Chapter 138: Escape
Chapter 138: Escape
“Chase! Teleport out with the men immediately! We absolutely cannot let the princess escape!”
Dunis’s fair and scholarly face showed an extremely gloomy expression.
He really wanted to ask La Xia what was going on. Just a few days ago, she had confidently claimed that the princess could never escape the Crimson Prison. Now, not only had she escaped, but she had also fled the Hunting Grounds. If he had found out any later, the princess might have escaped the Land of Exile without him even knowing.
Immediately, he led a group of guards and quickly headed toward the Teleportation Array at the lowest level of the Land of Exile.
…
“We’re finally out!”
The heavy iron door behind them slowly closed, and Chen Mo, along with the other two, felt a surge of excitement.
Although Sesshylow had transformed into Morris, the risk of exposure was still high. But no matter what, they had safely made it out!
“The Land of Exile is actually a huge island!”
Chen Mo and Xue Ye Hua found themselves on a high cliff. Far below was a vast, dense forest. Ahead, a winding path led downward, and further in the distance, a sparkling blue sea stretched out.
The iron door had closed, making it difficult for anyone on the other side to detect what was happening here. Chen Mo had initially planned to have Jumeng kill Guard No. 13 and then flee. However, for the time being, there was only one path leading downward. If there were other guards along the way, having No. 13 with them could save a lot of trouble.
“Lord Morris, honored Adventurers, please follow me,” Guard No. 13 said, taking the lead as he started downward.
He was clearly guiding Chen Mo and the others to the secret execution ground. Chen Mo hadn’t expected that his hastily made-up excuse would turn out to be true—there really was a secret execution ground.
The so-called secret execution ground was, in fact, not secret at all. After following Guard No. 13 for a short while, Chen Mo and the others arrived at an open, artificially cleared area of dark-red mountainous terrain.
Tall wooden posts stood on the mountainside, with thick nooses hanging from them. Many of the nooses were stained dark red, indicating that numerous people had been executed there.
However, Chen Mo noticed that Sesshylow, who had transformed into Morris, was staring intently at the mountain wall behind the wooden posts. Chen Mo looked over and saw that the soil of the mountain wall was exposed, revealing pieces of Bloody Crystal Ore. These ores emitted a faint, crystalline glow, unlike ordinary ores.
“No. 13, what are those Bloody Crystal Ores?” Chen Mo couldn’t help but ask.
“Honored sir, those are Bloody Crystal Ores! They are unique to the Land of Exile and can only be found here in the entire human territory!” No. 13 glanced at the mountain wall, a hint of pride in his voice.
Bloody Crystal Ore!
Damn, no wonder Sesshylow was getting restless! If he hadn’t forcefully commanded Sesshylow not to move recklessly, she would have likely pounced on them.
“Honored sirs, we have arrived at the secret execution ground. Please execute the princess!” No. 13 stopped and turned around to speak.
“Grand Mage Jumeng! Now!”
The moment No. 13 turned around, Chen Mo ordered Jumeng to attack.
It was no longer possible to keep No. 13 as their guide. Now, the only option was to kill him.
No. 13 was startled, thinking the prisoner had escaped, and quickly moved forward to capture Jumeng. However, as a mere Xiaobing, he was no match for Jumeng. In less than two minutes, No. 13 was killed by Jumeng.
With No. 13 dead, Sesshylow reverted to her original form. She couldn’t resist the urge to rush toward the mountain wall to absorb the Bloody Crystal Ores.
“Let’s go! We can come back another time when we have the chance!”
The Bloody Crystal Ores were highly attractive to Chen Mo as well. If he could obtain a large quantity of them, it would surely increase Sesshylow’s Favorability.
However, when Chen Mo noticed a Teleportation Array ahead in the secret execution ground, he knew they had to leave immediately. Otherwise, it would be too late. The prison in the Land of Exile could send pursuers at any moment, and he couldn’t rely on them remaining unaware.
The Bloody Crystal Ores weren’t going anywhere. He could always come back to mine them later. But if the princess were captured now, the Quest would fail. He would have to stay in the Land of Exile for a full month, fail to receive the promised reward, and it was uncertain whether another Quest would come along. The loss would be immense.
Although Sesshylow was very reluctant, Chen Mo issued a forceful command. Sesshylow could only follow behind Chen Mo with lingering attachment, her originally hollow and lifeless transparent eyes frequently looking back at the Bloody Crystal Ores.
Not long after Chen Mo and his group left the secret execution ground, the Teleportation Array in front of the execution ground flashed with light. Dunis and La Xia appeared with a team of guards.
“It’s Guard No. 13! The princess has already passed through here!” Their expressions darkened upon seeing No. 13’s corpse.
“Chase! They can’t have gone far!” Seeing No. 13’s body, Dunis actually breathed a sigh of relief.
No. 13 had only just died. This was their territory, and the princess couldn’t escape!
Dunis and his team hurriedly gave chase, quickly closing the distance between them and Chen Mo.
“They’re definitely chasing us!”
Ahead, Chen Mo spotted the pursuers through the vision of Sesshylow, whom he had left behind.
The pursuers were moving fast. At this rate, they would definitely be caught—within five minutes at most.
