SWNOVELXO Chapter 16: Underground tunnel
Zane walked into the house, and Lucy was already there.
"That was fast," he said.
"Their guards are exceptionally weak," she replied.
Zane looked around the house a bit. The lights inside were off, but he could still see the layout and everything like it was day.
If his memory served him right, the path that led to the underground arena was built under the cellar, and the path to the cell was the store, which was close to the kitchen.
He walked toward the kitchen and then straight to the thick wooden door of the store. There was a large lock on the door, so he grabbed it and pulled it, snapping it off.
He pushed the door and walked in. The warm smell of grains and other produce wafted into his nose. Bags and bags of different foodstuffs filled the room. At the center of the room was a wooden trapdoor that led down to the cellar.
He pulled the door open and climbed down. Lucy followed, using the ladder and getting down into the cellar. The moment they stepped in, the smell of fermented grapes mixed with beer.
It was heavy and potent, almost distracting, as vampires had a much better and more sensitive sense of smell. Zane sniffled a few times before he reached the ground. He looked around—large barrels stood from left to right, all around.
'I can't recall where exactly the door that leads to the underground tunnel is, but it shouldn't be hard to find if I focus,' Zane thought.
"Master, behind the last three barrels, there is a gap behind the walls," Lucy casually said.
"Gahhhh!" Zane's mouth opened wide. He didn't even get to try and look. He looked at her with teary eyes, and she immediately panicked and started waving her hands.
"Master, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she kept apologizing.
"Sigh, you don't even know why you are apologizing. I was just shocked at how much more effective you are—it makes me look almost useless," Zane said.
"I'm sorry, Master. I'll try to be less useful," she said.
"Nah, keep doing what you're doing. It's for the better that we get through this quick enough," Zane said.
He walked toward the last three barrels. There was enough space between them to walk, so he passed through and got to the wall behind them.
As he placed his hand on the wall, he could feel that there was indeed a gap there. But there was a method to unlocking the door—only Zane didn't have time for that. He started pushing with force, and after a few seconds, creaking could be heard.
Then something broke, and the door opened. The stone wall swiveled along its center axis, revealing a path lit up by flame torches along the wall. Cold, carved stones lined the walls and floor.
"Let's go," Zane said and walked in. His footsteps echoed within the hallway.
'Building this sort of elaborate pathway underground must have cost a tremendous amount of money to make. A count should not be able to dump that much money into anything and the Royal Family not be aware, Zane started thinking.
The ability to make a structure stand underground would take time, research, and proper planning, spanning several different people—and yet this was not questioned or shut down.
This count has other high-profile supporters. When it was only a game, I didn't care about these details, but now this is a real-world setting. Actions have reactions. If I kill the count, there is a high probability that someone will come for me,' Zane thought.
"Master, there are people ahead," Lucy said, long before they even saw them. Zane also sensed them—their scent reached his nose: four people standing there.
"I'll handle this," he said. He pulled out his dagger and lunged forward so fast that the torches all went out.
The four guards outside the thick iron door were shocked when the torches went out. They started looking around in confusion.
"Hey, what the hell is happening?" guard one said.
"How would we know? We've been here with you," guard two responded.
"Who has a match or something?" guard three asked.
"I think I have... garhhhhh... gurgle... gargle..."
The third guard was speaking when his voice was muffled by something that sounded like liquid, and his body fell to the ground.
"What happened?" guard one asked. He looked around in a panic but couldn't see anything.
Stab.
A dagger went through his back, right through his heart. A hand covered his mouth to stop him from shouting. The dagger was pulled out, and he fell to the ground.
The last two were in utter confusion, not sure what to do.
Slash, slash.
The two fell to the ground dead, their throats slit.
[You have gained 50 EXP]
[You have gained 50 EXP]
[You have gained 50 EXP]
[You have gained 50 EXP]
Zane took a drop of blood from each as he tasted it for the stat points.
[You have gained 2 stat points]
[You have gained 2 stat points]
[You have gained 2 stat points]
[You have gained 2 stat points]
Lucy caught up to Zane. She looked at the bodies on the ground and then looked at the largest door.
She walked to the door and placed her hand on it.
"There are at least two hundred people inside that place, Master," she said.
"Two hundred? Can you handle something that large?" Zane asked.
"Yup, they won't be an issue," she said with a smile.
"Alright, make sure no one escapes. But as for the count and his guard, leave those two to me. I'll be the one handling that," Zane said.