Alden and the platoon returned to Valerius estate, unloading all the looting and picked the second platoon to continue the dungeon diving while the platoon number 1 stayed back after a successful dive.
Before leaving, Alden sent letters to his spies whom he put in disguise as maids, servants, guards, etc in the houses Greystone, Trell, Ferrem, Blackthorn and Windmere to tell them to leak information about those houses' upcoming trading/merchant carriages' routes.
*Flashback 2 months ago*
The torchlight flickered against the damp stone walls, casting long shadows in the cold air of the underground prison. Iron sconces burned low, choking the space with the scent of smoke and mildew. Alden stepped into the chamber, his boots clicking sharply on the floor, accompanied by two armored guards who flanked a hunched figure bound to the iron chair at the center.
She was small and skinny. Gaunt from weeks of captivity, her limbs were wiry, her nails chipped and blackened with grime. Her skin was pale beneath layers of soot, bruises blooming along her jawline like dark flowers. A greasy curtain of matted red hair hung across one eye. A wildness in her narrowed eyes, like a cornered fox too tired to flee.
"You're the brat of this city's duke that they call Alden?" she asked hoarsely. Her lips cracked as she smiled—mocking, though it bled desperation.
"So what now? You going to beat a confession out of me? Rip my fingernails off? Or maybe you brought these fine meatsacks here to take turns on me before I bite off my tongue and end the show?"
Her voice trembled at the edges, betraying what her words tried to mask. Alden studied her in silence. She trembled—not from cold, but from the weight of knowing she had run out of road.
"I only want to talk." he said calmly.
"Save me from your bullshits and just do it already. Or else, fuck off, little lord.", She spat at him.
Alden stopped her spit with his wind conjuration and threw the saliva back at her face.
"Argh!", She cringed in disgust, unexpected Alden would do that.
Alden gestured, and the two guards stepped out of the room, silent as shadows and guard the door. He closed the door and moved to the chair across from her and sat.
"I've read your record," he said, placing a parchment on the table between them.
"Rilene Varn. Commoner. Born in Marlow.Hired as a maid in House Galedrift of Valden at seventeen. Stayed for five years. During that time, over a hundred items went missing—rings, silver cutlery, brooches, heirlooms. House coffers were bled drip by drip, until a maid caught you slipping a brooch into your apron."
Rilene's jaw twitched.
"You slit her throat in the laundry room with a handknife, took every stolen object you'd hidden in your house and fled Valden, your destination ended up in Blackbend.", Alden finished the record.
After 1 month of using Valerius soldiers into criminals hunting in Blackbend city, an experienced scouting soldier had tracked down Rilene and thus they captured her successfully.
"Gonna yapping about my crime list to kill me with guilt?", She muttered, bitter.
"Quite the opposite in fact, I'm giving you some compliments. No one noticed for five years. That takes talent. Most thieves get sloppy within months but not you.", Alden clapped his hand.
She looked up, confused.
"I want to know how," Alden continued. "How did a girl with a commoner's life fool one of the lords in Valden for half a decade?"
Rilene stared at him. Her fingers clenched the sides of her chair. "And why are you interested in what I did?"
Alden's expression didn't change. "Lord Galedrift put out a bounty: 2 hundred silvers if you're dead. 2 hundred and fifty if you're alive. That's a steep price for a maid."
He stood, walking behind her. She flinched—reflexive, not from pain, but habit. He spoke close to her ear.
" I haven't sent words to him. Not yet."
She looked over her shoulder at him, warily.
"I didn't keep you alive out of pity. I saw your potential. You go unnoticed, you take what you want, you disappear. That's a skill I can use."
Alden circled back in front of her. "Work for me. I'll give you a new name, coins in your pocket, a decent place to live. You'll be safe—from Galedrift, bounty hunters and law enforcers ."
He paused. "Refuse and I'll send you back to Valden hogtied and gagged. Mages like us have plenty of methods to prevent your futile attempt of suicide by tongue biting quite easily to be honest. Especially when you are just a normal person.
An augmenter's speed can be faster than you blink and grip on your jaws before you bite, a conjurer can flood your mouth with water before your teeth even close. And if by some miracle you do manage it, emitters can keep your twitching body alive.
Soon then, you can enjoy Lord Galedrift's personal justice in the city square. You will crawl on the streets with your body naked and whipped like a cart horse. People will throw dirt, stones and pigshit at you in the morning. While at night, you will become a public sex toy for dozens if not hundreds of men, either the guards or the criminals in the same cells. Hmm, the number of sexual diseases contamination is going to be unimaginable for your case." Alden spoke flatly as if he had witnessed things like that in every normal day.
