Relying on the excellent battlefield analysis ability of a Secrets-Hunter, Haida instantly completed the count of the enemy's numbers.
Looking at these bizarre and ferocious secret art creations, Child narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You said there wouldn't be more than ten, and it's exactly ten..."
His firearm was not very effective against these hollow-structure creations, and the noise was tremendous, making it inconvenient to use here.
Normally, these Banyan Root Mimicries were very afraid of fire. But currently, this library was filled with wooden dust, and the ground was covered with winding, coiling plant networks. Playing with fire in this environment... was obviously unwise.
Just as he was still hesitating about whether to fire, Haida had already leaped towards the group of Banyan Root Mimicries like an arrow released from a bow. The power sword in her hand freely cleaved the air, emitting a howling, whistling sound.
"Neville, how can we let a lady labor for our safety all the time?"
Albert glanced at Neville beside him, who then nodded in understanding, took out a book bound in bark, and began reciting a prayer.
As the second-category, lower-tier secret art [Wood-Wielding] took form, the plant roots on the ground seemed to receive a command, twisting into several serpent-like chains that pierced the bodies of the mimicries in another direction, firmly restraining them.
As sharp banyan branches pierced the mimicries' heads, completely destroying their most active parts, they quickly lost all ability to move.
Thud.
A mimicry with its skull pierced by a wooden branch crashed heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Simultaneously, the pierced area oozed a pool of viscous, red-black blood plasma. The air gradually filled with the foul, fishy stench of spoiled blood.
Seeing this scene, Albert, who had initially been relaxed, frowned deeply, and a trace of confusion appeared in his eyes.
"What is... that?"
"What's wrong, Mr. Albert?" Elsa asked somewhat puzzled.
"That mimicry is bleeding? It's purely plant; it shouldn't have blood. Even tree sap should be white or colorless..."
As he said this, a hint of bewilderment actually appeared on the face of this Child of the Whiskered Tree.
"Something's strange."
Terence also noticed the anomaly, his expression turning stern.
At the same time, he noticed that new mimicries were still continuously emerging from the network of banyan roots on the ground. Besides the nine Haida initially discovered, there were now at least fifty Banyan Root Mimicries surrounding the team.
Moreover, this number was still increasing over time...
"Their numbers are definitely not limited to ten."
"Be alert, these things are closing in. Avoid physical contact with them. Child, prepare to provide cover fire!"
Following the order, Child, no longer concerned about wasting sniper rounds, aimed at the heads of these mimicries and began suppression fire. Even without using the solidified secret art [Redundant Knowledge Intrusion], this rifle still possessed extremely high firepower.
Gunfire, sudden reports, gunpowder smoke, writhing monstrous shadows... The library, silent for millennia, fell into unprecedented chaos in an instant.
Even Vivian raised her pistol to provide supporting fire from the side, while the crow retreated into the pocket on her chest. Within the Secrets-Hunter Cult, aside from clerical and medical departments, all units were required to pass firearms proficiency tests.
And her marksmanship was excellent, even ranking high in the Secrets-Hunters' shooting assessments.
But the accuracy and firepower of a pistol were limited. Even hitting the head couldn't completely destroy these already frenzied secret art creations.
Fran and Elsa were encircled in the middle of the group, clearly becoming the protected ones.
"This is..." Elsa hadn't expected the situation to change so suddenly and felt momentarily at a loss.
Thinking she had now become a burden to the team, she couldn't help but lower her head, a strong sense of guilt washing over her.
If I hadn't insisted on entering, could I have caused less trouble for the Professor and the others?
Just then, Fran picked up a firearm and handed it to her. This pistol was exquisitely crafted, with the crossed prism sacred emblem of the Secrets-Hunters even etched onto the wooden grip...
"Miss Elsa, don't feel discouraged, and don't doubt yourself. As a member of the team, everyone has their own duties and value. I'll lend this to you for now... try to learn to protect yourself."
"Th-thank you, Miss Flamel..."
Elsa took the pistol; it felt solid and heavy in her hand. The wooden grip even retained a trace of body warmth.
