Chapter 121

Kao is the Rose Country of the Natural Alliance.

The Kao people love roses, especially the royal family, which holds black roses in highest esteem.

The three Kao people invited to the Sturgeon Manor were two High-tier Mages and one Four-ring Master.

Each wore a mithril black diamond ring; at first glance it seemed unremarkable, but as sunlight refracted, from a certain angle one could see the black diamond's interior reveal a splendid rose pattern.

At this moment, in a spacious bright room, the three sat on a circle of thick leather chairs, with a small table beside them holding fine drinks and nut snacks.

By the doorway stood two fully armed intermediate warriors.

The three had scarcely disembarked when they were summoned, and they still didn't understand the situation.

At first they naturally dared not speak recklessly, just staring at each other.

But after a while they could no longer hold back.

So they quietly established a mental link and communicated via Spiritual Whisper.

"Obviously, the island's defensive work is far more stringent than we imagined, and this Baron must have already deployed Lightning Messengers on a large scale."

"If the Baron knew our purpose, I wonder how he would treat us?"

"The Arcane Master spoke: 'Just wait, you'll know soon.'"

This Arcane Master is under forty, with upright, side-parted dark gold short hair, dressed in a new-style black coat and white shirt, the very picture of a successful businessman.

And such businessmen are now common on White Sturgeon Island, not particularly conspicuous.

After saying that, he fell silent.

The two remaining High-tier Mages exchanged a glance, also having nothing to say.

Thus they continued to wait boredly.

After another hour or so, the two intermediate warriors standing outside suddenly straightened and saluted, calling out 'my lord'.

Immediately after, a very tall and sturdy young female warrior appeared at the doorway.

Just as the three Kao mages felt something odd, the female warrior stepped aside, and a similarly tall man in an exquisite dark blue leather coat, with black hair, walked over.

The man was naturally Luosen, who gave a faint smile: "Gentlemen mages, good day."

The Arcane Master led the salute: "Pay respects to the Baron."

His attitude was very respectful, so much so that the High-tier Mage who had intended only a casual nod had to increase the formality of his gesture.

Luosen raised an eyebrow, carefully scrutinizing the Arcane Master before him, a man in his late thirties.

Only when he had made the other feel ill at ease did he finally speak.

"Are you Sir Avalite of the Black Moon Analysis Bureau?"

"The Black Moon Analysis Bureau, formally the Special Arcane Principles Analysis Bureau, sounds refined, but one of its main functions is to steal technology from abroad, with the primary target being Aaron."

"Because it uses the black moon as its mark, it is also named after it."

"By the way, the Kao people also love the moon; they regard admiring roses under moonlight as the most elegant activity."

"Getting back to the point."

"Perhaps because his identity was exposed at first sight, the Arcane Master's eyes narrowed: 'Your information is quite well-informed, Baron.'"

"He appeared very 'shocked,' yet did not deny Luosen's guess, though inside he seemed unmoved."

Luosen faintly sensed the other's inner turmoil despite his outward calm, but he kept his composure.

He walked into the room, sat in an empty chair, and began shelling a pine nut.

""You're here for the Lightning Messenger, aren't you, Sir?""

""No." Sir Avalite immediately denied.

Luosen seemed not to hear, continuing on his own.

""My Lightning Messengers are for sale; if you Kao want them, just buy them—no need to risk stealing.""

Saying this, he raised his hand to point at the opposite chair, indicating the three should sit.

After the three were seated, Luosen gestured for Ailiya to close the door and set up a magical barrier on the doors and windows.

Seeing Luosen lay everything out plainly, and realizing they were completely under his control, Sir Avalite let out a deep sigh.

""Baron, we didn't come to steal; we merely wanted to investigate first to gain some bargaining leverage for future trade.""

Luosen smiled but did not take up the thread.

He suddenly countered: "I heard His Majesty Silge fell recently, injuring his legs so that no treatment helps."

""It seems His Majesty may not have much time left.""

