Chapter 28: Infiltration

Dean, who was moving forward, dared not let his guard down. Mold’s shrewdness and viciousness were enough to make Dean extremely cautious.

And as the facts proved, how important such caution was—

Just three steps away from the door, hidden under the carpet in the hallway, Dean, being careful, discovered a trapdoor. He also noticed the switch connected to this trapdoor: a protruding coat hook on a hanger located one step behind the door.

Obviously, if any intruder accidentally stepped on the trapdoor, they would inevitably fall into it. During this time, the carpet covering it, which looked like a disguise or decoration, would bind them like a net. Their agility and powerful skills would be greatly restricted. Even if they escaped, they would be in a humiliating state.

Undoubtedly, the person who set up this trap had considerable experience.

Dean did not deactivate the switch for the trapdoor. Instead, he jumped one step and leaped over it.

Later, inside the house, which had one main bedroom, one secondary bedroom, one study, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, he discovered no fewer than six similar mechanical traps. Basically, there was a trap in every location, especially the crossbow mechanism in the main bedroom.

Dean was certain that anyone who rashly pushed open the door would definitely be shot through and through.

He slightly twisted the wavy relief on the bedroom doorframe, which looked like a decoration. When he heard a crisp, empty “click” sound of a bowstring and spring missing their target from behind the door, Dean carefully pushed open the bedroom door.

For Dean, who had once served as an assassin and killer, although the traps here were insignificant compared to those in the residences of some true Big Shots, for someone of Mold’s status and wealth to reach this level was already quite remarkable. Coupled with the trapdoor at the entrance—Dean was certain that these arrangements were made by a highly professional Thief.

Of course, the price was not cheap.

As for the connection between Mold, this Tax Officer, and the Thieves Guild?

Even if it was only for selling stolen goods, Mold would definitely need to maintain good relations with the Vauban County Thieves Guild.

However, this was not something Dean needed to worry about at the moment. Having entered the main bedroom, he was now seriously searching for any possible places where items might be hidden.

Obvious places like nightstands and wardrobes were certainly not Dean’s choices.

Since traps arranged by Thieves were already present, it was not strange for a secret room arranged by Thieves to appear as well.

Moreover, Dean believed that this Tax Officer, given his caution regarding the Demon Blood Dagger, would not hesitate to set up such a secret room.

Soon, relying on his past experience, Dean found a place that was likely a secret room: the wall behind the headboard, which was noticeably ‘thicker.’ Mold’s house was a complete square. It was divided into a front part and a back part, with independent bedrooms and a study, but without a second floor. In the back part, the main bedroom and study were on one side, while the secondary bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom were on the other side. The remaining space was the front part, consisting of the hallway starting from the entrance and the living room on the necessary path.

Therefore, although the size of each room varied due to its function, the wall supporting each room on both sides should have been a single wall.

However, obviously, the wall here in the main bedroom was not!

Comparing it with the study, Dean was certain that the wall in the main bedroom was nearly one and a half feet ‘thicker’ than the study on the same side. This thickness was exactly enough for an adult to pass through!

Thud, thud-thud…

The slightly hollow knocking sound further proved Dean’s guess.

Then, naturally, it was time to look for the entry mechanism. Soon, almost subconsciously, the headboard behind the bed, which was slightly brighter than the other side and even had some chipped paint, caught Dean’s eye.

Compared to the headboard on the other side, the one Dean was watching was undoubtedly rubbed long, or rather… rotated!

Dean reached out, carefully trying to twist it left and right. After confirming that the left side was loose, Dean easily turned this headboard—

Click, click, click…

With a series of slight sounds of mechanisms and gears, the previously seamless wall revealed a hidden door, and a downward corridor appeared before Dean.

Looking at this corridor hidden inside the secret room, Dean walked down with increasing caution.

After all, no one could guarantee that there were no dangers in this corridor.

In fact, according to Dean’s experience, many experienced Thieves would set up even more deadly traps in places where intruders, having let their guard down and thinking it was safe.

However, this Tax Officer clearly thought his corridor was sufficiently hidden, or… lacked enough Gold Pultons to set up traps—although due to his cooperation with the Regiment Commander of the Ferrchelen Knight Order and his main task of selling stolen goods, this Tax Officer had quite a substantial fortune. But at the same time, the price of hiring a Thief was not cheap, especially in the remote Tier Territory. The price for hiring Thieves was usually about thirty percent higher than in other places: a ordinary Thief’s hiring fee for one month was as high as thirty Gold Pultons.

