"Thirteen..." Hiroshi said hoarsely. "There are thirteen people like me who have advanced to epic-level warrior in the past few years."
Elyara and Luo Bingqing both felt their breath hitch when they heard that there were thirteen epic-level warriors.
Even for three of them, facing thirteen epic-level warriors at once would be extremely difficult, almost impossible to overcome.
"I thought it would be a piece of cake to deal with the Transcendent Organization. But this..." Elyara muttered with a speechless look, silently feeling grateful that the security forces were present to bear the brunt of the fight.
"What is the level of the strongest person among you?" Azrael asked after a moment.
"Level fifty... Our boss is at the peak of epic level and extremely strong," Hiroshi answered.
This time, even Azrael couldn’t help but frown.
’Since there is even a peak-level fifty epic-rank warrior, it will not be easy for the security forces to handle them,’ He thought grimly.
Azrael’s plan had been to let the security forces deal with the Transcendent Organization.
But now, not only did the Transcendent Organization have more epic-level warriors than the security forces, the security forces no longer held the advantage in top-level combat power either, as both sides now had a peak epic-level warrior
Azrael asked a few more questions, and the more they heard, the darker Azrael’s and the others’ expressions became.
Aside from the level fifty epic-rank warrior, there were two more people who had reached over level forty, and they were far from weak.
In addition, there were fifty-four class-level warriors and numerous apprentice warriors, clearly outnumbering the security forces.
"These people really hid themselves well all these years..." Luo Bingqing muttered, his tone tinged with disbelief.
When they accepted the mission, the hundred credits they were offered had seemed like a good reward. But now, he felt as though they had been scammed as the true strength of the Transcendent Organization far exceeded the information they had been given.
If all of these high-level people had been in the Transcendent Organization’s hideout rather than inside the ruins, the three of them would have been in serious trouble when they stormed the hideout a few days ago without any preparation.
Azrael looked at Hiroshi for a long moment before asking the question that intrigued him most.
"How were you able to bring thousands of people to the core area of the ruins without attracting monsters?"
At this, Hiroshi hesitated again. But when he saw Azrael bring the wind blade closer to his eye, his face turned pale and he quickly replied.
"Underground tunnel... We created an underground tunnel from the entrance of the ruins to the sandstorm."
"A tunnel..." Azrael and the others narrowed their eyes.
"Are you saying you’ve been digging a tunnel for the past two or three years?" Azrael asked with a frown, finding it hard to believe it would take so long for so many people to construct one.
Hiroshi nodded and began to explain.
"Yes. All the people who stayed inside the ruins have been working on the tunnel for years. It was completed just two months ago..." He paused, noticing their confusion over why it had taken so long, and then continued.
"To create the tunnel, we first needed to kill all the monsters near the vicinity of the entrance, especially creatures like the Hollow Earth Worm, the Rock Armadillo, and others that live underground. Once the monsters around the entrance were cleared, we began digging a tunnel that would lead directly to the core area of the ruins.
"However, the underground of these ruins is even more horrifying than the surface. The soil is mixed with blood, flesh, bones, and other body parts of those who died here in the past. Nourished by the blood and flesh of so many rankers, the soil and rock beneath the ruins had become so hard that even epic-level warriors couldn’t dig through it easily."
He glanced at Azrael, and seeing that he was listening intently, he continued.
"To create the tunnel, it took us almost two years. We suffered many monster attacks during that time, which delayed us. Sometimes the tunnel even collapsed because of monster invasions.
"Once the tunnel reached the edge of the sandstorm that covered the core area, we discovered that even the underground was engulfed in the raging storm. So we stopped the tunnel right there. After it was completed, we built a giant concealment formation to hide the tunnel from any monster that might accidentally wander near it from another area. That formation took a few more months to complete."
As Azrael and the others listened to Hiroshi, they gradually understood why the Transcendent Organization had taken so long to complete the tunnel.
Hiroshi further revealed that during the construction, they discovered many valuable resources in the underground. These finds had allowed many members of the Transcendent Organization to reach epic level.
"What is the door you’re trying to open with the blood of so many people?" Luo Bingqing asked.
At the question, Hiroshi’s face turned slightly pale and he shook his head.
"I don’t know much about that place because the boss prohibited us from going there. I only know that we need to pour the fresh blood of people onto the door to open it. As for what lies beyond the door, no one knows."
Azrael and the others frowned at his answer, clearly displeased by the lack of information.
But with his trait, Azrael could tell that Hiroshi wasn’t lying and he truly didn’t know anything more about the so-called door.
"Are all the epic-level members and other people from the Organization inside the sandcastle?" Azrael asked after a moment’s thought.
"Most of them are there..." Hiroshi nodded. "But some are stationed in the tunnel to guard it against unexpected monster attacks."
Azrael questioned Hiroshi thoroughly, and once he had gathered all the information he wanted, he gave a slight nod and, before Hiroshi could react, struck the top of his head sharply, knocking him unconscious once more.
"What should we do now?" Elyara asked.
Azrael thought for a few moments, then took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes.
"Let’s help the security forces a bit, at the very least, we have to make sure they eliminate some of the epic-level members of the Transcendent Organization."