Sword of Dawn

"That's right, the spies who have successfully lurked into the territory before being discovered must be excellent spies, and the spies who enter the 25th brigade later will also be excellent spies, and excellent spies will never let themselves be exposed," Gao Wen said. He said cheerfully, "Everyone in the 25th Brigade will firmly believe that they are the only spy—of course, it is not ruled out that two or three people lurking in together and then sent to the 25th Brigade together, but this is harmless."

Hetty continued to be dumbfounded: "..."

Chapter 0264

To be honest, the idea of ​​No. 20 Production and Construction Brigade came up shortly after Gao Wen realized that someone was trying to investigate the Cecil Land, and he can admit very frankly and happily that more than half of the name comes from His bad taste - anyway, people from other worlds don't understand the stalk of the earth, Gao Wen can see it, and his crazy play in this world will not affect his majesty as the patriarch who opened the coffin, and may even be regarded as an old man. It's an expression of deep wisdom...

But although there was an element of bad taste, in Gao Wen's opinion, dealing with the spies who sneaked into the territory in this way also had a certain effect.

It is true that the dead spies will no longer pose a threat to the territory, but they will not generate the slightest value, and Gawain... he is actually a person who will not let go of any "value".

He is building an economic-intelligence network throughout the entire southern border, but it will take a long time for this network to mature and function. It will take time for merchants to gain a firm foothold everywhere, and it will take longer for intelligence channels to be established and run stably. , even those future "Military Intelligence Officers" are still receiving the most basic training in Cecil Territory, and the spies from all over the southern border who fell into Gao Wen's hands at this time... It is a treasure that fell from the sky.

If it was a top spy like the Royal Shadow Guard, Gawain might have adopted even more thunderous methods, because a royal who possessed all kinds of superpowers and would rush into the crowd wielding a two-handed sword and whirlwind once exposed The damage that the shadow guards can cause is huge (the first shadow guard instructor, Gawain Cecil, was blamed), and the hidden dangers of keeping them are greater than the benefits, but the spies released by the local nobles in the southern border are completely different. It's at the next level - looking at their "professional level", Gao Wen knows that these are just miscellaneous soldiers. In terms of survivability in the enemy environment, they may not even be as good as Hu Po's hundred horses...

On the one hand, the strength of the nobles in the southern border is limited. On the other hand, they obviously haven't paid enough attention to the Cecil Territory. Naturally, they will not send the most elite spies to such a place, and the miscellaneous soldiers they sent are generally The spies, rather than spying on the Cecil family's secrets and sabotaging the construction of the pioneering territory, are actually more purposeful to figure out one thing - what is that old ancestor doing in the south?

It was also because of this that Gao Wen did not resort to thunderous tactics, but instead chose to gather the spies together to raise a Gu or something...

Of course, for those spies who have been caught and exposed, there is nothing to do. They still have to be dealt with, and the news must be announced. And this is also good, and it will be more real if a group of spies are exposed—— None of the spies sent to Cecil Territory had any accidents, so the nobles in the southern border would be even more suspicious - they couldn't even find a single spy, so the ancestor might not be a fake.

As for the consequences of sending out spies and being discovered by Grand Duke Cecil, the nobles are probably not too worried - intrigue is the daily life of the nobles, especially in the situation where the various regions are separated, everyone can check each other. It's commonplace, but to put it bluntly, it's just collecting the most marginal information. If there is no substantial damage and it's not done too much, no one will tear their face for it-plus the household registration management in this era is about zero, Even if the incident is relatively serious, there is still a way to save face and refuse to admit it.

But one thing Gao Wen knows very well, the "25 Brigade" will not exist forever, there will always be smart people who will realize the truth and expose everything. With the current level of organization of the Cecil Territory, this day may not come until a long time later, and before the truth of the "25 Brigade" is revealed...

Gao Wen felt that he could use this large group of spies to do many things.

After sending Hetty away, Gawain sent someone to call back Amber who had gone out to fish.

As soon as they met, before the half-elf could speak, Gao Wen asked bluntly, "How is your training going?"

