“Huh? There’s a treasure vault in here?” Siegfried was surprised when "Treasure Hunter" suddenly activated. The idea that a treasure vault could exist in this absolutely disgusting place was hard to believe. No matter how much he thought about it, it simply did not make sense for anyone to hide something in her. However, his title, "Treasure Hunter," never lied to him—not even once. A golden arrow materialized in front of him, pointing in a specific direction. “Well, I guess there’s no law saying that treasure vaults have to be only placed inside the palace. If there’s a secret passage leading from the royal palace all the way to this sewer, then...” It was indeed plausible. Treasure vaults needed to be hidden away to serve their purpose. If this one happened to be inside the sewers, then so be it. “I guess I’ll find out soon,” he muttered with a shrug before following the golden arrow. The arrow led him past the central area of the city, which was located right above him, and continued farther inside. “Just as I thought...” Seeing that the arrow extended all the way to where the palace was located, Siegfried was now confident that his theory was correct. “I guess I’ll loot the treasure vault first. The others will have to wait for a bit. It might be too late if I try to loot it after the operation ends.” Siegfried decided to make his allies wait just a little longer. After all, this was not a mission where every second was crucial, so there was no real issue with taking a small detour. Thus, he followed the golden arrow without hesitation. “Hehehe!” Siegfried grinned from ear to ear after arriving at the entrance of the treasure vault. Looting a kingdom’s treasure vault was always exciting, but the fact that he was looting a great power’s vault this time made it even more exhilarating. There were no words to describe just how excited he was right now. “Treasure~ Oh, baby treasure~” Humming a tune, Siegfried swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp and struck the wall. The wall crumbled, revealing a passage. Siegfried stepped through the opening and into the treasure vault. Cha-ching! Cha-ching! What awaited him was a mountain of gold and jewels, along with priceless heirlooms of the Adrianople Kingdom’s royal family. “Holy shit...” Siegfried muttered, unable to believe his eyes. There was simply too much treasure in the vault that he couldn’t even begin to estimate the sheer value of it all. It couldn't compare to the treasure vault of the Marchioni Empire, which he had never seen, meaning that he couldn’t even make an educated guess about it, but he knew that this was enough to make a dragon’s lair look pitiful in comparison. If anything, this was at least thirty times larger than the Proatine Kingdom’s treasure vault. The value of wealth accumulated for over two hundred and fifty years was simply staggering.[1] If Siegfried sold everything in this vault, he could easily buy several high-rise buildings in the heart of Gangnam and still have plenty left over. “Hey, it’s your turn,” Siegfried said, summoning the Three-Legged Crow. At his call, the Three-Legged Crow appeared. Its feathers had grown back somewhat, so it no longer looked like a raw chicken ready to be cooked. However, it still looked weird because its feathers were still growing. “Pick up everything.” The Three-Legged Crow instantly got to work, soaring around the treasure vault and transferring the immense treasure into Siegfried’s inventory. [Alert: You have obtained 1,000,000 gold!] [Alert: You have obtained 1,000,000 gold!] [Alert: You have obtained 1,000,000 gold!] [Alert: You have obtained 1,000,000 gold!] [Alert: You have obtained 1,000,000 gold!] A string of notification windows popped up in front of his eyes. “Ah... This is so sweet...!” Siegfried moaned, shivering with excitement while staring at the endless stream of notifications. And just like that, he completely looted the Adrianople royal family’s treasure vault. After emptying the vault, Siegfried noticed another passage leading in the direction of the royal palace. “Oh... So their emergency escape route was connected to the treasure vault.” Reaching that conclusion, Siegfried decided to infiltrate the palace through the secret passage. He could uncover some crucial intel–or, if luck was on his side, he could even eliminate the head of the enemy, the King of the Adrianople Kingdom. The secret passage led directly to a hidden chamber deep within the Adrianople royal palace used exclusively by the king. Siegfried checked who was inside the chamber using Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance. ‘Well, well... What do we have here?’ He narrowed his eyes as he spotted the King of Adrianople, King Ragdoll IV, sitting alone. He slightly opened the chamber door and peeked inside. — Is everything proceeding as planned? — There must be no mistakes. “Please, do not worry.” King Ragdoll IV, completely unaware that Siegfried was watching him, was engaged in a communication call with someone. — I will end this call now. “As you wish, Master.” Unfortunately, the conversation was already over, so Siegfried did not manage to pick up much useful information. