Sudden Attack

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The rapid ringing of bells echoed one after another, as if pounding against their hearts. Peering through the gap in the curtains, they could already see thick smoke beginning to rise outside.

The timing was too perfect!

Fire and water are merciless. Hearing the shouts and footsteps already echoing in the corridor, the two didn't have time to hesitate. Lynch grabbed several documents within reach, and they quickly rushed out of the library.

Smoke had already entered the corridor, though it wasn't too thick yet. Through the haze, over a dozen servants were rushing out from various directions.

They were well-trained and orderly. Upon encountering one another, they immediately gathered into a neat line, fleeing down the corridor without pushing or shoving. When they ran into Miss Valente and Lynch, they immediately shielded the two in their midst, sweeping them along as they ran outward.

“Don't panic! The exit is this way! Cough, cough... Follow my voice! Cough, cough, cough... Someone go upstairs and call the Eldest Miss!”

The air was highly irritating, stinging their eyes so badly they could barely keep them open. In the labyrinthine mansion, it was impossible to tell directions, but the old steward, with his hair and beard completely white, stood impeccably dressed in the hall leading to the entrance. He stood straight as a ramrod in the thick smoke, shouting directions even as he coughed.

“Holy spirits above, Sol bless us! The Eldest Miss is out! Hurry, the exit is right behind me!”

Lynch was a bit dazed from the thick smoke. Surrounded by a crowd of maids, he ran all the way to the exit. Behind them, the old steward was like a knight from a classical novel, steadfastly performing his duty in the midst of the smoke.

Thud! Lynch took two quick steps, kicked the door open, and finally burst into the sunlight. Taking deep gulps of fresh air, he felt like he had finally come back to life.

He turned around to look at Miss Valente. The smoke had left several black streaks of soot on her pale, delicate face, making him really want to wipe them off for her...

Slap. Slapping himself in his mind, Lynch took a few deep breaths. Only then did he have the spare energy to survey his surroundings.

Although the mansion wasn't engulfed in rolling billows of thick smoke, smoke was still venting from all sides. Even standing in the courtyard, the air was uncomfortably choking. Fortunately, no open flames could be seen from the outside, which meant the fire shouldn't be too large yet.

A crowd of girls had already gathered around Lynch by the fountain. Knowing they were completely safe now, they began to chatter excitedly. Only now did Lynch's brain, experiencing a fire for the first time, resume working.

Wait. Where were the footmen and the old steward?

Damn it, they stayed behind to fight the fire, didn't they? This really was a custom of the medieval nobility—the women and children evacuate first, while the men stay behind to risk their lives.

Lynch's lips twitched. He quickly took off his coat, soaked his handkerchief in water, covered his nose, and prepared to charge back into the burning building.

“Mr. Lynch,” Miss Valente pulled his arm. “Stop. You are a guest. There is no reason for the Valente family to let a guest risk his life to fight a fire.”

“What guest? Let go! I'm helping fight a fire at my friend's house. Mind your own business!”

“You...” Her folding fan finally tapped Lynch's head, and her grip loosened. “Go then. I'll go with you. I'm fighting a fire at my own house, so I don't need your nose in my business either.”

However, they had only taken two steps when a noisy commotion arose behind them. Looking back, they saw the soot-faced maids clutching gardening watering cans and similar containers, aggressively following them.

“We're going too! We have to protect the Eldest Miss from harm!”

Are you a bunch of ordinary people going to water flowers with those watering cans? And if you're protecting her, protect her. Why are you staring at me while talking about the fire?

Whatever. There were no open flames yet, and the temperature hadn't changed noticeably. The danger shouldn't be too high. Let them do as they pleased.

But as soon as they returned to the mansion, the two realized something was wrong.

The smoke was incredibly thick, yet they couldn't feel any rise in temperature. Moreover, although the smoke was choking, it lacked the burnt smell he had encountered at the fires of the Hall of Order.

