Blackbeard's house was much more modest than Fran's, lacking ornate decorations and not very large, but it felt safer.
This time, Unas didn't waste any words and immediately ordered an attack. The fiery spray from Huoye burned the gate until it was red-hot, Angela then used her freezing air to cool it down, making the gate of the dual angels of ice and fire extremely vulnerable.
Led by three Paladins, the soldiers charged forward and smashed the gate open, easily breaking it down and Charge in.
They were outnumbered and outgunned, and the enemy collapsed at the first touch. Unas's hammer barely hit a few people before the enemy surrendered.
Blackbeard, unworthy of hiding in the Imperial Palace, emerged from the safe house, his face pale. He seemed to have completely forgotten that Unas had once been a slave he had bought. Bowing his head, he offered his jewel-encrusted staff, saying, "You may take whatever you wish here, but please do not harm me or my family."
Unas took the staff and twirled it twice in his hand. It was too short for a human. "I'm afraid I can't fulfill your request. Open your treasure vault now, and I'll consider it further."
Blackbeard was mentally prepared for the surrender, but the thought of his father's and his own life's wealth being taken away made him feel rooted to the spot, unable to move an inch.
"It seems Lord Blackbeard needs help." Unas beckoned, and two soldiers immediately stepped forward.
"No need, I can walk by myself..." Blackbeard's voice was dejected, as if he had aged ten years. He turned and walked unsteadily toward the safe house.
His treasure vault's secret door was also enchanted, similar to Fran's, perhaps by the same mage. Angela and Huoye quickly observed him carefully as he opened the door.
Blackbeard flipped the Ring in his hand over, then placed his palm on the door. Magic Circle appeared, and a beam of light swept over his entire body. After the Magic Circle operated for a few more seconds, the heavy secret door automatically opened a crack.
The two mages discussed it for a moment, Angela said, "The Ring is just the trigger; we should all be able to cast the spell to mimic it."
Huoye continued, "The difficult part is that light. The Magic Circle seems to be scanning the entire body of the person opening the door; it will only unlock automatically if the conditions are met."
"So, unless you find someone who looks exactly like the owner of the vault, you can't open the door?" Unas asked.
"Not necessarily. Appearance is definitely included in that scan, but there may be other factors as well."
Unas kicked Blackbeard, who was listening to their discussion, "Besides appearance, can the Magic Circle recognize anything else?"
The Dwarf was in a daze, mechanically replying, "I don't know. Master Finch's secrets won't be told to anyone else. I only know that only the Master and I can open this secret door in this world."
Master Finch was the king's personal magic locksmith and also built vaults for many slave owners, so Blackbeard and Fran used a similar secret door system.
Needless to say, such an important figure is naturally in the palace; instead of looking for him, it's better to just capture Fran.
Putting aside these worries, Unas's mood finally improved a bit as he entered the treasure vault. The three walls of the secret room were covered with safes of all sizes. Blackbeard took out a large bunch of keys from his pocket and opened them one by one.
The Dwarves seem to have a great love for gold. Besides the ten chests of Gold Coins, they also have many pure gold items. The most extravagant of these is a complete set of armor, shield, and battle axe made of gold. As everyone knows, gold is very soft and offers no protection whatsoever. This set of equipment is purely for showing off.
It's a pity it was made for Dwarves; otherwise, Unas would have loved to wear it and experience what it's like to be a Gold Saint.
There were also some jewels, as well as some land deeds, slave contracts and other paper documents. Land, mines and slaves were Blackbeard's greatest assets, but to Unas these were just waste paper, which he casually burned.
Overall, it's a very vulgar treasure trove, filled with nothing but money and things that represent money; there's no collection of art or anything like that.
But Unas was very pleased, and he looted all the gold and silver jewelry, with a total value of approximately 200,000 Gold Coins or more.
Blackbeard was only a mid-to-high-class slave owner, yet he had this much cash in his household. Unas was very curious to see what the other slave owners' treasuries looked like, but before that, there was one more thing he had to do.
He snapped his fingers as he stepped out of the treasure vault, and several soldiers who were already prepared rushed in like tigers and wolves, dragging out the stunned Blackbeard who was sitting on the ground.
The Dwarf, jolted awake from his profound despair, struggled desperately, crying out, "My lord! My lord! You said you'd let me go if I opened the treasure vault!"
"Yes, after careful consideration, I've decided to spare your life, but a small punishment is necessary."
"W-What punishment?!"
Unas tapped his forehead with his finger, then pointed to the soldiers who were supporting the Dwarf.
Blackbeard looked up, and fear immediately crept onto his face. It turned out that these people were all his slaves, and the clear brand on their foreheads was the emblem of the Blackbeard Family.
"You branded your slaves on the heads to show they were members of the Blackbeard Family, but you yourself don't have this brand. I think that's wrong. Now, let's correct this mistake."
In the largest room, all of Blackbeard's former slaves were gathered together. More than a dozen members of the Blackbeard Family were tightly bound in the center, and more than a dozen branding irons taken from the torture chamber were stuck into the furnace and heated until they were red-hot. All of this was, of course, arranged in advance by Unas.
When Blackbeard was brought in, the people in the room cheered, for this meant the revelry was about to begin.
"Brothers, let's make Blackbeard's emblem his mark!"
Unas pulled a branding iron from the furnace and pressed it hard against Blackbeard's forehead. With a hiss, the smell of burnt flesh wafted out, and the Dwarf screamed in agony. The shrill sound brought a sense of pleasure to the slaves in the room—the thrill of revenge.
Unas felt a surge of satisfaction, as if a small shadow in his heart had dissipated. He stuck the branding iron back into the furnace and said to the others, "Everyone, give it a try! It's awesome!"
Several people nearby immediately rushed up, picked up branding irons, and pressed them against the foreheads of the Blackbeard Family. Accompanied by screams of agony, the smell of burnt flesh in the room grew stronger.
After the foreheads were branded, there were still many slaves who hadn't yet breathed their last. Their cheeks, necks, arms—all exposed skin became targets for the branding iron.
Blackbeard was stripped naked. Given the slaves' high spirits, the branding would eventually cover his entire body, and whether he would survive was uncertain.
"This is not in the spirit of Knight," Darian frowned. "They are despicable, but the children among them should be innocent."
"Use Knight to deal with Knights, and use scum methods to deal with these scum," Unas, walking toward the door. "No one is innocent, Darian, no one."