Inviting them to the inn, s.h.i.+ro decided to have Nan Tian and Keiko give them a run down.

"So I heard from the government that this threat was one that needed all of our cooperation and that there are several innocents stuck in that dungeon right?" The martial hero, Ling Tian, asked with a serious expression.

"Indeed. The threat level of our opponent is exceedingly high. We have proof to suggest that even with all the hero's gathered, it would be difficult to defeat him. Therefore, we'll be waiting a few more days for more reinforcements. The government has stated that the attack force will be arriving in another day or two." Keiko replied.

"I see… In that case can you tell me why a B ranked adventurer is partaking in this operation despite the high risks? We don't want to have any unneeded casualties." Ling Tian asked while gesturing to s.h.i.+ro who was sipping on some juice.

"Sup." She smiled.

"You see, she's the one with the healing spell that can heal everyone. Her presence will be required on the battlefield. Not as an attack force but rather the back-line support." Keiko explained.

"That makes sense. So is there anything you can tell me about the inside of the dungeon so far?" Ling Tian asked.

"Of course. However, we'll go over the entire situation once our friend there has given the elders a rundown of the situation first. It'll be better for everyone to discuss the plan together after all." Keiko glanced towards Nan Tian who was talking to three elders right now.

"Speaking of your friend, how come there are three level 500 combatants that I've never seen before? If they're this powerful, should they not help out in the front lines?" Ling Tian furrowed his brows.

"You see, Martial Hero, we already have plenty of people securing the front lines. However, while everyone's attention is gathered on the front lines, the dangers in the back are ignored. Such as what happened with the dragon a while ago along with the current situation. Naturally, having a few level 500 combatants in the backline will make the place a safe place for those that are lower levelled." s.h.i.+ro said with a smile.

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Hearing her statement, Ling Tian furrowed his brows for a moment before nodding his head.

Waiting for a few moments, Nan Tian had finished talking to elders and had gestured for them to take a seat.

Seeing that everyone was now ready, s.h.i.+ro drank the rest of her juice and stood up.

Throwing a holographic device on the table, she activated it and a map of the entire dungeon could be seen with only a few missing parts that she could not scout out.

"In the two days that we've been scouting inside the dungeon through various means, I have constructed this map without notifying our enemy. The empty spots you see are locations where any attempts to scout would be found out instantly.

"As you can see so far, the inside of the dungeon is ridiculously vast. Even now, the edge of the dungeon is expanding as we speak. We have tried to slow down the expansion using a few methods but the effects were minimal. We've already sent out an evacuation notice to this village as they're preparing to leave as we speak." s.h.i.+ro explained while gesturing to the borders of the map.

"Do we know where this threat is located within the dungeon?" One of the Elders asked. His name was Liang Jie and he was a full offensive fighter with a st.u.r.dy physique. His appearance was quite young as he looked to be someone in his late 30's but s.h.i.+ro knew that he was much much older.

"Somewhat. For you see, the threat would travel around the dungeon and leave in certain intervals. From this, we can gather that he would only occasionally stay inside the dungeon to check up on those he has kept in his farm. There seems to be a main 'doorway' which he enters and leaves through. Since this is a manmade dungeon, the edges are rather unstable, which allows us to invade without notifying him should we act fast. As for his main residence within the dungeon, we can only guess that he resides around this area." s.h.i.+ro replied while pointing at one of the biggest unknown points on the map.

"If we had attempted to scout out the area, we would have been discovered and that would have ruined our current advantage." She shook her head.

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"I see… Good job la.s.s. Normally, youngsters would be hasty and run any sort of advantage we have. I like how you operate." Liang Jie laughed as the other elders only chuckled since they appreciated her cautiousness. Plus, since Nan Tian had already informed them that she was technically part of his branch sect as a member, they had a better opinion about her.

"I just want to ask, what is the main goal of this operation. Is it to eliminate this threat or is it to save everyone inside the dungeon? So far, we know that there are people being farmed for EXP but we don't know how many are being kept captive." Ling Tian narrowed his eyes since his priorities lay with rescue rather than killing.

"Do not worry, I have already drafted up an estimated number of captives held within the dungeon. However, unless we deal with the threat, he will continue to collect people for EXP. Anyways, since you are all curious with the number of captives, I may as well show you on the map. First, as a whole." Just as s.h.i.+ro said this, a ma.s.s of red dots lit up on the map.

"Each of these dots represent a captive." She reminded as the newcomers paused in shock.

The holographic skyscr.a.p.ers were now filled to the brim with red lights while there were even a few that were hidden underground. Not only that, but they could also see a stream of red dots within each mountain. Somewhat reminiscent of tree roots, stretching across the entire dungeon map.

"As you can see, the number of captives are off the charts. And this is even when we're ignoring the large chunks of missing information that we have yet to gather on the map. We can only presume that the ones with higher potential are kept in these areas." s.h.i.+ro explained.

"In terms of pure numbers, how many captives are we looking at?" Ling Tian asked as he felt sick seeing so many people being cultivated like vegetables for their EXP.

"We're looking at a minimum of 400,000 Captives." s.h.i.+ro replied after a short pause.

"400 thousand!?"

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Hearing this number, the four now truly understood how much of a danger this threat was. They knew that this number was just the CURRENT number of captives. Nothing about the previous years. For all they know, he could have killed well over a million people at this point.

"Indeed. Which is why we'll need to make sure that we're working fast when we decide to invade the dungeon. If we're a few steps late, all of the captives could be dead." s.h.i.+ro nodded with a frown.

"Are we able to urge the attack force to hurry up? The more time we waste here, the higher the number of casualties." Ling Tian frowned.

"Don't be so hasty. If we urge the attack force to arrive quickly, their large scale movement may startle our enemy. So far, there had only been rumours of the government gathering people. Since the threat in mind has been doing this for quite a while, I doubt he has the energy to prepare at every rumour of a gathering. Hence why we need them to be careful. Thankfully, Keiko had already relayed this information to the government and this is why they'll be arriving a little late to the village. But once they do, we'll be able to attack immediately." s.h.i.+ro replied.

"I only have one concern over this entire operation." Another Elder said as all eyes were on him.

"What's to guarantee that the threat wouldn't escape the moment he senses a large number of people entering his realm?"

"I understand your concerns but you don't need to worry. For you see, my companion has a high degree of mastery over realms. When the attack force is here, she'll bring everyone to a separate realm. This will make it so that there is only one mana signature which comes from her. However, we can go further with this. You see, she has a contract with me. I'll be able to bring her inside my mana realm, meaning all the enemy feels is the weak signal coming from me, who isn't even A ranked yet." s.h.i.+ro smiled as the elders were surprised at this revelation.

The image of a lone girl suddenly summoning an army to a.s.sist her was one that sent a small s.h.i.+ver down their spine. If they have everyone prepare their best spells and hold them within the realm, they'll be able to deal some heavy damage to the enemy the moment they are summoned.

Feeling good about the operation, they continued to discuss a few key points through the night. 

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