After sneaking into the wine cellar from the entrance to the tomb, Lu Xiao took advantage of the blind spot between the wine barrel racks and used his hidden sword to silently kill a guard who had his back turned to him.
After dragging the body into the pile of debris, Lu Xiao solved the few guards in the wine cellar one by one in almost the same way, and found the entrance to the next area.
Next door to this secret wine cellar is a large library with a large number of neat bookshelves displayed in it. The place is tightly guarded by guards several times the number of the wine cellar.
Entering the library, Lu Xiao observed through clairvoyance and discovered two forked roads leading in different directions.
One of them continues to climb up. There are fewer guards along the way, and it is probably the path that leads directly to the assassin's tomb.
The other exit is the door of the library. There are many guards, and it is temporarily impossible to know where the door leads.
'Choose one or the other?'
Lu Xiao hid in the shadow of the corner on the lower floor of the library, weighed the difficulty of the operation and the priority of the situation, and finally decided to give up exploring the assassin's tomb for the time being and concentrate on breaking through the defense of the gate.
If the wine cellar and library are really connected to the Assumption Church as Lu Xiao suspected, he must seize the time to confirm Rodrigo's whereabouts.
Lu Xiao didn't think that the Spaniard would hide behind San Gimignano and wait for news.
Once the time is right, Rodrigo will inevitably go to Florence in person to take charge of the overall situation, leaving Lu Xiao with not enough time to inquire about the news.
Moreover, the mercenaries led by Mario are launching a feint attack on San Gimignano outside the city. As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand in danger, and Rodrigo is likely to evacuate early if he sees that the situation is not going well.
Compared with the complex terrain of the wine cellar, Lu Xiao's actions in the library were somewhat constrained.
The library is divided into two floors, and Lu Xiao is currently hiding in the shadow of the passage connecting the first floor to the underground wine cellar.
There are at least a dozen guards patrolling the first floor. From time to time, guards can be seen on the second floor standing on the edge of the floor and scanning downwards. The defense intensity is very high.
In the real world, of course, guards will not always use fixed patrol routes like in the game, and the randomness is quite large.
After waiting patiently in the corner for ten minutes, Lu Xiao finally caught the moment when the guard facing him closed his eyes and yawned. He strode out of the hiding place, stepped on the bookshelf and the wall to gain strength, and within a second
Reach out and grab the railing on the second floor.
At this time, the guard on the second floor had just completed a high-altitude scanning patrol and turned his back to Lu Xiao.
In order not to waste time and attract the attention of other guards, Lu Xiao used the strength of his waist and abdomen and the momentum of the previous climb to grab the edge of the second floor with his hands behind his back, and threw his lower body up first.
"rub!"
Before his legs landed, a sharp blade popped out of Lu Xiao's leather boots. The blade of his left foot scratched the side of the guard's neck, and the instep of his right foot moved forward to block the opponent's mouth.
"Ugh!"
There was only time to let out a muffled groan, and the guard, whose trachea and aorta were cut, collapsed in pain.
Lu Xiao's legs landed first and then rolled into the second floor. He supported the guard before he fell to the ground and made any noise. He used the solid wood railings on the second floor as a shield and hid the body in an invisible corner on the opposite side.
After successfully entering the second floor with good visibility, the next steps became relatively easy.
Lu Xiao followed the interconnecting passages on the second floor and eliminated the guards near the observation windows one by one, eliminating the risk of being discovered by high-level guards in the subsequent actions.
'Here comes the main event.'
In the library of Notre Dame, the patrol routes of more than a dozen guards often overlap, and their sight lines cover a large area. It is basically impossible to kill them silently just by being blocked by the bookshelves.
Fortunately, there are many beams on the upper floors of this library. Due to the cover of the guards on the second floor, the patrolling guards on the lower floor of the library usually do not raise their heads to look above their heads.
With the help of this blind spot in his mind, Lu Xiao carefully moved silently on the sorghum.
