The Secretly Rich Man

Chapter 1761

It wasn’t long after before the place went silent again…

Since no more arrows were being shot out, it was only fair to assume that the terrifying mechanism had finally ended…

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lech then fearfully said, “To think that such a death trap would be here of all places, Mr. Crawford…!”

Nobody could have foreseen this… However, that didn’t change the fact that this had been caused by one of Lechs’ men. The culprit himself had been pierced by dozens of arrows and was currently lying in his slowly encroaching pool of blood… What a terrible way to die…

Still, this was what happened when people randomly touched things in here. With that in mind, Lech then glared at his men before yelling, “Listen up! The rest of you aren’t allowed to move until I say so!”

Hearing that, all of Lech’s men simply nodded and remained standing where they currently were… Not that any of them were daring enough to touch anything anymore. After all, who knows what they could trigger next? The next trap they triggered could very well be the end of them!

Seeing that his men weren’t objecting, Lech then turned to face Gerald again before asking, “What do you think we should do, Gerald? The exit’s been sealed shut!”

As Lech had said, there was now a gigantic stone blocking the exit, which meant that there was no way they were going to be able to leave the way they came in from. With that in mind, they could only look for another exit…

“…Cave-like structures definitely have more than one exit, though the problem lies in how difficult it is to find them!” replied Gerald.

Hearing that, Lech then ordered, “Alright, listen up, men! There has to be a way to leave this place, so let’s start looking for an exit!”

With that, everyone from Lech’s team began scanning high and low for a way to leave the underground palace…

Gerald and his party, on the other hand, stood before the wheel, studying it to see if it had any way of getting them out of there…

Sometime later, Ray declared, “…Mr. Crawford! There appears to be a mechanism of sorts down here that can be turned!”

Upon hearing that, Gerald squatted down and saw that Ray was right. There was indeed a round mechanism that looked like it could be turned…

Old Flint himself then said, “If my guess is correct, turning that round mechanism should activate this wheel!”

Momentarily turning to face Old Flint, Gerald then nodded. He believed in the old man’s wisdom, so he quickly began turning the mechanism without any hesitation…

Soon enough, a loud ‘clank’ could be heard.

After realizing that the wheel itself was starting to turn, Gerald and the others quickly took a few steps back, fully vigilant since nobody knew what was going to happen next.

The wheel itself only stopped turning after it slowly spun by a hundred and eighty degrees… And the second the turning ended, an explosive sound was heard!

Turning to face the source of the sound, everyone watched as an opening slowly revealed itself on the wall where the wheel ended up facing once it stopped moving. By the time the stone slab was fully lifted, everyone could only stare wide-eyed at the new entrance before them.

Quickly shaking the shock off, Gerald then said, “Let’s go!”

With that, he and his party instantly entered the new opening. Naturally, Lech and his men quickly followed after as well.

While they had anticipated this to be their ticket out of here, it was anything but… As it turned out, it was the entrance of yet another underground palace!

There were towering stone pillars on either side of the newly uncovered underground palace, and beside each pillar was a platform. The middle of each platform gave off a faint light, illuminating just enough for all of them to see where they were going…

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“Hot d*mn! To think that there was another palace down here! In fact, this one looks much larger than the previous one!” exclaimed Ray.

“Please be careful, everyone! And don’t do anything stupid!” warned Gerald, hoping that everyone had learned their lesson about randomly touching things.

“Copy that! Still, what are those things, Mr. Crawford…? They look so luxurious!” asked Ray as he walked toward one of the platforms to get a closer look.

“Those are Treasure Glaze Platforms. They’re specially used to light up candlesticks used for sacrificial rituals. The fires in them can last forever!” explained Old Flint when he saw that Gerald was making no effort to reply.

Upon hearing that, Ray was rightfully shocked. To think that such magical items existed…

His awe was cut short, however, when everyone suddenly heard one of Lech’s men scream in agony!

By the time they turned to look at him, his entire body was already burning! With scorched skin and eerily hollowed-out eyes, it wasn’t long before all that remained of the man was a pool of blood on the ground!

With how gruesomely he had died, everyone was understandably terrified.

Though they made sure to distance themselves from that pool of blood, the same thing soon happened to yet another of Lech’s team members! Before the second member died, however, Gerald and the others were able to notice several black, spider-like creepy-crawlies crawling all over the poor man’s body.

Before they could even register what was going on, everyone froze when millions of tiny ‘squeaks’ could suddenly be heard all around them!

Immediately looking around to investigate, Gerald realized that countless of the spider-like creatures had appeared and were currently all over the surrounding pillars and on the ground!

