Hearing what Mohen said.

Zhou Huai's pupils contracted, and he stood frozen in place, somewhat dazed.

"No strange beasts... no professionals... everyone is an equal, ordinary person, living in peace and contentment..."

Why does this feeling feel so familiar?

It's as if, once upon a time, I myself lived in such a world.

Who exactly is Mr. Duan? Could he, like myself, have also traveled from that world?

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Zhou Huai forcibly suppressed the turbulent thoughts churning within him.

He knew now was not the time for sentimentality; he needed to uncover more intelligence.

"Besides these..." Zhou Huai stared into their eyes and continued to ask, "Did Mr. Duan reveal anything else to you? For example, about his personal background?"

Chu He and Mo Hen looked at each other, trying hard to search their memories, and finally shook their heads at the same time.

"My lord, there really isn't any more," Chu He said with a bitter face. "Mr. Duan is usually elusive, and after that blessing, we rarely even see his true face. All orders are issued through his command."

Zhou Huai sighed inwardly, realizing that it would be difficult to extract any more core secrets about Mr. Duan's identity from these two low-level executors.

He pondered for a moment, organized his thoughts, and changed the subject: "Since you are in charge of recruitment, how many members does your Dawn Guild actually have now? And how many of them are high-level combatants?"

"My lord, there are probably only about two hundred low-level executors like us, scattered all over the world." Chu He wiped the grease from his mouth and counted on his fingers seriously.

"As for the higher-level officers, I'm not entirely sure of their exact numbers. After all, they usually wear masks and appear and disappear unpredictably, but there are at least ten of them."

"Next up is Mr. Duan."

Hearing these words, Zhou Huai frowned.

"Just this many people?" Zhou Huai controlled Moria's body, his voice echoing in the empty dungeon. "As far as I know, your Dawn Guild has been established for quite some time. There are recorded traces of your activities, at least twenty years ago."

"Twenty years of ruthless recruitment of geniuses worldwide... how could there only be a mere two hundred or so executors?"

The Great Xia Kingdom, the Cherry Blossom Kingdom, the Free Federation... Dawn Guild's tentacles have reached every corner of the world.

After all that effort, you only managed to recruit a little over two hundred people?

It's absurd that a multinational giant that has been working hard for twenty years only has two hundred grassroots employees.

Chu He paused for a moment, scratched his head, unsure how to explain the situation: "This... my lord, we have indeed only met this many colleagues before..."

"My lord, you have misunderstood."

Mohen, who had regained his composure, explained, "Our Dawn Guild has indeed recruited a great many people over the years. However, those professionals we recruit will not become executors like us."

"Not becoming executors? Then where did they go?" Zhou Huai stared at him.

“They’ve been sent away.” Mohen’s voice was filled with awe. “Mr. Duan has other plans for those people. As long as they pass our assessment and are successfully brought back to the organization, they will be blindfolded and taken away by the officer in charge.”

"As for the final arrangements and where they went, we, the implementers, have no right to know."

At this point, Mohen paused: "To be honest, in the past twenty years, we really don't know how many people the organization has arrested or recruited."

"But...if we add up the performance of all those who implement these measures worldwide, a preliminary estimate..."

Mohen uttered a terrifying number: "At least tens of thousands. Probably... more than fifty thousand."

"hiss--"

Upon hearing this number, Zhou Huai couldn't help but feel a jolt.

Fifty thousand people!

These 50,000 people are not pigs to be slaughtered, nor are they ordinary civilians.

Those are all professionals!

Moreover, the Dawn Guild has extremely high recruitment standards. Those who can be selected by them ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) must be at least A-level professionals, or even S-level professionals!

What does it mean to have 50,000 professionals at level A or above?

Even a powerful nation like the Great Xia Kingdom, with its deep-rooted military, could only muster a maximum of five thousand A-level professionals.

There are fewer than 100 people at the S-level.

As a result, the Dawn Guild was ten times larger than the Great Xia Guild.

It is a terrifying force that cannot be ignored!

Zhou Huai's expression turned serious.

Because of their low status, Chu He and Mo Hen knew very little about the Dawn Guild. Their estimate of 50,000 people was likely a very conservative one.

The actual number is only more, not less, and even so outrageous as to be chilling!

Zhou Huai quickly pondered what Mr. Duan needed so many people for. He sensed a huge crisis.

Why specifically high-level professionals?

Based on his previous experience of reviving Uncle Fu and others using the Pendulum of Life, the idea of ​​sacrifice became increasingly clear in Zhou Huai's mind.

The life essence of high-level professionals is far greater than that of ordinary people.

Could it be that Mr. Duan's frantic talent gathering around the world is essentially a way to stockpile resources for some unprecedented mega-ritual?

If Zhou Huai could meet his uncle, he really wanted to bring up all these issues and discuss them thoroughly with him.

Let's see what kind of crazy mind he has.

At this point, Zhou Huai gathered his scattered thoughts.

He looked at the two kneeling on the ground and asked the last crucial question:

"Do you two know about the ancient races?"

However, to Zhou Huai's surprise...

Chu He and Mo Hen exchanged a glance, both looking completely bewildered.

“Ancient...remnants?” Chu He frowned, chewing on those four words, then shook his head repeatedly. “My lord, is this...is this the name of some kind of guild? Or some kind of rare beast? I’ve never heard of it before.”

Mohen also bowed his head respectfully: "My lord, I have no memory of these four words."

These two people weren't lying; they genuinely didn't know.

It seems that Mr. Duan kept the top-secret information about the ancient race, which touches on the essence of the world, very tightly under his control, and did not reveal a single bit to these low-level executors.

"Never mind, if I don't know, then so be it."

Zhou Huai was too lazy to waste any more words.

He turned his head and gestured with his chin toward Gabriel, who was standing in the shadows.

Gabriel walked forward expressionlessly.

With a few crisp metallic clangs, the dark blue magic-suppressing chains that had bound Chu He and Mo Hen for over ten days, causing them immense torment, were torn apart by Gabriel with his bare hands and casually tossed to the ground.

The long-lost magic power re-entered their bodies, causing Chu He and Mo Hen to tremble all over.

But they had no intention of running away. Bound by the 【Demon Lord Contract】, their eyes now held only fanatical loyalty as they looked at Zhou Huai.

"Alright, you don't need to stay in this dark and damp dungeon any longer."

Zhou Huai, controlling Moria, flicked his wide black sleeves and turned to walk outside.

"Go upstairs, take a shower, eat something good, and rest and recuperate at the Eternal Night Guild's base."

"If needed, I will arrange for you to handle the matter."

Upon hearing this, Chu He and Mo Hen knelt down and slammed their foreheads heavily against the stone slab.

"Thank you, my lord, for sparing my life!"

"Your subordinate is willing to go through fire and water, even unto death, for your lord!"