Demon Hunter: I have a red gourd

Chapter 85 The Empire's Maneuver

"Temeria, or the entire north, is falling into a huge vortex!"

Roche's voice was so deafening that Ivan was speechless after hearing it.

Are Roche's movements so fast?
I just gave him a few reminders, but he had already analyzed the current situation. It seems that Temeria's intelligence network is not simple.

Roche's gaze seemed to penetrate the tent, looking into the distance, his voice low.

"In the past, I always thought those southerners were uncivilized barbarians and never took them seriously. When I considered the future world situation, I never took them into account."

"After all, their bloodline is impure. Many southern nobles are even mixed-blooded, human and elf. In our traditional cognition, this is simply unimaginable chaos and disorder."

"For a long time, the political center of the world has always been in the north. From ancient times to the present, no royal family in the north has ever intermarried with a southern country. This has also made us psychologically more alienated from them. We always feel that they are foreigners in a marginalized place, not worth mentioning."

"But I was wrong, so wrong." A trace of regret flashed in Roche's eyes. His fingers tapped lightly on the table, making a dull sound, as if he was knocking back his past arrogance and ignorance.

"Your reminder has finally awakened me." Roche raised his head, his gaze etched with a solemnity never before seen. "This empire at the southernmost tip of the continent—Nilfgaard—has quietly consolidated the entire south without our knowledge, forming a force to be reckoned with."

"Furthermore, judging from the intelligence I've gathered recently, their ambitions seem to far exceed my imagination, and their demands are enormous."

Roche stood up and walked quickly to the map of the tent, slowly running his finger along the territory of Nilfgaard.

"Even with Cintra between us, they seem to have set their sights on Temeria. I even suspect they have already made quiet moves in every northern kingdom, including Redania, Aedirn, and Kaedwen."

"In the past two days, just some casual investigations have already reached a shocking level." Roche's face was gloomy.

"As far as the economy is concerned, I have paid little attention to these things in the past. After all, these are the things that the chancellor of the exchequer should worry about."

"But, these past two days, I suddenly discovered that, since some unknown time, a large number of cheap handmade products have suddenly appeared in Temeria. After tracing the source, I found that they all came from Nilfgaard through various channels."

"For some reason, Nilfgaardian handmade products are extremely cheap. Take textiles, for example. Temeria's local handmade textiles are exquisitely crafted and reasonably priced, making them quite popular among the people."

"But when Nilfgaardian textiles arrived, although there was a difference in quality, the price was less than half of what Temeria produced locally. Ordinary people, in order to save money, chose to buy their products. This led to a sharp drop in orders for many textile workshops in Temeria. Many small workshops were overwhelmed and had no choice but to close down. A large number of workers have lost their jobs, and the entire industry has fallen into an unprecedented crisis." "And there are many examples like this. Taler told me that Nilfgaard is dumping its products into Temeria. I'm not sure what this term means, but it's clear that they have had a huge impact on Temeria."

"And their actions are far more than just economic." Roche paced slowly, each step heavy and powerful.

"Since our spies haven't spread throughout the south ahead of time, I can only investigate within Temeria first." He frowned slightly. "We've discovered many suspicious traits among the merchants who frequently travel between the north and the south. After a thorough search, we've discovered numerous maps hidden in their cargo compartments and personal belongings."

Roche walked to the table and slowly unfolded several yellowed maps. The lines and marks on them were densely packed, making them look particularly strange.

"At first glance, these maps appear to be ordinary trade routes, marking various towns, checkpoints, and roads. However, after careful analysis and comparison by our intelligence personnel, we discovered the secrets hidden within them."

He slid his finger along several thin lines on the map. "Look here, here, and here! These are all small paths leading to important Temeria military strongholds. They're not even mentioned on our official maps, but they're clearly marked on these merchants' maps. Even more frightening, some maps even meticulously indicate the terrain along the way, showing where the precipitous valleys are, where the hidden water sources are, and even where suitable locations for military camps are circled."

"This is definitely not a coincidence." Roche slammed his fist on the table, causing the parchment scrolls on it to rustle. "Nilfgaard has actually used these seemingly ordinary merchants to quietly conduct such in-depth reconnaissance and mapping of our military strongholds."

"I dare not imagine how long it took them, or how much manpower they mobilized, to gather such terrifying intelligence. Most importantly, I have no idea how many maps they've sent back, or what plans they've formulated based on this intelligence."

"Don't be so anxious yet." Ivan stepped forward, trying to calm Roche's nerves. "There's Cintra between Nilfgaard and Temeria. They won't move that quickly. You still have plenty of time to think about how to deal with this."

"That's what makes them truly terrifying," Roche said, his expression dark. "Even though they're separated by the entirety of Cintra, they've still managed to conduct such thorough reconnaissance of our Temeria. What exactly is their motive? Are they trying to unify the entire continent?"

"If Temeria is still like this, then Cintra, the closest to them, has probably already been completely infiltrated."

"What frustrates me most are the ministers and officials of Temeria. Our investigation revealed that the accounts of these merchants are extremely chaotic, and the whereabouts of many high-value goods are impossible to track."

"The guilds behind these merchants have intricate ties with many officials and nobles within Temeria. We've already gathered some evidence showing that certain officials frequently met with the leaders of these guilds and accepted substantial bribes."

"These bribed officials have been deliberately reducing Nilfgaard's presence in the parliament and downplaying everything they have done in Temeria. This is the real reason why I have been kept in the dark for so long."

"But I have no way to deal with these parasites in the country."

(End of this chapter)