Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 925: Warden of Intelligence and Secrets II

CH925 Warden of Intelligence and Secrets II

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"First, we’ll set up surveillance on the three of them," Udara ordered.

"Physical or Rune Phone?" Alpha asked.

"As much as you can," Udara replied. "Right now, they are our points of contact for every organisation behind them. The first objective is to obtain all the information about them, their supporters, and their backers. We will take everything and everyone they care about, and everyone who cares about them."

Haggleworth felt a chill run down his spine. Meanwhile, Alpha merely nodded. The veteran intelligence officer had seen too much to be taken aback by just this.

"Understood," Alpha said.

Udara turned to Haggleworth.

"Second, do everything you can to maintain the logistical stranglehold over the regions tied to the three of them. Continue to ensure nothing moves within their domains without our knowledge."

"I will do my best to continue to support Dark Water." Haggleworth nodded.

"I will speak with Sis Eleanore and Sis Zora. We will get you the financial and administrative support you will need in the future," Udara said.

"Yes?" Haggleworth was confused.

The Golden Palace was a standalone organisation independent of the domain, so he didn’t see why he would need financial and administrative support from the leaders of Alex’s domain.

"I suspect that in the coming future, Master will hollow out the Golden Palace and present it as bait to the greedy hyenas prowling around. You will need to coordinate with Sis Eleanore and Zora when that time comes. It would be best to set up the process earlier," Udara revealed.

Haggleworth fell into thought for a moment before realising what Udara meant.

’The holding company restructuring... I see. Hmm, yes. That could work.’

His eyes shone as he came to the realisation.

"But what about the DragonHold Enclave? The Enclave also holds shares in the Palace. I doubt Pinchcoin will willingly let it go," Haggleworth asked.

"Isn’t it obvious? Master is the son-in-law of the Enclave Master. He essentially owns the Enclave as well. The stingy gnome would hardly mind as long as he gets his coin," Alpha said with a chuckle.

"Of course." Realisation dawned on Haggleworth, causing him to pat his forehead in embarrassment.

’Actually, he is the Enclave Master’s True Disciple. So, it’s not merely ’essentially’—he really will own the Enclave in the future,’ Udara thought to herself.

Udara turned back to Alpha.

"My biggest concern is the unknown organisation behind Alric. If it is possible, we should be more proactive in obtaining intelligence on those around Alric than the other two scions. Identifying members of the organisation takes top priority.

"Only by uncovering members of this organisation will we be able to understand their ideology and goals, as well as the countermeasures we will need to put in place against them." She said.

"If possible, we can even attempt to get an agent to infiltrate them, or develop an asset within the organisation if an opportunity presents itself." Udara added.

"Understood," Alpha replied seriously.

She glanced over the magic table for a moment as she mused over the plan. Eventually, she nodded to herself, accepting its viability.

"Anything else, Warden?" she asked.

Udara hesitated for a moment before asking.

"What do you think about stalling Alric’s and Erman’s Nearmarch agenda?" she asked. "I am thinking of interfering in the Nearmarch Confederacy. I want to tie down Erman and Alric. The best scenario is for them to become impatient and commit more forces and resources to their plans. That would hopefully give us more targets to work with."

"It is not impossible," Alpha replied seriously. "It depends on what you have in mind."

"I am thinking of helping the four smaller Confederacy members from the shadows to enable them to resist any expansionist plans from Maximillian and von Kroner. The longer it takes for either of the bigger kingdoms to swallow the smaller kingdoms, the more hasty Alric and Erman become. Not to mention, the more time it buys the four smaller kingdoms to respond and retaliate," Udara suggested.

’A continuous cycle, huh... The longer Maximillian and von Kroner are stalled, the more difficult it would be for them to succeed—for Alric or Erman to succeed,’ Alpha thought to herself.

"It is a good plan. But there’s an important problem. Placed within the Virellian Empire, Maximillian and von Kroner will have the status of Grand Duchies. Meanwhile, the other four will be around the level of Duchies.

"We are hard-pressed to hold down a Marquisate, never mind a Duchy. This will be too big a conflict for us to get involved in," Alpha cautioned.

"I disagree," Udara said with a smile. "Master’s Ungentlemanly Warfare Doctrine," she stated.

"We don’t need to equal the players across the board. We just need to form elite force-multiplier units that can sufficiently project disproportionate force in specific, specialised situations. The Fangs have proven the efficacy of this method by bringing the Holt and Herzog Marquisates close to conflict with a mere 300-strong troop force.

"We are a secret—or rather, covert—organisation. I don’t expect us to actually take to the battlefield to support Winsor, Oda, Xander, or Randell.

"Your report states that a Political Action Group (PAG) unit trained alongside the Fangs in Ungentlemanly Warfare Doctrine, right? Then would I be wrong to expect that they can do the same, or even better, since the doctrine arguably fits Dark Water more?"

Udara stared at Alpha.

The stare caused the intelligence veteran to chuckle wryly.

"The number of deployable operatives for an operation of this magnitude is currently limited—"

"Then deploy those you can. It’s not like they’ll need to take action immediately." Udara cut Alpha off. She added, "Their first objective would be setting the foundation for future operations in the operational area."

"Very well, Warden," Alpha said resignedly.

Inwardly, she smiled to herself.

’So that’s why he left... She is a girl in love around him, unconsciously lowering her presence when he is around. Only in his absence does she become the Lady of his House—the guardian, or Warden, of his secrets.’

Udara, Alpha, and Haggleworth proceeded to fine-tune a preliminary plan based on the guidelines Udara had highlighted.

’A lot of care needs to be taken. We must ensure we don’t get noticed by any of the three scions as it would mean the others would be alerted as well.’ Udara mused to herself as they prepared their plan.

’If Otto and the Reichart are triggered in the northeast, Otto could alert Erman. Meanwhile if we trigger Erman and the Machholt, it could lead to Erman alerting Alric. Meanwhile if Alric catches wind of us, he could alert the unknown organisation, and potentially Erman.

’We must not carelessly put down our steps.’ Udara thought gravely.

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