Chapter 284 - 283: Changing Circumstances
In the second week after the end of the defense battle, the first batch of agents sent out by the Military Security Intelligence Bureau began to return to the territory one after another, bringing back not only the personnel Amber had requested but also the intelligence Gawain had asked for.
As it turned out, these individuals, who had been mingling with the lower echelons of society from the start and were accustomed to dealing with all sorts of people, were truly talented in gathering intelligence. Although they did not have the extraordinary abilities of the royal shadow guard, they possessed more cunning and tricks, and in some dark corners, their wily methods were even more effective than the extraordinary powers of the royal shadow guard.
In the study of the feudal lordâs mansion, Gawain listened to Amber reporting intelligence to himâit was somewhat embarrassing to say, the cultural education for the first batch of agents had not yet been completed, and quite a few operatives couldnât read or write at all or had only limited literacy. Therefore, they conveyed intelligence entirely through all sorts of bizarre codes, shorthand, and even verbal transmission used by rats in the sewer. While this chaotic and disorderly transmission method better met Gawainâs "confidentiality" requirements, it meant that Amber had to organize it first. Because of this added task, Amber had started to look more like a legitimate intelligence leaderâat least she knew to show up at the Intelligence Agency and do some actual work.
"Our merchant caravans are spreading throughout the southern borders, the trade routes are open, and trade itself is a great way to spread information, just like you originally planned," Amber spoke earnestly about the experiences of Scarface Anton and others in the southern regions. "Moreover, recently, a caravan has gone to the Duke of the EastâMr. Patrick seems to want to sell potions in the Loland Clanâs territory."
"Mr. Patrick was never meant to be merely an advisor in the Viscountâs land; his commercial acumen and courage are rare talents, and expanding the alchemical potions to the east was done on my instructions," Gawain nodded. "Anything else new?"
"There are two things I find... somewhat concerning," Amber frowned, unusually showing a serious expression. "Firstly, activities of the Oblivion Association and the Eternal Sleepers in various parts of the southern borders seem to be increasing, and merchants from the central region have also brought news that there are traces of cultists in the Plains of the Holy Spirits, the western mountainous parts of the kingdom, and even the northern regions. Now the leaders of the kingdoms everywhere are finding ways to eliminate the cult forces in their territories."
"The Oblivion and the Eternal Sleepers..." Gawain blinked, "Ah, since winter set in, they havenât shown up near the Cecil Clan much, I almost thought those guys had quieted down... Whoâd have thought theyâre actually more active elsewhere?"
"Yes, more active, as if theyâre planning something big," Amber shook her head. "And the second thing is also related to themâdue to the increasingly malevolent behaviors of cultists everywhere, the Holy Light church has recently become remarkably active, with many places intensifying the dispatch of combat priests and paladins. More and more clerics are helping local leaders solve the problem of the cultâs proliferation."
"This seems like their duty," Gawain said unhurriedly. "The Holy Light is a natural nemesis to all kinds of negative forces, and when evil forces spread, the clerics of the Holy Light church are always at the forefront."
"If they were just running around fighting cultists, that would be fine, but the key issue is a rumor spreading in the west," Amber said with a face that insinuated "the God of Holy Light is stirring up trouble." "Since the power of the Holy Light is always the quickest and most effective against cultists, dissatisfaction with other religions is growing increasingly seriousâespecially the Church of the Blood God and the Shadow Sect, which are inherently not good at combating evil, and whose powers are slightly negative in nature. Their situation is increasingly awkward. Anton and others have heard rumors near Count Hosmanâs Territory that the gods of many religions are simply not dealing effectively with the fallen, and only the God of Holy Light is wholeheartedly protecting mortals..."
Gawainâs brows slowly furrowed: "Is this saying spreading widely?"
"Currently, itâs only spreading around Count Hosmanâs Territory, but once winter ends and thereâs more travel, the speed of message transmission will immediately increase, and as long as cultistsâ activities persist and no significant changes occur in the Holy Light church and other religions, this saying will inevitably become mainstream."
Gawain nodded: "Yes... such information always spreads the fastest... Can the source of this saying be determined?"
"It seems to have arisen spontaneously from the populace. After all, the facts are there; apart from the Holy Light church, each religionâs response to the cultistsâ threat is indeed half a beat slower," Amber shook her head. "But as the chosen of the Goddess of Shadows, I just feel like the Holy Light church wants to stir up trouble..."
"Youâre being prejudicialâ" Gawain glanced at this half-elf, who always claimed to be the chosen one, "but I also think the Holy Light church wants to stir up trouble."
Amber glared: "Youâre just like me!"
"Donât be silly; Iâm not the chosen one," Gawain waved his hand and immediately changed the topic, "These things shouldnât affect our territory."
