When the oil in the lamp was refilled, Kieran stopped.
"It's just up ahead!"
Kieran said.
Duke Wayne did not seem excited though. Instead, he gestured to Kieran and John, signaling for Kieran and John to continue exploring the path.
It seemed like the cunning Duke Wayne would not act rashly until he saw the treasure.
"Give me an oil lamp!"
Kieran said.
One of the men of sacrifice handed him a freshly refilled oil lamp.
The sudden light in Kieran's hand allowed him to see the path in front of him more clearly. Although he had seen the blueprints and Guntherson had explained it to him in detail, seeing it with his own eyes was a completely different thing.
The stone steps were completely different from the wet and slippery ground on the way here.
Most of the steps at the bottom had already been covered in dried mud, and the small part that was exposed was covered in dust.
It was different from the stench and damp from before.
The place was dry and smelled a lot better.
Duke Wayne could not help but chuckle when he saw the thick layer of dust on the steps and the corridor behind them.
Everything was as he had expected. Swarko and Lushan had not found their way here, and had instead gone to some unknown place.
Along the way, if there was no one who knew the place to guide them, it was not uncommon to get lost.
"Detective Kieran, please continue!"
Duke Wayne gestured to them.
"Watch your step!"
Kieran reminded John and helped him up the stairs. Kieran's hand that was holding John's arm moved a little closer to John's palm.
The two of them started writing simple words as they walked forward.
Tru, who was walking behind them, did not notice.
Duke Wayne, who was further away, did not notice either.
The corridor was not long, not even 20 meters.
But it was enough for Kieran to tell John something important.
John, on the other hand, didn't reveal any flaws.
The two of them led the way to the end of the corridor, and a large hall appeared in front of everyone.
This was a square-shaped hall. Other than the wall directly opposite the corridor, there were pillars on the other two sides. In front of each pillar, there were five steps leading downwards. Following the steps, one would arrive at the center of the hall, which was a wide open space.
The ground was completely made of square bricks.
There were some patterns on these bricks, but they were covered by a thick layer of dust.
However, everyone was looking at the wall in front of them.
Although the color had faded with time, anyone could tell that it was a painting.
A rising sun!
The emblem of the Church of Dawn.
Both sides of the emblem were engraved with rows of tiny words.
Guntherson had already explained these words to Kieran, so Kieran didn't care at all. Duke Wayne, on the other hand, was intrigued by these words.
Even Chief John was no exception.
"This used to be the meeting hall of the Church of Dawn!"
"So, they hid their wealth here!"
"It has always been under my feet!"
Duke Wayne mumbled to himself as he looked at the words.
The secret information that had been circulating within the family and the investigation from many parties had led Duke Wayne into the trap that Kieran and Guntherson had set up.
The meeting hall before them was the real meeting hall of the Church of Dawn.
It had been built 500 years ago by the last God's Child, the Pope.
Only the true higher-ups of the Church of Dawn knew about it.
In fact, there were only three of them: the Pope, the Saintess, and the leader of the Guardian Knight.
Guntherson wasn't the leader of the Guardian Knight, but as the Church of Dawn disappeared from history, Sister Moni, who was the original Saintess, didn't mind telling Guntherson more secrets.
Likewise, when Kieran had told Kieran about the plan to lure them to a suitable place for an ambush and kill them in one strike, Guntherson had told him the location without holding back.
Kieran was overjoyed by the news.
What other place would be more suitable than the meeting hall of the Church of Dawn to store the thousand-year wealth of the Church of Dawn?
Guntherson didn't seem to feel any heartache over the destruction of the meeting hall.
In the words of the Guardian Knight, it was a pile of broken stones that would be destroyed sooner or later.
Even though Kieran could clearly see the sadness on her face when she said those words, Kieran didn't care.
As for Sister Moni?
After Guntherson had taken over, Sister Moni had rarely appeared before Kieran. Other than the occasional mealtime, she spent most of her time praying and teaching the students.
To Sister Moni, that was her everything.
She trusted Guntherson more than anything else.
She believed that Guntherson could do his best.
As a matter of fact, Kieran was right.
When he walked into the meeting hall, Kieran saw the mark that Guntherson had left in the corner.
It meant that the Guardian Knight was ready.
Now, all that was left was Kieran.
Kieran scanned his surroundings without changing his expression.
He saw that Duke Wayne's attention was fully focused on the mural in front of him. The men of sacrifice were scattered around to protect the Duke.
Only one of Duke Wayne's men, Trou, was still following Kieran and John closely.
