Chapter 44: Feint and Strike!
After reaching a foundation skill of 500 points, things took a turn for the extreme.
Soren swaggered into Greybeard’s estate without a care, even walking right past the guards without them noticing. The Furnace of Fire was still lit; he wasn’t in a hurry to go there. The artifact was definitely a priority, and it was a given that Greybeard was personally overseeing it. Soren’s main goal was to obtain mithril. Even if he couldn’t get the artifact this time, there were still ways to wrest it from Greybeard in the future.
After all!
According to the original timeline, Greybeard ultimately fell to the heart-stealer, after which the artifact became unclaimed, attracting adventurers from all over the Underdark to compete for it.
Soren entered the estate.
He could feel a faint wave of psychic energy throughout the premises, likely maintained by some spell trap. Soren didn’t dare to be careless and carefully cast ‘Levitation’ as he moved forward.
He was searching for the treasury.
Greybeard was one of the wealthy lords of the Underdark. He had acquired a sizable fortune after defeating the heart-stealer’s lair and had become a master blacksmith in the Underdark. After a century of accumulation, this guy was wealthier than many kings in the surface world. More importantly, he excelled in exploring mines; not only had he discovered mithril veins, but he also found a vein of gold—though that discovery was made seventy or eighty years ago.
It was from this that he gained the funds to build Glax City.
This aspect was quite similar.
If it weren’t for the funding from Treasure Island, Soren would likely have struggled to establish Modo City so quickly.
Greybeard’s estate was massive!
After a brief look around, Soren found nothing, but that was not enough to stump a deity, let alone Soren, who was also a part-time wizard.
“That’s the one!”
Soren quickly identified a target, a servant in Greybeard’s estate.
This place was near the inner courtyard. Clearly, this servant was one whom Greybeard trusted more, which allowed him to work in such a location.
Having someone around made things easier.
Soren’s figure quietly approached, and in an instant, he cast a spell.
—”Dominate Person! [Divine Power Conversion]”
Soren’s figure gradually materialized, and the Grey Dwarf servant standing before him became dazed, his pupils hollow; his mind had been completely seized by Soren’s spell. His thoughts were entirely dominated by Soren’s power.
For a long time,
Soren had been enhancing his two types of saving throw resistances: one against charm spells and the other against control spells.
The reason was simple—these types of spells were too terrifying!
Just like now, the servant controlled by Soren answered every question without hesitation. Even if Soren ordered him to k*ll someone else, there would be no issues.
Such spells were extremely frightening; as long as the saving throw failed, it was practically a dead end!
“Where is Greybeard now?”
Soren used magic to seal the sounds around him and said in a low voice, “Tell me everything you know.”
The Grey Dwarf servant’s expression was blank as he slowly replied, “Master should be at the Furnace of Fire right now.”
“He stays there for half the day.”
“He only returns at dinner time, then goes back the next morning.”
Greybeard was indeed not here.
Soren pondered for a moment and then asked, “Where is Greybeard’s treasury?”
“Where is the mithril stored in Glax City?”
The Grey Dwarf servant seemed to think for a moment, then blankly replied, “The master’s treasury is in the basement to the southwest. He goes there once a week and does not allow anyone else to follow.”
“I don’t know about the mithril.”
“But all the mithril mined from Glax City is controlled by Greybeard and may also be stored in the treasury.”
The basement?
Soren thought it over and proceeded to ask a few more questions before disposing of the Grey Dwarf servant before him.
It was unavoidable.
After all, spells are not omnipotent; he could control the Grey Dwarf servant but couldn’t erase his memory of being controlled.
While a deity form might manage it, a saint form could not do anything in this regard.
In this situation, he had to dispose of him.
Soren didn’t have much time. If a Grey Dwarf servant suddenly went missing, it would definitely arouse suspicion. After confirming the rough location, he immediately headed in that direction.
Soren decided to obtain the mithril first and then consider the artifact.
Because he still didn’t know whether the artifact was completely finished; if it wasn’t, stealing it would be meaningless. Whether it was Gloria or the Fallen Witch, both would struggle to complete this artifact.
