Ch. 1521..1525: The Secretly Rich Man Chapter 1521-1525
Chapter 1521
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1521 When the priest finally awoke again, was greeted by the sight of a young man’s back.
Recalling that he had been yanked by some strong and invisible force earlier—before he blacked out— the shocked priest then muttered, “W-who are you…?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter. However, what does matter is who you people are, and what you’re all planning to do here on Sacrasolis Mountain,” replied Gerald as he slowly turned around before staring coldly at the man.
The second that man saw Gerald, his entire body began trembling uncontrollably as he stuttered, “Y- young Master?! It’s you?!”
Watching as the terrified man knelt right before him, Gerald couldn’t help but frown slightly as he curiously muttered, “…Young Master?”
“Indeed! Still, when exactly did arrive, Young Master?” asked the priest
“I can come and go as I please, can’t I?” sneered Gerald in response.
While he wasn’t exactly sure why the priest was referring to him as ‘Young Master,’ Gerald still felt that this was the perfect opportunity to bait some information out of the man. He was hoping that some probing around would do the trick.
“Also, you’ve yet to answer my first question!” added Gerald in a commanding tone.
Hearing that, the frightened priest quickly bowed before replying, “H-how could you possibly have forgotten, Young Master…? Regardless, we’re all here since we got secret orders from the family to
head to Sacrasolis Mountain to refine the holy stone! There’s an area here called the Sacrasolis Pond, and we’ve been refining the Sacrasolis Holy stone for over a month now!”
“The Sacrasolis Holy Stone, you say? I see. And what happened to all the original priests from Sacrasolis Church then?” asked Gerald as he nodded while slowly piecing together the bigger picture.
“W-well, anyone who wasn’t compliant was killed on the spot… The rest of them are currently imprisoned in the dungeon! Regardless, I wonder if the chief knows that you’re already here, Young Master? I can immediately report to Mr. Hoyt Crawford about your presence if you’d like!” replied the priest.
“That can wait. Speaking of which, have you heard of a person called Master Ghost before?” asked Gerald, now more certain than ever that there were loads of secrets hidden within this mountain.
“Master Ghost? But of course, I know him! After all, you were the one who ordered us to hunt him down! If you’ve forgotten, we already have him in our hands! You even ordered the chief to keep a close eye on him at all times!” said the priest.
“So Master Ghost has been captured by your group this entire time?!” replied Gerald as he slightly raised an eyebrow.
“…Y-young Master…? What are you…?” muttered the priest as he raised a slight brow as well, finally realizing that the person in front of him seemed to have a rather different personality compared to the young master he knew… Besides, wasn’t it bizarre that the young master of all people was asking him all these questions…?
‘Well, this is just perfect! To think that I’d get all this information that easily!’ Gerald thought to himself.
As it turned out, Master Ghost had fled all the way to Sacrasolis Mountain to hide within Sacrasolis Church, and all this had led to the incident where he had met Xyrielle and told her about her fortune at the back of the mountain a while back. Unfortunately, this group of ‘priests’ came over sometime later and completely turned Sacrasolis Mountain upside-down for two distinct reasons. Firstly, to seek out and capture Master Ghost, and secondly, to gain access to the Sacrasolis Pond.
With that said, no wonder he couldn’t find where Master Ghost was this entire time!
“…So, who is this Hoyt Crawford that you mentioned? Also, detail me a bit more on your young master,” replied Gerald with a smile.
“…H-huh? So, you really aren’t the young master…?!” replied the priest as he instantly got to his feet, a vigilant expression on his face.
“I’m honestly surprised it took you this long to notice,” replied Gerald with a chuckle, knowing full well that this man was trying to escape.
Chapter 1522
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1522 As the priest attempted to book it, he didn’t make it past the third step before some ungodly force began lifting him off the ground! This time, however, all his internal organs felt like they were simultaneously being torn apart!
Trembling violently from the near-unbearable pain, the priest quickly began shouting, “S-spare my life! P-please, spare my life…!”
“I’ll consider once you answer my question. If you need a refresher, I asked why you recognized me as your young master,” replied Gerald.
