"Is that him?" Claude looked down from the window of an office on the third floor of HQ.
The person he was referring to was a middle-aged nikancha, probably in his forties. He was a little chubby, and his face was simple and honest. He gave off the impression that he was harmless, and it was easy to ignore him. He was probably a passerby.
"Yes, General," replied Colonel Fodelus, the newly appointed head of the intelligence department.
The previous head, Colonel Copphest, was rather unlucky. Back during the Greytower magus assassination, the head of the intelligence department wanted to curry favor with the newly appointed commander-in-chief, Aljess, so he stayed close to him.
In the end, two fireballs landed near them and he became one of the high-ranking officers killed in the assassination.
Claude had wanted Borkal to take over as the head of the intelligence department. His rank of lieutenant colonel was barely enough for the job.
However, Borkal rejected Claude's request. He preferred to roam the world under various identities.
The only reason he joined the intelligence department was because of the convenience of his identity. He didn't want to be stuck in an office analyzing reports from all over the world.
That was why he told Claude bluntly that he preferred to work as a shareholder of the Wild Bull Company. That way, he could earn money and gather intelligence at the same time.
Colonel Fodelus used to be Bolonik's aide-de-camp before he became the head of Monolith's communications department.
After Colonel Kofisst unluckily received his bento, General Bolonik promoted him to the position of acting director of the intelligence department of the war zone command.
Now, he was ordered to cooperate with Claude in the operation to leak top-secret information to the nikancha.
Colonel Foderus pointed at the middle-aged Nikancha who was standing by the stable in the yard. "His name is Chabao. Forty-three years old. He's from the Chabak settlement, one of the six largest settlements in the Nikancha country.
He's one of the few nikancha who can understand the Hebraic language. It's said that when he was young, he followed his mother to help out in the household of an immigrant teacher from the kingdom. The teacher didn't mind him reading and writing while teaching his two children.
When he grew up, he was favored by employers because of his literacy and received a decent salary.
Despite his honest and trustworthy appearance, he was the same as the nikancha.
However, their personalities were the same as the nikancha. They were extremely cunning and liked to take advantage of others.
Every time he was hired, he would be well-behaved for a period of time. Very soon, his temperament would relapse, and he would repeatedly steal from his employer's home. In the end, he would be discovered and punished.
Over time, he had developed a bad reputation in Port Vebator. No one wanted to hire him, so he had to earn some money by writing letters and acting as a guide at the docks.
Before the third colonial war, he was enslaved by the Shiksans. Since he could read and do accounts, he became a small steward in the settlement camp.
He used this position to befriend the elders and leaders of the Chabak settlement, and provided them with a lot of help when the nikancha people started a riot.
Later, when the Nikancha people established their own country, he was appointed by the Elder Council to be an accountant in charge of logistics. Now, he's the one in charge of all our arms deals in the dark … "
"He's the person in charge of the caravan?
That can't be. He looks more like a stableman. "Claude studied the middle-aged Kancha again. He couldn't see any resemblance between him and the manager of a merchant caravan. Be it the way he dressed or moved, they were all part and parcel of a stableman.
"It's true, General.
We don't know why he hid himself behind the caravan … "Colonel Foderus explained with a wry smile," When this caravan first came to our command center to trade ammunition quotas with our logistics department, they were very interested in our military equipment, such as kettles, charging horns, waterproof matches and other military supplies.
They said they hoped to emulate our army and establish a more formal armed force.
"After consulting with the higher-ups, the logistics department decided that they could sell those things. However, whenever we quoted a price, their supervisor would always say that they needed to consider it and couldn't make a decision on the spot. Either that, or they would have to send someone out for a trip before deciding.
"That alerted the logistics officer, who informed us.
"After some secret observation, we found out that the one who made the decision was this middle-aged Kancha dressed like a stableman.
"We started an investigation, and in the end, it was Colonel Borkal who found out about this Chabak from the nikancha nation."
"Are you sure this Chabak is the one we need?" Claude asked.
"I'm sure, General," Colonel Fodelus replied.
"Every time this Chabak brings a caravan to Lanu, he'll collect a lot of newspapers from our colony and bring them back.
He has a mistress who works as a maid in town and collects old newspapers for him.
We suspect that he's in charge of spying on us. Perhaps the nikancha nation is also wary of us targeting them. "
Claude nodded. "Alright, let's begin. I'm going to perform too."
Soon, Claude brought his adjutant, Anders, and the guard captain, Gum, down to the stables. Along the way, all the soldiers saluted Claude.
"Old Peek, what's wrong with my Black Lightning?" Claude yelled at the small house next to the stable.
