Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

"Is there really no other way out of here?" Nate asked, unwilling to give up yet.

"If they somehow get the news and come here in time, then we might still have a chance..." Katrina murmured to herself, arching her brows. 'Sophie and Zachary are strong and smart. Perhaps they can help us get through this,' she thought.

"Who... Who are you talking about?" Nate asked, his eyes lighting up with hope.

"How about we try and get to the entrance first? If we still can't think of a way to get out of here, then we will have to fight our way out even though we might suffer loss!" Katrina decided after giving it a thought. There was no other way. She couldn't just sit and do nothing.

"Looks like we don't have any other options." Nate nodded in agreement.

Once that was decided, Katrina and Nate headed towards the entrance along with their frustrated team members.

Meanwhile, Zachary flew quickly and arrived at the valley which Katrina had been bound for. The entrance was being guarded by more than a hundred unidentified warriors.

'Looks like Master Katrina and the others have also been ambushed,' Zachary speculated as he squinted his eyes at the warriors at the entrance. He then brought Elva and Queenie out.

They soon realized what was going on in the valley.

"Zachary, what should we do now?" Queenie asked, turning to look at him.

"They are well prepared. It was a trap, and Master Katrina and the team walked right into it. I wonder if Master Russ' team is inside with them. If they are, then the whole team has fallen into the enemy's trap, excluding us," Zachary said with furrowed eyebrows.

"We are too weak. I don't think we can get them out of there," Queenie said, her spirits low after she saw what was going on.

"Well, we can't leave them be. Our team will be wiped out if we don't do anything," Zachary said. 'They must have lured all of us here, and probably plan to take us prisoners. If we don't do anything right away, our team will fall into the enemy's hands, assuming that they have not been captured yet. I can't let that happen,' he pondered.

"Do you have a plan?" Elva asked. She and Queenie fixed their eyes on Zachary.

"Wait here. I'll check the situation down

on what had happened. She gave the Magical Gourd to him without any hesitation.

"With your current strength, I'm afraid you will not be able to get the Magical Gourd working. Only warriors at or above the Holy Level can activate it," Anne reminded.

"Okay. That's not a problem," Zachary responded.

"Also, if you want to absorb the reversed essential energy, you must be near its source," she continued.

"Understood," he responded. He left the system and returned to Elva and Queenie.

"Sophie, Alisa! Come on out," he called.

Sophie and Alisa, who had been hiding in the dark all this time, showed up from behind them.

Seeing the two women in disguise, Elva and Queenie were taken aback in surprise.

"Listen up! We are now going to rescue Master Katrina and the team. I will tell you what we are going to do." Zachary shared the plan with the women. They listened in shocked silence.

Zachary intended to stall the group which had over a hundred warriors on his very own.

"Alisa, Sophie needs to be with me. So, you need to enter the valley and give the Magical Gourd and the pills to Master Katrina," Zachary said as he handed the items to Alisa.

"Alright, I got this," she replied calmly.

"I will take Alisa to the valley first. When I cause the distraction, get to your positions and do as I told you. Try to buy Alisa as much time as you can, but take care of yourselves too," he said, turning to Elva and Queenie.

The two girls nodded at him.