“Run! Hurry!” yelled Gerald as he immediately dragged his party toward the innermost part of the underground palace.

Of course, Lech and his remaining men followed closely behind, though soon enough, both parties found that it was useless. They were completely surrounded by endless spiders! There was simply nowhere to retreat!

“W-what should we do, Mr. Crawford?!” asked the anxious Ray in a fearful voice.

A single spider was scary enough, but now that there were millions? It was beyond terrifying, to say the least.

Frowning deeply, Gerald then yelled, “Try using fire!”

Hearing that, everyone quickly gathered whatever they saw that could be burned before lighting them up and tossing them to the ground.

To their horror, many of the spiders persevered, and the fire was nothing more than a temporary obstruction for them!

With that in mind, it wasn’t long before more of Lech’s team members got into contact with the spiders and turned into pools of blood as well…

Seeing that, Gerald and the remaining survivors were terrified out of their minds… None of them wanted to die so terribly…

Calming himself, Gerald racked his mind for a solution, until suddenly, an idea came to him.

Looking at Juno, Gerald then quickly asked, “Juno! Do you have anything that repels insects with you?”

Upon hearing that, she nodded before replying, “I-I do have a can of insecticide with me! I don’t know how useful it’ll be, though!”

“Just give it to me! Hurry!” instructed Gerald as Juno quickly fished out her insecticide from her bag.

Thankfully, Juno had brought along that can of insecticide to deter insects from biting them while they were in the forest. To think that it would actually be a life saver…

Regardless, the second the insecticide was in Gerald’s hand, he immediately sprayed it on the surrounding spiders… and it seemed to work!

The second they came into contact with the insecticide, the spiders rapidly began retreating! They were saved!

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“…Thank god you brought along this young woman, Gerald…! Otherwise, we would’ve all met our maker today…!” muttered the still fearful Lech, as he expressed his gratitude toward both Juno and Gerald.

Had Juno not brought along that can of insecticide, they’d surely have died today…

Following that, Gerald then broke the can open before rubbing some of the liquid inside on his clothes.

“Rub some of it on your bodies! With any luck, it’ll continue warding off the spiders!” instructed Gerald.

Hearing that, everyone then quickly began doing just that, making sure to rub as much of the insecticide as possible onto their clothes and shoes. Hopefully, this would keep the spiders away…

Now that the crisis was over, Old Flint then said, “…I’m guessing the vampires raised those spiders. If my analysis is correct, any blood that the spiders suck can later be retrieved by the vampires for their own consumption…”

“How abominable! To think that they would actually raise such horrible creatures!” scowled Gerald.

Then again, it made sense. Only the vampires could think of such a vile tactic…

Regardless, Gerald and the others then resumed inspecting the area soon after…

later, one of Lech’s men came running toward them—from the deeper parts of the underground palace—as he shouted, “Captain! We’ve managed to locate a stone door deeper

immediately rushed toward that place, and soon enough,

door

as they instantly began pushing the

much they pushed, the stone door never moved

“Since it can’t be opened by force, I’m sure there’s a mechanism

the area in search of mechanisms that would trigger the door

a spot on the walls that could be pushed. Pushing it down hard, the stone began moving backward… and soon enough, a loud

now triggered, the stone door began quivering, and soon

truly are amazing, Mr. Crawford!” praised

large, glazed house, alongside two stone bridges. Adding that to the

the stone bridges. However, upon peering below, what awaited them wasn’t

the group then moved past the bridge and soon found

should be the center most part of the vampires’ territory!” declared Old Flint as he sighed rather

finally reached the deepest part of the vampires’ territory… The entire journey truly had been difficult, and many large sacrifices had undeniably been made to

Chapter 1764

and the others noticed a problem, that being the fact that the house’s large door

Lech immediately ordered, “Men, unlock the

team quickly took a few tools out from his fanny pack and

be heard, signifying that the unlocking process

then pushed the door open and everyone else made sure to follow behind him. Upon entering, however, they quickly realized that the insides were mostly barren aside from a large disc in the middle of the house that

could that be…” muttered the

then said, “…This should be where the vampires cultivate themselves. Looking at the disc, I’m guessing that only the leader of the vampires is allowed to sit

Gerald nodded in understanding, Lech himself could be seen frowning as he asked in a dissatisfied tone, “…Whatever the case is,

nothing of value that Lech

definitely the vampires’ territory! I’m sure of

hearing that, the disappointed Lech could only

away to start searching the place for valuables. Gerald and his party, on

discovered a secret room at

widened. This place was filled with riches and treasures of all kinds! Upon closer inspection, there was even a giant pellet-making

