347 It Will Not Be Less (2/2)
In the Winterfell Dungeon Lord's office…
Nicholas couldn't 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 wasn't 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?
”Assistant!” 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.
”Good night, Dungeon Lord Nicholas.”
Sherlock politely took off his hat and placed it and his outer coat on a rack.
”Good night, Lord Sherlock.”
Nicholas swallowed hard, his hair standing on end. His assistant said, ”You said that if the visitor was Lord Sherlock, I didn't need to inform you, so I brought him in. Is something the matter?”
”It's nothing. Help me brew a cup of tea, the strongest kind,” 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, ”Dungeon Lord Nicholas, are you feeling warm? Take care of yourself.”
”Thank you for your concern, Lord Sherlock…” 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 Nicholas' behavior. In fact, he noticed the letter when he came in. It was what he had expected.
”I'm here regarding the intelligence of the Ogre Stronghold.” 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.
”Slurp.”
Sherlock sipped while the tea was hot, while Nicholas held the cup and trembled. He was feeling extremely tense.
”Regarding the Ogre Stronghold? Ha, haha. Lord Sherlock, you're 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!”
Nicholas gave a fake smile, but Sherlock wasn't bothered. He took out a drawn map and said, ”No, the intelligence has been sent back. This is a bird's eye view of the Ogre Stronghold, which shows the detailed defense deployment and various campsites of the Ogre tribes. Yes, we have their totems.”
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 Stronghold's interior, the tribes' 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 didn't 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 hadn't even been four hours since Sherlock's servants defected, but Sherlock had brought back intelligence of the Ogres?
”I know you'll have a lot of questions, but listen to me, and don't ask. The answers aren't something that you can bear.”
Sherlock put away the round Adamantine rock and said, ”You only need to know that I'm 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 won't mention them.”
Nicholas picked up the round Adamantine rock and examined it again.
”The 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 wouldn't be able to obtain intelligence in a timely manner.”
While Nicholas was still musing over the rock, Sherlock continued and said, ”Of course, we'll always remember the sacrifice of the 100 warriors, won't we, Dungeon Lord Nicholas?”
”Ah?” Nicholas was shaken from his bewilderment by Sherlock's question and quickly said, ”Yes, that's right. The 100 warriors sacrificed themselves to obtain intelligence on our enemies…” Nicholas' eyes became red, and he wiped away his tears.
”I'll pay 2,000 Magic Stones as death compensation. Don't you worry, Lord Sherlock…”