All of them stared at him attentively.
“The situation within the Willful Institute is fractious. They are constantly competing against one another to get a better position. It is not unknown for people from the same region to attack one another. We even have information on some groups in different regions attacking one another through proxies to steal their supplies and gear. They stand under one banner but are loose sand and rocks smashing into one another. We have scouted out the major cities controlled by the Institute and are working on plans to take each city. We are breaking their trust between one another and their cohesion.” Domonos’s eyes swept the room.
He pointed to a map of a city. “This will turn from a strategic trade war into a fighting war quickly. That is the nature of the Ten Realms. When it does, it will happen fast. Once they see they are losing their power, they will not go quietly. They’ll lash out. In most places, they haven’t even heard of the Adventurer’s Guild. Instead of attacking some unknown, they’ll attack their rivals, seeing them thriving with the support of the Adventurer’s Guild and Trader’s Guild. Either they won’t have enough to pay their taxes and their administration will fall apart, or they will fight. I believe that they’ll choose the latter.”
Members of the Adventurer’s Guild bristled at his words.
“In this situation, the less the enemy knows, the better. If we give them a single target, it will be harder to deal with. It could even unite them.”
His words sunk in, and he continued.
“We have three operations planned, hidden operations. The first will act on the periphery, aiding those fighting the Willful Institute. Second, we will have the Adventurer’s Guild actively attacking the Institute locations. We pull in the support of the locals who are against the Institute. Hidden in the ranks, we have Alva army support. Third, we create a reason for Vuzgal to attack the Willful Institute; we deploy our fighting force beside the Adventurer’s Guild and others who ally with us. We attack the enemy, under the complete control of Vuzgal.”
Domonos tapped the map again. “Those are methods of attack, but for the overall operation, there are three stages: infiltration, destabilization, attack.
“Infiltration has been handled by Director Silaz. Destabilization is ongoing by his forces, the special teams, as well as the Adventurer’s Guild and Trader’s Guild. When we attack, it will combine all the forces in this room and the allies we can pull to our side, even people who hate or just want to take advantage of the Willful Institute’s weakness.
“If you look at the files in front of you, there are plans for how we intend to coordinate these plans. There is also specific information on the cities and strongholds we have gathered through departments.”
The meeting continued, with the varied groups talking about tactics, coming together and integrating with one another.
In the darkness, a hidden force was mobilizing, a wolf sneaking up on its unaware prey that could only see the tip of its tail.
Yui passed Roska’s security team, entering the range of a sound-cancelling formation. Rugrat was leaning on the banister overlooking the first training grounds. New recruits were running around the exterior doing exercises to keep fighting fit.
“I remember my training days like it was yesterday. Embarrassing as hell, but there were some good moments in with a lot of shitty ones.” Rugrat smiled at Yui.
“I just remember getting my ass kicked. Officer school was no joke.” Yui nodded, coming to stand beside him.
“You say that like I don’t remember teaching you.”
“Hey, I know where the training came from. It fucking sucked, but we needed it.”
“You didn’t turn out too bad, and the training has gotten better over the years. Hell, it’s been years already. I’m getting old!”
“Don’t look a day over twenty-five.”
“Thanks, makes me have real gravitas when I look like I’ve only just started growing hair on my balls.”
Yui snorted and chuckled.
“Well, got people to do and things to see, so, how are the backup sites?”
Yui’s smile evaporated, switching to focused professionalism. “A plan is in place for the dispersal of personnel across the one hundred and eighty-nine backup sites. Each site can hold one thousand people at a minimum. With all the action against the Willful Institute, we haven’t been able to capture as many dungeon cores.” Yui’s voice halted.
“Spit it out.”
“Well, the thing is that we have to rely on the special teams to recover dungeon cores. We have a population of nearly four hundred thousand Alvans. We have enough room for two hundred thousand people in the backup dungeons. We need people with a dungeon hunter title to get cores to increase our capacity. I know its beneath you, but—”
“Erik and I have the Dungeon Master title, so we can raid dungeons and steal their cores, increasing the number of backup sites. So, you need a hundred more? What type of dungeon core?”
“We’re using Grand Mortal-grade dungeon cores.”
“Okay.” Rugrat bit the inside of his lip.
“We have the location of several suspected dungeon core sites. Most of the locations are remote, and people don’t venture into them. We’ve left the dungeon where it is, or we’ve made it smaller or larger and inserted the blueprints we have.”
Rugrat glanced back at Roska’s team members responsible for protecting him.
“Well, shit, there isn’t much I can do right now. Any new weapons are at the back of the line. Might as well put me to some use. Might annoy my protection detail on the surface, but they’re eager to do something as well.”
“Thank you, sir.” Yui sighed.
“I’ve told you before I ain’t no sir and it’s no problem. Gives my lazy ass something to do.” Rugrat leaned on the banister; his eyes fell on the names carved into the wall.
