Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After obtaining a full bottle of Water from the Spring of Life, Goode was confident. He selected twenty able men from the Anca family. Some of them were Great Swordsmen, some were Spellcasters, and some were tacticians that specialized in analyzing and collecting information.
After confirming that the poison was cleared from their bodies, with Goode’s guidance, the captives all promised loyalty toward Yang Ling. With this batch of talents, Yang Ling created a preliminary intelligence network, codenamed Parrot. With the situation in Wissen Town getting more and more complicated, they would need timely and accurate information to stay on top of things.
After organizing their manpower and logistical support, Parrot quickly took off. Some of its members disguised themselves as troops and mixed in with those in Wissen Town, some acted as small-time merchants, setting up stalls on the streets, and others pretended to be vagrants with nowhere to return to… Coupled with the tips they received from the citizens of Wissen Town, they quickly became a continuous source of intelligence.
In order to ascertain that the information they got was accurate, Goode asked Casey to secretly arrest a few suspicious characters and begin interrogating them. After all, there were more and more troops and adventurers swarming into Wissen Town, and there were also frequent conflicts between various factions. The sudden disappearance of a few people did not attract too much attention.
With the information brought in by the spy network and the interrogations, the situation slowly became clearer. It turned out that ever since rumors spread of dragon treasure in Terras Forest, a large group of adventurers and troops had swarmed to Wissen Town from all over the land, planning to make it to the dragon’s treasure first. Some even said that powerful figures who had lived hidden for many years had also made their way here.
Even though there were many troops and adventurers who had made their way here, most of them were from either the Banto Empire, the Rossi Empire, or the Livenza Alliance. These three powerhouses were the nearest to Terras Forest. The relationships between them were complicated, but also delicate.
The Banto Empire was powerful had many material resources, while the Rossi Empire in the north had expansive land, and their knights were famed around the world. The two empires competed with each other for land and resources such as the crystal cores at their borders. With the accumulation of years of animosity, warriors from both countries would escalate a simple argument into a large scale battle when they encountered each other.
The Livenza Alliance was pincered between the Banto and Rossi Empires, and was formed by fifteen member countries. They had a developed merchant sector. They not only had many Spellcasters, but they had also gathered many groups of troops with powerful abilities. That was the reason why the Banto and Rossi Empires had been failing to colonize these countries, despite frequent attempts. The Livenza Alliance also remained as neutral as possible in the conflict between the two empires, hoping to remain on friendly terms with both.
Currently, with the numbers of troops gathering at Wissen Town, the people from the Banto Empire and the Rossi Empire were once again escalating simple arguments into large scale battles, drenching Wissen Town in a rain of blood. The troops from the Livenza Alliance and the rest of the countries adopted a neutral stance, choosing to watch from the sidelines.
Since they were closer to Wissen Town, there were more troops from the Banto Empire, causing them to have the obvious upper hand in the conflict. If not for Yang Ling forcefully controlling the situation, the black armored warriors from the Banto Empire might have already bathed Shangri-La in blood.
“Goode, you mean that this is just an ordinary conflict?” Yang Ling remained unmoved after hearing Goode’s report.
“Since we do not have enough intelligence, we cannot yet determine if there is a deeper motive for the conflict.” Goode hesitated for a moment, then continued, “But, with more and more people swarming into Wissen Town, it would be best to strengthen our defenses!”
Over the last few days, despite the frequent brawls, the number of people entering Wissen Town had not decreased. Instead, it had increased, putting pressure on Casey’s defense forces and Goode’s intelligence team. This was especially so for Goode. He was busy all day long, having to oversee the expansion of the villas at Shangri-La, as well as analyze the intelligence and create contingency plans.
“They’re secretly tabulating the population and property of the citizens. Haha, Goode, don’t you feel that there’s something off?” Yang Ling took out a piece of intelligence from his robes and said coldly, “The troops coming to Wissen Town are supposedly employed by merchants traveling here or hunting for Magical Beast Essence Crystals. But have you ever seen troops that would tabulate the population and property of the citizens?”
After taking the intelligence report Yang Ling threw onto the table, Goode shivered, instantly understanding two things. First, these troops were definitely not doing something as simple as fighting each other. Second, Yang Ling still had a secret source of intelligence. Yang Ling could find out things even Goode didn’t know about, and he could do it without even leaving the house.
Someone in a powerful position would never just have one pair of eyes or one trusted aide around him. Even though he was shocked and surprised, Goode quickly calmed down. Yang Ling had a mysterious background. Even though everyone knew that he was a noble from a rich family, no one was clear as to the exact family he was from. To a rich noble, having many eyes around him was normal. On the contrary, only having one pair of eyes looking out for him would be considered strange.
Goode was surprised. But if he had known that all Yang Ling did was ask his guard Argus’s brother, the thief Arkas, to conduct a secret investigation, he might have been even more surprised.
