Chapter 173: It Seems Like a Major Event Has Happened Again!

Chapter 173: It Seems Like a Major Event Has Happened Again!

After more than an hour of trekking through the undulating hills, Reyn soon found the abandoned mine cave that served as the Zalar Rebellion Army's stronghold.

Although Reyn had engaged in a brief battle earlier, expending a significant amount of energy due to the intense burst of power and the use of the secret technique 'Earth-splitting Hammer' twice, he was still feeling the strain.

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

Reyn was aware that the enemy didn't have any formidable individuals stationed there, but he recalled an old saying from his past life, 'Overconfidence leads to defeat.' Additionally, there was the possibility of sudden personnel changes within the rebellion.

Therefore, after a moment's thought, Reyn decided to allocate some points to his mental attribute to quickly restore his physical state.

As the remaining attribute points decreased from 2 to 1, and his mental power increased from 24 to 25 points, a surging wave of heat flowed from his heart, rapidly spreading through his limbs and bones.

Instantly, Reyn felt his body returning to peak condition, and the muscle soreness from his previous 'Triphasic State' burst vanished.

Since this abandoned mine cave served as the enemy's stronghold in all of Myester County, Reyn approached the mine entrance with caution, carefully scouting the area.

Soon, Reyn discovered that the rebels had set up two sentry posts, one visible and the other hidden, along with three well-concealed traps that could easily ensnare the unwary.

Indeed, the rebels were not lax in their defense like ordinary bandits. While their military discipline might not match that of the Empire's regular army, they were not without combat capabilities, placing them somewhere between the militia and the city guard in terms of strength.

Reyn silently dealt with the visible and hidden sentries and carefully avoided the traps before slowly making his way into the mine.

After eliminating two patrol teams, Reyn traversed a dimly lit and damp mine tunnel, eventually reaching a spacious underground hall.

Although referred to as a hall, it had a height of only about three meters and an area of around two to three hundred square meters. It was likely a junction of several mine tunnels that had been further excavated and renovated to its current state.

Bonfires were lit around the hall, and about thirty mercenaries, dressed as burly men, were gathered in groups of three or two. Some were chatting casually, others were oiling their longswords, and a few were polishing the shiny matchlock gun barrels.

A portion of them surrounded a knight in plate armor, attentively listening to his words.

Reyn's eyes narrowed as he spotted the knight in plate armor, and he lingered his gaze for a moment.

This person was likely the rebel leader who had ambushed him, the veteran knight left behind, possessing the strength of a senior knight.

After a few seconds, Reyn shifted his gaze from the personnel to the surroundings of the underground hall.

He noticed that the hall was connected to at least four deep and dark tunnels.

Reyn realized that his decision to cautiously infiltrate was the right tactical choice.

Even if he had charged in head-on, successfully fighting his way to this point, the rebels in the underground hall would have scattered and fled, allowing many to escape.

After all, it was challenging to guarantee that all four tunnels didn't lead to secret passages to the outside.

Furthermore, as he was alone, it was impossible for him to block or instantly kill all these dozens of rebels.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Reyn's mind like a bolt of lightning.

Reyn raised his left hand, which was now bare due to the damage to his chrome iron gauntlet during the match with Salem. He focused his gaze on his left pinky finger, where a ring with a green emerald exterior, but actually contained hallucinogenic gas, was worn.

Since his last visit to the Bat Marketplace, where he had purchased and filled the ring with gas, Reyn hadn't had the opportunity to use it. However, he never expected that today, he would encounter such a situation.

Reyn remembered that Endry had also used a similar method in the city of Em.

"If only Endry were a hero," Reyn thought, "I would have proudly exclaimed, 'Great minds think alike!'"

After sniffing the antidote, Reyn gently pressed the trigger on the side of the emerald ring, no larger than a needle. With a 'click,' the colorless and odorless gas was instantly released and spread.

After estimating the time, Reyn drew his glowing greatsword and advanced forward.

In the underground hall, the mercenaries closest to the edge were startled by Reyn's sudden appearance, their faces turning pale. They shouted angrily, "Who are you?

"How did you get in here?!"

With this shout, all the rebels in the underground hall were startled.

They all looked up, focusing their attention on Rain.

These people immediately assumed a combat stance, but as soon as they stood up, they stumbled and fell!

Everyone's faces changed dramatically!

The senior knight who was on guard also took a few steps forward, staggered twice, and stared at Rain with a grim expression.

"Did you poison us?" he asked.

Rain nodded, "That's right!"

"Despicable! Using such underhanded tactics when you're not strong enough!"

"Die!"

With the roar, a powerful slash with the knight's longsword followed.

Indeed, the senior knight's skills were no match for Rain.

The poison only slightly slowed their speed and accuracy.

However, they had clearly underestimated Rain's strength.

They thought Rain resorted to poison because he lacked strength.

Rain was already at a disadvantage, and the poison's effects further weakened him, making the gap between their strengths even more apparent.

"Clang!"

Their swords clashed!

The next moment, the sound of a blade cutting into flesh echoed.

"Pfft!"

With just one strike, Rain sliced through the opponent's right hand from the wrist, swiftly severing it.

An arm holding a knight's longsword flew through the air!

"Pfft!"

With another strike, Rain sidestepped to the left of the senior knight, swiftly moving behind him, and with a heavy blow to the back of the knee, a weak spot in the armor, he chopped off the opponent's lower leg.

"Ah! Who are you?!"

"Ah! Why did you attack us?!"

The rebel leader, now in agony, screamed and asked desperately.

But Rain paid no attention.

They had attacked him first.

Naturally, they had to suffer the consequences of his retaliation. Rain thought.

The other elite rebels, witnessing this scene, turned pale.