“I heard that nearly all of the bodies of the dead on the Water floor were turned into undead,” Rugrat said.
“Yes sir.”
“Why?” Rugrat asked.
“They didn’t want their bodies to be wasted. Most of them wanted to have their bodies awakened again. To serve as undead. We added it to the dog tags so their wishes can be respected.”
Rugrat was quiet for some time.
“On Earth when you die, there are only two things you leave behind: what you’ve done and your bones. Even centuries or millennium later, your bones will be found. They never disappear. It is the last thing we have that shows we ever existed. In the Ten Realms, they take that away some days outside a storage ring, and your body will collapse. Different views. On one side is a marker of your existence; on the other, it will be gone otherwise, so why not make use out of something? Making use out of it will be a marker that you once lived. Protecting the later generations.” Rugrat rested his elbows on the banister, raising his hands to his mouth, muffling his last words. “Undead are a testament to your life, a walking tombstone.”
Yui didn’t comment, his eyes focusing on the names carved into the wall.
15
From the Tiger’s Mouth
Kanoa adjusted his hood in the rain, checking the rest of the people in the group as they all passed the guards at the gate.
They pushed forward into the outpost. Thankfully, the main roads were fused stone instead of cold, wet mud.
He was soaked and felt the chill of a cold coming on.
The rest of the group gathered around him, and they pushed on. Their eyes darted here and there.
“Don’t worry. We’re in the Beast Mountain Range now. This place is controlled by the King’s Hill Alliance, so it will slow down Queen Ikku some,” Kanoa reassured them as he led them to a tavern a guard had told them about.
“What about the other groups?” one of the civilians asked.
Walking into a city with a group of fifty-four people would have raised alarms, so they had split into groups of nine, with at least two guards in each one.
“We will meet
in King’s Hill and then disappear. There are plenty of trading caravans heading everywhere,” Kanoa said.
They entered the tavern and pulled back their wet layers, welcoming the warmth.
Kanoa felt a little better.
“Rooms for nine, please,” Kanoa said.
“Two silvers and forty coppers,” the man at the tavern’s table said.
“Food?”
“Four silvers total.”
It was more expensive than in other outposts, probably because they had to import it all. He gritted his teeth and passed the man four silver coins.
The owner smiled as the silver disappeared and two keys appeared. “Second floor, third door on the right. Do you want your food now?”
“Yeah, that would be best,” Kanoa said.
“Sit wherever.” The man waved to his tavern. A few people were sitting and talking, getting out of the late-afternoon rain.
A trader sat in one corner, working on different books. He glanced at Kanoa and the others, his eyes falling on their shoes. Confusion passed the man’s face, but it quickly disappeared. He wrote down more numbers then sat back in thought, using the reflection from the bar and the pad of paper on his lap to sketch out the shoes the group were wearing.
Evernight had just returned to King’s Hill. Night was coming, and Aditya was away at a meeting about trade agreements with the outposts and King’s Hill.
She entered his office. Observing, she smiled. One of these days, she might get her own office, but this was comfortable enough, for now. She sat at her desk and glanced out of the window.
As night came in, light formations lit the city. It truly was a city now, boasting a population of forty thousand people and a floating population of thirty thousand. In the First Realm, there were few independent cities that could boast such numbers.
She looked over her region, the domain under her protection. She knew every alley, every backdoor gambling hall and tavern. Her network spread throughout the Beast Mountain Range.
A satisfied smile appeared on her face. Thinking about Erik and Rugrat and their questions, her smile grew wider.
Even with their dominating presence, they were reasonable people. They didn’t jump to conclusions and valued the information she and the other agents gathered. They even went so far as to thank them for their work.
She stretched out as if to capture the excitement in her heart. Her sound transmission device shook, and she paused at her full stretch. Her smile disappeared like a flame in winter.
She listened attentively before sending several different messages.
Looking out at the rain, she sighed. “Looks like I should take a coat.” She pulled one out from her storage ring and moved to the middle of the room. She activated a teleportation formation that not even Lord Aditya knew of.
She appeared in a basement. Around her, there were crates and four doors.
Evernight checked the crates out of habit, making sure the weapons, armor, and supplies were all accounted for. She moved one of the crates, checking a formation hidden behind it to ensure that no one else was in the secret tunnels under the outpost.
She opened a door and closed it behind her; it looked like part of the wall of a large, open area. She walked across the floor. I hate walking over trap formations. Scares the hell out of me.
She kept walking, passing through tunnels and hidden doors until she finally emerged from a stable. She exited and closed the door behind her.
A stable hand was waiting for her outside.
He put his forefinger and thumb against his other forefinger, creating a crude “A.”
“It is mighty cold this time of year,” Evernight said.
“It might be cold, but the shadows stretch longer every day,” the man said.
“They do, but the night does not come earlier,” Evernight replied.
The man bowed his head and then quickly pulled out a package. He handed it to her and indicated for her to follow him.