"Anton and the others?" Seeing Gao Wen's expression, Amber knew that this was the time to talk about serious business. At this moment, gags are very easy to be knocked off the head, so she put away her desire to make fun of the old rice dumpling, "It depends on what you mean. Fighting people head-on can only scare people, and it is impossible to see results in such a short period of time with reading and writing, but you have to say let them understand the current situation and understand what the lord is going to call them for. ...they've figured it out a long time ago."

Gao Wen raised his eyebrows: "What about the common sense of identity disguise, intelligence collection, and message delivery?"

Amber smiled: "This is their old profession, plus the professional courses you arranged for them, it will be difficult to learn."

"Very well, it's time to send the first batch out."

Amber was a little surprised: "So fast?"

"Someone has already begun to send spies to Cecil, and we have to speed up the operation of our intelligence system," Gao Wen shook his head, "And I don't intend to give them too difficult tasks directly—after all, the basic training It's not over yet. Didn't you say last time that those people can find more 'helpers' from other places? This is the first task for them. Find people, find more seedlings, and continue training. Next spring will be the time for them to follow the Cecil trade route to the entire southern border."

"Then I understand, just let me arrange this matter," Amber volunteered to slap her chest, "I know the situation of those little bastards better than anyone else, I will arrange tasks for them - you will be responsible for me Funding for action will do.”

Gawain is [-]% sure that the last sentence is the fundamental purpose of this half-elf...

But he is very clear that this guy just likes to talk about death, and she can still distinguish the priorities when it comes to business, and from the very beginning, he has already planned to let Amber be in charge of this aspect: "You don't Said that I am going to send you there—and not only this time, but from now on, this group of people will be in your charge, including the team that they expanded later.”

Amber's ears trembled twice, as if she didn't respond: "Huh?"

"There is no one in the territory who is more suitable for this matter than you," Gawain looked at the half-elf seriously, "and no one knows your subordinates better than you."

Gao Wen is not fooling around, but the fact is true: Although she seems to be an incomprehensible thief, Amber is the most suitable person in the territory to lead the intelligence organization - she is first and foremost an excellent shadow master, who can train more A professional in the shadow department, secondly, she is quite familiar with all kinds of people from three religions and nine streams, and is quite familiar with dealing with various people and collecting information from various environments. Even after leaving for many years, this team still maintains a high degree of loyalty and trust in her, which shows that she actually has a certain leadership ability and charisma, but it is all her own. The inconspicuous image is ruined.

Compared with Amber, the other people in the territory are completely out of line with their majors - Hetty is good at internal affairs and knocking on Rebecca's head, Rebecca is good at mathematics, invention and sabbatical sticks, Nicholas is good at mechanics and funny, Ka Those like Meier are simply pure scientific researchers. In the end, Philip and Byron have some intelligence experience, but they are better at military affairs and cross-talk...

No one is more suitable to be the head of the intelligence agency than Amber.

Gao Wen suddenly covered his forehead: "What kind of people are there in Mom's territory..."

Amber didn't understand what was going on all of a sudden: "Huh?"

"It's okay, I'm distracted," Gao Wen quickly straightened his posture and looked up at Amber, "I appoint you as the first director of the Cecil Military Security Intelligence Bureau, responsible for the training and management of intelligence personnel and the entire set of intelligence. Work, directly responsible to me, understand?"

It wasn't until this time that Amber finally confirmed that Gao Wen was serious. Although he usually kept saying "I'm super powerful", when the time came when he was about to be entrusted with important tasks, the half-elf was a little panicked. She stared and confirmed again and again: "Are you serious? Are you sure you want me to come? Don't blame me for screwing up!!"

"This work is not as complicated as you think. I will help you establish a simple framework and tell you how to manage it. Then you can find people from your own staff to fill your department—you can also apply for clerical positions from Hetty. Personnel. I have already written the basic rules and regulations and precautions for intelligence work, and you can take them back and study them carefully later, in a word: I believe you can do a good job."

Amber calmed down, and suddenly looked into Gao Wen's eyes seriously, before saying softly after a long time, "...do you trust me?"

"trust."

"Okay, I'll do it."

Three days later, in a special facility located in the military area, Scarface Anton sat quietly in the front row of the lobby, waiting for the order to arrive.

