Flower Town dockside tavern.
Two merchants sat together—the same two from their last deal. This time, they had new information to trade. "I've found out what you wanted to know. It took a great deal of effort to bribe a servant at Thorn Castle... That knight transports supplies to Dodo Island every time!"
"Dodo Island?"
"That's right. It's an island to the north. I even brought you the nautical chart. How many Gold Coins will you pay me?"
"How about ten?"
"Twenty!"
"Don't be greedy. Fifteen!"
"Heh heh, seventeen. I'm not the only one who needs paying—the servant at Thorn Castle cost me a fortune to bribe!"
"Could this be exposed?"
"Don't worry. That servant is an old hand at the castle. No one will suspect him."
Only after the other party agreed to pay seventeen Gold Coins did the merchant recount every detail about Dodo Island, including its volcanic crater, the Human Skull Tree forest, and the knight's cultivation on the island—if anyone investigated, they would indeed find that Dodo Island was undergoing major construction.
It was not, however, the construction of a training ground, but of a small town. Volcanic ash would then be mined there to produce cement.
And in just half a month, this information reached Alonso Cyclamen.
To ensure swift delivery of information, he had already arranged for vampires to infiltrate the Sapphire Grand Duchy once more. However, to avoid discovery, the Black Knight Family's vampires acted with extreme caution, concealing the fluctuations of their blood magic, because the family already knew that a group of vampires had betrayed them and defected to Liszt's side.
"Dodo Island..." Alonso summoned his trusted knight. "Arrange for Eagle Riders to notify His Highness Alex, Grand Duke Noel, and Duke Piero separately. Operation Extinguish the Fire officially begins. On