Ulrich hastily led the gang through the wrong path in the maze that came to a dead-end before intentionally smiling bitterly and raising his voice for all to hear.

"You're right.

None of us have ever made it this far.

So if all of us are charging together, we might not even have a chance to escape.

Have you all forgotten what this place is called? And how dangerous it's said to be?

For all we know, we might be walking straight into a trap.

This time, it was a dead-end.

But what about the next time?"

The gang, as if struck by lightning, seemed to have been enlightened by his words.

The gang was made up of his men, Winston's, Joffrey's, Osias', Bulkington', Eldora's and Bonivier's men who had survived till now.

And at this moment, no one cared about anyone's identity as their current enemy seemed too mighty.

Their only thoughts were to escape.

And listening to Ulrich's words and seeing how they constantly came to dead ends, they felt that he was right.

If they kept slowing down like this, the enemy would undoubtedly catch up to them.

So they had to take their own path.

Instantly, they started whispering and sneaking out of the group to find their one way.

.

"That's right!

No one has ever gone this far.

And don't forget that even my master, prince Joffrey and the rest had never made it this far.

So following prince Ulrich, as equivalent to following a blind person.

Just look at how many dead ends we've come to."

"I agree.

And I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like we've passed along this path not too long ago."

"I was thinking the same thing.

Hey, I think we've already passed the right path because the more we advance, the more stuck we are.

I think we should've taken a right turn 6 hallways back.

My heart tells me that that was the right path.

Come, let's go now."

"Hey, am I the only one who thinks that we should've used the 6th staircase to ascend rather than the 4th?

Now just look at it!

We're stuck here with all hallways meeting at a dead-end.

F***!

I'm going back before it's too late.

Maybe the enemy hasn't arrived at the staircases yet.

So maybe I can quickly change my fate."

"Yeah, I'm with you.

Let's do that.

But, just one question though...

Do you remember how to get there?"

"Of course I do!

I'll just do the opposite of what we did come in.

After leaving the stairs, didn't we go straight, turn left, right, right, left, left, left, left and right?"

"Eh?

I thought we went straight, left, left, left, left, left, right, left, left, left, left, right?"

"Wait?

Why are your directions wring from mine?

And why do you have 12 directions while I have 9?"

"_"

.

In a flash, the massive gathering quickly reduced in number just like Ulrich had wanted.

If hundreds of people kept following him, the enemy might discover the escape route quicker than expected.

Why?

Because the massive group kept attracting other lost people, and the group would just keep growing and growing.

And by the time the enemy came by, some might still be trying to escape through the route.

But why was this a problem since he was long gone?

The reason was simple.

Because the enemy didn't know the escape route's final destinations, the enemy might first tighten security around the palace perimeters to ensure that no one got in or out.

And if the route led very far out of the palace, then there was nothing they could do.

Nonetheless, they would first strengthen their vigilance on the gates and around the palace so that the path did lead to any place within the palace; then, they would catch him.

This was where the enemy had an advantage.

From Julius' words, the distance between this building and the furthest building that the route led to, could be covered on horseback within 50 minutes.

And if it were on a carriage, it would be an hour and a few minutes since carriages slowed down a bit.

So imagine him doing this distance on foot underground, which might even take over 2 hours for him to do.

Mind you; this was to get to the building close to the gate, and not actually the gates.

So he would still need more time to strategize and escape the gates, which was just 15 minutes away from the escape route exit.

.

Anyway, if the enemy didn't know about the escape routes and thinks that he's still hiding within the building, it could buy him a lot of time.

Right now, the enemy was still fighting and taking care of Winston, Joffrey, and everyone's men.

So by the time they finished up and decided to search for him properly, he might be a long way gone.

Just the time spent searching for him would be a lot.

And when they realized he was in the building, they might send word to the gates.

But that would still take over an hour on horseback for the message to get across.

So he might've already escaped successfully and left the palace.

Now, if the enemy discovered the escape route fast, then by the time he pops out of the end of the escape route, they might already be looking for him around the palace's gates and perimeters.

With many finally leaving, Ulrich secretly smiled calmly.

Winston looked at him deep in thought before scoffing and staying put.

What a joke!

At this moment, his I.Q was online.

The others didn't know Ulrich well, but he did... at least to some extent.

And the one thing he knew was that Ulrich would never make decisions that would put himself in danger.

He might sacrifice others, but never himself.

No matter what Ulrich said to deter him, he knew that this brother of his had a plan.

And sure enough, after a while, the bastard started acting seriously.

But this time, there were only 10 people in their group; everyone else had gone off to find their one way.

With that, they kept advancing until they successfully climbed the final stairway leading to the 6th floor.

Seeing the confident Ulrich, Winston felt that they might just be able to pull it off.

But just after climbing, they heard the echoed sounds of people wailing terribly.

F***!

The enemy was close.