Second World

"Still want to continue?" Jack asked as Tenka stood back up.

Tenka looked at the slash marks on the ground. Each of them was deep.

Jack used mana manipulation to enhance the damage of his sword art. After training continuously all this time, his control of mana had been refined. His half-day training under a corrupted mana environment had pushed his mana manipulation to undergo a long overdue breakthrough. The damage produced by his mana manipulation had now increased.

Even though Tenka was still a rare elite, he understood the concept of mana manipulation. He knew that what Jack used just now was not a skill. He sensed the powerful mana accompanying each of Jack's slashes. He knew then that Jack's claim about he being unable to beat Jack was no empty boast.

To reinforce his point, Jack summoned Therras. The majestic beast stood beside him and stared at the two satyrs menacingly. Jack commanded Therras to stay still so it didn't attack Tenka who was considered hostile because of the fight just now.

Seeing the mythical-grade beast, the two satyrs became even more speechless. Therras had increased another level to level 63. Jack never stopped feeding it high-level pet food daily so it continued to gain exp points even if it was not summoned for battle.

"I admit I can't beat you, but I won't go back!" Tenka exclaimed.

Jack shook his head. Tenka was not so stubborn that he was not willing to admit defeat, but why did he still refuse to go back?

"Let me tell you, the reason your father doesn't want you involved in Luna's rescue is so that no one knows about the involvement of your village. Even if you successfully saved Luna, if any of you is sighted by the enemy, they will come to your village. You will just bring calamity to the others."

"We… We will make sure no one finds out," Tenka said.

"Really? Because if I didn't show up as I did, two demons would have made it back to the manor and alerted the demons inside. Unless you killed all the demons in that manor, someone will know about your involvement. Or do you think you can kill the two mythical grade bodyguards in that manor? You do know about those bodyguards, don't you?"

Tenka was silent. A frown creased his forehead, but he didn't show any sign of going back.

Yrin came forward then. "Mister Storm Wind, I'm sorry. We have to do this. This is our responsibility."

"Oh…?" Jack turned to Yrin. He thought that Yrin only came here because Tenka persuaded her. She seemed like an obedient child when Jack first met her.

"Calamity might befall our people if we were found out, but we also can't shy away from our role. If we do, then we don't have the right to be the custodians of the two little nightmares. If it is within our power, we have to see it through. Please don't send us back, but let us lend you our aid. I'm sure you are unfamiliar with this place. Your success chance will be better with our help than without."

Jack didn't deny having the locals' help on site would be much more helpful, but he had told Yvok that he would bring these two back. If something happened to them, or worse, their village got targeted by the underworld empire, he would feel very bad about it.

"Please! We will not go back even if you told us to," Yrin uttered. "We will go save Luna on our own. You will have to kill us if you want to stop us. It's either we do it separately or we work together."

Jack saw the determination in her eyes. He looked at Tenka and saw the same eyes. He sighed and said, "Fine! But you will have to listen to everything I say!"

Yrin and Tenka looked at one another before turning back to Jack and nodding their heads.

Jack unsummoned Therras and said to the two, "We need to survey this place first. I need to have a better look at the manor."

"We have already done that before you arrived," Yrin answered. "There is a high ground nearby where you can see the entire compound. Follow me."

Jack followed her. The three moved while Jack paid attention to his radar to make sure there were no more patrols nearby.

Yrin led him to a nearby hill with a rocky outcrop at its top. The three laid down atop that outcrop and looked down.

Jack saw a single large building in the distance. That must be Hraghshu's mansion. Around it was a ruined landscape. Traces of trees being cut down and the land being dug were evident. On that ruined landscape were many people who seemed to be working. They were cutting nearby trees and doing more digging. Some were using pickaxes to mine spots that Jack identified as ore deposits. There were lots of these ore deposits.

"That place is a hidden mining site," Peniel said. "As they dug deeper, they will find more ore deposits for mining."

"I see. That manor must have been built after they found this mining site. The manor was also a base of operation," Jack conjectured. "Those workers down there don't seem compliant."

Jack had seen several demon soldiers down there whipping the workers. The workers were also composed of different races. There were satyrs. There was a race that looked like lizardmen but was smaller and had darker scales, Peniel identified them as kobolds. Then another race whose appearance was small humanoids with toadlike faces, Peniel called this race Boggarts.

Peniel informed him that they were all considered the minor races of the underworld. Different from the upworld which had seven main races, the underworld only had one main race, the demons. All other races were considered minor and in most cases were slaves to the demon race.

Jack studied the place. Only one main road led to the entrance of the manor. All other routes required him to pass through the work site filled with workers and demon guards. He was most likely spotted whichever route he took.

"What exactly is your plan before I arrive?" Jack asked Yrin and Tenka.

"We plan to reduce the demon soldiers by taking out the patrols before going into the manor," Tenka said.

Jack shook his head. "Too slow. They can just replenish the demon soldiers by requesting reinforcement from the city. Hraghshu is the son of one of the kings of hell. I doubt he has problem requesting reinforcements if he finds some of his troops are missing."

"So, what do you propose?" Yrin asked.

Jack was silent as he continued studying the place.

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