The northwest suburbs of Tivian are a stretch of rolling hills covered in trees. The area of the forest can be described as vast, which is quite rare to find such a large, rarely open forest near a major city.
In the winter forest, the ground layer is covered with decayed fallen leaves and damp soil. Most of the trees in the forest have lost their leaves by now, with only thick trunks extending out like clawing branches, swaying slightly in the cold wind.
During the daytime, the sky over Tivian was heavy and white. On a small hill somewhere in the forest northwest of the suburbs, several figures were standing. Leading them was a thin-faced woman in her forties, wearing a black cotton cloak and a leather hat. She stood in the cold wind, accompanied by several attendants dressed in various outfits. They stood together in the cold wind, seemingly waiting for something.
This woman was Lareina of the Netherworld Coffin Society, and the people standing around her were all her subordinates. These subordinates were currently looking around with wary expressions. There were not many of them, but in places ordinary people could not see, many Ghosts were hovering nearby. The gathering of these invisible entities seemed to lower the surrounding temperature by several degrees.
In the center of the clearing on the hilltop, there was a small wooden square table. On the table sat a Light. Lareina had two subordinates guarding the side of the table.
On the hill, the Ghosts and subordinates were all keeping watch around them. Lareina herself held a monocular telescope to her eye, looking into the distance. In the direction Lareina was looking, a large Stone building stood in the distant forest.
The not-too-tall city walls bent back and forth with sharp angles, eventually forming a complete, massive star shape. This star-shaped wall extended outwards in two overlapping layers, like a sharp flower blooming on the earth. In front of the outer wall was a gentle slope and a deep trench, while inside the wall stood various buildings. Flags fluttered above the wall. Using the telescope, Lareina could clearly see the symbols of the Prit Army and the Preet Kingdom on the flags. There were also red and white soldiers patrolling the wall.
Clearly, this was a fortress, a military fortress of no small scale standing outside Tivian. After staring at the massive building in the distance through the telescope for a long time, Lareina lowered the telescope, her brow slightly furrowed.
At this moment, a man in a plain overcoat and a thick hat ran over from the distance to Lareina's side. It was Carle. He stood respectfully beside Lareina and reported to her.
"Madam, we have thoroughly scouted the area within several hundred meters around here. We haven't found any abnormal situations or ambushes. We've also turned over the soil beneath this transaction spot and found no traces of traps. This transaction location can be said to be safe."
Carle reported to Lareina like this. To prepare for this transaction, they had arrived in Tivian several days prior, and their main focus since then had been on gathering intelligence and surveying the transaction location.
Tivian was not a place where the Netherworld Coffin Society had a particularly strong presence, so they had to be more cautious in their actions. This transaction location was chosen by that Thief. It was possible for the other party to set up ambushes or traps here beforehand, so they had to arrive early and scout carefully.
"Nothing abnormal... Did those Thieves not do anything here?"
Listening to Carle's words, Lareina paused slightly, then continued to ask, and Carle responded with a definite tone.
"No! Madam, our people and Ghosts have been monitoring this place since the day before yesterday. No suspicious people have approached. As for this specific spot, it can be said to be absolutely safe!"
"Just this spot..." Listening to Carle's statement, Lareina raised an eyebrow, then continued.
"By your tone, you mean... other places have problems?"
Lareina said slowly, while Carle nodded, then pointed to the fortress at the edge of their vision in the distance.
"Yes, the biggest problem is that Prit Fortress over there. Although that fortress is far from here, its alert range is very large. Many times, you can encounter patrol teams and sentries by walking about five hundred meters towards it. The garrison strength of this fortress is very strong, and the soldiers are well-equipped."
Looking at the tall fortress complex in the distance, Carle paused, then continued.
"More crucially, using our Ghost scouting, we discovered that when we got within about a kilometer of that fortress, we sensed an Extraordinary effect that repels spirits was operating. The sentries near the fortress seem to be equipped with Hui Jian Lights for checking passersby. A few of our Ghosts were discovered because they got too close. Then, patrol personnel immediately skillfully used Spirit Sealing Charms to seal our Ghost and immediately began a search. If we hadn't reacted quickly enough and hidden in time, we might have been discovered..."
"Madam... that fortress seems to have very complete Extraordinary defenses. It's not just a regular military fortress. Although the distance from there is considered safe, having such a fortress with strong defenses, both in mundane military terms and in hidden Extraordinary aspects, means we still need to treat it cautiously..."
