〈 Rapidly changing situation (2) 〉
The task of spreading news across the continent through ultra-long-distance communication proceeded more easily than expected.
Despite the difficult situation, the Zhuge Dynasty did its best, but what was decisive was that numerous demons of Geumgo Island, disguised as ‘Mosan Sect Taoists’, dispersed to various places to assist in the ceremony.
“Huh—I can’t believe the Mosan faction was like this. So far, we have been blinded by the arrogance that we are the best. “There are literally no frogs in the well.”
The head of the Zhuge family, who had overestimated the capabilities of their rivals, let out a sigh, but it was not a bad thing as this incident would make them work even harder.
‘Of course, just delivering the news like this is not enough.’
Considering the traffic conditions in Ganghwan-gye, where it takes a huge amount of time and effort just to cross one area, this was definitely nothing short of a miracle.
But this was just a first step.
There were still countless challenges remaining.
Even after hearing the news, there were some who did not believe it, saying it was nonsense, others who suspected that they were trying to do something, and there were also those who tried to take advantage of this incident.
It was a shame because the subject was the famous Zhuge Dynasty and the content was about the demonic religion, the main enemy of all people, whether good or bad, or the military, otherwise most people would not have even listened to it.
‘Anyway, I succeeded in getting everyone’s attention. It’s best to actively cooperate, but it doesn’t matter even if you don’t believe it right away. ‘The purpose has already been achieved.’
For now, it was enough to patrol their territory again out of concern, and if suspicious circumstances were discovered, they would not just ignore them but take a closer look.
All of that will become a noose that restricts the movements of those who move in hiding and slowly suffocates them.
‘Besides, the notoriety of the Demonic Cult is greater than I thought. There is no need not to provide information as long as it does not cause harm to them.’
And it didn’t take long for things to go as expected.
As a result-.
“It is said that suspicious circumstances have been reported in the forest near Gopyeong, Shanxi Province. Due to reports from residents that many people seemed to be hiding, the Yeonggeommun, who was managing the area, launched a search, but it is said that no traces were found and the search was in vain....
” I found traces of. They said they saw traces of a group camping and went to chase them, but they escaped because they escaped from their territory and missed it...” “
There is news that troops were seen moving under the cover of night in Guiyang-gun Bunta, Guizhou. If you want to hear the details, you have to pay....”
All kinds of information from all over the continent began to flow into Zhuge Dynasty.
The sight of these people busily moving around the large space and frantically organizing all kinds of data was already an excellent central control tower in itself.
‘Wow, my head is spinning just looking at it.’
Hugo, who had quietly come to the side and examined the situation, stuck out his tongue.
The arduous task of determining the truth of the information pouring in without filtering and sorting out only the necessary parts.
No matter how much his status skyrocketed and his mental strength and intellectual ability improved, he could not get used to the wave of documents like that.
Usually, most of the work handled by his other avatars was neatly organized by the hands of competent subordinates.
“The news from Jiangxi Province is unreliable. The fact that those who had been thoroughly erasing their traces in the first place left traces of camping, and that it was enough for a mediocre small or medium-sized Safain iron gang to track them down....” “The investigation of the truth on the
Guizhou side has been completed. There are circumstances in which King Gyeongchin, a warlord who ruled the nearby area, moved his troops around the same time. Perhaps they misunderstood their secret operation...”
However, as a person known for his intelligence, Zhuge Segal quickly analyzed the information received and identified the good and bad.
We distinguished between lies that appeared to be intended to cause harm with malicious intent, filtered out false rumors resulting from minor misunderstandings, postponed intelligence that was unrealistic due to distance or timing, and excluded content that was unilaterally fabricated for the benefit of the organization.
“Shanxi Province appears to be quite likely. First of all, the location is quite valid, and the supporting testimony is also...”
“Ah! There was a similar saying in Jinjuan in Hebei! Coincidentally, the distance between the two points is not that far. Calculating the route from Shanxi to Hebei is not that strange!”
It is natural that the information remaining after going through such various processes becomes valuable data worth a thousand pounds.