He no longer wore the old dirty, torn, and always smelly waistcoat, and replaced it with a well-cut, well-pressed black thick fleece sweater, a fabric that has only become popular in the past two years. Not as shabby as the poor sackcloth, and not unbearably expensive, a favorite choice of decent, better-off burghers, he shaved and sat upright, though the scars on his face still looked menacing , but he thought he was ready to pretend to be a businessman.

Sitting next to him was the "witch" Jibri. This woman no longer wore her shabby and ridiculous witch costume, and took off the bunch of "magic" decorations that had no effect and could only scare people, and replaced them with a With a well-fitting mage apprentice robe and a short oak staff in her hand, she sat quietly, holding a magic book in her free other hand, like a real mage apprentice—— Her trick, which can only pop out a few sparks, can finally come in handy.

Jibri, who has calmed down, really looks like a "witch".

Next to it, there are "Bucktooth" Bobby, "Longfinger" Sam, "Fast Legs" Pierce...

These bastards washed off their dirt one by one and put on decent clothes. They sat upright and quiet, like real citizens, or real decent people, merchants, apprentice wizards, apprentice knights, apothecaries and others. Bards, these are the roles they've been learning to play—and will be for some time to come.

Not everyone has learned well. Many people are still "like a barefoot ruffian in leather boots" in the mouth of the eldest sister, but no matter what, today is the time for them to prove their worth to the lord.

A commander will come here, as the direct future leader of these people, to announce to them the first order of the lord.

The guys in the back row had already started whispering and discussing what kind of person the so-called "commander" would be, but Anton turned a deaf ear to these people's discussions. He just quietly looked at the desk at the front of the room, Waiting for the moment when a figure appears above.

A hazy shadow suddenly appeared there, and then a half-elf emerged from the air out of thin air.

The slightly chaotic lobby immediately fell silent, while Anton smiled as if he had expected it.

"Little bastards, I am your future commander!" Standing on the high platform, Amber looked at the familiar faces below with a high air, "I brought the lord entrusted to you. first task.

"Complete this mission, and when you come back, you will no longer be punks in the gutter, no longer scumbags, no longer looked down upon rats and bugs, you will have a formal and dignified new identity— —

"You will be the first operatives of the Cecil Military Security Intelligence Agency!"

Chapter 0265 The Network in Operation

The less than a month spent in Cecil Land was the most incredible experience in Scarface Anton's life.

He was born in the sewer of a frontier village in Leslie in the south, grew up in a nest of gangsters and beggars, and was mixed among the lowest class of society. He had stolen, cheated, and worked hard. He has fought countless fights, and was beaten terribly. He learned a few low-level stealth skills from a blind and down-to-earth mercenary, but due to his limited talent, he finally failed to become a professional. He once gave people Been a thug for a long time, but then used his strength and a little shadow ability to become a "gentleman" in the gutter - turned into a bad bar owner.

He claims to have seen a lot, whether it is the filth and dilapidation at the bottom of the society, or the feasting and feasting of the nobles, he dare not say that he has experienced them all, but he dares to say that he has seen them all—at least from a distance.

But in this land, he realized that his knowledge was too shallow after all.

The roaring machines, the well-disciplined army, the spirited citizens, and the efficient and orderly officials, everything here is so incredible.

And the training he received was just as incredible.

He still remembered that not long ago, his group was taken to this incredible place by the old boss, and then they were locked in a facility that looked like a military camp. What exactly do you want such a group of gutter rats to do, so that you want to lock people in the barracks-if the boss didn't show up, these people might retreat on the first day.

After that, it was intense training and...education.

Every day, different instructors come to instill a variety of knowledge and skills into these people. High-intensity physical training is just the foundation. There are also people who teach them how to use swords and some magical magic props-these courses are all organized by Some people who looked like soldiers came to teach them, and in the afternoon, people who didn't look like soldiers, who were said to be night school teachers, came to teach them reading, writing, calculation, and even some simple social etiquette.

These things are hard to learn, and most people don't want to learn them at all. They never think that they will need to be exposed to this knowledge one day. Literacy is not necessary for gutter rats - Scarface Anton I thought so too at first, but in the end, everyone bit the bullet and learned it.

Because if they don't learn, what awaits them is a punishing physical exercise that will almost drill them to death.

