Imperial Throne

Chapter 113: Mislead

"The other party said they left personnel at Karco Fortress, and they'll deduce how many days we delayed based on the time we arrive."

Aliman did not intend to hide anything. After all, he had already fallen into Yam's hands. He straightforwardly explained the issue.

Worried that Yam might not understand, he even began to elaborate: "After crossing the border, it takes about five days from the border of the Western Wind Territory to Karco Fortress. The day before yesterday, when we began the operation as planned, I sent them a signal. … So including today, I’ve actually diverted your attention for three days."

Yam slightly furrowed his brows.

He felt something was off.

So, after pondering for a moment, he turned his head to Sien and asked, "The other party purchased supplies in White Mountain City five days ago, and then departed for the Eaglehead Mountains?"

"They bought various living supplies in batches," Sien responded quickly. "Judging from the tracks, they headed toward the Eaglehead Mountains."

"No, that's not right." Yam suddenly shook his head.

"The other party bought a large amount of supplies in batches five days ago and then headed straight for the Eaglehead Mountains."

"But the Shelf Mercenary Group only started their assault the day before yesterday, which means the other party started moving two days earlier. Even if they knew the Shelf Mercenary Group would launch an assault, before Aliman contacted them, they wouldn’t have known the exact time of the attack, nor how we would respond. … At the very least, they definitely couldn’t have anticipated that once something happened at Sterburg, I would personally lead a group here."

At this point, Yam glanced at Aliman. "They also wouldn’t have known that the Shelf Mercenary Group would surrender so decisively."

Sien also immediately caught on: "So, if the Shelf Mercenary Group hadn’t surrendered so quickly, and you hadn’t arrived here so fast, we would now be pursuing the enemy. Even if the Shelf Mercenary Group failed and got captured later, once these people were exposed, and we continued to investigate based on the clues, we’d still be led toward the Eaglehead Mountains. Only by that time, we wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint exactly when they purchased the supplies."

"The timeline would have been obscured," Yam said in a deep voice.

"Then what should we do now?" Sien promptly asked.

"The Shelf Mercenary Group will attempt to break through in the direction of the Western Wind Territory…"

Yam traced a circle on the empty table, indicating that the northwest direction was the Western Wind Territory.

Then he pointed to a spot in the northeast region.

"Over here, another group is misleading us to pursue and investigate toward the Eaglehead Mountains."

Next, he pointed at the central location. "And here is the location of Sterburg. So the destination of this group is very clear..."

"Eastern Mountain Territory!"

Aliman blurted out.

Yam and Sien both turned their gazes on him, making Aliman feel slightly embarrassed.

"I’ve noticed that you don’t seem to have any sense of danger at all."

Facing Yam’s curious remark, Aliman was rather open: "You’re not planning to kill me, right? Since that’s the case, I don’t have to be afraid. … I’m guessing you want me to do something. After all, that’s how you bloodline nobles always operate."

Yam knew Aliman was a smart man.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have decisively abandoned the foundation and achievements his father and uncle had built over many years in the Western Region. Nor would he have chosen to surrender so swiftly when the situation turned dire.

And indeed, Aliman had guessed Yam’s intentions correctly. He currently had no plans to kill this mercenary group.

"There is indeed something we can still use you for," Yam nodded, directly admitting Aliman’s assumption. "But that’ll be discussed later. For now, I won’t let you leave. Can you understand that?"

Aliman nodded, then asked, "So, do you want us to take the Calmative Agent, or use the pin method?"

Yam glanced at Sien, who quickly turned back to fetch a vial of potion.

For a Bloodline User to activate their abilities, they primarily relied on their bloodline power. Therefore, if a Bloodline User was in an extremely fatigued and weakened state, it would be difficult or even impossible to activate their abilities.

Because of this, pharmacists developed a special potion that could suppress a Bloodline User’s power — the Calmative Agent.

However, this type of agent was only effective against low-tier Bloodline Users. It worked by slowing down the heart’s blood flow, thereby suppressing the eruption of bloodline power, making it impossible to activate their abilities. Combined with dietary restrictions that hindered physical recovery, the Bloodline User would temporarily become as weak as a normal person.

But for Fourth-Tier and above Bloodline Users, the Calmative Agent had limited effect. Therefore, the "pin method" had to be used.

The so-called pin method involved inserting a long needle into areas like the clavicle and wrist bones, crippling the Bloodline User’s limb movements. Then, it would be supplemented with the Calmative Agent, bloodletting, and dietary restrictions to fully dismantle a high-tier Bloodline User’s power.

