Conspiracy

Inside a dilapidated little house in a densely populated residential area of Gede Town.

Curtis went into a room, opened the basement door, and crawled inside.

There were already four people in the basement. When they saw someone enter, they all gripped the weapons at their waists. After seeing that it was Curtis, they only maintained the posture for a moment, but their bodies relaxed.

"Why is it just you, Kate?"

The leader, dressed in coarse leather clothing, asked; beneath his cloth garment, one could vaguely see a fine leather armor.

"Captain Breden, I'm sorry, I waited at the rendezvous point for a long time but Kate didn't show up, so I gave up on the appointment and went out to inquire."

"I heard a man with brown hair, blue eyes, and a scar on his left cheek being arrested by the guards; that must be Kate."

"I went back and checked again, and the rendezvous point hadn't been disturbed, so I came directly here."

A commotion immediately arose in the crowd, as if someone wanted to say something, but Breden stopped them and slowly said:

"Don't rush to move. Let's clean up our traces first before we leave."

"If Kate listened to what I said before, she will only reveal our information tonight, and then we still have time."

Only after Breden reminded them did the others realize what was happening and relax a little.

"How was he discovered? Wasn't the person we were looking for who made fake materials already doing it for twenty years?"

Breden inquired, needing to know the specifics of Kate's arrest so he could assess whether his team's fabricated evidence was still usable.

Curtis looked puzzled and after a long pause, he finally spoke:

"It seems he wasn't giving up his place in line, which aroused the guards' suspicion... Captain, you know our weapons are specially made; a real search would definitely find them, so he didn't manage to escape."

Hearing his words, the group exchanged bewildered glances, somewhat confused as to what reason they were being questioned. Wasn't queuing a basic courtesy? Shouldn't they be expected to give up their seats for others?

Breden paused for a moment before reacting, then gritted his teeth and said:

"Damn it, Kate, has he really undergone infiltration training? There's a Formal Mage standing behind him..."

Upon hearing this, everyone understood why Kate had been arrested. Curtis then defended Kate, saying:

"Captain, Kate probably doesn't want to look around and give herself away..."

Captain Breden waved his hand, signaling Curtis to stop, before speaking:

"Alright, Kate's fate is up to him, it's none of our business... If he does come back, I can only pursue the punishment for not completing the mission."

"As for us, let's talk about our goals..."

He paused for a moment before continuing:

"Kosti, before you came, we discussed the intelligence we had gathered—nothing came of it. What about you?"

He looked at Kosti expectantly, hoping he could bring good news.

But Kosti shook his head and said:

"Sorry, I haven't made any progress either."

The temperature in the entire basement dropped, and only the soft breathing of a few people could be heard.

Breden broke the silence in the basement and continued:

"No one has found any information about it. Where is that thing... Damn it, wasn't it supposed to be here? Why is there no sign of it at all?"

At this moment, Kosti suddenly spoke up:

"Captain, is it possible that the owner of this town has already kept that item, intending to offer it to the Alliance...?"

His guess was immediately met with skepticism.

"What are you talking about? Other factions might need this, but the Magic Alliance definitely won't. They already have enough lords within their ranks..."

But then another person interrupted him.

"It's not impossible. Although he won't offer it to the Alliance, what if he wants to study it himself? You know, mages always want to study anything they come across, even if their colleagues consider it junk..."

But that person immediately retorted:

"If you're saying those mages would take that thing, then we have plenty of targets—including the mage Kate encountered today, three Formal Mage have passed through this town this month..."

"Besides, with our current team, how are we supposed to get that item from a group of Formal Rank mages? We might not even be able to win a sneak attack..."

Kosti immediately spoke up, calming everyone down:

"Alright, enough of that, there's no point in discussing it. Let's talk about how to search next."

As he spoke, he looked at Captain Breden, and the others followed suit, looking at Breden with expectant eyes.

Breden paused for a moment before speaking, his voice tinged with uncertainty:

"If that item is in the hands of those mages, there's no need for us to try and get it from them..."

He then continued:

"My mission from my superiors is to assist our allies. If that thing is really here, all we need to do is report its exact location."

"If our ally really wants this, then let him come to the Alliance and get it himself!"

"If our allies are willing to pay a high price, the Alliance will definitely give it to him."

His words also revealed his dissatisfaction with his ally, who had asked him to come and investigate the matter instead of sending someone himself.

This is clearly because they're afraid of the Alliance, which is why they sent these 'assistant' personnel.

This resulted in the loss of one of his members, and he had no idea whether Kate could return. After all, this was the Alliance, and even the guards might know two spells.

Not to mention the administrators the Alliance dispatches to various cities, almost every one of whom is a powerful figure at the Formal Rank.

That's not how it works in their country. It's very difficult to find someone who has a chance of being promoted to Formal Rank, so how can you push all these people into management positions?

"Alright, let's get started packing... We'll carry out the original plan: infiltrate the administrator's residence in Gede Town and see if they have that thing. As for those mages, we'll deal with them later."

At his command, everyone present began to act, while Breden walked to a corner, took out a piece of paper with what they needed to find printed on it.

Out of their professionalism as secret agents, they used "that thing" as a euphemism when communicating.

This item isn't particularly important; what's important is that it's a token of a territory in Antir, and obtaining it gives one the opportunity to conquer that land.

The unimportant part is that only lords can use it, and it can only be used near the lord's own territory.

Even without such a thing, there are other ways to acquire that territory, but this method is more convenient and leaves no hidden dangers.