Chapter 185: Waiting and Standoff, a Change of Heart for the Bostafa Family?

The passage behind the opened gate of the Dwarf Secret Vault was quite bright; not only was the surrounding Protective Magic emitting a magical fluorescence capable of illuminating the entire hall, but the interior of the vault had also been furnished with a considerable number of luminous lighting fixtures.

Once those lighting fixtures, powered by Magic Power, were lit, they emitted a uniform and bright light, allowing everyone outside the vault to clearly see the long, narrow passage behind the vault gate.

Looking into the interior passage of the vault, there were two closed metal doors on each side, totaling four doors, while directly facing the vault gate and the straight passage was a small metal door that opened left and right, though its purpose was unknown.

"Op... opened? It opened!" Mr. Kasi, who had always thought these people were swindlers, was stunned at this moment. Looking at the interior of the vault he had never seen before, he didn't know what to say for a moment. He blinked, the expression on his face a mix of relief, ecstasy, regret, and bewilderment.

A mission passed down through the family for generations had actually been ended on this ordinary day. And the ones who ended it were merely a young foreign Knight passing through, along with some alien mercenaries hired by the Knight.

Originally, he had only seen that the alien mercenaries were Dwarfs, and the leading Dwarf was an old man, so he thought he would try his luck. Who would have thought that this whim would actually succeed!

You see, when he first learned in the afternoon that these people were going to pass through Suishi Cheng, his cousin Bogete had only thought about inviting that young foreign Knight, who had performed meritorious service, to a small-scale banquet in the family castle after dealing with the aftermath of the Bandit Group obstructing the Shanglu. It was a very common and ordinary way to show friendliness and establish a relationship.

It was he, Kasi Boshitafa, who realized there was information about Dwarfs in the news of their arrival, so he had Bogete specifically bring those Dwarfs along, and the scale of the banquet was changed from a simple meal to a large-scale local high-level banquet.

The series of failures just now had made him think that these people wouldn't be able to open the Dwarf Secret Vault this time, and the various methods and theories proposed by the other party were just theories used to swindle money that couldn't be verified. But who could have thought? Who could have thought?

Although the Baroness had worked busily with her husband on this Dwarf Secret Vault for a long time when she was young, she was not someone who had grown up in the Bostafa Family, and she was already over twenty when she married in, so she didn't have much obsession with it.

At this moment, she was still relatively calm. While everyone else was staring blankly at the interior of the vault, she unobtrusively patted Mr. Kasi and gave him a look to go and call for people.

If it were just like usual and they couldn't open this Dwarf Secret Vault, it would be fine; giving a hush money payment would be the end of it.

After all, although not many people knew about the Dwarf Secret Vault, it was just an interesting anecdote about the Bostafa Family known to some high-level figures with a heritage in Suishi Cheng.

After all, no one could open this thing. Even though everyone knew that the Dwarf Secret Vault must contain many treasures, as far as the Bostafa Family was concerned, their family had gained no benefits from it. Instead, because they had spent years constantly finding and inviting people to break the vault's defenses, they had spent a great deal of money, dragging down the family's development.

But now that the metal gate of the vault had been unexpectedly opened, the matter had become complicated.

Mr. Kasi came back to his senses, realizing that this was not the time for shock and sentimentality. He patted Bogete to bring him back to his senses, telling him to first stabilize Jier and the others. He himself immediately turned and ran back with all his might, intending to gather the Refining Qi guards in the castle to control the situation here first.

Jier noticed Mr. Kasi leaving quickly, and the few Dwarfs also withdrew their curious gazes and looked at the two members of the Bostafa Family remaining on the scene.

Mr. Bogete wore an excessive smile on his face, boldly walked up and patted Jier on the shoulder, and politely spoke words of thanks and flattery to 'Shishou', who had opened the vault gate.

The smile on his face never stopped for a moment, and he would occasionally laugh out loud amidst his flattery, easing the slightly tense atmosphere of the moment.

