Is this really a Game?!

Reign's plan was met with a mix of determination and apprehension from the mercenaries. They knew the risks of confronting such a powerful and secretive enemy, but they were also driven by a desire to complete the mission given to them by their employer.

They had signed a contract, one that was bound by the system and even though there was some leeway there, with them having a chance to retreat and abandon the mission if the enemy proved to be too powerful for them, the rewards were very tempting to them.

Not only was their employer quite wealthy, but he had worked with a couple of nearby territories to put together the reward that would be given to them, and no mercenary group could say they wouldn't be moved by the offer.

Still, the enemy truly was too powerful for them, hell, even with Reign and the others helping them out, they weren't completely certain that they could win.

They would have to face multiple Tier VI combatants, and over ten fake Tier VI combatants as well.

The sheer number was quite overwhelming, even if the fakes weren't as powerful as true Tier VI fighters. Upon allying with Reign and the others, the notification did ring and allowed them all to see who they were allied with, but thanks to the conversation they were having and the seriousness of the topic, the leaders had only checked that information after they came up with the plan.

It was then that they were truly surprised.

One could say that they were even shocked to their core.

The name 'Heaven's Hooligans' was a name that pretty much everybody on Earth had heard multiple times thanks to the notifications that the system had spread, and the knowledge that they were working with such a group was enough to put the minds of most of them to rest.

"So, we just continue exploring?" One of the leaders asked, to which Reign simply responded with a nod of his head.

"We will do the same, but since you have already said that you explored the entire 3 miles around your camp, the enemy base is most likely situated below the ground."

"We will go down and start searching, you guys should continue exploring the surface, and make it seem as if nothing had changed from before, the enemy might be watching you after all, and we do not want them to know what is going on."

"Wouldn't your appearance here been enough to alert them?" Another one of the leaders asked, to which Reign sighed.

"That is possible, but we can't just start running around aimlessly and give away what we know, they have no idea that we know of their base, that we have good insight when it comes to how it looks like, what is present inside of it, how it is hidden, that is what we can use to gain an advantage."

"Not to mention what we have already told you, we do have something up our sleeves, a way to make the battle easier from the start, we just need to make sure the enemy doesn't realize we have located their base once we do so, and we can give them a big surprise."

Reign's words resonated with the mercenaries, who nodded in agreement, their expressions grim but determined. They understood the gravity of the situation and the importance of maintaining secrecy. With a plan in place, they split into smaller groups to continue their exploration, with Reign and his companions heading underground to search for the enemy base.

The underground tunnels were dark and eerie, with the occasional gust of wind carrying the faint scent of mold and the stench of carcasses that were present in the tunnels.

The group moved cautiously through the labyrinthine passages, their senses on high alert for any signs of danger. The darkness pressed in around them, their invisible figures passing through the many underground tunnels without alerting anybody.

As they ventured deeper into the underground network, they encountered various obstacles and challenges, well, they encountered what would have been obstacles and challenges for most, but not for them.

Collapsed tunnels, hidden traps, and lurking monsters all threatened to impede their progress. But with the barrier around them, they navigated through the dangers with relative ease, only being impeded in their search a bit by the traps and collapsed portions of tunnels.

They had to be careful to not set off any traps, as they might have been left there by the enemy faction, even though they looked ancient. It wasn't that difficult to make a trap look much older than it was, however, so one could never know who placed it there.

The monsters couldn't even notice them, even though there were some Tier V monsters present.

They did nothing to them, after all, they couldn't go around slaughtering them, especially not when the enemy might be present in the underground tunnels.

Eventually, after what felt like hours of relentless exploration, they stumbled upon a hidden chamber concealed behind a false wall. They stumbled upon it by luck, it was Beast who had managed to notice it.

Of course, it was Beast, after all, if there was anything that had to rely on luck, the best person to do it was him.

They entered the chamber, which was quite spacious, enough to comfortably fit tens of people in it.

They looked around, finding nothing out of place at first. It was a chamber, but it was just walls of rock all around them, nothing else was present.

That was true till they came to the end of the chamber, which was where Reign and the others noticed faint symbols that were engraved on the wall.

Symbols and runes, the same ones that were found in the holes that created the sources of corruption.

They weren't the exact same ones, but they were definitely from the same runic language, the same one that the enemy was using.

"Are these even working?" Mia asked as Beast shook his head.

"I don't think so, they do seem to be old, some of them barely even visible now after time had passed."

"Still, this is good, this is proof that the enemy was using this place for something in the past, and proof that they are present in this area." Reign stated with a nod of his head as he stared at the runes.

"This might have been an important place for them in the past, but they might have moved whatever was here to another place later on, rendering it obsolete and simply forgetting about it."

"That means that the base is probably in a different place, but underground, right?"

"Maybe, or maybe it is nearby, but they just improved the base itself and had no need for this place any longer." Reign told Shadow who nodded before they turned around to leave.

As Reign and his companions turned to leave the chamber, a strange sensation washed over them, a feeling of being watched. They halted their steps, exchanging wary glances as they scanned the chamber for any signs of movement or hidden threats.

Suddenly, the runes on the walls began to glow faintly, casting an eerie light that illuminated the chamber. The air around them seemed to hum with a strange energy, and they felt a subtle shift in the atmosphere.

They all glanced at Laura, who had suddenly done something with the runes.

"What's happening?" Mia whispered, her voice tinged with unease.

"I tried following the pattern of the runes to see if they would react, and well … they did," Laura explained as her expression was also one tinged with unease.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking, this might alert the enemy, but … it might also lead us somewhere important."

Laura's words echoed around them as they all nodded as one of the walls parted, presenting a new path in front of them.

"A hidden path, that might be the true function of this chamber, it might not be one they had used and then abandoned before, they just made it seem like they had, in order to cover up their tracks," Beast said with a solemn expression before glancing at the others.

"This might lead us closer to the base, if not right where the base is located."

"After all, only the top figures of the enemy faction are allowed to enter and exit the base without using the portals, this passageway was made for them."

"Yes, and without enough knowledge of their runic language, one wouldn't be able to activate the runes and see the passage," Laura stated as the others stared at the passage and the darkness that lay deeper inside of it.

"So, are we going in?" Tank asked as the others sighed.

"Yeah, we have to, we can't let this opportunity just slip by." Reign said as they all started walking toward the passageway.

They stepped inside and slowly made their way deeper and deeper, eager to find out what was waiting for them at the end.