Chapter 173: Another Major Incident!

Chapter 173: Another Major Incident!

After more than an hour of trekking through the undulating hills, Rayne quickly located the abandoned mine that served as the Zaraal Resistance Army's stronghold.

Despite the short duration of his previous battle, Rayne had expended a significant amount of energy due to the intense burst of power and the use of his secret technique, 'Earth-Shattering Hammer', twice.

Now, after another hour of forced marching, his physical condition had dropped to around sixty to seventy percent of his peak state.

Although Rayne knew that there were no powerful individuals stationed there, he couldn't help but recall the old saying, 'Overconfidence leads to defeat.' Moreover, there was always the possibility of unexpected personnel changes within the Resistance Army.

So, after a moment's consideration, Rayne decided to add a point to his spiritual attribute to quickly recover his physical state.

As the remaining attribute points decreased from 2 to 1, and his spirit power increased from 24 to 25 points, a surging wave of heat pumped from his heart and rapidly spread throughout his body.

Instantly, Rayne felt his condition restored to peak levels, and the muscle soreness from his previous 'Tri-State Transformation' burst vanished.

Since this abandoned mine was the enemy's stronghold in all of Master County, Rayne proceeded with caution. He carefully surveyed the area near the mine entrance.

Furthermore, as he was alone, it was impossible for him to stop or kill all these dozens of Resistance Army members at once.

"Hmm? Isn't this the Crowley family emblem?" Rayne glanced at the wooden crate containing the Bordeaux vintage and noticed the familiar pattern—a falcon shield with a rose-like flower.

The burly men closest to the edge of the underground hall, startled by Rayne's sudden appearance, exclaimed, "Who are you?"

They would have to endure the backlash of my counterattack! Rayne thought.

The men's faces turned pale instantly.

After estimating the time, Rayne drew his dimly glowing greatsword and calmly approached.

The men were already at a significant disadvantage compared to Rayne's superior strength, and now, under the influence of the poison, they were even more vulnerable. "Clang!"

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Rayne's mind like lightning.

In just one exchange, Rayne sliced into the man's right armpit and, with an upward swing, severed his hand.

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"You despicable fellow, using such underhanded tactics when you lack strength!"

After all, he was the Guardian Knight of the Crowley family!

Facing Rayne, an unexpected intruder, the men immediately assumed a combat stance, but as they rose, they stumbled and fell!

The next moment, the sound of blades slicing through flesh echoed.

As the sun set, a thin fog rose over the town of Shining Gold, illuminated by the evening glow, resembling a golden veil.

Rayne had only managed to slightly reduce their speed and accuracy.

Something was wrong!

This poison, which Rayne had procured at Bat Market and loaded, hadn't had a chance to be used since then. But today, he had encountered the perfect opportunity.

After sniffing the antidote, Rayne lightly pressed the trigger on his emerald ring, and with a 'click,' an odorless poison instantly released and spread.

After a moment's thought, Rayne removed the matchlock guns.

What had caught his attention was the guns' barrels.

After leaving a few of the apparent leaders alive, Rayne swiftly dispatched the rest with his sword.

By the Goddess!

It turned out that these precious Bordeaux vintages were looted by the Resistance Army disguised as bandits along their journey.

Additionally, it would be best for Rayne to erase any traces of his presence, meaning collapsing this abandoned mine would be ideal.

The men looked up at Rayne, their gazes fixed on him.

"How did you get in here?!"

Rayne realized that his cautious infiltration had been the right tactical choice.

"Brother, you're back!" Mint exclaimed, her voice growing clearer with the approaching hoofbeats. She looked up, her expression filled with joy.

After all, there was no guarantee that these four tunnels all led to secret passages to the outside.

At this thought, Rayne recalled the Wisdom Elixir. He had already gathered the necessary materials at the Nightingale Market in Rosby City and planned to make it when he had the time, perhaps boosting Cookie's intelligence further.

Rayne remembered that Endre had also used it in the Elim Mine.

It seemed like the only option.

