Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 926: Ill-Fated Connection

CH926 Ill-Fated Connection

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In order to better veil their activities, Alpha proposed bringing in more external intelligence agencies. These external agencies would be charged with surveilling unconfirmed contacts linked to the three scions. Only once their identities had been confirmed and they had been given priority would an officer from Dark Water be assigned to cast a surveillance net around them.

This was the best way the three—or rather, the two, Udara and Alpha—could reach an agreement on the allocation of their scarce resources.

They took a similar route with the political action operation Udara had suggested.

Initially, operatives sent to the Nearmarch Confederacy would hire mercenaries to shore up their troop numbers and provide the muscle they needed.

Since they would only be setting up a foundation for later operatives and wouldn’t be doing anything too sensitive, hiring mercenaries loyal only to coin wasn’t too much of an operational secrecy and security risk.

Plus, having mercenaries around the operatives, who would take on non-official covers or alternate identities, would aid the operation in the future. The PAG operatives could arrive under the guise of mercenaries and not draw attention, since the original operatives would already be known to have mercenaries around them.

On Haggleworth’s side, the Logistics Company would help move weapons, money, and other resources which the Dark Water operatives could use to establish themselves wherever they were posted.

These resources would not only open doors in the different domains for these operatives, but would also provide the PAG operatives with an armoury and resources when the time for direct military action arrived.

Suffice it to say, this operation would become the most important operation in Dark Water’s portfolio for the foreseeable future. And rightly so, since the targets numbered ten domains, the weakest of which were, by Virellian Empire standards, Duchies.

Despite her experience working for DAWN, the Eternal Valkyrie Empire’s premier intelligence outfit, Alpha couldn’t help but feel surreal at the size of the targets Dark Water was eyeing.

It made her both apprehensive and excited at the same time.

A cocktail of emotions she perhaps hadn’t felt—at least, not at this intensity—since she left DAWN.

As the overview planning meeting came to an end, Alpha excused herself first and went to seek out Alex, who had instructed her to find him after the meeting.

Alex hadn’t gone far. Alpha found him in the Palace Chief’s—Haggleworth’s—office.

The young noble stood before the ceiling-high window, looking down at the ground.

"It is humbling, isn’t it?" Alex asked as soon as Alpha entered.

"What is?" Alpha raised an eyebrow.

Alex beckoned her over. Then, he pointed downwards.

"At this height, most people on the ground look no different from ants," Alex said.

"Your words don’t exactly inspire humility, Master. Shouldn’t you feel arrogant at being able to look down on so many people like ants?" Alpha asked.

Alex chuckled for a moment and shook his head.

"Perhaps that’s what most people would see. But for me, it is a sombre reminder," he responded.

"A sombre reminder? Of what?" Alpha probed.

"When you look down at the people below, can you tell their level, wealth, background, or anything else about them?" Alex asked.

Alpha’s eyes flashed.

"At this height, no, I cannot. I can’t even tell the difference between them," she replied.

"Exactly." Alex nodded. "It is humbling because I realised that there are beings who have reached a certain height where, when they look down upon other creatures, it is no different from us looking down at ants. Titles, wealth, beauty... even cultivation make little difference. At most, those with these things are just bigger, more colourful or a bit stronger ants."

"When I look down, I see a sombre reminder that no matter how high I stand currently, there are beings and entities in this world who can still look down on me and squash me like an ant," Alex said grimly.

"And for this reason, I cannot stop. I need to keep clawing my way up, further and further... until I reach the height where there is nothing above me," he added.

"What would you do when you reach that height? Would you also then look down upon others like ants and squash them?" Alpha asked.

"I do not know," Alex admitted with a shake of his head. "But at least, I would have a choice." He sighed.

A memory suddenly flashed through Alex’s mind in that moment. It was the sight of Uthvaazgol casually reaching into the void, across an immeasurable distance, to snag a Brood Queen—a powerful Class 7 Brood Queen—and crush it to death simply to provide him with its heart and brain.

The scene had been awe-inspiring at the time. Yet now, in retrospect, Alex felt a shudder run down his spine.

Uthvaazgol was not the only creature at this power level. This meant he was not the only creature who could perform such a feat.

What if one day, he too possessed something useful or valuable to a disciple or scion of such a being? Would that being also reach through the void to snag and crush him like an ant?

’I cannot allow that,’ Alex told himself.

Alpha gazed at Alex beside her for a moment, her thoughts indecipherable.

Alex pulled himself out of his thoughts and suddenly felt the intensity of Alpha’s stare on him.

"Careful, Spymaster. I am a married man. You can’t stare at me that intensely," he joked.

Alpha laughed.

"Don’t worry, Master. You are too young to pique my affection," she replied.

"I don’t know if I should be relieved or say that is a shame," Alex smirked.

"I can see now why you are able to keep three ladies by your side without conflict. You certainly have a way with sweet words," Alpha chuckled.

She moved back and went to sit on the visitor’s side of the office desk.

"So, may I ask what Master needs my help to look into?" Alpha inquired.

Alex also moved to take a seat at the desk.

"First, I need to ask you a question," Alex said.

"You are the one who rescued Udara from the research facility."

Alpha’s eyelids almost fluttered, but the experienced intelligence officer kept her emotions under control.

To most people, there was no change in her expression, but before Alex’s Truth-Seeker eyes, she couldn’t hide it. Especially since he was prepared and actively searching for it.

Alpha sighed.

"That was not a question, Master. It was a statement," she said.

"Do you deny it?" Alex asked.

"I... do not," Alpha replied.

"As expected." Alex nodded.

Alex had many question, but for some reason, he stopped himself from asking, saying nothing more than that.

"Looks like Princess Udara finally opened up to you and told you about her past," Alpha commented.

"She did." Alex nodded. "And it seems you don’t want her to know you were the one who rescued her."

"Yes. I appreciate you not revealing things in front of her," Alpha replied.

"Can I ask how you figured it out?" she asked.

"It was just a hunch. And you just confirmed it." Alex shrugged.

Alpha chuckled wryly.

"I must be getting rusty," she said dryly.

"Maybe, but I don’t think that’s it. It’s more like you are not that determined to hide it. If you were, I wouldn’t have felt something was off," Alex said.

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