Chapter 76: The Deadly Trap of the Rift
The dark blue fluorescent light flowed frantically along the veins of the rock walls, and the three triangular nodes simultaneously erupted with psychic fields.
A layer of hazy gray mist spread through the rift space. Illusions surged into everyone's minds like a tidal wave.
Some saw fallen comrades who had died in battle long ago walking out from the swarm of scaled beasts, silently beckoning; some saw the bastion city collapsing, with flames engulfing their relatives and friends. The instructor saw the tragic scene of the outpost that had been lost years ago floating before his eyes. His mind shook violently, and a crack instantly appeared in his Sea of Consciousness barrier.
"Guard your minds! Stabilize your Seas of Consciousness!" Lin Yan shouted loudly. His third-tier Sea of Consciousness fully deployed, weaving a massive web of psychic threads. On one hand, he shared the psychic pressure for his teammates beside him; on the other hand, he probed toward the three glowing nodes on the rock walls.
Over a hundred scaled beasts let out frantic roars and surged out from the side caves on both sides like a tide, their sharp claws scraping against the rocks with piercing sounds. The two secondary Lizardmen priests slowly stepped forward. They were in no rush to engage in close combat. Standing behind the beast swarm, they continuously channeled psychic power to reinforce the links of the triangular nodes and amplify the illusions projected remotely by the Ancient Progenitor.
"Jiang Tao, with your fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness, you are responsible for suppressing the secondary priest on the right! Old Chen, guard the left flank and block the charging scaled beasts!" The instructor forcibly suppressed the illusions in his mind, gripped his short spear, and quickly assigned roles. "The rest of you, form a defensive circle and do not scatter! Lin Yan, look for an opportunity to destroy the nodes!"
The squad immediately tightened their formation, standing back-to-back against the rock wall.
Jiang Tao activated his Sea of Consciousness, sending a condensed psychic spear straight toward the secondary priest on the right. The priest's body trembled, its psychic output briefly faltering, and the intensity of the illusions weakened slightly. But in just a moment, it stabilized its mind again and continued to channel power into the nodes.
"Its psychic defense is very strong; one interference cannot completely disable it!" Jiang Tao shouted in a deep voice.
Several scaled beasts had already charged close. Old Chen swung his long knife, the blade whistling through the air as he hacked and shattered the skull of a scaled beast. Dark green blood splattered onto the ground rocks, and a foul stench rushed toward their faces. More scaled beasts threw themselves forward endlessly, continuously pouncing on the defensive circle.
Lin Yan's psychic threads struggled to navigate through the overwhelming psychic torrent. From afar in the underground core, the Ancient Progenitor continuously channeled its primordial will into the three triangular nodes, constantly repairing the links between them. Whenever Lin Yan's psychic threads were about to touch a node, they would face psychic interception jointly released by the secondary priests.
"The Ancient Progenitor is controlling them remotely, and the nodes are backing each other up. If one is destroyed, the other two will immediately share the computing power, and the illusions won't diminish much!" Lin Yan quickly assessed the situation, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the positions of the three nodes. "To significantly weaken the field, we must interfere with all three simultaneously in a short time!"
The difficulty was extremely high. With only his third-tier Sea of Consciousness, it was very difficult for him to cover three directions at the same time.
"I'll help you share the burden of one!" Seizing a gap, Jiang Tao diverted a portion of his Sea of Consciousness power, sending a stream of psychic energy toward the node on the right.
"I'll take care of the left side!" The instructor gritted his teeth, mobilizing his psychic power to follow suit.
Three streams of psychic power locked onto the triangular nodes on the left, right, and far end of the rock walls respectively.
Weng!
Invisible shockwaves exploded one after another. The fluorescent veins of the three nodes flickered violently at the same time, alternating between light and dark, and the psychic field drastically diminished in an instant. The illusions before everyone began to distort and fade, and the heavy pressure on their Seas of Consciousness eased considerably.
"Now!" Lin Yan seized the brief window of instability of the nodes and pushed his psychic threads forward with all his might, attempting to sever the psychic links between the nodes and the secondary priests.
