Chapter 78: The Bloody Battle in the Vertical Shaft
Low, rumbling hisses rolled from the depths of the side cave.
The two secondary priests had passed through the passage and reached the bottom of the vertical shaft. Their bodies were covered in dark brown scales, and their narrow heads were raised slightly. Their compound eyes were firmly locked onto Lin Yan and Jiang Tao at the bottom of the shaft. Two heavy psychic pressures spread out simultaneously, overlapping with the will transmitted remotely by the Ancient Progenitor.
"You cannot escape." The psychic thoughts of the secondary priests pierced directly into the minds of the two men.
Jiang Tao's face was taut. He fully deployed his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness to raise a barrier, blocking the onrushing psychic pressure. "I will restrain these two priests. You cover the rest of the people climbing up!"
"Got it." Lin Yan nodded. He diverted more than half of the power of his third-tier Sea of Consciousness to continuously interfere with the scaled beasts at the wellhead, preventing them from pouncing and killing the climbing squad members.
On the rock wall of the vertical shaft, the instructor supported the severely injured student, grabbing the rusted metal ladder and moving upward rung by rung. Old Chen guarded the middle section, swinging his long knife upward to hack at the sharp claws of the scaled beasts reaching down from the wellhead. The metal ladder was covered in rust, and every time it bore weight, it emitted a grating creak, as if it might break at any moment.
The two secondary priests no longer wasted words. One condensed a psychic spear to thrust directly into Jiang Tao's Sea of Consciousness, while the other took a step forward, its scales scraping against the ground as it charged toward Lin Yan, intending to engage in close-quarters combat.
Jiang Tao's Sea of Consciousness trembled as his psychic barrier met the psychic spear. An invisible collision exploded, causing his whole body to shudder and blood to overflow from the corner of his mouth. Yet, he still stubbornly guarded the passage, refusing to let the priest pass.
The secondary priest charging at Lin Yan swung its claws in a horizontal sweep, a foul, pungent wind rushing toward his face. Lin Yan activated his ancient martial arts footwork, his body nimbly sliding sideways to dodge, and his short blade reversed to slash at the scales on the opponent's joints. The priest's scales were extremely hard, and the short blade only left a shallow mark.
"The scales are too thick; normal attacks can hardly inflict heavy damage!" Lin Yan's heart tightened. He diverted a wisp of fine psychic thread from his Sea of Consciousness and pierced it into the priest's psychic link.
The secondary priest's movement suddenly stalled, experiencing a brief interruption the moment it received the Ancient Progenitor's command. Seizing this gap, Lin Yan channeled his inner qi into his wrist and aimed his short blade fiercely at the opponent's eye socket.
Puchi.
Dark green liquid splattered out. The secondary priest let out a painful hiss, its massive body swaying violently backward.
Seeing this, the other secondary priest flew into a rage. It abandoned suppressing Jiang Tao and unleashed a powerful psychic torrent that swept toward Lin Yan. Jiang Tao immediately mobilized his Sea of Consciousness to intercept and divert this psychic power from the side, easing Lin Yan's burden.
"Hurry! Only the two of you left!" At the top of the vertical shaft, Old Chen poked his head out and shouted loudly. Most of the squad members had successfully climbed to the surface of the wasteland and were guarding the edge of the wellhead, clearing out the remaining scaled beasts.
Lin Yan forced back the injured secondary priest and looked back at Jiang Tao. "We'll take turns retreating upward. I'll go first, and you cover the rear."
"Go!" Jiang Tao gritted his teeth, his Sea of Consciousness continuously releasing psychic impacts to hold back the two priests.
Lin Yan turned around and grabbed the metal ladder, using his hands and feet to climb upward. Seeing this, the two priests below wanted to rush up to stop him, but Jiang Tao released a large-scale psychic disturbance that temporarily disrupted their movements.
Just as Lin Yan climbed to the middle of the vertical shaft, the injured secondary priest endured the pain and condensed a concealed psychic spear. Bypassing Jiang Tao's Sea of Consciousness defenses, it silently attacked the back of Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness.
"Careful!" Jiang Tao saw through it at a glance and shouted a warning.
Lin Yan's mind jolted, and his third-tier Sea of Consciousness immediately mobilized a barrier to protect his mind. The psychic spear slammed fiercely into the barrier. The massive impact made his hand slip, and his whole body swayed violently on the ladder.
Seizing the opportunity, the secondary priest below leaped up, its claws reaching for Lin Yan's calves.
Watching anxiously from the wellhead, Old Chen suddenly threw his long knife downward. The knife spun as it fell, piercing deeply into the priest's shoulder and neck.
Shriek——
A piercing shriek echoed through the vertical shaft. The secondary priest lost its center of gravity and fell heavily back to the bottom of the shaft.
"Jiang Tao, get up here now!" Lin Yan stabilized his body and shouted downward.
