This passage was not too wide. Its walls were painted with dimly glowing magical runes. Although these runes had a kind of sound suppressing effect, Punk's sensitive elvish ears could still pick up the faint heart ranching screams of the people who were being mercilessly slaughtered through the layer of soil above him. Those screams, which seemed to contain endless despair and resentment, added a touch of gloom and uneasiness to this passage's already dark and depressing environment.
No matter how reluctant the soldiers were to flee like defeated dogs, and regardless of the guilt they felt for their comrades in Konola, all the soldiers understood that it was currently impossible to take any action. Their primary duty was to safeguard the princess as her elite guardians. So, they all clenched their teeth, bearing today's humiliation while secretly promising to return and seek revenge for their fallen comrades. They quickened their evacuation and continued to retreat.
All the soldiers, including the old Mage walking next to Punk, were gritting their teeth angrily, but Punk was still calm and indifferent as before. Now he and these princess's guards had completely different concerns. While walking in this long dark passage, Punk ordered the system to thoroughly analyze the obscure magical fluctuations attached to the passage walls. Soon, the analysis was completed, and the results showed that these seemingly plain and simple fluctuations worked together and became a seemingly chaotic but also coherent runic circuit with its own internal structure.
When Punk closed his eyes, he could faintly perceive that this invisible rune formation completely blocked everything; the magic fluctuations, battle qi fluctuations, and even the heat, sounds, and vitality emitted by the entire group, and even a little bit of information could not reach the outside of this passage.
"This formation! It is so similar to the programming diagram of earth!"
Looking carefully at the data analyzed by the system, Punk felt that he had gained a lot of inspiration from the magic formation of this escape tunnel. Like- If the rune formation here had so much similarities with the computer programming, did that mean that it was also possible to decipher and even crack it?
"Huuu! It's a pity! My soul level is still too low."
Punk sighed and somewhat unwillingly shelved these ideas in the future plan, as now he could not learn or practice magic formation with his current level.
Time always flies quicker when one thinking about something very attentively, and before Punk knew it, the exit of the passageway was already in front of him. Watching the soldiers in front of him going out one by one, Punk had to let go of his research on the magic runes and figure out a comprehensive plan to get ready for the escape journey!
The exit of the tunnel was located in a forest. It was the same forest on the south side of Konola City, called Endless Swamp. There was a reason why this forest was called Endless Swamp. The forest earned its name because, while it wasn't truly endless or even close, it was vast enough that an ordinary person couldn't traverse it on foot. Moreover, the terrain was mired in sludge, making it impassable for horse carts or other vehicles.
The reason for the muck in this forest was a type of tree known as the Haike tree. These trees had the unique ability to store large amounts of water in their roots. The Haike trees were not native but were planted in large numbers by a Druid to irrigate the land. Obviously, that Druid's plan didn't go that well, and excessive irrigation caused this troublesome situation in this forest where there was mud everywhere. The Druid, who loved balance in everything, soon abandoned this area, but the Haike trees with strong vitality were slowly spread, and after thousands of years, this sparse but gigantic forest came into existence.
Upon exiting the long, narrow tunnel, Punk was greeted by a ground that was nearly of moss. This moss blanketed the entire floor of the swampy forest, giving it the appearance of a playground with artificial grass. There were few trees like that of coconut trees that grew in this swamp, but these trees had large roots, and most of those roots were all above the green carpet of moss. If one looked from the outside, these trees appeared as if someone had gently placed rubber toys on the mossy ground. Furthermore, there were clusters of small flowers with delicate pink spots scattered across the green carpet. The overall atmosphere of the entire forest was exceptionally peaceful.
But, this was definitely not the true face of the Endless Swamp!
As Punk Lightly stepped on the muddy ground, almost three centimeters of mud squeezed out from under the soles of his shoes. The mud was also mixed with some rotten leaves. From the color and the smell of this mud, It seemed as if this swamp would be able to produce oil in a few decades.
Punk lifted his feet out of the sticky and stinky mud; however, instead of disgust, there was a little bit of satisfaction on his face.
"I have to admit that McNeesey chose a very good retreat route."
This kind of muddy terrain was not a hindrance to professionals. However, for regular soldiers, it acted as an impassable speed bumper. It was almost impossible for ordinary soldiers to conduct searches in this swampy forest. And as long as the only enemy's professional teams were the ones searching in this expansive forest, the chances of being found would be extremely low.
Although this place was well-suited as a retreat route, the environment was truly unbearableAs the soldiers walked through the mud, a terrible smell that had built up for a long time was released. It was so bad that it seemed like the whole forest might be hiding piles of poop. Princess Nesa, who had never endured such a harsh environment, frequently waved her slender hands in front of her small jade-like nose to drive away the smell. Of course, it was ineffective.
Punk didn't found this little smell that intolerable. Now, he was thinking again and again about whether or not to leave this group.
Punk was rubbing his smooth chin with his hand while carefully thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of traveling alone.
If he left this army right now, then the chances of encountering Prince William's search party would become very small, but by any chance, he, as a person who was very high profile in the previous war, was noticed by the search party, they would definitely not let him go. And if he alone confronted a large group of vengeance-seeking professionals, that would be extremely dangerous. Thinking about it, Punk's brows couldn't help but tremble a little.
Punk was not a martial hero who could defeat an entire army by himself. It was already hard enough for him to win against a single trainee-level powerhouse, and if he encountered a team with multiple of them, then dying peacefully would be a dream, let alone escaping.
However, if he continued to follow this escaping army until he reached the Kingdom of Dylan, the likelihood of encountering the enemy search team was quite high. On the other hand, he had these loyal trainee-level protectors from the Princess's Guard, and as long as he stayed behind and provided some some surface-level help, the risk would be greatly reduced.
Punk, even as a decisive person, could not help but hesitate for a while....