An old man wearing an old military uniform without any military rank came out of the small house. Everyone who knew him knew that this old man named Peck was the most capable veterinarian in the command center of the theater of operations.
Even though he wasn't a proper soldier, the five generals of HQ were very polite to him. They would even invite him over for drinks and bragging when they were free.
Old Peek rolled his eyes at Claude. "What are you barking for? It's your fault for running around and letting your horse chew on wild grass when you get there.
Your Black Lightning ate wild bellgrass. It's very similar to horsethorn, but it has two extra leaves and purple flower buds.
It's a horse, not a human, so it can't tell the difference between the two.
It ate quite a lot too, which is why it had diarrhea the whole time and couldn't even run. "
"Will it be fine?" Claude asked worriedly.
The old man said proudly, "That depends on who it is. It's fine as long as it's in my hands.
But it needs to rest for a few days. I have to give it some nutrients to make up for the diarrhea. It should be fine in about four to five days. "
"Sigh, I thought it was fine. It's just a little diarrhea. I wanted to take it away right away.
You know that Black Lightning is my favorite mount. We have a great rapport, and as long as I make the slightest movement, it will understand what I mean … "Claude said with a hint of unwillingness.
"Don't even think about it," the old man said angrily, "It's already in such a state and you still want to ride it? It's really injured this time. If you ride it again, it'll be useless for the rest of its life. It won't be able to be a warhorse anymore!"
"Forget it." Claude felt a little ashamed by the old man's words. He turned to Anders and said, "Anders, go to Weyblon Manor and bring me my blue and white horse. I'll be riding it for the next few days.
Also, tell Kefnie that I'll be patrolling the troops to check on their training, so I won't be going home.
By the way, get Kefnie to help me pack a change of underwear and nightgown. Also, go to my study and bring me Welink's War Chronicles that I'm halfway through reading. Also, get me a few bottles of fruit wine from the wine cabinet. "
"Yes, General," Lieutenant Colonel Anders replied, then looked at the things in his hands awkwardly.
In his left hand was the black leather briefcase that all adjutants had to carry, while in his right hand was a tightly wrapped file. What was worth noting was that the gray cover of the file had the word "Top Secret" written on it.
Claude understood his adjutant's predicament and stretched his hand out. "Give me that file. You can't bring it outside.
Just go to my house. I'll get the carriage ready and put this file in the carriage. "
Anders handed the file to Claude and saluted him before pulling his own horse out of the stable and leaving.
Claude turned to the guard behind him. "Gum, tell the guards to get ready. Have the carriage wait for me at the gate."
"Yes, General," the guard said as he left.
"Take me to see Black Lightning," Claude said to Old Peek, "We'll be patrolling for a few days and it doesn't feel right to not have it by my side.
Other horses aren't as nimble as it is. Take the blue horse in my manor for example. It likes to throw a tantrum or throw a tantrum during a long journey. "
Old Peek shook his head. "I've seen your blue horse before. Even though it's a good horse, it was trained since it was young because of its noble bloodline. The jockey in charge of training it spoiled it a little, so it developed a tantrum.
It's a good horse, but it's not a warhorse. It can only show off on the racetrack.
Someone gave it to you as a gift, so it's a waste for you to use it as a warhorse.
Let's go. Black Lightning is over there. She's not a racehorse, but she's a good warhorse that understands human nature.
Oh, by the way, bring me the sack of sun-dried wheat hanging on the pole next to the stable. I'll go get a few eggs. It's time to feed it, so you can build up your relationship with it.
I promise it'll miss you when you're not around for a few days. Haha … "
Old Peek went to the shed next to the stable to get the eggs while Claude went to get the wheat hanging on the pole.
However, the sack was a little heavy and Claude couldn't carry it with one hand. He placed the file in the empty manger under the pole and used both hands to lift the sack down.
Old Peek, on the other hand, had already left the shed with four to five eggs and beckoned Claude to follow him with the wheat.
Everything that happened was witnessed by Watchbird who was squatting on the other side of the stable like a passerby. He sneaked a glance at the empty manger with the file and turned around to see Claude and Old Peek feeding a handsome black horse in a smaller stable on the other side. That small stable was used to house the mounts of the generals.
Not long after, a guard rushed over and saluted Claude. "General, the carriage is ready. You can leave immediately."
Watchbird saw Claude greet Old Peek and head to the gate of the courtyard. He quickly boarded a carriage and it sped away under the protection of a small group of guards.
"He forgot about the top secret file …" Jianiao suddenly became very nervous.
He knew this General Claude. He had heard many times about the general's legendary achievements in the theatre command.
