Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

A few hours later after following the Branch Head, all the mercenaries who chose to participate in this expedition were now in front of a massive ravine. It was so deep that you couldn't even see the bottom.

However, the strange thing was that the ravine wasn't that long or wide. It was probably only a few dozen to a hundred kilometers long and maybe 20 kilometers wide. Mira's even seen bigger canyons on other Mortal Worlds without any Qi!

Some of the other chasms around Quake City are longer and wider than this one! Many of the mercenaries were surprised by this, but the Branch Head, Robin, and the 3 other men that came with them weren't surprised.

They knew that this wasn't a canyon, but the remnants of a Spirit Stone mine that has already been excavated and that this chasm was probably much larger than what it looks from the surface.

"We've now reached what we like to call, Hell's Pit. I'm sure you don't need me to explain why we call it that. You guys' job on this expedition is to help us clear a path to the bottom. We've taken out some of the more troublesome beasts, created five routes down, and have scouted out some of the areas, but we can't do this ourselves. There are simply too many beasts, insects, arachnids, and all sorts of creatures that inhabit these chasms, and more keep coming every day."

"I'm sure you've noticed by now that the beasts in the chasms behave a bit weirdly. Although we don't exactly know why that is, we speculate that it's either because of a super powerful beast controlling them or whatever treasure is at the bottom is causing them to lose their minds. That's part of the reason why we need so many of you. Sure, the five of us are incredibly strong by ourselves, but there are plenty of beasts in this chasm that can harm us. If we have to not only deal with those beasts but every other little creature as well, then we'll never get anywhere."

"There's also something that we didn't mention about this expedition before we left, but we've decided that you guys can keep whatever you find here. Of course, for this mission only, you can turn whatever resources you find in for Contribution Points, but honestly, we don't really care about the resources this chasm has to offer. We only care about the good stuff at the bottom. Though beware, should we ever catch you trying to smuggle the treasures we're looking for, then you will be killed without mercy!"

"Also, in case you've forgotten, you can earn Contribution points for every beast, insect, arachnid, etc you kill. Your Mercenary Token will keep track of your progress for you just in case you try to cheat the system."

"Lastly, we will be splitting up into five different groups and please try to make the groups somewhat equal. Each group will be heading down a different route, but your job stays the same no matter who you follow. I hope you all came prepared because we might not leave this chasm for the next few months and even with how large the groups are, you probably won't get many breaks from fighting. Alright, that's about it! Everyone group up!!"

Robin announced before the Branch Head could say anything. She didn't trust that brute for a second not to say something that could be taken the wrong way. Although she doesn't care about the lives of these mercenaries, she still takes her job seriously. If she didn't properly explain the rewards and the objective, then how will the people following them know what to do?

Mira didn't waste any time and lined up behind Robin. Part of the reason was that she's the weakest of the five, but honestly, Mira didn't care about that. In fact, she would've liked Robin to be a bit stronger.

Mira chose her simply because she's a woman and a smart one at that. She can tell just by looking at the Branch Head and the other 3 men that they're muscle heads. Mira has no desire to spend the next 3 months with a bunch of brutish men who are much stronger than her! Who knows what they might do to her?! And even if they don't do anything, who's to say that the other mercenaries won't? Will those brutes step in to stop them? Unlikely.

Although she knows that Robin doesn't like her, she most likely won't just stand by and watch her get sexually assaulted.

At least, that's Mira's logic behind her choice. In all honesty, the chances of something like that happening in the first place are extremely low and if anything does happen, she can just kill pretty much all of the mercenaries that might attempt something like that. The only people she really has to watch out for are the Branch Head and the 3 men that came with him. She won't be able to kill them.

Well, that's not exactly true. She could bring out Elenei and have her wipe out everyone, but she'll only use her as a last resort. Unfortunately, she still needs them to live so she can use the Mercenary Association to buy her items.

With those thoughts in mind, Mira patiently waited for groups to form. Luckily, the mercenaries weren't completely brainless and didn't only flock to Robin's group. That and Robin stopped letting people join her group after a certain point.

Not long after, everyone was finally ready to go. Robin scowled a bit knowing Mira was in her group, but she wasn't too bothered by it. Although to her, Mira was nothing but a ticking time bomb, there's no doubting her strength. She's seen how many missions Mira completes in a month and the numbers are staggering. Those missions weren't easy either!