"Overall, not enough to kill you right away, their emitters wouldn't let you die. They will however make you wish you had better be dead for as long as the Lord wishes."
He leaned back, folding his arms. "So. Choose."
The room fell into silence again, broken only by the distant drip of water from somewhere deeper in the prison. Rilene looked down at her bound hands, then at the faint bloodstains on the stone beneath her feet. She was trembling in fear.
"I-I …I will work for you…Please, I don't want any of those…I want to live… I will do whatever you want." she began slowly, her voice dry and filled with fear.
Alden with a question: "What's your name?"
Rilene with a surprised face: "Wh-what? You just read my records earlier—
Alden interrupted her instantly: "I thought you want to live, girl? What's your name?"
Rilene took a second to understand Alden's intention as she recomposed herself to answer him with a new name she thought of: "Kezra."
He nodded. "Welcome to house Valerius, Kezra."
Then he turned to the guards. "Get her to the servants to clean up and give her a proper meal. Stay close and watch out for any of her suspicious actions, in case my honesty isn't enough of an intermediation for her. Then bring her to my office in the barracks."
*2 hours later*
In Alden's office within the barracks, Kezra walked in with a new appearance as Alden demanded. Female servants, summoned from the house staff, set to work, scrubbing the grime from her gaunt frame. They fitted her with a chestnut wig to mask her matted red hair, layering makeup to soften her bruised features into a passable disguise. Her chipped nails were filed, her wiry limbs cloaked in modest common clothes. And she was given a full good meal.
To ensure her loyalty, Alden clasped a magic artifact wristband around her left wrist, its enchanted metal locking with an audible click.
"This little piece of jewelry," Alden said evenly, "helps me to locate your position every hour, so no use of running from me.Try to pry it off or destroy it, it'll crush the bones in your wrist until your hand comes off entirely."
Kezra stared at it, her lips parting slightly in dread.
"Kezra," he continued, his voice flat, "your task is to infiltrate House Greystone in Highmire as a maid, Lord Greystone has posted a recruitment for new maids. I've provided enough money to secure a tavern room there and food for a week, use it wisely."
He handed her a small pouch, its weight promising temporary comfort as he continued:
"You'll be accompanied by a female soldier, sparing you the discomfort of a male escort. She won't interfere unless necessary, but she'll ensure the money isn't squandered or used to fund an escape. Apply for the position, return after one week with everything you can gather—trading routes, personal businesses, plans, army intels, anything useful."
Kezra's brow furrowed: "But what if he stops hiring just as I arrive? Or deems me unfit?"
"Greystone's maid recruitment has been up for 2 months until now according to my scout in Highmire. Whatever the reason for his house's lacking for maids, that's your chance. And for a girl who already had 5 years of experience like you should have no excuses at all. If not then perhaps I overestimated you and after that the wristband will be the least of your worries.", Alden explained.
Kezra's eyes flicked to the band, fear tightening her pale face as she thought about Alden giving her to lord Galedrift to torment, then she nodded: "Understood."
Alden dismissed her with a wave, and the guards escorted her out as she began her mission.
One week later, Kezra returned to Blackbend, her disguise untouched and her steps brisk but cautious. She was escorted directly to Alden's office.
She placed a folded parchment on the table: "Everything I could gather."
Alden opened it, eyes scanning each line. Her notes were clean, methodical. Trade routes, merchant partners—specific times, destinations, guard counts. Even coded symbols marking which shipments were lightly guarded.
"Sorry, I couldn't get anything about his army yet, but if you can give me more time—"
"Well done," Alden said, nodding with genuine approval. "This is solid for seven days of work."
Kezra hesitated. "Thanks...but there's more, I didn't note it down yet because I don't know if it's useful to you, but—"
Alden gestured his hand for her to speak freely.
"That fat freak Greystone,even though he is a married man with a daughter, often goes to the brothels to get his desires with the prostitutes. Sometimes, he would demand ... sexual affairs with multiple people at once.", Kezra's voice filled with a taste of disgust.
"Yes, 'orgy parties', they were called. I have heard the rumors as well, and you just confirmed it for me.", Alden replied.
"Whenever that man returned house late, his body would fill with stench of unwashed bodies, sweats and wine. And sometimes....he would grope and touch the maids, cornering them in the private rooms, if he got himself druken hard enough. That's the reason many maids left their jobs!", Kezra's disgusted voice now turned into frustration.
"You're afraid that you will become his next victim?", Alden asked, noticing her raising her voice.