The Baroness, however, kept her distance from Jier and the others, and unobtrusively adjusted the Protective Magic on her body, which had become ineffective due to the long period of safety, back to a pre-warmed, ready-to-activate state. This state allowed for the rapid activation of the Protective Magic on her body, and unlike a cold start, this ready-to-activate state consumed less Magic Power and had a faster response time than a cold start.

Jier and the old Dwarf exchanged a look; clearly, both of them understood the change in the Bostafa Family's attitude at this moment.

Previously, although they were invited to come and try to open the vault, and although they were polite in speech and slightly cold when they couldn't open it, at least because there was little conflict of interest, they had communicated in a relatively peaceful manner.

But now, when 'Shishou' had actually opened the vault gate, the people of the Bostafa Family were clearly guarding against them suddenly turning hostile. After all, when the few of them came, they hadn't notified anyone else outside, and because this underground Dwarf Secret Vault was beneath the castle, the only passage was a long, winding Rock Passage. If something really happened, it was unlikely that others in the castle above would know what was happening below in the first place.

And in terms of pure combat power, the three people of the Bostafa Family clearly did not favor their own strength. Kasi and Mr. Bogete had indeed relied on family resources for Knight Training when they were young, and were even well-known Noble Knights in the Copper Mine County back then. But after decades, apart from their own Life Energy reaching the peak of what their bodies could contain due to the accumulation of time, they were no longer as good as their younger selves in other aspects.

But even if they had maintained their level from when they were young, they estimated they would not be a match for Jier, this young foreign Knight. After all, Jier's weapons and equipment were clearly those that had been through many battles, and on the way to Suishi Cheng, he had the record of killing and routing half of a Bandit Group that was plundering a Caravan. In terms of actual combat experience and personal weapons and equipment, Jier was clearly far stronger than them.

Not to mention that among the three Dwarfs present, there was a Dwarf Warrior who was favored by the Dwarf God and possessed unfathomable combat power.

Although they lacked handy weapons, there were half-damaged Mining Picks everywhere on the ground nearby; picking them up and throwing them with immense strength was something not even an ordinary person could handle.

Jier sighed, spread his hands forward to show he had no intention of resisting, and said, "Please don't be too nervous, Mr. Bogete. We are not those low-class fellows who would lose their minds over treasures or wealth. I am a Knight from Kendall County in the Northwest Province, and I came to see the situation here only because I was invited by you. For me, the primary goal is to catch up with and join our county's army, and to reunite with my teacher, Knight Kela, and the Kendall Baron as soon as possible."

Seeing that both people opposite him looked slightly relieved, Jier pointed to the few Dwarfs and said, "And these few, perhaps you have already noticed, they all speak Human Common Language. Please rest assured, these three Dwarfs don't have that much interest in the treasures in this vault."

Regarding this statement, the two members of the Bostafa Family indicated they would wait and see. After all, they didn't know much about these Dwarfs; who knew if Jier's words were reliable or not? After all, they were just mercenaries hired with money, and these Nobles knew too well what kind of quality mercenaries had.

In the eyes of most Nobles, so-called mercenaries were actually just a bunch of scum who could be hired with money; one should not have any expectations for the personal quality of mercenaries who lived by the sword.

"That statement, it's not quite convincing, Knight Jier." Mr. Bogete shook his head, looking cautiously at the three 'Dwarf mercenaries'.

It was impossible for Jier to really tell these two that these few Dwarfs and the other Dwarfs in his team were not real mercenaries, but rather Dwarf refugee Miners who had been abandoned and forgotten by others many years ago.

Although mercenaries didn't have a good reputation, they had their own deterrent power; Dwarfs under this title would naturally be looked upon with higher regard by others. But the identities of Dwarf refugees or Dwarf Miners sounded like backgrounds that made people feel they could be bullied.

