Chapter 19: Imposing Faults

The monk hesitated for a moment. Making preparations in advance meant military preparations, and to do that, he would have to take into account the Wolf Clan, Ox Clan, and Bear Clan—just the armed forces of the Tiger Clan and Fox Clan were far from enough. Yet these three clans had consistently opposed the policies he and Kristina were implementing. Asking them to prepare for war would undoubtedly signal a setback for those policies, potentially affecting his own authority.

The sharp-witted Kristina immediately sensed the monk’s hesitation. “Monk, we could ask Bill and Carter to conduct combat training under the pretext of winter drills. Wouldn’t that be more appropriate?”
“Hmm, that would indeed be much better. Moda and Muni won’t have any issues. Carter might be a bit of a problem—he’s been rather ambiguous lately. If you could talk to him, Kristina, I think things would improve,” the monk said with a slight smile.

Kristina’s cheeks flushed. She certainly understood why Carter had been acting strangely lately. But since she and the monk had nothing to hide, she wasn’t afraid. “Alright, I’ll talk to Carter. It would be best if I could get some clearer information from Dasher as well. Without clear details, I still feel uneasy,” Kristina nodded.
“Hmm, I think Dasher won’t disappoint us. He should give me a satisfactory reply within these two days,” the monk replied after thinking for a moment.

Watching Kristina’s graceful figure disappear outside, the monk couldn’t help but sigh. What a remarkable woman! It wasn’t easy for the Fox Clan to produce such a talented and beautiful leader. In the past, their leaders had been nothing but seductive witches who only knew how to stir up chaos within the Bimons, with no other skills. But Kristina was different. Perhaps heaven truly intended to give him a chance to make a significant impact in Bimons’ history?

The monk was lost in thought.

Dasher Snake was always in a hurry, as if racing against time at all times. The ten-minute journey from his residence to his very simple office took him only five minutes.

But lately, he had indeed been preoccupied with various matters. The monk had repeatedly pressed for progress on intelligence gathering, but he still hadn’t figured things out yet.

A city like Jazair, once one of the largest in the northern part of the continent and the capital of the Kingdom of Nicosia, would never be easily abandoned by any surrounding power—whether it was the Caucasus to the south, the Northern Alliance to the west, or Katin, which survived in the gaps between them. Even forces like Bohemia and Bessarabia, which were not yet directly involved, had more or less left their mark on this city.

It was clear that the merchants in Jazair and the nobles who had been quiet for over a year had been incited or provoked by certain parties; otherwise, such chaos could not have arisen without any prior signs, which annoyed Dashler greatly. However, it was not easy to identify those behind the scenes—not everyone knew the truth, and many were further stirred up by those hiding even deeper, using this opportunity to vent their resentment.

Of course, this did not mean he was helpless. Over the years, the Snake Clan had served as Bimon’s intelligence backbone, with a strong presence among mortals as well. Although it was difficult, it was not beyond the capabilities of the Snake Clan’s spies. Various clues suggested that the masterminds behind the chaos in Jazair came from the Caucasus to the south. That upstart seemed eager to restore the glory of the Kingdom of Nicosia after its unification and recklessly tried to create chaos in Jazair. This was the conclusion reached by his subordinates, but Dashler had not yet presented it to the monk.

Dashler didn’t hold a favorable opinion of that upstart—surely he was no simple man. It could be said that once he grew stronger, he would surely extend his influence to Jazair, or perhaps he was already secretly pulling strings. But to create trouble in Jazair so hastily, just after securing a hard-won victory in the Cordillera Wasteland, seemed suspicious.

Reverse thinking was one of the key methods for intelligence agencies to trace clues. Dashler trusted that his spies would not deceive him, but they might be deceived by their opponents, whose goal was, of course, to achieve their own objectives. Both the Northern Alliance and Katin were wary of that upstart, and diverting their anger toward him was something both sides desired, though they might not succeed.

