# 252
Chapter 252 – Leaving the Carriage
As the spatial vortex slowly widened, a colossal figure stepped out—a hundred-meter-tall blood-drenched mastiff, tall enough to rival a thirty-story office block in the city.
The crimson hound stood on the wasteland like a red mountain peak, its savage eyes fixed on the city ahead, thunder rumbling in its throat.
From the aura it exuded, it was at least a Klein-level horror.
Lu Wuwei’s brows knitted tight. “Hel-hound, Garm…”
But that wasn’t the end. After Garm, thick scarlet tentacles slithered from the vortex, and next a squid even larger than the hulk—nearly a hundred and fifty meters—crawled out.
“Kraken? You even brought the North Sea monster?” Lu Wuwei’s face darkened further.
Another Klein-level mythic beast!
Two Klein-level mythic beasts descending on Cangnan was nothing short of annihilation for a city already battered by storm.
Even the Phoenix squad could only handle one; who would stop the other?
Lu Wuwei gripped his e-bike’s handlebars, ready to charge the two Klein beasts, when Loki strolled up with a smile. A casual wave of his hand brought crushing pressure that sank the entire ground ten meters.
“Now, who’s stalling whom?”
…
Rumble—!!
Purple lightning slithered beneath the sky. Indra, wreathed in electric light, chased the intangible carriage through the air.
“Still running?”
Indra frowned; lightning flared around him, condensing into a radiant sword of thunder that slashed straight at the carriage!
Boom—!
Inside the speeding carriage, Lin Qiye lifted his teacup to his lips when the vehicle lurched, spilling the tea.
He looked up at Master Chen, who was staring at his own half-empty cup in embarrassment.
“Master, aren’t we inside your Mindscape?” Lin Qiye couldn’t help asking. “Is your mental journey… really this bumpy?”
Master Chen coughed twice and quietly set his cup down.
“A minor mishap—no big deal.”
“Master.” Lin Qiye met his eyes. “What exactly is happening outside? Why won’t you let me leave?”
“You’re overthinking; nothing’s wrong.”
The moment he spoke, a purple bolt tore from the sky, ripping a corner of the Mindscape. The birds-and-blooms Chinese courtyard cracked, revealing the shattered earth outside and crackling lightning. In an instant the Mindscape healed, as if nothing had happened.
“So, Master, this is ‘nothing’?” Lin Qiye’s mouth twitched. “I’d say the carriage is about to fall apart.”
Master Chen sipped his tea in silence.
“Staying with me is safer.” After a long pause he said slowly, “I may not fight, but in defense I’m the strongest in Great Xia. He’s far from breaking my Mindscape.”
“Who? Who’s chasing us? What’s going on out there?” Lin Qiye frowned.
“You don’t need to know.” Master Chen shook his head. “Just sit quietly and drink tea with this old man. When the storm passes, I’ll see you off unharmed.”
“I don’t want unharmed.” Lin Qiye stared at him. “I want to go back.”
“Back?” Master Chen raised a brow. “Do you know what this city is facing?”
“No.” Lin Qiye shook his head. “But my family, my comrades, are all in it.”
Boom—!!
Another thunderstrike shattered the Mindscape again; the lightning-shrouded city flashed in fragments before the courtyard re-formed, birdsong and spring scenery returning—yet the air was as cold as winter.
“Commander Ye ordered me to keep you out of this battle…”
Finally Master Chen gazed at the flowers outside. “But I’ve never liked rigid rules. If you insist on wading into this mess, I won’t stop you—yet you must bear the responsibility. The truth is crueler than you imagine.”
He turned, eyes profound. “Lin Qiye, are you truly ready?”
Lin Qiye met his gaze and, after a moment, nodded firmly.
“Yes.”
“Good. Then I’ll send you out of this lightning field. Whatever you see, don’t mind me—do what you must.”
He paused, solemn. “But remember: no matter what happens, never leave Cangnan City.”
Puzzled by the warning, Lin Qiye still nodded. “All right!”
Master Chen set down his cup and flicked his wide sleeve; illusion swirled, and Lin Qiye vanished.
Only the old man remained in the quiet courtyard.
His eyes narrowed, piercing the Mindscape at Indra still in pursuit, a chill flashing within.
“You think I fear you because I don’t strike back?!”
…
Ten li from the carriage, Lin Qiye suddenly appeared. Thunder nearly burst his eardrums; he spun around, stunned.
In the distant sky a bare-chested man in dark-yellow foreign garb hovered, terrifying pressure rolling off him. Lightning clouds roiled above; two thick bolts shaped into halberds that he hurled down!
A forest of thunder crashed upon the unremarkable carriage. A lightning halberd shattered the illusions beside it; the carriage shuddered yet sped on, both it and the storm racing away.
“That… the God of Thunder?” Lin Qiye felt the residual divine pressure, horrified.
He’d just been sitting inside that thunder forest, drinking tea?
Master Chen’s Mindscape could even withstand a god?!
Calming himself, Lin Qiye scaled the nearest high-rise and gazed across the city.
Roar—!
At the city’s edge two titanic beasts were closing in fast.