Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 94
Shivers moved forward slowly, sticking close to the stone wall, breathing very slowly.
After those men entered the room, it became difficult to hear any movement, but if it were just servants or ordinary guards, they could be dealt with cautiously…
A warm yellow glow emanated from behind the partially closed door, strikingly beautiful against the cold, damp stone stairs and walls, like a candle in the night drawing moths with its heat.
From the crack in the door, Shivers couldn’t see if anyone was inside the whole room, but he noticed another door frame on the wall directly opposite the main entrance.
Had those men entered another room through here?
Shivers stood in front of the door, about to reach out, when the deep red walnut door suddenly opened from inside!
He was startled and instinctively stepped back. Before his heel hit the ground, a fierce sword strike came slashing down from above—if he hadn’t dodged in time, his skull might have been cracked open.
This was a move typically used by someone tall or a cavalryman, and it just so happened that Shivers commanded a whole cavalry troop. His body reacted before his brain, sidestepping and crouching slightly to raise his elbow and block the heavy slash, accompanied by the crisp sound of breaking wood.
Both combatants narrowed their eyes.
Lestrop was surprised that this sneaky intruder had such skills. He didn’t look like a scout that a useless man like Tifa could have trained, while Shivers was unprepared for Lestrop’s presence here.
Flesh and blood couldn’t withstand steel blades. What allowed him to successfully block that strike was the crossbow component that had been disassembled and strapped to his forearm after completing its mission. Luckily, he was accustomed to being orderly. Without that small part, it might have been his forearm bone that cracked.
Lestrop missed his strike and paused only for a second before thrusting his sword again, but Shivers moved faster, darting forward at a strange angle. The silver light in his hand reached Lestrop before the sword tip, forcing Lestrop to also dodge sideways. The move was a feint. Shivers slipped through the gap and entered the room.
Lestrop was instantly alarmed. He had intended to deliver a fatal blow to the unwary intruder, but not only did Shivers evade him, he also managed to get inside the room where the situation was reversed. The items in the room hadn’t been moved. Whether it was precious herbal spices or enchanted glassware, all were fragile, making him reluctant to damage them.
Shivers clearly understood this too. Before Lestrop could follow him inside, he kicked over a bookshelf. The items on it clattered to the floor, and a strange-smelling powder spilled from a cracked bottle, scattering everywhere.
Lestrop lunged like a lion with bristling mane, swinging his sword at him. Just then, a man from another room, hearing the noise, opened the door to check. He was grabbed by Shivers by the wall and hurled at Lestrop like a shot put. The servant, unaccustomed to such long swords, staggered and knelt down in fright, narrowly avoiding Lestrop’s sword, but a small piece of his ear was sliced off, causing him to cry out in pain.
Shivers, with only a dagger in hand, had almost no chance against a longsword, but his goal wasn’t to engage directly. Seeing two more men dressed as servants run out from a suite, he decisively disengaged and dashed back towards the door. Lestrop, much taller and bulkier, was less agile. He instinctively reached out to stop him but missed. Infuriated, he drew his sword and gave chase.
The narrow stone staircase, originally designed for secrecy, now limited Lestrop, who was accustomed to long swords. Out of caution, he never parted with his weapon, but in such confined spaces, he couldn’t fully wield his sword. Several servants, reacting to the chase, also crowded behind him in the dark corridor.
Shivers took the stairs two at a time with Lestrop close behind—despite his large frame, the Earl wasn’t slow and, being more familiar with the terrain, Shivers found it hard to shake him off.
The spiral staircase led upwards. Shivers ran like a lean wolf, speeding across the fields. The air blowing past his cheeks pierced the stagnant air of the washroom.
Once out of the narrow space, Lestrop’s long sword could significantly close the distance between them. Shivers, without looking back, threw a small, round object. It rolled right under Lestrop’s foot as he stepped out of the corridor. He immediately sidestepped to avoid it.
However, the anticipated explosion didn’t occur. Instead, the peculiar little ball lay harmlessly on the ground. After a silent half-second between man and sphere, a thick white smoke suddenly burst out with a loud bang, engulfing the exit of the secret passage with an acrid smell. Realizing it was just a diversion, Lestrop held his breath and dashed through the smoke—Shivers had already fled down the stone corridor and might escape through the back door into the bushes if he didn’t enter the main house.
Fortunately, Lady Luck was still on his side. Due to unfamiliarity with the terrain, the other chose the other side of the mansion, scattering several maids with trays and causing a commotion.
As he chased, Lestrop yelled at the maids, still confused about what was happening. “Get Murray—no, have Foley catch him!”
His captain of the guard, Murray, was highly skilled in combat, but even in his anger, Lestrop retained a shred of rationality. Murray was at the front line against the King’s army, and it wouldn’t be wise to pull his reliable lieutenant from his post just for a rat.
Lestrop wouldn’t let a proxy truly command any threatening armed force, but since the intruder had gone upstairs, locking the door and gathering the estate’s usual enforcers to surround and capture him was just a matter of time… No, he wanted to personally strangle this little thief who dared to spy on his secrets as a rehearsal before killing Tifa.
