The Concealed Intelligence

Over the next two days, the battlefield, once filled with noise and battle cries, fell eerily quiet, as though time itself had frozen.

The Duchy Army had not been idle. It was working at a feverish pace to sort out the nobles' private armies it had recently absorbed.

These forces, once belonging to independent nobles, were now part of the duchy's regular army, but it would take time and effort to truly integrate them and put them to proper use.

Meanwhile, far to the north, the Allied Army had not let down its guard either.

They knew all too well that the outcome of this war remained uncertain. Unless they could keep abreast of the Duchy Army's movements and the workings of the intelligence network within its ranks, ultimate victory would be difficult to secure.

Thus, the Northern Alliance Army began racking its brains for an opening, rebuilding its crippled intelligence network in an attempt to break the stalemate.

Alex had been devoting himself fully to the task. After pouring considerable effort into it, he finally managed to reestablish contact with the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce's intelligence agents.

These agents had been exceedingly cautious. By cleverly disguising themselves as an ordinary merchant caravan following the army, they had escaped the sweeping purge within the Duchy Army.

In fact, they had always operated as an independent intelligence channel, with their own distinct methods of communication and operation, separate from the intelligence organization within the Duchy Army.

Alex knew how crucial these agents were to the overall plan, so he had tried every possible means to restore contact with them.

After considerable effort, he got his wish and reestablished contact with the surviving intelligence agents within the Duchy Army.

This allowed the intelligence network, once on the brink of collapse, to