Chapter 190: Superior Infiltration Often Requires Only Simple Techniques
Chapter 190: Superior Infiltration Often Requires Only Simple Techniques
In Iberia, within a certain mobile town, under the cover of night, a figure stealthily slipped out from the town’s edge and quickly disappeared into the dark forest.
If anyone familiar with him were present, they would recognize this sneaky figure as the town’s widely acknowledged wealthy benefactor—a middle-aged man known for generously distributing food and dried meat to starving villagers.
It was hard to imagine that such a rotund man, who normally appeared winded after taking just a few steps, could move with the agility of a fish gliding through water.
However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that his body was covered in a layer of mucus, similar to that secreted by amphibians for lubrication. His pupils had also morphed into a strange inverted triangle shape.
After leaving the town, he navigated through the forest with practiced ease, following some hidden markings that led him to a cave concealed deep within the woods. Without hesitation, he slipped inside.
What he failed to notice was that behind him, a peculiar bubble-like effect briefly appeared in the air.
Then, accompanied by a faint suction sound, it vanished just as suddenly as it had emerged.
At this moment, this man—who resembled a monster more than a human—was intent on reporting a highly critical matter to his organization.
If his information was accurate, then their plans for this region were about to be jeopardized.
For some unknown reason, the Inquisition had suddenly distributed large quantities of potatoes to the town’s villagers, claiming that cultivating these crops would not only ensure long-term food security but also provide them with additional income.
Although most of the townspeople were skeptical, an order from the Inquisition was not something they could easily defy.
But if the Inquisition’s claims proved true, it would severely impact his organization’s influence in this area.
After all, if people had enough to eat and no longer faced the threat of starvation, how many would still be desperate enough to abandon their humanity?
Thus, the man had no choice but to report this absurd development to his superiors in the Church of the Deep.
If necessary, they would need to take action—disrupting or even destroying the Inquisition’s plan was an option they could not rule out.
He glanced down at the stolen potato sample he carried in his arms, his expression filled with concern.
What he didn’t realize was that from the moment he left the town, he had already been marked.
To be precise, his cover had been blown even while he was still in the town.
And the one who had uncovered his identity? None other than Steven.
With a near-cheat-like ability that allowed him to see a person’s name, status, and certain attribute tags above their heads, identifying a Church of the Deep mole among the crowd was effortless for Steven.
And as long as he could locate the individual responsible for relaying messages, finding the nearest Church of the Deep hideout would become a simple task.
Without breaking a sweat, Steven had pinpointed this carefully selected "lucky candidate" in the town near the Inquisition’s base.
True to form, as soon as night fell, the man had unwittingly fulfilled his role as a guide, leading Steven straight to a cave brimming with red markers.
Steven was not particularly skilled in stealth techniques, but with the aid of invisibility potions and his innate stealth abilities, detecting him was nearly impossible.
At the very least, neither the treacherous middle-aged man nor the sea monsters scattered throughout the cave could perceive his presence.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Steven had chosen not to bring Irene’s along.
First, because she wouldn't be much help in this situation anyway, and second, it was better for her to focus on capturing more infiltrators.
Additionally, working alone meant he wouldn’t have to hold back.
Even if he were to be exposed, it wouldn’t be much of an issue.
After all, as a great master assassin once said: It still counts as stealth if no one lives to tell about it.
Steven had no idea who originally came up with that philosophy, but that didn’t stop him from taking it as a personal life lesson.
After following the strange middle-aged man into the cave, Steven didn’t bother tailing him any further.
Since he had already reached the destination, it was now time for some free exploration.
With the protection of his invisibility potion and other stealth items, he wandered through the enemy-filled cave as if strolling through his own backyard.
After maneuvering around two sunflower-like creatures that were clearly sentries, the cave suddenly became much brighter.
The cavern, showing obvious signs of artificial excavation, was even more spacious than Steven had expected.
What was even more bizarre was that it housed not only a number of sea monsters but also several Iberian villagers—ordinary folk whose rosy complexions suggested they were living quite comfortably.