Sir Avalite's face turned ashen: "No, those are rumors; His Majesty's health has already fully recovered."

""Good, good.""

Luosen's smile turned inscrutable as he asked again: "Which do you support—the Crown Prince Lyon, the Third Prince Aswan, or the Sixth Princess Freyja?"

Upon hearing this, the three Kao mages stared at each other, their expressions remarkably varied.

Sir Avalite's heart raced; though the room was cool, beads of sweat dotted his forehead.

He did not wish to discuss this further, immediately saying: "Baron, our Black Moon Analysis Bureau concerns itself only with its duties; we never involve ourselves in court politics."

""If this court politics concerns the nation's future, do you not care at all?""

Luosen played with a pine nut in his hand, lifted his gaze, and his eyes flickered with mockery.

Sir Avalite felt his thoughts in disarray, utterly unsure how to respond.

""We are mere nobodies; even if we wanted to care, it would be useless.""

To buy himself time to regroup, he also picked up a nut and began shelling it.

Luosen once again ignored his reply, stating firmly: "You support the Sixth Princess Freyja!"

Just as Sir Avalite was about to bring the nut meat to his mouth, hearing this his hand shook and the morsel fell to the ground.

""Baron, don't speak nonsense—I am neutral!""

Luosen gave a hehe smile, turned his head to look at the two High-tier Mages beside him.

The Black Moon Analysis Bureau had always been under the Third Prince Aswan's charge, yet this knight went on to support the Third Prince's political rival, the Sixth Princess.

Both of them?

Two high-tier mages.

Knight Avarit

The king is aging, and the Kao royal power struggle has become intensely fierce, with princes and princesses actively vying for advantage, while the domestic politics have divided into clearly distinct factions.

The Black Moon Analysis Bureau belongs to the Third Prince.

One High-tier Mage said coldly: "Knight, the Third Prince has been generous enough to us all, yet you side with the Sixth Princess—isn't that inappropriate?"

Awālite furrowed his brow: "George, I never said I sided with the Sixth Princess; I've always supported the Third Prince!"

: none.

Luosen narrowed his eyes, watching the three mages argue back and forth.

: none.

In my opinion, it's better to support the Sixth Princess. She is generous and kind, with no bad habits, unlike the Third Prince, who likes to host peacock dances.

Sir Avarit felt he couldn't let the baron keep talking; if they continued, they'd really give themselves away. He said coldly, "Baron, this is Kao's domestic politics. As a foreign lord, aren't you interfering too much?"

Luosen had already completely confirmed the true identities of these three, and no longer wanted to continue the act.

Aaron people

Aaron spies disguised as Kao people

Sure enough, Knight Awālite jumped up in shock again, and this time not only his outward appearance but also his soul was shocked.

"Baron, what do you mean?!"

He had heard that the real Sir Avarit actually serves First Prince Ryan, and yet, given how important this is, you're completely unaware. This preparation is truly disappointing.

He had merely guessed before, but now he is completely certain.

Knight 'Avarit'

Two high-tier mages

Luosen remained as calm as ever, his hands folded on the desk, smiling as he reminded.

"Don't think of using force against me. Half a year ago, I could already defeat Salas with low-level magic."

Battle Master

"'Awālite' Knight's clenched hands gradually relaxed: 'At the beginning, Baron, how did you discover our true identities?'"

"At first I was just guessing, after all, Aaron people and Kao people, when they want to do bad things, often disguise themselves as each other's identities, and they do it very convincingly."

Aaron and Kao

His wife, Princess Dawn

Knight Avarit

Aaron Night Guard

"Knight Awālite gritted his teeth: 'Baron, there's no need to ask more; since the operation failed, there's nothing left to say—just kill us.'"

"Luosen, however, shook his head: 'I happen to want to know, and I also need you to serve me.'"

All nations of the White Continent

"And to obtain confidential internal information, relying solely on external investigation is useless; one must also connect with some key internal personnel."

"These three Aaron spies before him were exactly what Luosen had taken a liking to."

