How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game

Chapter 209: Temple (3)

The light of the new moon was faint. The hooting of an owl echoed over the quiet snowy mountain where snow had stopped falling.

In the mountains, we moved stealthily. Not even the crunching sound of stepping on snow could be heard. It didn’t take long since we had rested not far from here.

In front of the entrance, Denif looked at me and I nodded. Denif immediately concentrated with furrowed brows.

Below the snow, the sound of sand rustling began to be heard. I moved my winds.

At 2 AM, sound would echo better inside the tunnel, so I was blocking the sound from the inside with winds.

It took about 20 minutes. Even though the soil wall on this side was thin, stealth was the top priority.

“It’s done.”

Eventually, a small passage that we could enter by bending our upper bodies was created in front of us.

Since it wasn’t the original entrance, no magical barriers were applied.

We entered right away since I had already surveyed the inside. I blocked the cold winds coming from outside.

“What should we do with this?”

“Let’s block it roughly for now. It’s better to exit through here.”

We hadn’t decided yet how to move inside. There were two possibilities.

Either sweep everything away or get information and come out. For now, we were thinking of the latter.

From the outside, it looked like they were searching for something. First priority is to find out what that something is.

And if it’s important, it’s better to leave it as is.

Although we could search ourselves since Denif’s mystic is sand, we don’t know how long it would take.

This place is close to their stronghold. Communication lines will be maintained. If we don’t find it quickly, reinforcements will surely come.

‘Leaving it alone is the best strategy. I can check the inside from outside with winds anyway.’

That’s why it’s important to exit stealthily as well. So that they won’t realize someone else has intruded.

The dug soil moved to fill the passage. Unlike when we entered, it ended quickly as we just roughly made a wall.

“How many are awake now?”

“Two.”

2 AM. After observing while eating dinner, 9 out of 48 were estimated to be devil worshippers.

One more was added than the initial calculation. Of course, there could be one or two more among the slaves.

Anyway, except for one who was the person in charge of this tunnel, it seemed the other 8 were taking turns standing night watch in pairs.

“One near the slaves and one in the center of the tunnel.”

“Simpler than I thought.”

“They probably didn’t think anyone would invade this far. They must think this is their territory.”

“According to plan?”

“According to plan.”

We advanced carefully. We lowered our center of gravity and took careful steps.

Walking through the silence. Even with winds, my eyes were still scanning all around.

It was because there might be traps inside that I didn’t know about, and I might discover parts that the winds couldn’t sense.

Even with winds, I don’t rely on them for everything. However, there were no additional traps while entering.

I’m not sure about the entrance, but it seemed they didn’t install any separately as this was their living area.

Usually, they only fortify the entrance area.

‘Stop.’

Near the center of the tunnel. I crouched down and signaled to stop. One of the night watchers was sitting on a chair under a mana lamp.

He wasn’t dozing off. He was reading a book relying on the light from the lamp. From the outside, it looked like a book praising the devil.

Like a crazy fanatic. This was a slightly disappointing part. Originally, I was planning to use sleeping drugs.

It was a path we had to pass through to get to the leader’s room. But now we couldn’t use sleeping drugs.

He looked too wide awake.

We need to get out again without getting caught. If it wasn’t someone already asleep, the chance of sensing something amiss was too high.

Instead, I moved my winds. The winds wrapped around the inside of the mana lamp above his head.

Mana lamps maintain the flow of mana through the internal circuit, and if you just touch the circuit slightly, you can make it look like it’s malfunctioning.

‘I’ve practiced this quite a lot.’

In reality, if it’s old or defective, that circuit malfunctions. Flickering indicates it’s time for replacement.

And I’ve put in a lot of effort to be able to simulate something similar.

Zzzt, zzt- The winds block the subtle noise. Momentarily, the lamp started to flicker.

“Huh?”

The bulb that flickered a couple of times maintained its light for about 3 seconds. The devil worshipper looked up at the lamp.

And again, the lamp flickered several times. Then with a click- the light went out simultaneously.

“Ah, sh…”

Denif and I moved at the same time. With trained movements and the winds blocking even the very subtle noise of clothes brushing, there was no way we’d get caught.

We passed through the passage, and touched the circuit again to make the mana flow. The light came back on.

We held our breath and focused on the presence behind us. I hope he’s not a diligent guy.

Fortunately, the guy who got up from his seat flopped back down. Well, he probably doesn’t want to replace the mana lamp at this dawn.

Originally, mana lamps last for 3 days even after they start flickering. I made it flicker one more time before moving forward again.

‘This is it.’

Not long after, we were able to arrive in front of the room where the person in charge was staying. Fortunately, he was asleep.

Now we can use sleeping drugs.

I adjust the amount. The wake-up time won’t change, but enough so he won’t wake up at small noises.

Of course, it’s not perfect. I don’t know what level his body is at. But it’s within the margin of error. It’s not something I’m doing for the first or second time.

After waiting for 5 minutes, we quietly entered the room. The door was locked but it wasn’t a hindrance.

I make eye contact with Denif. Denif nods and heads towards the person in charge. It’s in case the guy wakes up by any chance.

