Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Bond hid behind the dark rocks that overlooked the nearby Ogre Stronghold.
âIs that the Ogre Stronghold?â
NotWearingPants squatted next to Bond, who was one of the surveillance team members. In front of NotWearingPants was a huge fort surrounded by walls that were ten meters high.
According to the game officials, the location was a Stronghold, but it didnât look like one.
âWarriors, youâll obey my orders... where are they?â
Bond turned back to look at the gamers who were walking out merrily. They didnât seem like they were scouting for intelligence, their actions looking more like defection.
âDonât open fire with your guns! Weâre defecting!â
âAre you a fool? Have you seen any guns in this game?â
âOh... donât shoot your arrows! Weâre here to defect! Weâre from Eternal Kingdom!â
âAnd Winterfell!â
âWe have lots of information for you!â
âThis is the defense map of Winterfell. Let us in!â
The gamers shouted loudly.
Bondâs head almost exploded. He had more than ten years of experience in intelligence work, but he hadnât seen agents walking openly and shouting to obtain intelligence. No, this wasnât intelligence gathering...
âWhat shall we do, Captain Bond? We were betrayed by Eternal Kingdom! These 100 creatures are here to defect! They even have our Winterfell defense map!â
âLetâs kill them! Captain Bond, we have to stop them!â
Bondâs subordinates, who were Winterfellâs intelligence agents, were furious. They wanted to dash out and kill the gamers.
But Bond was calm, thinking that it wasnât possible for them to obtain Winterfellâs latest defense map within such a short time. After Nicholas became the Dungeon Lord, the defenses were overhauled.
Even if he let his subordinates dash out and kill those despicable creatures from Eternal Kingdom, it was of no use. He would even run the risk of his subordinates sustaining casualties.
It wasnât a wise thing to do. He had to...
âRetreat, everyone retreat! Theyâll definitely betray us!â
Bond gave his order. Even if the intelligence agents were unhappy, they couldnât disobey his order. The disciplined and trained Winterfell agents returned to their hidden Beetlemons and left in a hurry.
Before leaving, Bond wrote a letter explaining how the creatures of Eternal Kingdom defected at the first instant. It was extremely abnormal, and Bond thought that they could have a mastermind, perhaps Sherlock!
Bondâs letter was to inform Dungeon Lord Nicholas, who might be in the dark, to be careful of Sherlock!
Bond glanced at the Ogre Stronghold that was behind the scattered rocks. He had never suffered such humiliation in his life as an intelligence agent!
But now, it was time for him to leave.
Not long after Bond ordered a retreat, a large group of Ogres was led to the location where the hidden Beetlemons used to be. Fortunately, Bond had left, and the Ogres wouldnât risk pursuing them.
Just as Bond had expected, he was betrayed by the gamers!
The gamers said, âI can betray Sherlie, so whatâs a Winterfell NPC to me? Chief, is there equipment for me? Something that fits a Gnome!â
...
In the Winterfell Dungeon Lordâs office...
Nicholas couldnât believe his own eyes. In his hand was a letter that he had just received, which depicted the situation at the Ogre Stronghold and spoke of how the creatures of Eternal Kingdom defected en masse!
If he wasnât sure that the writer of the letter was his experienced intelligence agent, the best of the best, Bond, Nicholas would have burnt the letter.
Those 100 warriors were recommended by Lord Sherlock and were selected out of 1,000 candidates. How could they possibly have defected?
âAssistant!â Nicholas shouted with a frown. If that was the truth, Lord Sherlock could have a different idea. Though Nicholas trusted Lord Sherlock, he was, after all, a superior Devil.
Nicholas decided to make some preparations and called for his assistant, who came in with Sherlock.
âGood night, Dungeon Lord Nicholas.â
Sherlock politely took off his hat and placed it and his outer coat on a rack.
âGood night, Lord Sherlock.â
Nicholas swallowed hard, his hair standing on end. His assistant said, âYou said that if the visitor was Lord Sherlock, I didnât need to inform you, so I brought him in. Is something the matter?â
âItâs nothing. Help me brew a cup of tea, the strongest kind,â Nicholas said as he wiped away the sweat on his forehead.
The assistant nodded and walked out to prepare the tea. As for Sherlock, he looked at Nicholas with concern and said, âDungeon Lord Nicholas, are you feeling warm? Take care of yourself.â
âThank you for your concern, Lord Sherlock...â Nicholas glanced at the letter on the table and almost had a heart attack. He discreetly extended his hand and slowly moved the letter away.
Sherlock noticed Nicholasâ behavior. In fact, he noticed the letter when he came in. It was what he had expected.
âIâm here regarding the intelligence of the Ogre Stronghold.â Sherlock crossed his hands and placed them on his knees, speaking calmly.
The assistant returned with a cup of bloody chrysanthemum tea and green tea filled with rolling sleeping worms. He placed them in front of Sherlock and Nicholas respectively.
âSlurp.â
Sherlock sipped while the tea was hot, while Nicholas held the cup and trembled. He was feeling extremely tense.
âRegarding the Ogre Stronghold? Ha, haha. Lord Sherlock, youâre joking. Our scouts have just arrived outside the Ogre Stronghold. Of course, I believe in your loyal servants. They will provide the latest and most comprehensive intelligence!â
Nicholas gave a fake smile, but Sherlock wasnât bothered. He took out a drawn map and said, âNo, the intelligence has been sent back. This is a birdâs eye view of the Ogre Stronghold, which shows the detailed defense deployment and various campsites of the Ogre tribes. Yes, we have their totems.â
Sherlock placed a round Adamantine rock on the table, which would project images when Mana was infused. After Sherlock infused his Mana into the rock, images flashed like a slide projector. They were images of the Ogre Strongholdâs interior, the tribesâ totems, their leaders, and the equipment of the Ogres. There were even group photographs of some Gnomes with green words above their heads.
Nicholas was dumbfounded. He had been a Vampire for so long, and he didnât know that the round Adamantine rock could record images. Where did the images come from? How did Sherlock obtain the images so fast when the journey from the Ogre Stronghold took three days? It hadnât even been four hours since Sherlockâs servants defected, but Sherlock had brought back intelligence of the Ogres?
âI know youâll have a lot of questions, but listen to me, and donât ask. The answers arenât something that you can bear.â
Sherlock put away the round Adamantine rock and said, âYou only need to know that Iâm your strong backing and reliable ally. As for these images, they were obtained in a special way. It cost me a lot of creature resources and materials, but I wonât mention them.â
Nicholas picked up the round Adamantine rock and examined it again.
âThe warriors of Eternal Kingdom are all fearless, especially the intelligence agents. They were born to sacrifice for the greater good. The reason they were able to obtain intelligence this fast is because of their hard work. Without their sacrifice, we wouldnât be able to obtain intelligence in a timely manner.â
While Nicholas was still musing over the rock, Sherlock continued and said, âOf course, weâll always remember the sacrifice of the 100 warriors, wonât we, Dungeon Lord Nicholas?â
âAh?â Nicholas was shaken from his bewilderment by Sherlockâs question and quickly said, âYes, thatâs right. The 100 warriors sacrificed themselves to obtain intelligence on our enemies...â Nicholasâ eyes became red, and he wiped away his tears.
âIâll pay 2,000 Magic Stones as death compensation. Donât you worry, Lord Sherlock...â