She was a complete novice with firearms, but she knew how to aim simply and release the safety. She also knew her shooting accuracy was poor, so she only pulled the trigger when a Banyan Root Mimicry approached within an absolutely sure distance.
Fran currently had another firearm in her hand, but she didn't fire; she just kept moving with the team as they broke through.
Meanwhile, Haida, who was holding the power sword at the forefront cutting through the battlefield, inexplicably felt something was missing at her waist, as if something was gone.
Seizing a brief gap, she checked and found that the two pistols she usually carried were missing…
Haida gripped the power sword "Nirvana." The dark sword light flashed past, the pressure of the blade tearing through the air with a sudden sound, raising a wailing-like wind.
Whether it was Banyan Root Mimicries or fragments of collapsed structures, everything that touched the sword's edge was instantly split in two.
Moreover, due to this sword's trait of absorbing spiritual essence, the individuals slain by it quickly withered and perished. This allowed her to hold the very front of the team, facing the tide of oncoming mimicries without showing the slightest sign of fatigue, even appearing quite at ease.
Such an astonishing number...
Those mimicries seemed to grow directly from the network of banyan roots on the ground, instantly surrounding the entire team.
Their twisted, bizarre figures extended from the edge of the lamplight all the way into the darkness, with no end in sight.
Haida's gaze sharpened, quickly analyzing the ever-changing situation.
The team had already advanced some distance into the library but hadn't fully penetrated it; there was still room to turn back. Compared to the completely unknown situation ahead, withdrawing from the library in time was the safest choice.
But the path they came from was now blocked by a curtain-like mass of banyan roots; even if they could clear it, it would take considerable time.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, they had to make a quick decision to prevent the situation from worsening further...
If she were alone here, with her exceptional battlefield mobility, extricating herself from the current situation and retreating would be easy. But the others in the team clearly didn't have the same level of mobility.
Elsa was an ordinary person, and Terence was older with less agile legs. The physical stamina of the two Children of the Whiskered Tree didn't seem much different from ordinary people either...
"Albert! Didn't you say there wouldn't be more than ten of these Banyan Root Mimicries?"
Terence swung his thick ebony walking staff, smashing a mimicry's head inward, while questioning the Child of the Whiskered Tree beside him.
His voice was loud, not out of anger, but to ensure the other could hear him over the sharp gunfire.
"I want to know too, why are there so many..."
"It's impossible. Banyan Root Mimicries are very intricate secret art creations; they couldn't have been mass-produced in the Order of Dust era..."
Albert's eyes were full of doubt, making his voice sound somewhat lacking in confidence.
"Don't think too much; the priority now is to break through."
Neville beside him quickly calmed his colleague's emotions, then looked towards the path leading deeper into the library.
"The way back is blocked... Then we proceed according to the original plan! The rooms in different areas of the library are isolated from each other. As long as we reach the next level, we can escape these things..."
"And what if it's even more dangerous inside?"
Seizing a moment when the mimicries around them were cleared, Vivian nearby countered with a question.
"Should we turn back now?"
Neville pointed to the retreat path behind them, now layered and sealed by a curtain of banyan roots, a note of urgency entering his words.
Before the team could reach a consensus on whether to stay or go, something that had been lurking hidden beneath the Banyan Root Mimicries quietly approached the group. It wriggled its tentacle-like limbs, patiently observing today's intruders.
The monster hidden in the shadows narrowed its huge, slit-pupiled eyes slightly, then extended its twisted, extremely resilient capture tentacles, suddenly striking at the group.
Clang!
With a noise of metal striking metal, Haida had already swung her sword, severing the tentacle along with the hard scales covering it.
Only then did the others notice this thing that had quietly approached.
Its body was twisted and slimy, resembling a cephalopod mollusk, like an octopus... only larger, its body covered in overlapping layers of black scales.
"An Abyssal Sea abomination..."
Relying on her profound knowledge of natural history, Elsa quickly recognized it, but her expression grew even more confused.
"Why would this thing appear here? Shouldn't it live in the sea?"
"Squeal—"
Seemingly enraged by its tentacle being severed, the Abyssal Sea abomination let out a sharp shriek. Then, it lashed out with its tentacles like a whip, attacking Haida.
