Arknights' Lock of Heaven

153. Massacre of the Village

The person who hid the knight's treasure will stop at nothing to protect the knight's secret; only those with the bloodline of Kazimierz can overcome all obstacles.

“Isn’t this the proverb?” someone asked boldly upon hearing this. “It seems that we were certain there was treasure here because of this proverb.”

"But now the treasure has fallen into the hands of those two monsters, this proverb..."

“That’s right, the lion’s share of the treasure did fall into their hands,” the captain nodded decisively, then revealed a confident smile. “But we can’t afford to lose everything, can we?”

"At this point, we have no choice but to go find Xiao Tou."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding crowd began to whisper among themselves.

What is meant by "small head"?

"You don't actually think that an ordinary village could have such a large treasure, do you?"

"Moreover, the proverb above also says that this treasure is left to their descendants. But did the descendants who possess the key to the treasure really leave behind nothing of their original heritage?"

At this point, the captain revealed a fierce expression. "They are, after all, descendants of nobles. Even a wrecked ship has three nails. How could they have failed to pass down anything?"

"Although these things can't compare to treasure, at least they'll prevent us from losing everything!"

After hearing his explanation, some people suddenly understood, but many more looked doubtful.

They knew Drip Village all too well. After nearly two years of rampage, they knew it was just a poor, remote village typical of Kazimierz, with hardly any profit to be made.

Even if there were any, they would have already looted them during this period.

The captain's words seemed to make some sense, but they couldn't convince these people.

They knew Drip Village all too well.

Seeing their expressions, the captain's mood worsened.

In the past, even if what he said was a bit outrageous, these people wouldn't have dared to do that.

And now...

We need to take drastic measures!

The captain gritted his teeth and decided to leak the information.

Although he had been repeatedly instructed not to make the existence of that thing public, what time was it now, and in order to protect his position, he had no choice but to do so.

"Look at you all, all terrified," he said, raising his head high and speaking disdainfully to the people inside the tent. "Let me tell you the truth, I originally intended to keep all that stuff for myself, and I never planned to share it with you guys!"

"But who brought this up? I'm only telling you this to save the team and to prevent my investment from going to waste."

"Besides, what do you think I've been searching for in this remote and impoverished place for two years?"

Upon hearing this, the commotion inside the tent subsided.

“Cranial cavity”, “Fire lungs”, “Yellow smoke”.

“You should have heard of these three important figures,” the captain said in a deep voice, looking around. “Here, you’ll find what they’re looking for.”

"What have I been working so hard for all these years? Isn't it all to climb higher and earn more money!"

“Now, those big shots need that thing, and I have received orders from one of them to help him get it.”

"The reward is that I can climb even higher! And lots and lots of money!"

"That's why I went to this remote and impoverished place without hesitation and searched for two years!"

"Knight's Treasure? Ha! Compared to the value of that thing, it's nothing! Only people like you would care about those gold coins!"

He stood up and said condescendingly, "If it weren't for those two monsters interfering, we probably would have already gotten what we wanted."

“I can also explain to that official.”

Upon hearing this, many people in the tent suddenly realized what was going on.

While the Knight's Treasure is precious, even a captain wouldn't stay here for two years.

Many people were very puzzled by this in the past.

Because this is not the treasure of a great knight, but left behind by an unknown knight, the exact amount of treasure inside is a question mark.

Usually, these small treasure troves are lucky to have a hundred or so gold coins.

Don't assume that all ancient knights were incredibly wealthy; some who didn't fare well might not even have a hundred or so gold coins buried with them after their deaths.

If the captain and his men hadn't spent two years searching here, leading many to believe the treasure must be incredibly valuable, the news wouldn't have spread so widely.

Many people had coveted it, but the captain had driven them away.

Seeing his determination, these people had no choice but to give up.

After all, it would be unwise to fight the captain head-on for a treasure whose authenticity is uncertain.

Moreover, they had also investigated and found that the knight who left the treasure had not even left his name in history, and the value of the treasure was not necessarily that great.

In the end, only the captain was still searching in Drip Village.

No one expected that his target wasn't the treasure at all, but something else entirely.

It wasn't for the money, but to curry favor with the leader of the bounty hunters in the Kazimierz region.

That makes perfect sense.

The people in the tent looked at each other, all feeling that they believed the captain's words to some extent.

"Let those two monsters keep the treasure," the captain waved his hand. "As long as we hide it until they leave, get the item, and present it to that lord, we'll all rise to great heights!"

"I had no other choice. As you all know, almost all of my trusted men died at the hands of those two monsters. Otherwise, I wouldn't have told you something so important."

“I can see that you are all terrified of them. If I hadn’t told you, there might not be many of you left by tomorrow morning. If I had no manpower, I wouldn’t have been able to deal with Dishui Village.”

"Not to mention the losses in the end, the investment of the past two years, the investment in currying favor with that big shot, will all be in vain."

"Now that things have come to this, I have nothing left to hide from you. I'll lay everything out in the open with you. You can leave or stay as you please."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent swore that they would never leave and would live or die with the others.

Since the captain's plan did not involve directly confronting the two monsters, they naturally had the courage to stay.

After all, it wasn't just the captain who invested time and effort; they had all been stationed here for two years. If they ended up with nothing and had to leave in disgrace, they wouldn't be willing to accept it.

However, the fear he had felt towards Xia Yu and Skadi had overwhelmed his resentment.

But now, hearing that they don't have to be enemies with them, greed surges up in their hearts again.

Even though the captain kept it a secret, he never told them what the so-called big shot wanted.

But to them, this was perfectly normal.

After all, none of the people present were his confidants, so how could he possibly reveal everything to them?

They didn't question the veracity of what the captain said.

Or rather, they are unwilling to doubt.

As long as they don't clash with those two monsters, and as long as they don't lose everything, they don't care about anything else.

If it turns out in the end that the captain lied to them, that's fine too.

If you can't eat the treasure, then eating the captain isn't so bad either.

He has been a leader for so many years and has accumulated quite a lot of wealth.

So many of us have been working for him in this remote and impoverished place for two years, so it's not unreasonable to ask for some compensation from his savings, is it?

After all, the captain's confidants are all dead, and the bounty hunters still alive here come from all sorts of backgrounds.

This is also a tradition of bounty hunters.

If you can lead everyone to wealth, then everyone will listen to you. But if one day you can't make it... then everyone will make money off you!

Seeing their forced sincerity, their slightly fanatical eyes, and their obsequious words of loyalty, the captain finally felt relieved.

At least, I've managed to keep them all in check.

Now, let's leave it to fate.

He wasn't lying; the so-called big shot did indeed have what he wanted.

It's that key.

But who knows if those two monsters will casually take the key with them after they get the treasure?

So he's gambling.

I'm betting that the key is still there.

If he were gone... he knew he would bear the wrath of his rabble.

Even the powerful figure behind him wouldn't let him off the hook.

But now he has no choice.

All we can do is pray that the key is still there.

The key is like a carrot dangling in front of these donkeys, meant to make them obey temporarily. Having it is good, but if not...

If they're not here... then incite these people to massacre everyone in Dishui Village!

Although this village is poor, if you search every house, you won't come away empty-handed!