openwho

Chapter 48: Perfect...Completion?

In truth, there were no intricate mechanical contraptions within the Red Frost Manor, nor were there any patrols.

The multiple layers of inhibitions set by the sorcerers dispatched by the Duke of Gray Tower were already highly effective countermeasures. Generally speaking, even if one could successfully breach the external guards, they would trigger the inhibitions the moment they stepped inside the manor, potentially suffering from peculiar magical attacks while raising the alarm.

Their current ease was purely due to the formidable efficacy of the etheric concealment scroll—it could even selectively sever the manor\'s internal etheric inhibitions without affecting the revolutionaries and the external guards.

"Etheric Concealment" was an extremely profound and abstruse technique, which could not be comprehended even slightly without reaching the fourth stage of the [Scepter]. Even the scarce fifth-stage [Crowns] in this world might not possess this ability.

Ether was the lifeblood, soul, and source of power for sorcerers. Concealing and severing the etheric connection naturally had immense destructive power and utility. Thus, the "Professor" mentioned by Nomad undoubtedly held a significant position within the revolutionaries.

However, Seraphina, who knew nothing about this, had only one thought—wasn\'t this a bit too easy?

It was so easy that she felt something was amiss, and a lingering sense of being manipulated by someone else could not be dispelled.

"..." Seraphina silently rubbed her arm, wondering if these people were sent by Hydral?

Was that guy hiding somewhere, watching me?

After pondering for a while, she tentatively asked Nomad and Sting, "What do you think of that Hydral guy?"

Based on her understanding of Hydral\'s subordinates, they couldn\'t stand hearing him insulted. If they heard even a slight bad word about him, they would want to hack the speaker to death, which was quite frightening.

So, if there was something off about these two...

"...Hydral?" Nomad and Sting exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat strange. "Do you have a grudge against him?"

"..."

Seraphina opened her mouth but didn\'t directly answer the question. Instead, she changed the subject: "You hate nobles, and isn\'t Hydral now the biggest noble in the Red Frost territory?"

Meanwhile, Nomad, Sting, and Snowhawk communicated telepathically:

"Does the Count of Stoneheart want to provoke conflict between us and Hydral?"

"Hmph, which noble isn\'t afraid of Hydral? It\'s too normal."

"Nomad, how do you plan to answer her? It doesn\'t matter if you don\'t talk to her since we\'re going to sell her in the end anyway."

They were also aware that after selling Seraphina, their words would not be taken seriously, so they didn\'t plan to pay her any mind.

After all, there were only fifteen minutes left, and they had no time for idle chatter—they were busy looting!

Nomad had taken many decorative items from the rooms along the way, and his small waist pouch only took things in without ever bulging, leaving Seraphina in awe.

These people were too professional—were they specialized in robbing nobles? Was it... was it that "eating the rich" thing?

Seraphina couldn\'t help but ask, "You\'ve taken so much, and after exchanging it for money, where will it be used?"

"For a great cause."

Sting replied, seemingly disliking the way Seraphina looked at them as if they were bandits.

"...I thought you would distribute it to the commoners," Seraphina pouted.

So, they were just ordinary bandits... and they still called it a "great cause." Who were they trying to deceive?

At least Hydral openly admitted that he was deceiving people, and he didn\'t do much harm. You guys, committed wrongdoings and still insisted on calling it something nice—you don\'t seem like good people at all.

Seeing Seraphina\'s disdainful gaze becoming more apparent, Sting instantly became angry. She wasn\'t an impulsive person, but who was the real bandit here — a noble\'s lackey like her, or them?

Sensing the situation going awry, Nomad immediately advised Sting through their telepathic link and continued to lead the way while speaking:

"My friend, what brings you here?"

"...It\'s none of your business."

"Then you should stop pointing fingers," Sting scoffed. "Do you think you\'ll distribute the Red Frost family\'s assets to the commoners after looting them?"

"Of course!" Seraphina answered without hesitation. "Isn\'t that obvious?"

This woman is shameless!

The trio of revolutionaries unanimously decided in their hearts to teach Seraphina an unforgettable lesson before leaving, or else they wouldn\'t be able to face her shameless and despicable performance.