Carle said this to Lareina. Listening to Carle's words, Lareina did not immediately respond. Instead, she turned her head again to look at the distant fortress. After examining it for a few more moments, she murmured.
"A heavily guarded military fortress next to the Prit capital, complete Extraordinary defenses... Interesting..."
At this moment, Lareina was contemplating the purpose of that distant military fortress in her mind and already had a slight guess. Just then, another subordinate came walking towards them from the distance. After reaching Lareina and Carle's side, he quickly spoke after pointing in one direction.
"Madam Lareina, someone is coming. Three carriages are coming up the slope. They should be the target!"
Hearing the subordinate's words, Lareina and Carle were startled. They then walked in the direction the subordinate pointed. After walking for a short while, they saw three carriages lined up on the gentle slope of the small hill, slowly making their way up the uphill path. Two of them were large freight carriages pulled by horses, and one was a small passenger carriage.
Each of the two freight carriages was pulled by two horses, traveling in front, driven by two ordinary-looking coachmen. The goods on the carriages were covered with canvas, so their appearance was unclear, but the strong aura of Spirituality on them was very easily sensed by Lareina and the other "Silent" Extraordinary present.
This was a sensation only possible with the Spirituality of "Silence"! The Netherworld Coffin Extraordinary present judged this in their hearts, while Lareina, as a Chalk Tier Extraordinary, sensed even further that there was a familiar aura of spirits on those goods. She could feel the presence of powerful spirits she had personally hunted before.
"They're here..."
Witnessing the carriages slowly driving up the hill, Lareina clenched her teeth slightly, a hint of anger appearing on her face, but she quickly suppressed it. She turned her head and asked the subordinate who had just reported.
"Are there only these few people?"
"Yes, only these few. According to the Ghost's report, there are three carriages, three coachmen, and one passenger behind the last carriage. There is nothing else besides that."
The subordinate reported to Lareina. Then, Lareina used her Chalk Tier soul perception to sense the three carriages in front of her. Under her perception, she found no traces of souls on the three coachmen, but there were traces in the passenger carriage. From this sign, she made a judgment in her heart.
'The three coachmen have no souls. It seems they are all some kind of puppet. The only living person in this convoy is inside the compartment of the last carriage...'
Lareina stared intently as the three carriages drove onto the open ground at the top of the small hill. The door of the small passenger carriage opened after it stopped, and under the gaze of the Netherworld Coffin people, a figure stepped down from the carriage and stood before Lareina and her group.
This figure was wearing a long, dark gray robe, the black fabric almost completely concealing their form. A hood covered their head, and the shadow from the hood almost entirely enveloped their head. Beneath the shadow, a black mask was tied over the face, which was already difficult to see clearly. The only things visible were the slightly reflective eyes in the shadow.
The figure, whose features were almost entirely concealed, stepped down from the carriage. The eyes under the hood's shadow scanned the surrounding scenery. After a pause, the figure spoke, a female voice.
"It's really lively, both in the visible places and the invisible places..." The figure said this with a calm tone, as if merely making a simple comment. However, as she spoke, her gaze swept over the Ghosts hidden around them. This action caused the hearts of the surrounding Netherworld Coffin Society members to skip a beat, realizing that this woman before them had the ability to see Ghosts. She might be a "Silent" Extraordinary, or another Extraordinary who had used some means to see ghosts.
"You are... Thief K?"
After carefully examining the woman in the dark gray robe before her, Lareina suppressed her emotions and asked. The woman paused for a moment, then nodded and slowly replied.
"Respected Madam of the Netherworld Coffin Society, as you see, I am the shameless thief mentioned in your letter. According to our agreement, I have brought the goods."
The woman who called herself the thief said to Lareina, glancing at the goods on the two carriages not far away. Hearing the thief's words, Lareina snorted coldly and spoke.
"That's the tone from the letter, full of poise yet shameless and despicable... Heh, I didn't expect it, the one who dared to steal our Netherworld Coffin items is such a young woma... Thief K, which society do you belong to? Where are the others from your society now?"
Lareina asked the thief this, and after a moment, the thief replied softly.
"Madam, why do you assume I have a society? Why do you assume I've brought others here?"
"Otherwise? If you don't have others backing you, with just you and these two puppets, aren't you afraid we'll double-cross you? At that time, your reward... your life... your soul... you won't get to keep a single one."
