Chapter 120: Delivering Disaster to the Doorstep

"I have indeed found some clues regarding that statue."

As Jan said this, he scrutinized Lox closely. Sure enough, upon hearing Jan’s statement, a look of immense excitement flickered in Lox’s eyes. It was clear that this was good news for the Temple of the God of War. However, Jan quickly doused his enthusiasm with a bucket of cold water.

"However, the place where the statue is hidden is extremely secluded, and it is surrounded by heavy defenses, making it very difficult to obtain... Furthermore, we cannot be certain that our target is the correct one."

Jan was telling the truth. Utilizing the "Evil Eye," Jan had scanned every nook and cranny of Brandon Stone City, eventually discovering the statue of the saint in a secret chamber beneath the city. To be frank, Jan was not entirely certain if that was the object he was looking for. However, based on the investigation from his "Soul Eye," the magical radiance emitted by that saint's statue was the most intense, and its location was exceptionally hidden, so after ruling out various possibilities, it had to be it.

The last problem was the core of what Jan brought up. Even with the memories of Matron Dinafo as a reference, he only knew that the item was unique within Brandon Stone City. Aside from that, its characteristics were essentially zero, because according to the original plan of the dark elves, that elite squad was to quietly enter Brandon Stone City, after which the priestesses would pray to Lolth, and the Spider Queen would then provide them with further instructions.

This explained why, upon discovering Jan, Lolth had immediately destroyed the two priestesses to leave no trace. As the executors, they knew far more than Matron Dinafo herself, who had remained in the rear. Thus, Jan could not help but wonder if the Temple of the God of War was in the same boat. Of course, in Jan's view, the Temple of the God of War likely lacked the security measures of the dark elves. Because the God of War had already fallen, unlike Lolth who was still alive and capable of responding to her followers to guide them in a specific direction.

"You have really found clues?"

Hearing this, Lox could no longer sit still; he stood up and stared at Jan. Jan nodded.

"That is correct. According to the intelligence I obtained from the duergar city, there is indeed a powerful and mysterious object sealed beneath their city. As for whether it is the one we are looking for, I am not clear. After all, the duergar's treasure vault is tightly guarded. We have no way to enter it, and even if we did, we probably wouldn't know what that statue looks like."

"Then, do you have any way to retrieve that statue?"

Facing Jan's words, Lox's expression turned much gloomier. Regarding Lox's inquiry, Jan shook his head without hesitation.

"It is extremely difficult, Lord Lox. You may not know this, but in the Underdark, no one knows how to hide treasures better than the duergar. We are humans; wanting to enter a duergar city is difficult enough, and the defenses of that secret chamber are incredibly tight. Besides entering from the front, there is absolutely no other way."

This time, Jan was still telling the truth. In fact, initially, after finishing his search, Jan had considered having his goblins dig a tunnel directly from below and then break into the treasure vault from within. At that point, never mind the holy statue, he could pick and choose from all sorts of gold and silver treasures to his heart's content. But unfortunately, Jan discovered that the ancestors of the duergar were no pushovers; they had built the secret chamber between sheer cliffs, which meant the entire vault was practically suspended in mid-air. Apart from the connection via the duergar's unique mechanisms and tunnels from above, it was surrounded by bottomless abysses. Furthermore, powerful subterranean monsters inhabited those depths, meaning that if Jan wanted to get the treasure, he would either need to give his goblins wings or obediently walk through the front door.

Having said this, Jan glanced at Lox, then added one more sentence.

"And we only have one chance."

Sure enough, upon hearing Jan's reply, Lox’s expression stiffened significantly. In reality, he knew the risks were high. Even if one were to take a step back, even if Lox knew the details of the statue, they only had one chance. They could not be like the master thieves in the Hollywood blockbusters Jan would later describe, who would first scout the area, verify the authenticity of the item to be stolen, make preparations, and then put on a thrilling performance for the audience.

So, now there were only two options before Lox. One was to charge in like a bandit and grab whatever they could, and as for whether their target was actually inside, that would be a matter for after they returned. However, this was a one-off deal; he had never heard of a bank robber who, if once wasn't enough, would return to rob it again. As for whether they grabbed the real thing or something useless, that would be up to fate. However, Lox had great confidence in this regard; as a believer, in his view, since Jan had already been favored by the God of War, he would certainly be guided to obtain what the oracle pointed toward. It was the same logic as those fantasy stories where a protagonist, no matter how incompetent, could pick up a divine artifact in a sewer as long as they were covered by the halo of divine grace...