The secondary priest on the left sensed the danger. With a low hiss, it condensed a heavy psychic impact and pounced directly toward Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness.
"Careful!" Old Chen caught sight of this and immediately swung his knife to force back the scaled beasts in front of him, wanting to provide support. But two scaled beasts took advantage of the opportunity to pounce fiercely,死死 entangling him and preventing him from breaking free.
Lin Yan focused his mind, and his third-tier Sea of Consciousness quickly condensed a barrier to endure the psychic impact head-on.
Bang!
The psychic collision landed on the barrier. Lin Yan's whole body trembled, a wave of dizziness hit his head, and a trace of blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth. But taking advantage of this brief moment of delay, his psychic threads successfully pierced into the fluorescent link of the node on the left.
Chi——
The fluorescent veins of the node on the left suddenly went out, and the node became invalid.
With the triangular network missing a corner, the overall structure collapsed. The load on the remaining two nodes surged, and the blue light on the rock walls flickered frantically. The illusions and psychic suppression drastically diminished once again.
"The node on the left is broken!" a student shouted in surprise.
But the two secondary priests did not give up. They immediately adjusted the link structure and channeled all their psychic power into the remaining two nodes. Although they could no longer maintain the previous large-scale, powerful illusions, psychic impacts still came in waves, and the scaled beasts' offensive did not weaken in the slightest.
The Ancient Progenitor's distant, icy thoughts penetrated the rift space and fell into Lin Yan's mind:
"Not bad. You can actually destroy a node within my ambush. But that's all. Today, it will be very difficult for you to walk out of this rift alive."
As the thoughts faded, over a dozen high-tier scaled beasts hidden deep in the side caves received the order and slowly walked out. They were larger in size than ordinary scaled beasts, with thicker scales and fierce light in their compound eyes. Their strength far exceeded that of the previous monsters.
Once the high-tier scaled beasts joined the battlefield, the squad's pressure instantly skyrocketed. A student failed to dodge in time and had his waist and abdomen torn open by the sharp claws of a high-tier scaled beast. He screamed and fell to the ground. The medic immediately rushed forward to provide cover, but more scaled beasts had already surrounded and attacked.
"We can't hold on! We must find an opportunity to break out!" Seeing the fallen squad member, the instructor's heart sank. "The entrance of the rift is blocked by scaled beasts. Let's see if there are any other branch passages!"
Lin Yan's psychic threads extended deeper into the rift, and he soon captured a narrow, abandoned side cave right below the node at the far end. The entrance was not large, making it difficult for high-tier scaled beasts to pass. It was the only escape route at the moment.
"There is a side cave deeper in that can be used for evacuation!" Lin Yan loudly informed everyone. "Jiang Tao and I will continue to distract the remaining two nodes. You protect the wounded and break out toward the side cave!"
"No, we leave together!" Old Chen protested loudly.
"There's no time to argue!" Lin Yan continued to release psychic interference to restrain the nodes while fending off sporadic psychic stingers. "The two of us will cover the rear, holding back the priests and the beast swarm. You take the wounded and enter the cave first!"
The instructor briefly weighed the situation and immediately made a decision: "Everyone, protect the wounded and move toward the side cave! Lin Yan, Jiang Tao, you must keep up!"
The rest of the squad took turns covering each other, fending off the scaled beasts' attacks while retreating toward the side cave below the rock wall at the far end. The two secondary priests immediately detected their intentions and diverted a portion of the scaled beasts to block the entrance of the side cave.
Lin Yan and Jiang Tao stood back-to-back, simultaneously activating their Seas of Consciousness to continuously interfere with the two nodes, keeping the two secondary priests and most of the scaled beasts occupied.
"Their target is still you," Jiang Tao said in a low voice as he fended off the psychic attacks from the secondary priest. "As long as you are killed, the Ancient Progenitor's goal will be achieved, and the rest of us might still have a chance to survive."
"Then we can't let it have its way," Lin Yan said calmly. His psychic threads struck out again, constantly harassing the remaining two nodes to prevent them from stabilizing.
Under the command of the secondary priests, a massive swarm of scaled beasts abandoned the retreating squad, changed direction, and pounced fiercely toward Lin Yan and Jiang Tao.
