The muffled boom echoing through the mountains sounded like rolling thunder, or perhaps a huge boulder collapsing from a cliff. It rumbled on for a full half minute. Becky broke off mid-sentence, and only after the noise died down did she blink and click her tongue in astonishment. "Could there have been a landslide on the mountain road?"
Hao Ren's expression immediately turned bitter. "Damn, we can't be that unlucky, can we?"
"Keep moving. Don't waste time." Nangong May took the lead, then quickly turned back. "Uh, Becky, you lead the way. I don't know the route..."
Everyone stopped wasting words and continued on, bowing their heads as they pushed forward at full speed through the rugged ancient mountain road.
This road had been built hundreds of years ago under the supervision of the Horleta Royal Family, but it had long since fallen into disrepair. Normally, only bold and highly skilled mercenaries or adventurers with an urgent matter would use it as a shortcut. The ancient road wound along the contours of the mountains. In some wider stretches, it was paved with flat stone slabs, while in narrow, steep areas, it consisted only of precipitous slopes made of tier upon tier of stone steps. In some places, there were no steps at all—just primitive rocky slopes with rough iron chains installed along the edges as railings. Even the world's unusually hardy packhorses found it difficult to advance along such roads, so after crossing the initially easier, gentler mountain terrain, the group's pace slowed considerably.
Before long, the group reached a famous dangerous stretch of the ancient road. This section had been carved directly into the side of a steep cliff. On one side loomed a thick, oppressive rock wall, while on the other yawned a bottomless precipice swept by dry,