The Empror's Trap

After Uheya departed, Pluvia asked Kenji to stay behind for a moment.

"What do you think? Does Uheya have any value to us now?" Pluvia examined the gift Uheya had brought—an extremely valuable spiritual stone sculpture from Sal Kingdom. Normally, spiritual stones (magic crystals) were valuable, but not quite valuable enough to serve as diplomatic gifts.

But this spiritual stone sculpture that Uheya had presented was genuinely carved from a single massive spiritual stone into the shape of a soaring dragon. It was as large as a table. Such a huge spiritual stone was exceedingly rare, and the dragon was exquisitely crafted. While its practical value wasn't high, its aesthetic value was off the charts.

"If Your Majesty wishes her to have value, then she has value. Otherwise, without your requirements, Uheya can only accomplish this much," Kenji said, sitting across from Pluvia.

This time he sat down directly, without even waiting for Pluvia to invite him to be seated. He understood that Uheya's presence would bring tremendous opportunities for Camelot.

"I want to comprehensively evaluate Uheya's reliability. Once our strategy is actually implemented, Uheya's personal abilities become particularly important. If she fails to rise to the occasion, we cannot help her reverse her situation—Camelot cannot casually intervene in other countries' internal affairs, or else other nations will become even more wary of us," Pluvia replied.

Though Camelot was currently powerful, this power was ultimately temporary. To sustain this prosperity, they couldn't be hasty. Directly spending vast sums of money to mobilize troops and flatten Sal would be the most efficient approach, but conquering Sal would result in rebellions that wouldn't cease for at least a decade or even several decades, along with numerous poorly developed regions urgently needing investment for construction...

Moreover, it would cause other countries to become excessively wary of Camelot. Camelot had the capability to fight, but doing so too hastily would be counterproductive.

Countries like Samanjiang—not particularly strong but antagonistic toward everyone—were exceptions. Waging war against such a country was justifiable, especially since the Holy Church had been unreasonable first, and securing the safety of surrounding regions was naturally one of Camelot's strategies.

"I understand. I'll talk with her more to see if she's worth our help."

"Thank you for your trouble. By the way, are there any results from Lina's interrogation?"

"Yes," Kenji answered. "According to Lina's report, the Old Frent Trading Company appears to be conducting trade in Camelot and providing convenience for merchants across the empire. But in reality, the Old Frent Trading Company is responsible for providing material support and even some weapons to local followers of the Holy Church. While winning people's hearts, they're also cultivating forces loyal to themselves."

"Do they have any other operations?"

"Of course. The Frent Trading Company is also responsible for providing intelligence about our commerce and domestic politics. For example, if we ordered a large batch of shoes for military marches today, they would transmit such intelligence to foreign countries. Through this information, some organizations can determine that we might have military activities in the near future."

"Additionally, I had Lina investigate, and this trading company's so-called chairman is actually just a front man—a small fish. His bosses are some neighboring Holy Church countries. Most interestingly, I discovered that even these neighbors aren't the ultimate masterminds; there are others pulling the strings from behind the scenes."

"A considerable portion of the money earned by the Old Frent Trading Company has gone into the church's coffers. Moreover, the company itself doesn't follow rules; they've consistently underreported their revenues, concealing substantial taxes. According to preliminary statistics, the taxes they owe are enormous—enough for Your Majesty to build a new royal palace for me with plenty to spare."

From the moment Lina first explained the situation to Kenji, he found their methods very familiar.

In his own world, such operations weren't uncommon. And in Camelot, using a trading company to gather intelligence and secretly organize follower activities was even more covert—the Old Frent Trading Company, as a foreign trading company, indeed brought considerable economic benefits to Camelot while also making exchanges between Camelot and foreign countries increasingly open.

Such a trading company was hidden in Luminara like a time bomb installed near the heart.

When Kenji shut down the Old Frent Trading Company, the materials collected from inside were irrefutable evidence. If shown to the chairman of the Old Frent Trading Company, he probably couldn't find any excuse to defend himself.

It must be said that this chairman was indeed capable. Faced with threats and intimidation from the Gray Scales Division, he didn't lose his nerve but instead tried to negotiate, attempting to use his identity as leverage.

Unfortunately, other departments might have had some reservations about him, but not the Gray Scales Division. This department was essentially the emperor's (or perhaps the Grand Marshal's?) own violent enforcement arm. They had no interest in negotiating with him and instead used a complete memory recovery technique, ultimately making the merchant scream repeatedly until he confessed everything.

Clearly, the Scale Guards had displayed their advantages to the fullest this time—every country has its dark sides, and it's precisely because of these dark sides that some people suited for less-than-honorable work are needed. The Gray Scales Division had very practically implemented the concept of doing dirty work.

"They really know how to play the game..." Pluvia said with a cold smile.

She had been having people monitor the Old Frent Trading Company all along. Under her supervision, she had thought this trading company wouldn't dare do anything too outrageous. Unexpectedly, these people had ill intentions from the beginning and had extremely clear mission objectives.

"Tell the Gray Scales Division to leave these people some breath. They still have their uses."

Pluvia kept these people to increase her own bargaining chips. The Old Frent Trading Company itself might be finished, but its network throughout the country had been established at great expense by foreign powers. Just the trading company in Luminara City alone had cost a shockingly large amount.

Those powers would be unwilling to see the trading company collapse so easily. They would find ways to bail these people out, especially the church—they had worked hard to establish such a relatively covert network for proselytizing and gathering intelligence. If the trading company was gone but the people remained, with their experience, they could replicate this model in the future.

Therefore, Pluvia now wanted to use these people as her bargaining chips. Although these chips might not be very significant, having one more card was always better than having one less.