Nearly everyone in the army had not expected to be attacked in the dead of night. After entering the illusion, it was impossible to wake up by relying on their own strength.
Even esper users could not easily break free from the illusion, let alone ordinary people. Thus, these people became even more immersed in their dreams, unable to regain consciousness. Although they continued to run, they remained trapped within their dreams.
Only in rare instances, when injured by a nearby object, would the resulting pain stimulate their nerves, potentially waking them up.
A few esper users were fortunate enough to be injured by those around them, thus waking up. Stimulated by the pain, they could not continue to be lost in the illusion. These awakened individuals were then tasked with the crucial mission of waking up those around them.
These awakened individuals held short bayonets. Upon spotting someone engrossed in the illusion, they would swiftly slash at their arm. Blood would then gush out. The wounds on these injured arms could not heal quickly, and the continuous pain would allow them to regain consciousness.
"What happened? Why is the military camp in such chaos?" The awakened individuals then shouted everywhere, trying to understand what had occurred.
"There's no time to explain now. We've been attacked by esper users, a very powerful one! Almost everyone is trapped in an illusion. The only thing we can do is wake up the soldiers around us and lead them to rendezvous in the Taihang Mountains. This must be done quickly, or we could face further attacks." Someone then began to explain.
However, at this moment, immense chaos erupted outside the military camp. Countless people surged into the camp, and distant fires could be seen blazing.
"This is terrible. We've failed. We can only flee now!" The awakened soldiers understood that the situation had deteriorated. The enemy had breached their defenses, and their only hope of survival was a swift escape.
Chen Xin Tie was still addressing the many esper users beside him, "Our mission this time is to destroy the enemy's military organization. It would be best if we could capture a few leaders. If we could capture their boss, that would be even better!"
"I don't think you'll be able to capture their boss, because I just saw someone fly away," someone beside him replied.
"Even if their boss escapes, it doesn't matter. Not many people can fly. Capturing others would still be a great achievement, especially esper users. If you find any esper users, it's best to capture them alive!" Chen Xin Tie instructed his subordinates.
"Don't worry, even if we can't catch their leader, capturing a few esper users will be a piece of cake," the esper users under him quickly replied.
"To distinguish ourselves, everyone wear a white towel on their arm. Anyone without a white towel is the enemy!" Chen Xin Tie then reminded his subordinates.
It was already late at night, and dark clouds obscured the moonlight, making it difficult to see the ground clearly. In the midst of the chaos, it was also hard to distinguish individuals. To easily differentiate between friend and foe, it was better to tie white towels around their arms.
These esper users tied white towels around their arms and then attacked. The people living on the outskirts of where these individuals resided were refugees. These refugees were not affected by the illusion because controlling these ordinary people with illusions was too costly and would consume a lot of energy.
Thus, Chen Xin Tie only used illusions to affect the soldiers and esper users. As the esper users began their assault, the refugees on the periphery were the first to collapse. They had no means of self-protection, and their reason for following the army was to loot.
Consequently, countless refugees rushed into the military camp.
"You all hurry and leave. Get out of here quickly. I'll cover your retreat!" At this moment, Qin Ke Wei found Qu Zhao Qian and Wang Xi Qiang, urging the two youths to leave this chaotic place, which was not where they belonged.
In fact, Qin Ke Wei was among the first to awaken from the illusion. On one hand, she had experienced illusions before, making it easy for her to distinguish between dreams and reality; she had developed resistance. On the other hand, she had severe burn scars on her face, causing her pain daily, which stimulated her nerves.
Upon waking, Qin Ke Wei immediately found the surrounding esper users, woke them up, and inflicted wounds on their bodies with knives. This way, they would not easily fall into illusions. At this moment, Qin Ke Wei thought of Yue Heng Yi's cousin and ran to wake up these two youths who were trapped in the illusion.
After waking up, Qu Zhao Qian quickly understood the surrounding situation and immediately stated, "Only in turbulent times can one's true mettle be seen. The situation is critical now. How can I leave like this? I will fight to the end. I want to prove that I am not a weakling!"
Qu Zhao Qian was very grateful to have been woken up from the illusion. If he hadn't been suddenly awakened, he would likely have died at the hands of the enemy soon.
However, Qu Zhao Qian now declared his stance. If someone needed to cover the retreat, he was not a coward and would fight to the last moment.
"You all hurry and leave this place. The situation is beyond your ability to resist! To put it bluntly, if you leave now, you will have a chance for revenge later. Staying here will only be extremely dangerous. As for me, I can use earth遁 (earth escape) to leave at a critical moment," Qin Ke Wei said earnestly.
Wang Xi Qiang also said to Qu Zhao Qian, "The situation is too chaotic now. Let's leave here quickly!"
Qu Zhao Qian nodded and was about to leave, but before he did, he suddenly had a question and asked, "Before, I wanted to kill you. Why are you saving me now?"
