The car stopped in a community area with lots of small houses enclosed within a compound wall. There were a couple of gates to enter and leave the place. Guards wearing hoods were guarding them with rifles in their hands.
Occasionally, vehicles would enter from the outside while shouting curses.
"Damn! Those bastards ran away."
"One of our jeeps was caught by the police on the way as well."
"Eh! There is no need to worry about that. Maybe they will get a few sticks and need to pay compensation for the damages we caused."
"Yeah, I don't think we hurt any innocent civilians."
"Besides, I heard that Adam and his subordinates encountered some difficulties."
"Look! Bryan is here."
Once Cayden and his party got out of the car, they were immediately surrounded by the gangsters, hoping to get information.
"Boss Adam has fallen! Everyone died! Now can you please leave us the way? We have to see the gang leader." The driver roared in anguish as he pushed them away.
"How can that be?" The gangsters became furious and mourned the loss.
"Follow me! I will lead you." A burly man stepped up and the others made their way for him, showcasing their respect.
"Boss Mike, we will trouble you." The driver lowered his head, knowing that the man in front of him was one of the only two B-rank warriors in the gang.
"Humm!" Mike was about to turn back when his attention finally lingered on the young man standing right next to them. The same went for others and they all indeed broke out in cold sweats.
"My God! What sharp coercion! I can't even gaze straight at him. Is it a rank A warrior? It seems like today's matter is not so simple." Having this thought, he walked in a certain direction, without questioning him while making sure they were following behind.
Seeing the reaction of Boss Mike, the driver and Bryan were surprised. This also made them realize the terror of the lord next to him. Even B-rank warriors were powerless.
"The gang is going to change. Who knows if it will even exist the next day?" Bryan sighed, not understanding what the lord wanted here. Is he here for punishing the gang leader or for something else? Nobody could read his mind.
Walking past the yard, a pleasing garden with a modern pavilion appeared in their vision.
"With how you guys do things, who could have guessed you all would live openly in such a comfortable place? An underground hideout or a bunker should have been more appropriate." Cayden mocked them.
Listening to him, everyone's expression became ugly. But they couldn't retort to him. Helplessly, Mike could only try explaining their good points to save their face.
"Actually, we have dealings with the guilds. They sometimes employ us as scouts and laborers in their missions. We are paid to keep an eye on any spatial storm that might abruptly be born in the vicinity. Therefore, we have some reputation."
"Even the police force goes easy on us when we create troubles like when asking for protection fees in the streets. Nevertheless, these are all in the dark. Outside they are quite fierce after all."
"Then what about our brothers who got captured when we were robbing graves?" Bryan was confused. As a lower-ranked member, he didn't know much about these things.
"I don't know. Our gang leader created a frequent mess these days in search of graves. I believe he continued this act, despite the warnings coming from the military. So, we might have offended them for real." He was displeased.
"Now, the guilds might not look at us favorably. It might also be the reason why the Poisonous Viper Gang is creating conflict with us. They want to defame us."
"The situation is not good. How can we survive in the future?" Mike shook his head.
"Your gang leader has been corrupted with power. A power that doesn't even belong to himself. A power that fuels someone higher. A power that contains faith…" Every word Cayden spoke, made their heart beat faster and faster as if opening a new world.
However, they couldn't exactly grasp what he meant as he didn't bother elaborating further.
Instead, he paused there and declared, "He deserves to die."
Their mind shook as if receiving a heavenly commandment.
While their brains were in chaos, they had already arrived in the center of the pavilion. Only then, did Mike come back to his senses.
He took a deep breath and pressed a switch at the corner of the wall which revealed a hidden passage under their feet.
Clank!
A cover slid to the right, and stairways leading underground came into their sight.
"Haha, bunker indeed." Cayden laughed and moved ahead first.
The others turned towards each other, not knowing what to do. Report the gang members or keep this matter silent?
"We should take a look before deciding," Bryan suggested, summoning his courage.
"Let's go."
Inside there were steel walls all around, faint light bulbs providing vision on the ceiling, and foul stench drifting in the air.
After walking for a minute, they saw doors, giving access to various rooms. Nonetheless, Cayden didn't bother about them and headed straight to the end.
There were two statues wearing English medieval armor and carrying axes, standing in front of a 15-foot tall door. They were crossing their axes, blocking the entry while radiating weak energy fluctuations.
"The Gang Leader put them here to notify them that he is busy. Once he's free, he comes out. Then only we get the chance to meet him." Mike hurried from behind and spoke.
"Does it mean that nobody has set foot in except him?" Cayden asked.
"I think so." Mike nodded.
"Why is he so secretive? Just because he is a necromancer?" The driver was puzzled.
"Don't tell me he is someone from a cult?" Bryan voiced his concern.
"I don't think it's possible. If he was one, the guilds would have surely found out long ago." Mike denied it.
"Let's see what he is hiding inside." Not waiting for their response, Cayden simply slapped in the air with his right hand.
Boom!
The whole underground shelter trembled as a horrifying shockwave blasted out, destroying the door along with the statues.
At the same time, a hot air mixed with acidic and fetid smell spread everywhere, forcing the gangsters to close their noses.
"Who?"
An enraged penetrating male voice sounded from within, frightening the gangsters.
"Gang Leader!"
They cried out, perceiving a pale young man popping out from the rubbles on the floor. He was draped in a dusty black cloak and had a sickly pale appearance.
Cayden glanced at him for a second before focusing his attention on the room. It was a circular chamber with no so-called light bulbs. There were rather old-fashioned lamps hung on the wall.
There were racks just below them where bottles filled with various liquids could be observed. On the corner, there was a big brown cauldron clamped with a stand. Under it, a burner was fitted with cylinders attached to them.
"Is this the alchemy of this world?" He muttered while keenly observing all the instruments.
Next, his attention was focused on the litter of skeletons in the center. A hexagonal-shaped rune was made from blood. There were characters he couldn't recognize in spite of living for thousands of years.
"Must be from the Divine Realm." He speculated.
"Brats! You dare disturb me. And who the hell did you bring here?" The gang leader scolded them while warily staring at Cayden.
The more he stared, the more he would panic. Thus, he didn't make a move first.
"Bryan, how could you lie to me that they were friends?" The driver whispered in his ears.
Mike slapped him on his head, indicating to be quiet. "We are here to watch. I want to witness how strong a rank A expert is."
"Rank A only? Really?" Bryan scoffed at him internally. How dare he underestimate the lord? But he didn't say it out loud and instead watched the scene quietly from the side.
Seeing how they weren't answering, the Gang Leader's rage couldn't be contained.
"Bastards! Let me teach you all a lesson."
He took out a staff with a skull embedded on top of it and yelled.
"Come forth my children."
Heavy mana condensed in the staff as a couple of spatial vortexes appeared ahead of him. From there, skeletons carrying weapons charged at everyone here.
"Interesting. Each of these skeletons possesses a weak dead soul having no intelligence. Was it summoned from the rumored nine layers of hell? A mystical place where the soul falls after death and reincarnates." Cayden was astonished by the power of divinity.
"Anyways, this is all there is to it." Strands of his hair shot out at the speed of light, blowing away all the skeletons into pieces.
Bang!Bang!Bang!
"Amazing!" Mike and the driver applauded since it was their first time watching him strike.
"You…" The Gang Leader backed a few steps and shuttered. "Rank A'
"Humph! Tell me whatever you are doing here, and I might let you live." Cayden threatened, releasing a vast aura, suppressing him on the spot.