“W-well, Young Master’s appearance highly matches yours! It’s almost as though you’re his doppelgänger! With that said, there’s no way I could’ve been able to easily tell you apart! Though, I do wonder if you’re also a member of the Crawford family… After all, there’s no other reason you could look so similar!” explained the man who was still aching terribly.
“…Oh? The Crawford family, you say?” replied Gerald as his eyes momentarily lit up.
Observing the squirming man, Gerald could see that the priest appeared to be a master-in-training, though he was probably still far from achieving his goal.
‘Does that mean that the Crawfords that he’s talking about are the other Crawford family that Second uncle found out about? Are these people connected to grandpa…?’ Gerald wondered in slight bewilderment.
“Tell me the location of your Crawfords,” said Gerald.
“T-they’re currently on Yearning Island! Are… Are you from that family as well?” asked the priest in shock.
However, before Gerald could say anything in response, the priest seemed to realize something. Staring wide-eyed at Gerald, he then said, “I… I get it now! Are you from the Crawford family from Northbay?!”
“You got me red-handed. Regardless, I’m assuming that Daryl is the head of the Crawfords from Yearning Island?” asked Gerald in an indifferent tone.
“T-that’s right!” replied the priest as he nodded.
‘So there really are two separate Crawford families… Then… Doesn’t that mean that everything Second uncle found out about is true…? But… Why would grandpa do any of this…?’ Gerald thought to himself with a slight frown, feeling extremely puzzled.
Whatever the case was, Gerald had a hunch that his family’s disappearance had something to do with these other Crawfords. He now knew that he had a lookalike in the other family as well. After all, the priest truly seemed to have believed that he was his young master earlier.
As Gerald frowned slightly while thinking about all the clues he had just gathered, the priest suddenly grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground. Following that, murderous intent seemed to flare out of his body as he tossed the dirt toward Gerald’s head!
However, instead of dirt, the contents he threw now appeared to be a volley of golden needles that glowed brightly as they flew toward Gerald’s head!
Much to the priest’s surprise, Gerald’s essential qi simply blocked the needles when they got too close.
Watching as the momentarily petrified priest stared wide-eyed at the falling needles that were slowly reduced to dust, Gerald then asked, “You already know my identity, no? In other words, you should know full well that we’re from the same clan by this point. With that in mind, why are you still trying to kill me?”
“T-there’s a huge bounty on your head if we manage to kill you!” replied the terrified man.
“And who was it who issued that order? Also, were you the ones who had kidnapped my family?” asked the puzzled Gerald, wondering why all this was necessary in the first place.
“If you wish to learn more, you should ask Mr. Hoyt yourself!” replied the priest as he sneakily lit up a paper talisman…
Shortly after, the talisman began releasing multi-colored smoke that quickly dissipated into the air!
Knowing that it was most probably some sort of secret code, Gerald then turned to look at the laughing priest who smugly said, “Look, I know that you’re just one of those lowly Crawfords who’s managed to slip away. I bet you hadn’t expected me to fire off a warning signal while you were questioning me, right? Regardless, you’re done for this time, kid!”
Feeling even more puzzled now, Gerald then replied, “…Why are you even getting so excited for? I was already aware that you were lighting that talisman up from the moment you started doing it, you know? Besides, I’m not going to just leave immediately after getting here. With that said, why are you so happy?
“Hahaha! Since you look exactly like Young Master, I’m sure you have a pretty important role among the other lowly Crawfords! With that said, I’ll surely be promoted to deputy chief once I successfully
capture you! Just so you know, several experts are already making their way here! Does that answer your question?” replied the priest as he laughed joyously.
“Ah, I see, I see… So, you’re feeling proud of yourself, thinking that you were being resourceful earlier… You must be feeling ecstatic from assuming that you’ve already captured me by this point! Still, you keep repeating the phrase, ‘lowly Crawfords’… Just to clear things up a bit, I hope you realize that to me, you’re nothing more than an ant!” said Gerald with a wry smile on his face.
Chapter 1523
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1523 “…You…! To think you’d still behave so presumptuously even though you’re about to be done for!” growled the priest in anger.
