In the middle layer of the Tower of Exile, the spire-like building where Jeremy and the others had previously been was now completely destroyed. Surrounding the area were countless mechanical monsters, encircling the souls of several powerful evil gods.
Even though the protection of the spire was gone, the powerful evil gods' souls were not willing to give up so easily. They believed they still had sufficient strength to fight. In fact, their assessment wasn't entirely wrong.
While the number of mechanical monsters was overwhelming, individually, each one was relatively weak. Even though these mechanical monsters were besieging the evil gods' souls, they couldn't quickly eliminate them. Thus, on the ruins of the spire, the powerful evil gods fended off wave after wave of mechanical monster attacks, relying on the sheer strength of their souls.
After about half an hour, a portal made entirely of High-Dimensional Data suddenly appeared not far from the battlefield. From the portal stepped a slender young woman, dressed in a pink dress. She glanced at the battlefield with a hint of annoyance and muttered to herself.
"I can't believe these little ones still haven't managed to take out those damned evil god souls! Looks like I'll have to handle this myself!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the young woman transformed into a massive Deluge of Data, composed entirely of High-Dimensional Data. This powerful Deluge of Data rapidly surged toward the ruins of the spire.
The arrival of the Deluge of Data, composed of High-Dimensional Data, caught everyone's attention on the battlefield. The mechanical monsters simultaneously halted their attacks. They began to split off portions of their own High-Dimensional Data, all of which merged into the Deluge of Data.
Ultimately, the formidable Deluge of Data obliterated one of the evil god's souls, while the remaining souls used the opportunity to escape. With that, the battle around the spire came to an end.
The Deluge of Data, composed of High-Dimensional Data, once again reverted to the form of the young woman. She smiled as she looked at the surrounding mechanical monsters and said, "The enemies here have been dealt with! Go and search for enemy traces elsewhere!"
With her command, most of the mechanical monsters quickly scattered to continue their search elsewhere.
A few of the stronger mechanical monsters remained around the young woman. Among them, a Mechanical Rampage Beast bowed its head humbly and asked, "Master Tutor, have you come here personally because the great deity is angry with us for our slow progress?"
The young woman, addressed as the tutor, walked over to the Mechanical Rampage Beast that had just spoken. She tapped it on the head.
"Since you already know the answer, why bother asking such a redundant question?" she replied, her tone lighthearted. However, her next words were far colder and more severe.
"What exactly are you doing? Why did you let the intruders escape? Do you not realize that those damned intruders are our greatest enemy? The White Tower is furious at your incompetence! I came here to help you track down the intruders. They are carrying a map that is of great importance to the deity.
Ritchie's face showed a hint of confusion. After surveying their surroundings, he quietly asked Jeremy, "Should we really trust The Hanged Man? Didn't you tell us before that no apocalypse game designer is ever to be trusted?"
Jeremy nodded helplessly. "Yeah, I did say that. But our current situation is vastly different from before. Plus, we haven't encountered immediate danger since entering the Tower of Exile. That means the information he provided is probably legit. If The Hanged Man really wanted to target us, he could've done so easily.
The fact that he hasn't means he likely has other motives."
The Warlord nodded in agreement and continued from where Jeremy had left off.
"I don't think we need to overthink it right now. Since we've returned to the Tower of Exile, we should focus on moving towards the top of the tower. Whether The Hanged Man's words are true or not, at least he's given us some help. We don't have to face waves of mechanical monsters anymore."
Both Jeremy and Ritchie agreed with the Warlord's sentiment. Without the threat of countless mechanical monsters, it only made sense to push forward quickly. And so, the three of them advanced swiftly through the middle layer of the Tower of Exile, making their way towards the upper levels.
As they moved, Ritchie began to hear a faint voice, as though someone was calling his name. A dull headache suddenly crept up on him. Jeremy and the Warlord quickly noticed something was wrong with Ritchie.
"What's going on? You don't look good at all. Could it be that The Hanged Man has really affected you negatively?" Jeremy asked, his concern evident.
Ritchie responded with a slightly helpless tone, "I'm not sure what's happening. I just feel like something is trying to force information into my brain."
Ritchie's words put both Jeremy and the Warlord on high alert. They were familiar enough with High-Dimensional Data to recognize that what Ritchie described sounded just like the effect of it infiltrating someone's mind.
"We may have already been marked by the enemy! We need to find a more strategic location. Fighting the enemy here would be foolish," the Warlord quickly assessed, scanning their surroundings before speaking to Jeremy and Ritchie.
Jeremy nodded. "You're right! Let's head over to that hill nearby. From there, we can avoid getting surrounded, and even if there are a lot of enemies, we'll have a smaller area to defend."
With that, Jeremy and the Warlord swiftly guided Ritchie towards the nearby hill. Just as they reached the top, a massive surge of High-Dimensional Data appeared right where Ritchie had been standing moments before. The data rapidly formed into the shape of a young woman in a pink dress—it was none other than the Mechanical Tutor, who had been relentlessly tracking Jeremy and his companions.
"So, this is where you rats have been hiding! Finding you wasn't that hard after all," she sneered, her voice dripping with malice.