Therefore, Jier couldn't really tell the truth about the old Dwarf and the others at this time. Of course, even if he did tell them, the people of the Bostafa Family probably wouldn't believe it and would only think it was a lie Jier made up to appease their emotions.

For this reason, Jier had to take a few steps back, come to the Protective Magic that still existed on the surface of the vault, and reach out to tap it a few times, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"Please don't be nervous, the gate is open, but this thing is still here after all," Jier said with a smile.

To say that he himself didn't feel curious or greedy about the things in the vault would be a lie, but Jier knew that one must have priorities in life.

The Bostafa Family had invested a lot of resources in this underground Dwarf Secret Vault, clearly treating the things inside as their private property; it was unlikely they would really share the things inside. Even if they were to share the harvest from the vault, the strength and status of the sharer would have to be someone the Bostafa Family couldn't touch.

In this regard, Jier still had self-awareness.

Therefore, although the treasure mountain was right before his eyes, he still cautiously took the three Dwarfs and retreated to a corner of the hall farthest from the vault.

As for the Baroness and Mr. Bogete, they stood behind the cover of a huge battering ram. Jier and his group did not leave on their own before obtaining the permission of the Bostafa Family, but instead waited for Mr. Kasi to bring people back, intending to leave here 'safely' and 'harmlessly' under the armed 'escort' of the other party.

"Don't be impulsive, it's fine like this for now. We helped the Bostafa Family solve a big problem, and they will give us a large amount of compensation. Besides, the vault's Protective Magic is still there; wanting to enter the vault will still require a lot of means and resources."

Jier leaned against the rock wall in the corner of the hall, analyzing and comforting the three Dwarfs who were standing nervously.

The old Dwarf naturally saw Jier's intentions. He glanced at the direction of the vault and didn't say much, only muttering, "Inside... it probably isn't that simple. This is fine too, anyway, it's not my area of responsibility."

'Shishou' and the Wild Priest were whispering and discussing the Sacred Artifact of the God of Strength in the vault.

After confirming that the Dwarfs here a hundred years ago had really used a Sacred Artifact of the Dwarf God of Strength as the power source for the internal mechanisms of the underground vault, their attention had shifted from what was stored inside the vault to the Sacred Artifact itself.

For the two of them who had Faith, just opening the vault like this and 'sending' the Sacred Artifact of the God of Strength into the hands of a Human Noble family made them feel very uncomfortable.

Although this matter hadn't really been realized yet, the two were already discussing in low voices that after returning to the Dwarf Kingdom later, and after resting at home for a period of time, they would return here and try every possible means to take back that Sacred Artifact of the God of Strength.

As for the Sacred Artifact of the other Dwarf God, that was none of their business. Don't look at how they all believed in gods of the same race; compared to the differences in Faith, the differences between races were not that important.

Regarding the matter of taking back the Sacred Artifact, 'Shishou' had already secretly made up his mind that he had to do it even if it meant risking his life.

After waiting for a while, with the sound of a large number of metal boots stomping on the ground coming from the entrance passage, the reinforcements of the Bostafa Family finally arrived.

Mr. Kasi, with a flushed face, was wearing a half-plate armor. It seemed that because his stomach had grown fat, he couldn't wear the full set of armor from his youth, so he had to make do with just a half-plate armor to protect his torso.

He held a sword in his right hand and carried half of Mr. Bogete's armor in his left, while behind him were two young men of the Bostafa Family in their twenties, wearing light but beautiful and gorgeous Knight Armor, wearing dashing cloaks, with the metal belts on their waists wrapped in red silk, and the surfaces of their armor clearly had more complex and gorgeous decorations than metal structures used for protection.

However, although they looked flashy and without substance, they were solid metal armor after all, and ordinary weapons still couldn't pierce them. Coupled with the gorgeous sword and shield blessed with Divine Art in their hands, they still looked very intimidating.

