*Thud*


    *Thud*


    *Thud*


    Every step that Rocky took after they crossed the threshold for the boundary of the outer pce was measured.


    The n that Rocky had in mind, required for him to retreat past this point in times of emergency and hence every step that he took since was measured and calcted.


    ''71..72…73..74'' Rocky kept counting his footsteps continuously, as he knew that the maximum radius which he could cover was at about 320 steps.


    Anything more than 320 steps and the speed of a chasing tier4 warrior might prove to be sufficient to take him down and hence Rocky was apprehensive about every step that he took towards the inner prison.


    "We are here–" Sophia said eventually when Rocky was at 143 steps, as she stopped before arge metal door that seemed like the physical barrier between the tunnel and the inner prison.


    ''Erin… do your thing'' Rockymunicated with nothing but his eyes, as he gestured for Erin to work his magic on the gates, while he distracted Sophia.


    "Umm Sophia–" Rocky said out loud, prompting Sophia to turn towards him, as at this point even Sophia started to have beads of nervousness form over her forehead as she felt anxious right before the final step of her n.


    "Yes Rocky?" She asked, giving him a fake smile as she tried to hide her nervousness.


    "You haven''t told me what exactly you''re going to say once we are inside.


    I mean, let''s rehearse your final game-n once so that it appears more natural" Rocky suggested, as Sophia let out an audible sigh of relief.


    "Oh–" she said, barely containing her smile, as she decided to indulge Rocky onest time and act convincingly for him.


    "Once we open the gates, I will tell the guards,


    Stop!


    These are defectors that I have captured and under the instructions of my brother, I shall be the one escorting them to the lowest floor of the prison, where they will be put behind the maximum security cells" Sophia said, acting like an entitled princess which was perfect for her role of passing through as an authority figure.


    However, while she was distracted with her acting, Erin carefully ced a couple of curses on the metal door,pletely unbeknownst to Sophia.


    "Alright, that speech sounds good to me… what do you guys think?" Rocky asked Erin and Buhara, as Erin gave the speech from Sophia a double thumbs up, ying along perfectly, however, Buhara''s emotions started to act out at this very crucial moment.


    "Sophia…. You would not betray Buhara and friends right? Even if it was for family?" Buhara asked Sophia emotionally, as he seemed like he was on the verge of breaking into tears.


    Buhara''s unexpected question caused both Erin and Rocky to have their eyes widened in surprise, while Sophia visibly broke down in panic.


    "Betray you guys? M-m-me? N-n-never, never…. I hate my family! We are in this together" said Sophia, less than convincingly as Erin immediately stomped his foot on Buhara''s to try and ask him to calm down.


    "What stupid questions are you asking Buhara? If Sophia were to betray us she would have not told us about the presence of the secret tunnel in the first ce?


    Why do you think she is helping us rescue Riva? If she truly wanted to betray us?" Erin said, ring warningly at Buhara, who broke down in tears at this moment.


    "But the door, Erin you…"


    "Yes. Buhara… yes, Erin will not open the door, Sophia will.


    We will soon be inside the prison, so stop crying and man up…. I mean, orc up, your father the chieftain will be so ashamed of you to see you cry like a child" Rocky interjected, as he prevented Buhara from leaking the fact that Erin had bewitched the door handle.


    Although Sophia did not understand as to why Erin and Rocky were defending her so vehemently, she decided to not take any more risks and end this charade as fast as possible, as she opened the door handle and gestured for Rocky, Buhara and Erin to enter the prison first.


    "Blow out the luminescent spell, and enter" Sophia instructed, as Rocky nodded towards Erin in confirmation to do as she said.


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    Removing the luminescent spell, Erin walked through the pitch ck prison door first, followed by Buhara whom Rocky had to kick by the butt to enter, with he himself following closely behind and Sophia being thest to enter.


    As soon as they entered the dark room within the underground prison and the door locked behind them, Rocky switched from his normal eyes to his aura eyes, as he saw at least 200 tier4 and about 20 tier5 fighters waiting in ambush, just 50 meters from their current location.


    Although Rocky had already spotted them, he pretended like he was none the wiser about their presence, as it seemed like their n involved Rocky and his crew walking a few more meters into the prison before they attacked, probably because they anticipated Rocky toe in with a few hundred fighters and not just a measly crew of three men.


    *Swoosh*


    Lighting up a small hand torch, Sophia illuminated the area around them, as she took the lead in walking and gestured for the rest of them to follow.


    "We are almost there… the prison entrance is but fif….fif…huh?"


    *Crash*


    Suddenly, as Sophia tried to walk, she felt strength leaving her body as her vision doubled and her grip over the hand torch weakened.


    ''No! No! I''m so close…. So close….. the pre-determined ambush location is just a few dozen meters ahead'' Sophia thought, as she tried to brave through the wave of weakness that she was feeling, however, failed miserably, as she fell straight into Rocky''s strong arms.


    "Rocky…." She murmured, looking deep into his ck eyes, however, instead of a caring or loving expression, the expression that she found in his eyes at this moment was one of pure malice and ruthlessness, as looking into it, she felt genuine goosebumps run down her spine.


    "Rocky?" She said, her tone changing significantly, as she realized that something was wrong.


    —--------


    /// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone! ///