After passing the secret execution ground, there was more than one path to choose from. Chen Mo could take different routes, but there was no other solution. The pursuers would eventually catch up, as the footprints on the road wouldn’t escape their notice.
Was there a way?
Of course, and it was a method the pursuers would definitely fall for!
Sesshylow!
Under Chen Mo’s instruction, Sesshylow, who had discovered the pursuers, transformed again.
This time, she didn’t turn into Morris but into Princess Peraldili!
“There’s a figure over there! It’s Princess Peraldili!” On a seemingly hidden path, Sesshylow moved quickly, but her figure didn’t escape the notice of Dunis and the pursuers.
“Chase! We absolutely cannot let her escape!”
Seeing Princess Peraldili, the normally composed Dunis shouted frantically.
If Princess Peraldili escaped, all his plans would fail. If he captured her, everything would be fine. The stakes made him unable to stay calm.
The entire group chased after the princess at full speed. Dunis found it a bit strange that only the princess was fleeing alone. Unfortunately, the guards fighting Aulde above hadn’t managed to send back detailed information. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been tricked into chasing a decoy.
Sesshylow’s movement speed was not slow. With the Extreme Speed Skill activated, she was even faster than Dunis and his group.
The chase lasted nearly five minutes before Sesshylow was finally caught up.
Just as she was about to be attacked by Dunis and the others, Sesshylow stopped and suddenly vanished. Chen Mo had recalled her into the Pet Space.
“We’ve been tricked!” Dunis finally realized what had happened, his heart sinking.
They had chased a fake for nearly five minutes. By the time they turned back to pursue again, the enemy would have long since escaped to who-knows-where.
But Dunis had no other choice. Furious, he led his team back to continue the pursuit.
On the main path where they had encountered Sesshylow, Dunis unexpectedly ran into Aulde and Six Paths Maniac, who had caught up after battling the Hunting Grounds guards.
Six Paths Maniac looked utterly disheveled. Although he usually acted roguish, it had a certain carefree charm. But now, he was anything but carefree—he was a complete mess.
“Dunis? Did you catch the princess?” Aulde urgently asked upon seeing Dunis.
Dunis’s face darkened, and he coldly shouted, “Guards, seize these escapees!”
It was highly likely that the princess was already beyond their reach. Since she had escaped, he could no longer employ these people. Their only use now was to be captured and turned in as scapegoats.
“Dunis, what do you mean by this!” Aulde and the others exclaimed in shock and anger.
Hearing their conversation, Six Paths Maniac felt a chill. He wasn’t a fool and could roughly guess that there was something fishy about this Quest.
No, he had to leave this troublesome place first!
Six Paths Maniac made up his mind to leave immediately and search for the princess. If he found her, there might still be a chance to complete the Quest.
“Capture that Adventurer too and imprison him for a month!”
But then, Dunis’s next words stunned Six Paths Maniac.
Aulde was unwilling to surrender without a fight, but Dunis had brought elite guards, and Dunis himself was formidable. After a fierce battle, Aulde and the others couldn’t hold out for long and were captured.
Six Paths Maniac naturally had no chance of escaping. He felt as if he wanted to die.
Imprisonment for a month meant he couldn’t clear his PK value during that time. Calculating it, he would have to stay in the Land of Exile for nearly two more months!
Was this the penalty for failing the Quest?
“Xue Ye Hua! Silence! I, Six Paths Maniac, will remember you!”
Six Paths Maniac growled these words, and in the next moment, he chose to respawn through suicide.
…
“The seaside!”
“There’s only one path leading to the seaside. Thankfully, there were no ambushes along the way, and the pursuers didn’t catch up.”
“But there are no boats around. What should we do?”
“Honored Adventurers, leave it to me. There are large trees nearby. I can build a raft, and we can leave this place first.”
Jumeng asked Qing Tian and Xue Ye Hua to stay calm. He gently placed the princess on the ground, then waved his hand, summoning Wind Magic blades that sliced toward the only large amber tree by the shore.
The amber tree was named for its sap, which easily formed amber-like lakes. Under Jumeng’s Wind Magic, several round pieces of amber fell from the tree.
Jumeng clearly wasn’t doing this for the first time. Pieces of rounded wood quickly fell to the ground. Using Chen Mo’s rope, Jumeng, with his huge physique, effortlessly tied them together into a raft.
“Let’s go!”
They all jumped onto the raft. Jumeng cast a spell with Wind Magic, and the raft swiftly drifted out to sea.
“Lord Dunis, should we chase?”
By the time Dunis and the others arrived, there was no trace of the raft on the sea, only remnants of its construction.
“It’s useless. We can’t catch up now. Even if we caught up with the raft, it would be impossible to capture the princess.”
Realizing that the princess had undoubtedly escaped, Dunis regained his usual composure.
“Let’s go. Take these escapees back and lock them up properly.”
Dunis waved his hand and led the captured Aulde and the others back toward the prison.
A good while after they left, beneath the amber tree that Jumeng had cut down, a black amber half-buried in the sand suddenly cracked open. Inside, a lazy caterpillar crawled out. The caterpillar looked around, bit through the space beside it, and wriggled its body into the dark Spatial Rift.