Cataclysm King

Chapter 314 Intelligence Merchant

"But then again, why is Mr. Xu here?"

When Ji Xun saw Old Man Xu in the slave camp, he was not at all worried about the situation of this old acquaintance.

Other war slaves may face death at any time.

But not this one.

The fate line on this old man is very special.

If he appears here, he must be here himself.

rather than other factors.

Being captured as a slave is just a process to achieve the goal.

rather than the reason.

Ji Xun guessed: "Is there also a [Forbidden Ruins Stone Tablet] on the Rune Highlands?"

Old Man Xu himself forgot what he was looking for, but Ji Xun helped him remember that he was looking for the stone tablets that recorded the truth of history.

Xia Mucheng, Shangbang Prison, Mithril Mine Seal.

Ji Xun knew that there were stone monuments in these three places.

Old man Xu has also been there.

For a moment, he thought of the experience of sealing the mithril vein a hundred years ago, but Ji Xun found that that memory was blurred. The more he thought about it, the stranger he became: "Hey, how do I remember that the big snake said, what does the old man have to do with the stone tablet?"

The memory has been blurred.

He couldn't recall what happened.

But I deduced the cause and effect.

Ji Xun always felt that why the stone tablets appeared in those three places had some direct connection with Old Man Xu.

Thinking about it again, the [God Thief Ring] and the God Thief's Source Card were both brought out of the mine, and then the series of events in which Orochi would later identify Qin Ru as the contract owner seemed to have some inexplicable connection.

The noble young ladies from the Royal Academy are here, and the most talked about topic among the drinkers in the Adventurer Tavern is the identity of those nobles.

The romantic affairs of the big shots in upper-class society have always been one of the most important topics for the entertainment of the lower class.

What is the love story of the prince and princess, the countess’ lover, the princess’s evil queen stepmother

Ji Xun also pricked up his ears to listen to these stories, which may be true or false.

Sometimes I also make up some ambiguous stories and brag along with them.

Now that the target has arrived, he has to wait for the opportunity.

His current identity is "Sean".

He is one of the most active intelligence traders in the Wailing Valley camp.

Ji Xun felt that those aristocratic young masters and ladies, if they were not stupid, would definitely know the importance of information.

Although the nobles also have their own intelligence systems, when it comes to outdoor adventures, civilian intelligence is often more down-to-earth.

Especially the Luen Highlands where the casualty rate is extremely high.

If you want to increase your chances of survival, intelligence is definitely an essential preparation before traveling.

"Information merchant" is also the most reasonable opportunity Ji Xun can think of to contact this group of people.

Things were pretty much as guessed.

Just when Ji Xun was drinking and bragging with a group of familiar drinkers in the tavern, an intelligence broker with an official background quietly came to his door and said that a big shot wanted to buy intelligence.

Ji Xun followed the broker out of the tavern and went all the way to an apartment built for nobles in the camp.

Although the apartment is small, it is magnificent.

Compared with the simple adventurer's tent, it is already very luxurious.

There is also a separate study room in the apartment.

He was taken there.

Ji Xun originally thought that the person he would meet would be a staff member, an intelligence officer or something like that.

However, he did not expect that the person who received him was Salo, the nineteenth prince of the Red Dragon royal family.

And there is more than one information merchant.

A total of seven people came one after another.

Ji Xun took a glance and saw that the most well-informed "comrades" in the camp were all here.

Intelligence traders are also very discerning people.

Everyone looked at this posture and understood the situation.

The red-haired and sturdy young man in front of him is currently one of the very potential heirs to the throne of the Red Dragon Kingdom.

It is said that His Highness Salo's dragon bloodline is very pure and extremely powerful, and he has long been famous in the Imperial Academy.

Despite the fact that the intelligence businessman usually brags about knowing various important figures, this was the first time for everyone present to be formally summoned by His Highness the Prince.

No one spoke while waiting, only the sound of nervous swallowing and heavy breathing could be heard.

