Breakout

"We..."

"Rumble—"

Texas had just started to say something, but after only two syllables, she was interrupted by a sudden tremor.

"What happened? Was that an earthquake?"

Bai Ye felt the entire secret chamber shaking. Fortunately, the Texas Family's safe house was sturdy enough that there were no signs of collapse.

"We... have been exposed! Damn it!"

Texas pressed her lips together, her voice carrying an unusually obvious emotion.

"Eagle Eye!"

Bai Ye slowly closed his eyes and activated his only detection skill. When he opened them again, the world had changed.

Everything had lost its original color, turning translucent gray, while Texas beside him glowed blue. Bai Ye looked up. Through the thick ceiling and walls, he could see many human silhouettes glowing red.

Red light represented enemies.

"There are people all above us, but they haven't found the hidden door leading here yet."

Bai Ye deactivated Eagle Eye. With his current mental strength, he simply could not maintain the skill for long.

"Perhaps they found some clues in the estate." Texas picked up her two Originium swords and walked toward the wall on the other side. "If they can't find us, they'll force their way in. They must have used explosives just now."

"What a bunch of lunatics..."

They had directly used high-activity Originium explosives to destroy the surface of a mobile city. Bai Ye had not expected them to go that far.

"We leave now, then blow this place up."

Texas pressed her palm against the wall and opened a new hidden door.

Bai Ye gripped the black umbrella in his hand. He knew that inside was a sharp, lethal sword. Ever since he had crossed over, he had never faced an enemy head-on. But now, things were different.

"God, grant me strength."

Holding the wooden holy emblem in his left hand, Bai Ye carried the umbrella and followed Texas into the dark tunnel once more.

"This passage also leads to the underground routes, but I'm not familiar with it."

Texas's voice was suppressed. Earlier, she had still clung to a shred of hope and luck, but once the enemy had appeared near the safe house, she knew the estate had fallen.

"Want me to try?"

Bai Ye did not know the way either, but he had Eagle Eye, which could locate all the enemies.

"We just need to go where there's no red light!"

Bai Ye activated the skill as he spoke, but this time, he fell silent.

"What is it?" Texas asked in confusion when she saw Bai Ye suddenly stop.

"It's all red..." Bai Ye sighed, deactivated Eagle Eye, and shrugged. "We need to be careful. There are enemies not only aboveground, but in the sewers too. They came down."

"Perfect..." Hatred burned in Texas's eyes as she drew her Originium blade.

The long blade had a slight curve, its body glowing orange-yellow. This sharp weapon contained Originium, allowing Texas to use Originium Arts through it.

Bai Ye sighed. He knew Texas needed an outlet. The Lupo girl's heart was now filled with hatred and sorrow.

"This way..."

Bai Ye chose the direction with the fewest red dots. At the bottom of the pitch-black sewer, a few low-wattage bulbs gave off faint light.

Bai Ye wanted to keep Eagle Eye active, but his mental strength could not sustain it for long. Those few uses just now had already drained more than half his energy.

Silently, Bai Ye drew his sword. The rapier within the black umbrella was exceptionally light, yet it gave him an immense sense of security.

After walking for about five minutes, the two stopped at the same time.

Noisy footsteps came from the distance, along with several beams from flashlights sweeping back and forth through the dim tunnel.

"They're just strolling over here so openly. They really are arrogant."

Using lighting tools underground, where visibility was so poor, would undoubtedly expose them and turn them into living targets.

"They don't know how many of us there are," Texas said coldly into Bai Ye's ear.

Because Bai Ye and Texas were standing in a dark corner, the enemies did not notice them. These armed men carrying weapons swaggered toward the two of them.

"Close your eyes!"

Bai Ye suddenly shouted. Texas instinctively shut her eyes.

A burst of intense light suddenly erupted in the dim tunnel, dazzling brilliance exploding without warning before the enemies.

Prayer - Flash!

After casting Flash, Bai Ye did not stop. He rubbed the holy emblem with his left hand and cast a second divine spell on Texas and himself.

Prayer - Resistance Enhancement!

Then the two charged toward the enemies, who were covering their faces and screaming. Texas struck first. The girl slashed out as if venting her anger, and her opponents, shaken by Flash, had no ability to fight back. They fell beneath her blade.

"I'm sorry!"

Bai Ye clenched his lips and swung his weapon at the enemy before him. Though he had no combat experience, his [Basic Cold Weapons] skill at least taught him how to wield the rapier in his hand.

The sharp blade gleamed coldly, while the enemy before him clearly had yet to recover from the earlier Flash.

The first strike cut through his opponent's throat. With the second, Bai Ye stabbed into his heart.

"Pfft—"

The severed carotid artery spewed blood in great gushes. Bai Ye pulled out his sword, and his opponent collapsed helplessly to the ground.

Prayer - Sacred Flame!

Bai Ye raised the holy emblem high. Sacred white light gathered upon it, then transformed into a radiant beam that shot toward the remaining enemies.

Sacred Flame was currently Bai Ye's only long-range offensive divine spell. Its damage was not high, but combined with Texas's fierce attacks, the two wiped out an entire squad without taking any losses.

"Urgh—"

A small amount of blood smelled rusty, but blood sprayed in large quantities carried an overwhelmingly strong stench. Bai Ye could no longer hold it in. Staggering, he fell to one knee and dry-heaved.

When he had first crossed over, he had still been some distance from the battlefield, so the scene before him now was far more shocking. A friend of Bai Ye's who studied medicine had once described what a massive hemorrhage scene looked like. Now, he had finally experienced it firsthand.

It was just that the experience was far from pleasant...

"You've done very well already."

Texas wiped the blood from her blade with a corner of an enemy's clothing. After sheathing it, she bent down and gently patted Bai Ye's back.

Bai Ye used the wall to pull himself back to his feet, burying all his feelings deep inside. Enduring his discomfort, he slowly said:

"Let's go while we can... It'll be bad if they realize something happened here."