"It's because you are Yue Heng Yi's cousin. If you also die, I would be even more sorry to him. Actually, I was sincere towards your cousin before. Whether you believe it or not, it's true!" Qin Ke Wei said earnestly.
"Then we will leave first!" Qu Zhao Qian nodded, and he and Wang Xi Qiang turned to leave.
Qin Ke Wei wanted to stay and cover the retreat primarily for He Qiu An. This young man was seeking revenge for the tenants, and she could not simply abandon him. Therefore, staying to cover the retreat could prevent other enemies from approaching, and she could use earth遁 to escape the battlefield.
Qin Ke Wei then began to fight. She was now a peak sixth-tier esper. Based on her strength, she could have become a seventh-tier esper long ago, but because she lacked evolution crystals, Qin Ke Wei was only a sixth-tier esper at this point.
Therefore, she was not comparable to the strongest esper users, but Qin Ke Wei remained a genius. She was already very powerful ten years ago and remained so ten years later.
Qin Ke Wei stomped forcefully on the ground, and countless earth walls suddenly rose from the ground. These earth walls could block the charge of people and obstruct their line of sight. With the appearance of this attack method, the refugees were indeed unable to quickly charge the military camp. Qin Ke Wei's control over her esper ability had become even stronger.
"Qin Ke Wei, you've repeatedly tried to enter the Lüliang Mountains before. I've warned you many times, but you never listened and even stole our confidential documents. Today, you won't escape!" Suddenly, an angry voice came from afar, and then a very agile figure appeared on the earth wall, charging towards Qin Ke Wei.
It was evident that Qin Ke Wei's theft of confidential information had been exposed. These people wished they could tear Qin Ke Wei to pieces, so they rushed forward to fight.
Qin Ke Wei dared not linger in battle. She knew very well that the number of enemy esper users was large, far exceeding the so-called "Thirteen Taibao." Especially in recent years, the people on the mountain had been hunting esper users and framing the Tianya Alliance for it. They had quietly grown stronger, and fighting esper users was by no means easy. At this moment, it was best for her to escape immediately.
"You guys caused me a lot of suffering before. I was just seeking revenge for myself, but today is not the time. We'll meet again next time!" After saying these words, Qin Ke Wei immediately burrowed underground, intending to escape through the earth.
In terms of survival ability, material-type esper users actually had very strong survival capabilities. Those who controlled rocks could escape through rocks, those who controlled water could perform water遁, and those who controlled earth blocks could perform earth遁. Hiding beneath these tangible substances made it difficult to suffer severe blows.
Qin Ke Wei had encountered danger frequently in recent years. Every time she encountered danger, she would burrow into the earth and escape.
She thought this trick would always work, and escaping through the earth now was a good method, but she had miscalculated. Qin Ke Wei suddenly found many ropes appearing around her. Upon closer inspection, she realized that these ropes appearing in the earth were actually slender roots.
"This is bad, I've fallen into a trap. It's too late to leave now. I didn't expect these people to have predicted my escape route and laid a trap." Qin Ke Wei felt fear upon discovering the underground roots. Her escape method had been deciphered.
Another esper user appeared in the distance. His esper ability was to control plant growth, a very powerful ability primarily used to control the enemy's position. He had previously demonstrated this in Yanjing, instantly controlling Cao Fu Lie. If not for Li Ke Yi's subsequent rescue, Cao Fu Lie would have been captured.
This esper user appeared and said indifferently, "You've escaped through the ground several times before. How could we have no precautions? To put it bluntly, I've been waiting for you for a long time. Others can't catch you, but I can."
The previous esper user had controlled plant roots to grow wildly underground, weaving a giant net, and then enveloped Qin Ke Wei, who was trying to escape. Qin Ke Wei wanted to escape, but she was obstructed by the roots, making it difficult to break free.
Qin Ke Wei was eventually captured, and a group of people dug her out of the earth.
"This is a big catch! Capturing her will make negotiations much easier. If possible, tie her to the city wall of Taiyuan and kill her with a single blow, as a way to eliminate harm for the people, especially since she once breached Yanjing." Everyone was overjoyed after capturing Qin Ke Wei, feeling that they had gained a significant advantage.
"Don't get complacent now. I suddenly noticed two youths running towards the mountains. Let's quickly chase after them and capture them! These two youths are both disciples of Shen Feng, and they possess very powerful esper abilities." Someone suddenly shouted from a distance, warning them not to be complacent just because they had caught a big fish; there were more fish waiting for them to pursue.
"Inject this person with a tranquilizer, then lock her up. Bind her tightly with chains, prohibiting her from moving freely. She can be shot at a critical moment," the esper user controlling plants said slowly. Thick roots had already wrapped around Qin Ke Wei, but these many roots might not be enough to restrain Qin Ke Wei. To truly control a powerful esper, one must inject her with a tranquilizer and then bind her with chains.