Chapter 481

Much like on Earth, the nations of this world all placed great importance on intelligence work.

For instance, both the Eagle Kingdom and the Griffin Principality had a group of scouts known as the "Eyes of the Sky." They rode Magic Beasts capable of flying at high altitude, used magic to conceal their figures and auras, hid amid gaps in the clouds, and spied on the affairs of other nations.

Then there was the Arcane Tower Federation. It possessed an enormous mana pool into which countless mages temporarily stored their magic power for later use. The Federation authorities used the vast reserves of mana gathered in this pool to cast extremely high-level spells, thereby obtaining secret intelligence that could never possibly be acquired through ordinary channels.

As for the Gold Coin Federation, it cast a wide net, collecting intelligence extensively from every merchant and street vendor. Then a group of shrewd, capable intelligence officers battled mountains of reports every day, piecing together what they wanted from countless scattered fragments and stray remarks.

The Northwest Republic had been founded only recently, and its intelligence department had limited personnel and insufficient resources. So they had no choice but to make up for a lack of quantity with quality. Short on manpower? Then let the simple matters go and concentrate their limited staff on important ones.

For example, the one who had taken Wood's intelligence from the spies and then sent it back was Deputy Director Clito of the Fisheries and Hunting Resources Survey Office under the Northwest Republic's Ministry of Agriculture. Deputy Director Clito was thoroughly displeased with this work outside his duties, but being somewhat henpecked, he could only mutter, "This calls for overtime pay," and set off helplessly when his wife glared at him.

A dignified legendary powerhouse, a man