To many of the rich nobles, a thief like Arkas was less than a dog. But to Yang Ling, a sleazeball like Arkas could also become a talent if utilized well. Sometimes, the things that a person like that unintentionally heard or saw might also be valuable information.
“Goode, has Jaynowese revealed anything yet?”
“Not yet! So far, he has not opened his mouth.” Goode shook his head. He had been very busy recently. He had not had the time to think about how to get Jaynowese to open up.
“Haha, let’s go get that old man to spit out even his tongue!” Yang Ling said, taking large strides out of the room.
He had a hunch that Jaynowese’s secret mission had a connection with the complicated situation in town. He would definitely make a breakthrough, an important breakthrough, if he managed to pry open the old man’s mouth.
Under the yellow light, the once arrogant Jaynowese was sprawled on the cold floor, motionless and covered in blood. It looked like he had suffered greatly.
“Get up! Oh Yiblis, are you planning to feign death all day?” Under Yang Ling’s instructions, two muscular barbarians picked Jaynowese up and splashed a basin of ice-cold spring water onto him. In that instant, Jaynowese shivered, helplessly opening his eyes.
“Jaynowese, I’ll give you another chance!” Yang Ling paused before saying coldly, “Tell me what you know, otherwise…”
“Dream on! Kill me if you can, hahaha!” Jaynowese laughed maniacally. “Don’t expect to pry out anything from my mouth. You won’t be safe even if I become a ghost. Hahaha, soon, there will be someone to claim your life. Then, you will come be buried with us, father and son!”
With his son dead and his troops exterminated, Jaynowese had already slipped into despair. He knew that even if Yang Ling were to spare his life, his backer would never let him off now that he had lost his value, in case he revealed too many secrets. In his despair, he no longer feared any threats. He hated Yang Ling, the person who had caused all of this, to the core.
Seeing Jaynowese’s manic state, Yang Ling let out a cold smile. He knew that to deal with such a stubborn person on the brink of death, he had to take drastic measures. He softly gave instructions to the barbarian beside him. The latter was shocked, but fiercely nodded his head.
After taking a deep breath, the violent barbarian began snapping the bone in Jaynowese’s calf inch by inch. He would then give him a drop of the Water from the Spring of Life when Jaynowese was half dead, then repeat the act when he recovered. Jaynowese’s existence became a living hell.
“Ah… You devil, don’t even dream of learning my secrets!” Jaynowese, who had been tortured so much that he no longer resembled a human, did not confess even after Yang Ling visited the jail again a day later.
“Hah, since that is the case, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” After a cold smile, Yang Ling summoned a hungry Horned Bee Beast and instructed it to pounce onto Jaynowese’s right leg.
Jaynowese hadn’t spoken when he was being brutally beaten by the barbarians; he would clench his teeth and bear the pain when the barbarian was snapping his leg bones inch by inch. But when he watched helplessly as the Horned Bee Beast tore into the flesh of his leg, the terrifying scene and the deep, soul-burning pain finally caused him to break down.
He completely broke down!
Under Goode’s interrogation, the broken Jaynowese answered all the questions truthfully, even telling them what underwear his wife’s friends wore. At this point, he did not beg to live, instead he begged Goode to end him swiftly.
It turned out that because of the constant warfare, the resources of the Banto Empire had been stretched thin. With no choice left, they had set their sights on the Terras Forest and its rich resources, planning to incorporate the independent Wissen Town into their empire.
The king was wary of the empire’s enemies foiling the plan. After a secret discussion with his officials, the king had decided to give the area of a thousand miles around Wissen Town to the Waize family so that they could colonize Wissen Town in the name of the family. He would then announce this to the world once their control had been firmly established.
Jaynowese had been employed by the Waize family to eliminate any organizations that would be a threat in Wissen Town. He was instructed to complete the foundational work and pave the way for the town’s new leadership. According to Jaynowese’s confession, other than the Wind Troops that he led, the Waize family had also sent out a large number of warriors from their family.
After forcing out Jaynowese’s secret, everyone was shocked. It looked like the Rossi Empire had discovered the plan and sent people to sabotage the operation. The warriors from the Waize family had been unwilling to back down, creating a rain of blood within Wissen Town.
After deliberating for a moment, Goode clenched his teeth and said, “Sir, Wissen Town is our headquarters. Should we act first and announce that the thousand mile area around the town is our territory?”
“No, let them fight it out with one another first. There’s no need for us to stand up in this sandstorm!” Yang Ling decided against Goode’s tempting proposition after deliberating for a moment.
The forest wind would blow off the taller trees in the wood!
Both the Banto and Rossi Empires were wolves that devoured their enemies whole. Sticking their heads out at this point of time would only make them the target of both factions. Even though his Magical Beast army was at a decent size, Yang Ling was not so foolish as to believe that he could fight off an expansive empire. At this point, consolidating his forces and observing the trends was the best thing he could do.