It was obvious that Duke Wayne had absolute confidence in his men. He wasn't worried that Kieran and John would cause any trouble.
Judging by his appearance, Duke Wayne was right.
Even John, who was tall and buff, was a size smaller than Trou.
Let alone Kieran.
Therefore, when Kieran suddenly swung his leg backwards, Trou was stunned for a moment before he threw himself at Kieran with a ferocious smile.
Trou didn't care about Kieran's kick at all.
From Trou's point of view, Kieran's slender leg wouldn't hurt him at all.
This caused the other party to suffer greatly.
Fuuu!
Bang!
Kieran's left leg whistled through the air and landed on Trou's shoulder.
The heavy thud sounded like it was made by a hammer.
With the buff from [Hand-to-Hand Combat, Master of Kicks], Kieran's E Rank Strength was boosted to E + Rank Strength.
His strength was definitely at the champion level among the weightlifters. He was only one step away from surpassing the common man.
Although Trou was tall and strong and had a lot of fighting experience, he was still within the range of a common man. At most, he was stronger than a common man.
Facing such a powerful kick, Trou felt the pain that he hadn't felt in a long time. He staggered and almost fell.
It was at that moment that Kieran's second kick arrived.
The moment his left foot touched the ground, Kieran dished out his right leg and launched a powerful kick at Troo's chest.
Trou, who had just suffered, instinctively wanted to dodge.
However, he suddenly realized that Kieran's kick was faster than his previous sneak attack.
[Barsical Kick]!
Bang!
Without holding back, Kieran landed a kick on Trou's chest.
Trou, who was already staggering, fell to the ground. Blood flowed out of his mouth.
[Hand-to-Hand Combat, Master of Kicks] + [Barsical Kick] boosted his E + Strength and Agility, allowing Kieran's two kicks to be effective.
"Let's go!"
Kieran, who had cleared the only obstacle in his way, did not try to further his victory. Instead, he grabbed John and ran to the side.
"Fire!"
Duke Wayne was stunned at first. He couldn't believe that Trou had been knocked out by Kieran. Then, he gave the order. Bang!
Bang! Bang!
The muzzle of the flintlock was fired, and the smoke from the gunpowder filled the hall.
However, Duke Wayne could clearly see that Kieran and John had fallen to the ground before his men had fired at them. When the shots were fired, the two of them stood up again and ran towards the pillar in the hall.
"Kill them all!"
Duke Wayne was enraged by his continuous miscalculations, and he growled in a low voice.
However, the sudden flash of light behind him made him turn around instinctively.
He saw a tall, buff old man with a lit torch and a box at the entrance.
Beside the old man was a young man that Duke Wayne had never seen before. He was nervously looking at Kieran and John in the hall.
"Guntherson? You're not dead yet? "
Duke Wayne's gaze landed on the old man, and his brows furrowed.
He was well aware of the legend of the last guardian knight of the Church of Dawn.
However, what scared him the most was the box on the old man's shoulder.
"What is that?"
Duke Wayne asked himself.
"If a piece of trash like you is still alive, how can I die?"
Guntherson said with a smirk.
He moved the torch slightly, and the fuse on the box was ignited.
"It's yours. Here you go!"
Guntherson threw the box with all his might.
Suddenly, the box was hurled towards Duke Wayne like a catapult.
The men of sacrifice rushed towards the box, hoping to use their bodies as shields.
Duke Wayne, on the other hand, was shocked.
He knew what was inside the box.
After all, he had given Swarko and Lushan a batch of homemade explosives.
If Duke Wayne still did not realize that Swarko and Lushan were already dead, and that he had been fooled from the beginning, he would be an idiot.
"Spread out!"
Duke Wayne ran towards the pillar in a frenzy. He knew that the only way to survive was if he had enough cover.
At the same time, he warned the men of sacrifice.
The men of sacrifice were important to him, and he could not afford to lose them.
However, it was too late.
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed throughout the underground hall. The eleven men of sacrifice, together with Trou, were blasted to smithereens by the explosion.
The whole hall shook violently.
As time went by, the shaking became more and more intense.
The hall was on the verge of collapsing.
Kieran and John, who had been hiding behind the pillar, and Duke Wayne, who had also escaped the explosion, ran towards the entrance.
"Hurry up!"
Guntherson shouted.
"Chief Officer, Sir Kieran, hurry up!"
The young man on the side also shouted anxiously.
The five of them did not notice the cracks that had appeared on the mural facing the entrance. The cracks spread and overlapped with the shaking of the hall like a spider's web.
Finally...
Boom!
The whole wall of the hall shattered.
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