Chapter 491

Chapter 374: Legend

Southwest of Tivyán, north of Shield Hill, Duke Barret’s villa.

A bloody stench permeated the large building, and the villa was in disarray after the tragedy that had occurred.

The sudden gunfire that erupted from the third floor of the villa shattered the oppressive silence within. The eight-pointed assassins, who were searching the villa, were drawn to the sound, and many rushed to the site of the noise almost immediately.

On the third floor of the villa, by a window in a certain corridor, Kenk, the leader of the assassins, stood with a grave expression, staring at the hallway strewn with several corpses, bl**d splattered everywhere.

“What was that gunfire just now? Did anyone see anyone else?”

Turning his head, Kenk spoke seriously to his subordinate in front of him. Upon hearing Kenk’s words, the first assassin to arrive at the scene answered.

“No, sir. There was no one here other than the corpses when we arrived, and we have no idea where the gunfire came from… Maybe the g*n here misfired?”

“Hmph… If no one had moved, how could the g*n misfire on its own? There must be someone who sneaked in, or… there may be someone here who hasn’t died yet…”

As Kenk spoke, he gazed at the bodies lining the corridor, then flicked his hand, sending two bats flying from his sleeve. The bats flew around the corpses, and through them, Kenk confirmed that the bodies were indeed dead.

“They’re really dead… So it’s possible that someone sneaked in. What was that guy shooting for all of a sudden? Surely, it wasn’t just an accident…”

After confirming that the surrounding corpses were truly dead, Kenk frowned in contemplation. The sudden gunfire ignited his suspicions, yet it didn’t take long before he turned back to the pair of subordinates behind him, speaking sternly.

“What are you all doing crowding around here!? Hurry up and continue searching for things, look even more carefully, even the places you’ve already checked, go through them again. And check all the bodies to confirm they’re truly dead. If you encounter anyone who sneaked in, signal everyone immediately!

“By the way… if you hear gunfire again, those of you who are far away shouldn’t approach, just stay where you are and do what you were doing.”

“Yes, sir.”

After a brief response to Kenk, the assassins gathered around scattered, returning to various corners of the villa to continue searching for traces of the secret room. Once everyone had left, Kenk furrowed his brow and looked out into the darkness outside the window, a hint of unease faintly reflecting in his expression.

And even this trace of unease in his demeanor did not go unnoticed by a certain gaze.

…

“This guy… seems to have noticed something.”

Several kilometers away from the villa, in a carriage on a dark road, wrapped in a blanket, Dorothy sat inside, observing Kenk’s expression through the perspective of the deceased.

‘To infiltrate the secret room under the eyes of this group, concealing the sound of the mechanism’s activation is key. As things stand, nothing serves as better cover than gunfire, but this unexpected gunshot is bound to raise suspicions, which is unavoidable… The crucial point is to ensure that no clues are found after their suspicion arises.

‘As for concealment… I owe it all to the combination of Spiritual Thread Transmission and the Veil Ring; otherwise, an ordinary zombie puppet would never be able to evade the vampire’s eyes…’

While using the corpses scattered throughout the villa for reconnaissance, Dorothy thought to herself.

Apart from “Shadow,” whose Spiritual Perception cannot detect the ongoing concealed “Shadow,” all White Tier professions possess Spiritual Perception related to their own spirituality. Without the protection of the Veil Ring, a vampire would easily sense the extraordinary active “Cup” spiritual energy on the zombie puppet, which led to their judgment about the cause of the gunfire. They surmised it might be outsiders who infiltrated or unsatisfied corpses, not thinking about the zombie puppet at all.

‘Fortunately, even though this guy is suspicious, with their abilities, they won’t find any clues for a while. Now that my zombie puppet has successfully entered the secret room, as long as I deal with the Holy Emblem, everything will be fine.’

As these thoughts raced in her mind, Dorothy turned her attention back to the secret room, manipulating the movements of her controlled puppet once again.

Inside Barret’s underground laboratory, Dorothy controlled the male servant zombie puppet to search. According to the ghost of Barret, the Holy Emblem was located in the drawer of the main desk in the lab. Dorothy had the puppet scan for the supposed main desk, and after a short while, she found her target.

In front of a row of bookshelves at one side of the secret room stood a large brown office desk piled high with stacks of books and a small secret transmission observation device. This desk was larger than the other tables in the room, and the accompanying chair was considerably more comfortable and luxurious, complete with a desk cabinet.

Dorothy directed the male servant zombie puppet toward the brown desk, ignoring the stacks of books and documents on top and simply opening the top right drawer to search inside. Soon, the servant zombie pulled out a wooden box from within.

Dorothy instructed the puppet to take the box out from the drawer and place it on the desk, slowly opening it. Inside, a row of small trinkets was revealed.

Most of these items were small metal products, with labels indicating that they had been unearthed from some ruins. Most of the metal pieces were damaged and it was difficult to discern their original form. However, among the few intact items, one caught Dorothy’s attention.

It was a small badge, not complicated, just a simple crescent decoration. Due to the passage of time, the design on the crescent had become blurred, and the edges were worn down significantly. Below the badge was a label that appeared to be written by Barret.

“Suspected Holy Emblem of Mirror Moon Goddess, unearthed from Ruins No. 3 in Razor Mountain Area, Priest Tomb Pit, excavation date: November 25, 1359.”

‘Unearthed from the ruins in Razor Mountain Area… just as the ghost of Barret said, this is it!’

Looking at the Holy Emblem before her, Dorothy’s eyes lit up. She then instructed the puppet to take the emblem out of the wooden box and hold it in her hands for closer inspection. She found that while the “Shadow” emblem was somewhat worn due to age, it remained largely intact, not like the other metallic items in the same box, which suffered severe damage. It should be fine for conducting the ritual.

As the zombie puppet’s vision focused on the Holy Emblem, Dorothy felt a familiar sensation arise within her, but she did not dwell on it, as the crescent symbol appeared frequently in the secret transmission and sigils related to “Shadow.” Dorothy had seen many similar items before, so she paid no extra heed to the flutter of familiarity in her heart.

“Ah… finally, after all the effort, I’ve finally got my hands on this thing.”

Inside the carriage, Dorothy let out a long sigh of relief as she gazed at the Holy Emblem in the puppet’s hands. Now that it was obtained, the next task would be to send it out.

For Dorothy, reactivating the mechanism to open the secret room’s exit and send the Holy Emblem out was not a good choice. The noise from the mechanism needed to be covered by gunfire, but Dorothy had already discharged a few rounds in the villa earlier. Kenk had become alert and specifically ordered his subordinates not to move when they heard gunfire, meaning if Dorothy attempted to use the same trick again, it would be very risky.

Fortunately, for Dorothy now, besides the secret door, there was another way to send the Holy Emblem out.

Holding the Holy Emblem in her hand, Dorothy directed the male servant puppet to look up at the ceiling of the secret room, where there was a small ventilation opening covered by thin iron bars.

In an underground space meant for long-term work, it was impossible not to have a ventilation opening. The current ventilation opening in the laboratory should be independent of the villa’s ventilation system, leading to some outside location.

Looking at the ventilation opening several meters high up on the ceiling, Dorothy had the male servant puppet pull something out of its pocket. Opening its hand and taking a closer look, she found that it was a black crow corpse.

This was Dorothy’s bird zombie puppet, brought in under the guise of an eight-pointed minion puppet, handed over to the male servant puppet to facilitate the delivery of the Holy Emblem.