Chapter 279: The Assassin

The underground should have been gloomy, damp, and filled with a somewhat rotten smell. But although the air here was not as fresh as on the Surface, it was still quite good.

If you could calm your mind, close your eyes, and feel carefully, you would discover that the air here seemed still but was actually flowing. However, this air moved so slowly that ordinary people with dull senses could only notice it by using their wet fingers.

There was an ancient and unique ventilation system in this passage. The preset tunnels, the size of walnuts, connected to the ventilation pipes on the east wall. From the moment the morning sun rose each day, the stone walls were constantly being heated.

As the air in the ventilation pipes heated up and rose, the air in this connected underground passage was also drawn out, then replaced by cold air from the passage entrance. Relying on the endless light and heat of the sun, the air in the entire Castle and even the basement formed a constantly operating self-cycle.

The spiral staircase spiraling downward in a counter-clockwise direction was designed differently from others. This way, when the Guard soldiers retreated downward, they had more space on their right side to swing their swords. In contrast, attackers could only go down hugging the wall, making it hard for them to fight.

This design could stop intruders from threatening the Vault to some extent. Just like the clockwise spiral staircases in other places were used to guard the strong keep in the center of the Castle, which was the home of the Lord and his family. If the battle was lost, that would be the last stand for the defenders. At that time, the defenders retreating upward would have the advantage.

Of course, if someone really broke into the underground passage, the best choice was to stay at the entrance and wait for them to appear. This passage was a dead end that only allowed entry, not exit. If you really wanted to take things out of it, it would not be easy.

The burning torches were like a stage, where a girl in red clothes danced gracefully. Unfortunately, in this environment, the weak light could never clearly illuminate the darkness ahead, and beyond the corner, it was just a gray mess.

After passing several Guards, George finally stepped into a stone room deep underground. After George took off the hat from the Oil Lamp hanging on the wall, the phosphorus-coated wick ignited without a flame.

The flame in the Oil Lamp flickered, leaving tiny points of light in the small secret room that was several zhang square. The dark room was empty except for a square table placed in the northwest corner.

The four walls of the secret room were built with Obsidian, about 20 feet long and 8-9 feet wide. The walls here were not only airtight but also completely light-proof. Besides using high-quality materials like Obsidian, a special stone-transformation magic had removed the natural brittleness of the stone. This was to allow it to withstand more external impacts and pressure.

At the same time, a magic array solidified here to enhance defense and resist energy damage. The circuits of this array were deeply buried inside the stone walls and could not be seen from the outside.

Also, to prevent people from spying on the secrets in the basement, some protective detection spells were also solidified. Who would want their treasures and secrets to be watched by others, right? Of course, the difficulty of these spells was much higher than simply strengthening structural strength. So, at the current level, they could only protect against Divination Magic detection of level 7 and below.

Of course, most importantly, one must not forget the restrictions on anti-space teleportation spells here. Otherwise, if an unscrupulous Mage met them, everything inside could be easily stolen away. Do not think that Mages are all high-and-mighty figures who would disdain such things.

In fact, the vast majority of Mages are unscrupulous beings. For them, except for the mysteries of Arcane magic, everything else can be discarded. For their research funds, those guys would even do high-risk things like kidnapping and extortion. What more, stealing things they thought were low-risk?

However, it seems that destruction is much easier than construction. To perform space teleportation, a stable spatial channel must be established, but a 3rd-level Dimension Anchor can nail it down firmly. Although there are 2nd-level spells like Dimension Jump that can be used even by the weak, even high-level targeted teleportation cannot resist the sharpness of a Dimension Anchor.

In the past, building such an underground Vault cost the ancestors of House Bolerum an unknown amount of money, time, and effort. At first, it is said that the ancestor once hesitated. After all, the Territory had only been built for a short time and was far from as prosperous as it is now. Moreover, the external environment of the Duchy was also somewhat unstable; one really did not know what tomorrow would bring after today.

At that time, making the decision to spend a large sum of savings to build such a Vault while constructing the Castle required more than just courage. You should know that at that time, relying solely on the income from the Territory, it might not have taken ten years to meet such expenses. The source of this money was mostly the rewards the ancestor gained from fighting east and west. If they did not have full confidence in the future of the Duchy and the Territory, they would not have made such a decision during such a turbulent time.

But for descendants like George, the ancestor’s actions could be called wise and mighty. If later generations wanted to carry out this project after the Castle was already formed, the cost would have increased geometrically.

Just as George was preparing to hold a ceremony to open the Vault door, he stopped his forward steps. It seemed that a cold chill was lingering around him, making all the hairs on George’s body stand up.