What's even more frightening is that Amber will come to supervise them in person—the majesty of the big sister's head makes everyone dare not rise up to resist.

Training day and night, studying day and night, exercising, practicing fighting, using weapons, reading and counting, Scarface Anton and his partners were miserable from the beginning, and it took less than two Zhou gradually got used to it, and after they got used to it, they felt that this kind of life was actually not bad-although the training intensity was very high, the lord here guaranteed that everyone had broth and bread every day, regardless of whether these people were training or not. How much food can be eaten after a day, Anton and his friends have never been hungry.

There is broth, bread, and eggs, and everything is still full, as well as new clothes, and the dormitory is also guaranteed to be warm. It can be said that the benevolent lord has given everyone the best living conditions—just ask everyone to follow Just use the rules he set to train and learn. This is a very cost-effective deal, and it is much better than starving to death in the ice and snow.

So Scarface Anton and his partners persevered, and learned those knowledge and skills as much as possible. Now those guys who were once worthless have learned to wash their faces, wash their hands, take a bath on time, learn to dress neatly, and learn how to disguise their identities. Get along with people, and as for how to observe words and expressions and pass information in the process...that is their old profession.

Of course, the training is far from over. Their reading and writing skills and professional knowledge of covert operations are only half-baked. So that's it - being able to stand up straight, walk steadily, pretend to be a merchant, knight apprentice, mage apprentice and talk to people with poise is enough for the first mission.

After the task was announced, Amber assigned the batches of personnel to take action and the direction they were responsible for, and then sent the certification documents from Duke Gawain Cecil to them one by one.

"With these documents, you are decent people entrusted by the Duke to do various jobs in the southern border. You can go to and from various towns without worrying about being interrogated, but as for how you bring people back...that's up to you It’s been tested.” Amber watched her subordinates check the certificates they got in their hands with excitement, and said unhurriedly on the stage, “You will get a sum of money for action, which is enough for you to buy fake certificates. , forging employment documents, buying guards, etc. to get people from other noble territories, but remember, I will check your remaining money when you come back-the more you have left, the higher you can get But the ten people with the least money left, I want you to run around the entire Street of Knights fifteen times with pumpkins on your heads! Run at noon when the crowds are the most! Do you understand?!"

Everyone said in unison: "Understood!!"

Scarface Anton and the first batch of Military Security Intelligence Service trainees set off with the duke's certification documents. At the same time, a large number of merchants carrying the "Cecil Alchemy Potion" had begun to flow throughout the southern border. It is a loose free trader, operating in various places and without organization, but under Padrik's hard work, the merchants were bought and persuaded one by one. Facing the temptation of interests and the pressure of the Duke's reputation, they signed Signed a contract swearing by surname, and became the wandering tentacles of the Cecil Chamber of Commerce.

Soon, these merchants discovered that signing a contract to join this chamber of commerce was not as risky as imagined—Duke Cecil was not just looking for an excuse to exploit the interests of the merchants like other nobles. He didn't charge high extra fees in a pretentious manner. As the Duke's representative, President Padrik provided sufficient and high-quality goods to each dealer in full accordance with the standards stipulated in the contract, and he was so fair that he would not miscalculate any copper plate when sharing profits. ——This is really a dreamy good thing.

Many members of the chamber of commerce are curious about how those neatly packaged, stable quality, and large quantities of alchemy potions are produced, but this is obviously the secret of Duke Cecil. Smart businessmen will not try to pry into the privacy of the nobles. They were curious, but they still honestly performed their duty as a businessman, concentrating on thinking about how to use these potions in exchange for sufficient profits.

The Cecil Chamber of Commerce stipulates the distribution price and sharing method of the medicine in the contract. These contents cannot be changed at will, but as for how to sell the medicine quickly, this is what small businessmen who have been in business for a lifetime are good at thinking about. .

In the Viscount Carroll's territory in the central part of the southern border, trader Bob placed three bottles of alchemy potions as samples on the counter of the mercenary guild, and explained the origin and origin of these potions to the guild leader who had dealt with several times in front of him. As a result, behind him are several mercenary soldiers who escorted him here from Kant.