Apart from the Thieves Guild in Tier Territory having few manpower, the more important reason was Baron Tier.

Although Baron Tier was boastful and somewhat snobbish, it was undeniable that he was a competent Baron. At least in ensuring the safety of the Subjects, Baron Tier did much better than the two Barons in Defendi Territory and Ruer Territory.

Arresting and clearing out bandits always earned Baron Tier a good reputation.

Therefore, the lives of Thieves in Tier Territory were not easy. In fact, Dean suspected that if it were not for the protection by this Tax Officer named Mold, whether there would be Thieves in Tier Territory at all.

Of course, although this was mostly mutual benefit, the principles remained unchanged.

For example: the remuneration for Thieves!

‘Efforts must yield returns!’

This was a rule set by the leaders of Thieves Guilds everywhere and would not change for any individual—considered as one of the few bottom lines for Thieves, this was seen as a life doctrine by the vast majority of them.

When cautious Dean reached the end of the corridor: a small room, after a slight observation, he overturned his previous two guesses—

In this room of less than ten square meters, apart from an unfinished passage, there were only two boxes, one large and one small.

The unfinished passage, judging from those traces, was obviously not the work of a professional—Dean was not surprised by this. A person like Mold would absolutely not hand over everything to a partner. In fact, not only would he not trust unreliable partners like Thieves, but he would not even trust reliable allies or relatives. He was even more ruthless in those cases.

This was a known fact, after all, Baron Tier was related to that person, but that person did not hesitate at all when killing the former and his children.

Apart from that unfinished passage, inside the remaining large and small boxes, the large box contained two bags of Gold Pultons and a small bag of gems. Each bag of Gold Pultons had a hundred coins. Although the small bag was much smaller in size, Dean could confirm that the gems inside were almost equal to the sum of the two bags of Gold Pultons just by looking at the size and luster of the gems. Selling them for two hundred Gold Pultons would be no problem at all. If he encountered a buyer who liked them, the price could even be increased.

It could be seen that this Tax Officer Mold did not lack money. Coupled with the unfinished passage that seemed to have been started by him, it was obvious that the reason there were no traps in the secret room was not because this Tax Officer Mold thought it was safe, but simply because he no longer trusted the hired Thieves.

Or rather… he never trusted them in the first place!

However, this had nothing to do with Dean—without hesitation, he picked up the bag of Gold Pultons and the bag of gems from the large box, and then Dean turned his gaze to the small box.

Click!

The iron lock was useless before Dean. It was opened with extreme ease, and the small box was opened—on the light red velvet, a Dagger appeared. It was slightly longer than an ordinary Dagger but far shorter than an ordinary short sword. Its edge had a slightly twisted, flipping curve, shaped like a goat horn.

“Demon Blood Dagger!”

The moment Dean saw the special shape of that Dagger, he immediately confirmed it was his target for this time—although he had never seen it with his own eyes in his memory, the Grand Duchess had described it to him more than once, so Dean remembered it vividly.

And when his fingers touched the target, he confirmed it even more—

[Demon Blood Dagger]

[Type: Dagger]

[Weight: 0.7kg]

[Length: Blade length 6 inches]

[Special Effects: 1, Mild Poison; 2, Flesh Absorption; 3, Devil’s Will]

[Mild Poison: After effectively attacking the opponent, in the next fifteen seconds, the opponent needs to make a Poison Check every five seconds (Constitution-related—Own Constitution (−0, −0.1, −0.2) − 1.5 > 0). If they fail once, Strength and Agility −0.1; if they fail all three times, the opponent’s Life Force will be reduced by 20%.]

[Flesh Absorption: When Slaughtering a vigorous life (Knight level), absorb the opponent’s flesh and blood, converting 1% of their strongest Strength to add to oneself.]

[Devil’s Will: After every three Flesh Absorptions, a Will Check must be made (Will-related (−0, −0.1, −0.2) − 1.5 > 0); if they fail once, they fall into a state of uncontrollable mental confusion for two hours; if they fail all three times, their Soul will be sacrificed to the Devil.]

[Description: This is an evil Dagger, but it possesses incredible power. You only need to conquer it.]

[Annotation: After each successful Will Check, the difficulty of the next Will Check increases by +1; (This time it is the mild level)]