Ji Xun didn't show any abnormality.

When everyone was here, Prince Salo didn't even open his eyes to look at the group of intelligence traders. He just started lazily: "I heard that you are all the most well-informed intelligence traders in the camp. I need some information. As long as I feel Those who are interested will be rewarded generously.”

"It is our honor to serve His Highness."

Ji Xun and several intelligence dealers listened to the flattered expressions of each of them, and started to flatter them.

Members of the royal family want to buy information, which can fetch a good price.

What's more, this may be the only opportunity in their lives to curry favor with such a top powerful person.

Everyone knew that the nineteenth prince had called them together to save trouble, and to make the seven of them compete with each other to get more useful information.

The merchants also rushed to share their information, fearing that the reward would be gone if they were told too late.

"Your Highness, yesterday the meerkat group's small adventure group discovered a cave called 'Senas Cave' in the highlands. There is also [Ghost Mist Grass], a spiritual herb that has a miraculous effect on the fusion of dragon blood and the ancestors. But the cave There are also six-level nightmare spider groups. Your Highness, this is the latest information, and it is my exclusive information."

"reward."

"Your Highness, the leader of the Giant Ax Mercenary Group is my cousin. They have explored deep into the Rune Highlands. Two days ago, they discovered a bone dragon lair, and found a seventh-level bone dragon inside. There are a lot of necromancy crystals."

"Yeah. This is good news. I'll give the coordinates to the manager later. Reward!"

"Your Highness, I know a lone adventurer in the camp, and he has a treasure map in the highlands. It has been initially confirmed that it is an ancient gravedigger's route map, and it seems to point to a mysterious treasure. But That area is dangerous, and the adventurer is recruiting people in the camp."

"reward!"

"Your Highness, I accidentally bought a few pieces of mysterious metal that cannot be burned in the Adventurer Market in the camp. I suspect it is the legendary [Arcane Gold]. I have inquired about the source, and it was brought back by the Lynx Hunter Group. We have purchased all the relevant information and no one else will know about it.”

"reward!"

"."

The people present were all human beings, and knowing that His Highness the Prince was definitely not interested in ordinary information, they all revealed the information at the bottom of the box.

Professional intelligence traders also have their own sources of information.

They have information that even the authorities don't know about.

As they said, most of the information is exclusive information not known to outsiders.

Don't say it.

There are many things that Ji Xun has never heard of even after asking about them for so long.

Prince Salo was also very proud and rewarded bags of gold coins on the spot.

This is a much better reward than selling information to those bargaining adventurers.

The businessmen chatted for more than half an hour, and each one of them made a lot of money.

His Royal Highness the prince was also very satisfied.

Both parties were happy.

Ji Xun occasionally interjected a few pieces of information that few people knew, but did not act too conspicuously throughout the process.

"Have you seen the reward notice? Have you found any suspicious persons?"

"Unfortunately, Your Highness, no."

"."

After a while, the information exchange ended.

The businessmen turned around and left.

If Ji Xun left like this, this opportunity that had been prepared for a long time would be missed.

He walked last on purpose.

Prince Salo was smart and perceptive. He saw the complicated expression on "Sean's" face that showed hesitation and eagerness to show off his merits.

Prince Salo showed another arrogance that could see through people's hearts. He sneered and asked proactively: "Do you seem to have some information that you haven't finished telling me just now?"

A small intelligence dealer is not qualified to make detours in front of him.

He would not look good if time was wasted on worthless information.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Ji Xun also took the opportunity to speak and explained: "I'm sorry for not speaking out just now, because I wanted to tell you information, which is of great importance."

"Oh?"

Prince Salo looked interested.

Ji Xun also knew not to whet his appetite in front of this person, so he dropped a bombshell and said: "Based on my observations during this period, I suspect that the Luen Highlands may be related to the royal tombs of the Talon period!"

"."

Prince Salo's expression remained normal.

But there was a gleam in his eyes that was not easily detectable by others.