Jiang Tao no longer engaged in a prolonged fight. He released one final wave of psychic power from his Sea of Consciousness, briefly immobilizing the two priests, and turned to rush toward the ladder. The remaining intact secondary priest, furious, chased closely behind, its claws constantly scratching the ladder, causing large flakes of rust to fall continuously.
Jiang Tao climbed rapidly, the secondary priest's claws grazing his heels several times. Just as it was about to catch up, the people at the wellhead threw down a rope together.
"Grab it!"
Jiang Tao reached out and grabbed the rope tightly, and the people above exerted their strength to pull him up. Lin Yan also quickened his pace, and the two climbed up to the wellhead together.
The moment their feet stepped onto the scorched earth of the wasteland, there was no time to catch their breath.
The Ancient Progenitor had already deployed dozens of scaled beasts on the perimeter. Hearing the sounds of slaughter from within the vertical shaft, they had converged from the surrounding rock piles. Low hisses rose and fell continuously, and dense dark shadows kept closing in.
"Quickly tighten the formation!" the instructor ordered immediately. "Put the wounded in the center; everyone form a defensive circle!"
After landing, Lin Yan and Jiang Tao immediately turned around. Their Seas of Consciousness deployed simultaneously to interfere with the coordinated commands of the encircling scaled beasts.
Deep underground in the resonance rock cave, the Ancient Progenitor sensed that the ambush squad had failed to annihilate the targets at the vertical shaft. Its dark gold vertical pupils churned with intense rage. With one secondary priest injured and the other crippled, the ambush plan had completely failed.
"A bunch of useless trash." The Ancient Progenitor's icy thoughts echoed through the rock cave. "Since we couldn't eliminate Lin Yan this time, we can only pause for now. Continue to mobilize the scaled beasts on the wasteland and maintain the pressure. Do not let them return to Panshi City easily."
Psychic commands spread through the rock strata, and the offensive of the scaled beasts on the outer wasteland suddenly intensified.
On the wasteland, dozens of scaled beasts pounced toward the defensive circle. Old Chen picked up his long knife from the ground and rejoined the battle. After continuous grueling battles underground and in the vertical shaft, everyone's Sea of Consciousness and physical strength were at their absolute limits. Their wounds kept bleeding, but not a single person took a step back.
Lin Yan stood at the forefront of the defense line, his third-tier Sea of Consciousness continuously weaving psychic threads to disrupt the rhythm of the beast swarm's attacks. He raised his eyes and gazed toward the gray, hazy horizon in the distance; the direction of Panshi City was visible far away.
But the wasteland was vast, and the scaled beasts were like leeches clinging to the bone. This battle for the journey home was still fraught with extreme danger.
End of Chapter.
The two secondary priests had passed through the passage and reached the bottom of the vertical shaft. Their bodies were covered in dark brown scales, and their narrow heads were raised slightly. Their compound eyes were firmly locked onto Lin Yan and Jiang Tao at the bottom of the shaft. Two heavy psychic pressures spread out simultaneously, overlapping with the will transmitted remotely by the Ancient Progenitor.
"You cannot escape." The psychic thoughts of the secondary priests pierced directly into the minds of the two men.
Jiang Tao's face was taut. He fully deployed his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness to raise a barrier, blocking the onrushing psychic pressure. "I will restrain these two priests. You cover the rest of the people climbing up!"
"Got it." Lin Yan nodded. He diverted more than half of the power of his third-tier Sea of Consciousness to continuously interfere with the scaled beasts at the wellhead, preventing them from pouncing and killing the climbing squad members.
On the rock wall of the vertical shaft, the instructor supported the severely injured student, grabbing the rusted metal ladder and moving upward rung by rung. Old Chen guarded the middle section, swinging his long knife upward to hack at the sharp claws of the scaled beasts reaching down from the wellhead. The metal ladder was covered in rust, and every time it bore weight, it emitted a grating creak, as if it might break at any moment.
The two secondary priests no longer wasted words. One condensed a psychic spear to thrust directly into Jiang Tao's Sea of Consciousness, while the other took a step forward, its scales scraping against the ground as it charged toward Lin Yan, intending to engage in close-quarters combat.
Jiang Tao's Sea of Consciousness trembled as his psychic barrier met the psychic spear. An invisible collision exploded, causing his whole body to shudder and blood to overflow from the corner of his mouth. Yet, he still stubbornly guarded the passage, refusing to let the priest pass.
The secondary priest charging at Lin Yan swung its claws in a horizontal sweep, a foul, pungent wind rushing toward his face. Lin Yan activated his ancient martial arts footwork, his body nimbly sliding sideways to dodge, and his short blade reversed to slash at the scales on the opponent's joints. The priest's scales were extremely hard, and the short blade only left a shallow mark.
"The scales are too thick; normal attacks can hardly inflict heavy damage!" Lin Yan's heart tightened. He diverted a wisp of fine psychic thread from his Sea of Consciousness and pierced it into the priest's psychic link.
The secondary priest's movement suddenly stalled, experiencing a brief interruption the moment it received the Ancient Progenitor's command. Seizing this gap, Lin Yan channeled his inner qi into his wrist and aimed his short blade fiercely at the opponent's eye socket.
