In the second week after the end of the defensive battle, the first batch of officers sent out by the Military Security Intelligence Bureau began to return to the territory. They not only brought back the manpower requested by Amber, but also the information requested by Gwen.
Facts had proven that these people, who had been at the bottom of society since the beginning and were used to dealing with people from all walks of life, were truly talented at gathering information. Although they did not have the extraordinary abilities of the Royal Shadow Guards, they had more cunning and little tricks, and in some dark corners, their cunning was even more effective than the Royal Shadow Guards' extraordinary abilities.
In the study of the liege's residence, Gwen was listening to Amber's report. It was awkward to say that the first batch of officers' cultural education was not over yet. A considerable number of operatives could not read or write at all, or could only read and write to a limited extent. So, they used all kinds of weird codes, shorthand, and even oral transmission methods to transmit information. This messy transmission method was more in line with Gwen's "confidentiality" requirement, but Amber had to sort it out in advance. It was also because of this that Amber looked more and more like a proper intelligence chief. At least she knew to show her face in the Military Intelligence Bureau and do something serious.
"Our caravan is expanding to the entire Southern Territory. The trade route has been opened, and the merchants themselves are good at spreading information. This is just as you planned." Amber solemnly relayed what Scarface Anton and the others had seen and heard in the Southern Territory. "Recently, a group of merchants have gone to the East. Padrick seems to want to buy the potion to the Lorren Family's territory."
"That Mr. Padrick should not be just a consultant in the Barony. His business acumen and courage are rare talents. It was also my idea to promote the potion to the East." Gwen nodded. "Is there any other news?"
"There are two things that I think … are a little concerned." Amber frowned and showed a rare serious look. "First, the Doomsday Cult and the Cult of the Eternal Sleepers seem to be increasing their activities in the Southern Territory. Some merchants from the central region have also brought news that there are traces of the cultists in the Sacred Plains, the western part of the kingdom, and even the northern part. Now, all the lords in the kingdom are trying to find a way to strangle the cultists in their territories. "
"The Doomsday Cult and the Eternal Sleepers …" Gwen blinked. "Ah, they have not been seen around Cecil's territory since winter. I almost thought that those guys had quieted down … I didn't expect them to be more active in other places."
"Yes, more active, as if they are going to do something big." Amber shook her head. "And the second thing is also related to them. As the evil acts of the cultists are getting worse, the Church of Holy Light has also become very active recently. The Church of Holy Light in many places has increased the frequency of sending out combat priests and Paladins. More and more clergymen are helping the local lords to solve the problem of the spread of the cultists."
"This seems to be their job," Gwen said unhurriedly. "The Holy Light is the natural nemesis of all kinds of negative forces. When evil forces are spreading, the clergymen of the Church of Holy Light are always at the forefront."
"If they are just running around to fight the cultists, of course, there is no problem. But the key is a saying that has recently spread in the west," Amber said with a 'the God of Holy Light is up to something' look on her face. "Because the power of the Holy Light is always the fastest to deal with the cultists, and the effect is the best. So the dissatisfaction with other sects is getting worse and worse. Especially the Church of the Blood God and the Cult of Shadows, which are not good at fighting evil, and their power attributes are slightly negative. Their situation is getting more and more awkward. Anton and the others in the west near Count Hosman's territory heard a rumor that the gods of many sects can't deal with the fallen at all. Only the God of Holy Light is dedicated to protecting the mortals … "
Gwen's brows slowly knitted together. "Is this saying very widespread?"
"At present, it is only around Count Hosman's territory. But as soon as the winter is over and the number of merchants increases, the speed of the news will immediately increase. As long as the cultists are still active during this period, and the situation of the Church of Holy Light and other sects does not change much, this saying will become mainstream sooner or later."
Gwen nodded. "Yes … this kind of news is always the fastest to spread … Can you find out the source of this saying?"
"It seems to be a spontaneous occurrence among the people. After all, the facts are there. Except for the Church of Holy Light, when faced with the threat of the cultists, the reaction of the other sects is always half a beat slower." Amber shook her head. "But as the chosen one of the Goddess of Shadows, I just feel that the Church of Holy Light is up to something …"
"You are prejudiced —" Gwen glanced at the half-elf who always claimed to be the chosen one of the gods. "But I also feel that the Church of Holy Light is up to something."
Amber stared at him. "Aren't you the same as me?"
"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not the chosen one." Gwen waved his hand and immediately changed the subject. "These things should not affect our territory."