With ruthless words and a dangerous expression, Lareina stared at the thief before her. Hearing the other party's words, the thief's body trembled, then she spread her gloved hands and replied with a light chuckle.
"Of course I'm not afraid. I don't think you would lay a hand on me here, no matter how much resentment you have towards me."
"Oh... What makes you think we wouldn't dare touch you? For us, the best outcome would be to take back both your damned thief's soul and the goods." Lareina threatened the thief with an oppressive tone, but the thief unhurriedly extended her hand and pointed to the large fortress standing in the distance.
"Because of that."
Following the thief's hand to look at the fortress in the distance, a hint of confusion appeared in the eyes of Lareina and the other Netherworld Coffin Society members. The thief then continued to speak.
"Those of you from Dankoto might not know what that place is. Allow me to introduce a famous local landmark in Tivian to the travelers who have come from afar, Gale Fortress. This is an important military facility guarding the Prit Kingdom's capital. Of course, that's just on the surface. In secret, it has an even more important function than a fortress; it serves as the central consolidation point for the entire Prit Kingdom government's covert countermeasure departments."
"In other words, it is the heart of all Prit's covert departments. In common terms, it is the location of the An-Yin Main Bureau of Prit."
The thief said this to Lareina and the others. As soon as her words came out, Lareina's subordinates couldn't help but be startled, then looked incredulously at the fortress in the distance. Many had expressions of shock, and although Lareina had somewhat anticipated this, her expression still slightly hardened after hearing the thief's words.
"That place... is the lair of Prit's Black Dog?"
"Yes, you've been scouting here for some time, haven't you? You must have sensed the extraordinary nature of that fortress. That's nowhere else but the location of the An-Yin Main Bureau. There are several Chalk tier Captains stationed inside, and perhaps even a Scarlet tier existence presiding. No one in all of Tivian dares to cause trouble in this place."
Pointing to the fortress in the distance, the thief said. Then she placed her hand on her chest and continued to speak.
"I was prepared before I came here. I might not be able to defeat you, but if you directly attack me, I guarantee I can create a very large commotion, very conspicuous Extraordinary traces, ensuring that the important figures sitting in that fortress will be startled, and then all drawn over."
The thief said this to Lareina. Hearing the thief's words, Lareina's face sank, and then she spoke coldly.
"You plan... to threaten us not to attack you by drawing in the Black Dog? Do you think those Black Dog can catch up?"
"Of course they can. Those of you from the Netherworld Coffin Society of Dankoto, you know what the signature of our Prit An Yin Bureau is, right? The Storm Path, inherited from the Prit Royal Family, is a group of people who can control wind and fly. Their travel speed is among the best of all Extraordinaries. Although it's still several kilometers from here to the fortress, I believe that if something major happens here, the Chalk Captains inside won't take long to fly over, and if there's a Scarlet tier important figure, they might even arrive in just an instant."
"In any case, whether running on two legs or four, they can't outrun flying. If you really want to lay a hand on me, then I don't mind both of us going to the bureau for a cup of tea."
The thief said this to Lareina. Hearing her words, Lareina finally understood the reason the other party chose this place for the transaction. It was to use the An Yin Bureau as cover, to ensure that they couldn't use force to double-cross her.
And indeed, this move was effective. The Netherworld Coffin Society's Extraordinaries had almost no advantage in speed. If a few Chalk flew out from the fortress to apprehend people, their group would definitely not be able to escape, not to mention that a place like the An-Yin Main Bureau must have a Scarlet tier important figure presiding.
Lareina could see that what this thief wanted to do... was to successfully complete the transaction, and there was indeed no need for her side to gamble on using force.
"Heh... Alright, this is a transaction between societies, let the Black Dog and their ilk not get involved. Come on, Thief K, let our transaction begin." Saying this, Lareina walked over to the small table on the open ground, indicating that they would not resort to force. The transaction between the two sides would continue. Seeing this scene, Naifnis, beneath the hood and robe, slightly exhaled in relief. She walked towards them.
Seeing Naifnis walking over, a hint of gloom appeared in the expression of the grim-faced Lareina. She stared at Carle in the distance, and Carle also subtly nodded as if understanding.
After seeing Carle's reaction, Lareina focused her gaze back on Naifnis, who was walking towards her.
Don't think I can't deal with you just because there's no direct conflict, Thief.
Lareina thought this in her heart, and at this moment, Dorothy's voice was also echoing in Naifnis's mind.