He led her through the stable to another disused stall. He opened a hidden door, and they walked into an office where there were two others. One wore the garb of a trader; the other, a mercenary uniform.
The stable hand closed the door behind her, and she tore open the package and studied the images inside.
The shoes’ craftmanship was much higher than anything she had seen in the Ten Realms. The sewing and the shoes reminded her of the boots used by their military.
Evernight stared at the three people. “Report.”
The trader stepped forward. “A group of nine people entered the outpost late this afternoon. I made those sketches of their shoes and reported to my cell leader, who told me to check the other inns. Altogether, six groups of nine people entered the outpost today.
“All of them seemed to be in good health and had footwear not from around here. At least, not from the First Realm. Their levels aren’t high enough that they could get into the higher realms.”
Evernight could smell the alcohol on him, but sobering potions kept him completely alert.
The mercenary stepped forward. “That’s fifty-four people in total. There are about sixteen fighters among them, with at least two per group. The rest seem to be smart people. I had some of my people listen in on them. Some were talking in medical terms about things no common First Realmer would know. Their main weapons are crossbows. They are moving fast and light. A few of them had tattoos.”
Evernight couldn’t help but raise her eyebrow. Rugrat had introduced tattoos, and they had taken off. Some formation masters and scroll makers had turned them into an art form and created formations on one’s skin. The buffs were limited, but they used a person’s own power and could glow with power. Few other groups used them. Most had scarification instead.
“It appears they are on the run from Queen Ikku.”
The mercenary finished his report and stepped backward.
“Shit.” Evernight hissed, recalling the report she had read about a group of people fleeing toward the Beast Mountain Range.
She pulled out her sound transmission device and sent out some messages. She felt the information network that stretched across the realm coming alive as information flowed back to her.
In a matter of minutes, she had the latest information from those around the empress and the odd rumors going around.
Evernight closed her mind, checking the information she had pulled together and the conclusion she had made.
With a deep sigh, she used her sound transmission device.
“Evernight?” Director Silaz’s voice came over the sound transmission device, sounding immediately alert.
“We have a situation. A group of around fifty Earthers just entered one of our outposts. They are wearing high-quality boots, have tattoos, use crossbows, and talk advanced medical terms for the First Realm. They are being chased by Queen Ikku. It looks like she drew them in and wanted to enslave them, but they escaped. She has made alarming advances rapidly, and after the people ran away, there have not been any more advances. She only told her closest advisors about new advantages and then turned sour. Linking it all together, it makes sense.”
“You need to defuse this group and prove their ability to trust us. Potentially, they are military figures. They are probably tired and angry, possibly armed,” Silaz said.
“Yes, sir,” Evernight said.
Silaz was quiet for a moment.
“Erik and Rugrat are going to want to know, and they are the best people to defuse the situation. One moment.”
Evernight’s connection went dead. She and the three other agents waited. The mercenary sat down and cleaned his weapons. The stable hand left and came back, checking the area while the trader went through information slips and read textbooks from Alva. It was one of the few places he could do so openly.
“Which groups are in inns that we control? Who is their leader? Are they military or civilian? What are their plans? Find out for me,” she said to the agents.
The three of
them put their heads together, with the mercenary heading out to talk to some of his people while the trader and stable hand sent messages out.
A few minutes later, Evernight’s sound transmission device buzzed.
She activated it, once again cut off from the outside world.
“Erik and Rugrat are mobilizing and heading your way. They should be there within the hour. Keep the Earthers there. Make sure no harm comes to them. Roska and her special team will be with them for protection. Confirm their identities, and make sure they are Earthers. Organize a place where they can meet away from prying eyes.” Director Silaz’s words were heavy, as if carved into stone.
“I will make the preparations and ensure nothing bad happens to them,” Evernight vowed.
“Good. They’ll be with you shortly.” The connection went dead again.
Evernight curled her fists. She felt as if her brain cells were on fire. She’d have to carry out her job without the outpost leader knowing anything.
They had cells in all the outposts now. It was a good way to raise intelligence agents with a safety net in place. Once they graduated from here, they could be sent across the Ten Realms.
She needed to bring in these groups and set up a meeting. Even if everything went well, she still needed to make fifty-four people disappear and leave just enough of a trace to lead Queen Ikku on a wild chase. Right, let’s get the meeting prepared first, then we can move to extraction.
She snapped orders to those in the room and then contacted different agents under her command. The outpost shadows shifted under the cover of night.
Kanoa was down in the tavern. He nursed the beer slowly. It wasn’t the best beer he had ever had, but it had the bite of alcohol that relieved his mind and body.
Just one beer. He couldn’t afford to lose his focus or edge.
He quietly surveyed the room. The patrons had left some time ago. The tavern owner was cleaning the area quietly, and most of the staff had gone home.
Sixth Realm Part 2: A litRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 7) Page 16