This didn't look like a fire at all; it was just generating smoke.

“Eldest Miss!”

Steward Louis was running around the mansion with several footmen carrying water buckets. They had also realized something was wrong—they couldn't find the source of the fire at all.

“Everyone get out first! Don't choke yourselves to death. Since we can't find the fire, open all the windows first.”

“Listen to Lynch. Mr. Louis, follow me. No, everyone follow me.”

Seeing the old steward about to lead his men into the thick smoke to open the windows one by one, Miss Valente didn't hesitate for a second. She pulled the old steward along and led everyone out of the mansion, shooing those chaotic maids out in the process.

She turned around and shot a window.

Damn, this girl is fierce.

This was indeed the safest and fastest way. The other servants immediately followed her lead. For a moment, stones and debris flew around the mansion, accompanied by the constant sound of shattering glass—with Lynch breaking the most.

I just wanted to help, I really didn't break the glass just to satisfy some class-resentment urge.

Once the windows were broken, the problem became even more obvious. Billowing smoke quickly poured out of the windows. Not only did it surge outward, but it also kept gushing out relentlessly, just like smoking out rabbits from a burrow. It showed no signs of stopping.

Wait, smoking out rabbits?

Lynch suddenly realized something was wrong. This was clearly a deliberate setup to force the people inside to come out. What did they want to do?

What else could it be?

“Diana, which window is the library?”

No time for pleasantries. Lynch grabbed Miss Valente's arm and shouted. Miss Valente's expression also changed as she looked up and pointed.

A classic diversion. The most likely target was those documents. Lynch didn't have time to consider how the enemy had timed this so perfectly, nor how they would act. He immediately leaped high into the air, using the mansion's outer wall for leverage, and appeared outside the library window.

Just as his body rose to the window, he could already see the situation inside through the glass.

This was the only place without thick smoke. A man in formal wear, covering his nose and mouth, was at the door, preparing to leave. As if sensing Lynch's gaze, the man tipped his top hat, nodded to Lynch, and then shut the door behind him.

Mid-air, Lynch swung his cane to shatter the window. The cane then transformed into a segmented whip, wrapping around an anchor point inside as his body crashed through the... Holy crap.

The moment he crashed through the window, Lynch keenly felt the temperature in the room rising rapidly. A scorching heat wave rushed over him as the window broke.

The next moment, a blinding light exploded from the documents on the desk. A high-temperature, scorching flame materialized out of thin air, swallowing Lynch head-on just as he burst through the window.

The sudden explosion shook everyone below. They had already been looking up to watch Lynch's movements. In their field of vision, accompanied by a deafening roar, a burst of flames erupted from the window, completely engulfing Lynch.

“Lynch!”

Miss Valente's eyes turned red. But she was a step too late and could do nothing now. She could only watch as Lynch completely vanished in the flames, letting out a sharp scream. But just as her scream rang out, a ball of fire crashed down from the window, landing right beside her and startling the servants into scattering.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Large clumps of fire actually burned out of thin air on the ground. Miss Valente, who was glaring with rage, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and lunged toward the falling flames. At the same time, the light of the flames suddenly dimmed, transforming into a human figure emitting white smoke. Howling in pain, the figure stumbled back a few steps, just in time to be caught by Miss Valente.

“It hurts, it hurts! It's burning me to death!”

Lynch howled in pain. At the very last moment, he had put on the mystery relic, The Passion of the Blazing Lady. Lynch had narrowly escaped the shockwave of the explosion and the fire damage, but the agonizing pain of his soul being scorched was unavoidable. He screamed silently as he crashed down like a meteorite.

But as soon as he cleared his head, he squeezed Miss Valente's hand to show he was fine. Then, he soared into the air once more, rushing back toward the still-steaming library.

Damn it, the documents!

One wrong move and it would all be over. He couldn't let them succeed in destroying them; this was their last hope.