Chapter 176: Taken Prisoner
Seeing that Xu Piao was seriously injured Deng Wu instantly stopped fighting back. ”Stop!” He whispered to Wang Ju Long and Sha Yun, and both of them instantly stopping their struggles as they too had seen how their good friend was injured trying to protect them.
Following the group of Dragon Corps members, Deng Wu and the two girls were moved to the Dragon Corps’ main office where they were locked within a room. What the room was made from they had no idea, but it was remarkable. No matter how many times Sha Yun slammed her tail against the walls or used her merged abilities, she was unable to break through them. Although the walls trembled from the sheer power not even a crack was visible from her onslaught causing them to give up.
The three of them had had their hands tied and at the same time their storage stones were taken away. Although the Dragon Corps were unable to access the storage stones because they had been bound to their owners by Qi, they did not dare leave them with the prisoners as it could provide them with the ability to flee.
Deng Wu was fuming with anger when his storage stones were removed as his entire fighting capability had been taken away. As an inscriber and a necromancer, the majority of his abilities relied on his scrolls with inscriptions. Although he was capable of infusing his spiritual energy and his Metal elemental flame from within, it was not enough for him to pose any threat to their captors.
Currently within their group, Sha Yun was the one who posed the highest threat towards their captors. Being a demon beast, as they called them here below ground, and at the same time having as high a rank as she had along with her skill in merging with Earth all caused the snake-woman to be a great threat. Someone that the Dragon Corps dared not underestimate.
During the fight within the restaurant, Sha Yun had been fierce and merciless just like the beast she was. She killed more than a few low ranked members of the Dragon Corps. Looking at her now, her silvery eyes were filled with anger and indignation emitting a savage aura around her.
Wang Ju Long also had her storage stones taken away from her removing her small seeds and other items which would be useful for her, should another battle occur.
“Hey boss,” A voice sounded from outside the room. One of the younger members of the Dragon Corps delegation looked at the leader of their team, the King ranked captain.
“There were two beauties amongst that group we caught today. Why don’t we let the men enjoy them a little during the trip back home to base?” He asked, his eyes shining with an unhidden desire, his voice tempting.
Looking at the obviously lecherous young man the captain did nothing but snort in contempt. “Li San, do you remember the King ranked experts that were together with these people?” The captain asked with an ice cold voice.
Frowning slightly the young man known as Li San thought back to the episode earlier that day when the man they injured badly brought forth a B ranked emblem. His face turned slightly pale, but he quickly regained his haughty expression.
“So what if he is a B ranker? Our team is B ranked as well and we are definitely more powerful than them. Our mission has far more King ranked experts than theirs, so we must be more important.”
Hearing that the captain could not help but sigh heavily. He knew very well that the strength of a mission could not be determined by the amount of high ranked people it had.
“The mission stated that there should be another person in their group,” The captain explained once more, “For now do not touch them. I need to know about their mission before we determine what to do with them. I forbid anyone from touching even a hair on their head.”
Having said that the captain moved away. He lived within the caves for a long time and he was far more experienced than a newcomer to the Dragon Corps such as Li San. The captain had long since understood that there was a difference between the two B ranked missions. Although his mission was important, it did not mean that the other was less important. Having taken some of their members captive even if he was ordered to do so could halt their important mission.
Sighing deeply, the captain sent a glance towards the door leading into the room where the prisoners were being held. His brows furrowed in discomfort.
At first he was informed by the Dragon Corps office to go to the restaurant and apprehend these three people, however, after arriving he noticed that there were also two King ranked experts present, something he did not expect. Even worse, one of these King ranked experts turned out to be a B ranker, someone who was undertaking a B ranked mission.
Retracting his gaze from the door the captain could not help but shake his head. Although he only followed orders he felt an uncomfortable feeling of restlessness. Having lived at the edge of the sword for years on end, the man understood that when a bad feeling such as this appeared, it was best for him to heed the warning. He instantly told himself that no matter what, these three prisoners were to be treated with the same level of safety and care as his previous prisoners. The prisoners who were the cause of him becoming a B ranker.
Seated within the room, all three heard the conversation between the captain and Li San. They were somewhat relieved to hear that they would be treated well; however, since they were still prisoners it was impossible for them to feel positive.
