50. Escape Again

The brief peace of the Cliff Library was completely broken early one morning.

Xingchen was the first to notice something was amiss. Thanks to Bai Yan's systematic guidance and his own diligent meditation practice, his mental perception had become sharper and more controlled. At dawn, he was conducting his usual morning meditation, attempting to extend his mental power like a spiderweb around the library's perimeter, conducting his routine security scans, when a subtle yet familiar, decaying mental fluctuation, like a pebble dropped into a still lake, flashed past the edge of his perception.

He suddenly opened his eyes, his obsidian pupils suddenly contracted, his little face tensed instantly, and he jumped up from the mat like a young leopard sensing danger, rushing towards Lei Qing who was wiping his hunting knife by the fireplace.

"Brother Lei Qing! There's something... outside! It's the spiritual fluctuations of the Guichen Sect! Very weak, but a lot... are approaching!" His voice was quick and certain, with a calmness rare for someone of his age.

Almost at the same time, A Yan, who was on guard at the upstairs window, also lowered his voice and sounded the alarm: "Fuck! Something's wrong in the snow down there! Something's moving, well hidden, but there's a lot of them!"

The atmosphere in the library froze instantly.

Lei Qing paused while wiping his hunting knife, his eyes instantly sharp as a razor's blade. He stood up, his tall figure casting a heavy shadow in the dim light. "Are you sure it's the Guichen Sect?" He looked at Xingchen, his voice low.

Stardust nodded vigorously. "No doubt! That feeling of decay and chaos is exactly the same as in Black Mine Town! And... they are more cohesive than the miscellaneous soldiers before."

Mu Lin walked out of the pharmacy quickly, his face serious. "They found this place? How could it be so fast?"

Ling Ye, who had been sitting in the corner reading, also put down the animal skin scroll in his hand and stood up, frowning. "Maybe they've tracked our traces, or... a more advanced tracker in Black Mine Town has locked onto our presence. While the library's location is secluded, it's not completely safe."

"Damn it! The ghosts are still lingering!" A Yan jumped down the stairs a few steps, the hatchet already in hand, the flames dancing nervously on the axe blade. "How many are here?"

"I can't sense the exact number," Xingchen said, trying to concentrate, his face turning slightly pale from the effort he put in. "But the fluctuations of my mental power are very scattered, like they're... surrounding this place."

Surrounded!

Everyone's heart sank. The library was built on a cliff, accessible only by a narrow, steep staircase in front. It was easy to defend but difficult to attack, but it also meant that if surrounded, it would be doomed!

Bai Yan had appeared in the living room at some point. He pushed his glasses up, his gaze calm and almost cruel behind the lenses. "The stone steps in front are the only passage, and also the direction of their main attack. There are cliffs on both sides and a precipice behind. There is no way to retreat."

Jedi! Dead end!

The breath of despair began to spread quietly like a cold poisonous snake.

Su Lin also propped himself up from his resting mat and sat up. His face was still pale, but his eyes had regained clarity and determination. He felt the slowly flowing power of order within him, and tried to connect with the vast and chaotic space. The experience of retrieving the tower shield in Black Mine Town had taught him that his spatial ability was not completely unusable, but simply required a stronger will and... an opportunity.

"We can't just sit there and wait for death." Lei Qing's voice broke the suffocating silence, carrying a resolute and decisive tone. "Ayan, Mulin, you guard the main gate and use the terrain to your advantage to block as many incoming enemies as possible. Xingchen, use your mental power to disrupt approaching enemies, especially those attempting to unleash long-range attacks or mental erosion. Lingye..." He looked at the former mop-up team member with a cold, scrutinizing gaze. "You'll be responsible for flank surveillance to prevent them from climbing up the cliff face and launching a surprise attack."

His arrangements were swift and clear, leveraging everyone's abilities to their full potential. No questions, only orders. At a moment like this, absolute command was the key to survival.

"What about you?" A Yan asked anxiously.

Lei Qing turned his gaze towards Su Lin, his eyes revealing an undisguised, almost paranoid will to protect him. "I'll stay here." He was referring to the core area where Su Lin was. Su Lin was their core and the enemy's main target, and he must not be lost.

Su Lin met his gaze and shook his head gently: "Lei Qing, you need to go to the front. Your lightning ability is a ranged attack, which can slow down the enemy's offensive to the greatest extent. Here..." He paused, took a deep breath, and his eyes became unusually firm, "I can protect myself."

He raised his hand, attempting to channel the power of order within him. A faint yet incomparably pure white light, like the first rays of dawn, slowly gathered within his palm. Though its scope was limited, barely encompassing him, its warm and resilient aura reassured anyone who approached.

