Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 311 Discovering the secret passage

Kaisas spent his days in the Stonebreak Castle leisurely. Every day he would lie on the terrace high above the castle to bask in the sun, or meditate in the bright crystal cabin, occasionally absorbing soul energy from the soul gem.

In contrast, the plump puppy was kept busy. At first light, he'd be using his tiny paws to scramble wood, setting up the grill, and either flipping the sizzling roast or tending to the bubbling stew. Of course, Caesars had to help with some of the more serious tasks—like chopping the food into pieces with a dagger, washing the ingredients, and scrubbing the stew pot and utensils.

"Have you heard? There's a fat dog in Gravel Castle who can actually barbecue!"

The news spread like wildfire, reaching the city of Abel, dozens of miles away. In the bustling central square, vendors' stalls lined the streets. A bearded mercenary leaned over a weapons stall, spitting as he recounted this bizarre story to his companions. Between his gnarled fingers, he clutched half a piece of hard bread, waving it occasionally to emphasize his words.

"Hahaha, it can't be roasted dog meat!"

Another mercenary, missing a front tooth, laughed so hard he fell backward, revealing his jagged teeth. He deliberately poked the ground with his spear, drawing the attention of several nearby adventurers who were selecting armor. The square was bustling with activity, but the story of the dog who could barbecue had clearly become the most talked-about topic of the day.

"Hey, have you heard? There's a weird quest going on at the west city mercenary guild!" the bearded old mercenary lowered his voice and approached his companion mysteriously. "The fight is against a dark red demon dog. It's said to have a mouth full of gleaming fangs. Most ordinary warriors have suffered at its hands."

He wiped the beer foam from his beard and continued, "Broken Tooth, don't you always brag about your skills? Do you dare to take this order? If you win, you can get a full 500 gold coins!" Seeing the other party's skeptical look, he added, "Even if you lose, you can still get 50 gold coins. This deal is a good deal no matter how you look at it!"

The mercenary known as "Broken Tooth" grinned upon hearing this, revealing his signature toothless smile: "Bah! Which brainless idiot would issue such a task? Isn't this clearly giving money to the mercenaries?" His rough fingers unconsciously stroked the dagger at his waist, and a vigilant glint flashed in his eyes.

The bearded man slammed his hands on the table and laughed. "It's absolutely true! The entire guild is in an uproar over this notice posted this morning!" He lowered his voice. "The weirdest thing is, not only is the poster anonymous, but they also put down a full 100,000 gold coins as collateral with the guild in advance!"

Broken Tooth's expression suddenly grew serious, and he narrowed his eyes. "Brother, this is something sinister. Demon dogs, huge sums of money, anonymity..." He spat, "I bet there's a deadly trap hidden behind this mission!"

"Who knows?" The bearded man shrugged, but his eyes involuntarily glanced in the direction of the guild, "But that's 500 gold coins... enough to buy dozens of acres of land in the countryside..." His voice gradually lowered. In the sunlight of the big square, the shadows of the two mercenaries stretched long on the ground.

Caesars had just woken from a dream, still feeling a bit languid. Outside the Puppy Crystal Cottage, someone was busy, the aroma of omelets wafting into the air. Suddenly, the frail, always-rushing old man from Hawkeye rushed over, not even knocking. He breathlessly recounted the entire story of the challenge to the Puppy, detailing every detail.

After listening to this, Caesars frowned slightly, a cold look flashing in his eyes. He said in a deep voice, "There must be someone behind this. Send someone to the Mercenary Guild in Abel City to investigate. However, given their cunning, it is unlikely that the mastermind behind this will be found. But you can put pressure on the Mercenary Guild, at least to cancel the mercenary missions and take away their deposits." He paused, a cold smile curled his lips, "As for the rest, it depends on the ability of your Eagle Eyes. The mastermind behind this is probably a big fish - perhaps the escaped Earl Soren!"

As he spoke, he paced around the crystal room, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. In his view, this wasn't just a challenge to the puppies, but also a test of Gravel Castle, and even a test of himself. The other party was clearly testing their bottom line.

"What about those mercenaries?" the old man with eagle eyes asked anxiously. "Some have already gathered outside the Stonebreak Fort. They look like they have bad intentions."

Caesars snorted coldly, his eyes suddenly sharp. "This is a provocation to Stonebreak, and also a slap in your face!" He stared at the old man with an icy tone, "Tell them to get out. If they don't listen to my advice, I'll kill a few of them to establish my authority."

His voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable authority.

The old man shrank his neck, obviously intimidated by Caesar's aura. Caesar shook his head inwardly. This old man was too timid to make such a small decision personally.

At this moment, the magic communication stone on Caesar's waist suddenly vibrated, interrupting his thoughts. It was a magical message from Polly, the old spy who did hard labor and had discovered the entrance to the secret passage in the castle's back garden.

A thought flashed through Caesar's mind—that seemingly unusual mercenary mission might be an elaborate trap. The thought made his heart tighten, and his fingers gripping the magic blade unconsciously tightened. This was clearly a tactic to lure the enemy away from the territory, distracting him from the rear. He was almost certain that something had happened in the territory by now.

"You damn dog, pack up your things immediately, we have to rush back to the territory!" There was a rare anxiety in Caesar's voice.

