The man in black naturally knew the rules; even if he was acquainted with these two, there would be no exceptions.He took out a silver token from his ring and removed his hood.
In front of the guards appeared the face of an ordinary middle-aged man, slightly pale as if he had been living in the dark for too long without sunlight.
One of the guards took the token, verified it without mistake, and returned it to the man in black.
"No problem, long time no see! Robert."
"Long time no see. Where is the lord now?"
The man in black named Robert took back the token and asked casually.
"The intelligence from the Feis Guild just came in; the lord should be in the study reviewing it. You can go straight there."
"Thank you."
Robert nodded to the guards in gratitude and made his way familiarly towards the study on the second floor of the east side of the building.
When Robert stood outside the study door, he felt uneasy and wiped his hands on his clothes before he gently knocked.
"Come in."
A deep and magnetic baritone voice came from inside the study, and only then did Robert relax, carefully pushing the door open and stepping inside.
Directly opposite the door stood a spacious walnut desk, neatly arranged with various books and documents, bathed in the gentle morning sunlight that was not yet hot.
The golden-haired middle-aged man sitting in front of the desk leaned back slightly in his chair, frowning at the intelligence report from the Feis Guild without acknowledging the newcomer.
Seeing this, Robert didn't speak up. Instead, he stood by silently with his hands at his sides, bowing his head, quietly waiting for the man to finish reviewing the remaining materials in his hands.
It wasn't long before the man with golden hair put down the papers, picked up the aromatic black coffee beside him and took a sip, then lifted his hand to rub his tired eyes.
"Lord Yatean, you really don't need to work so hard."
Robert said softly from the side, his face full of respect and concern.
"The plans are more or less in place, just waiting for the Sacrificial Festival to arrive. And you haven't had a proper rest for over half a year!"
Indeed, the golden-haired man at the desk was none other than Yatean Fis, the Second Prince of the Feis Kingdom.
Yatean gestured nonchalantly:
"The more critical the moment, the less we can afford to let down our guard. I won't let years of effort go to waste in an instant."
Afterwards, Yatean lifted his eyes to look at Robert standing before him and asked:
"How are the various plans coming along?"
Yatean assigned Robert to be primarily responsible for liaising with different powers involved in the plan and to report back to him regularly.
For the sake of convenience, this place, set aside in a secluded area next to the Royal Palace, was specially arranged to be a central hub for gathering intelligence and coordinating actions.
Therefore, the protection here was quite hidden and stringent, guarded by illusions and Silver Guards on the outside and a Gold-level Mage hidden in the shadows.
When Robert saw that they were getting down to business, he stood up straight and began to report confidently:
"The Feis Guild and its affiliated guilds have almost completed the purchase and storage of supplies; the remaining tasks are just wrap-up work, and so far it has not attracted the attention of other forces within the Kingdom or from other countries."
"You have already reviewed the specific quantities of supplies. We have enough food, weapons, medicine, and other supplies to sustain the Kingdom's external campaigns for five years."
"We have secured promises from Duke Rame and Duke Baynum that they have already begun military preparations, and should the Kingdom declare war, they will immediately strike against the Boditch Kingdom."
"I've arranged for our people to negotiate secretly with some court nobles, who will also publicly support the Kingdom's decision to wage war when the time comes, but we need to support them in obtaining military achievements and fiefs on the frontlines."
"Due to Duke Hade's presence and to avoid leaks, we have not contacted most of the court nobles.
"However, based on our understanding, the remaining court nobles are largely supportive of going to war, and the few who are conservative will likely not oppose the Kingdom's retribution after learning their peers have been assassinated by foreign assassins."
"Over in the Boditch Kingdom, discontent with our country's demand to reduce border tariffs last year, they have prepared to deploy the Kingdom's Gold-level Assassin Blood Blade into our country after being covertly persuaded, just as you anticipated, Lord Yatean, with the intention of retaliation."
"The assassin Blood Blade has been awakened through special communication, and he will not go to Duke Rame's territory but will directly rush to Bright City, to follow the arrangements of Lord Yatean."
While Robert was emotionally describing every point of the plan's progress, he looked at the man in front of him with reverent eyes.
This had almost taken all possibilities into account, and as long as nothing unexpected occurred, the result would surely develop as Lord Yatean had predicted.
Boditch Kingdom brutally assassinates its own nobles during the Sacrificial Festival!
Feis Kingdom declares war on Boditch Kingdom!
The Feis Kingdom gains victory in the war, and Lord Yatean ascends to the throne through this!
Yatean did not show any signs of happiness; his expression was indifferent as if everything should progress just as he had anticipated. Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"Those Boditch fools are truly incompetent, rotten from top to bottom," Yatean commented with a chuckle, "if not for the Church of the Gods..."
Yatean briefly evaluated the miraculous operations of Boditch Kingdom.
"Indeed, who could have imagined that their secret ace assassin would actually be Your Lordship's hidden piece?"
Robert complimented at just the right moment.
Yatean rubbed his temples and did not respond to Robert.
Lately, he had been feeling a sense of palpitations, something that had never occurred before. Was there something he had overlooked?
After thinking while leaning back in his chair, Yatean suddenly asked Robert:
"Are the targets for the Sacrificial Festival determined?"
"Yes, my Lord." Robert hurriedly replied.
"They are Viscount Kane, Baron Leao, Baron Lucas, and Baron Allen. On that day, these four will be arranged to stand 15 meters to the left of His Majesty the King."
"However..."
Yatean lifted his eyes; he did not like this feeling of uncertainty and stared at Robert as he asked:
"Speak the truth!"
Robert quickly lowered his head and said:
"As per your instructions, Baron Leao, Baron Lucas, and Baron Allen have been probed, and there is nothing unusual, but it is Camus who is in charge of Viscount Kane, and there has been no progress yet."
"Camus?"
Yatean had an impression, a rather outstanding student of Feis Royal Magic Academy in recent years, who had broken through to Silver Mage before graduation.
What's more rare is his commoner background; he is one of the mage prodigies that Yatean himself had successfully recruited in recent years, and thus he also had certain expectations for him.
A high-level mage is a very valuable helper; throughout the Feis Kingdom, they are found in greater numbers only at the Magic Academy.
As the kingdom's primary heir, he only had one Gold-level Mage under his command.
He had wanted to give him an opportunity to train, but could he not even manage such a small task?
Yatean was somewhat disappointed, as he had provided quite a lot of resources to Camus.
"Hasten the time and ensure there isn't the slightest mishap!"
Yatean got up and stood in front of the window, without saying much, just gave Robert a curt instruction.
"Yes, my Lord!"
Robert immediately responded and, seeing that Yatean had no further instructions, turned and quietly walked out of the study, gently closing the door behind him.
Yatean silently watched the outside window, and the nearby neighborhood had already started to bustle, but his gaze wasn't focused there; instead, he murmured in a voice filled with complexity:
"Taya?"