"Order Domain..." A hint of surprise flashed in Bai Yan's eyes. "Although it is still very weak, its essence is extremely high. It has a natural restraint on the power of the Guichen Sect."

Lei Qing looked deeply at Su Lin, at the faint yet undeniable white light in his palm, at the unquestionable determination in his eyes. He knew Su Lin wasn't being stubborn, but rather attempting to shoulder his responsibilities. A throbbing mixture of heartache, pride, and deeper emotions surged within him. He finally nodded firmly and said gravely, "Okay. Be careful." Without further ado, he turned and strode towards the library's main entrance, the lightning on his hunting knife beginning to flicker faintly.

A Yan patted Su Lin's shoulder heavily and grinned fiercely: "Don't hold us back, you fool!" After that, he and Mu Lin followed Lei Qing to the door and began to use the abandoned bookshelves, tables and chairs piled up in the library to build simple defensive fortifications.

Xingchen didn't leave Su Lin's side. He stood before him, his small body held straight, his eyes scanning the windows and the hole in the ceiling with sharp eyes. His mental power was like an invisible radar, scanning for any threat that might break through the defenses and approach Su Lin. "Brother Su Lin, I will hold this place." His voice was soft, but it carried a determination that belied his age.

Ling Ye walked silently to the window on the side of the library close to the cliff, playing with a few inconspicuous metal pieces in his hands, and looking vigilantly at the steep ice wall outside the window.

Bai Yan quickly retreated to his pharmacy and workshop, where he could hear the clattering of bottles and jars, as if he was preparing something.

The battle is about to begin.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Heavy thuds echoed from outside the library's heavy oak doors, accompanied by the hoarse, sandpaper-like roars of the gray-robed guards. The Guichen Cult's attack had begun!

Lei Qing stood behind the door. Through the crack in the door panel, he could see a dense mass of gray-robed figures swarming up the narrow stone steps below like a swarm of ants! They were holding bone blades, their eyes flashing with fanatical red light, completely disregarding casualties!

"Here it comes!" Lei Qing growled, and swung his hunting knife violently! A thick blue lightning bolt pierced through the crack in the door like an angry dragon, fiercely slamming into the stone steps!

"boom--!!"

Thunder and lightning exploded, illuminating the dim morning sky with blinding light. Several gray-robed guards were instantly reduced to charcoal, tumbling down the steep stone steps, knocking down others behind them. However, more gray-robed guards immediately filled the gaps, continuing to charge upward fearlessly!

A Yan roared, swinging his hatchet. Blazing flames surged like waves from the cracks in the door and the purposefully left firing holes, igniting any approaching enemies. Pitiful screams, accompanied by the stench of scorched flesh, filled the air. Mu Lin controlled the water flow, sometimes condensing icicles to precisely kill those attempting to climb, and sometimes transforming into a slippery layer of ice that covered the stone steps, making it difficult for attackers to move forward.

The frontal battle was incredibly brutal. Like two gate gods, Lei Qing and A Yan, relying on the terrain advantage and their powerful area-of-effect abilities, forcibly held off the overwhelming onslaught. But the enemy was simply too numerous, and among them seemed some even more powerful. Their bone blades lingered with a denser aura of darkness, even offering a degree of resistance to lightning and fire.

"We can't go on like this! There are too many of them! Their energy is consumed too quickly!" Mu Lin shouted hurriedly. Sweat was already on his forehead. The consumption of his water-based supernatural power was huge.

Lei Qing's eyes were cold, and he swung his hunting knife more violently, striving to cause maximum damage with every lightning strike, but he could also feel the rapid loss of his energy.

At this moment, another mutation occurred!

Suddenly, a loud sound of shattering glass could be heard from the windows on both sides of the library, close to the cliff! Several nimble, gecko-like figures, dressed in tight gray clothes, unexpectedly used suction cups and claws to force their way into the library from the nearly vertical cliff wall!

"Sideways!" Ling Ye warned sharply, and the metal pieces in his hands shot out like locusts, accurately hitting the joints and eyes of the intruders! His movements were ruthless and tricky, showing the excellent killing skills of the former cleanup team members.

However, the gray-clad men who had infiltrated were extremely agile, and most of them dodged Ling Ye's attacks. Only one or two were hit in the vitals and fell to the ground screaming. The remaining gray-clad men scattered like ghosts, their target clear—directly attacking Su Lin, who was protected by Xingchen!