However,
The High Priest might be able to, as she was a Mind Sorcerer.
The southwest corner of Greybeard’s estate was more heavily guarded, but that was no issue for Soren. The only trouble was that he noticed some signs of Grey Dwarf wizards and Spiritual Sorcerers, who needed to remain undisturbed.
If he launched a frontal assault,
It would probably be impossible for even a high-level Legendary Adventurer team to breach this fortress.
—”Disarm Trap!”
A clever and deadly trap was easily deciphered by Soren, and with a flick of divine power, he disarmed it.
The comprehensive abilities of the [Wanderer] divine profession were quite strong. Soren could now disarm traps without needing to do it physically. He could see that Greybeard was quite cautious because after the trap was disarmed, Soren found a triggering alarm and an unactivated [Finger of d*ath] scroll.
But this was just the beginning.
After locating the basement, Soren discovered three more deadly traps.
They were Dispel Magic, Finger of d*ath, and Cloudkill.
Soren accepted these spell scrolls without hesitation; Greybeard surely spent a lot on them. Just these three instant-d*ath spell scrolls were worth several thousand Gind.
Creak!
The basement was quickly opened.
To prevent the noise from alerting others, Soren cast a ten-foot silence spell.
No sound would carry out.
This was a little trick of a top-notch thief; back in the day, Soren always carried some silence spells. Sometimes he used them against wizards casting spells, and sometimes to avoid disturbing others while triggering mechanisms.
However, such abilities were ineffective against enemies who had mastered the [Silent Spell] specialty.
Rumbling!
The sound of the mechanism activating was still quite loud. Without the silence spell, it would have probably alerted many guards.
Soren quietly slipped inside.
The underground was illuminated by crystal lamps. The passage was dark, and as Soren entered, he sensed something.
“Stone Gargoyle?”
Soren frowned slightly, and the next moment, he vanished from the spot.
—”Shadow Leap!”
Crack.
With a silver-white glimmer, he swiftly cleaved a black obsidian statue in half.
An alchemical construct.
A form of alchemy that, aside from Golem crafting, was used for guarding specific places but didn’t perform as well as Puppet Golems. There were plenty of similar items in Grey Dwarf alchemy.
Next came a series of traps that needed to be disarmed.
Greybeard had laid out numerous triggering traps in this basement. Soren spent over ten minutes disarming them all with his abilities.
In contrast, other Legendary Wanderers wouldn’t have been able to do it without at least an hour or two.
Rumbling!
After disarming all the triggering traps, Soren opened the first large door.
The noise was still quite loud.
In this era, the mechanisms made it hard to avoid making sounds. However, with Soren’s preparations, he didn’t worry about alerting others.
Golden light shined!
Soren felt blinded by the golden light as he opened Greybeard’s treasury.
“Wow!”
“This guy is loaded!”
Greybeard was indeed wealthy; as a master blacksmith in the Underdark, he had engaged in weapon trading for over a century. Grey Dwarves lived for about three hundred years, so wealth amassed over a hundred years far exceeded that of noble humans. The first thing Soren saw was a mountain of gold, estimating at least over one million Gind.
“Eh!?”
“This guy is really cautious! There are even trigger traps inside!”
Soren was impressed by Greybeard’s caution. Just as he was about to step inside, he noticed a triggering alarm trap hidden under a stone tile.
The treasury was filled with treasures.
Gold and silver jewelry were just part of it. Soren also saw an abundance of weapons and equipment.
However!
All of these were forged for Grey Dwarves’ physiques, most being heavy armor and heavy weapons, primarily battle axes, war hammers, and heavy maces, stacked by the hundreds. All were of extraordinary quality.
“Is this guy preparing to arm an elite force?”
Soren didn’t linger much, directly activating his saint form to sense the mithril’s location with divine-level perception.
Soon.
He discovered a hidden compartment.
It was a magical lock, but it was no challenge for the [God of Wanderers]. After opening it, he immediately saw a dazzling silver light.
