PFC Chapter 151 : Chapter 151
Chapter 151 : Chapter 151
Chapter 151. Double Agent
As he watched that icy hand about to touch his forehead, the last line of defense in Rossi’s mind, the one called “professionalism,” collapsed in an instant.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
Rossi shrieked, his voice cracking out of tune, all traces of his earlier gentlemanly composure gone. “Don’t touch my brain! I’ll tell you everything!”
Logaris’s hand stopped just one centimeter from the tip of his nose.
“Go on.”
Rossi gasped for breath, looking like a man who had just stepped down from the gallows. He glanced at Cassido, who was still playing dead nearby, gritted his teeth, and spilled everything in one rush.
“I’m from Division Seven of the Tyrenian Naval Intelligence Bureau. My codename is ‘Albatross.’ This mission was to cooperate with the Church of Perdition and establish a stable production line for ‘Siren’s Dream’ in the Northern Territory!”
“‘Siren’s Dream’ isn’t just for making money. The church’s bishop added a special addictive ingredient to the original formula. As long as people take it over a long period, they’ll turn into weak, spineless cowards with no combat ability at all!”
“Besides Whiteport, we’ve also contacted two families in the east, along with several mine owners who are dissatisfied with your new tax law! A list! I have the list!”
“Our plan was to first rot the lower-ranking soldiers with drugs, then use those greedy nobles to stir up internal chaos, and finally join forces with Valeria to invade while the kingdom is vulnerable, turning it completely into a Tyrenian colony!”
After blurting all that out in one breath, Rossi looked utterly drained.
Secrecy regulations, loyalty to the king, all of it became worthless in the face of the terror of being turned into an idiot.
The study fell deathly silent.
Sylvia’s grip on her sword hilt grew tighter and tighter until her knuckles turned white. As she looked at the spy who had at least been “sensible enough to know better,” the killing intent in her eyes was nearly overflowing.
“Is there anything else?” Logaris, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm. He even pulled out the half-eaten apple from his pocket and took another bite.
“N-no... nothing else.” Rossi swallowed. “That’s all I know. I’m just a middleman in charge of communications. Only the church people know the specific technical details.”
Sylvia took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the fury in her chest.
“Kill him.”
She spoke coldly, her voice like ancient ice. “Leaving someone like this alive will only bring more trouble. And that factory below must be destroyed completely. Even the foundations need to be dug up and burned.”
Rossi shuddered and closed his eyes in despair.
“Don’t be in such a hurry.”
But Logaris suddenly reached out and stopped Sylvia.
“Killing him is the simplest option, but it isn’t the most profitable one.” Logaris tossed the apple core with perfect accuracy into the distant trash bin. “I think we can turn this situation to our advantage.”
Sylvia raised a brow. “You mean... a double agent?”
“Exactly.”
Logaris walked over to Rossi and crouched down in front of him. The smile on his face was enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.
“Simply put, we let him go back alive. But he will no longer be Tyrenia’s spy. He’ll be our mouthpiece.” Logaris pointed at Rossi. “Think about it. If Tyrenia keeps believing their plan is proceeding smoothly, what will they do? They’ll keep sending money, keep sending people, and may even launch their offensive according to the original plan.”
“And we, meanwhile, will already know every move they make. We can even use him in reverse and feed false intelligence to the other side.”
“How can you guarantee that he’ll obey?” Sylvia frowned and looked coldly at Rossi. “A fence-sitter like him would definitely sell us out the moment he gets back.”
“That requires a tiny little measure.”
Logaris pulled a sheet of black parchment from his clothes. It looked sinister at first glance, covered in dark red runes that made one dizzy after only a single look.
“An enhanced high-tier Soul Enslavement Contract.”
Logaris waved the parchment in front of Rossi. “Sign it, and your life will be in my hands. With a single thought from me, your soul will explode like a rotten watermelon. And this thing comes with thought-detection built in. The instant you try to betray us or leak anything, it will activate automatically.”
Rossi stared at the contract, his face deathly pale. Signing it meant becoming a dog for the rest of his life.
“Don’t want to sign? Then perhaps becoming an idiot would suit you better.” Logaris made as if to move again.
“I’ll sign! I’ll sign!” Rossi nearly screamed through clenched teeth.
Better to live like a dog than become a brain-dead disgrace.
Under Sylvia’s gaze, Rossi trembled as he pressed his bloody handprint onto the contract.
With a flash of cold black light, the contract turned into a streak of radiance and shot into the center of Rossi’s brow.
“Very good.” Logaris nodded in satisfaction. “Now that we’re all on the same side, let’s line up your story.”
“My story?” Rossi was stunned.
“That’s right. When the time comes, this is what you’ll tell the people you report to over there.” Logaris spoke with complete composure.
“The story begins like this: more than twenty years ago, Count Tarassa of Whiteport suppressed a minor noble family called West and nearly drove them to ruin.”
When he said this, his tone was flat, as though he were talking about some old tale that had absolutely nothing to do with him.
But Sylvia did pay attention.
West...
She looked toward Logaris. His face was hidden behind his sunglasses, revealing nothing at all.
“Later, that minor noble family produced a very formidable mage named Logaris,” Logaris continued. “This mage had rather good luck and became a favored figure at the side of the Acting Governor of the Northern Territory. You could say he’s now a very important official in the North.”
“And now, this high-ranking official has come to Whiteport with the governor’s authorization to conduct an inspection, and while he’s at it, he just happens to ‘settle a personal grudge under the guise of public duty.’”
When he said those last four words, Logaris deliberately emphasized them, even smiling at Cassido on the floor.
Cassido was completely bewildered. More than twenty years had passed; he no longer even remembered which family West had been.
But Rossi understood instantly. This was a textbook case of downplaying the major issue and muddying the waters. It was taking a clash between nations and disguising it as a private vendetta.
“As for that factory...” Logaris turned back to Rossi. “Our Tyrenian ‘herb merchant,’ before leaving, displayed excellent professional standards by destroying every letter and ledger connected to Tyrenia. As a result, the Northern Territory failed to discover Tyrenia’s plot.”
“Then, an organization devoted to justice known as the Court of Equilibrium happened to uncover that inhuman drug factory. Hating evil with a passion, they called in a few friends and wiped the place out. Very reasonable, wouldn’t you say?”
A vengeful official, a righteous organization passing through. That way, even if Tyrenia learned that something had happened in Whiteport, they would most likely just assume they were unlucky, and that the Tarassa family they had supported had accidentally offended someone they should not have.
“Exactly! Exactly!” Rossi nodded frantically as though he had seized a lifeline, forcing a fawning smile onto his face. “An accident! Entirely an accident! I’ll report it exactly that way when I get back. Count Tarassa brought disaster on himself by provoking someone he shouldn’t have, so that lord used public authority to settle a private grudge, and I merely took the opportunity to destroy all the documents connected to Tyrenia!”
To show his loyalty, he even took the initiative to pull out another smaller document pouch wrapped in oil paper from his clothes and offered it up with both hands.
“My lord! These are all the backup contact codes and safehouse maps I have on me, along with the secret Tyrenian naval supply points along the eastern coast! I’m handing all of them over to you!”