So having Mira in her group might be a blessing in disguise for her. She can also keep a closer eye on her since her 4 companions won't.

"Alright, let's get going!" Robin shouted and began walking down her designated path.

Mira was right behind her while riding Rhydian and as soon as they stepped into 'Hell's Pit', she could feel the ultra dense Qi in her surroundings. She could instantly tell that the density of Qi in this chasm is several times more than any other chasm she's entered.

If she could sit and cultivate in a place like this, she wouldn't even need to use Spirit Stones to cultivate! Just cultivating like normal in this chasm would be like if she cultivated with Spirit Stones back in Lunar Fox City.

Unfortunately, she couldn't make use of the dense Qi right now because she has to suppress her breakthrough until she gets all the necessary items to form her Core!

As their group kept walking down the chasm, Robin started feeling a bit awkward walking in front of Mira and Rhydian. It felt like she was being stared down by a wild beast just waiting for her to drop her guard so it could eat her!

So, to ease some of her anxiety, she slowed down to walk beside Mira to make some small talk. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to try and gather a bit of information on her as well. She did hire someone to try and look into her past, but nothing came up. No wanted posters, no bounties, no rumors about a little demon girl. Nothing! It's almost like she just popped out of thin air! Hell, they didn't even know her name even after almost 9 months of her taking missions!

"So, ummm… Now that I think about it, I don't know your name. How may I address the young lady?" Robin carefully asked as she walked down the path in the chasm.

Mira glanced at her and partially understood her intention, but she didn't sense any ill-intent behind her words.

"You can call me Mira and this here is my pet, Rhydian." Mira indifferently answered. It's not like her name is a secret or something. She just never felt the need to talk to anyone in this city for more than a few seconds.

Robin was elated that Mira actually answered her question, but tried not to show it.

"Nice to meet you, Mira and Rhydian. Well, Mira, if I may be so rude as to ask, I've always been curious about where you came from. I've done my research and I don't remember seeing or hearing about anyone with your name, looks, or pet. I know it may be a bit blunt, but I'm just wondering why you became a mercenary with your skills." Robin said truthfully. For some reason, she felt like she might be able to hold a conversation with Mira as long as she told the truth.

This time, Mira didn't answer immediately and instead stared at Robin for a few seconds. To Mira, she was just trying to detect the intentions behind her words, but to Robin, it felt like Mira was staring directly into her soul. It was definitely uncomfortable, but luckily Mira turned away and answered her questions.

"I came from one of the Branch Battle Maiden Sects. As for why I became a mercenary… Coincidence, I guess? You have a few items I'm looking for and I've been looking for a town like Quake City to let loose in. Unfortunately, I'll probably have to leave the city soon after this expedition." Mira briefly explained, which surprised Robin as she didn't expect Mira to freely hand out this information. She always thought that she was a very secretive person, but it seems like she might've judged Mira a bit too fast.

However, she got the chills when Mira said that she's 'been looking for a town to let loose in.'. She wasn't the only one who felt that way either. The group behind them also felt a chill run down their spines when they heard Mira say that. They immediately knew what she meant by 'let loose' because it's already happened a few times in the past!

"Oh? Are you planning on joining the Main Battle Maiden Sect in a little over a year?" Robin asked to which Mira nodded.

"Amazing! Well, I'm sure with your talent you'll be able to get in there easily. I've also heard plenty of good things about the Battle Maiden Sect. Unlike the other Sects who like to use their weaker disciples as slaves and canon fodder, the Battle Maiden Sect actually cares about all of their disciples. Well, maybe not everyone, but for the most part they are a very tight-knit group. In fact, their internal structure isn't too different from the Mercenary Association. It's just that the barrier to entry is much higher." Robin explained which Mira was a bit surprised by.

"I see. That's how the Branch Sect was like. It's good to hear that the Main Sect's reputation isn't much different."

The two of them kept chatting with each other, enjoying these peaceful moments while they last. Mira also didn't mind talking with Robin because the girl was sincere about everything she said and didn't ask overly personal questions.

Unfortunately, they won't be able to keep up their peaceful conversations for much longer. There's a reason why they call this chasm Hell's Pit, after all.