Although Rayne wasn't very familiar with matchlock guns, he knew from the battle with the Bloodsail Pirates aboard the Sunken Ship that this type of firearm required lighting a fuse before firing, making it a more primitive weapon.

When Rain returned home, he immediately spotted his sister Mint playing with their Liti dog, Cookie, in the front yard.

If they were supplying alcohol to the Resistance, even a fool would know that they would have to remove their family emblem.

Rain's family gathered around the wooden dining table.

Could it be that someone purchased these goods from the Crowley family's store and then supplied them to the Resistance?

He couldn't help but shake his head and sigh:

Ever since Anna left, Mint had been in low spirits for a long time.

The so-called hall was only about three meters high and had an area of about two to three hundred square meters. It was most likely a junction of several mine tunnels that had been further excavated and renovated to its current state.

It seemed that this time, the Crowley family had suffered a significant loss! After a quick inventory of the supplies in the base, Rain couldn't help but fall into deep thought as he looked at the large pile of supplies before him.

Could the Crowley family have connections with the Zaral Resistance?

"Pfft!"

Rain quickly discovered that they had set up two sentry posts, one visible and one hidden, as well as three concealed traps that could easily catch one off guard.

Rain slightly raised his left hand, and although the chromium-iron plate gauntlet had been damaged during the test with Salem, he was currently bare-handed. He focused his gaze on his left pinky finger.

Rain found that the underground hall was connected to at least four deep tunnels.

With the roar, the opponent swung a powerful and heavy slash with their knight sword!

An arm holding a knight sword flew through the air! "Pfft!"

After taking out two patrol squads, Rain made his way through a dark and damp mine tunnel to a spacious underground hall.

Thankfully, he hadn't taken out all of them!

Judging from the craftsmanship of the gun barrel, the metallurgical skills in the Eagle Federation were quite advanced, which sparked Rain's curiosity.

The wooden spoon in his mother Emma's hand clattered into the soup bowl, splashing vegetable soup everywhere. Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at her son.

He had heard that these matchlock guns were from the Eagle Federation. As expected, after carefully examining the gun barrel, Rain confirmed his guess.

The elite Resistance members witnessing this scene turned pale with shock!

To survive, many of them struggled to get up, intending to run towards the tunnels on all sides. But after being poisoned, they stumbled and fell, only to get up and stumble again, driven by their desire to live.

If that's the case, the Bordeaux vintage in these ten or so wooden crates should be Crowley family goods.

Fortunately, as Cookie grew up, he gradually became able to play with Mint.

The senior knight who was left behind as the leader was knocked down in just two moves and was now wailing in a pool of blood.

Oh my god!

Rain couldn't help but laugh, then shook his head slightly.

Unfortunately, Andrey wasn't a hero.

"Ah! Why are you attacking us?"

The senior knight who was left behind also staggered a few steps and glared at Rain with a grim expression, asking, "Did you poison us?"

Then, he returned and moved several barrels of gunpowder to the middle of the narrow mine tunnel, connecting them with a fuse and lighting it.

Rain realized that there would be a day when he would be bothered by having too much loot.

However, they had clearly underestimated Rain's strength.

Forget it, instead of guessing blindly, it's better to ask directly.

The place where he was about to use this skill for the first time was also a mine.

Indeed, the senior knight's poison gas tactic had little effect on him.

"Ah! Who are you?"

"Rain, you said you're a baron now?"

At this moment, except for a few quasi-knights who could barely struggle a few times, the others had become like lambs to the slaughter.

Since this was an organization's base, they had a rich supply of various items. Stacked together were pieces of smoked meat, piles of cabbage, potatoes, and other food items.

He planned to study them carefully after returning home.

Indeed, the Resistance was not a group of slackers; their military discipline was not as lax as bandits. While their military skills might not match the regular army, they were not completely powerless, ranking somewhere between the militia and the city guard.

According to the development of his past life, flintlock guns should follow matchlock guns? Rain shook his head slightly, as this was not his main concern.

After questioning those leaders again, Rain finally understood.