Seeing that it was the Calmative Agent and not the pin method, Aliman let out a sigh of relief, then took the potion and drank it without hesitation.

He knew very well that before his physical constitution could be elevated, amplified, and strengthened by becoming a Fourth-Tier Bloodline User, if his bloodline ability was suppressed through the destructive method of the pin technique, then even if he received careful treatment and recovered his strength afterward, the damage done to his body would ultimately leave hidden injuries. Unless there were special circumstances allowing such hidden wounds to fully heal, his future potential would essentially be stunted.

So, seeing that Yam had no intention of completely crippling him, Aliman naturally let out a sigh of relief.

After Yam saw Aliman drink the Calmative Agent, he didn’t bother with him anymore, knowing that Sien would take care of all the arrangements.

The two of them soon exited the dungeon and returned to the surface of Sterburg.

However, as soon as they emerged, Sien asked, “Lord Yam, what should we do next?”

“Whether it’s the Shelf Mercenary Group or that group heading toward the Eaglehead Mountains, both are actually decoys. The real objective is to cover for another team heading toward the Eastern Mountain Territory. So you… no, I’ll lead the team myself,” Yam suddenly changed his mind mid-sentence. “I’ll take people and go directly to the border to try and intercept them. Timing-wise, we should still make it.”

Yam had originally intended for Sien to lead the team.

But thinking it over carefully, the claim that the enemy had no Bloodline Users came solely from Aliman’s information. There was a high chance this was deliberately shown to Aliman. Therefore, Yam had to assume that the enemy did indeed include Bloodline Users—perhaps even Third-Tier ones. Given that, the operation could only be entrusted to him personally.

“What about me?” Sien asked.

“You’ll continue to stay and guard Sterburg. But after I leave, you must immediately arrange for someone trustworthy and sharp to send word back to White Mountain City and inform Lily of everything that has occurred here,” Yam instructed. “Besides that, keep a close watch on those from the Shelf Mercenary Group, and increase patrols across all areas in the northern part of the White Mountain Territory.”

“Should we bring the Shelf Mercenary Group members back to White Mountain City for imprisonment?”

“No.” Yam initially intended to agree.

But then he quickly reconsidered and suspected this might be another flaw the enemy deliberately revealed—possibly to lure him into transferring the Shelf Mercenary Group from Sterburg to White Mountain City. If that were true, then did the enemy have designs on White Mountain City?

“In the intelligence report for Lily, have her get in touch with Akar, and simultaneously strengthen all security measures in White Mountain City. The enemy may not necessarily intend to act against White Mountain City, but we cannot ignore the possibility,” Yam said in a low voice. “Increase the dosage of the Calmative Agent for them. Also, transfer them all to the third-tier dungeon of Sterburg.”

As a fortress partially designed for warfare, Sterburg naturally had multiple levels of underground dungeons.

The first basement level housed the armory and various reserve supplies.

From the second to the fourth levels were different tiers of underground cells.

The second level was used to imprison dangerous ordinary people—there was also a sizable aboveground prison facility in Sterburg. The third and fourth underground levels were designed for Bloodline Users. The fourth level in particular was built with rock-sealed compartments, making it nearly impossible for even a Third-Tier Bloodline User to escape.

The four Bloodline Users of the Shelf Mercenary Group had originally been planned for imprisonment on the second level due to having taken the Calmative Agent.

But now, to be safe, Yam decided to detain all four at the deepest level to ensure they caused no trouble.

Once all arrangements were made, Yam promptly departed with five Bloodline Users, heading swiftly toward the Eastern Mountain Territory.

It took only one day to travel directly from Sterburg to the former site of Mountain Ridge Village, and from there, two to three days to reach the border of the Eastern Mountain Territory.

If Yam’s group traveled non-stop day and night, they could reach the border within two days.

If the employer of the Shelf Mercenary Group had departed for the Eastern Mountain Territory on the same day Aliman and his men took action, then Yam’s group, setting out now, should be able to intercept them at the border. But if the enemy had left a day or two earlier, they would already have crossed into the Eastern Mountain Territory by the time Yam’s group arrived.

Yam intended to take a slight risk and infiltrate the Eastern Mountain Territory to investigate.

Given the dual-layer decoy setup the enemy employed, he did not believe this was a minor operation. There must be significant value or profit involved—otherwise, these people wouldn’t risk so much.