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Chapter 693: Stand off

"I FOUND IT! COME THIS WAY!" Hao Xuan screamed into the dark passageway.

With a flurry of footsteps, eleven figures ran up behind him and exited from the hole in the passageway, falling out onto the valley floor.

A handful of them just dropped to their knees right then and there. Tears streamed down their dirt ridden faces, creating streak marks that made them look like beggars, not that they needed any additional help in that department.

All of their clothes or whatever was left of them was in tatters. Yellowed, patched, full of holes, and frayed to such a degree that they looked more like rags than anything wearable.

They caressed the ground while a couple of them even went as far as eating a mouthful of dirt like it was candy, savoring every rock and pebble before swallowing it whole.

"We\'re really back!!"

"It\'s actually real!"

"By the ancestor\'s prayers we made it out!"

Most of them were saying something along those lines while only three of them were still paying attention to what was happening behind them. Hao Xuan, Burak, and Isak all stood shoulder to shoulder facing the passageway.

Hao Xuan pointed the glaive forward and walked a couple of steps towards the passageway they had just run out of. He closed his eyes and listened for a couple of seconds before jumping back.

His expression instantly darkened, "They\'re still following us. Less than a minute, no more. What\'s the plan?"

He was fluently speaking in the Barbarian tribe\'s local language, with an even better accent than some of the other barbarians behind him.

Isak who almost looked like an ordinary human now due to severe malnutrition glanced towards Burak with a raised eyebrow, "Should we fight?"

There was not a hint of fat anywhere on his body, all that remained were taut muscles and skin that was burned in most places.

Burak took in a deep breath through his nostrils creating a gust of wind. Like all the others, he had also lost a lot of weight. A bushy beard covered the entire bottom half of the face and his eyes muddled.

"I....really didn\'t think we would make it back," he mumbled to himself.

"Burak!" Hao Xuan called out to wake him from the stupor he had landed himself in.

"Huh?" Burak looked towards him, befuddled.

"Do we fight or run?" Hao Xuan gestured towards the hole with his chin, "Stick with me big guy, you\'re almost home free," he said in a low voice at the end.

Burak looked towards the hole and then at the other barbarians behind him. They were talking to themselves, many of them still crying like children. None of them appeared to be in fighting condition.

Burak shook his head dejectedly, "As much as I would love to take care of those bastards, I don\'t think we have any other choice right now. We go back, recover and return with more people to finish the job."

"Let\'s go then, we don\'t have much time, they will be here soon!" Hao Xuan finished and turned back around to head out of the valley.

They forced the rejoicing barbarians to get back on their feet and get a move on. Hao Xuan had only taken a couple of steps when he paused once again upon noticing the spatial fractures that surrounded the pyramid.

Raising his head he glanced at the purple whirlpool in the sky that was the source of this anomaly. He moved a lock of hair behind his ear that was coming down to his shoulders now.

"How long has it been?" he asked no one in particular.

*RuRuRuRURURUK*

A raw, guttural noise came from the passageway that sounded like sharp swallowing noises some reptiles made. At first they were low but within seconds became so loud that everyone in the valley could hear them.

A cold chill went down Hao Xuan\'s spine. Without even bothering to turn around he leaned forward and booked it towards the exit. He seemed to be in much better condition than most of the others since with every jump he covered tens of meters.

Within four leaps he appeared at the top of the hill and finally noticed six silhouettes in front of him.

The guards had returned to their positions beside the princesses, pointing their spears at Hao Xuan. Princess Helena was staring at Hao Xuan\'s face wide-eyed with hints of astonishment and disbelief.

Princess Inara had an expression of revulsion on her face while she was being helped up to her feet by Lady Jiang and Uri who stood on either side of her. Lady Jiang was even using her own healing magic to help recover her energy and vital blood.

"Who are you people?" Hao Xuan asked with a frown.

Behind him, the rest of the barbarians had also caught up and scaled up to the top of the hill where they saw the guards pointing their spears towards Hao Xuan. They stood right behind him and pointed their own weapons towards them with varying degrees of vicious expressions on their many faces.

Each one of them was covered in soot and ash, making them unrecognizable. Only Burak and Isak who had quite distinct features and physiques could be picked out without even looking at them.

Burak pushed his way through to the front, speaking in a loud gruff voice, "What\'s happening her- Inara!" but as soon as he saw Princess Inara his tone of voice completely changed.