"Don't even think about it!" A fierce look flashed in Xingchen's eyes, and the mental power that had been gathered and ready to go was like an invisible spike, suddenly stabbing at the gray-clothed man who was rushing in the front!

The gray-clothed man's body suddenly stiffened, his movements momentarily slowing, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. However, he had clearly undergone special training, and his mental resistance was quite strong. He quickly shook off the influence and continued charging forward without slowing down!

Seeing that the sharp claws of the gray-clothed man were about to touch Su Lin——

Su Lin's pupils shrank slightly, and almost instinctively, he expanded all the power of order in his body, along with the strong protective intention, outwards!

“Buzz!”

A warm and tenacious invisible force field suddenly spread out with Su Lin as the center, covering him, Xingchen, and a small area nearby!

The moment the gray-clothed man's claws touched the force field, they seemed to sink into sticky glue, their speed plummeting! The dark energy lingering around him, as if encountering its nemesis, made a sizzling sound and quickly dimmed!

The field of order! Although its scope was extremely small and its intensity was far less than when it erupted in Black Mine Town, at this moment, it successfully bought precious time for Su Lin and Xingchen!

"Looking for death!" Lei Qing roared from the doorway! Although he was entangled by the enemy in front, he kept an eye on Su Lin's situation. Seeing the gray-clothed man break through, he was extremely anxious. He withstood the attack of the bone blade in front of him and swung his sword back. A lightning arrow condensed to the extreme flew out of his hand, crossing space like teleportation and accurately piercing the head of the gray-clothed man who was slowed by the Order Field!

At the same time, A Yan also noticed the crisis on the side. He roared and threw a ball of explosive fireball at another gray-clothed man who was trying to approach Su Lin, forcing the other party to dodge in embarrassment.

Stardust seized the opportunity and stopped interfering in the area. Instead, he condensed his mental power into needles and specifically stabbed the gray-clothed men at the moment when their mental defense was weakest. With the help of Ling Ye's precise finishing blows and the long-range support of Lei Qing and A Yan, he was able to temporarily block this wave of sudden attacks from the side!

However, the crisis wasn't over. The pressure from the front intensified, and Lei Qing and A Yan's energy consumption increased dramatically. New gray-clad figures continued to attempt to break through the side windows. The library was crumbling in the fierce battle, cracks appearing on the walls and dust falling.

"We can't waste any more time!" Bai Yan's voice came from the door of the pharmacy. He held a few canisters that looked like smoke bombs in his hands. "I'll create chaos, and you prepare to break out! Go from the back!"

"There's a cliff behind!" A Yan roared.

"Trust me!" Bai Yan said hurriedly but with unquestionable confidence, "There's an abandoned mine elevator behind the library. It's been in disrepair for a long time, but I know how to activate it! That's the only way to survive!"

In desperate situations, only trust can help!

Bai Yan slammed the canister in his hand against the ground and the window! The canister shattered, releasing a large amount of thick black smoke with a pungent herbal smell. It instantly filled the entire library, greatly obstructing vision!

"Follow me!" Bai Yan shouted softly, and rushed towards the back of the library, towards the direction of the seemingly solid rock wall!

Without hesitation, Lei Qing pulled Su Lin up, holding him in his arms, and followed Bai Yan closely. A Yan and Mu Lin retreated while fending off the enemies who had taken advantage of the opportunity. Xing Chen and Ling Ye covered the rear.

Rushing to the rock face, Bai Yan quickly pressed a few inconspicuous protrusions on the wall and chanted a series of obscure syllables. With a loud, teeth-grinding "crunch," a dark crack, barely wide enough for one person to pass, slowly opened in the rock face! Beyond the crack lay bottomless darkness and a rusty track!

"Go in quickly!" Bai Yan urged.

Lei Qing was the first to protect Su Lin as they entered the rift, followed closely by A Yan, Mu Lin, Xing Chen, and Ling Ye. Bai Yan was the last to enter. Just before the rift closed, he threw a few more cans into the library, triggering an even more violent explosion and thick smoke, completely blocking the pursuers.

The mine shaft was pitch black, illuminated only by the aquamarine orb Mu Lin managed to condense. Underfoot were slippery, cold tracks, and the air was thick with the smell of rust and mold. The shaft sloped downward, leading nowhere.

Everyone went down the track quickly, one step deep and one step shallow. The sounds of explosions and fighting from the direction of the library behind them gradually faded away, but everyone knew that the crisis was far from over.

They had only temporarily escaped the encirclement, and the road ahead was still dark and unknown.

Behind them, the cliff library slowly collapsed in thick smoke and flames, like a destroyed tombstone, marking the complete end of a brief period of peace.