"It should not affect," Amber nodded. "There is only one Priest of Holy Light in our territory, and he is of that style. I'm not worried that he will use the Holy Light to brainwash everyone. I'm just worried that one day if someone from the Church of the God of War comes to preach and gets beaten up by Leit …"
"Anyway, be vigilant. You can't not take the changes in the outside world seriously. If the Church of Holy Light or the cultists really want to do something, they will not just leave Cecil alone … By the way, how is the performance of the first batch of officers? I remember that you seem to have set an assessment for them … "
When Hu Po heard this, he immediately beamed with joy, "If you didn't mention it, I would have forgotten. Those fellows really are the seedlings that I had high hopes for back then. They're all experts when they're out in the field. I only gave them 80 silver coins each for the operation's expenses, and when they came back, they had at least 90 left …"
Gwen did not mind the first half of the sentence, but when he heard the last half, he almost spat out the tea in his mouth. "What?!"
"The best one is Gypsy. She pretended to be a magic apprentice sent by her mentor to look for talented children. She snuck into Calor Territory for a few days to eat and drink. In the end, if she did not remember the mission, she would have tricked the only son of Viscount Calor …"
"F * ck!"
"That guy, Quick Legs, almost became the guard of the local lord. In order to get his target out of prison, he snuck into the prison guards and accidentally performed too well …"
"Erm … Is there anything else?"
"Anton has contacted more than a dozen potion merchants in Count Hosman's territory who want to join Cecil's territory. If you think it's suitable, I'll pass it on to Padrick …"
Gwen was speechless.
It turned out that Amber's men were really crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Although the training they received in Cecil's territory and the Duke's certificate they carried with them were of great help to their actions, they could not be trained to cause trouble. It was all a talent …
However, while he was marveling at the talents of those people, Gawain couldn't help but feel a little worried. "They won't go overboard and cause too much of a commotion and end up being exposed, right? You should know that the most important thing for the officers of the Military Intelligence Agency is their own secrecy. If they are too active, it will only spoil things. "
"Don't worry, of course those guys know this." Amber was not worried in this regard. "First of all, they are strictly acting according to their disguise and do not do anything that is not in line with their 'role'. Even if someone notices, it will only make them more convinced that they are using a fake identity. Second, those guys did not forget the 'tail cleaning' I taught them. They appear at their destination in a reasonable way and leave in a reasonable way without arousing suspicion. Lastly, do you think every lord and their advisors and scholars are like you? Those guys are very slow, and they don't pay attention to what happens among the civilians. Apart from their own titles and properties, anything that the civilians do is nothing but 'stupid' in the eyes of the traditional nobles. They are not like you, where there is a perfect household registration system from top to bottom, and strict personnel management. Even if there is an extra person in the territory, it can be reported to the government office on the same day … "
Gwen felt that what Amber said was true. In this era, except for Cecil's territory, where was the so-called personnel management and registration system? The lords did not even know how many people they had under them, let alone the various kinds of espionage, anti-espionage, infiltration and anti-infiltration concepts that had been played out on Earth. Although there were spies, intelligence work, and the eyes and ears of the nobles in this era, these things were either very primitive or just a "competition" between the nobles. No one had ever considered three-dimensional intelligence work from the bottom to the top. If not, how could the spies sent by the nobles in the Southern Territory to Cecil's territory all be exposed so easily?
"That's good. The first result of the Military Intelligence Bureau is quite good." Gwen smiled and leaned back comfortably in his chair. "This is your credit, so …"
"Give me six or seven more days of salary, and by the way, give me the bottle of Pokel wine in your wine cellar, and then give me a holiday or something …"
Gao Wen glared at the half-elf, feeling that this fellow's ability to shamelessly take advantage of the situation had improved by leaps and bounds. Before he could even finish his words of encouragement, Hu Po had already listed out the list of rewards …
She must have listed it before coming to report the work …
At the same time, in the ancient underground palace far away from Cecil's territory, another group of people was also paying attention to the changes in the situation.
They were wearing the robes of the priests with the specific religious symbols removed. They stood in the assembly hall of the underground palace. Proliferating flesh and plant tissues could be seen everywhere in the underground palace, but these twisted believers were used to the strange and terrifying atmosphere here.
After a short moment of silence, a woman suddenly walked into the hall. She was wearing a green priestess robe. Her face was beautiful, and her upper body was curvaceous. However, at the bottom of her robe, there was a bunch of wriggling, strange roots and vines that supported her forward.
The woman glanced at the gloomy atmosphere and said with a slightly sarcastic tone, "Gentlemen, your discussion has not come to a conclusion yet?"
A priest of the End of All Things said discontentedly, "Priestess Bertilla, you are late."
"It doesn't matter. It was just a useless discussion anyway." Bertilla smiled faintly as she walked to her seat. "You just want to say that the Ansu - Typhon War that we have been working so hard to start for so long is going to come to nothing, isn't it?
"Gentlemen, accept the fact …"
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