Oxtrad has calm laws and law enforcement, which is expected in their circumstances. The people are restless due to recent destructions, caused by greed.
This is also reflected in the country's flag, which has three horizontal stripes and a triangle in black, light pink, dark bronze, and light yellow. Their coat of arms is a feather with two keys on either side
However, this seemingly peaceful country was not peaceful anymore after a few weeks, the atmosphere in the country had become heavier as days passed, making one wonder if a war was not looming over the horizon.
Things weren't like this but everything changed after they got a new ruler. Everything has started to go awry since then, the peaceful country had changed and violence happened every day as if this has become normal. In this country, a woman appeared.
Noire walked toward a bar while ignoring the weird stares she was receiving from the people around.
She came here with a purpose in mind, she had to investigate before acting, and she had to get rid of anything that could ignite the war faster, they aren't ready yet.
''Sigh!'' Noire sighed under her hood.
First of all, she needed to gather more information.
The most important part of the fight was information.
Just how many forces were in Oxtrad, what powers they had and the fastest way to collect information is through the bar, hence her next destination.
The city had reached a state of lawlessness, but it hadn't devolved completely yet.
There were still several open bars that seemed normal. But it was unclear how long this last bit of order would last.
It was fine to grab guards and pull the information directly from their minds, but if Noire wanted to get a good grasp of the overall situation, it would be best to observe a large group.
That being the case, bars were some of the best places to gather information.
From the outside, it looks intimate, well-maintained, and clean. Sandstone bricks and hard wooden beams make up most of the building's outer structure.
It's hard to see through the large, stained glass windows,
Creak.
She pushed open the wooden door and headed in.
Even though it was midday, the bar was crowded. However, contrary to what one might expect, there weren't any loud noises in the bar. Only a low murmur could be heard in the bar since most of the customers were drinking quietly.
When the door opened, everyone turned to look at Noire for a moment before they turned away, uninterested. Noire was not bothered by their behaviors as it was good this way.
She sat in a spot that made it convenient to listen to the others' conversations while ordering a simple meal.
"Have you heard the story about Xri?"
"The rumor that a bunch of mercenaries and soldiers got done in? Do you believe that?"
"It's not a rumor. Lute said he saw it with his own eyes, a single person destroyed the convoy heading here and thanks to this, things have become hectic in the city.''
''Huh! I'm still skeptical about this.''
Noire's actions in Xri on her way heading here seemed to have already spread far away as mercenaries in Oxtrad already knew about it.
'If it's already spread this much, the higher-ups should have heard about it.' Noire chuckled before continuing to listen to the ongoing discussion.
Suddenly, one of the mercenaries lowered his head and said.
''What should we do now?"
"We're already in the same boat. What can we do? Whether we live or die, we have to follow Asthar from now on."
"I don't like him. Graham is the one governing. So why is he acting like he's in charge?"
"We can't do anything about it. They said someone extremely high and well-placed favors him. Besides Graham is extremely ill and has appointed this man to take his place instead of his son.''
Noire narrowed her eyes upon hearing this piece of information. So, previously Graham was the one in charge but when Asthar arrived, he became one in charge for some unknown reason, the former ruler even went far as appointing another as his substitute other than his son.
'Weird!' Noire thought.
Many countries small like this which previously refused the bigger power's assistance, have started changing their stance going under them for the sake of protection and survival. Oxtrad previously wanted to do the same but suddenly changed their stance and even started a small skirmish with the neighborhood country.
The reason why Noire came here is that this was an important trade route and also a strategic point between the big powers.
'This is all I'll learn from here.' She mumbled after a moment.
Noire wouldn't learn anything else even if she kept sitting there.
Noire got up and left the tavern before looking at the castle in the center of the city.
According to the information she'd obtained, Asthar was living in that castle.
She was about to head straight for the castle when she noticed there were people crowded around something. Naturally, her eyes turned to see what it was.
"…"
It was a group of corpses.
They were corpses that had been dismembered and displayed in the town square on a spear.
It seemed that the corpses had been there for a long time already as they were covered in maggots and had an extremely rotten smell.
It was a sight so disgusting that it would make most people vomit.
A word had been engraved on a sign in front of the corpses.
''Purge''
Even for someone who had lived longer she couldn't help but click her tongue. Humans are truly a disgusting race, doing this to their people.
Then, she went towards a man among the onlookers nearby who gave him a good impression.
"Who is he?"
"Huh? Did you just arrive in the city?"
The scarred man looked at Noire with a suspicious gaze, but she simply responded without a change in her facial expression.
''Yes, I came from Baddur's village.''
''Ah! I see, the one that got destroyed recently.''
Noire nodded and the scarred man looked at her with sympathy before proceeding to explain what had happened to that man.
''These are those who rebelled against Asthar."
''Huh?'' Noire showed her confusion and the scarred man chuckled before further explaining.
"They rebelled against the formation of a subjugation squad, and this was the outcome. Well, If they had kept to themselves, they would've still been alive. They were proud for nothing."
"Who are they going to hunt?"
"The former prince, Isaac. Have you heard about him? He's a man who has recently been traveling around Oxtrad gathering forces. It's said that he is a thorn for the higher-ups."
"…"
Noire was speechless for a moment before smiling because she understood something.
She small breath to organize his thoughts.
'There's no way their subjugation team could annihilate the former's forces.'
Because from what she heard, his force was not small and he has a lot of allies.
And Ashtar should've known that.
Then, what was he aiming for? Did he want to inflict losses on Ivan's group at the expense of the destruction of the subjugation team?
Or did he simply want a reason to execute rebels?
'No.'
Those were all byproducts.
What Asthar was after… was probably a civil war.
This was Noire's thought after thinking for a moment, using her experience and wits.
Ashtar probably intended to create animosity between the two sides and eventually lead people of the same country to point their swords at each other.
Step 1 was already successful. Oxtrad had been divided into two groups.
And now, it was time for step 2. Which was to deepen the hostility between the two forces. Until it reached the point where they regarded each other as their sworn enemies.
'This isn't good.'
If this insidious plan was to work, Oxtrad would not fall from the outside but from the inside. She felt like this was a test and if this works they could implement it on a larger scale. The enemy would be able to remove one of the most powerful superpowers on the continent with barely any effort of their own.
This wasn't simply about losing the nation's territory.
Even the identity of the country called Oxtrad would disappear.
In a sense, it was a far more terrible end than the simple destruction of the country.
'This isn't a plan someone small-minded could think of.'
If one didn't understand the dark side of humans, one wouldn't be able to make such a plan.
Noire looked towards the castle again.
Ashtar.
She would have to meet him and, if necessary, kill him. This person is too dangerous to be left alone, who knows what plan he would hatch next after successfully reaching his goal here?
''!''
Noire shuddered just by imagining this, this man could become a thorn in their side.
Because most attention of the superpowers was focused elsewhere, someone was using a small country as a test for something sinister. Fortunately, Alex had asked his subordinates to open their eyes and look for any unusual things if not something dangerous might have because they missed out on this.
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