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Siegfried thought as he quietly moved behind King Ragdoll IV. Then, he clamped a hand over the king’s mouth, strangled him, and injected radioactive microbes into his head. “Mmf! Mmph!” King Ragdoll IV convulsed violently, his eyes rolling back while foaming from his mouth. King Ragdoll IV was now an Irradiator. “Who were you speaking to just now?” Siegfried asked. “I was speaking to the Master, Master.” “The leader of the Illuminati.” “What?! Are you sure?!” “Who is this Master? What’s their name?” “I do not know, Master.” “The Master’s true identity is a secret even we, the members of the Illuminati, aren't aware of. We simply follow orders from the Master.” Siegfried did not like the answer he got. He found it frustrating that even King Ragdoll IV, the King of the Adrianople Kingdom, had no clue about the identity of the Illuminati’s leader. “Oh well, I guess there’s nothing we can do about that.” “I apologize, master.” “Nah, you shouldn’t be the one apologizing. Anyway, I have to go rescue the clergy now.” “Understood, Master.” “Act accordingly when the commotion starts, got it?” “As you command, Master.” “And gather all the priests at the central square, but don’t execute them. Keep the torture to a minimum, too. We need to get them out of here in one piece.” “I will ensure everything proceeds as you desire, Master.” “Good,” Siegfried said, grinning at the Irradiator’s obedience. Then, he thought, ‘Damn... This skill is so broken.’ This skill was ridiculously useful. He never expected he could turn an enemy king, who was also a high-ranking member of the Illuminati, into a sleeper agent . “Act natural and go about business as usual. Got it?” “Report anything unusual to the Proatine Kingdom’s intelligence agents.” “As you command, Master.” “Good. Then, I’ll be going now.” “Have a nice day, Master.” And with that, Siegfried left King Ragdoll IV, who was now his obedient servant, behind and made his way back through the secret passage to the sewers. After emerging from the sewers, Siegfried met up with the other Adventurers in one of the slums located in the city. It was all because he couldn’t walk on the city streets wearing his pink spandex and covered head to toe in filth. Thus, he decided to meet up with them in the slums. “Kyuuu! What took you so long, owner punk?! You kept everyone waiting!” “There were some businesses I had to attend to, punk,” Siegfried replied with a grin. Then, he proceeded to brief Hamchi on the operation, “They’re planning to make a public spectacle out of the captives in the central square. There won’t be that many strong soldiers guarding them, so we will strike fast, rescue the hostages, and escape through this route.” “Kyu?! Do you expect that to work?! What do you mean by that?!” Siegfried explained how he had turned King Ragdoll IV into his slave. “Well, got it now? He’ll pull back some of the troops and set things up to make it easier for us to escape.” “Kyuuuu! You’re a freaking genius, owner punk! A genius!” “Come on, this is nothing. Anyway, spread the word to the others. We will start in one hour.” “Kyuuu! Leave it to Hamchi!” With that, Siegfried slipped back into the sewers. He was going to open the warp gate leading back to the Proatine Kingdom in advance before the operation started. “You have worshipped false gods! Repent for your sins!” “Do you not understand that worshiping false gods is a grave sin?!” The clergy members from various religious orders were being tried publicly in the central plaza of the Adrianople Kingdom's capital. They were bound tightly and forced by the angels to renounce their faith. Fortunately, thanks to King Ragdoll IV’s orders, there were no gruesome executions or severe torture today, making it easier for the clergy members to endure the persecution. However, the angels didn't really follow King Ragdoll IV’s commands to the letter. “Fools! Why can’t you see that your so-called faith is nothing more than a worthless devotion to false gods?! Alas! You don’t deserve to live! Just die already!” An impatient angel raised his spear, ready to impale one of the clerics. The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp suddenly flew out of nowhere and smashed the angel’s head to bits before returning to Siegfried’s grasp. All eyes in the square turned to the figure standing there in a tight pink bodysuit. Siegfried caught his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, striking a pose. “All units.” Then, he gave the command. “Attack.” At his command, the Head Crusher Guild members and paladins of the Church of Heroes burst out from the surrounding alleys, charging straight into the central square. Right after Siegfried attacked the Adrianople Kingdom’s capital and rescued the clergy members. A deafening silence filled the conference room within the Illuminati’s headquarters, which was hidden somewhere on the continent. The Illuminati had been a complete mess these days, and it was all thanks to Siegfried repeatedly sabotaging their plans. As a result, the highest-ranking executives in attendance remained silent and patiently waited for the Master, who was hidden behind a curtain, to speak. For the record, every one of these high-ranking executives was wearing masks and hooded robes, making it impossible for them to identify one another. The masks they wore were imbued with voice-altering magic, making their voices indistinguishable, too. This was how the Illuminati operated at all times. They maintained a strict structure where even the top executives kept their identities concealed from one another. “Siegfried van Proa...” A low metallic voice from behind the curtains finally broke the silence. “So he has freed the heretics imprisoned in Adrianople...” None of the executives said anything in response, as they knew that speaking out carelessly could risk them incurring the Master’s wrath. “How much longer must we suffer these setbacks? Our plans are getting disrupted time and time again, causing numerous problems... all because of one person,” Master growled with a hint of anger. The Master fell silent for about five minutes, deep in thought. “This cannot continue. Activate the Outbreak Protocol,” Master said. Every high-ranking executive in the conference room flinched and shuddered. They knew all too well what the Outbreak Protocol meant and just how terrifying it was. 1. Author-nim didn’t specify anything. But I’m guessing this is how old the Adrianople Kingdom is. ☜