A businessman who went to the mercenary guild to sell potions has attracted people's attention, and the mercenaries waiting for business by the fireplace in the hall are turning their eyes to the counter, and this is exactly what Bob wants to see—— Regardless of whether the person in charge in front of him is interested in these potions, he has successfully attracted the attention of the mercenaries, which is his original purpose.

"I've heard of this kind of potion, isn't it produced by the frontier in the south?" The guild leader frowned slightly after listening to Bob's words, "It's said that it's a bit worse than regular alchemy potions, but the price is unbelievably cheap... ...Can this thing really be as good as you say?"

"You can ask the warrior next to me," Bob turned sideways, pointing to a mercenary escorting him, "he has used potion before."

"Old Gold Tooth, I can testify that this thing is really good!" The mercenary soldier who looked a head taller than Bob grinned, "Did you see this new scar under my neck? If Without this potion, now you can see my name engraved on the wooden board behind you!"

"Renting a counter in the mercenary guild to sell medicine... No one has done this before," the guild leader obviously trusted the mercenaries he knew, but he was still a little worried. Looking at the peddler in front of him, "You have to make sure that you can provide a stable supply, and the quality of the potion is as you said - most of the mercenaries are short-tempered, I don't want to wait for them to make trouble and smash your counter, then I will return Somebody has to shovel you off the ground and throw you out."

"Businessmen are trustworthy," Bob casually took out a supply agreement from the chamber of commerce, and patted it on the counter, "Look for yourself, this is the document I signed with Duke Cecil —signed by the duke himself! You must know the emblem, don't you?"

In this way, a business deal was concluded.

Watching the guards he brought leave after the commission was settled, Bob squinted his eyes, as if seeing silver coins walking throughout the mercenary guild, he began to look forward to saving enough money for himself to be in Carroll's territory It is a day to buy your own shop and become a merchant. According to the promise of Mr. Padrik, the Cecil Chamber of Commerce will provide an extra amount of financial assistance to every dealer who is ready to buy a shop, and will send personnel according to the situation Come to help——Bob is very clear that the people who come to help are actually the Duke's eyeliner, and they are here to stare at him, but what's the problem?

From the day he became a member of the Cecil Chamber of Commerce, Merchant Bob knew that he was running the duke's property, and he would even become a part of the duke's property, and which nobleman would not send someone to watch his property?

There's nothing wrong with being a noble hawk dog, as long as you have solid gold and silver.

Chapter 0266 The Lit Blade

Andersa Wendell frowned tightly as she watched the soldiers of the infiltration troop returning from the dark mountains.

The infiltration operation on the Dark Mountains failed. Although Andersa also considered the possibility of failure in the operation at the beginning, she did not expect it to be so fast, let alone that the powerful elf ranger did not come back.

According to the information brought by the withdrawn soldiers, they went very smoothly in the first half of the infiltration operation. It can be said that they easily bypassed the "Dark Mountain Pass" of Ansu's eastern defense line. The situation took a turn for the worse during the legendary opening of the territory - a small team suddenly lost contact. According to the clues discovered later, it can be determined that they were attacked by Ansu's army and completely annihilated. Then the main team led by Solderin I went to investigate, but lost contact very quickly.

None of them had time to send back any news—even the messenger bugs were too late to release, which would only happen when encountering an instant devastating blow.

So the other teams withdrew quickly, not even staying for a quarter of an hour.

The choice of the soldiers was correct. If even the main team led by Solderin would be wiped out in an instant, then the weaker subordinate team would have no choice but to die if they continued to act. The ascertained information was brought back to the commander, but this did not make the young General Wolf feel any better - rather, after confirming the existence and threat of that pioneering territory, her mood became even worse up.

That piece of open territory is real, and judging by its strength, that Gawain Cecil is also real—even if he is not a real ancient hero, he is at least a duke of the three realms who was cultivated by Ansu A powerful person, originally thought to be the weakest link on the Ansu border, has now become a thorny problem. The decayed and sluggish Ansu royal family is not as bad as expected at the beginning... They realized in time Significant problems in the defensive line, and has started to remedy.

It just happened to be ahead of Typhon's official attack.

Andersa asked the soldiers to go back to rest, while she came to the desk and spread out a huge map in front of her eyes.

