*Creek*


    As Rocky opened the door to the farmers cabin, he half expected there to be an ambush party already waiting for him inside, however, thankfully there was only Sophia sitting within.


    "You''re precisely on-time. Like always" Sophiaplimented, as Rocky, Erin and Buhara walked into the cabin, however, she expected more to follow.


    "What? That''s it? You only brought those two losers with you? Do you really think you will be able to get through prison security with just those two bozo''s?" Sophia questioned, as this wasn''t a part of the initial n that the two had discussed.


    Initially, the n that Sophia and Rocky had agreed upon was that Rocky would bring alongside him an elite unit of fighters capable of escorting him to the lowest levels of the prison and helping him free his sister.


    Hence, when Rocky walked into the cabin with only Erin and Buhara, Sophia was shocked to see the change in ns.


    "Calm down… we have a new strategy" Rocky exined, as he switched his vision from his normal sight to his aura sight, watching Sophiapletely reek of murderous red aura mixed with the despicable shade of ck malice.


    If there were any lingering doubts in Rocky''s mind regarding Sophia''s intention to betray him before…. They were dispelled after he observed her aura today, as Rocky felt assured, that Sophia would double-cross him today.


    "What new strategy? We haven''t discussed anything about a new strategy–" Sophia said, panic seeping into her voice, as if Rocky''s new strategy involved him not following Sophia into the tunnel passage underneath, then Sophia was going to lose her life because of the soul oath that she had sworn to her brother.


    "Rx, the new strategy is the same as the old strategy but with a slight twist" Rocky exined as he gestured for Sophia to calm down.


    "Just like before, the four of us will walk into the secret tunnel passage underneath and follow you to the first level of the underground prison.


    However, instead of how we were previously going to try and force our way down the lower levels, we will now use a more nuanced approach" Rocky began, as listening to how he still intended on following her into the passage underneath, Sophia breathed a sigh of relief.


    "Instead of you rebelling with us, we are nning to use your status as the Champion Of Poseidon and the Princess of floor 21 to try and convince the guards to let us down the lower levels.


    Tell them that you apprehended the Champion Of Gemini and that it''s your brother''s orders to secure him and his allies in the lowest and most secure prison floor, the third level.


    This way, we can avoid the needless fighting of the first two floor ana directly reach the lowest level, where we can use your status as the princess and cook up yet another story of how your brother has ordered for the release of Riva as a bait in the on-going war and escape alongside my sister" Rocky suggested, as Sophia internally rolled her eyes listening to his n.


    Not only was Rocky''s new n insanely naive and hopeful, but it also grossly overestimated Sophia''s standing within Floor 21 as although she was indeed the princess, she had no real power within this floor.


    Perseus''s underlings were never going to ept an order from her no matter how hard she tried and hence Sophia secretly chuckled at the naivety of Rocky''s strategy.


    Naturally, since her intention was one of betraying Rocky and not one of actually helping him, she pretended to agree to his idea and even gave him a nod of encouragement.


    "I''m not really good at lying, however, if I put on a convincing act I think your new n does give us a better chance of sesspared to the old one…" Sophia said, putting a finger on her chin as she pretended to ponder about it deeply.


    "Alright, I''ll try my best for the sake of helping you save your sister," Sophia said as she began pushing aside therge table-top within the small shed, revealing the secret hole underneath.


    "No time to waste ... Let''s go–" Sophia said, as she nodded towards Erin to hop in first, however, Erin not having an ounce of faith in Sophia gestured for her to jump in first.


    "Ladies first, ma''am" Erin said politely, as Sophia rolled her eyes and took the first plunge.


    *Thud*


    "Come on down princess" Sophia shouted from underneath, her voice sounding distorted and funny as it echoed from within the tunnel.


    "It''s safe to follow" Erin whispered softly, going in after Sophia, with Rocky and Buhara soon following suit.


    *Thud*


    *Thud*


    Once all four of them were inside the tunnel, Erin slowly chanted an illumination spell, creating a potent source of light for them to explore the dark tunnel.


    Looking around, the first thing that Rocky noticed was that the underground tunnel was made from stone and y and was not that durable, which was perfect for his scheme.


    Had the tunnel been made from more sturdy materials, it would have been a problem for Rockyter, however, because it wasn''t, Rocky let out a sigh of relief.


    "This way… the walk to the prison is kinda long" Sophia said, as she took the lead and began walking towards the first level of the prison, as her loud steps echoed several times against the tunnel walls.


    "Stay close–" Rocky instructed as he followed closely behind Sophia, resting his hands over his swords, ready to draw them at the first sign of danger.


    "Buhara feels nauseous in this small tunnel"ined Buhara who had to bend his head slightly at an odd angle so as to not bob against the tunnel ceiling constantly, however, with no other option, Buhara was forced to make-do with the environment he was in.


    "Oh sorry, my ancestors should have probably made this secret exit ORC size for you….


    How inconsiderate of them" Sophia replied snarkily, as the closer they got to the ambush site, the more rxed Sophia became regarding the sess of her n.


    She was currently leading Rocky,  Erin and Buhara to their certain deaths however the three of them were none the wiser about it.


    Had Rocky brought in a few of the attacking army''s strongest personnel alongside with him, like they had initially nned to, then the Olympians would have scored an easy kill on the enemy''s strongest individuals, however, unfortunately, Rocky seemed to have changed that nst minute.


    ''No worries… we will make do with the best we got'' Sophia thought, as she increased the pace of her steps, leading Rocky closer and closer to his supposed doom.


    —----


    /// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target! Good Job everyone! ///