Seraphina was upset but didn\'t speak further. She felt that compared to these people, even Hydral\'s hypocrisy wasn\'t hypocrisy.

At least... at least that guy was never hypocritical to her.

The trio moved through the darkness, navigating the corridors and rooms. After numerous twists and turns, Nomad used an unknown method to open several sealed doors, eventually leading Seraphina to the entrance of the basement.

"We\'re almost there."

Nomad glanced at Sting and then turned to Seraphina, who had been maintaining a cautious distance from them.

The darkness did not hinder Nomad\'s vision, but the girl sent by the Count of Stoneheart had carefully disguised herself, wrapping herself tightly in a headscarf and face mask. Apart from the collar around her neck, there were no obvious identifying features.

"Once we enter the basement and pass through three more doors, we\'ll reach the treasury where the Red Frost family\'s assets are stored. Although it\'s unlikely that everything is stored there, there\'s definitely a lot inside."

He checked his pocket watch: "We have seven minutes and sixteen seconds left before the etheric concealment scroll expires. We have plenty of time. It\'s time for us to talk again, friend."

Nomad maintained the vigilance and caution appropriate when facing a stranger, not letting the "Count of Stoneheart\'s lackey" realize that she had been seen through: "We\'ll only take the gold and other easily liquidated assets, as well as two other key items. You can take whatever else you want."

"All the gold...?"

Seraphina\'s eyes widened slightly, thinking that these people were incredibly greedy!

Although she initially came with the intention of considering it a success if she could obtain the image crystal, she didn\'t mind taking more since she had the opportunity. After all, she was well aware that she was stealing and robbing, and the money she obtained would indeed be used for the common people—well, for her own village.

However, before Nomad could continue his performance, Seraphina spoke up: "Forget it, take as much as you want. I haven\'t been much help anyway."

"That\'s... for the best."

Nomad felt a slight suspicion, thinking that this girl seemed too simple and honest, but he quickly dismissed the insignificant doubt.

He placed his hand on the door lock, and as the magical runes flickered, the lock mechanism automatically turned, the gears rotated and meshed, and the lock core popped out.

The subsequent locks were dealt with in the same manner, and even the massive treasury door took Nomad only about ten seconds to open.

In that instant, the dazzling array of treasures that met their eyes made Seraphina\'s eyes ache—some gems emitted light on their own, making them particularly eye-catching even in the darkness.

Nomad and Sting worked efficiently, frantically looting the gold and gems in the treasury and stuffing them into Nomad\'s waist pouch. Seraphina didn\'t interfere, focusing on searching for the image crystal among the pile of gems.

However, as she searched, she soon became confused—why were all of these different from the one Hydral had?

Of course, Ansel\'s image crystal was custom-made by his father and unique in the world.

As the treasury was nearly half emptied, Seraphina watched Sting put a large medicine jar that seemed to contain a heart and a blood-red crystal into her own pouch. Seraphina didn\'t care anymore and directly grabbed five or six crystals that looked similar to the one Ansel had, stuffing all the pockets inside and outside her clothes.

"Ding."

Since she had to rummage through the items, it was normal for things to fall to the ground and make noise. However, Seraphina noticed the metallic sound among the gems.

The girl glanced down and saw a beautiful ring with an emerald gemstone lying at her feet.

"...How did a ring end up hidden in the pile of gems? Well... it\'s quite pretty. I\'ll take it and give it to Marli!"

Seraphina wasn\'t interested in gemstone rings; if she had to wear one, she preferred those made of pure metal, perhaps with an animal head carved on it—a wolf\'s head would be cool!

She casually pocketed the ring and continued to fill all the pockets she could with more items.

"Should I take a few more rings? Well... there\'s no use in taking too many, and I can\'t fit anything else—!?"

The intuition that allowed Seraphina to kill prey with a single arrow from a hundred meters away, to never make a mistake in hand-to-hand combat, and to seize the glimmer of hope in the face of death, was like a razor-sharp blade cutting into the back of her neck!

Her body reacted before her mind, and she grabbed the gem and swung it at the figure behind her without hesitation!

