The two men of the Transcendent Organization who were stationed outside the illusion formation were not of high level.
One was level 11, while the other was merely level 10, not even a class-ranked warrior.
Both of them were still in the midst of talking when they suddenly felt something brush past them.
"Hmmm?" They exchanged confused looks and glanced around.
But not even a second later, horror flashed across their faces. Their mouths opened as if to speak, but before a word could escape, a thin red line appeared across their throats.
The next instant, their heads slipped from their shoulders and rolled to the ground, while their bodies erupted into fountains of blood.
Azrael, whose hands were covered in sharp wind that looked like the blades of a scythe, did not even spare the two corpses a glance. Instead, he stopped in front of the illusion formation.
The moment he halted there, the token he had taken from the epic-level warrior glowed faintly. The space before him distorted slightly, and a small opening revealed itself.
Without the slightest hesitation, Azrael stepped inside. As he passed through the illusion formation, he realized that aside from the illusion formation itself, there was also another—a lethal attack formation layered behind it.
If he had attempted to enter without the token, that attack formation, which was at least at the peak of the epic level would have immediately struck him down.
As soon as Azrael passed through, the opening sealed itself and the surroundings returned to their previous state, leaving no trace.
From the moment he killed the two guards to the instant he disappeared into the hideout, everything happened so quickly that Luo Bingqing and Elyara could not even react before he was gone.
Only after Azrael vanished from their sight did the two come back to their senses, their expressions changing drastically.
"What the hell is this guy doing?" Elyara shouted furiously, her face turning extremely gloomy.
Luo Bingqing, on the other hand quickly checked the message Azrael had sent them before entering the hideout and frowned.
"He told us to inform Glen and the security forces about the hideout, then retreat." Follow current novᴇls on novęlfire.net
"Damn that bastard! We all worked together to obtain that token, so why is he the only one who went inside using it? He could have asked us as well!" Elyara snapped angrily, ignoring Luo Bingqing's words as she rushed toward the formation.
Luo Bingqing did not follow her immediately. First, he sent a message to Glen, reporting the location of the hideout. He also added that they had been discovered by members of the Transcendent Organization and required urgent support. Only after sending the message did he chase after Elyara.
When he reached her, he saw Elyara lifting one of the corpses Azrael had killed earlier and hurling it toward the space where Azrael had disappeared.
The moment the body reached that spot, the space distorted faintly. The next instant, a bolt of powerful lightning struck down, reducing the body to ashes in the blink of an eye.
"We can't go in without that token," Elyara said with an ugly look on her face.
Luo Bingqing fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"Do we need to go in? Our mission was to locate the hideout and inform the security forces. Now that this is done, our mission is already complete." He paused briefly, then added, "I think the reason he went inside alone and told us to withdraw is also because of this. He is telling us that since our mission is already accomplished, there's no need for us to involve ourselves further."
Elyara froze upon hearing his words, then realized he was right. Their mission was already complete, and they would still receive one hundred credits upon returning, even if they did nothing else.
"Then why did that madman dash inside in such a hurry, as if his life depended on it?" She muttered.
Luo Bingqing thought for a moment before replying. "Remember how restless he seemed the moment we entered the forest?"
Elyara recalled how Azrael had moved quickly, slaughtering every monster in his path without delay, and frowned.
"You mean it wasn't the rainforest environment that made him so hurried, but something else entirely?"
Luo Bingqing nodded. "It's just my guess, but there is a high probability that the reason he rushed inside is the same reason he was restless this entire time."
Elyara frowned deeply at his words and turned her gaze toward the illusion formation.
"Do you want to go in?" Luo Bingqing suddenly asked.
Elyara blinked in surprise, looking at him. "Can we?"
"It's not impossible." Luo Bingqing crouched down and removed the storage ring from the level 11 man Azrael had slain earlier. "Since these two were guarding the entrance, they should also have tokens to move in and out, in case something happens."
Sure enough, moments later, Luo Bingqing smiled as he pulled out a similar token from the man's storage ring. "See?"
Elyara was speechless when she saw it, wondering why she hadn't thought of that herself.
"So, do you want to go in now?" Luo Bingqing asked again.
Elyara didn't answer immediately. She stood there for a moment, then smirked disdainfully.
"Who is he to tell me to go back? Since he went inside, I'm going in as well to see what he's up to." She turned to Luo Bingqing. "You are coming too, right?"
Luo Bingqing did not respond verbally but simply nodded.
He stepped toward the illusion formation, and just like before, the token in his hand glowed faintly and an opening appeared before them.
Elyara and Luo Bingqing exchanged a glance before stepping forward, entering the hideout as well.
The moment they crossed the formation, the scenery around them shifted. Countless houses and buildings suddenly appeared before their eyes, forming what looked like a hidden settlement.
Neither of them paid much attention to the sudden change in scenery. Instead, they quickly turned their heads to the side, only to spot a headless corpse of a man lying on the ground.
Elyara and Luo Bingqing once again exchanged glances, and upon seeing that the man had died in the exact same way as the two outside, they immediately understood that it was Azrael who had killed him.
"Where did he go?" Elyara muttered under her breath as both of them cautiously scanned their surroundings.
At that moment, a strong stench of blood suddenly wafted into their nostrils, carried from deeper within the hideout. The metallic, suffocating smell was so thick that it was clear many people had died further inside.
Luo Bingqing and Elyara's expressions hardened.
Without needing words, they exchanged another look and quickly moved in the direction from which the smell was coming.
They had barely covered a hundred meters when, all of a sudden, their bodies stiffened, freezing in place as if they had been paralyzed.
The air around them grew violently chaotic. The wind howled in frenzy, while the black clouds above began to rumble ominously.
Lightning crackled across the dark sky like serpents writhing within the storm, and the gusts of wind intensified sharply, turning into a ranging storm.
A look of raw horror spread across Luo Bingqing and Elyara's faces as they struggled to move, only to realize they couldn't.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, and when their eyes turned toward the depths of the hideout, they felt it.
An overwhelming Bloodlust.
A murderous pressure so intense it seemed to freeze the very air, pouring out from the depths like a raging storm.