Mok-Rang chuckled as he lowered his head to Leo. "Your subordinates are loyal and powerful. You must be a good leader for them."
"Thank you for your praise." Leo replied respectfully as they continued to walk while maintaining their pace.
The path was damp and littered with mosses everywhere. It looked like it was created a long time ago. But the ceiling looked stable enough to support everything. The passage was narrow, with barely enough room for two people to stand abreast, though there were occasional side passages and small alcoves set into the walls which increased the complexity of the route they were taking.
At first, Leo thought he would get lost in here without a guide, but the moment he looked at his Main Cube's map, connected to his smart lenses, he found out he could see their current location as well as his past track.
'It's a long path. If we go like this, we will probably walk past a mountain range and arrive in Demon Sect's hidden village in less than 4 hours.'
Knowing the exact time of arrival did help his mood considerably, which made him sigh in relief internally.
To be honest, he didn't know what kind of person Heavenly Demon was. After all, this old man was supposed to die in chapter 3 while fighting the guy from Poison Sect and forced him to use a forbidden technique to reinforce the seal which killed him instantly.
However, that didn't happen as he had arrived and helped him kill them first before. The plot was changed by his interference.
"Be careful, young lady. There is a trap over there." Mok-Rang occasionally warned Anya where to step, but she already knew ahead of time.
"Don't worry old man, I know that. There is one over there too, right?"
"Hoho, you're correct. Good girl."
"I'm not a little girl." Anya pouted while standing still on her spot like a little kid, before she continued to walk again in front of everyone while throwing a glance at Mok-Rang.
"Hey, Leader." Jack whispered softly to him, "Above us... Aren't we passing a pretty busy road? I can hear so many footsteps from above. So noisy."
As far as sharpness of senses went, Jack was the best among the group here. He could hear, smell, and see better than anyone else here with his body enhancement and could detect anything that might be hidden from regular eyesight.
"You're right. Above us should be some kind of intersection, or maybe a road that connects multiple cities."
Leo nodded as he spoke while following Mok-Rang's guidance to avoid some traps ahead of them.
"This passageway looks like it hasn't been used for many years judging by the mosses and cobwebs everywhere."
"It's kind of amazing." Jessica commented, "With the technology we saw in the Heavenly Demon Palace, or whatever it is, it should be impossible to create this kind of road. Maybe they use Qi to make this place?"
"They do have strange powers here." Chiaki commented.
"Their martial arts are interesting. I would like to visit some library or places to learn about it." Shui nodded slightly, agreeing with the secretary.
"Hohoho, would you like me to teach you?"
Hearing their conversation, Mok-Rang suddenly interfered. He glanced behind while laughing a little. His expression was mysterious like usual, and it made Leo feel chills creeping up his spine when he saw it.
"But I wonder if a martial artist at your level is willing to learn from this old man. Your sword is already sharper than mine."
"I wouldn't mind learning about your Sword Technique. As you can know, learning isn't only for kids." Shui laughed before lifting his blade and rested it on his shoulder. "I would like to learn all the Sword Techniques in the world."
"Your blade is shining and has great power within it," Mok-Rang complimented. "I can tell that you have practiced your sword diligently."
Surprisingly, the two people struck a conversation together while Leo was listening from behind them.
'Looks like our relationship with Heavenly Demon might be good.' He thought to himself as he let out a relieved sigh in his heart.
'This escort mission is easy. After this, I think we should move to a big city immediately and build our base there. We can't afford to stay in an Unorthodox Sect's territory for a long time for now.'
Just as he thought that, Anya's nose twitched as she raised her hand.
"I smell blood."
After hearing her words, Chiaki also confirmed that she smelled something suspicious from here. Jack closed his eyes, trying to listen to anything he could use to gain information.
"There is a fight ahead of us," He commented. "It's quite loud. There are two groups of people fighting. They use swords and daggers. And something that split the winds too. Their fighting spirit is intense."
Mok-Rang turned silent at that time and quickly transformed into a shadow as he ran forward in haste.
"Chase after him." Leo commanded and Shui responded.
The Swordsman kicked the ground, creating a deep crack on it while running at incredible speed and vanished into the shadow with his sword drawn. Anya followed suit, jumping high into the ceiling before bolting her way across the tunnel.
Only then, Leo and the other three followed. He had his hand on his Photon Sword, ready to unsheathe it at any time and activated his Nanites in case he needed it.
Based on Jack's description, it wasn't far ahead of them. Their keen senses weren't wrong.
After running for a few seconds, they caught up to Mok-Ranga and the other two, and arrived outside the tunnel. Trees surrounded the area while some glowing mushrooms hung from above them, providing enough light to see clearly what was happening in this dark place.
A battlefield could be seen around them. No, it wasn't exactly a battlefield with lines of soldiers clashing against each other. Two groups of people dressed in black and brown tattered robes fought each other violently and without hesitation in killing.
The sound of metal colliding, blood splattering, and flesh being cut apart could be heard clearly by Leo's group when they arrived there.
Upon seeing them, a violent aura escaped Mok-Rang's body as he shouted loudly.
"How dare you!"