Limitless Fortune: I Collect SSS-Rank Skills as Payment

"What did he say?"

In a far corner of the underground hall, a hooded man with a bronze mask leaned forward while a burly figure stepped into view.

The place they were in was a massive chamber carved directly into the mountain. It was one of the strongholds of the black market that was purely carved by stone and lit by mana lamps.

The entire structure was engraved with countless runes, its walls pulsing faintly with hidden power, making it as sturdy as the mountain itself.

Moreover, with layers upon layers of concealment arrays cloaking the entire hall in shadows, even a Lord-realm expert would struggle to sense its existence.

"Lord Aldren, we....we cannot go through."

Seeing the expectant look on the Lord's face, the burly figure stammered a little before conveying the news.

"Cannot go through?"

Sure enough, when Aldren Lionheart heard his words, his expression went as cold as frost, while a wild aura directly radiated out of his body, making the burly guy shiver.

Although the man felt a sudden chill crawl down his spine, he still bowed slightly and forced himself to explain.

"Our men waited the whole day for Duke Viremond, but his people drove us out, saying he was too busy. And… and since then, there's been no word at all. It's as if… Duke Viremond has already abandoned us."

While saying the last part, the burly man's voice dropped lower, afraid that Lord Aldren might lash out in anger.

After all, it was Duke Viremond who had thrown them into this quagmire.

Otherwise, the Lionheart family would never have been foolish enough to declare war against a house that had not one, but two peak Weaver-ranked powerhouses.

Yes, there had been that incident with Lucien's humiliation, but Hugo alone didn't have the weight to push their family into war.

And yet, now that the arrow had already been fired, Duke Viremond suddenly left them to fend for themselves.

Of course, he didn't exactly betray them as his name was still tied to the war, but for how long?

The Duke had already ignored their plea for help today in capturing Lucien; would he bother to step in once real danger came?

It was clear the Lionhearts had been used and discarded like garbage. And the worst part was, they could do nothing about it except swallow their resentment and clean up the mess just as the Duke intended.

"Bastard!" Thɪs chapter is updated by novel⚑fire.net

Viscount Aldren Lionheart couldn't stop himself from cursing, his aura bursting out in a flash of fury.

Fortunately, he reined it back in time, or the entire hall would have known of his presence.

"Sir, what should we do now? Do we… withdraw from war?"

Once Aldren finally calmed down, the burly guy asked again, clearly anxious.

If the news that Duke Viremond seemed to have no interest in this war anymore spread, their Lionheart family would be in a pinch.

Not to mention the fear of Malcolm and his pet, the threat from other noble houses alone wasn't small.

After all, in this war, their gain was massive. But in the process of looting, they also offended many people.

Where there were flourishing businesses, there would be connections, obviously. They didn't even know, by looting Goldveil, how many people had lost their interest and started resenting them.

If Viremond kept his word and continuously acted as the patron of their family, it obviously wasn't even an issue.

But now… danger had gotten significantly greater.

"Withdraw? Do you think we can withdraw now?"

Viscount Aldren had barely calmed himself down when he suddenly flew into a rage at such a stupid question.

"After doing all those things, do you think the Goldveil family will let us walk away? Even if they don't have enough strength, do you think the others will just let us be?" he barked.

"Then… what is your order, Lord Aldren?"

Seeing how grim the situation was, the burly man asked again, ignoring his lord's rant. His whole family's future was tied to the Lionhearts, and of course, he was anxious.

While it was easy to enjoy the soup during the war, if push came to shove, he would be the one standing at the front.

"…Sigh. I knew that bastard wasn't reliable. Fortunately, I already have a backup plan."

Viscount Aldren slumped back onto the sofa, his gaze sweeping over the crowded hall as he sighed.

"Don't worry. Since Duke Viremond has abandoned us, we'll simply take shelter elsewhere. It's not like he's the only duke in this world."

His eyes narrowed slightly in deep thought as he spoke.

"H-Huh? L-Lord… don't tell me you already gained the support of another duke?"

