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Looking at Liu Guanyi who spoke ruthlessly, the scout couldn't help but tremble.
However, with his rich life experiences and the baptism of blood and trials of the tower, mere words wouldn't be able to make him buckle.
But combining it with an immense pressure emanating off of Liu Gunayi's body, that was a different matter altogether.
It was as if the previously gentle waves suddenly turned turbulent, like a tsunami that fell upon his shoulders, he couldn't resist it at all and inevitably fell to his knees.
As the pair of abyss-like eyes emotionlessly gazed at him, he could feel that was completely exposed and stripped naked in front of them.
At the moment, there was only a single thought that crossed his mind, this fisherman… was incredibly terrifying!
"I-I'll confess, sir! Please, I will do whatever you want, just spare my life!" Theo spoke with a trembling voice.
"Then, tell me where we can actually find one of the death worms before you tell me what did the Rankers planned for us." Liu Guanyi spoke calmly.
"Alright, sir." Theo sighed in relief as he nodded furiously, he was glad that Liu Guanyi decided to spare him.
Although he really wanted to continue to climb the tower, if he was dead then even that would become meaningless. Survival was of the utmost importance, that was pretty clear to him.
"The death worms, sir, I don't know why and when but many of them with other predatory creatures have migrated from around this part of the underground network sector a few weeks ago."
"I don't know what they had done or planned but the Rankers had told me to specifically guide you all through this route. Most likely, we have to go further and also deeper into the tunnel network to look for them." Theo quickly explained.
"So the Rankers had driven many Shinheuh here for whatever reason and we are basically only wasting time here?" Adori spoke to them as she walked closer.
"M-most likely so your highness." Theo nervously said as he quickly replied.
"Then, do you have any idea or solution to this? You should be very experienced since you are an explorer and you have been staying here for more than decades. Or you couldn't even do that as a top C-ranker regular on this floor?" Adori asked as she calmly look at him.
"N-no, I certainly can do that, your highness."
"Then, quickly cough up some ideas if you aren't completely useless."
"H-here, your highness. Take a look, this is the map of this area that I have gathered beforehand." He said as he projected the image of a map from his pocket.
"In this tunnel, we have hundreds of branching tunnels but only a dozen of them can actually lead us to further and deeper to the network. However, since the Rankers had probably set up some traps in those tunnels it's better if we retrace back our steps and return to the previous tunnel." Theo explained as they nodded in agreement.
"Then, from there, we can take this tunnel." Theo pointed out a specific tunnel on the image with his finger.
"Even though the route itself is very long and way more intricate than that we have taken, it's much safer than the rest of the options since the route stretches far away from the routes marked by the Rankers so we can avoid the traps much more safely."
"Even if they had anticipated this if their plan to lure you failed, your highness, this route is the least expected one since it's one of the worst tunnels you can take." The scout showed his worth as he explained himself fluently.
"Hmm, not a bad plan. It seems that you aren't as bad as you look to be." Said Adori as she looked at him neutrally.
"I am grateful that my simple explanation can help you, your highness." Theo said with a smile in relief.
"Then, it's better if we move as fast as possible. Liu, have you remembered the route?" Adori asked Liu Guanyi.
"Of course, your highness."
"Then, you will be in the front to lead the way." Adori instructed as Liu Guanyi nodded lightly.
Without speaking any words, Liu Guanyi suddenly grabbed Theo by his clothes and easily put him on top of his shoulder, catching him off guard as he shook his body to resist him instinctively.
"Don't resist. You are the weakest and slowest so you will only slow us down and her highness had made herself crystal clear. Understood?" Said Liu Guanyi in a firm tone as Theo quickly nodded in understanding and stopped resisting.
He didn't want to provoke any of them. The princess of Zahard's team was way out of his league and he had understood this well.
Probably even the yellow-haired scout, the most inconspicuous member of her team, could even be the best scout in the C-rank, who knew? The princess had said that she didn't choose her teammates randomly, after all.
"Liu, Xin, let's go. When we reach there, we will choose the two best possible tunnels and split up into two groups to cover more ground efficiently." Said Adori as the two nodded and they quickly ran at a moderate pace toward the tunnel that they had previously passed.
Since they were moving fast as they had no longer need to care about attracting the aggressive Shinheuh in the area, they had reached the high and steep tunnel walls where they had exited earlier in a short time. This time, however, they had to climb them instead of descending from them.
As the three sensed the position of the walls and were about to climb them, the ground under their feet suddenly trembled strongly, making them stop in their tracks for a moment.
Instead of becoming weaker, they felt the quake become even stronger as some of the rocks on the tunnel's ceiling and walls had begun to fall down.
"W-what happened?!" Theo asked nervously as he sensed the atmosphere had turned wrong.
"The tunnel is collapsing, we have to hurry!" Liu Guanyi quickly exclaimed as to urge the team.