Some even called him the second Marshal Micheli. It was said that he was more aggressive than Micheli.
Ever since he joined the army, he had been invincible and victorious. He had never been defeated in a battle.
However, this General Claude had obviously made a huge mistake. He was probably used to being empty-handed.
He usually had his adjutant and guards to help him, so he didn't need to carry his own briefcase or bag.
Therefore, he sent his adjutant and his personal guards out to handle the matter, while he himself held onto the top-secret file.
But as soon as he started working, he put it aside. When the guard came to tell him that the carriage was ready to leave, he had already forgotten about the top-secret file and hurried off.
That was a common occurrence. Watchbird noticed that his employers had the same problem when he was hired in the past. They would often forget where they put their things when there were too many things to do.
He had used this to earn a lot of extra money for himself, but unfortunately, the employers would eventually remember and suspect him when they couldn't find the stolen goods. There were many times when he didn't have time to dispose of the stolen goods and was caught carrying them with him. He was punished because the evidence was conclusive …
He could only hope that General Claude remembered it as soon as possible. Watchbird stood up and walked towards the empty manger like a groom. Beside it was a large pile of normal fodder.
Scout Bird walked over and took a square rattan basket. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to him. He immediately stuffed the top secret documents into the bottom of the rattan basket, covered it with fodder, and returned with the rattan basket. He used the fodder to feed his caravan's donkeys.
Just like a normal groom, Watchbird made four trips to the caravan.
Together with the other three groom, he fed all the donkeys in the caravan. Finally, as usual, Watchbird led his big donkey out of the courtyard and towards the south of town.
The soldiers guarding the gate knew him and greeted him loudly.
The guards knew that the nikancha groom had a nikancha lover who worked as a maid in town.
Every time the caravan came to Lanu, the nikancha groom would look for his lover.
Watchbird only returned to the courtyard in the evening. He seemed to have drunk a little as his face was a little red. He carried a large bundle of the colony's newspapers on his donkey. They were all old newspapers that had been issued in the past few months.
He behaved the same as he always did when the caravan came and went.
The guards knew that the nikancha groom was literate and loved to read newspapers. His maid lover would usually collect the old newspapers for him.
Moreover, Jiao Niao's explanation was that he liked to read knight legends and gossip news that were serialized in the newspaper. When he returned to China, he would tell the knight legends in the newspaper to people in the pub. This way, he would be respected by many people, and he could get free drinks.
Perhaps he already knew that there were no abnormalities in the war zone command center, so he behaved very normally and calmly.
In the evening, it was time to feed the caravan's donkeys again. Jianniao and the other three nikancha grooms busied themselves for a while before they finally managed to feed all the donkeys. Then, they went to the soldiers' mess hall to get some food.
As members of the nikancha's caravan who came to trade ammunition with the logistics department, they could eat for free in the soldiers' canteen in the command center.
About an hour after the meal, a carriage with a squad of mounted soldiers stopped at the gate of the courtyard. General Claude, who had left in the afternoon, dismounted with his aide and soldiers and rushed to the stable.
The soldiers and nikancha who were resting in the courtyard looked at them in shock, not knowing what was going on.
"It should be here. I remember Anders giving me that top-secret file, but I forgot to take it when I got on the carriage. I don't know when I put it down," General Claude said with a pale face.
Old Peek came over and asked Claude what happened.
The moment Claude said that, Old Peek rubbed his bald head. "General, I don't recall you having any documents with you when you fed Black Lightning."
Claude slapped his forehead. "I remember now. When you asked me to take the bag of wheat from the pole, I put it in the empty manger."
Claude rushed to the empty manger and found the tightly wrapped top-secret file inside. He breathed a sigh of relief and said to his aide and soldiers, "It's fine. It was just a false alarm. Let's go back to Weyblon Manor. We'll patrol the troops again tomorrow."
Claude was like a whirlwind, coming and going in a hurry.
Nobody noticed that the nikancha groom, Watchbird, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
.....
"Did you check it?" Claude asked.
"General, we've checked. This top-secret file has indeed been tampered with by that Scout Bird.
The way the package was wrapped was slightly different. Two of the seventeen western colonies' newspapers were missing. They were all about the future of Shiks' lease of Cape Loducus and the outcome of the war.
Also, the intelligence analysis briefing I wrote was copied by someone, and there was a copy mark on it … "Colonel Foderus answered with certainty.
Claude nodded. "We'll have to wait patiently. The nikancha will need to verify this information before they come to us for help.
We can't leave any traces to arouse their suspicions. There's no need to help them. We just have to hide it from them and deny any information about Shiks. "
"We understand, General. Don't worry," Colonel Fodreus replied.