Hill Fawkes produced a pencil and sketched a tree diagram on a piece of paper. "Since we pay for information instead of the person who collects them, the more information he gets, the more he earns. To obtain more information, he'll find a way to hire more people to do the work for him. In His Majesty's words, it's called a top-down approach."

"I see," Edith commented, who immediately grasped the nature of this management style. "To expand the lower-level organization, we, as the stem of the tree, must give them some incentives to make sure that they keep working for us."

Hill nodded and said, "Exactly. Scouts and detectives are all at the very end of the chain. They won't change much over time. Therefore, the information would become more reliable as time progresses, although their search area can be fairly limited."

"But they're essentially Rats..." Iron Axe said, frowning.

"No, sir. This is the interesting part. The stem and the branch don't have to be managers and subordinates neccessarily. Soldiers have to listen to officers, but Rats don't necessarily need to obey Rats."

"As long as we promise that they'll benefit from their work, Rats can also make n.o.bles work for them," Edith supplied slowly.

Hill looked at Edith approvingly and said, "Yes, these incentives don't have to be gold royals. Everyone has their own need. We simply need to know what they desire, and it doesn't have anything to do with social cla.s.ses. This means that secondary agents can be people of different socio-economic status. The reason that the information we've collected so far is not that comprehensible is that the Rats are still digging the surface. Once n.o.bles start to join us, we'll have more valuable news."

Iron Axe pondered for a moment and said, "Even if that's true, it'll probably take a long time for n.o.bles to work for us."

"That might be the case in peacetime," Hill returned. "However, the Kingdom of Everwinter is now undergoing dramatic changes. I believe that this process will be largely shortened. In fact, some messages have already provided us with a hint."

"Like?" Iron Axe questionsed while stroking his chin.

Hill explained smilingly, "According to our statistical report, we've been receiving fewer reports about the n.o.bles. Most of them, if any, are negative news, such as debaunchery, public brawling, etc. Rulers shouldn't be like that in wartime, which reflects that the rulers of the Kingdom of Everwinter have abandoned their duties to protect their people. They're having a lot of pressure, so they need to let these negative emotions out in some way. I believe that such things started after the evacuation unit of the First Army defeated the alliance army formed by the n.o.bles."

Hill took a pause and resumed, "Although at that time, I was in the City of Glow in the Kingdom of Dawn, I can imagine what a huge blow it was to the n.o.bles. When people begin to feel insecure, they would put their hope in anyone that could help them, even if this person is someone that they despise the most. Sir, please rest a.s.sured. You won't wait for too long."

*******************

In the Snow Reflection Castle in the Kingdom of Everwinter.

"Sorry for the long wait. His lords.h.i.+p isn't feeling well today, so he can't come out to greet you. I would advise that you call on us on another day," the butler suggested as he swept a bow. "Once his lords.h.i.+p feels better, he'll let you know."

The hall was instantly stirred.

"We've been waiting for weeks! Even if he's infected with some serious disease, at least he can come out and say a word."

"I don't believe a single word he says. We fought for him, and where's our lands?"

That's right. Even if he's not well enough to meet us, he should at least hand us the deeds!"

"This bulter is lying. I saw Viscount Narnos come out of the castle four hours later after he got in."

"Not only the viscount but also many dancers from the tavern. Is the duke now seeking women instead of scholars to cure his disease?"

"Please, mind your language," the butler said coolly after clearing his throat. "You've been without a land for too long, so you've probably forgotten that you're still the subordinates of the Duke of the Northern Region. The duke is your master. You should know better than me what a crime it is to slander a lord! I don't think you would like to sit in a cell instead of your hotel room in this weather."

At these words, the guards at the door came forward, their armors clanking on their sides.

The hall immediately fell quiet.

The n.o.bles knew it would not do any good if they engaged in a verbal altercation here.

The butler lowered his voice and continued, "I know you're anxious, but the most important thing now is to defeat the Graycastle soldiers. By the way, his lords.h.i.+p will hold a banquet tonight in the castle parlor to receive you. Although he can't come, he wishes you a lovely evening."

Because of the perspective banquet, the crowd finally withdrew from the hall while muttering under their breath, looking a little more satisfied.

They immediately began to talk about the delicious food and beautiful women they would encounter in the evening.

Only Fueler still felt unhappy when he returned to his hotel.

After dealing with Marwayne for a while, he became morbidly disappointed with the duke.

The defeat at Frost Town was mainly because of the fact that the Graycastle soldiers were more proficient in using the weapons and had higher morale. The n.o.bles could have learned the lesson and fought again. However, what had the duke done? He was not only the first person that had fled the battleground but he also locked himself in the Snow Reflection Castle, having completely forgotten about his ambition prior to the battle.

Apart from that, he failed to fulfill his promise to grant the n.o.bles lands and treated them equally. Viscount Narnos had now the access to the castle, but the knights relying on the great n.o.bles were shut out.

Yet before the battle, the duke had sought Fueler's counsels a lot.

A competent lord should never broke his promise, but Marwayne broke this rule simply because he wanted to hold onto his tiny territory.

Fueler worked for Marwayne, in a hope of reviving his family. Now, all his squires and guards had been killed in action. He literally had nothing at the moment.

Could a knight with neither squires nor land be really considered as a n.o.ble? The others could still afford to wait, but what about him? Who would acknowledge his family half a year or one year later? If the demons did defeat Roland Wimbledon, Marwayne would rise to power and easily help him revive his family. The problem was that, a dishonest man as he was, would the duke really help a person with practically nothing?

Should he put his faith completely in such a careless duke or find himself a way out?

Fueler paced up and down in his bedroom and finally came to a stop.

He walked up to his desk and took out a folded envelope at the bottom of the drawer.

After a moment of hesitation, Fueler tore it open.

There was a velvety black card in it.