Ethan Brooks clasped his hands behind his back and looked toward several windows on the seventh floor: “Although those Explosive Flame Talismans are terrifyingly powerful, they require someone to remotely activate them with spells.

The Bloodwind Bandits were just heavily struck by our Eastern Suppression Division not long ago. Under Matthew Thompson, only one ‘Lower Eighth Grade’ sorcerer survived. As long as we eliminate this person, Matthew Thompson and the Bloodwind Bandits will have no way to escape.”

Right where his gaze landed, four figures dressed in black silently opened several of those windows.

Just as they were about to sneak in, Ethan Brooks’s pupils suddenly contracted—he saw countless crossbow bolts, each half a finger long, shooting out from inside the windows.

Those were Locust Crossbows, and in an instant, they riddled the four black-clad men with holes, killing them without a sound as they fell from the seventh floor.

Four elite Jin Yi Wei, each with the formidable strength of ‘Upper Eighth Grade’, lost their lives in a split second.

Then, four burning scrolls were thrown down from the seventh-floor windows.

Brian Reed glanced at them from afar, and his face involuntarily twitched. He felt both that the deaths of the Jin Yi Wei were not worth it, and heartache for the loss of those scrolls.

Those were four genuine diagrams of sixth-grade martial arts techniques, each worth a fortune.

These little bastards from the Bloodwind Bandits really meant what they said.

He looked at Ethan Brooks, whose face was as dark as the bottom of a pot: “Qianhu Brooks, do you have any other ideas? A direct assault is out of the question—inside this library, the various books and genuine diagrams are worth a million demon silver. The key is, those genuine diagrams and visualization charts can’t be bought even with money. If this building is destroyed, neither of us can bear the responsibility.”

Ethan Brooks’s expression shifted uncertainly. After a moment’s thought, he gritted his teeth: “We still have to focus on the sorcerer. Before any direct assault, we must take him out. Since our people can’t sneak in, we’ll have to find a way to contact someone inside.

The instructors from Zhengyang Martial Hall inside the building, or any inner disciples with higher combat strength, could do. We can provide cover from outside and give them a chance to get close and strike.”

Most of the instructors from Zhengyang Martial Hall had around seventh-grade cultivation, while the inner disciples generally possessed eighth-grade combat strength.

That was more than enough. The sorcerer’s weakness was a lack of close-combat ability—once someone got close, even a ninth-grade martial artist could take out an eighth-grade sorcerer.

But Brian Reed was deeply troubled.

Today was a special day—there were no inner disciples in the library at all, not even a single two-leaf or three-leaf inner disciple.

Of the twenty-some instructors inside, he feared most had already met a grim fate. He had no idea who he could contact.

As for the more than four hundred inner disciples, only three had reached lower ninth-grade strength; the rest were far weaker.

Even those three were a tier below what was needed—sending them in would be no different from sending them to their deaths.

He shook his head. “Let’s first try to confirm who among the instructors inside is still alive.”

At this moment, Samuel Grant suddenly interjected: “The Bloodwind Bandits always act with meticulous planning. Before making their move, they would have eliminated all the instructor martial artists to remove any hidden threats. In Mr. Grant’s opinion, Commander, you’d best not count on them. But aside from that, there is still one person inside who could be of use.”

He smiled slightly, his eyes glinting with a strange light: “Yesterday, a young man named Henry Owen wounded the second son of the Long family, Edward Blake, with a single slash—his blade was as swift as lightning. The Hall Master praised his blade technique as concise and refined, truly mastering the essence of the swift blade. If this person could get close to the sorcerer, he would surely succeed.”

“Samuel Grant!”

William Harris shouted angrily, his eyes blazing with fury: “Stop talking nonsense! Henry Owen’s internal power hasn’t even reached the second level—you want to send him to his death?”

Brian Reed was also displeased, looking at Samuel Grant with a hint of menace in his eyes.

To be fair, if the sorcerer really was only a lower eighth-grade, Henry Owen might have a chance.

But the risks involved were immense.

Even if Henry Owen succeeded, how could he withstand the Bloodwind Bandits’ retaliation?

Before they could storm the building, Henry Owen would already be a corpse.

But Ethan Brooks let out a thoughtful “hmm,” his eyes flickering as he fell into contemplation.

From what he knew, the Long family’s second son also practiced the swift blade.

If that young man named Henry Owen could defeat Edward Blake with the swift blade, then his blade speed must be quite formidable.

If there were no other usable martial artists inside, then this youth could be put to use.

Chapter 11: Junior Sister

Inside the library, a firework suddenly burst before Henry Owen’s eyes.

For some reason, his character panel had changed again.

The ‘Lower Ninth Grade (Actual)’ under Reputation had become ‘Lower Ninth Grade (Stable)’.

His martial arts points had also increased from ‘11’ to ‘16’.

If there had been some reason for the previous martial arts points, this time it was completely inexplicable.

But Henry Owen had no time to worry about that—he was running for his life.

Just after the ‘earthquake’ inside the building, a group of masked men had suddenly burst out.

They were also dressed as inner disciples, but their martial prowess was overwhelming. Several instructor martial artists present were killed in quick succession before they could even cry out.

Everyone present scattered and fled. Henry Owen, quick to react, was the first to run, climbing to the fourth floor via another staircase.

As he ran, Henry Owen scanned his surroundings, trying to find a reliable hiding place.