Becoming a Swordmaster by Reading

Chapter 107. Espionage (4)

There were a total of three routes through which information came in via the Billem Caravan.

First, there was the information that could be obtained from the seven cities where Billem Meatballs were sold (one main branch and six branches).

The people of the Empire stood in long lines every day to eat Billem Meatballs.

For that reason, the minimum waiting time was bound to exceed 30 minutes, and inevitably, conversations arose to overcome the boring wait.

“Did you hear about that yesterday?”

“I did. It was unbelievable. I was so surprised.”

Of course, 90% of these conversations were so trivial that they contained nothing that could be called information.

But 10% of them were worth using as information through cross-verification.

So, the Billem Caravan had an employee who collected and wrote down the conversations of the customers.

Roden had given this the grand name of ‘market research’, but in reality, it was a means of information gathering.

The soldiers of the Archery Platoon, who were scattered and working at the main branch or branches, would select the information written down by the caravan employees and send it to Roden.

Because of that, no matter how many employees were hired, the soldiers of the Archery Platoon, who were in charge of managing the stores and selecting information at the same time, were very busy, but it couldn't be helped.

This was because if this task was ultimately entrusted to ordinary caravan employees who were just citizens of the Empire, the possibility of their identities being discovered was too great.

The second route through which Roden acquired information was the five domains with which the Billem Caravan was trading food.

When trading food with these five places, Roden deliberately went in person.

This was because it was the only way to meet the lord or at least have a conversation with the treasurer of each domain.

“You've come? How have you been these days? By any chance, have you heard the news?”

“The state of the country is really not good. You should be careful too. You have to keep your wits about you at times like this.”

Above all, since the Empire harvested grain only twice a year at most, it was not much of a burden to take the time.

And as they conversed like this, information was inevitably acquired.

This was even more so because the Empire's interests were inevitably focused on the war.

Of course, 80% of the information Roden acquired through this route was also useless, but this was enough.

In fact, the fact that 20% of the information was useful was a great thing.

Finally, the best of the routes through which Roden obtained information was, by far, Abtal, the commander of the Vinchih garrison.

Abtal, surprisingly, provided useful information with a 30% probability.

Moreover, there was no one like Abtal to cross-verify the information Roden had obtained from other places.

This was because Abtal, who loved to talk, would confirm the truth of the rumors if he was subtly prompted at the weekly drinking session.

In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that almost all the information Roden had acquired so far had been reviewed by Abtal.

“Ah. I've heard that story too. But you're mistaken. That's not true.”

“That information is certainly worth listening to. My uncle also mentioned it.”

Furthermore, in Abtal's case, since he even had a family member working in the intelligence department, he also frequently provided new information.

As such, Roden had various routes for acquiring information.

And for that reason, he was able to obtain higher quality information than any other spy who had infiltrated the Empire with him.

It was only natural, as it was possible to conduct up to a third level of cross-verification.

And Roden had known early on that the rumor that a support unit was gathering to relieve Kroxen Castle was not true.

Such a rumor had certainly been circulating among the people of the Empire who stood in long lines to buy Billem Meatballs.

But three of the five domains he was trading food with had mentioned that this rumor was not true.

“The foolish commoners don't know. The Imperial Army currently has no spare troops to divert.”

“They'll relieve them someday. But not now. It will only be possible to form a support unit at the end of this year, when the new recruits currently in training are officially assigned to their units.”

“Compared to the other fronts, Kroxen Castle is holding up relatively well. For that reason, even if they were to relieve a place, another place would be the priority.”

And it wasn't just the three domains.

Abtal also expressed a similar opinion.

“The rumor that's currently circulating is just a trap. A trap to lure the enemy and inflict great damage.”

As such, for Roden, who knew the fact that a spy was hiding in the Allied Forces and that a false rumor about the assembly of a support unit was circulating, figuring out the whole story was a piece of cake.

For that reason, Roden was confident that the spy would tell Alexis to attack the 3rd Corps.

At the same time, he also came up with a trap to turn this against them.

And this was the reason why Roden was now standing on Kelot Hills with the Infantry Platoon and the Archery Platoon.

Chevalier, who was standing next to Roden and looking down at the bottom of the hill, asked.

“Will a soldier arrive at Kelot Hills?”

“I don't know. The Corps Commander might have judged that it would be safer to halt the operation and interrogate the suspected spy.”

