Chapter 400: To know
But Oskar seemed to have gotten his voice and a little bit of courage back. "But that ship belongs to..."
Elder Siegmar whirled on him, hands slightly raised as if to strike him, and Oskar kept quiet again, flinching back with his eyes lowered. The two of them did not say anything as they went to the bird-like ship to collect their Errant Knight forces. They stood on their flying instrument and ran off, appearing as if they couldn’t wait to get out of Vale’s sight.
Vale watched them go with a slightly disappointed look, as if he didn’t like the way things ended.
Valtor echoed his thoughts. "Is it wise to let them go? We can still chase them down and kill them; they can’t resist us at all! I feel like they would just bring more disaster down on us."
Vale sighed. "They will. They will try their possible best to stir their Clan against us."
"Then should we kill them?" Valtor asked, his hand holding his hammer aggressively. He was very eager to please Vale; after all the events, he felt restless, as if his use as a Master Knight had diminished.
Tiber had already joined them. "Because we can’t directly provoke the Tachibana Clan. At the same time, we can’t be seen as a weak force. We have to strike a balance. Besides, killing them now serves no further reward. The city is ours already."
Vale looked at Valtor in amusement. "Take Georg with you and go into the city. I want the spy organization in the city captured alive. Take the rest of the Errant Knights with you and restore order to the city."
Valtor bowed. "As you command! But... my Lord, you’d be left unguarded out here. What if anything should happen..."
Vale snorted. "Master Valtor, at this moment we are at the same strength level. I can handle myself. Now do as you’re told."
Valtor still hesitated, but he finally did as he was told. He took the remaining forces and left.
Tiber watched Valtor go. "You don’t want to say that you are stronger than him, my Lord?"
Vale only snorted. Then his face became solemn. "What do you think of all of this? Where do you think we stand?"
"My Lord, there’s simply too much we do not know about the Tachibana Clan. Us coming here is also to gather information about them. Although there will be a lot of spies in the city, we can also get some reliable information.
"What we are doing is a fine line between probing and provocation. We already decided to replace the Tachibana Clan, but that won’t be an easy thing. In fact, it’s close to impossible, especially once they become an official branch family of a High Clan, absorbing the others."
According to the information that Vale gleaned from Isolde, she said a High Clan wanted the Hinterlands, but before that, they wanted the Tachibana Clan to compete with the others, their branch Clans, and the Clan that won would get to be the only branch Clan of the four with the authority to absorb the others.
Vale took something like that to heart.
That’s exactly why the Tachibana Clan was too busy to fully deal with Vale and why they instead wanted to use others to conquer and hold the Hinterlands.
"So what we need now is lots of information. We need all the information we can get so we can know where to plan against and for."
Vale nodded. "Is this matter enough to get the attention of the said High Clan? Or other High Clans?"
Tiber smiled. "An Errant Knight beating a Saint Master Knight? Once the news reaches the Tachibana Clan, it will spread. But it also carries a certain amount of risk. This is our way of introducing ourselves onto the board, but at the same time, people will want to know how you did it. Secret treasure? And they would want it for themselves.
"Some kind of artifact? They’ll lust for it. Is there someone or something backing you in secret? They would want that as well! We need to be careful of assassins now."
"We already expected this. Now, we have to wait and see if anyone will take the bait that we’ve laid," Vale said before his voice suddenly turned gloomy. "We have set ourselves up as a tool to be used. Who will pick us up, though? We don’t want the Tachibana; we want any High Clans!"
Just as they were about to continue speaking, an Errant Knight appeared, sent from Valtor to deliver a message. They had captured the thief and spy organization branch in the city, and they had acquired a large amount of information.
Tiber was eager to see this, so Vale carried him on his Imprisonment Platform, and the two flew into the city. The city was surprisingly normal. Although there was less traffic and a sense of urgency and tension hung in the air, there was no violence.
All the Errant Knights and Knights surrendered when they realized that Oskar had been beaten into defeat and had fled. Slya had already worked fast; all the towers that stood as the first line of defense and offense had been taken. It also helped that they surrendered voluntarily.
Almost all the Knights had been ordered to the palace to stand by until Vale returned. They were being watched by Eryndor and half of the Radiant Sky. The other Radiant Warriors split into squads, some securing the palace where the vaults of the different Companies had been gathered, some securing different important places, like the towers, the walls, the barracks, and all that.
Vale was impressed.
While Valtor, together with the remaining forces and Georg, went ahead to ’invite’ different important people in the city. Some of them were not necessarily Knights, but most especially the healers, Enchanters, and the thief and spy organization!
Of course, the thief and spy organization wasn’t their real name. But that’s what everyone called such organizations. In truth, such organizations are the type that will do anything for money: steal, assassinate, and all of that. But they use information selling as their main front.
Some of those organizations are large, with branches in different places, ruling the underworld of cities.
When Vale arrived at the palace, he paused only briefly to look at the gathered Knights, and then he went inside, ignoring the whispers.
He went directly into the study with Tiber. Valtor was waiting for them with a thin, pale man.
The man looked untidy and rough, like a beggar, but his eyes were unusually sharp. He stood on the side under Valtor’s dark glare and dared not say anything but fall to his knees.
Vale ignored him at first and sat behind the table, picking up different documents to study. He read one aloud.
"....it is now the turn of the Akakawa Clan to look after the Hinterlands and to gather the resources. They did it for two decades before they began to show unusual movements. They began negotiating with other High Clans to have total control of the Hinterlands, but as expected, they were denied.
"The Akakawa Clan did not stop there, though. They began to entice and sponsor the Tachibana Clan in secret. No, they only brought it to light; they had actually been sponsoring them in secrecy as a weapon to unite the Hinterlands and then submit it under Akakawa Clan rule.
"This issue has caused serious problems with the other High Clans, and tensions are high. The already tense situation is souring quickly, and it seems the Hinterlands are indeed preparing for war! But what’s surprising is the Akakawa Clan. Why are they acting as if they can stand against the combined might of the other four High Clans?
"Do they have a strong backer? Or have they already made a secret deal with other High Clans? This is the next secret our Gem Organization must find out!"
Vale looked up from the document and looked at the man. "The name of your thief and spy organization is Gem? Gem?"
The man showed a nervous face. "Hehe... it’s just a playful name by our founder. And since we have already become so big, there’s no reason to change it at all! No reason."
Valtor opened his mouth. "The Gem Organization is really well known. They offered to open a branch in our capital back then, but your father drove them away."
Vale raised his brows. "Is that so? This is indeed an interesting document... What’s your name?"
"I am Timmons," he said humbly, still on his knees.
Vale did not ask if it was his real name or not; they all knew the answer to that. "Timmons. This is quite the information that sets up the current muddled waters of the High Clans. And my next move should have been to find out what the fuss about the Hinterlands was. What resources are they all looking for?"
Vale’s eyes suddenly sharpened, like blades ready to twist into him. "Now tell me, who wanted me to get my hands on this information? Who paid for it? Who wanted me to know?"
☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆
400 Chapters!! Cheers!