"Ding!"

A crisp sound echoed through the treasury, followed by the sound of something like a steel needle falling to the ground a few seconds later.

Seraphina slowly turned her head, her dark red eyes gradually igniting with a violent fury.

"What do you mean... by this?"

"... What do we mean?" Nomad regained his composure, his expression growing cold. "Crying thief while being a thief is not a good look, friend."

Thief crying thief?

You bandits not only hypocritically claimed to be working for a great cause but also tried to betray me prematurely, and now you accused me of crying thief?

How are you any different from those shameless nobles? Do you even have the right to call them brutes?!

The sensation of her skin being pierced returned, and with her preparedness, Seraphina\'s movements became even swifter and smoother. She grabbed the hard gem and raised her hand to block, but this time... the sound was not that of metal clashing.

Hiss—!

The sharp steel needle penetrated more than halfway into Seraphina\'s palm, and the gem she had intended to use for temporary defense... shattered!

The magical runes in Nomad\'s hand dissipated, and he looked at Seraphina, whose expression was gradually becoming more and more wrong. He smirked, "Did you think I was just a lock picker? Sorry to disappoint... Disassembly, construction, and recombination are all essential lessons in the art of disintegration. Lock picking practice is just part of the curriculum, friend."

He shrugged and walked away without paying any more attention to Seraphina.

Seraphina didn\'t understand what he was talking about, but she could feel that... after the steel needle pierced her palm, her body was gradually losing control.

"My neurotoxin will destroy everything."

Sting said emotionlessly, staring at her. "Your control over your body, your senses, your consciousness will be imprisoned like a ghost in this decaying shell... You don\'t need to thank me; this is what you deserve."

"Sting, it\'s time to go. We only have two minutes left."

The woman looked down at Seraphina, who was gradually falling to the ground. Recalling the disdainful gaze this noble lackey had given them, her heart surged with resentment and anger, prompting her to leave a final mocking remark:

"Go ahead and hate us, the reformers, as you struggle and despair, you parasite of the old world."

With that, she turned and left.

Seraphina didn\'t feel the despair Sting had mentioned.

This so-called "neurotoxin" had merely paralyzed her.

All she felt now was an unprecedented rage, so intense that it made her forget how dire her current situation was.

"Nomad... Sting... and the one behind you... you\'ll see..."

The she wolf managed to squeeze out a nearly off-key voice from her throat.

Her dark red eyes twisted slightly with fury: "Just you... wait!"

*

Outside the manor, Nomad and Sting, who had successfully escaped through Snowhawk\'s short-range teleportation, breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close," Nomad exhaled. "I thought the Gray Tower would have placed one of the latest magical automatons from the Magic Academy inside. I heard that the monster genius from the Tower of Babel developed an ether-circulating automaton that can\'t be stopped even by etheric concealment. If that thing was there... we\'d be in big trouble."

Sting nodded in agreement: "It was indeed much simpler than we expected. If it was just this, there was no need to send us."

"Haha, still think it\'s a waste of manpower? Wendigo is still squatting in a remote village, eating black bread every day. Let\'s not complain."

Snowhawk said as he stood up, disassembled his sniper rifle, took out a flare gun, and fired it directly into the open short-range teleportation portal.

The next second, a brilliant flare shot out from inside the manor. Snowhawk stretched lazily and said to his companions amidst the guards\' furious shouts, "Let\'s go. With the heart of the Blazing Ice Viper and its crystal core, we finally have enough materials for a perfect completion."

"Yes."

A fourth voice agreed in the windless night.

"Thank you for your efforts, revolutionaries."

The dazzling golden hair and all-encompassing ocean-blue eyes were utterly out of place in the silent night.

"But for me,"

Hydral announced cheerfully, looking at his own reflection in the eyes of the increasingly horrified trio:

"I\'m just a few insignificant steps away from perfection..."

"First, your ill-gotten gains—"

The solemn and cold snake-headed scepter transformed into a blade that could tear everything apart.

The monster wielding the steel serpent whispered with a smile in the darkness.

"I\'ll take care of them for you."