Behind the three of them were more than twenty Refining Qi guards wearing full metal armor. Each of them held a war halberd as tall as a person, and carried a metal Heavy Crossbow that required a roller to cock, possessing astonishing strength. Behind the twenty-plus Refining Qi guards were even more ordinary guards. These people wore light Leather Armor reinforced with Metal Armor Plates, carried bows and arrows, and held Long Spears and shields. After rushing in, they occupied almost every position in the hall.

The Refining Qi guards and the ordinary guards formed a tight battle formation, taking the opportunity to surround Jier and the others. But without orders, they only surrounded them and did not take out their metal crossbows to cock them. The ordinary guards also didn't take down their bows and arrows, only holding their shields and Long Spears, surrounding Jier and the others while curiously looking at the situation around them.

They had also been urgently summoned and were entering this secret area under the castle for the first time. Everyone was nervous yet very curious, not knowing what had happened.

After Mr. Kasi threw the armor and weapons to Mr. Bogete, he brought the Baroness and the two young family Knights to Jier and the others.

Jier smiled and spread his hands, indicating no malice: "I was just waiting for you to bring people here. To be honest, I didn't expect today's events to turn out like this. But at least I know, I must congratulate the Bostafa Family; your family's long-cherished wish has at least half-finished as of now."

The Baroness only then wore a smile on her face again, saying in a relaxed tone: "No, it is not half, but all of it has been resolved."

Mr. Kasi gave a light cough: "As long as we invite that Mage from last time and consume a certain amount of resources, we can break the Protective Magic, and the family will have at least twelve hours to enter the secret vault to explore. Twelve hours—surely that is enough to shut down the Magic Source supplying the Protective Magic, right? Although we haven't officially opened the secret vault yet, in reality, there are no problems left."

He looked at Jier and the others: "I only picked you all up casually, but I didn't expect you could really help the family."

Jier clapped his hands to express his congratulations to the Bostafa Family, saying: "Just now we didn't do anything at all; we were just waiting for you, Mr. Kasi, to bring people over to send us away. So, can we leave here safely under the escort of these guards? After all, this is the Bostafa Family's business. I only want to receive a large reward fee now, and then have a good rest."

The old Dwarf said cautiously: "We need a carriage fleet in good condition to facilitate the team's movement on the road later. Just this small request, the Bostafa Family should be able to manage it, right? Of course, a generous bounty is also indispensable."

Facing the requests of Jier and the others, the Baroness did not speak, while Mr. Kasi muttered: "This..."

Unexpectedly, Mr. Bogete, who had always appeared very friendly, glared and said: "The matter needs to be kept secret; we cannot just let them leave like this!"

Jier glared, took the Heart Fire Magic Dagger from his waist with his right hand, pressed his right thumb onto the red Gems in the middle of the dagger, and said: "Is that so? You want to place us under house arrest? Believe it or not, as long as I recite a sensitive word right now, the red Gems on this Magic Dagger will trigger a massive Magic Power explosion. I will surely die, but everyone else in this hall, including you, Baroness, will likely not survive either."

In fact, Jier would not die; at worst, he would go all out and bring the few Dwarves into the Lady's Dream at the moment of the explosion, where everyone would spend a few days to avoid the core destructive damage of the external Magic Power explosion, and then return once the explosion had passed and the temperature in the hall had dropped.

If it really came to that point and a large number of the Bostafa Family's elite personnel guarding the place were blown to death, Jier would have no choice but to use the infinite energy of the Grass and Wood Source plus the ability of the Shadow Bird of God to forcibly wear down the Magic Power of the secret vault's Protective Magic, rushing to break into the secret vault and loot it thoroughly before the Bostafa Family could react, then flee this Suishi Cheng.

If everything were completed in a very short time, it is estimated that before other members of the Bostafa Family could react, he and his team would have already fled the area directly controlled by Suishi Cheng.

But this was, after all, the last resort; by that time, Jier would likely become a figure reviled by everyone in the Southern Province. Never mind joining up with the Kendall Army to fight; if he were not hunted down by the Knights of the Southern Province in unison, it would be considered his good luck.