Chapter 419: Chapter 419. Investigating the Rebels’ Network
This sudden attack surprised Huang San but not Amon. He lightly lifted his hand and caught the tobacco pipe with two fingers. The tal head of the pipe stopped an inch from Amon’s forehead.
"You are truly a Mystic stage cultivator...," Zong Hua uttered. "My data on you ntioned you have a concealnt art that disguises your cultivation as one level lower. My Mystic sense told
that you are at the Transformation stage, which ans if my info is correct, you should already be a Mystic Stage cultivator."
"Are you convinced now?" Amon asked.
Zong Hua smiled uneasily. She had been trying to pull her tobacco pipe back, but Amon’s two fingers were like steel clamps. She couldn’t move it at all. This shocked her. She was two classes ahead of Amon, which made them ten years apart. She just entered the Martial Realm recently. How did this junior reach the sa cultivation level around the sa ti? The most unbelievable thing was the strength Amon exhibited by holding her tobacco pipe outclassing hers.
Amon let go of his fingers, and Zong Hua could pull her tobacco pipe back. She was rattled by this revelation but kept her expression steady. She said, "You surprised
at the Royal Academy. You surprised
again. I am impressed."
She then turned to Huang San and asked, "How confident are you in taking the throne?"
"A hundred percent," Amon answered.
"I did not ask you," Zong Hua said.
Huang San glanced briefly at Amon before answering Zong Hua, "With your help, a hundred percent."
Zong Hua took a deep breath before saying, "Tell
what you two want from . I will decide after hearing everything."
"What we want you to help us with is to use your spy network to keep watch on the rebels and record their movents," Amon told Zong Hua.
Zong Hua looked at Amon like he just said the dumbest thing. She said, "Are you for real? If I can get that kind of information, wouldn’t you think I have sold it to the kingdom? Even if not for profit, I will still share the info because I want to wipe out those sons of bitches for what they did to Qishurg City."
Zong Hua spent fifteen years in Qishurg City during her studies at the Royal Academy, so she made friends with many locals. The destruction of Qishurg City killed many of her friends, including so who worked for her as part of her network. She hated the rebels like the next person.
"I understand," Amon said. "The biggest problem in eradicating the rebels is how good they are in hiding. Even if we take out one of their nests, it is only a small cell in their expansive web. To truly wipe them out, we must hit them when they gather and take out all their bases simultaneously."
"How do you suppose we achieve that?" Zong Hua asked.
"I have a trick to make them gather, especially the high echelons," Amon answered.
"Hm...?" Zong Hua raised her eyebrows.
Huang San also turned to Amon. "You never told
this," he said.
"That will be my secret for now. If I ntion it, I might not be able to use it anymore," Amon told them. "Anyway, we still need to perform a joint attack on all their available bases. This is where you co in."
"Like I said, I don’t have a way to find out that kind of information. I am good, but not that good," Zong Hua responded.
"You cannot because you don’t have a starting point. What if I can give you one? Or maybe even several starting points."
"Oh? What do you an?" Zong Hua asked. Her interest was piqued.
Amon took out a large piece of paper, which turned out to be the map of Echos. He spread the map on the table. Several markings were seen on the map. Most of those markings were located around the Southern and Western parts of the map.
"The marked dots on this map are the confird locations of rebel contacts," Amon stated.
Zong Hua’s eyebrows were raised again. She asked, "And how do you get hold of this information?"
"I have been researching them in secret since the freshman class," Amon said. "Let’s say I have a vendetta with them, which makes
want to see them et their ends."
"Ah! I rember now," Zhong Hua uttered. "You were taken hostage by the rebels during a mission. I can understand if you have a grudge against them... But is your information reliable? If it is, then I must relinquish my title to you."
"I can guarantee they are confird information. Even now, I have so of my people keeping tabs. I simply lack the manpower to map out the rebels’ entire network. We can arrange a sit-down between your people and mine to transfer the information. With your expansive intelligence network, you should be able to make better use of this information. Plus, most of your spies are actual traders. They have better credibility to move around. They wouldn’t raise as much suspicion on the locals compared to my people."
Zong Hua gave Amon a aningful glance at his remark. She said, "You sound like you are not a stranger in this field. I already considered you soone special when you were still a freshman student, but it seems you can still surprise . Like I said, I might need to relinquish my title to you. How did you co by this information, anyway?"
Amon had the information due to Zong Kui. Every ti he asked Zong Kui to deliver his letter, he always tailed the man to find out where he t the rebels. Zong Kui was careful but was not an opponent to Amon’s stealth. From there, Amon compiled the data on the places and the people Zong Kui t, who he suspected to be rebels. After reuniting with the Demon Gang, Amon had Gao Lan pick the best mbers proficient in spying and stealth to restudy the location and the people. This was the basis of the information Amon offered Zong Hua.
"How I co by the information is my trade secret," Amon answered with a grin. "I believe you won’t tell
how you get yours as well, will you?"
"I suppose not," Zong Hua replied with her own grin.
"I am actually very interested in how you get the information but never mind . As long as we get the results, right?" Huang San said. He then addressed Zong Hua, "So, will you join us?"
Zong Hua didn’t imdiately reply. Her eyes continued to scan the map and its markings. She glanced a few tis at Amon while doing that.
Finally, she spoke, "Even if this information is good and I can secretly find out the rebels’ entire network, you still have a problem. You don’t have an army."
"I will be soon," Huang San said.
"A force of two thousand is just a regint," Zong Hua returned.
"Brother Huang Zhan said he will send
another thousand."
"I wouldn’t put much hope in the soldiers he sent," Amon told Huang San. "I doubt he aids us out of kind intention. His soldiers and officers were famously loyal to him. Most likely, this force is to keep an eye on us and maybe even cause us trouble during critical tis."
"I agree," Zong Hua said.
"Aren’t you two a bit paranoid?" Huang San asked.
"Even if his aid is sincere and you have full control of all three thousand soldiers under your command, it is still not enough," Zong Hua said. "To pull off your plan, you must cover a lot of ground. You need to hit all the rebel bases at the sa ti. Unless you have the kingdom army at your command, I don’t see how you can pull it off. I estimate you require at least ten tis the soldiers you are given."
"You let us worry about that," Amon said.
"Hm... From your tone, you already have a solution for that?" Zong Hua asked.
"You do?" Huang San also asked.
"It’s a work in progress. All you need to focus on is ensuring you find out as much as possible about the rebels," Amon said. "So, are you in?"
Zong Hua was back to her contemplative mode. She turned to Huang San, who gave her an encouraging face and said, "Co on, for old ti’s sake?"
"Well, to be honest, if it is just you, I would have rejected you outright," Zong Hua uttered.
"Ouch! Do you have to keep on hurting my feelings?" Huang San complained. "I will be your king one day. You realize that, right?"
Zong Hua chuckled. She turned to Amon. "You returned to this city not so long ago, but the organization you built has shown impressive growth. Even the old players in this capital, the Gao and the Xian clans, are now wary of your group. I knew you were capable of extraordinary height ever since I laid eyes on you at the Royal Academy, but I think you might impress
still. If anything, I will help just for the sake of seeing how far you can climb."
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