Mithril.
And not a small quantity; in addition, there were some exquisite metals and three Legendary-level Soul Crystals.
“This guy has quite a rich foundation.”
Looking at this treasury, the wealth inside surpassed that of Modo City by a large margin. Since he was here, he might as well take everything he could.
He first emptied the mithril and exquisite metal, then cast a spell to open a dimensional rift in mid-air, causing the gold to flow in like a golden river under the effect of ‘Mage Hand.’
Next came the armor and weapons.
This wasn’t his first time emptying someone else’s house; much of Modo City’s current funds came from robbing the Goblin Demon Lord.
He had experience!
It didn’t take long before Soren completely emptied the treasury before him.
The exact amount of wealth was still impossible to quantify.
Not counting the high-value mithril, exquisite metals, and Soul Crystals, plus the extraordinary weapons of Grey Dwarf equipment, just the gold, silver, and jewels in the treasury already amounted to two to three million Gind.
Of course.
The Saint’s Cataclysm had erupted; gold and silver were still manageable, but selling off jewels was trickier, and their value would definitely take a hit.
Gloria’s experiments required a large number of gemstones, and these resources could serve as internal sales.
Soren meticulously made another round.
Confirming there were no other hidden compartments, he finally planned to leave.
Greybeard didn’t seem to have much of a preference for collecting legendary equipment. He probably had his legendary gear on him, so no other high-value legendary items were found here.
“Hmm.”
“Time should be about up!”
Soren glanced one last time at the now-empty treasury, then moved to the doorway, placing a foot on a slightly movable stone tile.
The next moment!
A triggering alarm trap was activated, and the magical fluctuations alarmed many people.
—”Flight Spell!”
—”Greater Invisibility Spell!”
Soren cast spells in succession and rushed out of the basement, flying toward the Furnace of Fire without a second thought.
The next moment,
He saw many people rushing from the castle, among whom were quite a few high-level Grey Dwarf wizards and Spiritual Sorcerers.
At the same time.
A sudden surge of magical fluctuations came from the direction of the Furnace of Fire, followed by a large and imposing Grey Dwarf rushing over.
Greybeard!
As a lord of the Underdark, Greybeard exuded a formidable presence!
His strength was incredibly powerful, making him more challenging than most matriarchs of the Drow; he might even stand against the Ascendant—Eugene Steel.
Greybeard quickly arrived at the basement treasury.
When he saw it already emptied, he was instantly consumed by fury, roaring in anger, which sent everyone else fleeing in fear.
Greybeard was infuriated beyond measure!
However,
He was still a seasoned legendary figure, and his response time was rapid. After a brief pause, his expression changed as he madly rushed toward the Furnace of Fire.
But alas.
It was all too late.
Just as Greybeard left the basement treasury, a frantic alarm rang out from the Furnace of Fire, followed by a series of explosive sounds.
“d*mn thief!!!”
“I will tear you to shreds!!!”
At that moment, Greybeard couldn’t afford to think of anything else as he barreled toward the Furnace of Fire. By the time he arrived, chaos reigned; everywhere was ablaze.
As for the nearly finished artifact-level mithril chainmail,
It had already been stealthily taken by someone before he reached the basement treasury. The enemy’s strength was remarkably powerful; they had forcefully broken through all the protective spells and directly withstood the triggering traps, ultimately seizing the artifact from the Furnace of Fire.
“Ah!!!”
Seeing the scene before him drove Greybeard near madness; his bloodshot eyes locked onto a guard, and he ripped him in half.
“Find!”
“Get me a search! Seal the city gates!”
“You must find it even if you have to dig three feet into the ground!…”
His enraged roars echoed.
However, at this moment, Soren had long since left Glax City. He had sustained minor injuries at the last moment, but the rewards were undoubtedly worth it!
………………
(PS: Today, there is a red envelope lottery activity on the official WeChat account, with about a thousand red envelopes available. Everyone can try their luck.) (To be continued ~^~)