‘No, something is wrong here! Although the temperature deep underground is far lower than the surface temperature in midsummer, I am Immune to Cold and Heat and will never be so sensitive to such a temperature change. Something is definitely wrong somewhere.’ George, who was quickly calculating in his mind, immediately tensed his whole body and watched the surroundings alertly.

The underground Vault, which prohibited space teleportation and magic detection, could not send out a distress signal or use space magic to escape. Shouts could not travel far in the tunnels, and it was even a question whether the Guards above could hear them. Even if the enemy heard the shout, reaching the underground for support in such an environment would not be a quick matter.

George realized that this was indeed a great place for an ambush and assassination! Moreover, with the solid stone walls, the not-so-large space, and the spiral staircase at the exit that only allowed one person to pass, escaping would be very difficult. Turning to run would only give the enemy waiting in the shadows a chance to strike.

But didn’t the builders of the Vault realize such obvious flaws? No, of course, such a mistake would not happen. But for the ancestor who was a Knight, even if there were Assassins trying to assassinate him, he would use his own strength to kill them. For a Knight, facing all possible threats, it was the right way to rely on one’s own strength to destroy them.

Although he had sensed the danger, George could not determine exactly where the enemy was. For a moment, George chose to stand still and not move. Although he did not know how the enemy had sneaked in, this was George’s territory, and the longer the time dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for the enemy.

Because George’s daily life had always been very regular, and he had never stayed in the underground Vault for more than half an hour. As soon as someone above noticed something was wrong, they would come down to investigate immediately. At that time, it would be like catching a turtle in a jar, easily done.

Time passed minute by minute, and the enemy seemed to really want to test George’s patience. At the same time, George used this time to slow his breathing and move his blood and energy to adjust his body to the best state for an ambush—like a maiden at first, and when the enemy opens the door, like a fleeing rabbit, the enemy cannot resist.

At the same time, George was constantly deducing in his mind the possible ways of the upcoming attack, using his much smarter brain to rehearse. In the time formed during this standoff, George had already made several different response plans for possible attacks.

Suddenly, it seemed that a blob of ink was wriggling in the originally dim shadows, and then it suddenly turned into a flying arrow shot straight at George’s face. Fortunately, George had prepared for this beforehand and successfully rolled to the side to dodge the enemy’s surprise attack.

At the same time, he raised his right hand toward the spot where the sneak attacker landed and shouted, “Flash Dust!”

A cloud of golden particles covered all objects in that area. The enemy’s body was outlined by these golden particles, and for a short time, they probably had no way to continue hiding.

This was a 2nd-level Mage spell called Flash Dust. During the spell, creatures would be blinded, and invisible items would be outlined as visible silhouettes. Everything in the entire area was covered by the dust, which could not be removed. It would keep flashing until it extinguished.

This was known as the most overpowered spell that covers all bases, heaven or earth. It had no spell resistance, and blindness and revealing existed at the same time. It could be said to be a high-value spell that could accompany Mages who did not oppose the School of Enchantment, from low-level Mages to high-level Mages, throughout their lives.

For the current situation, this was said to be very suitable. Of course, as a Knight, George himself could not use such a spell. The effect of this spell came from the twisted bronze ring he was now wearing on his right index finger, on which a mica stone treated with magic was shining with a brilliance comparable to a Diamond.

This was one of the two Magic Items George successfully purchased after the Dark Elves incident—the Flash Dust Ring. With it, George could use the Flash Dust spell three times a day. For George, who lacked the ability to detect invisibility, it filled a major weakness.

The main reason he did not use it before was that he did not know what kind of hiding method the enemy used. Moreover, the range of Flash Dust itself was limited. If it missed, it might give the enemy a chance to strike.

At the same time, George also activated the ability of the second Magic Item he purchased—Detect Evil. This 1st-level Priest spell allowed him to know if the other party was of an Evil Camp.

Immediately, George discovered that the seemingly thin assassin in front of him emitted a strong red light. Of course, this light was only visible to George himself.

Based on the change in this Spirit Light, George evaluated in his heart: ‘It seems this guy is not weak! If he is not a Priest of an evil deity, an Undead, or an Extraplanar Creature, I should probably find a way to retreat and save my life!’

In many novels before crossing over, the spell Detect Evil was described as ‘Detect Hostility’ to mock the grand and upright behavior of some Paladins. But in this world, due to the Crystal Wall Rules, under this spell, anyone showing a strong Evil Spirit Light must be utterly wicked.