Before he could say anything else, however, the priest momentarily froze. Now staring-wide eyed at Gerald, the priest was able to somehow see flames reflected in Gerald’s eyes. He couldn’t look away, and shortly after, the priest began feeling a burning sensation on the soles of his feet…
Following that, the priest screamed miserably before turning into nothing but dust in less than a second!
“And to me, the lives of ants are insignificant!” declared Gerald as he shook his head with a smile before placing his arms against his back.
With that out of the way, Gerald’s figure slowly wavered as it became one with the wind! Due to that, he was able to swiftly return to the cave where Xyrielle had last been led into.
The cave was naturally still heavily guarded, and the second the guards noticed Gerald’s presence, they immediately attempted to stop him from entering.
However, just as Gerald had earlier said, all of them were simply ants to him, and he swiftly took all of them out. Though they were technically Crawfords as well, since these people were clearly not against harming him, all of them had to die!
Watching as the group of experts—who had been standing guard at the mouth of the cave—got annihilated like they were nothing, the prisoners who were located just a little deeper in the dungeon found themselves shocked beyond words.
Before they could even recover, all of them stared wide-eyed as a miniature hurricane blew its way into the cave, eventually dissipating and revealing Gerald!
The second she saw him, Xyrielle instantly shouted excitedly, “G-Gerald!”
Truth be told, Xyrielle had been scared half to death earlier, thinking that she was eventually going to get raped by those people! With that in mind, it was no wonder why she was so overjoyed to see Gerald now.
“Everything’s fine now,” replied Gerald indifferently as he gently flicked his fingers…
And just like that, all the shackles simultaneously clicked open. The prisoners were now free!
Looking around, Gerald saw that the three masked men who had attempted to save Xyrielle earlier were present. Aside from them, there was also a group of priests. However, what shocked Gerald the most was the fact that there were so many ordinary women who were trembling in fear in the innermost part of the dungeon…
He had heard of the missing women cases before he set off for the mountain a few days ago. As it turned out, this was all the handiwork of the fake priests…
Were these truly Crawfords…? How could they be this disgusting and lustful…? The thought of it alone made Gerald extremely angry.
Regardless, the captives were then led out of the dungeon, and the second the cave’s entrance was in sight, an old priest—who seemed to be the leader of the group—bowed respectfully toward Gerald before saying, “Thank you for saving our lives, master! I don’t know how to repay your kindness!”
“There’s no need to be so polite with me, priest. Regardless, the reason I came here was to look for someone.”
“Oh? Who could you be looking for?” asked the old priest.
“I’m looking for a person called Master Ghost. From what I’ve managed to gather, he once took lodging here atop Sacrasolis Mountain. Despite that, I didn’t see any traces of him in the dungeon at all!” replied Gerald.
Hearing that, a middle-aged man—who had been standing beside the old priest—turned to face the elderly man before respectfully asking, “Master, do you think this is the Master Gerald Crawford that Master Ghost told us about?”
“That’s right, I’m Gerald Crawford!” replied Gerald as he nodded Joyously.
“So that’s the case! You know, Master Ghost kept saying that you were a supreme genius… After witnessing your capabilities, I have to admit that he was right, Master Crawford! You truly do have supernatural powers! Regardless, Master Ghost had first come to us to avoid the pursuit of the Crawfords. Unfortunately, he failed to escape in the end, and he ended up being taken away by Hoyt instead of being locked up together with the rest of us!” explained the old priest.
“Do you know why they were so keen on hunting Master Ghost down?” asked Gerald.
“That I’m unsure of… However, do know that Master Ghost placed all his hopes on you before the great calamity. With that said, whether he manages to escape it or not all depends on how soon you find him!” replied the old priest.
“Copy that!” said Gerald with a slight nod.
Chapter 1524
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1524 At that moment, the leader of the three masked men—who had been standing behind Xyrielle this entire time—came forth and said, “Thank you for coming to our rescue, sir! I go by Hubert Younger!”