"Obviously.", Kezra replied.
"If you had escaped the sharp eyes of lord Galedrift for 5 years then I believe a sex-addicted drunk pig like Greystone with half of a brain wouldn't make that much difficulties for you.",Alden simply pointed out.
"Now prepare yourself, tonight we will test the validation of your intels."
That evening, Alden dispatched a small unit of scouts to one of the routes Kezra had described. They reported back by dawn: she was correct. A carriage with Greystone sigil flag bearing trade goods, escorted by twenty or thirty armed guards, had passed through the northern trade road exactly as she described.
Learning that news, Alden quickly wrote a letter sending to lord Galedrift:
"To Lord Jon Galedrift of Valden,
Your fugitive and murderous maid, Rilene Varn, was discovered hiding in Blackbend. In the process of tracking her, my soldiers uncovered a cache of stolen items matching the report of House Galedrift. The criminal was killed during her attempted escape. I request that you send representatives to confirm the recovered property and issue the agreed bounty.
Looking forward to your earliest reply and cooperation, my Lord.
Alden Valerius of Blackbend ."
At 3 AM, Alden secretly walked to the house's dungeon. The dungeon guards' routine ended at 2AM so he was free to act without being caught.
In one of the cells, he picked up the prisoner he had prepared in advance: a woman of similar height and build to Kezra. She barely had time to scream before Alden sealed her mouth with a conjured sheath of earth.
He brought her to the torture chamber in silence. The woman trying to fight off Alden's mana augmented strength in futile attempt. Tears falling from her eyes and her muffled crying could be heard by Alden.
Alden's hands grabbed her head and her chin tightly.
Then, with one swift movement.
*CRACK*
Alden broke her neck cleanly. Her body fell to the floor like a broken doll. Then he took off the chains, handcuffs and burned her body with fire magic, leaving only scorched bones and ash. The burning smell and smoke were dealt by Alden using wind magic to ventilate the air quickly. His actions were precise and calm, as if he just swapped a fly out of his face rather than killing a person.
________
In the next morning, Lord Galedrift's men arrived to Blackbend with a reprensitative and some guards.
Alden greeted them personally and led them to the chamber where the remains were kept under guard. He showed them the charred body and a crate full of rings, silver cutlery, brooches, heirlooms—all formerly owned by House Galedrift.
"Young duke, may I ask what happened to this stealing bitch?", the representative asked, wrinkling his nose at the scorched smell.
"She ran," Alden replied smoothly. "One of my conjurers overdid it. A fire ball, too much mana."
The Galedrift's men exchanged glances. They could test none of it—no face nor hair remained, and the stolen property was unmistakable. Everything on Galedrift's list was accounted for.
The representative gave Alden a heavy pouch. "Two hundred silvers as promised ,my lord.".
"Pleasure doing business," Alden replied.
Later that day, a letter of appreciation was delivered from Lord Galedrift to thank House Valerius for their swift justice and cooperation, sending to Duke Cedric and Alden.
Alden then summoned Kezra to inform her that "she was officially dead", lord Galedrift stopped hunting for her permanently from now on, as Alden had promised her of her safety. Before Kezra could express her gratitude and thank Alden, he immediately put her into more works by asigning her to teach her tricks, skills, techniques and experiences to his new recruits of scouting soldiers as Alden planned to create more spies under his arsenals.
*Back to present day*
With letters to Kezra and other spies had been dispatched, Alden ordered the soldiers and the servants to store the loots in right places. The cores were stored in the storage house first. The organic parts that need to be cleaned, preprocessed and preserved in magic cooling containers(they are the version of fridges in TBATE) first such as meat and skin were given to the butchers and cooks.
Alden took the rest 5 carriages of his house's army with the platoon number 2 to carry on the dungeon diving after having a quick lunch at his house.
With 7 carriages in total, the dungeon diving in the afternoon gathered much more results of loots, hunting experience and core power leveling for the soldiers in the platoon.
In the next day, Alden received letters from his spies, the letters filled with reports of information about the trading routes, of the 5 houses.
Alden selected Greystone as his target. He dispatched a squad of 31 soldiers(a quarter of platoon) and two scouts to Vonram Forest, three days ahead by horse from Blackbend to Marlow Town, outfitting them with clothes to look like bandits as well as prepared six-day rations and a number of dimension rings that his house could afford in this time.
Greystone's carriages would use Highmire's teleportation portal to Valden, then ride to Marlow since Marlow town didn't have teleportation portals. A full platoon's arrival right to Valden would draw many suspicions, so Alden preserved the element of surprise.