Lech was quick to notice several bottles—ranging from small to large—placed

taking them away

course, we’re taking them! They’re valuable medicines, you know? They’ll surely

men then immediately began taking action, carrying everything valuable—that they could—out of the room. Naturally, this included

Lech and his team members taking

After all, unlike Lech—who had specifically come here in search of treasure—, Gerald and his party had

stop Ray from whispering, “Those people

focus on taking care

in a serious tone, “They’ll be punished sooner or later. After all, those treasures are cursed! Whoever takes them will surely not have a good end. With that said, don’t even think about

is right. No matter how precious the items you encounter are, never take them! Actually, to be on the safe side, don’t even

Chapter 1765

to repeat Old Flint’s message just to emphasize how dangerous it was to even touch the treasures in this place. While human greed was near endless, self-control was key in surviving,

manner of treasures out of that room, Lech and his men had compiled enough riches to fill at least two large cars… Seeing how much treasure

of the secret room for the final time, he then walked toward Gerald before smiling as he said, “These are the treasures we got from that secret room, Gerald! Since both parties have contributed a lot to get this far, I’m willing to share some

we didn’t come here for the vampires’

hearing that, Lech was momentarily stunned. To think that Gerald would actually

for treasure, then what did they come here for…?’ wondered

you’re being

that, Lech and his men then

tone, “Were… they uninterested in the treasure, captain? But if that’s the case,

only sneered in

offer… Either they really do have another objective…

least, he had more or less accurately guessed that Gerald and his party had no interest in the treasure since they were after some other important

themselves would’ve never anticipated that Lech would

men began screaming, “S-spiders! Massive

who had shouted—who was currently attempting to flee backward—Lech stared wide-eyed as several humongous spiders began leaping out from the abyss

that hundreds of small spiders had also rushed

to help them. However, they were promptly stopped by

help them?”

for that group, which proves that the curse of the treasures is starting to take effect!” explained Old

understood why all this

Chapter 1766

spiders will only attack those who

party were instantly shocked. To

being swallowed alive by the gigantic spiders! It

at Gerald—who was still standing by the door—the pitiful Lech who was getting devoured could only plead, “B-brother Crawford…! Please, save

other agonized members of Lech’s team

so, there was nothing that Gerald could do. All of them had taken the cursed treasures due to their immense greed. In other words, they had brought all this upon themselves.

clean in half

up by the smaller spiders, and all that was left of them now were puddles of

Lech

now that Lech and his men had been dealt with, the giant spiders then turned to eye

and his party vigilantly stared back at them, in the end, the spiders never made a move on them. Instead, they simply returned into the abyss under the stone bridge along with

group. To think that the spiders would actually leave them be! With their

now that the danger had passed. After a while, the still jittery Ray then turned to face Gerald and Old Flint before saying, “That was way too nerve-wracking, Gerald! Thankfully you warned us about not touching the treasure, Old Flint! Otherwise, we would’ve surely suffered

heading over to where Lech’s teammates had died… Even from afar, all the treasure they had been carrying

got closer, Gerald’s nose couldn’t help but twitch, prompting him

explained, “…This is sandalwood incense. The vampires must have used this to lure the spiders! It appears that

onto Lech and his men after they touched them? And that the spiders only attack those who have the smell lingering around them? If that’s the case, everything makes

turned out, the ‘curse’ was merely an overstatement. In the end, it was an explainable phenomenon that simply required a little

Had they not been greedy enough to touch the treasure, the spiders wouldn’t have attacked them in the first

you reap what

While he wanted to say that Lech

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others returned to the chamber

once inside, they were suddenly greeted

at Gerald as he asked, “…Do

then

began looking for the exact source of the sound… until eventually, Gerald realized that it was coming

coming from over there!” said Gerald as he pointed at the

before pressing their ears onto it… True enough, now that their ears were directly on the platform,

someone could be trapped

replied Gerald, feeling that only a living thing

instructed, “…Investigate the platform, Ray! We may be able to open

Ray instantly did as he was told.

platform, Ray

was attached to the

I’m pulling the ring! The second you feel that something’s wrong, I want you to leave this place

they were quite a distance away from him,

the pull ring—the others held their breaths as they kept their

chains soon began echoing across

simply yanked the chain—that was several meters in

any further, the round platform

didn’t dare to move an inch, simply remaining vigilant as they

the other hand, simply tossed the chain onto the ground before walking

Gerald couldn’t help but raise

Chapter 1768

at the bottom, appeared to

down there, Brother Gerald?” asked Ray in

for them to come over to have

members of Gerald’s party then crept over

then asked, “…Do you