Read Novel Full Chapter 498: An Invitation (Edited)
Chapter 498: An Invitation (Edited)
"Great." Gabriel smiled. "I was just beginning to get bored already.."
Gabriel walked up to the table and began to study the map. The map appeared rough, but it was well constructed. It mainly showed the passageway that led to the area where the royalties resided.
"From there on, I am afraid you will have to figure things out yourself," Xman stated. "I could not gather any more information about that area since it is more discreet, and not even all the servants are privileged to be there."
"It’s fine," Gabriel waved him off casually. Xman’s map had already exceeded his initial expectations. Although incomplete, the details shocked even him, which made him curious.
"How did you come up with this? Don’t tell me you have been to the Valerian Kingdom castle."
Even in his past life, Gabriel had never been to the castle as the area was highly restricted, and players who were found there without authorization would be fined or arrested.
Xman scratched the side of his head and looked a little awkward under Gabriel’s stare. The room was quiet, the lamp on the desk giving off a warm yellow light while the night air from the slightly open window kept the room cool.
"I did not go there personally," Xman admitted. "Most of it came from old forum posts, servant gossip threads, player discussions, and a few city records I found earlier. I just gathered everything and pieced it together."
Gabriel looked at him for a second, then at the map again.
"So you guessed," he said flatly.
Xman coughed lightly. "Not completely. It is an educated guess."
Gabriel’s fingers tapped once on the edge of the table. He really felt like facepalming. He had expected Xman to pull something clever, and in a way he did, but hearing that the castle map was stitched together from rumors, scattered posts, and scraps of information made the whole thing feel much less reliable.
"That means I could walk into a dead end," Gabriel said.
Xman nodded stiffly. "That is possible."
"That is your way of saying I could get lost."
Xman gave a weak laugh. "Yes. But it is still better than going in blind."
Gabriel could not argue with that. The map was rough, uncertain, and clearly incomplete, but it was still more useful than nothing. He exhaled quietly, folded the paper once, and tucked it away.
"Fine," he said. "I will work with it."
A little later, after night settled fully over Stellar City, Gabriel moved out alone.
Far above the city, built on a high hill that overlooked much of the capital, stood the Valerian Castle. Even from a distance, it looked imposing. The walls were pale and clean under the lights, the towers rising high into the night sky. Bright lamps burned along the outer paths, and the long stone steps leading up toward the main entrance were watched by guards in polished armor. The entire place looked far richer than the rest of the city below.
Gabriel stayed in the shadows at the edge of a nearby structure and observed.
Something was different tonight.
Several luxury cars were arriving one after another, their polished bodies reflecting the light from the castle lamps. Drivers stepped out, moved around to open doors, and visitors in expensive clothing emerged calmly before being led inside by servants. The flow had been steady for a while now.
"It looks like there is some sort of event," Gabriel muttered.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. That could be useful. Or it could complicate things even more. More visitors meant more noise and movement, which helped with infiltration. But it also meant more eyes, more guards, and more unknown people walking around inside.
He could not exactly walk up to someone and ask what was happening.
So he waited.
The cold night air brushed lightly against his face while he stayed low and watched the entrance. The sound of engines, footsteps, and quiet conversation drifted through the area. Every now and then, a servant would hurry past carrying something inside.
After some time, one of the visitors stepped away from the better lit path and moved toward a more deserted side area of the castle grounds. He was an older man in formal clothes, moving with the careless confidence of someone who thought no one would dare bother him there.
Gabriel watched him closely.
The man kept glancing around, first left, then right, clearly checking whether anyone was watching. After making sure the area looked empty, he slipped behind a short stone wall near a patch of dark shrubs.
Then he began to pee.
Gabriel’s eyes remained on him in silence. "So even nobles do this."
It was crude. Worse, it was still within castle grounds. But the man clearly did not care, and so Gabriel did not care either. He just found it odd.
Either way, that was enough of an opening, and Gabriel decided to take hold of this opportunity. His body slipped from one patch of shadow to another without making a sound.
The night helped. So did the noise from the front side of the castle where more cars were still arriving. By the time the man finished and began adjusting his clothes, Gabriel was already behind him.
The man sensed something too late and started to turn.
Gabriel struck the back of his neck with a precise chop.
The man’s eyes rolled up and his body went limp immediately.
Gabriel caught him before he could hit the ground loudly, then dragged him deeper behind the wall and lowered him carefully. He crouched beside the unconscious man and began searching him quickly but thoroughly.
His fingers moved through the outer coat first, then the inner pocket. His hand touched a stiff piece of paper tucked neatly inside the man’s breast pocket. Gabriel pulled it out and unfolded it under the light coming faintly from the nearby lamps.
It was an invitation card.
General Aston Wargrave
89th Birthday Party Celebration
Gabriel looked at it for a second, then a slow smirk appeared on his face as he held the card between his fingers.