End of Chapter.
A layer of hazy gray mist spread through the rift space. Illusions surged into everyone's minds like a tidal wave.
Some saw fallen comrades who had died in battle long ago walking out from the swarm of scaled beasts, silently beckoning; some saw the bastion city collapsing, with flames engulfing their relatives and friends. The instructor saw the tragic scene of the outpost that had been lost years ago floating before his eyes. His mind shook violently, and a crack instantly appeared in his Sea of Consciousness barrier.
"Guard your minds! Stabilize your Seas of Consciousness!" Lin Yan shouted loudly. His third-tier Sea of Consciousness fully deployed, weaving a massive web of psychic threads. On one hand, he shared the psychic pressure for his teammates beside him; on the other hand, he probed toward the three glowing nodes on the rock walls.
Over a hundred scaled beasts let out frantic roars and surged out from the side caves on both sides like a tide, their sharp claws scraping against the rocks with piercing sounds. The two secondary Lizardmen priests slowly stepped forward. They were in no rush to engage in close combat. Standing behind the beast swarm, they continuously channeled psychic power to reinforce the links of the triangular nodes and amplify the illusions projected remotely by the Ancient Progenitor.
"Jiang Tao, with your fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness, you are responsible for suppressing the secondary priest on the right! Old Chen, guard the left flank and block the charging scaled beasts!" The instructor forcibly suppressed the illusions in his mind, gripped his short spear, and quickly assigned roles. "The rest of you, form a defensive circle and do not scatter! Lin Yan, look for an opportunity to destroy the nodes!"
The squad immediately tightened their formation, standing back-to-back against the rock wall.
Jiang Tao activated his Sea of Consciousness, sending a condensed psychic spear straight toward the secondary priest on the right. The priest's body trembled, its psychic output briefly faltering, and the intensity of the illusions weakened slightly. But in just a moment, it stabilized its mind again and continued to channel power into the nodes.
"Its psychic defense is very strong; one interference cannot completely disable it!" Jiang Tao shouted in a deep voice.
Several scaled beasts had already charged close. Old Chen swung his long knife, the blade whistling through the air as he hacked and shattered the skull of a scaled beast. Dark green blood splattered onto the ground rocks, and a foul stench rushed toward their faces. More scaled beasts threw themselves forward endlessly, continuously pouncing on the defensive circle.
Lin Yan's psychic threads struggled to navigate through the overwhelming psychic torrent. From afar in the underground core, the Ancient Progenitor continuously channeled its primordial will into the three triangular nodes, constantly repairing the links between them. Whenever Lin Yan's psychic threads were about to touch a node, they would face psychic interception jointly released by the secondary priests.
"The Ancient Progenitor is controlling them remotely, and the nodes are backing each other up. If one is destroyed, the other two will immediately share the computing power, and the illusions won't diminish much!" Lin Yan quickly assessed the situation, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the positions of the three nodes. "To significantly weaken the field, we must interfere with all three simultaneously in a short time!"
The difficulty was extremely high. With only his third-tier Sea of Consciousness, it was very difficult for him to cover three directions at the same time.
"I'll help you share the burden of one!" Seizing a gap, Jiang Tao diverted a portion of his Sea of Consciousness power, sending a stream of psychic energy toward the node on the right.
"I'll take care of the left side!" The instructor gritted his teeth, mobilizing his psychic power to follow suit.
Three streams of psychic power locked onto the triangular nodes on the left, right, and far end of the rock walls respectively.
Weng!
Invisible shockwaves exploded one after another. The fluorescent veins of the three nodes flickered violently at the same time, alternating between light and dark, and the psychic field drastically diminished in an instant. The illusions before everyone began to distort and fade, and the heavy pressure on their Seas of Consciousness eased considerably.
"Now!" Lin Yan seized the brief window of instability of the nodes and pushed his psychic threads forward with all his might, attempting to sever the psychic links between the nodes and the secondary priests.
The secondary priest on the left sensed the danger. With a low hiss, it condensed a heavy psychic impact and pounced directly toward Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness.
