I'm Trying To Go Broke, So Why Do I Keep Getting Richer?!-Chapter 222: Only way out

"I need to get the hell out of here," Leo mumbled in the empty room, his grip tightening on the heavy iron candlestick.

Before, he had only harbored a creeping suspicion that his rescuers were not as benevolent as they seemed.

Now, after overhearing them, that suspicion had crystallized into an undeniable certainty.

Wasting no more time, he evaluated his next move. Fortune, it seemed, was briefly on his side.

Stealing a cautious glance through the window, he noticed the frantic, concentrated search immediately outside the mansion was beginning to thin out.

Many were already under the assumption that he had already slipped away as they failed to find him within the mansion parameters. It actually worked to his advantage.

The guards were rapidly expanding their search perimeter, pushing away from the estate and out into the surrounding city streets.

It created a dangerous but viable blind spot right at the eye of the storm, giving Leo a precious moment to breathe, and a fleeting window to actually attempt his escape.

He carefully opened the door, and peeked outside. After making certain that no one was there, he took a deep breath and stepped out.

"I don’t know how strong those goblins are, but if I do come across one, I should be able to take it out. They can’t be that difficult to take down, right?"

If he had time, he would have been more careful. Unfortunately, time was the only thing not on his side. He couldn’t afford to be careful, and walk like a snail.

The floor made a familiar creaking noise as he stepped on it, but he kept moving further into the hallway that was fortunately empty as most of the guards were assigned to search for him, and had already entered the city.

Leo reached the end of the hallway, and once again peeked outside.

At every turn, he became cautious but to his pleasant surprise, he didn’t come across a single goblin.

It was only a few times that he heard a footstep, but that only belonged to people walking away from him, and not towards him.

Soon, he reached the first floor, and stopped going downstairs. With this height, he could shorten the distance and jump out the window.

He opened the window on the first floor, and checked outside to confirm that there was no one outside. And then, bracing himself for the impact, he jumped out.

He protected his injured leg, landing on his other leg and before the impact could be registered, he rolled forward, dispersing most of the impact.

He quickly stood up, patting his clothes and continued running away, even as it looked funny because of his limping.

"I just need to keep moving," Leo said to himself, swallowing the groan that threatened to escape his lips as a sharp spike of pain shot up his thigh.

He pressed his back against the cold, damp stone of an alleyway, hiding in the shadows. He was finally out of the mansion’s immediate grounds, but the danger was far from over.

The city stretched out before him, was like a labyrinth with multi-tiered buildings that seemed to defy gravity. Torches and glowing magical crystals illuminated the main streets.

As Leo crept along the perimeter of the alley, using discarded crates for cover, he got his first real look at the populace.

He had expected humans, perhaps subjugated or living in fear based on what the girl had said. He had even expected more elves like the boy.

What he saw instead was much different.

This wasn’t just a city with a few monster guards. This was a metropolis entirely populated by demihumans, and the hierarchy was glaringly obvious.

In the plaza ahead, a massive, muscular minotaur was hauling a wagon overloaded with iron ingots. Walking beside the wagon, barking orders with absolute authority, was a goblin.

But this wasn’t the crude, grunting creature from a fairy tale. This goblin was dressed in meticulously tailored crimson silk over finely wrought chainmail.

Golden rings pierced its elongated ears, and it carried a jeweled riding crop that it casually flicked against the minotaur’s flank. Other creatures like lizardmen, feline beast-folk, and even a few battered-looking elves bowed their heads submissively as the goblin noble passed.

Goblins were the ruling race here. They weren’t just the muscle or the grunts; they were the aristocrats, the commanders, the elite.

"No wonder she said the emperor enslaves humans," Leo realized with a shiver. If they treated towering minotaurs like pack mules, a human would be nothing more than a plaything or livestock to them.

He couldn’t stay here. If he was caught in the city streets, there would be no escaping.

Gritting his teeth against the throbbing in his leg, Leo navigated the back alleys, moving steadily away from the bustling center and toward the outer perimeter.

He selected the direction of the tomb, trying to get back where he came from.

The density of the buildings began to thin, replaced by fortified stone walls that rose against the starry night sky.

The search parties were mostly concentrated back toward the estate and the central districts, leaving the outer parts of the city relatively quiet.

Eventually, he found what he was looking for... a secondary gate. But standing directly beneath the heavy iron teeth of the gate was a lone sentry.

Leo cursed silently. This goblin was different from the noble in the plaza. It was heavily scarred, and standing nearly as tall as a man.

It wore thick, boiled leather armor reinforced with iron plating. In its clawed hands, it held a wicked-looking spear, its leaf-shaped steel blade catching the faint moonlight.

Leo looked down at his empty hands. He had dropped the heavy candlestick during his fall from the window. He was completely unarmed, practically naked in his ripped, blood-stained clothes, and fighting on a bad leg.

The sentry was scanning the tree line outside, completely unaware of Leo approaching from behind. If Leo tried to climb the wall, he would be spotted instantly. If he tried to run past, the goblin would skewer him before he made it ten feet.