Their leader, a senior knight, had been defeated in just two moves and was now wailing in a pool of blood.

Their strength was clearly inferior.

To survive, many of them struggled to get up, intending to flee through the tunnels.

However, under the influence of the poison, they stumbled and fell repeatedly, driven by their survival instincts to get up and stumble again.

After several attempts, most of them couldn't stand up anymore. Some looked dazed, while others were filled with terror, and incoherent words spilled from their mouths.

Apparently, the hallucinogenic gas was quite effective against a large group of ordinary people, sparing Rain from the awkward situation of a tiger chasing ducks.

At this moment, aside from a few knights-in-training who could barely struggle, the rest had become like lambs ready for slaughter.

After leaving a few rebels alive, Rain swiftly dispatched the rest with his sword.

Then, Rain began to search the area.

After all, this was an organization's base, and they had a rich supply of provisions. Piles of smoked meat, stacks of cabbage, potatoes, and other food items were stacked together.

In a small room used as an armory, various weapons were on display, including knight's longswords, shields, two-handed greatswords, and several brand-new matchlock guns.

As if remembering something, Rain, who had intended to check the next room, stopped in his tracks and turned back to the armory. He picked up a matchlock gun.

Although Rain wasn't very familiar with firearms like the matchlock gun, he had seen pirates on the 'Shipwreck' using them during a battle. They needed to ignite the match first before firing, indicating that it was a more primitive firearm.

Rain slightly shook his head, as the firing mechanism wasn't his primary concern.

What had caught his attention earlier was the gun barrel.

As he turned to leave, his peripheral vision caught the gleaming barrel, which seemed to be made of a unique stainless steel!

He had heard that these matchlock guns came from the Eagle Federation.

Indeed, upon closer inspection, Rain confirmed his suspicion.

The craftsmanship of the gun barrel suggested that the Eagle Federation possessed advanced manufacturing techniques, sparking Rain's imagination.

After a moment's thought, Rain decided to take the matchlock guns with him for further study.

When Rain entered the adjacent room, he noticed a table with bottles of aged Bordeaux wine and ruby-colored liquid in wooden cups.

He couldn't help but shake his head in amazement:

"Tsk tsk, the Zalar Rebellion Army sure lives a lavish life."

"Huh? Isn't that the emblem of the Crowley Family?" Rain glanced over and noticed the familiar pattern on a wooden crate containing Bordeaux Vintage—falcon shield and a rose-like flower.

Undoubtedly, it was the symbol of the Crowley Family.

This immediately made Rain frown.

Could it be that the Crowley Family has some connection with the Zalar Rebellion Army?

No, that can't be right!

An image of the plump and beautiful Lady Crowley popped into Rain's mind.

That powerful woman of the Crowley Family wouldn't be so foolish.

If they were supplying the rebellion with wine, they would surely remove their family emblem.

Perhaps someone bought these from the Crowley Family's shop and then supplied them to the rebellion?

Forget it, no point in guessing. Better to just ask directly.

Fortunately, he hadn't killed everyone!

After questioning the leaders again, Rain finally understood.

It turned out that these precious bottles of Bordeaux Vintage were plundered by the rebellion, who were disguised as bandits along the way.

So, these dozen or so crates of Bordeaux Vintage should all be goods from the Crowley Family.

It seems the Crowley Family has suffered a significant loss this time!

After a quick inventory of the supplies in the base, Rain looked at the large pile of goods and fell into deep thought.

He was alone, and no matter how strong he was, he couldn't possibly carry all this back to Shangjin Town.

Moreover, it would be best to eliminate any traces, which meant collapsing this abandoned mine shaft.

The nearly a thousand imperial gold coins he found had to be taken, as well as the matchlocks. As for the Bordeaux Vintage, he might as well take it too.

Who else but a guardian knight of the Crowley Family would have such a dilemma over too many spoils of war?

It seems there's no other choice.

Rain used the existing wooden carts in the base to transport the Bordeaux Vintage and some high-value goods to the entrance of the mine, where he concealed them and marked the spot.

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

As Rain quickly dashed out of the mine, a few seconds later, a dull explosion echoed from the mine entrance, followed by a powerful gust of wind that swept up the surrounding leaves and pebbles.

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

The sun was setting, and a thin mist rose above Shangjin Town. Under the glow of the sunset, it seemed to be draped in a golden veil.

When Rain returned home, he immediately saw his sister, Mint, playing with the lurcher 'Cookie' in the front yard.

Ever since Anna left, Mint had been quite gloomy for a while.

Fortunately, as 'Cookie' grew, it gradually became a good playmate for Mint.

Thinking of this, Rain remembered the Wisdom Potion. He had already gathered all the materials at the Nightingale Marketplace in Rosby City. When he had the time, he would make it, which might further enhance 'Cookie's intelligence.

"Brother, is it really you?" As the sound of hooves grew clearer, Mint suddenly looked up, hesitated for a moment, and then exclaimed with delight.

Dinner time.

Rain's family gathered around the wooden dining table.

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

Mother Emma's wooden spoon clattered into the vegetable soup, splashing it, and her eyes widened in surprise as she gazed at her son.

While she knew her son had gone to participate in the ennoblement examination, she had only dared to hope that if he passed, he would become a noble knight.

Never did she imagine that her son would leap two ranks and become a baron directly!

Oh my God!

May the Goddess be praised!

Old Lein's mouth hung open in disbelief, staring at his son.

He never thought he would live to see the day when he would be the father of a baron!

Only his sister, Mint, seemed a bit confused, but she flapped her long lashes, looked at her brother, and then turned to her parents.

From their expressions, Mint could tell one thing for sure.

Her brother, Rain, must have accomplished something truly remarkable!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end