Chapter 770: ANBO Unit
CH770 ANBO Unit
***
The next day, Alex and his entourage prepared to leave Castin Town for the mining settlement built beneath the mountain range, where the domain obtained most of its ore.
Just before their departure, the heads of four of the five garrison families sent a representative to deliver the work logs Alex had requested for the payment of the guards’ salaries.
Also included was a list containing the first batch of people willing to leave Castin Town and form the foundation of the new settlement Alex had proposed.
"Please convey my thanks to the head of the Winkler family, as well as the other family heads, for their prompt action," Alex told the messenger.
"Inform them that any citizens interested in relocating to help develop the new town may report to Fonterra in three days so that preparations for construction can begin.
"Also inform them that the matter of the outstanding salaries will be treated as a high priority—second only to the domain’s regular ore trade during this period. Once the work logs have been processed and verified, the unpaid wages will be issued together with this month’s salaries in a single payment."
He chuckled.
"The garrison can expect so much money that I doubt they’ll be able to spend it all."
The messenger’s face lit up.
He laughed along with Alex before quickly taking his leave, allowing the domain lord and his entourage to continue their journey.
What he failed to notice was that while Alex’s mouth carried a smile, his eyes were icy crimson.
Once the messenger had departed, Alex handed the work logs to a still-confused Milton.
The old man continued reviewing the records as their group passed through the town gates.
Only after several minutes did he finally reach his limit.
"The audacity! The sheer effrontery!" Milton exploded in fury. "Do they take us for fools?!"
"Calm yourself, Vice-Magistrate," Eleanore soothed. "Don’t allow your anger to damage your health. You still have a great deal of work ahead of you if the domain is to be rebuilt."
"You don’t understand, my Lady. These ingrates simply fabricated the entire work log.
"They marked every single garrison member as present on every single day. They expect me to believe that not one guard fell ill or suffered an injury severe enough to miss work for even a single day?
"Worse still, they didn’t even allow the ink to dry properly. Do they think we can’t smell the fresh ink on the pages?!" Milton raged.
"Can you see now why our husband wanted to deal with them?" Zora asked.
"You were the one who pleaded on their behalf. Can you now see their true colours? Can you see what they really think of you?"
She looked directly into the old man’s eyes.
"Are you still going to advocate for them? Do you still believe a quiet and peaceful resolution is possible?"
"I..." Milton struggled for words.
Eventually, he let out a weary sigh.
"I understand. I apologise for my naïvety. I hope you can plead with the Count on my behalf. I will do everything in my power to help rectify this situation."
"It’s not a problem." Eleanore smiled reassuringly.
"Alex isn’t so petty that he would resent someone for disagreeing with him. In fact, knowing him, he would be more concerned if nobody questioned his decisions and everyone simply followed whatever he said without thinking."
"Besides, Alex never had any expectations for the family heads from the beginning," Zora added.
"In addition to showing you what they truly think of you, this entire affair was also meant to set the board for a larger scheme.
"Soon, the five clans of Castin will no longer be a problem for the domain."
Elsewhere within Castin Town, a shadowy group had gathered inside a modest house within one of the slum districts.
As though influenced by an unseen force, the road leading to the building exuded a subtle pressure that instinctively discouraged passers-by from approaching.
Had members of Fortuna been present, they would have immediately recognised those gathered inside.
It was none other than Udara and her scout team.
"We’ve received Master’s go-ahead," Udara said. "How is the preliminary investigation progressing?"
"From what we’ve managed to uncover over the last few hours, the five clans have grown quite wealthy through their control of the town.
"Of the five, the strongest is clearly the Winkler family. They’ve managed to produce a Gold-ranked combatant within their ranks," one of the crossbowmen reported.
"Why are the people in this domain so weak?" Havel asked, shaking his head.
"We saw Gold-ranked fighters almost everywhere back in the supposedly uncivilised Wildlands."
After everything they had experienced there, he found it difficult to believe that the town’s greatest powerhouse was merely a single Gold-ranked combatant.
"In the Celahan Empire, access to quality Combat Energy cultivation methods is tightly controlled by the nobility," Silver explained.
"The people of Castin Town are descended from outlaws. Most of them have never had access to high-quality cultivation techniques and are forced to rely on widely available low-grade manuals. Naturally, their progress is much slower."
"I see..." Havel nodded.
"Then this Gold-ranker must be quite talented," Udara remarked.
After thinking for a moment, she asked,
"Do we know anything else about him?"
"We haven’t been able to investigate him thoroughly yet," the captain of the crossbowmen replied, shaking his head.
"Prioritise him," Udara ordered. "I want a complete profile."
"Yes, ma’am."
The crossbowman nodded before continuing.
"As for the Dunn family, they appear to be the most corrupt of the five clans.
"They have used all manner of underhanded methods to seize property from weaker garrison families—particularly those whose serving members died or lost their positions and were subsequently pushed out of the garrison network.
"We also believe they—"
"Master already knows," Udara interrupted.
"He sent me a message regarding them. Their fate has already been decided."
Dangerous lights flashed through the eyes of everyone present.
"Master also said he’ll be sending us a document soon," Udara continued.
"The document will help us accomplish our objective. More importantly, it will come directly from the targets themselves."
"Really?" the crossbowman captain asked. "Can we trust the information in it?"
"Have you forgotten who our leader is?" Havel replied.
Silver Tongue!
The name flashed through the group’s minds.
If there was anyone capable of making a target willingly hand over information about themselves, everyone present believed their leader could do it.
Udara laughed inwardly.
She didn’t show it on her face, however, maintaining the demeanour of a serious commander.
"Master cautioned that the information should be treated primarily as a guide.
"It is highly likely that the targets will conceal certain things, so make sure you uncover everything.
"The success or failure of Master’s future plans will depend heavily on the intelligence we gather. Do not forget that."
"Yes, ma’am!" the crossbowmen replied with a salute.
Silver nodded solemnly.
Havel yawned, but the seriousness in his eyes remained unmistakable.
Suddenly, Udara opened a box filled with animal-shaped wooden masks.
"A gift from Master," she said.
"These masks have Master’s runes integrated into them, so they are far from ordinary.
"From this day forward, a new unit will be established under Fortuna: the Assault and Neutralisation Black Operations Unit, or ANBO.
"These masks will identify members of the unit during operations, and everyone present here will become its founding members."
The group merely shrugged.
None of them had any strong opinions on the matter.
One by one, they stepped forward to receive an animal-themed mask from Udara.
Three days later, exactly as Alex had requested, a convoy carrying those willing to relocate for the construction of the new town arrived in Fonterra.
A representative of the five Castin clans also arrived and handed the completed census records to the magistrate’s administration in the domain capital.
Milton was surprised by how quickly the five clans had managed to complete the census.
Alex, however, merely laughed it off knowingly.
He dispatched Milton to help organise and settle the new arrivals.
While carrying out the task, Milton gradually noticed a common characteristic shared by many of the people who had been transferred.
When he later returned to report his findings, the young Count simply nodded and said,
"I know."
Those two simple words shook Milton to his core.
As he stared at Alex’s calm expression, he suddenly realised something.
The five clans’ decision to send these specific people to Fonterra...
It had all played directly into Alex’s hands.
***