“It’ll be fine,” Deng Wu said as he looked at the two girls with a reassuring smile on his face, “Yue will come and find us. And for now it seems like no one will touch us.”
Hearing that, the worry within Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long’s eyes changed from scared to hopeful and from hopeful to determined. The two of them nodded their heads as they looked at Deng Wu with a smile.
“That’s true.” Sha Yun said with a glance to Wang Ju Long, “He will never leave us behind.”
The three of them had been quiet for a long period of time, cultivating while seated in the prison. None of them able to say whether one hour or four hours had passed by. Suddenly the door opened and an annoyed looking young man appeared in the doorway. His eyes shining with a sinister light and his lips curled into a sneer as he growled at the three prisoners, “Hurry up and walk!” He said loudly before he followed behind, guiding the three prisoners through the building and out the back where three carriages were prepared.
One of the carriages was completely closed off, looking as if it contained something incredibly important. The door had been barricaded and a large group of cultivators surrounded it, their eyes vigilant and their hands clenched around their spears.
“Stop staring!” The man behind them hissed as he lifted his spear in a threatening manner and led the three of them towards an open carriage. Unlike the previous one, this one had windows and the three of them quickly followed orders heading inside.
Inside the carriage, Deng Wu stopped momentarily as he found that it was full of soldiers, but he could not stop for long before he felt the sharp edge of a spear pushing him forward, making a scratch on his back.
His dark eyes darkened further and he quickly placed Wang Ju Long in a corner while he sat next to her with Sha Yun opposite of them. Sha Yun, although tied up by handcuffs still had her tail free, so if any of the soldiers were to try and take liberties with her, they would quickly regret it.
Although Deng Wu knew that violence was likely to worsen their situation, he also understood from the conversation previously that the captain did not wish for anything to happen to the three of them.
It did not take long after the three of them entered the carriage before it started moving forwards, leaving the back side of the Dragon Corp’s main office within the Thousand River’s Cave.
Sighing deeply and looking out the windows, Deng Wu could not help but quietly pray that Hui Yue would find them and that they would not travel too far ahead.
By the time Hui Yue noticed that his friends were missing the carriage had already left the city. The caravan of three carriages slowly made its way towards the tunnels, inching forward day by day.
….
A boat was docked right next to the entrance of the tunnels by a small harbor which appeared alongside a small city. They were in front of the massive entrance to the tunnels. Arriving at this point, Hui Yue could feel his insides churning as worry was the only thing he could comprehend. He kept blaming himself for not having followed his friends out to eat and instead having been too focused on training. At the same time, Hui Yue was aware that he would not have been able to do anything against four King ranked experts because Lan Feng was unable to help him.
Without waiting for the two Kings, who Hui Yue knew were following behind him the young white-haired man instantly went through the city and paid the fee to enter the tunnels.
Although Hui Yue was getting low on demon cores, he still had enough to pay for his entrance fee. He started yet another journey into the dark tunnels connecting the caves.
All the tunnels were very similar to one another. The only thing which was visible was the lit up path. Sometimes packs of beasts would appear even in the lit areas, but the main thing one encountered while traveling this path was other humans.
At the start of the tunnels, right after entering, the first thing one would find was humans who were hunting for demon cores. These humans were all more or less mercenaries and when they entered the dark tunnels they attacked humans and beasts alike, anything which would provide them a profit.
As Hui Yue entered the tunnels his speed slowed down as he became more alert. Without speaking, Xu Piao and Xie Lan both appeared on either side of him their eyes staring vigilantly at their surroundings. They were prepared to protect the younger man should anyone decide to make him their target.
A faint smile was on Hui Yue’s lips as he realized how the two King ranked experts looked after him. They both had a worried look in their eyes, but right now, with his three friends captured by the Dragon Corps, Hui Yue had no time to worry about them. Whether or not these two were true friends was something he would not think about until after he regained his lost friends.
Sighing deeply, Hui Yue pinched the bridge of his nose as the face of Wang Ju Long appeared behind his closed eyelids, and an unexplainable longing caused him to hurt from the inside.
Closing his eyes for some time, Hui Yue took a few deep breaths and as he opened his eyes a new determination was visible; a determination that shone from his eyes as he picked up speed and started running through the tunnels in front of him.