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…

Chapter 1762

“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!

Chapter 1763

“…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…

of Lech’s men came running toward them—from the deeper parts of the underground palace—as he shouted,

parties immediately rushed toward that place, and soon enough, they were greeted by the sight of

door open!” yelled

that!” replied his remaining men as they instantly

they pushed, the stone door never moved an

by force, I’m sure

the area in search of mechanisms that

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

door began

You truly are amazing,

was a large, glazed house, alongside two stone bridges. Adding that to the fact that the floor

upon peering below, what awaited them wasn’t a river nor a pool… Instead, it appeared to be a bottomless abyss that struck fear into

group then moved past the bridge and soon found themselves standing right before the glaze

ancient… If my guess is correct, then this should be the center most part of the vampires’ territory!” declared Old Flint

part of the vampires’ territory… The entire journey

Chapter 1764

others noticed a problem, that

that, Lech immediately ordered, “Men,

Lech’s team quickly took a few

after, a clatter could be heard, signifying that the unlocking process was a

entering, however, they quickly realized that the insides were mostly barren aside from a large disc in the middle

be…” muttered

the vampires cultivate themselves. Looking at the disc, I’m guessing that only the leader of the

in understanding, Lech himself could be seen frowning as he asked in a dissatisfied tone, “…Whatever the case is, there’s nothing

simply nothing of value that

sure of it!” replied Old Flint, his tone

disappointed Lech could only choose to believe the old

his party, on the other hand, remained in

Lech and his teammates discovered a

entering, their eyes instantly widened. This place was filled with riches and treasures of all kinds! Upon closer inspection,

quick to notice several

Are we taking them away as well?” asked one of

They’re valuable medicines, you know? They’ll

that, his 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 so many

to stop them. After all, unlike Lech—who had specifically come here in search of treasure—, Gerald and his party had other objectives. With that in mind, there was no reason for him to fight for any

from whispering, “Those people are way too crazy, Mr.

on taking care

those treasures are cursed! Whoever takes them will surely not have a good end. With that said, don’t even think about touching any of

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

Chapter 1765

made sure 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

to fill at least two large cars… Seeing how much treasure there was, it was no wonder why Lech and his men had been drawn to this

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

Zak, but we didn’t come here for the vampires’ treasures. With that in mind, you’re free to keep all the

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

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

as he said, “…Well then! Since you’re being so kind, I’ll gladly just take all

Lech and his men

Lech’s couldn’t help but ask in an astonished tone, “Were… they uninterested in the treasure, captain? But if that’s the case, why did they come here in the first

only sneered in response, his expression

really do have another objective… Or there’s something even

the very least, he had more or less accurately guessed that Gerald and his party had no interest

party themselves would’ve never anticipated that Lech would actually

of Lech’s men began screaming, “S-spiders! Massive

stared wide-eyed as several humongous spiders began leaping out

themselves, Lech and his men quickly realized that hundreds of small spiders had also rushed out and

were promptly stopped by Old Flint

can’t we help them?”

spiders aren’t coming for us at all! They’re only rushing for that group, which proves

finally understood

Chapter 1766

saying is that the spiders will only attack those who touch the

Old Flint nodded, Gerald and his party were instantly shocked. To think that the spiders would

his remaining team members were being swallowed alive by the gigantic spiders!

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

screamed the other agonized members of

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. With that in mind, Gerald could only watch helplessly as

torn clean in half before being tossed right into

the rest of his team members, they were completely swallowed up by the smaller spiders, and

minutes for Lech and his group to

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

made a move on them. Instead, they simply returned into the abyss under

surprise for Gerald and his group. To think that the spiders would actually leave them be! With

help but sit on the ground, finally able to catch his breath 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

Even from afar, all the treasure they had been carrying could be seen

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

is sandalwood incense. The vampires must have used this to lure the spiders! It appears that

from the treasure—ended up transferring onto Lech and his men after they touched them? And that the spiders only attack those who have the smell lingering around them? If

the ‘curse’ was merely an overstatement. In the end, it was an explainable

saying, “Still, they only have themselves to blame… Had they not been greedy enough to touch the treasure, the spiders wouldn’t have attacked them in the first

went, you reap what you

ruined. While he wanted to say that Lech was simply unlucky, it

Chapter 1767

and the others returned to the chamber

suddenly greeted by odd knocking

Gerald as he asked, “…Do you hear that,

then

five of them immediately began looking for the exact source of the sound… until eventually, Gerald realized that it was coming from the very center of the round platform in the

from over there!” said Gerald as he pointed

it… True enough, now that their ears were directly on the platform, the constant knocking became even clearer!

think someone could be trapped inside, Gerald…?” asked

may just be the case!” replied Gerald, feeling that only a living thing would be capable

a slight pause, Gerald then instructed, “…Investigate the platform, Ray! We may be able to open

that, Ray instantly did as he was

the round platform, Ray

chain was attached to the pull ring. In other

I’m pulling the ring! The second you feel that something’s wrong, I want you to leave this place immediately!” ordered Gerald as he looked at the rest of

from him, Gerald then began tugging the pull

of force to even tug the pull ring—the others held their breaths as they kept their eyes glued on the

the clanking of chains soon

couldn’t be bothered tugging slowly anymore and simply yanked the chain—that was several

platform slowly split in two, revealing an opening in

inch, simply remaining vigilant as

person he was—on the other hand, simply tossed the

hole, Gerald couldn’t help but raise his

Chapter 1768

bottom, appeared to

asked

quietly signaled for them to come over to have

Gerald’s party

then asked, “…Do you have any idea what