“Oh? You were here as well, Mr. Hubert?” exclaimed the old priest as he immediately greeted the three masked men as well, making it clear as day that they were well acquainted.
“Indeed! After receiving your secret message stating that Sacrasolis Mountain was in trouble, we immediately rushed over to investigate. Still, to think that Hoyt would end up getting this powerful in just a few decades since I last saw him… I honestly found it exceedingly difficult to withstand even a single blow of his. Had I not dispatched my Dragon Zone, I wouldn’t have been able to fight against him and his men at all! All that aside, I made an almost fatal mistake today when I decided to save this girl’s life! Due to that action, all three of us ended up getting captured by his men!” explained Hubert.
Following that, Hubert couldn’t help but take a good long look at Gerald’s extraordinary temperament. From what he had witnessed, Gerald was also a master of using profound and unpredictable methods that left even him surprised. How had he not heard of such an amazing person before?
Whatever the case was, he was now brimming with respect toward Gerald.
Just as he was about to exchange a few words with him, however, one of the younger priests—who had earlier been sent out to scout the area—came running back while nervously shouting, “M-master Crawford! Things aren’t looking too good! Those men have completely surrounded us!”
Upon hearing that, the kidnapped girls instantly began screaming before huddling together in fear. It was clear as day that this reaction was due to the psychological trauma that those men had left on them.
“There’s no need to panic, just follow my lead!” instructed Gerald as he began leading the group out of the cave.
As he stepped out into the open, Gerald could see that a large number of ‘priests’ had encircled the area right outside the cave, completely blocking any possible escape routes.
Upon seeing Gerald’s face, a middle-aged man—who appeared to be the head of the opposite team— was instantly stunned. However, it turned into an expression of joy just seconds later.
Laughing aloud, the man then declared, “So it’s you! To think that you’d walk straight into my lap! I guess I don’t have to waste any more time hunting you down now! But before that, allow me to confirm something… You’re Gerald from the Crawfords of Northbay, correct?”
“That is correct. And you are…?” asked Gerald.
“Finally! Do you even have any idea how hard we’ve been searching for you? Where the hell have you even been hiding this entire time? Even the picture of the sun couldn’t locate you! Regardless, keep in mind that the one who captured you today goes by the name of Luther Crawford!” sneered Luther.
“The picture of the sun? I’ve had access to it myself. Regardless, can it also be used to locate others?” asked Gerald.
“Hah! You? As if a cheap and lowly b*stard like you would be worthy of possessing the real picture of the sun!” retorted Luther.
“…Whatever the case is, it appears that you truly are the ones responsible for capturing my family members. Still, I just don’t understand. From what I’ve gathered, both of us are essentially from the same family, no? Why participate in all this senseless murder?” asked Gerald rather curiously.
In all honesty, Gerald was still in disbelief of all this. None of their actions seemed to make any sense to him at all!
“Let’s just say that due to some incidents, the lord’s plans have deviated slightly, and he predicts that things will only continue developing in a bad direction… Due to that deviation, however, it appears that the Crawfords on your side won’t be of any use to us anymore! With that said, it’d be better to take care of all of you while we can rather than leave a chance open for you to possibly ruin our entire plan in the future!” replied Luther with a snicker.
“I see… Speaking of which, I’d like to know whether my grandpa, the man I’ve always respected, is the actual mastermind of all this. Has my family been used this entire time?” asked Gerald.
“Hahaha! I can’t say anything about the former part of your question, but for the latter, of course, you’ve been used! That’s the only use of such lowly people as you! Also, I’d prefer if you stopped saying that you’re from the same clan as us! Know that we’ve always been ashamed of you, so it’s honestly great news for us that you’re finally going to be taken out with our very own hands now!” retorted Luther with a sinister laugh.
“I see. And what about the rest of my family members?” growled Gerald, immense murderous intent reflected in his eyes.
“Hah! If I remember correctly, by the time I began carrying out this mission, Dylan had already been tortured beyond recognition! I honestly don’t even know if he’s still alive now!”
“That’s great to hear!” replied Gerald with a nod.
“Did I hear that right? It’s great to hear? That man’s your father!” declared Luther while looking at Gerald and wondering if he had gone mad.