The lowest-class Sea Terror—those mindless beasts that would normally charge at the sight of Steven or the Inquisition like rabid animals—were here, behaving like domesticated pets alongside the villagers.
Steven even witnessed some Sea Terror willingly severing parts of their own bodies to provide food for the starving humans.
In this eerie underground lair, the boundary between humans and sea monsters had blurred.
Just as Emmaia had once described, humans and sea creatures seemed to be living together in perfect harmony.
But Steven also noticed that the closer these villagers were to the sea monsters, the more their bodies exuded the same unnatural aura.
Some had even begun to physically transform, their bodies showing clear signs of monstrous mutation.
Yet the sea monsters themselves remained unchanged, unaffected by their human companions.
"A one-sided transformation like this can hardly be called peaceful coexistence. This is assimilation—plain and simple."
Steven shook his head.
For those unable to perceive what he could, the sight before him might have been awe-inspiring.
If someone like Irene or Talulah—girls whose beliefs had not yet fully matured—were here, they might have been moved to question whether humans and sea monsters could truly coexist peacefully.
But reality offered no such philosophical musings.
Steven saw only the blatant truth before him—an unquestionable, one-sided assimilation.
Perhaps, for some of these villagers, transforming into sea monsters wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. But he believed that they were merely a small fraction of the larger picture.
The Church of the Deep clearly wasn’t content with just a handful of willing participants.
Their true ambition was far greater—they wanted all of Iberia, perhaps even all of Terra, to join them in becoming those creatures, surrendering themselves to the embrace of the ocean.
Steven could only sum it up in one sentence—these people were completely insane.
Ignoring the seemingly harmonious interactions between the villagers and the sea monsters, he continued his exploration deeper into the cave.
Soon, he came across something that completely clashed with the primitive, hand-dug aesthetic of the cavern—a massive, high-tech metal door, exuding a modern and mechanical vibe.
There were no guards posted at the entrance, but the tightly locked door made it clear that getting through wouldn’t be easy.
Fortunately, to Steven, doors were never really an obstacle.
As long as something functioned as a door, then as far as he was concerned, it might as well be left wide open to welcome him in.
Reaching into his pocket (Inventory), he pulled out a small button-like device.
With a simple press, the futuristic steel door automatically slid open from the inside, revealing a passage leading further in.
"Hmm, come to think of it, my abilities would be pretty damn useful for a master thief. Maybe I should just become some kind of legendary rogue—robbing the rich, helping the poor, a true gentleman thief?"
Steven mused to himself, but quickly dismissed the thought.
No matter how grand titles like "King of Thieves" or "God of Theft" might sound, at the end of the day, stealing was still stealing.
If he really wanted to go down that road, he might as well be a straight-up bandit—taking things by force sounded far more respectable.
Sneaking around like a petty thief just wasn’t his style.
Of course, now wasn’t exactly the time to be worrying about this sort of thing.
After all, he was still in the middle of his own personal Assassin’s Creed adventure. Best to stay focused on the task at hand.
Narrowing his eyes, he downed another invisibility potion, extending his stealth duration by another eight minutes before proceeding further into the Church of the Deep’s gathering site.
Compared to the villagers and low-level Sea Terror outside, the area beyond the door was on an entirely different level.
The cavern was filled with steel-made scientific equipment—so advanced that even Rhodes Island had very few similar pieces of technology.
The sheer density of high-tech machinery made this place resemble a modern research lab rather than a crude underground hideout.
Steven couldn’t help but wonder—just how the hell had the Church of the Deep advanced their technology so far?
After all, the Inquisition outside was still stuck in what looked like a medieval European setting, yet these guys were already rocking a futuristic lab.
The contrast was almost ridiculous.
In fact, he even began to suspect—if the Church of the Deep was this advanced, shouldn’t they have already overthrown the Inquisition by now?
Then again, it was possible that their technological advancements hadn’t been applied to weaponry. After all, everything he had seen so far was related to biological research.
So what exactly was the Church of the Deep trying to do?
Were they trying to be the real-world version of Umbrella Corporation and develop a T-Virus or something?
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 249: Failed Counterattack
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/arknightcraft-129985494
Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=expanded
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.