Chapter 170: Rumble

"You both must be very confused as to why I have invited you here," Hyun said as he displayed respect for both Miser and Darren even though they were the ones who were in captivity.

Darren could tell that there was a hidden aspect that Hyun was hiding, so he could not fully trust the man. From what he had heard, this was the company that had imprisoned Mia back then.

"What do you want with us?" Darren said with a matter-of-fact intonation. He immediately went into a defensive stance.

Seeing Darren's doubt, Hyun chuckled for a little bit. Even though he was unassuming, everyone could tell that he was the one who was in charge of this place.

With no weapons by his side, Hyun could be one of those people who had powers called chosen.

"I expected others to join you. Where have they gone?" Hyun asked. His intonation made it seem like he did not care about the answer, but Darren could tell the truth by the man's facial expressions.

"It is none of your business," Darren replied. The more that Hyun did not know, the better. This way, they could surprise him later on.

"Where's Mia?!" Miser could not hold on to his patience. He wanted to know if Mia was safe or not. This was the only thing he wanted to know.

Hyun nodded as if he understood the hardships of a single father faced.

"I understand. That is the reason why we have invited you here in the first place," Hyun said as he turned around and walked towards a room.

"You know where she is?" Miser was intrigued by what Hyun said. Without anything else, Miser was left in the dark. However, it seemed that Hyun knew something that he did not.

Miser followed Hyun towards the room. Darren was more hesitant in following an innocent stranger, but he had to follow Miser for his safety.

Once inside, they saw that this was a finely intricate design of the furniture. It was mostly made of dark oak wood, but Darren could tell that it was made of High-quality materials.

"You know where she is?" Miser asked with impatience getting into his voice.

However, Hyun did not answer and just pointed Miser towards a chair. Hyun sat on his chair and put his elbow on his desk.

"Miser, don't believe everything he says," Darren whispered in Miser's ears.

Right now, Miser was susceptible to any manipulation as long as Mia's safety was on the line. As the only person sane there, Darren had to make sure that Miser did not fall into any traps.

However, Miser did not seem to hear anything that Darren said.

"Hyun, do you know where she is?" Miser said, standing up from his seat.

Then, Hyun funnily nodded. "Yes, I know where she is."

With that confirmation, Miser almost burst out of the room. Seeing that Hyun knew where she was meant that Mia was still alive.

This was the kind of hope that he needed desperately.

"Tell us where she is, now!" Miser demanded. He almost forgot that he was being taken here as a prisoner.

However, the bald guards near the door did not seem to like Miser's outburst. They brought out their swords and pointed them at Miser.

Seeing the situation get worse, Darren made sure to take notice of Miser's safety. If things got even worse, then he would be prepared to fight off the bald men as Miser escaped.

Hyun raised both of his hands and appeased the situation. Seeing that Hyun deemed it to be safe, the bald men sheathed their swords.

"Sorry about that. They are…itchy for a fight," Hyun said with a smile. Then he put intertwined his hands and used them as a handle for his chin.

Once Miser saw the shiny blades of the bald men, he suddenly got the realization of the threat they possessed. He was so caught up in Mia's safety that he forgot his safety.

"Can you tell us where she is?" Miser asked with more patience in his voice.

Then, Hyun nodded. "You do not have to worry. She is safe."

"Then, can I meet her?!" Miser's excitement was brought out again.

However, contrary to what Miser wanted to hear, Hyun only tilted his head.

"I'm sure that is not a good idea," Hyun said.

It was then that Miser and Darren furrowed their eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Miser asked.

"Well, she is currently on the way to the Cheroque kingdom to be queen," Hyun said with a sense of nonchalantness.

"What?!"

"What?!"

Even Darren could not hold in his surprise. Mia being throned as queen was their main reason for traveling towards the Cheroque kingdom.

However, it did not make sense that the Shark Loan company would help Mia become queen. They must have an ulterior motive for this.

"Now, I know you have questions-" Hyun said, but someone interrupted him.

"Why can't I meet her? We can help her become queen!" Miser shouted out.

"I know, I know," Hyun whispered. "However, she does not currently need help there. There are other ways that you can help her in the shadows."

It was at that point that Darren frowned. This was the catch. They never intended to help Miser reunite with Mia, they only wanted to blackmail him for help.

"I suppose you mean, you want us to do something in return for meeting Mia, is that right?" Darren said as he leaned forward.

Hyun chuckled. "As expected of a renowned soldier. You catch on quite easily."

"What do you mean?" Miser asked, still confused about the whole situation.

"We just want you to do a little something. If we deem it to be satisfactory, then you can meet Mia," Hyun said, now finally showing his fangs in his smile.

"Tsk…," Darren could not help but be disgusted by the whole situation.

Being forced to do something because of blackmail was never a good sign. The mission might become impossible or illegal.

"Don't worry. It's not that hard," Hyun said. "Oh, wait! You guys don't have a choice on your side. Scratch that, it might be hard for you without them."

Hyun chuckled once again.

Miser was also angered by the blackmail, but Mia's safety comes first. He promised himself and his late wife that he would do anything for their daughter.

If that meant going against the world, then he would do it. If it meant sacrificing his life, then he would do it in a heartbeat.

"What do you want us to do?" Miser asked, with a little bit of shame in his voice.

Hyun smiled.

————————

As Serena was happily observing her magical perfume, they suddenly felt a rumble in the ground.

They were all quickly alerted of the incoming threat. It did not seem like an earthquake, but more of a stampede.

A couple of seconds later, they all heard a stampede of footsteps coming towards them. The already cracked walls cracked even more.

Some of the pillars supporting the ceiling crumbled under the pressure. Dust flew off everywhere as it seemed that the palace would soon be completely wrecked.

"Run!" Jane said as she was already running away from the stampede.

Serena and the others followed suit as they all ran for their lives. Without anywhere to go, they all decided to continue deeper into the palace.

"What are those?!" Serena shouted out as she took a peek behind her.

Hugh also turned around and used his eagle eyes to see what they're were dealing with.

Upon closer inspection, Hugh could see that the dark creatures ran on all four limbs. They were all skinny but long.

Their jaws were unhinged and their eyes bulged without any eyelids. It was a frightening thing to witness, especially since hundreds of these monsters were running towards them.

"Just run!" Hugh said as he used his armor to run. This gave him enough speed, but he could not keep that up forever.

However, as Jane continued to run, she suddenly realized that they were all coming towards an end.

At the very end of the hallway, there were two doors adjacent to it. Jane knew that this was their only escape, so she had to choose between the two.

"Go to the left!" Jane shouted as she ran towards the left door.

Aric soon followed after her.

Hugh was filling behind them, but he suddenly felt a bigger earthquake. It did not affect his balance that much, but he suddenly saw that the walls started to crumble down.

Just as he reached the left door, the walls came down and blocked it off. Without anywhere else to go, Hugh had to go to the right door.

Serena was behind Hugh, so they were both forced to choose the right door.

This essentially separated them into two groups. Jane and Aric were both in the left door where it was blocked off while Hugh and Serena went through the right door.