"Careful!" Old Chen caught sight of this and immediately swung his knife to force back the scaled beasts in front of him, wanting to provide support. But two scaled beasts took advantage of the opportunity to pounce fiercely,死死 entangling him and preventing him from breaking free.
Lin Yan focused his mind, and his third-tier Sea of Consciousness quickly condensed a barrier to endure the psychic impact head-on.
Bang!
The psychic collision landed on the barrier. Lin Yan's whole body trembled, a wave of dizziness hit his head, and a trace of blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth. But taking advantage of this brief moment of delay, his psychic threads successfully pierced into the fluorescent link of the node on the left.
Chi——
The fluorescent veins of the node on the left suddenly went out, and the node became invalid.
With the triangular network missing a corner, the overall structure collapsed. The load on the remaining two nodes surged, and the blue light on the rock walls flickered frantically. The illusions and psychic suppression drastically diminished once again.
"The node on the left is broken!" a student shouted in surprise.
But the two secondary priests did not give up. They immediately adjusted the link structure and channeled all their psychic power into the remaining two nodes. Although they could no longer maintain the previous large-scale, powerful illusions, psychic impacts still came in waves, and the scaled beasts' offensive did not weaken in the slightest.
The Ancient Progenitor's distant, icy thoughts penetrated the rift space and fell into Lin Yan's mind:
"Not bad. You can actually destroy a node within my ambush. But that's all. Today, it will be very difficult for you to walk out of this rift alive."
As the thoughts faded, over a dozen high-tier scaled beasts hidden deep in the side caves received the order and slowly walked out. They were larger in size than ordinary scaled beasts, with thicker scales and fierce light in their compound eyes. Their strength far exceeded that of the previous monsters.
Once the high-tier scaled beasts joined the battlefield, the squad's pressure instantly skyrocketed. A student failed to dodge in time and had his waist and abdomen torn open by the sharp claws of a high-tier scaled beast. He screamed and fell to the ground. The medic immediately rushed forward to provide cover, but more scaled beasts had already surrounded and attacked.
"We can't hold on! We must find an opportunity to break out!" Seeing the fallen squad member, the instructor's heart sank. "The entrance of the rift is blocked by scaled beasts. Let's see if there are any other branch passages!"
Lin Yan's psychic threads extended deeper into the rift, and he soon captured a narrow, abandoned side cave right below the node at the far end. The entrance was not large, making it difficult for high-tier scaled beasts to pass. It was the only escape route at the moment.
"There is a side cave deeper in that can be used for evacuation!" Lin Yan loudly informed everyone. "Jiang Tao and I will continue to distract the remaining two nodes. You protect the wounded and break out toward the side cave!"
"No, we leave together!" Old Chen protested loudly.
"There's no time to argue!" Lin Yan continued to release psychic interference to restrain the nodes while fending off sporadic psychic stingers. "The two of us will cover the rear, holding back the priests and the beast swarm. You take the wounded and enter the cave first!"
The instructor briefly weighed the situation and immediately made a decision: "Everyone, protect the wounded and move toward the side cave! Lin Yan, Jiang Tao, you must keep up!"
The rest of the squad took turns covering each other, fending off the scaled beasts' attacks while retreating toward the side cave below the rock wall at the far end. The two secondary priests immediately detected their intentions and diverted a portion of the scaled beasts to block the entrance of the side cave.
Lin Yan and Jiang Tao stood back-to-back, simultaneously activating their Seas of Consciousness to continuously interfere with the two nodes, keeping the two secondary priests and most of the scaled beasts occupied.
"Their target is still you," Jiang Tao said in a low voice as he fended off the psychic attacks from the secondary priest. "As long as you are killed, the Ancient Progenitor's goal will be achieved, and the rest of us might still have a chance to survive."
"Then we can't let it have its way," Lin Yan said calmly. His psychic threads struck out again, constantly harassing the remaining two nodes to prevent them from stabilizing.
Under the command of the secondary priests, a massive swarm of scaled beasts abandoned the retreating squad, changed direction, and pounced fiercely toward Lin Yan and Jiang Tao.
End of Chapter.