Back at his house.
In the dim basement, Li Xiuman was reading a magic book.
Number Zero stood silently in the nearby shadows.
Perhaps due to Number Zero's capacity to learn, combined with how often it hung around Li Xiuman, it had also grown fond of dark places.
Meanwhile, Rorona was down on one knee, explaining to Li Xiuman the information he had gathered over the past few days regarding Viscount Fantes.
He also detailed the locations where the other vampire slaves were being held.
Li Xiuman held a grudge.
He had never forgotten his grievance against Viscount Fantes, whose adventurer party sent to the dungeon had almost cost him his life.
Furthermore, retaliating against Viscount Fantes would also boost Rorona's favorability and loyalty.
Starting with Viscount Fantes and releasing the vampires under him was the most ideal option.
And the time of operation was tonight.
As for where the rescued vampires would go...
He would first dig out more basement rooms here to serve as their temporary housing.
What would he use these vampires for afterward?
Having them act as assassins and gather intelligence seemed like a solid choice.
Vampires could fly and wielded the power of darkness, making them the ultimate choice for stealth assassinations.
They also possessed the ability to suck blood and create Kin, allowing them to covertly convert humans, gather information, and then sell it.
Thinking about it like that, vampires...
Were simply too useful!
Having such an efficient and incredibly cost-effective group of vampires as subordinates actually didn't seem like a bad thing at all.
Those nobles who used these vampires as toys for torment...
Were practically throwing away precious treasures!
Of course, it was also possible that because vampires belonged to the evil faction, they refused to submit to humans.
But Li Xiuman was different.
As a skeleton, he was a member of the evil faction through and through.
He and the vampires were like birds of a feather flocking together, two peas in a pod—bah, no, they were kindred spirits, deeply regretting not having met sooner!
The sky gradually grew dim, transitioning into the pitch-black of midnight.
Li Xiuman put down the magic book in his hands and stood up.
Rorona had long since changed his clothes.
Li Xiuman also put on his leather armor, choosing not to wear the [Bound Flame] breastplate.
After all, today was not about playing a one-man army; they were acting under the cover of night.
“Let's go.”
Merging into the darkness alongside Rorona, they sneaked toward Viscount Fantes's manor.
Sprinting through the empty darkness, they quickly arrived outside Fantes's manor.
They could see the lights shining from the castle within the manor, lending it a rather dreamlike appearance.
Maids were walking around the estate, and guards on the watchtowers patrolled the surroundings.
The vampires, however, were kept in a basement deep within the manor.
Silver water had been poured into their eyes, depriving them of sight.
Among them were even those who had silver water poured into their ears as well, depriving them of both sight and hearing.
They made a lap around the dark outer perimeter of the manor.
Kill the guards and disguise themselves to sneak in?
Slaughter the guards from the shadows one by one and force their way in without attracting any attention?
Li Xiuman's choice was simple.
Tunneling.
He was now a Tier 2 Elementalist, so digging a tunnel straight to the basement deep beneath the castle was a piece of cake.
Gripping his wand, he jabbed it into the ground.
“Tier 1 Magic, Collapse.”
The ground beneath their feet collapsed all the way down before finally stopping.
Li Xiuman got his bearings and raised his wand once more.
“Tier 2 Magic, Earth Wave.”
The soil and rock before them rippled like water, parting to form a passageway.
Li Xiuman didn't enter immediately. Instead, he picked up a head-sized rock from the ground.
“Awaken, Golem.”
The rock was enveloped in a yellow magic circle. A moment later, it transformed into a lifelike stone kitten that hopped down from Li Xiuman's hand, landing on the ground and licking its paw.
Although it was a cat, it possessed stats of level 12 and the skills [Swiftness Level 1], [Quiet Steps Level 1], [Earth Magic Level 2], and [Appraisal Level 2].
A Golem so small and possessing so many skills was actually much more difficult to craft than a large Golem.
Next, he snapped off a piece of his finger bone and stuffed it into the kitten's mouth.
“If you run into anyone or encounter any abnormal situation, bite and crush this bone immediately to notify me.”
The kitten nodded obediently.
The bone was a custom, osteoporotic version of his finger bone made by Li Xiuman, ensuring the little stone cat wouldn't have trouble crushing it.
“Let's continue forward.”
Li Xiuman and Rorona stepped into the passage together.
Walking all the way to the end of the passage, they were blocked by a solid stone wall that bore traces of Earth Magic.
It was likely a subterranean wall constructed using Earth Magic.
Directly ahead was likely the basement beneath Viscount Fantes's castle.
“Hold on a second.”
Li Xiuman stopped Rorona, who was itching to jump forward.
It seemed this guy did have some affection for his fellow kindred who shared the same plight.
He had only refrained from mentioning it before because he was afraid of causing trouble.
“You must remember that extreme joy often leads to sorrow.”
“The more critical the moment, the more you must hold back. Only by remaining steady can you have the last laugh.”
Li Xiuman took the opportunity to lecture Rorona right then and there.
Rorona nodded continuously.
This prompted Li Xiuman to continue lecturing. After all, he was a skeleton who loved to play the teacher.
“At the critical moment, villains always find themselves unable to resist monologuing and talking tough.”
“And then the protagonist seizes the opportunity to fight back.”
“Or the protagonist finally makes it in front of the arch-villain, only to start chatting, allowing the arch-villain to seize the chance to escape.”
“These are all the consequences of carelessness. Rorona, have you committed this to memory?”
“You must never become that kind of villain. When you get the chance, strike to kill immediately. You can take your sweet time talking trash to their corpse afterward. There's no rush.”
The self-cultivation of a villain.
Li Xiuman was uncharacteristically chatty; after all, education was paramount.
But why did his master place himself in the role of the big villain?
Rorona couldn't figure it out.
“I will certainly remember your teachings, Master.”
He spoke with eyes full of adoration and respect.
“Mhm.”
Li Xiuman turned around, used Earth Magic to poke a small hole in the stone wall, and only continued to wave his wand after confirming there was no one on the other side.
He created three Golems in succession to stand guard in the passageway.
Next, he used Earth Magic to carve a wide opening in the stone wall, stepped into the basement, and turned around to restore the stone wall to its original state.
Of course, it was only restored on the outside. In reality, it would break with a single poke.
This was to prevent accidents and allow them to break through quickly should they need to make a run for it.
“As expected of Master. He's so cautious.”
Rorona praised in his heart.
“Do you remember the way?”
Li Xiuman looked toward Rorona.
“I'm sorry, Master. When I was here, my eyes could not see anything, so I do not know the way.”
Rorona said apologetically.
“Although I'm not very practiced with it, it looks like I'll have to try that spell.”
Li Xiuman pressed his wand against the ground. An earthy-yellow magic circle and a cyan magic circle expanded simultaneously at the tip of the wand.
“Tier 2 Magic, Flowing Wind Touch.”
“Tier 2 Magic, Rock Touch.”
Both spells were cast at the same time. In an instant, Li Xiuman felt his feet merge with the earth.
And his body seemed to merge with the wind.
With him at the center, his sensory perception radiated throughout the entire castle, becoming hazier the further it went.
The crisscrossing basement chambers buried underground around him emerged in his mind in 3D, and he committed them firmly to memory using his photographic recall.
Only someone with a memory as absurd as his could probably use these two Tier 2 Magic spells to such an extent.
Rate on N.U.