He still didn't seem to be very interested and said casually: "It's interesting. Where is the source of your information? Tell me."

Ji Xun's current ability is very suitable for intelligence work.

What most other intelligence dealers do is resell intelligence.

But he is someone who really understands intelligence.

There are thousands of tasks in the Adventurer's Guild taskbar, and a lot of new information is updated every day.

The value of this information varies.

There are failures, miscalculations, and false news.

Not everyone can tell the difference.

It's a lot of work to sort through the complicated and disorderly fragments of information.

This requires extremely careful thinking, logical thinking skills and keen intuition.

All the intelligence in the entire Wailing Valley camp is about Rune Highlands.

There seems to be no connection, they are all independent messages.

But analyze it from a high enough perspective and a large enough amount of intelligence.

You can see that this information is like pieces of a puzzle, and what is finally put together is the entire Rune Highlands!

Before the change, Ji Xun did not have such ability.

But "I am the world" has it.

Jia Yu's inexhaustible calculations were largely due to this secret method, which gave him the ability to analyze and deduce intelligence efficiently and accurately.

In the past few days, Ji Xun had used his shadow to inquire overtly and covertly, allowing him to master a large amount of information.

Mix them together and analyze. He guessed and deduced and came up with some conjectures that were almost close to reality.

Ji Xun directly took out a parchment scroll he drew and began to explain.

This is a map he has recently drawn based on the intelligence he has obtained.

In the entire camp, this is definitely the most detailed and accurate map of the Rune Highlands adventure.

But Ji Xun knew very well that the royal family may not have mastered this kind of map.

They even have more accurate military maps in their hands, as well as various ancient map relics left over thousands of years ago.

Rather than hiding it, it is better to show your value.

Anyone who knows the art will definitely be able to tell that the person who drew the map is definitely an expert in intelligence!

as predicted.

Just taking out this map, Prince Salo's pupils shrank slightly as he looked at the densely drawn place names and labels on it.

This time, I opened my eyes for the first time and looked at the information dealer "Sean".

Ji Xun glanced at the prince out of the corner of his eye and started his performance.

"Seven days ago, the Iron Boots Adventure Group discovered the ruins of a simple village in the Hongyantai mountain area. Although no valuable ancient items were found, in my opinion, the village itself is an important piece of information. Even if it is Talon During this period, this wasteland was not suitable for human habitation, so their identity and motivation for living are questionable."

"Three days ago, a layer of rammed earth suspected to be a road was discovered at 30 degrees north-west of the plateau. It is tens of thousands of years old. I suspect it is a road for transporting materials for some large building complex. But the strange thing is that there are still many layers of rammed earth on the plateau that are still there today. No large ruins were found."

"Five days ago, the Double Swords Mercenary Group found some rusty weapons on the human corpses near the 'Giant Cliff'. I have seen the imprints and coats of arms on the weapons, which are highly suspicious of the royal family of Augustus. It is very likely that a person with this identity appearing in this wasteland is the "mausoleum guard"."

"There are also several recently discovered extra-dimensional spaces, all of which prove that there are tombs in the Rune Highlands."

"There is also the 'gravedigger's treasure map' that my colleague Mr. Grandet mentioned before. I have actually heard of it. But I think it is not an ordinary treasure. It may be a tomb robbery map."

"."

Ji Xun pointed at the map and talked.

Reasonable and well-founded.

It wasn't just Prince Salo he was talking about, even several staff members and guards in the room looked over with obvious surprise.

Ji Xun knew that if he chose to show his face in front of the nobles, he would definitely receive more scrutiny.

But this was part of his plan.

The solitary identity seems easy to imitate and difficult to expose.

The premise is that no one knows that he has infiltrated.

This is what Ji Xun did when he infiltrated the Hydralisk Legion before.

But now the incident in Plague Swamp has exposed his existence as an "Eastern Wasteland spy" who is good at disguise.

If you continue to keep a low profile now, you will become an easier target of suspicion.

