钻 (slipped) in.
While fighting, he sent out a few mental tentacles to probe downward.
Sensing the large-scale Sea of Consciousness barrier raised by Instructor Zhou, the controlling will underground immediately made adjustments. The two third-tier scaled beasts stopped distributing their psychic output evenly. Instead, they concentrated their forces, directing all their psychic power to bombard Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness barrier.
"They're targeting me!" Instructor Zhou groaned, his face growing even paler. "They can lock onto the person with the strongest Sea of Consciousness and concentrate their psychic power to pierce my barrier!"
Invisible psychic hammers struck Instructor Zhou's mental barrier one after another. The barrier rippled and swayed continuously, with cracks rapidly spreading. Instructor Zhou's whole body trembled slightly. Under the continuous, targeted psychic bombardment, his internal injuries were rapidly worsening.
Lin Yan saw this and understood immediately.
The洞察力 (insight) of the will behind the scenes was terrifyingly acute. In an instant, it had determined that Instructor Zhou was the core pillar of this defense line. As long as Instructor Zhou, with his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness, was defeated, the remaining defenders would collapse without a fight.
Lin Yan quickly pondered a countermeasure and loudly reminded him, "Instructor, don't endure all the pressure! Contract your Sea of Consciousness intermittently to reduce consumption!"
"The moment I reduce my force, you will all be instantly submerged by the psychic pressure," Instructor Zhou said with a bitter smile, forcibly stabilizing his swaying Sea of Consciousness barrier. "There's no other choice."
Several scaled beasts seized the moment the barrier wavered and fiercely rushed into the fortification. Lin Yan immediately stepped forward to intercept them. He thrust his short blade into the throat of one scaled beast, spun around, and kicked another in the chest and abdomen, sending it tumbling back outside the breach. But the endless stream of scaled beasts continued to advance, and the breach could never be completely sealed.
Su Qing helped the fallen Old Chen up and shoved a spare short knife into his hand. Old Chen struggled to his feet. The agonizing pain from his wound left his forehead drenched in cold sweat, yet he gritted his teeth and returned to the front line. The number of people who could still move inside the fortification was dwindling, and the moans of the wounded echoed incessantly.
While continuously resisting the close-quarters attacks of the scaled beasts, Lin Yan continued to sense the underground.
The controlling will remained stable, continuously fine-tuning the frequency of the psychic attacks from the two third-tier scaled beasts to steadily drain Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness. Once again, Lin Yan caught that fleeting stagnation. After the opponent concentrated all its computing power to target Instructor Zhou, the synchronization of commands to some of the peripheral low-level scaled beasts experienced a brief delay, causing their charging movements to pause for half a beat.
It was still that same weakness.
Computing power had a limit. Concentrating forces to target a single point would inevitably cause brief flaws elsewhere.
Lin Yan quickly scanned the battlefield, his mind racing with calculations. This flaw lasted too briefly. As a second-tier peak, he had no ability to seize this opportunity to attack the true body of the will underground. The only thing he could do was seize every brief pause to slay as many scaled beasts entering the fortification as possible, reducing the pressure on the breach and saving a trace of Sea of Consciousness power for Instructor Zhou.
"Attention! Their charge will briefly stall. Seize the opportunity to clear the monsters!" Lin Yan loudly reminded everyone around him.
Everyone immediately paid close attention.
Sure enough, whenever the third-tier scaled beasts concentrated their psychic power to bombard Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness barrier, the movements of some of the scaled beasts charging in the rear would briefly stutter. The warriors seized this fleeting window to strike together, slaughtering a batch of scaled beasts and slightly easing the pressure on the breach.
But this was merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.
The cracks on Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness barrier multiplied. Blood from the corner of his mouth dripped continuously, and his breath grew weaker and weaker. The fifteen-minute time limit he had bought by playing his four-layer Sea of Consciousness trump card was ticking away, minute by minute.
The distant horizon remained pitch black, with no sign of any signals from reinforcements.
Lin Yan swung his blade to slay another pouncing scaled beast, his eyes as calm as still water. The wound on his shoulder burned with pain, and his Sea of Consciousness, repeatedly battered by impacts, was covered in cracks. The barrier of the second-tier peak remained solid, but he knew clearly in his heart that the time left for all of them was running out.
Deep underground, that cold will continued to observe quietly, waiting for the moment Instructor Zhou's Sea of Consciousness shattered completely.