Puchi.
Dark green liquid splattered out. The secondary priest let out a painful hiss, its massive body swaying violently backward.
Seeing this, the other secondary priest flew into a rage. It abandoned suppressing Jiang Tao and unleashed a powerful psychic torrent that swept toward Lin Yan. Jiang Tao immediately mobilized his Sea of Consciousness to intercept and divert this psychic power from the side, easing Lin Yan's burden.
"Hurry! Only the two of you left!" At the top of the vertical shaft, Old Chen poked his head out and shouted loudly. Most of the squad members had successfully climbed to the surface of the wasteland and were guarding the edge of the wellhead, clearing out the remaining scaled beasts.
Lin Yan forced back the injured secondary priest and looked back at Jiang Tao. "We'll take turns retreating upward. I'll go first, and you cover the rear."
"Go!" Jiang Tao gritted his teeth, his Sea of Consciousness continuously releasing psychic impacts to hold back the two priests.
Lin Yan turned around and grabbed the metal ladder, using his hands and feet to climb upward. Seeing this, the two priests below wanted to rush up to stop him, but Jiang Tao released a large-scale psychic disturbance that temporarily disrupted their movements.
Just as Lin Yan climbed to the middle of the vertical shaft, the injured secondary priest endured the pain and condensed a concealed psychic spear. Bypassing Jiang Tao's Sea of Consciousness defenses, it silently attacked the back of Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness.
"Careful!" Jiang Tao saw through it at a glance and shouted a warning.
Lin Yan's mind jolted, and his third-tier Sea of Consciousness immediately mobilized a barrier to protect his mind. The psychic spear slammed fiercely into the barrier. The massive impact made his hand slip, and his whole body swayed violently on the ladder.
Seizing the opportunity, the secondary priest below leaped up, its claws reaching for Lin Yan's calves.
Watching anxiously from the wellhead, Old Chen suddenly threw his long knife downward. The knife spun as it fell, piercing deeply into the priest's shoulder and neck.
Shriek——
A piercing shriek echoed through the vertical shaft. The secondary priest lost its center of gravity and fell heavily back to the bottom of the shaft.
"Jiang Tao, get up here now!" Lin Yan stabilized his body and shouted downward.
Jiang Tao no longer engaged in a prolonged fight. He released one final wave of psychic power from his Sea of Consciousness, briefly immobilizing the two priests, and turned to rush toward the ladder. The remaining intact secondary priest, furious, chased closely behind, its claws constantly scratching the ladder, causing large flakes of rust to fall continuously.
Jiang Tao climbed rapidly, the secondary priest's claws grazing his heels several times. Just as it was about to catch up, the people at the wellhead threw down a rope together.
"Grab it!"
Jiang Tao reached out and grabbed the rope tightly, and the people above exerted their strength to pull him up. Lin Yan also quickened his pace, and the two climbed up to the wellhead together.
The moment their feet stepped onto the scorched earth of the wasteland, there was no time to catch their breath.
The Ancient Progenitor had already deployed dozens of scaled beasts on the perimeter. Hearing the sounds of slaughter from within the vertical shaft, they had converged from the surrounding rock piles. Low hisses rose and fell continuously, and dense dark shadows kept closing in.
"Quickly tighten the formation!" the instructor ordered immediately. "Put the wounded in the center; everyone form a defensive circle!"
After landing, Lin Yan and Jiang Tao immediately turned around. Their Seas of Consciousness deployed simultaneously to interfere with the coordinated commands of the encircling scaled beasts.
Deep underground in the resonance rock cave, the Ancient Progenitor sensed that the ambush squad had failed to annihilate the targets at the vertical shaft. Its dark gold vertical pupils churned with intense rage. With one secondary priest injured and the other crippled, the ambush plan had completely failed.
"A bunch of useless trash." The Ancient Progenitor's icy thoughts echoed through the rock cave. "Since we couldn't eliminate Lin Yan this time, we can only pause for now. Continue to mobilize the scaled beasts on the wasteland and maintain the pressure. Do not let them return to Panshi City easily."
Psychic commands spread through the rock strata, and the offensive of the scaled beasts on the outer wasteland suddenly intensified.
On the wasteland, dozens of scaled beasts pounced toward the defensive circle. Old Chen picked up his long knife from the ground and rejoined the battle. After continuous grueling battles underground and in the vertical shaft, everyone's Sea of Consciousness and physical strength were at their absolute limits. Their wounds kept bleeding, but not a single person took a step back.
Lin Yan stood at the forefront of the defense line, his third-tier Sea of Consciousness continuously weaving psychic threads to disrupt the rhythm of the beast swarm's attacks. He raised his eyes and gazed toward the gray, hazy horizon in the distance; the direction of Panshi City was visible far away.
But the wasteland was vast, and the scaled beasts were like leeches clinging to the bone. This battle for the journey home was still fraught with extreme danger.
End of Chapter.