So he changed his mind.

And a character like an "intelligence dealer" who has to deal with many complicated people has many causal lines involved.

Not only to imitate the living habits and various personal labels of the deity, but also to properly handle every cause and effect line. This kind of identity would not be a priority for normal espionage thinking.

But as luck would have it, Ji Xun chose this way.

He already has enough skills and intelligence.

The almost paranoid self-confidence in his heart made him sure that he would never expose any flaws!

And this bold attempt will also bring him huge gains in the "acting" way.

The proficiency of "I am the world" also skyrocketed.

Ji Xun also knew it very well.

This is just the beginning.

To get close to this group of red dragon nobles, the real test is yet to come.

He continued to point to the map without any fear, drew an area, and said his results: "I have analyzed a lot of intelligence in the past few days. I guess that if there is a mausoleum, 80% of it will be in this area!"

After Ji Xun finished speaking, the entire study fell into silence.

Even Prince Salo looked sideways and listened carefully to his analysis.

Ji Xun's guess was good.

The Red Dragon Royal Family does have ancient maps of the Rune Highlands, as well as professional military maps recently drawn by professional cartographers from the army.

Overall, it is even more detailed and accurate than the one in front of me.

But Ji Xun's map gave Salo a new idea.

Salo knew in advance that the tomb of King Augustus was somewhere in this highland, so he was not surprised.

But that is top-secret information that even few senior members of the royal family know!

The intelligence dealer in front of me actually relied on various intelligence to deduce this point?

In the end, we came up with an area that was similar to what the royal family’s think tanks and staff had analyzed?

Ji Xun had already finished speaking while he was still thinking about the fragmentary information in his mind.

Prince Salo came back to his senses, took a look, and still said calmly: "Your intelligence ability is very good. A big reward."

As he said that, the guard on the side took out a large box of treasures.

Ji Xun didn't hide his joy and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

As he spoke, his face showed the anxiety of trying to hide his "ambition to cling to the powerful" but fearing the other party's displeasure.

Salo noticed it, and was not surprised. There was always a proud royal smile on his lips.

Too many people want to contact the royal family through his way, and he has met too many such careerists.

Salo didn't say anything, but said calmly: "If you have any information in the future, you can report it directly to me. You can retreat."

"It's Your Highness."

As Ji Xun listened, a hint of just the right regret quietly passed over his face.

But he reluctantly withdrew.

Ji Xunke never felt that he could explore the tomb of Augustus by himself, and had to borrow the power of these people.

Guide people there.

What's more, he can analyze that there is absolutely no shortage of think tanks in the Red Dragon Royal Family, and they will deduce it sooner or later.

After walking out of the apartment, Ji Xun's lips curved slightly, and he murmured in his heart: "A very conceited guy. Hehe, if I were that guy, what would I do next?"

Some people only know the basics if they have seen it with their own eyes.

During this meeting, the information Ji Xun obtained completed some of the necessary conditions needed for the deduction.

There were several princes and princesses who came with the Royal Academy trial group.

Ji Xun speculated that some of them might know the situation in Rune Highlands.

I couldn't confirm who it was before.

But now, it is basically certain that this Sarn is here for the royal tomb.

Otherwise, he would not be so anxious to summon the intelligence dealer.

The businessmen took the money and bought out the exclusive information.

No one dares to resell.

In other words, Sarn has more information than the rest of the trial group.

There is no shortage of ambition, strength, and scheming.

A very strong opponent.

The more powerful the opponent, the more Ji Xun's interest was aroused.

There are no outsiders in the apartment.

Prince Salo looked at the map left by Ji Xun, and his face finally no longer looked so calm.

He made no secret of his admiration and said in amazement: "A very good intelligence officer. Although he is from Ye Luzi, the sources of intelligence acquisition are limited. But it is already good to be able to achieve this step."

As he said that, he seemed to sense the person coming and said towards the door: "Teacher, do you think so?"