When passing by the patrol area of the guards, Lu Xiao could even smell the faint smell of wine on their bodies. Apparently they had secretly enjoyed it in the wine cellar not long ago.
'We must hurry up. If someone suddenly wants to go down there to ask for a drink, he will definitely be able to see the abnormal situation in the wine cellar at a glance.'
Lu Xiao sped up the pace of his actions, but he did not lose his composure because of the tight time. He still took the optimal route and unknowingly passed through the beam to the suspended skylight on the second floor of the library that led to the outside.
As expected by Lu Xiao, peeking out of the window and judging by the similar building materials and structures, it was basically possible to confirm that the library was one of the side halls of the Assumption Church.
'Why are assassins' tombs built near churches... Is this a malicious arrangement and intentional irony on the part of Domenico?'
Gently climbing out of the skylight, Lu Xiao could already see the group of tin cans outside the church from the inside. He successfully passed through the tight defense arranged by Rodrigo.
Still going up and down, he stepped on the top of the church building and reached the top of the main church. Through the stained glass dome of the Baroque building that opened into the sky, Lu Xiao finally saw the Spaniards giving orders below again.
After entering the room, Rodrigo took off his outer hood, revealing a smooth forehead wearing a red round cap.
Although his head is not completely clean, it is not far off, and the hairline crisis is very urgent.
After using a little trick to open a gap in the dome skylight, Rodrigo's calm and coercive voice reached Lu Xiao's ears from afar.
"Francesco, I don't care about Mario Auditore's innocuous attack outside the city. What we need to worry about is whether any assassins will sneak into the city with the help of the attention attracted by that group of mercenaries.
"
The person being lectured by Rodrigo was none other than Francesco De Pazzi, who had been missing from Florence for some time.
As a local lord, he showed no usual bossiness or bad temper in front of Rodrigo. He lowered his head and responded hurriedly like a grandson.
"Yes, Master. I have sent people to check the defenses of each city gate. The latest information will be available within half an hour at the latest."
"very good."
Rodrigo said calmly: "Although I think you already know, I still remind you one more time."
Slowly walking up to Francesco, who was bowing his head to listen to the teachings, Rodrigo warned in a low voice: "You, and your spoiled son, must not underestimate the Assassin Brotherhood."
"Assassins are an ancient organization that can compete with our Templars for thousands of years. Their background is not as weak as you think. You will pay the price for underestimating the enemy."
"Yes! Yes! I will definitely keep it in my heart."
Although Rodrigo's voice was not loud, the pressure in his words made Francesco couldn't help but sweat break out on his forehead.
Rodrigo nodded slightly, no longer putting pressure on Francesco, and slowly turned around and walked to a side hall: "Just understand, I don't want to hear the news of the Pazzi family's failure again.
…You should know my code of conduct.”
"The Templars don't raise waste, try to show your worth."
Rodrigo finally left, Francesco let out a deep breath, took out his handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead.
A middle-aged bald monk next to him also looked relieved, and then asked Francesco: "What should we do next? Fight off Mario Auditore first?"
Francesco glared at the other party fiercely: "Are you an idiot! Didn't you hear the master say that you need to check the dangers in the city first?"
"The plan is about to be launched. We cannot leave any opportunity for assassins to assassinate, and mobilize all the guards in the city! I want to get everything safe in return in the shortest possible time!"
"Contact Florence and notify the personnel lurking near the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore, asking them to be patient and not to alert the enemy in the first place, so as to ensure that the plan is launched with one hit."
Watching Francesco and others stride away, Lu Xiao glanced at the side hall where Rodrigo left. There were still several heavily armed soldiers standing at the small door.
'Thanks to Francesco's loud voice, we have collected good information, and it's almost time to withdraw.'
'But before that...'
Lu Xiao turned his gaze back to the library, "Let's take everything that needs to be taken away first."