Of course, turning the trap against them as per Roden's plan would yield a greater benefit.

It wasn't just about winning a great victory in a single battle.

It was possible to greatly lower the morale of Kroxen Castle, which was already under great pressure.

At the same time, the possibility of other armies relieving Kroxen Castle for a while could be completely eliminated, and it could put great pressure on the entire Imperial Army.

But what was best of all was the fact that this was an achievement big enough to cover up his previous mistake.

So, for Alexis, who had to achieve better results than the other corps commanders, it was an opportunity he couldn't miss.

But it was also a dangerous operation.

If he rushed in to make up for his mistake and made an even bigger mistake, it would be difficult to get back up.

So there was a possibility that Alexis would make a stable choice.

And this was a choice that was understandable to some extent.

In the end, if Alexis didn't show up here, it would be because of the mental burden.

“As a representative of a country participating in a war, he probably has a lot to lose. So I can't blame him even if he makes a stable choice.”

So Roden was standing on Kelot Hills without high expectations.

‘It's a shame that I'm leading a company-level force. If I were a battalion commander, I would have been able to plan this operation on my own.’

He could certainly do more than when he was the 3rd Infantry Platoon Leader.

The reason he could conduct espionage activities disguised as the Billem Caravan was also because Roden was now the Special Task Force Company Commander.

But now that he was the Special Task Force Company Commander, he was disappointed that he couldn't plan bigger things.

It was only natural, as the position of Special Task Force Company Commander was not keeping up with Roden's abilities.

‘It can't be helped. I have no choice but to raise the new recruits well and expand my scope of activities.’

It was while Roden was having these thoughts.

“Huh?”

Chevalier seemed to have discovered something.

Looking in that direction, soldiers in familiar uniforms were climbing Kelot Hills.

***

Linor did not doubt it in the slightest.

That the 3rd Corps would be completely annihilated by the Imperial Army.

‘The staff officer. I almost messed things up because of that bastard, but in the end, I succeeded in bringing the 3rd Corps here, so that's enough.’

In fact, Linor had been startled when Michael had interfered with this operation.

This was because he had pointed out the flaws in this operation by spouting nothing but the truth.

But fortunately, Alexis's animosity towards Michael, who had made a big mistake, was greater than he had thought.

For Linor, who absolutely had to make the 3rd Corps go on the offensive, it was a truly fortunate thing.

Currently, the 3rd Corps was passing through the Lewich Gorge to go to Brelan, the

assembly point of the Imperial Army support unit, under Alexis's command.

And they were about to be ambushed by the Imperial Army in this gorge.

‘Hehehe. You foolish bastards. Thank you. Die well here. Thanks to you, I will live in luxury in the Empire.’

After reaching the rank of 6-star, Linor had been hitting the limits of his talent for a long time.

For Linor, who had nothing special to boast about compared to the other nobles and whose family history was particularly short, this fact was a great pressure.

If he couldn't achieve something in his generation, the Mustafi family would forever be at the very bottom of the noble hierarchy.

For that reason, he had tried tirelessly.

To achieve something in this war, no matter what.

But he couldn't achieve what he wanted.

It was only natural, as Linor was good at handling a sword but not very bright.

In the end, as things didn't go his way, Linor's frustration and inferiority complex grew larger and larger.

It was for this reason that Linor had begun to act cynical and prickly about everything at some point.

The situation was not good, and there were no signs of improvement, so this was expressed as complaints and dissatisfaction.

In the end, even if this war ended with the victory of the Allied Forces, Linor had nothing to gain.

He would surely continue to live as a noble of a humble family, just like now.

It was for this reason that Linor had decided to betray the Allied Forces and side with the Imperial Army.

As it happened, the Empire had even made a suitable proposal to Linor that would allow him to achieve great merit, so there was no reason to refuse.

All that was left was to watch this gorge become the grave of the 3rd Corps.

It was while Linor was having these thoughts.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A loud drum sound was heard from somewhere, spreading tension throughout the gorge.

And then,

“Waaaaaah!”

“Wipe out the foolish Allied Forces!”

“Kill them all, leaving no one behind!”

The ambushing Imperial Army appeared and began to attack the 3rd Corps.

‘It's done!’

Linor cheered, without a single doubt that the 3rd Corps would be in a panic.

But Alexis raised his voice calmly.

“Our allies, capture the spy and respond to the enemy!”