Although all superficial signs pointed to the Caucasus, after examining and analyzing the most valuable clues, Dachler noticed the inconsistencies. The most active merchants in Jazair City did not have much trade with the south, and several nobles maintained very secretive and close relations with a fallen princess from the Romanov dynasty in Katin. The merchants and nobles who had closer ties to the south appeared passive in this turmoil, often being driven by circumstances to get involved. This also meant that the upstarts in the south might not yet intend to confront the Bimon Kingdom, while those with ulterior motives were eager to create tension between Bimon and the Caucasus, aiming to provoke war between them—of course, with the sole purpose of reaping benefits. Decisive action was necessary against those who sought to stir up trouble. The Bimon Kingdom feared no one or no force, but it would never allow itself to be manipulated or deceived by anyone. Those who attempted to harm the interests of the Bimon Kingdom deserved a severe lesson. A purge swept through Jazair City with lightning speed; while soothing and stabilizing the mainstream human forces in the city, fully armed Bimon warriors launched a thorough search throughout the city. A large number of spies were captured and thrown into prison. Courts established in imitation of human regimes held sham trials, and without exception, all these spies were convicted of serious crimes and sent to the desolate Mogan Wasteland in the northeast to work there, with no acceptance of any fines for release. Noticing the slightly uneasy expressions of some Mahagumi, Komer smiled faintly. “Mahagumi, it seems we’ve suffered heavy losses this time. Several of our strongholds have been wiped out. Are those orc spies really that powerful? All our efforts in Jazair have been undone so easily?” “Uh, Lord Komer, never underestimate those orc spies. The Serpent Clan has always been the most mysterious among the orcs. They rarely appear in public, and it’s certain that their infiltration and espionage among humans and other races have spanned not just a year or two—actually, it’s been decades of buildup, which allows them to act so swiftly. Aside from us, I believe the Northern Alliance and Katin have also suffered significant losses in Jazair.”

Mahagumi carefully defended himself, speaking the truth—the Northern Alliance and Katyn suffered even greater losses in Jazair, and it seemed the orcs deliberately held back a bit, either to leave openings for them to grow stronger so the orcs could later take advantage or for some other reason.
“Hmph, are you trying to find objective reasons to justify yourself?” Komer snorted. “Enough, I don’t want to pursue this issue anymore. You handle the problems with the intelligence system on your own. If you suffer losses, just keep developing. Just because I don’t want to act on Jazair now doesn’t mean we won’t want to in the future. Also, figure out why the orcs suddenly did this—could someone be behind it? As you said, there’s turmoil in Jazair—could someone be framing us?”
“My lord, I was just about to report this issue. We’ve conducted some investigations and found something very suspicious. Those who incited trouble among the people of Jazair are closely related to Katyn. I believe it’s Katyn that’s provoking conflict between us and the orcs, but the orcs haven’t fallen for it.”
“Oh? Kakiya?” Komer was stunned. After subduing the barbarians in the Cordillera Wasteland, he had been in a good mood and had taken some time to rest. He hadn’t yet thought about how to deal with Kakiya, whose relationship with the Northern Alliance was deteriorating, but he never expected her to provoke him first.
But then he thought again and resolved himself. If Kakiya didn’t provoke him, would he let Katyn go? No, obviously not. Rather than wait to be killed, it was better to take advantage of the situation—success or failure, he had done his best.
“Hmm, it must be her.”
“Why go to such lengths? I originally wanted to let her linger for a few more days. Why force me?” Komer sighed.
“My lord, Princess Kakiya is in a difficult situation too. Those guys from the Northern Alliance have long coveted Katyn. If it weren’t for us and the orcs, they might have already taken action.”
“Hmm, what’s your idea?” Komer sensed that Mahagumi had more to say.
“Why not help Princess Kakiya out? If we can use this opportunity to reach an understanding with the orcs, maybe we can take Katyn without bloodshed. I doubt the Northern Alliance would dare to act rashly.” Mahagumi said solemnly.