"Go to hell!"

In the small room next to the armory, various weapons were displayed, such as knight swords, shields, greatswords, and several brand-new matchlocks.

Therefore, Rain quietly eliminated the guards at the two posts, bypassed the traps, and then slowly ventured into the mine.

Double sword strike!

Rain thought that he used poison because of his insufficient strength.

Rain nodded and said, "That's right!"

In Rain's mind, the image of Baroness Crowley, with her voluptuous and beautiful figure, appeared.

Emma never expected that her son could skip two levels and become a baron directly!

After completing all this, Rain began his return journey, heading back to where he had hidden his horse earlier.

"Tsk tsk, the living conditions of the Resistance Army are so luxurious."

With nearly a thousand Imperial gold coins found through the search, it was natural to take them, along with the matchlocks and the Bordeaux vintage.

As they shouted, all the Resistance Army members in the underground hall were startled.

"You attacked me first."

Apparently, this person should be the Resistance Army leader who ambushed him, the knight who was left behind, and had the strength of a Senior Knight.

As if thinking of something, Rain, who was about to check the next room, stopped in his tracks, turned back to the small room, and picked up a matchlock.

Even if he broke in, even if he could rush through to this place, even if the Resistance Army members in the underground hall were no match for him, some might escape, and there might be some fugitives who got away.

There was a ring that looked like an emerald ring, but in fact, it was a ring filled with hallucinogenic poison.

Otherwise, I have to say, "Heroes see the same!" Rain thought to himself.

After repeating this several times, most people couldn't stand up anymore.

Some were dazed, some were terrified, and some started to babble incoherently.

Their strength was naturally inferior.

Undoubtedly, this was the symbol of the Crowley family.

Although she knew that her son was going to the Noble Enfeoffment Examination, she only hoped that her son might pass and become a noble knight.

With only one person, it was obvious that no matter how strong he was, he couldn't carry all these things back to Shangjin Town.

The woman in charge of the Crowley family wouldn't be so foolish.

But Rain didn't pay attention to her.

Rain used the cart in the stronghold to transport the Bordeaux vintage and some high-value goods to the mine, marking them after hiding them.

It was lunchtime.

When Rain entered another independent compartment next to the one he was in, he saw the Bordeaux vintage on the table and the wine in the wooden cups, with a color like rubies.

The Resistance Army's leader screamed and kept asking questions.

Another group surrounded a knight wearing plate armor, listening attentively.

Immediately, Rain began to search around.

With another sword, Rain took a side step and crossed to the left rear of the Senior Knight. He quickly struck the weak spot behind the opponent's knee, cutting off one of his legs.

As Rain's figure quickly flew out of the mine, a dull explosion sounded from the mine entrance a few seconds later. Then, a powerful gust of wind swept up the surrounding leaves and stones.

A few seconds later, Rain shifted his gaze from the people to the surroundings of the underground hall.

Campfires were lit around the hall, and about thirty mercenaries in sturdy armor gathered in groups of three or four. Some were chatting, some were oiling their longswords, and some were polishing their shiny matchlocks.

This immediately made Rain frown.

In the instant he left, the corner of his eye was attracted by the shiny gun barrels, and this craftsmanship seemed quite extraordinary. It seemed to be some kind of stainless steel!

Rain narrowed his eyes as he looked at the knight in plate armor, and his gaze lingered for a while.

Apparently, the hallucinogenic poison had started to take effect on this group of people! Rain watched this scene, nodding to himself. The hallucinogenic poison was quite effective against a large number of ordinary people, sparing him the embarrassment of a tiger chasing ducks.

Old Rain's mouth was wide open, and he looked at his son in disbelief.

He never expected that one day, he would become the father of a baron!

Only Mint seemed a bit dazed, but she was fluttering her long eyelashes and staring at her brother. Then, she turned her head to look at her parents.

From the expressions of her parents, Mint could confirm one thing.

Her brother Rain seemed to have done something extraordinary again!

There's another chapter at noon! ^_^

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end