Gunmage-Chapter 46: Valuable intel

The Fisherman?

The strange man repeated the name again as his cigarette hit the floor.

He paused, then spoke

"October 20th, '05—Black Tide Assassination."

Lugh responded.

"July 2nd—The Silent Harbor Incident."

"Wow. Holy—"

The man took a step back.

"It really is you."

In his hand, he held a dossier he had pulled out at some point. Inside was the file of Riley Osneil, attached with a photograph.

The major looked at him with an odd expression.

"What? Is he a big shot or something?"

"Big shot? He's a living legend!"

The man exclaimed, fanaticism gleaming in his eyes.

"I have the Fisherman in my office! Oh, just wait till I tell the boys."

The major was surprised. Lugh was too.

Riley's memories didn't contain much about how people from Heieg saw him. From the two separate reactions, it seemed that only people from the intelligence department knew him.

Taking it further, only those with a high rank in intelligence were aware of his existence.

Stifling his excitement, the man sat behind the desk, his face suddenly serious.

"What information do you have for me?"

Lugh took a seat. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. Remembering Lovainne's instructions, he began.

"The army in the North is in terrible shape. Morale is at an all-time low, and their resources will soon be running out."

"Yes, we know all this"

The man responded.

"They'll be forced to make a move soon, and they'll most likely choose to invade our homeland."

"We've already begun making preparations for this."

Lugh's lips curled when he heard that. His voice dropped to a quiet intensity.

"What if I told you you're wrong?"

"What?"

"What if I told you Ophris has already charted a safe route through the Devil Sea and will be sending large amounts of reinforcements soon?"

The expressions of both men in the room suddenly dropped, their eyes widening.

"W-What the—? How is that possible?"

Lugh didn't respond, but they were already fearing the worst. The major shot up from his seat.

"I'll inform our superiors right away"

"Hold up!"

The man behind the desk interrupted.

"Why don't you hear the full story before you leave? It'll be best if you deliver all the info at once."

"...Alright"

The major replied hesitantly, but he refused to settle back into his seat. His tall frame blocked the evening sunlight from reaching Lugh.

Lugh continued to feed them the 'valuable' intel.

"These new forces will arrive with adequate supplies. When the time is right, they'll launch an attack on this city in cooperation with the Seventh Armored Division."

"That would be catastrophic"

The man muttered.

"Do you know the time frame for their attack?"

"Their command HQ gave it five months, but it might take longer depending on circumstances"

Lugh added.

After that, they asked him a few more questions, about the voyage through the Devil Sea, how he got this information, and more. Lugh answered all impeccably, drawing from years of espionage experience he had inherited from Osneil.

For the things he didn't know, he asked directly and received answers from Major General Lovainne, who was seated opposite his real body.

The man seating in front of Lugh lit another cigarette and released a puff of smoke.

Then he spoke

"There's something I want to ask you"

"What is it?"

Lugh questioned, feeling apprehensive.

"Four days ago, we stopped receiving updates from our spies embedded in the 14th Division up north. Do you know why?"

"Ah, well..."

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Lugh began.

"I don't know how they did it, but more than half the spies in the army were accurately identified and executed."

The man's frown deepened. What Lugh had just said was incomprehensible to him.

"Huh?"

Lugh simply unbuttoned his shirt. Beneath it were a multitude of ugly wounds, scars, and fresh lacerations.

"Those bastards!!"

The major yelled, slamming his fists against the wall.

Lugh rebuttoned the shirt and continued.

"I was captured and tortured for information, but I didn't reveal anything. With the unexpected help of the remaining spies, I escaped. They, sadly, did not."

The two men remained quiet, but the simmering rage in their eyes was unmistakable.

After all the details were sorted out, the major general took his leave, no doubt ready to report his findings to higher-ranked officers.

Lugh had accomplished his first objective.

Once the major left, it was time to move on to the second.

"How do you think our spies were discovered?"

He asked.

"That's what I can't figure out, honestly."

The man took a puff of his cigarette before continuing.

"We use a decentralized network, meaning the likelihood of three spies even knowing they're Heieg agents is close to zero. This reduces the risk if one person leaks information. That's why your story seems so incomprehensible to me."

Lugh's eyes glinted.

"About that, I have a theory."

"Oh?"

The man showed interest. Lugh's voice dropped to a whisper.

"I think magic was involved."

The man stilled. The air became heavy.

"Magic?"

A soft voice that didn't belong to either of them asked.

Lugh turned around, but he couldn't see anyone.

Then, out of thin air, a regal figure stepped forth. Dressed in flowing green and white robes, his platinum-gold hair cascaded down his back.

His emerald eyes gleamed with an unnatural sharpness. Long, pointed ears confirmed what he was.

An elf.

Lugh—or rather, the puppet he was controlling, Riley—revealed an expression of shock.

"An elf?!"

He asked, bewildered, switching to elvish.

The elven man ignored the question.

"You said they used magic?"

Lugh had never explicitly said that, he had only proposed a theory. But in this case, he simply nodded in feigned awe.

"What makes you think that?"

The elf pressed.

"W-Well..."

Lugh began.

"They gathered us all and asked if we were spies. Once we replied 'no,' they started picking out those who were lying"

"I've never heard of a lie-detection spell before"

The elf mumbled.

Then he spoke again, his voice graceful yet urgent.

"That must explain how they survived the Devil Sea!"

The second objective was easier to complete than Lugh had expected.

Now, he moved on to the third.

"No, that's not it"

He stated defiantly.

"What?"

The elf's eyes narrowed dangerously.

The man behind the desk shot Lugh a warning look, telling him to keep his mouth shut. But Lugh pretended not to notice.

He continued.

"Think about it, if a single mage were enough to guarantee safe passage through the Devil Sea, then why have your magical civilizations, with entire armies of mages, failed to accomplish such a simple task?"

The silence was deafening.

Lugh should have stopped. But he pressed on.

His act was flawless, he truly looked like a man broken by loss.

"From your presence here, I can conclude that you were the ones who coaxed our commanders into deploying fewer units to defend the shores—"

He didn't stop there

"—Because of your incompetence and arrogance, we lost a valuable strategic point, and a thousand good men were senselessly slaughtered by those devils. What do you have to say about that, huh?!"

By the end of his rant, his throat was hoarse, and tears streaked down his face.

It was a world-class performance.

But no matter how well-acted, it wouldn't stop what came next.

Killing intent flooded the room.

The elf raised his hand.

His gaze was murderous.