Because this was a mark branded by the Plane. This mark followed the theory of action results: regardless of what the other party thought in their heart, as long as they did not take action, it usually would not affect their Righteous Camp.

Of course, the theory that subjectively there is no evil and objectively there is no order is also common.

Subjectively no evil means that from an individual’s standpoint, no one thinks they are doing something bad. So whether it is evil or not is completely an external concept. Just like in the cannibal society of Papua New Guinea, no one thinks killing and eating brains is evil; if you don’t eat, you might really be branded as evil!

Objectively no order means that from an outside perspective, no existence can achieve absolute order. So whether one is orderly or not is completely an internal measure. Just like some people are very organized, while others are impulsive. In a society where external laws are strictly enforced, those inclined toward chaos can still appear orderly, while in a place without laws or morals, those inclined toward order might become completely unscrupulous and without principles.

But the faction division in this world is a complete embodiment of the Plane’s will. The Nine Factions are completely based on the standpoint, unrelated to emotions. You can superficially think that loving life equals Good, and loving the destruction of life equals Evil.

Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic can be seen as working guidelines. That is, Order equals organized, disciplined, and rule-based; Neutral equals considering everything starting from oneself; Chaos equals acting without reason, unbound by rules, and following one’s whims.

At the same time, this also divides to some extent according to faith and origin, without involving emotions. For example, a Lawful Good Angel. As long as the deity it believes in considers something Evil, it is Evil, regardless of whether the so-called Evil creature has really done anything bad, whether it is an old man, a woman, or a child, that Evil creature deserves death. Anyone trying to help this Evil creature also deserves death.

Chaotic Evil is another extreme. They take destruction as their duty, killing and destroying everything they encounter. Emotions, systems, and everything are completely ignored; they just act according to their own happiness. So often, Demons are Chaotic Evil.

Lawful Evil represents that they act according to a certain rule and can be seen as organized criminal groups. Usually, Devils are Lawful Evil.

So, what a creature thinks itself and whether it has emotions has no necessary connection to its faction. It is an objective standard of the Multiverse, an intrinsic attribute of the universe.

Of course, factions usually change with a person’s actions. In a world where Magic is common, powerful Wizards sometimes use their power to distort and change creatures and their wills. After a period of time, the other party will change their Righteous Camp due to changes in their actions and style.

However, even many profound changes sometimes arise from natural forces in the Multiverse. For example, one of those forces is Love, and Love inexplicably arose in the heart of a Succubus known to everyone as Eludecia.

She could not tell others how it all started, but while she was engaged in her repetitive task of tempting mortal souls and leading them into the bottomless Abyss, she met a beautiful Angel, and something incredible happened—she fell into the River of Love.

Eludecia resisted this new emotion for a long time but finally realized she could not win. So she managed to find that Angel and openly admitted her feelings for him, even though she could not understand what it was exactly.

When Eludecia asked how she could help heal herself, the Angel just felt strangely happy to help her. After all, the Succubus was too beautiful, and he was irresistibly attracted to her.

Furthermore, under the premise of serving his master, redeeming a Demon would certainly make him more famous in the Heavenly Realm and improve his Angel rank.

Redemption sometimes happens in an instant, but more often it requires years of painful work—thus it was in this situation. Born Evil, Eludecia could hardly understand what Good was, let alone accept it. However, she persisted until she finally achieved a shaky redemption. Then, she dedicated all her ideals and virtues to take up the mantle of a Paladin, even though no deity was willing to give her a special response.

Eludecia knew that without the help of Magic, she could never completely purify her Evil nature. But now, she avoided such help because she was determined to “rely only on her own efforts.”

Therefore, she had to fight against herself every day to avoid sliding back into her Demon path. After long years, she achieved admirable success in the struggle against her own bloodline and instincts.

Even though a Succubus’s physique was not suitable for the battlefield, Eludecia still persisted in her Paladin training, making herself stronger in battle. She was a quite good warrior and could be even more accomplished than she realized now. Under this offensive spirit was her deep worry; she feared that one day she might slip from the foundation of Good and return to the Evil path she now despised. Because the power of the Abyss was deeply branded in her Soul.

Eludecia refused to deceive most beings, but she could deceive Evil external beings without hesitation. She knew they would deceive her without any scruples, so she did not hold goodwill toward them either. Otherwise, she would only use deception for the purpose of Good, not to save her own life.

Finally, she succeeded, at least until that Angel left her—a rare Succubus Paladin. So the Multiverse is just, and everything is proven by the final result of actions.

As George faced this possible strong enemy and was at a loss, the dark human-shaped shadow pounced at George again.