In the duration of 4 days waiting and preparations, Alden still brought the platoons with him to the dungeon dives to pile up the profits and resources. The results at D ranked dungeons showed his platoons' tactics were flawless.
4 days have passed, at 4 AM, Alden woke up early and rushed his works and preparations and went to the teleportation portal to Valden city.
No one had suspected Alden as whenever the guards asked him, he just showed his adventurer card to them to let them know he was an adventurer doing his own business.
Alden rode his horse to the northern edge of Vonram Forest. Took him some time but he had found them in the scheduled meeting point.
After 2 hours of waiting, the squad's scout had spotted the carriages carrying Greystone sigil banners. And they were alone on the road just like Alden had calculated.
Alden and his men wore the bandit-like clothes, covering their faces and prepared their weapons as they approached to the hill close to the main road where the carriages were going.
Greystone's trading group had total of 10 trading carriages, filled with goods, resources, foods, merchandises, etc. Yet they were guarded with 30 guards and 1 captain in total, too small for 10 carriages, an over-confident decision from Theon Greystone, believing his choices of trading routes were always safe for his men as he never chose his destinations to be too close to the mountains(the place where bandits/slave traders often ambush).
Bolts flying from the crossbows of Alden's infsntry punctured through the Greystone guards' helm and left holes on their skulls.
"Bandits!!", The captain of Greystone yelled outloud.
The Greystone soldiers raised their shields to protect the goods inside the carriages while the employees and drivers hid under/behind the carriages.
Alden's squad rushed from the hill,both infantry and crossbowmen riding horses.
The Valerius crossbowmen, rode horses and shot their bolts simultaneously to tear down the shield wall of Greystone soldiers.
Alden and the squad's conjurer activated a combination of fire and wind magic together to create a fire tornado that destroyed their entire formation, incinerating or flinging soldiers to their deaths. Infantry pursued fleeing survivors. The ambush ended in five minutes.
The captain of the Greystone guards had been captured alive. The remaining employees surrendered without resistance. Acting swiftly, Alden and his squad relocated all ten carriages and the thirty corpses into the depths of Vonram Forest before any travelers could stumble upon the ambush site.
Alden and the squad's conjurer took on the heaviest tasks. Using wind magic, they lifted and transported the carriages up the forested hills with remarkable speed.
Once concealed deep within the woods, Alden turned to the prisoners.
"Which of you knows how to disassemble and reassemble these carriages?"
Five men raised their hands. Alden nodded. "Good. Get to work. Dismantle all of them."
Piece by piece, the carriages were broken down into manageable components. This led to the most crucial step: storing them. Just as Alden had calculated, the dimension rings brought for the mission were sufficient to hold all ten carriages in their disassembled state.
However, the journey back to Blackbend through the dense Vonram Forest would take at least four days—and Alden had only provided rations for two days left. To solve this, he ordered the five skilled employees to reassemble two of the carriages—specifically those carrying the foods from Greystone's trade convoy.
The remaining spoils, too many to fit into the already full dimension rings, were deemed non-essential. Alden commanded his men to burn or scatter the excess goods throughout the forest, ensuring nothing could be traced back to them.
As for the 30 corpses, the squad also stripped off their armors and weapons before Alden issued another grim order:
"Dismember the bodies. Scatter the pieces throughout the forest and toss the rest into nearby rivers and streams."
With the area cleansed and secured, Alden gave instructions for the soldiers to hand over the dimension rings—eight in total, filled with loot and carriage parts. He would return to Valden using a teleportation portal and coordinate from there.
Before departing, Alden turned to the squad's conjurer, he was infact a high-ranking dark yellow core mage—one of the strongest in the entire army.
"In two days, release your mana signature at full strength. Our reinforcements will detect you easily.", Alden specifically chose him for this ambush squad because his mana signature would be strong enough to relocate much more faster.
The mage nodded.
Alden returned to Blackbend ahead of the others. Upon arrival, he immediately unloaded two dimension rings' worth of goods into the estate's storage room, placing the remainder in a secure chamber within his personal quarters. He then began assembling a new squad—this one composed entirely of wind conjurers, additional horses, and an abundance of supplies—to accelerate the recovery of the original ambush team.
As planned, two days later, the dark yellow core conjurer unleashed his mana signature.
Alden and the supply squad caught it. They finally met after 2 and a half days. With the help of two spare dimension rings, Alden stored the last two reconstructed carriages. The entire company, now unburdened by carriages, mounted horses and, with wind magic accelerating their pace significantly, took to the air whenever the terrain allowed.
They returned to Blackbend without a single casualty.