The vault before them was filled with gold and silver treasures that Viscount Swift had accumulated during his years of military campaigns.
Things like statues of Sass soldiers cast in gold, and ceremonial swords inlaid with jewels.
Generally speaking, every nobleman had his own little treasury to store the wealth he had acquired.
It might not contain your most important possessions, but it's definitely the most valuable item on the market.
The higher the rank, the longer one lives, and the more wealth one accumulates.
Linde also had such a slush fund, but it's not very big in there now.
Looking at the vast treasury before him, which was clearly much larger than his own, Linde did not show much desire.
You'll have it eventually.
"Just take a look; now is not the time to care about these things."
Linde quickly found the exit and stood at the doorway, peering outside.
Everyone was clearly aware of the situation when faced with the temptation of gold, and they all held their breath and dared not make a sound.
Through the crack in the door, Linde saw the detailed situation outside; all he could say was that it was dilapidated.
Everywhere you look, there are signs that it hasn't been repaired or cleaned in a long time, and there are many disgusting things scattered everywhere.
"As long as no one is around."
Lind clapped his hands and returned to the crowd.
"Should we go outside... or..."
Lillens peeked through the crack in the door from the side.
"We'll stay here."
"Huh? Why?"
Um... I can't exactly say that I sensed the cult's hideout right under my feet.
Lind has been constantly activating his vision ever since he approached the castle.
We were quite far away before, and we hadn't been able to find the deepest cult stronghold.
Now, Lind has a clear view of the cult's stronghold beneath his feet.
A massive underground cavity, twisted and writhing tentacles, and a gigantic life form feasting on human sacrifice.
Undoubtedly, the person feasting down there was Viscount Swift.
Then, a bold idea popped into Lind's mind.
He said to Li Luns:
"I'll wait for an opportunity here, but I need to make some preparations."
So Linde got to work in front of everyone, starting to move the gold in the warehouse.
"Come on, lend a hand, these things are quite heavy."
Linde's voice brought everyone back to reality, and they started helping out.
Linde then began to explain his plans to everyone.
“Right below us is the cultists’ stronghold. With my magic, I can catch them off guard.”
Everyone remembered Linde's ability to turn walls into sand, which made Linde's entire surprise attack plan seem less like a pipe dream.
Is it... big down there?
"Hmm...it's about...half the size of Viscount's Castle."
Everyone was startled upon hearing this, and Li Luns quickly asked:
"Does that mean the entire Viscount's castle is hollow underground?"
"More or less."
"…………"
Silence, nothing but silence.
Lind joked:
"You'll probably have to find a way to rebuild a viscount's castle by then, Viscount Lillens."
The thought that the magnificent fortress before him would soon be reduced to ashes was incredibly painful.
"Can it be saved...?"
"I asked weakly," Li Luns asked.
"cannot."
"And even if we don't take action, it won't be long before he's fully fed and emerges from the ground, and then it won't just be a matter of Viscount's Castle."
Somewhat dejected, Lillens sat down and started chatting idly.
"Ugh... Damn cultists, I'm fed up with them. They've been coming out in droves lately, their presence is everywhere."
"It's truly hateful..."
What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener.
Linde was also a little surprised, as he had never heard of cultists being so ubiquitous these days.
Leaving aside the more distant earls, even just around the Fortified City, this is already the second cult conspiracy since the beginning of the year.
Aside from Bishop Saen, who almost reached the Mithril level last time, Viscount Swift is no less impressive this time.
According to Linde's estimate, if he were to complete the ritual completely, he would at least be at the bronze level.
There must be a reason why these high-ranking cult members are appearing in such large numbers.
Previously, Linde was deeply embroiled in the war, and now it seems that the involvement of these cultists was indispensable.
They instigate wars, cause disasters, and sacrifice humans—what are they after? Power? Divine power? To awaken an evil god?
I have a feeling that these cultists have some kind of conspiracy or reason, but due to the limited information available, I don't know exactly what happened to make them so crazy these past few days.
"Hey, Baron Linde, before I came I heard that the Earl's Domain of Truk was attacked by cultists recently, and your elder brother Karl was said to have been seriously injured...?"
“Karl is injured? I really didn’t know that. I’ve never gotten along with him.”
"However, Truk territory should be fine. If a major problem arises, there's nothing I can do."
The two chatted back and forth like that.
The soldiers under Lilens and Leonis, who was accompanying Linde, listened to each sentence but couldn't get a word in edgewise, since it was all a noble conversation.
Evening arrived, but the expressions on everyone's faces did not ease; they were all waiting for Linde's orders.
Linde wasn't idle either; he kept a close eye on the changes under his feet.
As night fell, most of the cultists emerged from underground and infiltrated the city, presumably to go out and arrest people.
Good opportunity. Now there's only Swift and a few scattered cultists left in the entire underground space.
Linde stood up, and everyone around him tensed up.
"Now is the best time. Right now, the entire underground space only has Swift and a few cultists."
"We can start preparing now..."
…………
Inside the underground space, Swift lay quietly in the pool of blood, enjoying the afterglow of the rampant growth of power.
Similarly, he also recalled why he had initially embarked on this path.
Back then, as an illegitimate son in the family, he was not well-liked.
In addition, his family was not a large baronial family, and a son of a concubine like him would never have any right to inherit.
The best outcome would be to become a wandering knight, a vassal of some nobleman.
But he was unwilling to accept this; he was unwilling to live a life of mediocrity.
One day, by chance, he obtained a book of the Dedication Society, which recorded the doctrines and rituals of dedicating oneself to others and strengthening oneself.
Years of family oppression and contempt led him to develop different ideas.
Why am I the one who gets bullied?
Why are others the ones being oppressed and exploited?
Why... not let others become my nourishment?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com