"There shouldnât be any impact," Amber nodded. "Thereâs only one Holy Light cleric in our territory, and heâs the kind that... Iâm not worried about him brainwashing everyone with the Holy Light; Iâm just worried that one day a member of the Sect of the God of War will come to preach and get punched by Wright if they disagree..."
"In any case, stay vigilant; we canât ignore the changes outside. If the Holy Light church or the cultists are really planning something, they wonât just leave the Cecil Clan aside... By the way, how did the first batch of agents perform during their operations outside? I remember you seemed to have set an assessment project for them..."
Upon hearing this, Amberâs face instantly lit up with excitement: "If you hadnât mentioned it, I wouldâve forgotten. Those guys really are the promising candidates we saw back thenâtheyâre all great at field missions. I gave each of them just eighty silver coins as a budget, and the one with the least amount brought back over ninety..."
Gawain didnât think much of the first half of the statement, but when he heard the last part, he almost spit out his tea entirely: "Ha!?"
"The most impressive was Giply, who pretended to be a mage apprentice sent by a mentor to find talented children, mooched off Viscount Carol territory for several days, and in the end, if she hadnât remembered her mission, she might have convinced Viscount Carolâs only son to come back with her..."
"Wow!"
"That guy âQuick Legâ almost became a guard for the local leader. He blended into the soldiers guarding the jail to break someone out, but accidentally did so well..."
"Umm... anything else?"
"Andon got in touch with a dozen alchemical potion merchants in Count Hosmanâs Territory who want to ally with the Cecil Clan. If you think itâs suitable, I can pass this matter on to Mr. Patrick later..."
Gawain: "..."
It turns out that the subordinates under Amber are truly hidden talents. Although the training they received at Cecil and the dukeâs documentation they carried greatly aided their operations, their knack for stirring things up along the way is truly innate... you canât train that kind of talent.
However, while admiring these talents, Gawain couldnât suppress a bit of worry: "They wonât cause too much trouble and make too much noise, exposing themselves, right? You should know that the most important thing for Intelligence Agency operatives is their secrecy. If theyâre too active, it might backfire."
"Donât worry, those guys definitely know that," Amber wasnât actually worried about that. "First, they act strictly according to their disguise roles, never doing anything inappropriate for their âcharacter.â Even if someone notices, it only reinforces their fake identities. Second, they donât forget the âclean-upâ I taught them, appearing and leaving reasonably so as not to raise suspicion. Lastly, do you think every leader and their advisors and scholars are as meticulous as you? Those guys are slow-witted and donât pay attention to what happens among commoners. To traditional aristocrats, anything commoners do is just âinconsequential folly,â far from your situation with a comprehensive registration system where even one more person on the territory would be reported to the Administrative Office the same day..."
After Amber said that, Gawain also agreed â in this era, aside from Cecil, where else is there any sort of personnel control or registration system? The elites arenât even clear about how many people they have under them, much less concepts like espionage or counter-espionage, infiltration or counter-infiltration that are already commonplace on planet Earth. Although spies, intelligence work, and noble eyes and ears exist in this era, theyâre either primitive and rough or just skirmishes within the aristocracy, never considering a comprehensive intelligence network from the bottom to the top. Otherwise, how would all the spies sent by the southern aristocracy to Cecil be so easily exposed?
"Thatâs good, the first results from the Intelligence Agency are quite impressive," Gawain smiled, sitting back comfortably in his chair, "Thatâs your achievement, so..."
"How about paying me six or seven daysâ extra salary, and hand over that bottle of Portcal wine from your cellar, then give me a short vacation..."
Gawain glared at this half-elf, suspecting that this guyâs skill at exploiting situations had advanced by leaps and bounds. Before he could finish his words of encouragement, Amber already had a list of demands ready...
Perhaps it was prepared even before coming to report...
Meanwhile, in an ancient catacomb far from the Cecil Clan, another group was also keeping an eye on the changing situation.
They were clad in priest robes devoid of specific religious symbols, standing in the meeting hall of the catacombs. The place was overgrown with additional flesh and plant tissues, yet these already mentally distorted cult followers were accustomed to the eerie and terrifying atmosphere.
After a brief silence, a woman suddenly walked into the hall. She was dressed in green priestly garb, her face comely and her upper body well-shaped, yet below her priestâs robes were writhing, inexplicable roots and vines supporting her movement.
The woman glanced at the oppressive gathering, speaking with a hint of sarcasm: "Gentlemen, have you not reached a conclusion yet?"
One dissatisfied Oblivion Association priest said, "Preceptor Beltira, youâre late."
"It doesnât matter, your previous discussions were useless anyway," Beltira smiled indifferently, moving towards her position carelessly. "Weâre just here to state... that the Anzu-Typhon war weâve strived so long to incite is about to become a mere illusion, isnât it?
"Gentlemen, accept the fact...
"In the wasteland, changes have occurred beyond our expectations..."
If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.