Even within Sega, academics who are known for their excellence put their heads together and began a detailed analysis, one by one, starting with the most likely agenda.
Several travel routes have been selected and their estimated destinations have been clearly organized.
When Hugo saw the place name written on the top line of the report, his eyes widened.
‘Beijing.’
This is the site of the old imperial palace where the Dragon Heart was located.
Isn’t it a very meaningful place?
The other place names listed below also seemed quite plausible.
‘...is it great? ‘I never thought I could do this much in such a short period of time, just a few days.’
I was able to clearly feel why they were able to maintain such a high reputation for so long.
To be honest, I had been a bit dismissive until now, but now slightly different thoughts started to run through my head.
‘I want this.’
Hugo’s eyes sparkled as he finished his appetite.
Aren’t they truly talented people who can do their part excellently no matter where they are used?
He knew best how much easier it would be for his superiors to have competent subordinates.
A low hum followed along with carefree thoughts that did not suit the situation.
Of course, he didn’t even have the slightest intention of visiting that magical place himself first.
‘Let’s see. If we keep moving at the current speed... it will take about a week? It’s really far away. Well, at that rate, everything will be completely cleaned up by the time we arrive.’
That’s right—there was someone else who was anxiously waiting for the target’s location to be revealed.
People who can handle work faster than anyone else, more reliably than anyone else, and more cleanly than anyone else.
A new landlord who will chase and catch runaway tenants to the end of hell.
***
‘How much time has passed?’
Zhuge Hyemi, who was looking up blankly at the blue sky outside the window, closed her eyes tightly.
Contrary to her feelings, the sky without a single cloud was extremely sunny.
‘I never dreamed I would come here.’
Site of the Imperial Palace in Beijing.
This was a famous horse scene.
A land of death that sucks the energy out of the body, making it uninhabitable and preventing magicians from using their full abilities, and where ordinary people slowly dry out and die just by staying there for a while.
He already knew for sure why the demon cultists had brought him here.
‘Human sacrifice... I am the sacrifice...’
She, who had excellent understanding, was a prisoner of the demons for a while and was able to easily figure out why they kidnapped her, what they wanted, and what they were planning to do in the future. .
In the first place, they didn’t really have any intention of hiding it.
‘Well, I can’t run away, so what’s the use of all that?’
Where she is now is in a guest room near the ruins of the imperial palace.
Although there were no other means of restricting her actions other than an internal defense system that protected her from the surrounding hostile environment, neither she nor anyone else captured with her could even attempt to escape.
‘You’ll probably be overpowered the moment you take a step. After that, the treatment will get even worse.’
There were enough demonic cultists that she could see, but there were probably a lot more that she wasn’t aware of.
You may not know it, but aren’t there a lot of people around you right now?
“ha.”
A sigh naturally escaped from her mouth.
It has become such a habit that it has become almost a daily routine to the point where I have given up even counting how many times I have done it.
“...Oh right. “I need to exercise.”
At that time, a promise she had made with someone suddenly flashed through her mind.
The time we spent together was so short that it can’t be compared to family, but for some reason, whenever I’m alone like this, I keep thinking about the promise I made to someone.
-“I will be working hard here, so Confucius Xia, please tell me about the things that happened there. “Is this a promise?”
Because of that, even after he was captured by the demon cultists, he exercised steadily for a while to get his mind together, but as the time went on, his will was fading away.
Still, I was able to finish it out of habit until yesterday...
‘...It doesn’t matter. I won’t even be able to hear the story anymore anyway.’
She, who had been standing up awkwardly, collapsed into her seat again.
So far, I had managed to hold on to hope until the end, but that was now my limit.
The real end was just around the corner.
‘Ah, but I still wanted to see you one last time...’
That was the moment I continued to think in a daze.
“uh?”
An exclamation suddenly burst from her mouth.
After belatedly recognizing a change that had occurred while I was out of my mind.
‘What is that?’
Her eyes turned to the sky.
Rumbling —
The sky had been sunny without a single cloud just a moment ago.
Before I knew it, it was covered with pitch-black clouds.
As if hinting at something to come.