Arcane Master

"Knight Awālite's eyes widened: 'Baron, this is impossible!'"

"Luosen gave a slight smile and revealed his trump card: 'I have recently found a very powerful assistant.'"

"This assistant is versed in pure water magic, especially skilled at using the connection of pure water to find blood-related relatives."

"As he spoke, he looked at the three Aaron mages, seeing only that their faces had turned deathly pale."

"Luosen's gaze returned to Knight Awālite's face."

"Serve me, and I will let you successfully purchase ten Lightning Messengers, so you can complete your mission smoothly and gain more promotion opportunities."

"Your job is also simple: just pass along Aaron's weapons research progress—note, only the progress, not the specific details—by secretly sending it to me."

"You and I both know that the risk of this matter is not high."

"But if you refuse, I'm sorry—I will make you and all your relatives vanish from this world, then patiently wait for the next batch of Aaron spies to come and ask about the same thing."

"Knight Awālite listened, his face turning pale and green: 'Baron, aren't you afraid of Aaron's retaliation?'"

"Luosen retorted: 'What, if I don't do this, will Dank like me?'"

But it's Empress Zhuo Ya opposite the giant fortress, and my island is also a full 1800 kilometers away from Aaron.

"My island is a full 1800 kilometers away from Aaron; he has no reason to go to war over such a trivial matter."

"If he gets angry because of it, I'll at most compensate him with a sum of money."

"As he spoke, Luosen pulled a stack of Morningstar Bank deposit slips from his pocket, gave them a light shake, and made a 'shh-la shh-la' sound."

200,000 ogres

"Knight Awālite's bluish tint faded, leaving only pallor: 'Even if we return to our country, you will never be able to find us!'"

"Rest assured, it's possible. Because this pure water mage."

Spiritual Whisper, Six Rings

"This is true; given that one has already obtained the opponent's soul aura, a high-circle mage who focuses on finding a person will certainly be able to do so."

"Not to mention the queen of female demons who is versed in pure water magic; even he has many methods."

In this era, High-tier Mages are not good at frontal combat, but sneaky assassination still works very well.

The most important thing is, these three spies are clearly rootless civilians; such people are best threatened.

'Awālìtè' Knight was indeed deeply threatened.

His body shook violently: 'Impossible!'

Luosen sat back down: 'Whether it's possible or not, you can go ahead and try.'

As he said that, the three Aaron mages suddenly had three fist-sized clumps of blue-green water vapor appear on their bodies.

This water vapor appeared quickly, then quickly vanished into the void.

Throughout the process, the three Aaron mages felt nothing unusual, not even a magic fluctuation, let alone stopping it.

Luosen gave a timely explanation.

All right, your pure water aura has been locked onto by this powerful mage. Don't even mention going back home; even if you flee to the Radiant Empire, it's useless.

'Awālìtè' Knight collapsed helplessly into his chair, and the other two High-tier Mages were ashen-faced.

After a long while, he weakly said: 'Baron, you are truly a demon!'

When Dan Ge wanted to hang me on the lanterns of Glory Square, he wasn't as merciful as I am.

He lightly tapped the bank deposit slip in his hand: 'All right, gentlemen, go back to Aaron in peace. Later, someone will contact you.'

I hope you work well and, incidentally, help me develop some downlines. Rest assured, I won't shortchange you; I will give you generous compensation.

If you encounter any danger, my people will still do their utmost to rescue you, and my White Sturgeon Island will forever be your retreat.

Having said that, Luosen turned and left.

He was busy.

To open a new route, Aaron needs to make arrangements.

Aaron's old rival Kao needs to make arrangements even more.

But Kao's old king really won't last much longer—he's expected to live at most another year.

Currently, Kao's domestic situation is also truly chaotic, even causing a loss of sensitivity to important foreign information.

This is not good news for Luosen.

'At this critical juncture, Kao's old king must not die; I need to visit Kao again, at least for another five years.'

He must go in person, because some things only he can do.

(End of chapter)