According to the information brought back by the infiltrating troops, she can probably deduce the location of the pioneering territory - at the end of the lower reaches of the White Water River, near the starting point of the eastern extension of the Dark Mountains, with the Dark Mountains in the back, the river in front, and the two sides There are large open plains and dense forests, it is indeed a very good place, and that "Gawain Cecil" has a good vision in choosing territories.

This mysterious pioneering territory seemed to be an abyss in Andersa's eyes. She knew it was there, but she couldn't find out what was inside it. This made General Wolf, who has always been competitive, feel extremely uncomfortable. An excellent heir, Andersa quickly suppressed the restlessness that belonged to the young people. She exhaled lightly, took a pen and paper from the side, and began to write a letter:

"The report from Winter Wolf Fortress... There is indeed a weak point in the pass of the Dark Mountains, which can bypass the defense line in the east of Anzu... Cecil's pioneering territory does exist, and there should be a strong military deployment, but the specific situation is still a mystery... The defense line Everything in the rest of the area is as usual, there is no more movement from Ansu, the last few days..."

A noise from outside interrupted Andesa's writing. The young General Wolf raised his head with a frown and asked loudly, "What's going on outside?"

The thick wooden door of the room was pushed open, and a trusted guard walked in: "Commander! On the plain in front of the fortress... strange things are approaching!"

"Strange things?" Andersa was very dissatisfied with such a statement, "Be clear."

"Well...it seems to be a huge humanoid monster! It ran out from the direction of the dark mountain!"

The loud bell has already sounded, and the bell is mixed with sharp horns and loud shouts of commanders at all levels. Winter Wolf Fortress has made the most correct response to the unknown—the city gates are quickly closed, and soldiers are coming in one after another. When the city wall was ready for defense, the hot oil and heavy rolling logs were pushed to the edge of the wall, and on the vast snow field facing the city wall, groups of ominous red clouds were gathering.

Andersa came to the city wall, and the high-ranking knight's sharp vision allowed her to see what the monsters on the plain looked like. The youngest female winter wolf commander in history showed a surprised look for the first time: " What it is?!"

Huge blood-colored human-shaped creatures swayed on the plain. They were like ancient giants in myths and legends. They had a huge body size that far surpassed that of humans, but they had no human facial features and body details. It was like blood-colored mud. The body surface wriggled and flowed, and the faceless head was so terrifying that even Andersa couldn't help feeling her scalp tingle when she saw a large group of such giants walking towards the fortress!

It was the most profane, twisted, and horrific nightmare, yet here they were, in front of the Winterwolf Bastion!

"Push up the trebuchet quickly! Monsters of this size need to be dealt with by trebuchets!" Andersa shouted immediately, "You, and you, go and call the magician group, let them go to the battle mage tower!"

And while Andesa quickly deployed defenses, those huge humanoid monsters shaking on the plain also began to speed up—they seemed to finally "smell" the smell of living people and magic power, and they went from a wandering state in an instant Excited, these terrifying monsters roared silently, lowered their heads and made a fearless charge towards the Winter Wolf Fortress, and some of the monsters with the ability to cast spells raised their arms high during the charge. The chaotic energy arrow with ominous black and red light screamed piercingly in the air, crossed a long parabola, and hit hard on the solid wall of Winter Wolf Fortress.

Under the corrosion of this inexplicable energy, the solid wall bricks weathered and cracked like fragile sand!

Even in places that were not directly hit by the energy arrow, the surface of the city wall showed an obvious tendency to be fragile!

Andersa immediately noticed the corrosive effects of those chaotic energy arrows, and realized how terrible they were—although the damage caused by these energy arrows would not be fatal in a short period of time given the thickness of the walls of the Winter Wolf Fortress, but They have the effect of "denaturing" the rocks and weakening the strength of the entire castle as a whole!

"Stop them!" Andersa pulled out her long sword, slashed out a silver-white shock wave, and killed the spell-casting monsters rushing forward. "Don't let them get close to the city wall!"

A chaotic and weird battle broke out in front of the Winter Wolf Fortress.

At the same time, in Cecil's newly built arsenal, Byron solemnly presented a one-handed sword with a strange shape and wonderful beauty to Gawain.

"My lord, the first finished product of the fusion cutting sword has been successfully tested."