CHAPTER 71: IT’S ONLY TOUGH THE FIRST TIME

"Then their base might be somewhere near." Layla said in realization.

"Can you help us find it lord Raguel?" Ruby asked.

"I can try. But I can’t assure you."

"We’ll need to notify big sister. Someone needs to go and call her here." Luke said.

Just as he said the words, all of them turned their heads towards Shane reflexively.

"Come on! Now that’s absurd. Why me? Not you too sister."

"I believe you’re the best for this job." Ruby said, a bit apologetic, but if they really find the base and the situations get dire, Ruby wanted him to stay away rather than getting involved with such heretics.

"With your new mechanical legs, you are the fastest here right now." Luke said.

Shane was speechless, he was now being treated as a messenger, he wanted a part in this too, but they were sidelining him right now.

"Alright, what can I say." He clicked his tongue and accepted helplessly. "I’ll be taking a bigger cut from the reward." He left those words and moved back through the portal as Luke and the others chuckled.

"I’ll try if I can find the base." Raguel said as all of them got serious.

He closed his eyes and started channeling his mana. The diamond shaped mark lit up on his forehead and when he opened his eyes, they were glowing white.

His legs lifted up from the ground and he started levitating. He moved forward levitating through the air as he inspected the whole area. Luke and the others followed behind him.

After inspecting the whole area, Raguel got back on the ground, the mark vanished from his forehead and the mana stopped channeling as his eyes got normal again.

"The underground region is filled with dark mana, and has even polluted the ground above, I couldn’t point out a single space, where the entrance could have been."

Hearing him, disappointment washed over everyone.

"Can’t you use that technique you used earlier at the alley?" Adam suddenly looked towards Luke as he asked, his eyes hopeful.

"I don’t know if it would work, but I can try." Luke said, making the others curious as to what technique was this, even Ruby heard it for the first time.

Luke channeled prana as he weaved his fingers into a pattern. Two amber runic circles appeared in his pupils and the world turned black and white in front of his eyes.

Luke realized that Raguel was right, a black and crimson smoke like mana was everywhere in the region, it was so dense that it came as a shock to him. The white outlines of the trees, stones, and his colleagues were prominent, clear even under that dense mana.

Just then his eyes fell on a huge distant tree. What should have been an empty trunk, had a small cuboidal room like structure. It was at the top of a long tunnel, which was extending underground.

"Let’s move. I think I’ve got something." Luke immediately rushed to the huge tree.

The others were surprised as well as excited and followed behind him hurriedly.

Luke stopped in front of the tree. He extended his hand and touched the bark as prana flowed out of his hands and suddenly a rectangular door appeared on the trunk and slid to the side, opening the path to a cuboidal room inside, where at the center was metal rod with a red mana stone fitted on top.

They gasped in shock when they saw the room appear. Raguel was even more surprised; Luke had found the room when he couldn’t find even a trace of it. He now took Luke’s technique in high regards.

They moved inside and inspected the mana stone. He then stopped using the eye of revelation and lifted his hand up towards the others and called them inside.

"Gather around."

They nodded and gathered around the mana stone. Luke passed prana inside the mana stone and immediately the room shook. The door closed and it started moving down.

After moving down slowly for a few seconds, it hit a solid surface and stopped. There was another door in front of them now, which slowly opened to an underground tunnel.

After it opened fully, they saw two hooded men in black robes, waiting, as if they were ready to receive someone.

Seeing Luke and the others, they were surprised. They immediately turned around and started running.

"Catch them!" Layla rushed ahead without wasting a second.

Seeing her move, Luke chased the other one. Prana rushed to his legs and he vanished from the spot. Instantly appearing at the hooded man’s back.

Luke held the back of his neck and pushed him down on the ground, falling flat on his face. He pulled both his arms back and held them tight.

On the other hand, Layla had caught the other one. He was on the ground too and her sword was on his neck.

She was using a sword as using her huge axe was not efficient in that narrow space.

"Where have you kept the women?" Layla asked in a cold voice. Just then Adam rushed to her and held the man by his robe.

"Where is my wife you bastards! Tell me or I’ll pull your heart out." Adam asked, hissing through clenched teeth.

"Hehehehe. Hail the endless night." He smiled in response and his body started glowing red. He was about to kill himself by denotating his circles.

"Move!" Layla held Adam and threw him back towards Raguel and Ruby and swung her sword without a second of delay.

The strike was clean as the hooded man’s head rolled on the ground, stopping him from detonating his circles.

She then turned towards Luke. The same scene was unfolding there too.

"LUKE!" she screamed her lungs out. "He’s about to blow up! Kill him!"

Luke froze when he heard his sister. His prana covered gauntlets were pulled back, but he was hesitating to strike. Killing a beast and killing a man was different.

"KILL HIM!!" Layla rushed as fast as she could, but it would be too late by the time she would arrive.

Her scream pulled him out. He instantly moved his fist. The punch blasted the man’s head into smithereens as blood and brain matters flew around, falling on his face and clothes.

Layla sighed in relief, stopping just a few steps away from Luke. But just then Luke stood up and rushed to the edge of the tunnel wall.

"GAAKKK!!" He puked out everything inside his stomach.

His stomach kept churning, he couldn’t hold back, and kept throwing up until nothing was left.

"It’s only tough the first time." Layla patted his back, passing a handkerchief to wipe his face.