At this moment, Lestrop was a far cry from the courteous and wealthy Earl, who had cared deeply for his wife in the capital. On the second floor, Shivers was blocked by three servants. He stopped, glanced back, and met Lestrop’s bloodshot eyes.
Shiver wasn’t intimidated by Lestrop’s fearsome expression, but it terrified the servant facing Shivers. The man in the middle panicked, shifting his gaze away from Shivers, only to be floored by a heavy, quick punch from the man before him, struggling to rise.
Two men lunged at Shivers, but one was swept off his feet by Shivers’ low sweep, as if he was struck hard on the leg with an iron rod. Losing his balance, he fell while the other, seeing only a blur, screamed in pain, clutching his bleeding face.
At this moment, Shivers demonstrated a strength that belied his appearance—lifting the man he had knocked down, he threw him down the carpeted staircase, rolling to Lestrop’s feet.
Lestrop halted, not even glancing at the man, his eyes coldly fixed on Shivers.
“Who are you?” he asked.
If Shivers weren’t seen as an enemy, Lestrop might have left his body intact out of respect for his audacity, courage, and arrogance.
Unfortunately, such a man should be facing him on the battlefield, not sneaking into his estate like a thief.
Shivers responded with a defiant smile.
“Is that your secret, Lestrop?” he asked, not answering the question. “You never put down your sword, yet you hide long in the shadowy labs, trying to harness innocent people’s power for a strength that isn’t yours.”
“Shut up.”
“You’re so arrogant, trusting no one, breaking the necks of those who defy you or fail to meet your expectations, yet you can only reach your frail ambitions through them…”
“I said shut up!”
Lestrop shouted, his chest heaving with rage.
The estate’s steward, Foley, arrived with a team of guards in uniform, but Lestrop motioned for them not to approach and stepped onto the staircase himself.
“I wanted to leave you a whole corpse as a reward for your lone infiltration, but since you spoke out of turn, I’ve changed my mind,” Lestrop said slowly. “Did you also learn how to handle those who anger me? I will chop off their heads and mount them on spears, letting their blood stain the wood red.”
He stared unblinkingly at the man standing on the stairs, trying to gauge something from his expression, which showed no fear but only heightened excitement as Lestrop approached.
He recognized that look. It was that of a man born for battle, one he had seen on his deceased father’s face.
But this man wasn’t as wise as his father, choosing a dead end for himself.
In the confined space of the chamber, his build and weapons were limited, reducing his chances of victory, but he had run to the spacious main house. Even without Foley’s help, he couldn’t withstand Lestrop’s longsword with just a dagger.
“Foolish,” Lestrop said, raising his sword—his speed increased in the relatively open space, but Shivers was prepared, sidestepping the blade’s edge. The wooden banister beside him sparked as it was cleaved, sending splinters flying.
Though the disadvantage in weapon length couldn’t be compensated immediately, Shivers, fearless and relentless, didn’t back down but instead seized the moment when his sword got stuck in the banister, stepping forward with a big stride and swinging his elbow. Lestrop had to lean back to dodge, and still, the overly sharp tip of the blade left a shallow cut on his jaw, barely missing his throat.
“The fool here is you,” Shivers said, his actions sharp and swift, his smile growing wider. “Who said I came alone?”
Lestrop paused.
“I thought something was off,” Shivers said maliciously, lowering his voice. “Don’t you cherish what’s in the secret chamber?”
As if to prove his point, someone burst in, rolling and scrambling. “It’s smoking! There’s a fire deep in the stone chamber! The corridors are filled with smoke—”
Lestrop’s face went pale, and almost without thinking, he made a decision. “Flynn!”
As if waiting for the command, the plump middle-aged man led the guards and the servants present in a charge, while Lestrop himself leaped down the stairs, decisively abandoning Shivers.
In his heart, no intruder could compare to the secret chamber he had devoted years to.
Seeing him turn, Shivers didn’t hesitate either. He turned and ran. Probably trying to gain favor in front of the Earl, everyone chased vigorously—one servant even outpaced the guards to reach out to Shivers.
Flynn was delighted. “Catch him!”
As soon as he spoke, the middle-aged man saw Shivers, without looking back, grab the servant, pull him forward, and increase his speed, quickly passing through the corridor to the second-floor balcony.
Everyone was confused by this sudden turn of events. Another servant, also at the front, uncertainly looked back and asked, “Isn’t this the same person who just sounded the alarm?”
Did they have this person in their manor?
“They’re accomplices!” Flynn shouted in frustration. “Notify the archers—”
It was already too late.
For the sake of aesthetics, balconies weren’t made with any unsightly defenses—a common understanding on the continent. The watchtowers on either side of the residence couldn’t hear the indoor shouting in time, and by the time everyone else reached the balcony and the watchtowers shot their arrows, all that was left under the balcony was a rope, swaying in the breeze created by the arrows.
The author has something to say:
Does the prop used by Shivers look familiar?
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