The greedy pup, pawing at the frying pan where the omelet was almost done, lifted its furry head at the news, its wet black eyes blinking in confusion. It watched as its owner, uncharacteristically rough and shoveling all the utensils into the interspatial ring, not even bothering to clean its favorite stew pot. Before it could react, a burst of magical light exploded around it—Kassus was rapidly casting a series of buff spells, branding its body with pale blue runes one after another.

"Woo—" The puppy barely managed a whimper when Caesars grabbed it and scooped it up. The next second, a deafening sonic boom ripped through their ears, and they shot up into the sky like an arrow. The puppy squeezed its eyes shut, its paws flailing wildly in the air. The howling wind crackled its ears, drowning out even its cries.

Gravel Castle was only a few dozen miles from Caesar's territory, so for Caesar, flying at full speed, it was a matter of seconds. In a few breaths, Caesar had landed in the castle's backyard with the puppy, the soles of his boots making a crisp sound as they hit the stone pavement.

This modest castle was guarded by a pitifully small number of soldiers—just a dozen or so warriors sent by the Solomon family. Aside from the eight guards stationed at the main gate, the rest were resting from their night watch. The entire castle was eerily quiet, the only sound being the rustling of flags in the wind.

In the corner of the castle's back garden, beneath the ancient oak tree laden with acorns, three figures gathered with solemn expressions. The gray-haired old spy wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve; Sean, dressed in a sophisticated butler's robe, frowned; and Polly, clad in sharp leather armor, knelt on one knee, her fingers gently tracing the soil at the base of the tree. Their gazes were fixed on the same spot—something there, causing all three of them to look utterly grim.

"The entrance to the secret passage is right under these tree roots?"

Caesars raised his brow and walked quickly towards the ancient oak tree with its tangled roots. His boots made a slight sound on the soft grass, and his sharp eyes swept across the faces of the three people, as if to confirm the credibility of his discovery.

"My Lord, I'm afraid this isn't the true entrance. It's probably the ventilation hole of the secret passage. The ventilation hole has the advantage of being built under an oak tree, so rainwater won't easily flow into the secret passage!"

The old spy rubbed his calloused hands together. A few dead leaves were wedged between his dirt-covered nails. "This morning, I was picking acorns here when I felt a tremor beneath my feet." He bent his hunched back and used his grubby fingers to push aside a few fallen leaves, revealing a dark hole beneath the tree roots. "Look, right here. Several acorns suddenly sank into it, as if being sucked down by something."

Caesars' gaze followed the old spy's trembling fingers. This oak tree was truly bizarre—its thick trunk required four or five adults to embrace. Three or four gnarled roots on its west side arched out of the ground like giant pythons, forming a stark contrast to the rest of the deeply buried roots. Those exposed roots were covered in moss, gleaming an eerie dark green in the sunlight.

Caesar calmly raised his right hand. Tendrils of magic extended from his fingertips, burrowing into the hole beneath the tree's roots like a spirit snake. As the magic probed deeper, Caesar discovered that where there should have been four ventilation holes, three were completely obscured by the unusually thick tree roots. These roots grew in an unnatural manner, as if they had been pushed out of the ground by some force, and the thick stone slab with the ventilation holes beneath the roots was the culprit.

When the magic tentacles reached a depth of five or six meters, Caesar's pupils narrowed slightly. There, a neatly paved stone passageway stretched horizontally. The joints between the stones had been filled with some kind of cement to prevent insects and ants from entering. Even more concerning, the passageway faced south—the direction of the castle's main building.

"Interesting!" Caesars retracted his magic power, a meaningful smile on his face, "It seems we have found a secret passage leading directly to the castle."

Caesars slowly walked through the former castle, his fingertips tracing the crumbling stone walls, carefully probing every suspicious crack. Even with this meticulous search, he could find no entrance or exit to any secret passage. Every corner of the castle had been turned upside down, except for the cobweb-ridden, musty-smelling cellar. However, he had sealed the entrance with two heavy demonsteel tomb doors, so that no one could push open the cellar door without the incredible strength of a paladin.

He meticulously laid a trigger-activated magic trap within the tangled tree roots. He retrieved four or five bottles of fluorescent green acid and carefully placed them at the core of the trap.

"You damn dog, you stay here and guard." Caesars patted the grinning puppy beside him, "If anyone comes out, I'll bite them to death!"

The fat puppy growled and crouched down, its scarlet eyes fixed on the ventilation hole. The ventilation hole was a small pipe that the person inside had to dig to get out.

Before he finished speaking, Caesar's figure suddenly faded, and with a flash of faint blue light, he appeared thirty meters away. Without looking back, he sprinted towards the castle, his black cloak rustling behind him. Half a minute later, he stood at the cellar entrance again. His keen eyes immediately caught the subtle shift of the demon steel tomb door. But he did not rashly try to push it open. Instead, he used his magical tentacles to slowly penetrate the gap and enter the cellar.

The magical feedback from the tentacle made him frown. A carefully placed trigger-activated alchemical bomb was hanging beneath the wooden door of the cellar, set to detonate if opened. The magical tentacle continued to extend its reach, probing the surroundings. No one was within a forty-meter radius. Clearly, the attacker wasn't trying to blast the exit, but rather prevent anyone from entering the cellar from above. Caesars retracted the tentacle and sneered. Even if he dismantled the alchemical bomb now and pursued through the secret passage, he was doomed to fail, catching the cunning Earl Soren—he definitely wasn't in the secret passage.