The nun raised her sword slightly to block, completely parrying those whip-like strikes, then seizing the momentum thrust her power sword forward.
The adamantium-constructed blade penetrated the creature's ring-shaped mouth filled with sharp teeth, piercing deep into its head and running it through.
Although she had successfully hunted this abomination, Haida felt no joy or relief. Her eyes sharpened, and she flicked her wrist to shake off the remaining blood on the sword.
"Be careful, there's more than one of these things."
Several similar types of abyssal spawn were still hiding within the mimicry horde from the direction they came, not yet revealing themselves. But one could see their scale-covered tentacles silently crawling on the ground.
After a moment's consideration, Fran spoke up, offering her suggestion.
"Time is pressing. Let's follow Mr. Neville's suggestion and break through to the next area."
"Alright."
Haida nodded gently, expressing her agreement quite decisively.
In situations where hesitation equals death, making a decision quickly is even more important than the decision itself.
And the more dangerous the moment, the more reliable this doctor became... Therefore, the nun was quite accustomed to following her advice.
Quite tacitly, no one raised an objection. Immediately, the entire team began to quickly head towards the depths of the library according to the original route.
The deeper they went, the sparser the plant networks on the ground became, eventually revealing a dark, cold stone floor. The number of mimicries also decreased accordingly, to the point where Haida only needed to guard against those oddly moving Abyssal Sea abominations.
After dispatching a few more bizarre abyssal spawn, the group finally reached the boundary of the library area.
It was a tall wall composed of wooden bookshelves, filled with countless broken, scattered books.
In the middle of the wall was a heavy door. If they could open it... they could leave this dangerous room.
Albert quickly took a bloodletting needle, pricked his index finger, recited a prayer, and pressed his blood into the ritual array on the door.
"Prosperous flowers and leaves, envelop the branches and roots, nurture the buds of time. Ancient Banyan that splits all things, I offer the blood of your descendants, please grant me an open path ahead."
The massive, heavy door began to loosen, a few wisps of dust escaping from the cracks.
And in the very next moment... the ground in the area directly in front of the door collapsed and disintegrated without any warning!
The change was sudden, unpredictable, and utterly unprepared for.
The collapse of stone slabs and wooden beams happened in an instant, and the area was vast. Even Haida couldn't leave this area while carrying others. She had no choice but to settle for the next best option: grabbing Elsa and Vivian, who were not far away, and then falling into the collapsed pit.
Fran was also nearby, but her posture was light and stable, clearly not needing help.
Just before hitting the bottom, several pitch-black tentacles shot out from the doctor's sleeves, using their adhesive properties and resilience to attach to the surrounding walls. The tentacles spread like a spider's web, incidentally catching Haida and the few others nearby.
With a strong up-and-down sway of [Hand Reaches the Moon], the group landed at the bottom of the deep pit.
---
"Heart rate is steady, and she's maintaining autonomous breathing. Apart from a few wounds left by the Banyan Root Mimicries, there's no other damage... probably no need for emergency measures like artificial respiration or CPR."
"Haida, how many is this?"
In a daze, Haida saw a slender index finger with suture marks from her blurred vision, then regained a sliver of clarity from the intense dizziness.
"One."
Giving a concise response, she slowly propped herself up. Her gray-chestnut eyes refocused, looking at Fran, who was sitting in front of her.
"Miss Flamel, what's the current situation?"
"We've fallen deep into the library. As for personnel... we've only seen the two you were carrying earlier."
As she spoke, Fran pointed towards Vivian and Elsa, who were still unconscious.
Seeing the two were safe, Haida also felt somewhat relieved.
She then frowned slightly, feeling puzzled by her sudden, unexplained mental scatter earlier.
"I clearly didn't feel anything unusual when first caught by [Hand Reaches the Moon]... Why did I suddenly lose consciousness afterwards?"
"The interior of the deep pit is a low-oxygen environment. Being rapidly placed into such an environment before the body has adapted can easily cause dizziness. You could think of it as acute altitude sickness."
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T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL