Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 298: Failed plots

Chapter 298: Failed plots

A man hunched over the desk with a black band stretching over r one of his eyes. His head was tilted slightly forward, his brows furrowed in concentration as he observed the thing in front of him . He scratched lines and loops onto the sheet in front of him—a material far lighter and more pliable than parchment, smooth under his fingertips. It folded with ease and seemed almost frivolously cheap compared to the coarse, brittle parchments he had used his whole life.

He paused mid-stroke, the ghost of a wry smile tugging at his lips. Another southern invention, he mused, thinking of the notoriously resourceful princedom. Their innovations seemed endless, each more confounding than the last, this one however manage to creep into the Empire's burocracy. He ran a finger along the edge of the sheet as if inspecting its secrets.

This particular innovation had stoked his curiosity already having had sent wave after wave of spies southward, he had nothing really do anymore except wait for a miracle . Each returned with promising leads but no clear answers. Eventually, his agents pinpointed a single manufactory nestled in the southern princedom.

Yet the true enigma began there. As all the men he had sent failed to enter any of those manufactory.

For a man who prided himself on knowing what others sought to hide, the impenetrable silence was both infuriating and fascinating. More than a dozen spies had disappeared—either dead or captured, no doubt—but the few who returned had only useless scraps of knowledge to offer. None could describe the manufacturing process, the ingredients, or the mechanism behind this marvel.

Leaning back in his chair, he tapped the pen lightly against the desk and allowed himself a moment of grudging admiration. Not bad, he thought, his lips twisting into a smile that was equal parts frustration and respect. Whoever guarded this secret knew their trade well. Their defenses were tighter than a miser's fist holding a coin.