The burly guy froze at his words, eyes wide in shock.

Truly, if their lord could take shelter with another duke, then even if Viremond didn't care, they would be alright.

Feeling such, he couldn't help but look at Viscount Aldren with admiration. Truly, his lord was quite clever.

"Haha... you can say so."

Aldren saw the naked admiration in those eyes behind the mask and laughed, feeling good.

"Really? Who is it?"

The burly guy sighed in relief and asked once again. There were only four dukes in the Edoria Kingdom.

So, that left only three of them.

"It is Duke Morvain."

Unfortunately for him, the name spoken by the Viscount wasn't of anyone he recognized.

"Morvain? Is there such a duke in the Edoria Kingdom?"

Feeling puzzled, the burly guy blurted out only to get silenced by Aldren with a gesture.

"Shsss... don't talk aloud. Don't you know where we are."

Aldren said, annoyed, and then whispered slightly,

"And who said only the Edoria Kingdom has dukes? Can't other kingdoms have one?"

But the content of his whisper was so absurd that the burly guy was totally shocked.

"L-Lord... are you talking about....Lord Morvain of the Kingdom of Serenthis?"

Only after hearing the hint did he understand what Aldren was talking about.

He knew that Lord Morvain was also a duke, only he wasn't one from the Edoria Kingdom but from Serenthis.

So, that meant the Lionheart family decided to take shelter under another kingdom.

"Isn't this... treason?"

Feeling the absurd situation, the burly guy blurted out his inner thoughts quickly, trying to cover up afterward but failing miserably.

"Treason? Hehe… you can say so if this world were as simple as before."

Fortunately for him, Lord Aldren didn't take his words to heart but mumbled lightly.

Unlike him, Viscount Aldren knew about this world and the World of Origin. He also knew about the Circle of Nobility.

When it was certain that even this world would soon be engulfed, and the Kingdom of Edoria would disappear, where would the treason be?

He was just trying to survive by choosing a good nest, that's all.

"Okay, no need to think too much. We aren't betraying anyone or anything. We are just getting help in return for something that we are going to do."

Aldren didn't want to talk about these things here, so he waved his hand and changed the topic.

"This time, our mission is the grandson of Malcolm, Lucien. Lord Morvain had promised that as long as we manage to kill Lucien, he will be the patron of our family forever. He's already even signed a contract."

He casually poured out the shocking news, making the guy gape at him.

"Don't worry, we won't kill him in the open. I'm sure that guy Malcolm has sent a bodyguard for him."

But Aldren didn't care about the surprise. He was only exposing all these things because the man in front of him was his wife's brother and his close aide.

"Although I don't know what they are planning by inviting so many assassins all over the capital, this is also a perfect chance to kill that boy."

He said it with eyes filled with coldness.

Although he had no idea why Lord Morvain wanted to kill Lucien, he didn't care.

Because, besides the shelter, the other rewards promised by Morvain were so good that he couldn't help but come himself.

He didn't want to fail this mission at any cost. After all, it was related to his class ascension.

"Did you prepare all the things I asked you to?"

After explaining his plan, Aldren asked the burly guy, who nodded immediately.

"Everything is prepared as you said, and all our men are already scattered throughout the chamber. Now, we are only waiting for the arrival of Malcolm's grandson."

He said it solemnly. Although shocked by the sudden plan change and all the twists, he was, after all, the most trusted aide of Lord Aldren. He wouldn't make a mistake in following orders.

"Good. Haha… then all that remains is to watch the show. Let's see how that guy Malcolm will save his grandson today."

Aldren laughed lightly and leaned back to relax, when suddenly he felt something crawling across his arm.

"Hmm?"

Feeling the movement, he couldn't help but glance at his wrist, only to see a thumb-sized red ant staring up at him… and nodding, almost like a human.

But seeing such a bizarre scene, neither he nor the burly guy showed surprise. Instead, they both understood the message exactly as Lord Aldren whispered.

"It seems that little guy has entered the hall."