When Azrael and the others stepped into the castle’s interior, they were greeted by the sight of the security forces locked in a fierce battle against a group of thirteen individuals.
Among those thirteen, only two possessed Epic-level strength, one at level 32 and the other at level 40, while the rest were merely Class-level or Apprentice warriors.
"Fu*k! What the hell are those bastards in the hideout doing? How did the security forces get here?"
Xu Ting, the level 40 Epic level warrior of the Transcendent Organization, a petite woman with a bob cut of brown hair and sharp black eyes cursed viciously as she glared at the security forces.
Bang! Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩
Suddenly, a fist wreathed in grey metallic energy slammed directly into Xu Ting’s stomach, forcing all the air from her lungs.
"Don’t worry..." Tyler sneered, his entire body gleaming with the same grey metallic energy until he looked like a man forged from living steel. "I will soon send you to join your comrades, you can ask all your questions there yourself."
"Bastard..." A trickle of blood slid from the corner of Xu Ting’s mouth, and her eyes flickered with a faint, hazy light.
Suddenly, Tyler felt an invisible force wrap around his body, attempting to crush him from all sides.
"Petty tricks." Tyler’s voice dripped with scorn as he sensed Xu Ting trying to overwhelm him with her telepathic power. Taking a step forward, he shattered the pressure around him and launched another punch without hesitation.
Xu Ting’s eyes widened in shock as she saw him break free of her telepathic grip so effortlessly. She hastily conjured a hazy white shield before her, but—
Tyler’s fist, coated in that devastating metallic energy smashed through the shield as though it were paper and drove straight into her ribs.
The sound of bones breaking rang out as she was blasted backward, crashing into a sand pillar with such force that she nearly lost consciousness.
"That man... there’s something strange about his powers."
From a distance, Elyara frowned, her gaze fixed on Tyler as he easily subdued Xu Ting.
Although Tyler was indeed five levels higher than Xu Ting, the ease with which he dominated her made no sense to Elyara as she could clearly sense that their power difference wasn’t that great.
"It must be his attribute," Azrael said, his eyes narrowing. "I am not one hundred percent certain, but it seems he possesses an attribute similar to Shatter or Break, something that allows him to destroy both physical and spiritual energy constructs."
Hearing Azrael’s words, a look of understanding flashed across Elyara’s.
"No wonder he can so easily tear apart her telepathic shield and ignore the mental pressure of her psychic powers."
"There’s no hope for that group," Luo Bingqing remarked as they watched the Transcendent Organization’s fighters fall one after another.
"Hiroshi already warned them they’d encounter a small team as soon as they entered the castle," Elyara replied in a calm, even voice. "With that advance information and their overwhelming numbers, it’s no surprise the Transcendent Organization’s people are completely helpless against the security forces."
"But it won’t stay this simple," Azrael said, his eyes narrowing further. "This battle must have already alerted the rest of the Transcendent Organization. They will regroup and reinforce one another soon."
Elyara and Luo Bingqing both nodded in agreement.
"Even so," Elyara continued thoughtfully, "With these two Epic-level warriors down, and if we include that Hiroshi, the Transcendent Organization has already lost three Epics. That leaves them with only ten Epic-level warriors."
"Now the top-level power on both sides is nearly equal," She added, "But with the security forces wielding those armor-breaking laser rifles, they definitely hold a significant advantage over the Transcendent Organization."
Azrael said nothing at her conclusion because he wasn’t nearly as certain.
His mind drifted to the information he had gathered about the "Boss" Hiroshi had mentioned, and a deep unease stirred in his chest.
’Other than the fact that the boss is a woman and extremely powerful, there’s no other information about her. What kind of power does she possess? When did she reach the peak of Epic rank? What’s her name...? Nothing.’
Azrael drew in a slow breath, his gaze sharpening.
’If my instincts are right, that woman will be the greatest obstacle here.’
"It’s over for that one..."
At that moment, Luo Bingqing’s voice pulled Azrael from his thoughts. Following Luo’s gaze, Azrael saw the level 32 warrior of the Transcendent Organization, locked in combat with Raymond, who stood at level 40 suddenly have his heart pierced clean through by Raymond’s spear.
"Once they kill these people, they’ll most likely head straight for the underground section of the castle where that so-called door is located, right?" Elyara asked in a low voice.
"Most likely," Luo Bingqing agreed with a nod. "Most of the Transcendent Organization’s remaining forces will be there, so the final battle should unfold in that place."
Azrael’s attention lingered on the fallen level 32 warrior, whose heart had just been skewered by Raymond’s spear, when something unexpected caught his notice.
"Heh... heh... I... don’t know how you people got here," The dying warrior rasped, his voice filled with bitter resentment. "But since you are here... don’t even think about leaving."
As his final words left his lips, the light in his eyes dimmed, and his life force ebbed away.
Raymond frowned at the ominous words and yanked his spear free. But the moment he did—
The man’s body suddenly detonated, erupting into a cloud of crimson blood mist that instantly spread over an area a hundred meters wide.
Some distance away from the fallen warrior, Xu Ting, already half dead, saw the scene, and her eyes blazed with hatred.
"If I am going to die, I’ll take all of you with me!’’
Her hatred-filled scream echoed through the castle’s interior, and in the very next heartbeat—
She, too, exploded into a billowing red mist that surged outward, blanketing more than a hundred meters in an instant.
The twin eruptions of blood mist engulfed the entire security force before anyone could react.
From their vantage point at a distance, the faces of Luo Bingqing and the others turned deathly pale.
Sizzle! Sizzle! - - - -
An ominous, sizzling sound reached their ears as they watched, the moment the security forces’ bodies were enveloped by the crimson haze, their flesh began to melt, as though they had been plunged into a vat of potent acid... And in just two seconds, almost all the class-level warriors of the security forces vanished from the world, reduced to puddles of melted flesh, blood, and bone."