The other, more prudent method was to gather all their strength to wipe out the resistance in Brandon Stone City. Once these duergar were turned into prisoners, as the occupiers, they could slowly search until they eventually found it—but considering their own internal messes... this was naturally out of the question. Lox did not believe the Valkyrie Duchy would be so kind as to send people to join them in launching a "righteous war" against the evil monsters of the Underdark.

Besides, even if the Valkyrie Duchy were willing to do so, given the formidable power of the evil monsters in the Underdark, it was uncertain who would win and who would lose.

Lox had been worrying about this for some time, and now, after hearing Jan explain the situation, he quickly understood the crux of the matter. However, he was not as familiar with the Underdark as Jan, so he had no solutions for these problems. Thus, Lox stopped wasting his brain cells and asked Jan directly.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

As for Lox's inquiry, Jan was clearly already prepared.

"It is very simple. Although the duergar are powerful, they are far more complex in their thinking than their single-minded distant kin. Right now, they do not know what we are doing here. If we can put on a show of launching an all-out assault, those inherently cunning duergar will surely panic. And if, on that basis, we can launch a few raids against them to cause a certain degree of chaos, then I can take the opportunity to sneak into their treasure vault and take that thing out."

"But we do not have enough strength to do this now. You don't actually think those mercenaries can defeat the duergar army, do you?"

At this point, Lox sighed helplessly. He had secretly observed the duergar city several times, and the cities of the subterranean races had greatly shocked him. The defensive capabilities of Brandon Stone City were comparable to the capital city defenses of some nations on the surface. Never mind the Temple of the God of War; whether even a regular elite army could take it down was a huge question. Jan certainly knew this, but fortunately, information in the Underdark was isolated, and people from the surface were like Martians to those in the Underdark. How would they know exactly how strong their combat power was?

"I am, of course, aware of that."

Looking at Lox's distressed expression, Jan shrugged his shoulders. He certainly knew how weak these surface-dwellers were. It was fortunate that the duergar were cautious enough not to venture out. Otherwise, they only needed to send a crack team of one hundred and fifty to completely crush the human coalition at this outpost. Expecting such a force—which was even less intimidating than a paper tiger—to launch an assault on Brandon Stone City was sheer wishful thinking—even if they did launch an attack, it would be nothing more than seeking their own demise.

However, since Jan had come, he naturally already had a plan.

"However... I recall that the Valkyrie Duchy also sent troops, didn't they?"

"You have the nerve to bring up the Valkyrie Duchy?"

Hearing this, Lox glared at Jan indignantly. Everything was caused by him; if he hadn't killed so many people, would the Valkyrie Duchy be at such odds with the Temple now? And now, he was coming to him and playing dumb?

"The Valkyrie Duchy and we have completely fallen out now, and they have dispatched an elite unit to guard the portal, just waiting for you to appear so they can take you down... By the way, no one saw you come back this time, did they? The outpost is crawling with spies from the Valkyrie Duchy. If they discover your trail, it will be a huge problem."

Having said this, Lox could not help but glance out the window, only relaxing after confirming that everything was normal. After all, Jan had finally returned and brought them good news; if the Valkyrie Duchy stirred up any more trouble before the Temple could act, Lox would have no choice but to take up arms and have it out with them.

"It doesn't matter; in fact, I'd rather have them discover me."

Hearing Lox's words, Jan let out a disdainful snort. Then, as if he had thought of something, he flashed a meaningful smile at Lox.

"But having said that, Chief Knight Lox, I do have a way to make the Valkyrie Duchy join our alliance and attack the duergar city together."

"You?"

Hearing this, Lox stared at Jan in astonishment, completely failing to understand what he was thinking. According to Lox's thinking, if Jan were to appear on the side of the Valkyrie Duchy now, it would be lucky if he wasn't killed on the spot. What possible way could he have to make the soldiers of the Valkyrie Duchy join them in attacking the duergar?