“You misunderstand me. Of course I wasn’t talking about how terribly you people have treated my father, but nonetheless, your statement has dispelled all my worries. Now then, since I’ve probably gotten all the relevant information out of you, I can kill all of you without any hesitation! Mark my words, not one of you is leaving alive!”
Chapter 1525
Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 1525 “Humph! You truly are an expert at saying conceited things, Gerald! It appears that you won’t be able to understand how wide the gap between us is until I show you my training!” retorted Luther before laughing again.
“You’re a Second-rank master, no?” asked Gerald.
“Oh? Color me surprised! You actually know a thing or two about those who train to attain spiritual enlightenment!” replied Luther as he stared sinisterly at Gerald.
“Just curious, but what is Hoyt’s rank then?” asked Gerald.
“Hah! Our chief is a legendary master that’s at a level close to that of a Fifth-rank master! A realm that no ordinary person would ever be able to comprehend!” said Luther, his eyes momentarily filled with admiration.
“I see. So it appears that there truly are a lot of experts within the Crawford family… To think that there even exists a fifth rank!” replied Gerald as he rested his arms against his back.
“I do wonder why you’re still asking so many questions. No matter! I’ll just capture you first and hand you over to the chief so that he can deal with you!”
Following that, Luther positioned his hand into a sword finger, and immediately after, flames began bursting out of his body! With a layer of fire surrounding him, the man then rushed toward Gerald!
From an outsider’s point of view, Gerald could very well be taken out in a single swipe if those large, burning hands ever caught onto him.
Regardless, everyone else present was shocked speechless by the intense flames.
This was the Fire Armor Demon Technique! Anyone using it would be able to summon flames—that could burn through anything—that would then surround the user’s body! Upon coming into contact with said flames, the virulent fire would instantly burn all the victim’s main internal organs!
‘If even Luther is already this terrifying, what kind of power does Hoyt even have…?’ Hubert thought to himself as he trembled in fear.
By the time Luther was close enough to Gerald, Gerald still had both his hands in his pockets. He, of all people, knew that the flames were nothing to be alarmed about.
Even so, the others didn’t see things the way he did, and Xyrielle instantly shouted, “P-please be careful, Gerald…!”
Hearing that, Gerald simply turned to look at Xyrielle before nodding as he replied, “Don’t worry, everything’s under control!”
Following that, Gerald extended a hand before snapping his fingers.
The next thing Luther realized, a golden aura had appeared before him! Unable to react in time, he felt as the aura’s golden rays began piercing through his body, causing his skin to start smoking!
“What?!” shouted the surprised Luther as he instantly attempted to escape the attack. However, it was far too late for him.
The second the golden aura fully engulfed him, Luther felt as though his entire body had just been pierced through! The next thing he knew, he was already spurting blood as he flew backward!
Upon landing on the ground, he found that he couldn’t even move a muscle anymore! The only indication that he was still alive was the fact that his eyes were wide open on his bloodied face…
Upon snapping out of his shocked state, Luther instantly cried out in disbelief, “You…!”
Meanwhile, the other Crawfords each found themselves gulping as they slowly took a few steps back.
Luther had ended up in such a state from just a single blow…? This person was way too terrifying…!
Hubert himself had his jaw hanging wide open after witnessing all that. By god! What kind of person even was Gerald?!
Sliding his hand into his pocket again, Gerald then casually walked over to Luther. Once he was standing before him, he stepped on Luther’s face, slowly applying pressure as he said, “I haven’t even utilized my true capabilities yet, you know? Is this all you’ve got to capture me with? How pathetic!”
“You…! L-look, while I admit that I severely underestimated you, know that you can’t just kill me! I’m just following orders, you know? If you really want to settle the score, you should duke it out with chief Hoyt instead of me!” replied the stupefied Luther.
“Of course I’m going to settle the score with him. However, I hope you realize that me killing you won’t affect that outcome at all! I hope you all know that I, Gerald Crawford, always keep my promises! With that said, I promised to kill all of you today, and I’ll make sure it happens!”