Chapter 422: There’s a spy
Phield gave a thumbs up and thought to himself, Her figure has gotten even better. Even the parts that would need censoring have expanded by several sizes.
Ashina waved her hand and flashed a mischievous grin.
"That saves us the trouble."
"Huh?"
With a dangerous smile, Ashina grabbed Phield and thoroughly "tormented" him for the entire afternoon.
By evening...
"So this is the strength of a Third Tier Divine Chosen... I need to become even stronger."
Phield barely withstood the relentless assault that came crashing down like a raging storm, then launched a fierce counterattack of his own. In the end, he narrowly defeated Ashina.
"My lord is still a little stronger."
Ashina lazily gestured with her hand.
"I really want to find someone to test my new combat abilities on. Is Rosalia in the territory?"
As she straightened her clothes, Ashina eagerly shadowboxed in place.
"I’m going to split that ridiculous idiot in half. Hehe."
Back when she was only Second Tier, Ashina had remained humble and always tried to avoid confronting Rosalia head on. But now that they were both Third Tier, she had absolutely no reason to fear her anymore.
"She’s at the quarry cutting stone blocks. The Corrupted Dragon is transporting them in bulk because we’ll need massive stones to build the outer walls."
Even Divine Chosen weren’t exempt from work in Nightfall Domain. Rosalia was no exception.
Bricks were reserved for constructing buildings within the territory, while massive stone blocks were used to build the city walls.
"Actually, I’ve already found two opponents for you. They’ll be delivering themselves right to our doorstep."
A sharp gleam flashed through Phield’s eyes.
"We’ve got spies hiding inside the territory."
"But I personally screened everyone. Are they from the Shadow World Sect, or are they Simon’s crafty agents?"
Ashina’s wolf ears immediately perked up.
"The abilities of Divine Chosen are unpredictable. Honestly, even I never expected spies to spend nearly half a month working inside our territory."
"...?"
Ashina looked completely confused.
Phield lowered one hand, signaling her to stay calm.
"Here’s the thing. There are two female residents who are simply too hardworking. They plowed twenty seven acres this morning, hauled forty wagonloads of bricks from the industrial district this afternoon, and spent the evening grinding flour at the mill. They’ve practically worked the oxen out of a job."
They pulled wagon after wagon of bricks as though they were locomotives.
No ordinary person could possibly handle that amount of labor. They were obviously Divine Chosen, or at the very least possessed high level supernatural strength.
This wasn’t an ordinary case of espionage.
These were Divine Chosen working themselves to exhaustion in an attempt to destroy the average productivity statistics of the territory.
Such outrageous behavior demanded decisive action.
"This has already attracted everyone’s attention. Quite a few residents have reported them, and the patrol soldiers have filed several reports as well."
After the incident where little Clara exposed a spy, Phield had introduced anti espionage measures throughout the territory.
Anyone who spotted someone acting unusually suspicious could report them to City Hall. If the report was verified, the reward would be substantial.
"These spies are unbelievably stupid. Did they really have to work this hard? It’s way too obvious."
Ashina couldn’t help laughing.
"Still, we need to be careful. Even a First Tier Divine Chosen could cause serious damage to the territory if they lose control."
"Exactly. We shouldn’t alert them yet. First we’ll gather information, then lure them outside the city."
After quickly finalizing a detailed plan, Phield sent Ashina off to make preparations while he took out the Black Crow to use as a surveillance drone.
After channeling his soul power into it, the Black Crow spread its wings, carrying his consciousness as it flew toward the residential district.
The area was filled with low wooden and mud houses that offered almost no visual obstruction, allowing Phield to observe everything with ease.
"If the residents were right, those two female spies should be helping grind flour at the mill around this time."
The Black Crow landed silently on a rooftop overlooking the mill and patiently waited.
Not long afterward, cheerful voices drifted over.
"Aunt Wool, we’ll stop here for today. We’re heading back to rest."
Night Owl’s Hwaily linked arms with the middle aged woman, giggling nonstop like an innocent girl next door.
"With this much flour, it should last quite a while, right?"
"It’s all thanks to you girls. Thank the Goddess, and thank our wonderful Baron."
Aunt Wool placed several freshly baked loaves of warm bread into Hwaily’s arms.
"You’re both such kind children. I don’t know what I’d have done without your help. These loaves are my gift to you."
"Why thank the Baron? We did all the work. What does he have to do with it?"
Night Owl’s other Divine Chosen, Elin, puffed out her cheeks and muttered under her breath.
"Well... if we’re talking about collecting taxes, then I suppose he does have quite a lot to do with it."
Hwaily immediately stretched out one foot and lightly kicked Elin’s shin.
"Thank you, Aunt Wool. Your dark bread is still my favorite."
Hwaily smiled so brightly that her eyes curved into crescents.
"Of course. I’ve always dreamed of opening a bakery, or maybe even an inn. Right now there isn’t a single inn anywhere in the territory. If outsiders visit, they won’t even have a place to stay."
"Mhm. That’s true."
Hwaily nodded in complete agreement.
"Be careful on your way home. If you run into any bad people, shout for help. There are patrol soldiers nearby, and they’ll definitely protect you. The Baron’s soldiers are different from the others."
"Okay!"
The two girls waved goodbye to the mill workers like carefree children.
They found a quiet corner and happily finished the bread.
"So they really are the spies."
Their breathtaking beauty alone was enough to prove they weren’t ordinary residents. No matter how beautiful a free woman might be, constant manual labor would never leave her skin so flawlessly fair.
Those two really were something else.
They didn’t even realize how suspicious they looked.
Phield patiently waited until they finished eating. The moment they started moving again, he became fully alert.
The two girls looked around to make sure no one was watching before slipping into a secluded corner.
Hwaily slowly closed her eyes as her hair suddenly grew at an astonishing rate, wrapping around her entire body.
The next moment, her hair transformed into a pair of wings while her body shrank into a white dove.
"Third Tier Divine Skill, Sparrow Transformation!"
She scattered shimmering divine feathers into the air.
Standing beside her, Elin was transformed into a tiny crimson sparrow.
The two birds flew onto the rooftop and landed on opposite sides of the Black Crow.
Phield’s heart skipped a beat.
Have they discovered me?
"By the Goddess! It’s a magical crow!"
Hwaily cried out in surprise.
"It’s occupying our sleeping spot."
With its sinister appearance and crimson eyes, the Black Crow radiated an unmistakably evil aura. It looked like nothing good.
"It doesn’t even have the aura of a First Tier creature. Don’t worry. It’s probably just one of the Baron’s evil pets."
Elin spoke bluntly.
"That’s how it always is in knight novels. Villains always keep crows, black cats, or evil dragons."
As she finished speaking, Elin flapped her wings and shooed the Black Crow away with obvious disgust.
"So... how much money have we earned today?"