"If we remain trapped here, we're dead. We have to break out!"
Ke Ang's face was ashen, clearly unprepared for such a dire battle immediately upon arrival. With his command, the four of them formed a tight square, back-to-back, and began edging towards the exit, ready to fight their way out.
In this moment of crisis, they had no attention to spare for the "nonconformist" Li Ang, and Li Ang had no intention of joining them. Even if they could fight their way out the door, what then? The tracking abilities of the Strigoi spawn surpassed those of the finest hounds, and dawn was still at least seven or eight hours away. Unless they could shake their pursuers, they would be harried relentlessly by converging Strigoi hordes with no escape.
Thus, to survive, they had to eliminate all the spawn present. Only then would they have a chance to catch their breath. But four mutated spawn, each above Level 7, were more than their fractured, makeshift team could handle. Escape was difficult enough; turning the tables to eradicate them seemed impossible.
Li Ang estimated that if Ke Ang, Mansa, and the other two fought with their lives on the line, they might take down one or two of the spawn. On his end, sacrificing his Combat Guardian and unleashing his trump card, Solar Flare, could potentially eliminate another. But that was far from sufficient. They needed external aid!
Crouched behind the counter laden with stale bread, Li Ang's mind raced, seeking any possible lifeline. The most valuable takeaway from his thirty days of harsh training wasn't the increase in his strength, but the mindset instilled by the Abyss-Cleaver knights: in a crisis, the first response must not be panic, but the search for a solution. Never give up until the very last moment.
His Combat Guardian, fashioned in the image of the Radiant Dawn, stood before him like an unbreachable rampart, clad in golden armor, shield in her left hand and sword in her right. Composed of Law Power, she was impervious to the Strigoi's signature tongue attacks; even if the white worms landed on her, they could not parasitize her. Therefore, ordinary Strigoi could not breach her defense in a short time. However, the mutated spawn posed a significant threat; the green venom on their claws corroded the very Law Power constituting her form.
Thwack!The guardian severed a Strigoi's fleshy tongue, eliciting a shriek of agony. But her shield, after successive strikes from a mutated spawn, crumbled under the venom's corrosive assault, signaling a decline in her defensive capability.
Li Ang ignored this, his gaze sweeping past the guardian to search the bakery. With his own strength insufficient, he could only seek assistance from the environment. The bakery also functioned as a small café; beyond the counter where he hid, three-quarters of the space was filled with tables and chairs for patrons.
In a matter of seconds, Li Ang's eyes scanned the main hall twice, only to retract in disappointment. He found nothing that could reverse their desperate situation. Yet, as he lowered his gaze, skimming over the bread in the glass display case, an idea erupted in his mind like a volcano: flour.
A bakery naturally had flour, and judging by the shop's size, the stockpile was likely substantial. Realizing this, Li Ang immediately turned and pushed through the stainless-steel door behind the counter that led to the kitchen.
The kitchen was a scene of disarray, baking utensils scattered across the floor. But in the corner, his eyes instantly locked onto several sacks printed with the English word 'Flour.' Elation surged within him. He rushed over, hoisted two sacks, and hurled them out into the main area. Once again, his seemingly slender body unleashed astonishing strength. In less than a minute, he had thrown all five sacks of flour from the kitchen into the café.
Meanwhile, Ke Ang's group was still several meters from the exit.
Standing at the kitchen doorway, Li Ang willed his guardian to slash open a flour sack with her sword. He then grabbed it with his left hand and flung the contents into the air. A spawn leaping towards him was caught in the cloud, forced to flip back in retreat. Everyone was baffled by his actions.
Li Ang offered no explanation. Seconds later, his guardian emptied the final sack, filling the entire café with a dense haze of white dust. Nearly every Strigoi and spawn was now dusted with flour.
"Get out, now! This place will explode in ten seconds!" Li Ang's command was clearly meant for Ke Ang's group. As he spoke, he used a kitchen knife to slash his own palm. Fresh, untainted blood welled up, its coppery scent instantly permeating the flour-filled air.
All the Strigoi, including the spawn, went into a frenzy. As Bloodline, they possessed an instinctive, primal craving for blood. This was fresh, uncontaminated blood. In an instant, the majority of the Strigoi shrieked and lunged towards him.
Without hesitation, Li Ang retreated into the kitchen, slamming the stainless-steel door shut behind him. Simultaneously, his guardian stood guard outside, raising her sword against the onslaught of three spawn and five Strigoi.
Golden-red light coalesced at her sword's tip, then erupted outward from her very center.
Solar Flare!
Let the curtain fall. Witness the glory of the sun!
BOOM!
The searing radiance of Solar Flare ignited the flour particles it contacted, triggering a chain reaction. In an instant, all the dispersed flour in the hall combusted, releasing a tremendous burst of heat. In a confined space, such an instantaneous release of intense heat is commonly known as an explosion.
Having attended a reputable university on Earth, Li Ang was familiar with the theory of dust explosions. Their destructive force was comparable to that of conventional explosives. The stun and slow effects of Solar Flare trapped the Strigoi at the explosion's epicenter, forcing them to bear the full brunt of the blast.
At the moment of the deafening roar, Li Ang, braced against the stainless-steel door, felt a colossal impact on his shoulder. The next instant, he was hurled backward along with the door panel, crashing into the opposite wall. Fortunately, his guardian and the metal door had absorbed most of the shockwave. Though blasted by the concussive force, his Law-Infused Physique held, costing him just over a hundred Health points—a manageable injury.
System Notification: Host has slain a Lv2beginner Strigoi. Gained 15 Awakening Points.
System Notification: Host has slain a Lv1beginner Strigoi. Gained 10 Awakening Points.
…
System Notification: Host has slain a Lv5 mutated Strigoi spawn. Gained 100 Awakening Points.
System Notification: Host has slain a Lv6 mutated Strigoi spawn. Gained 110 Awakening Points… Awakening Level has increased to Lv3. 1 Law Source Light obtained.
System Notification: Host has slain a Lv5 mutated Strigoi spawn…
As Li Ang, dazed, extricated himself from the indent in the wall, a continuous stream of system notifications chimed in his mind. From the start of the Strigoi assault, he had eliminated five初级 Strigoi and three mutated spawn, totaling 370 Awakening Points—170 points beyond the 200 required to ascend from Lv2 to Lv3. His level-up was inevitable, consolidating within him another Law Source Light to enhance his attributes.
It was worth noting that both the world of Canglan and these Abyssal Worlds were governed by mysterious Law Ordinances. Awakened Ones grew stronger by slaying Law Entities, their power increasing with their Awakening Level. Typically, whoever dealt the final blow received the influx of evolutionary energy, measured in Awakening Points. However, when Awakened formed teams equipped with insignias crafted from special Law materials, the energy gained from slaying fiends was distributed evenly among the group. In this Abyssal Trial, Li Ang and the others were merely nominal teammates. Therefore, all the Awakening Points from the Strigoi he slew belonged to him alone.