At this time, an old man wearing a white robe slowly walked into the study.

He looked at the map and agreed: "It's really good."

Prince Salo looked at the map, his ambition undisguised in his eyes, and sighed: "Since a small intelligence dealer can think of it, others must also be able to think of it. When this information about Rune Highlands is sent back to the royal capital, I will Those uncles and brothers are probably going to swarm us. We have to hurry up and explore. If we can successfully find the [Holy Sword of Olympus], all problems will be solved."

"Ah."

The old man also nodded, but also reminded: "But the Rune Highlands are very dangerous. You must pay attention to that 'prophecy', Your Highness."

Prince Salo didn't care, and said: "Prophecy is the future that cannot be changed. If my mother's prophecy makes me really encounter danger in a certain adventure, then no matter where I go, what's the difference?"

As he spoke, he chuckled: "What's more, that prophecy is just a vague direction, not an exact result. My destiny has always been in my own hands. Besides, aren't you still here, teacher?"

"."

The old man also became familiar with the nature of his disciple, shook his head slightly and said nothing more.

Prince Salo suddenly thought of something: "By the way, teacher, what about Uncle Andre's promotion ceremony?"

If he wants to ascend to the throne, he needs strong help.

If his uncle could take that step, it would be even more reliable than the sacred weapon of royal power he obtained, the [Holy Sword of Olympus].

Hearing this, a hint of depth appeared in the old man's eyes, and he said: "The Augustus royal family is an orthodox royal family with blood heritage. Such a 'war of annihilation' has extremely high standards, and it will gain a lot of insights into the laws of the planes. It is indeed The opportunity is rare. Once a large-scale war is triggered, the promotion ceremony can almost begin."

Prince Salo was also happy and said, "Yes. I didn't expect to have such a good opportunity."

As he said that, he seemed to have seen the result of the war, and said: "There is information that another sacred instrument of royal power [Crown of Thorns] is in the hands of the current King Augustus. Tsk tsk, it's a pity that the royal power is not enough now. Stable. Once he has almost integrated the Eastern Wasteland, I don’t mind trying the [Kingslayer] approach.”

The old man said: "The overall power in the Eastern Wasteland is too weak, and it is true that it cannot make any big waves. But some details must be paid attention to. Judging from the news from the Holy See, the destruction of the Hydralisk Legion this time is a big problem. Someone in the Eastern Wasteland seems to have made a contract with a very high-ranking ancestral spirit of the Immortal Family."

Prince Salo didn't take it seriously and said: "The Bai family, the god thieves, are indeed very strong. But the ancestral spirit fairy family can't change anything."

In his opinion, the Immortal Family was the most important reason for the destruction of the Hydralisk Legion.

But the old man obviously saw something deeper.

He said earnestly: "The Immortal Family is only one of the threats. On the contrary, I think the lurking ability of those in the Eastern Wasteland is more noteworthy. They can lurk in the Hydralisk Legion without being discovered. In other words, those people have If the perfect disguise is hidden in our team and causes trouble while we are exploring the imperial tomb, the consequences will be disastrous."

"This"

Prince Salo also frowned slightly when he heard this.

He really ignored this order.

As he spoke, the old man added: "The annihilation of the Hydralisk Legion is a lesson. Judging from the known information, the spy used the 'substitution method' to infiltrate. The spy infiltrated alone and cracked an S-level difficulty From this point of view, he is thoughtful, crazy, conceited, and not weak in strength. If I were him, now that I know that the Royal Academy Trial Group is coming, I will definitely find ways to contact him."

After a pause, his eyes flashed sharply: "We have even seen him."

"Oh?"

Salo also looked thoughtful as he listened, and his eyes turned sinister.

Thinking of something, he shouted: "Come here! Strengthen the defense in the camp, carefully check everyone who comes in and out of the camp, and focus on those suspicious people who have a withdrawn personality and have little contact with others."

As soon as he finished speaking, the guard from outside the door responded: "Yes."

(End of this chapter)