‘There’s not much to worry about.’

About 50 people stay here. 40 of them are slaves, but it doesn’t matter even if they’re not slaves but devil worshippers.

Unless they’re Sword Masters, the combination of me and Denif is practically disastrous.

If they weren’t up to something here, we would have entered and taken them all down when we first discovered them earlier.

I headed to the desk. Letters, documents, books are visible. It’s messy, either due to carelessness or because they thought there would be no intruders.

Among them, there was a suspicious book in the center of the desk. It had no title. It was quite old and worn.

Opening any page and looking at it, I could tell it was someone’s diary.

[……40 days have passed since the wicked emperor sent father back. The connection with fath… has also been cut off. Did he really d…? Everyone says no, but I don’t know. Despair, only despair. It’s empty.]

[Lord Tsukva has fou… He didn’t give up. No, I was wro… from the beginning. Father is not dead. …of the darkest place …oh source of darkness, save me.]

I quickly skimmed through it. It was blurry in parts but not to the extent that I couldn’t interpret it. Speed reading, I couldn’t see all the contents, but the worn and old book was written about the stories from the time of the founding emperor.

However, it certainly wasn’t an object from that time. The book couldn’t have survived until now.

I thought maybe someone had transcribed the diary from that time. Either the lineage of devil worshippers has continued, or a past archaeologist left it as historical material.

The name Tsukva stood out. He was a very famous guy even in the founding emperor’s time.

The leader of the devil worshippers and chosen by the Great Devil. His final moments weren’t written anywhere.

Because he disappeared the moment the founding emperor defeated the Great Devil. There were stories that he died and stories that he went into seclusion. I quickly read through the book again.

[Lord Tsukva said that Devil’s Blood is needed to resummon ……. And he told us to gather the scattered …. He said he would stay in the temple.]

[…Devil’s Blood. Sagnat. That guy is now by the emperor’s side. He’s … who rivaled the mighty darkness. Can we really … him with just a handful of us left?]

[Those who showed sincere faith … Lord Tsukva calls them to the temple…. Near the northeast …, I want to go there. If we catch Sagnat, can we … there?]

[They’re coming. The imperial bastards are coming. How did they know? A traitor ……………… It would be a lie to say I’m not afraid. Oh darkest …, give me strength.]

A temple, it must have been a place enshrining the devil worshippers. From the circumstances, it seemed they were looking for that temple here.

A snicker escaped. It’s proof they’re not gods that they don’t know the current location where two devils have descended, while looking for a temple enshrining devils.

However, I couldn’t know what they were looking for in that temple. If it’s a place where someone chosen by the Great Devil stayed, there should be something.

Hmm. For something like that, the number of people here seemed too small. Even if they’re busy in the north.

‘They should dispatch more manpower.’

It’s certain they’re searching. Then, aren’t they investigating several candidate sites separately?

I thought there might be other tunnels besides this one.

I turned my gaze to the side. There were letters and reports asking about the progress of work. There wasn’t much content.

It said they were investigating diligently but there were no results yet.

However, it was written that they heard an empty echo during excavation and they thought they would discover something soon.

I don’t know if this is true or a lie for exoneration. I searched the desk further but nothing more worth seeing came out.

“Did you find anything?”

Denif whispered softly. I nodded. I was at a crossroads of choice. But it was difficult to choose right away.

“Let’s get out for now.”

“Don’t you need to look more?”

“Yeah. I think we need to talk after we get out.”

***

Getting out wasn’t difficult either. It was enough to make the mana lamp malfunction once more.

I returned to our makeshift base and told Denif what I had seen.

“A temple enshrining devils? What could be there?”

“Well. Their relics? Or something needed to summon the Great Devil?”

As far as I know, Devil’s Blood is needed to summon devils. But that might not be the right answer.

Even in the game, I didn’t know information about this temple.

If this speculation is true, I must stop their plans around here.

Seeing how they’re allocating manpower, we won’t be able to stop them from finding it. We should let them find it and then take it.

“The problem is that there’s a high chance it’s not just here.”

“You said the area is around here, right? Should we search around a bit? It can’t be far from here anyway.”

“Yeah. That’s better than barging in and destroying everything.”

“I’ll move.”

“Will you be okay?”

“I think I’ll be better at this.”

It was Denif’s suggestion.

“I think it’s better for you to watch the inside here with winds. If they’re digging something inside, it’ll be faster to feel it with my mystic.”

It wasn’t a wrong idea. They certainly have different uses. I can watch the inside from here, and Denif can quickly go around this area looking for vibrations.

If we find another place, then I can move to check the inside.

9 days passed like that.

Denif additionally discovered one base nearby. The number of people there was similar to here. Actually, it was a disappointing number.

The secret temple where the chosen one of the Great Devil stayed. There should be more than two teams searching.

We were pondering how to widen the search range with Denif. Suddenly, Denif who was talking raised his head.

“Did you just feel that?”

He was talking about the vibration of the ground. I didn’t feel it. Instead, I focused on the winds.

And I detected that a new path had opened inside the tunnel they were digging. I immediately stood up from my seat.

“Let’s go.”

Denif nodded with an interested look on his face.