Just as Vera thought Anke would continue to extract information from Kaxier, he gave a strange set of instructions.
“Take them all away. Keep them under strict guard, but do not mistreat them. Ensure they are given enough food and water.”
Everyone except Anke failed to understand why he was ending the interrogation so abruptly.
“Aren’t you going to continue the questioning? We might still be able to get more valuable intelligence out of those barbarians,” Vera said, directly reminding Anke that he shouldn’t end the interrogation so hastily.
“There is no need to continue because I have already obtained everything I wanted to know. Besides, these barbarians likely won’t fall for the same trick a second time,” Anke explained.
‘You already know everything you wanted to? But the only useful information that female barbarian revealed was their troop strength…’ Vera was full of questions, but she set aside her curiosity for the moment.
Once the Imperial Guard Knights and the militia led the three barbarian spies away to the dungeon, only Anke and Vera remained in the barracks.
It was then that Vera voiced her lingering doubts.
“Your Highness, I do not understand. You only learned the strength of one of their tribes from that woman. Why do you say you have everything you wanted to know?”
“Their troop strength? That is actually not that important,” Anke replied with a smile.
“Why? In war, isn’t understanding the enemy’s strength one of the most critical parts of intelligence preparation?”
Vera was puzzled. Although she had never personally experienced human warfare, she understood the general concepts.
“You are right, Vera, but what we are doing now is not fighting a decisive battle against the barbarians. Our goal is to hold out against their offensive in the New Border City. Therefore, my primary concern is not how many troops they have, but rather whether they are following my plan by mistaking this Fake Border City for the real Border City. If the barbarians don’t fall for it, then my entire plan goes to waste. Fortunately, the appearance of these spies, like Kaxier, confirms that there were no errors in my plan.”
“Does Your Highness mean that the barbarians already believe this place is Border City? That is why they sent their spies here?”
‘Thinking about it that way, that really is a piece of very important hidden intelligence,’ Vera thought.
“Exactly.” Anke gave Vera a thumb-up.
……
On the other side, Kaxier and the other barbarians were escorted to the makeshift prison.
“Get in there, you savages!”
The Imperial Guard Knight who had previously argued with Kaxier ordered his subordinates to roughly throw the three barbarians into the cell.
Since the newly built prison was spacious, the three barbarians each received a “private room.”
“Did we catch another batch of rats, Sir Knight?” the jailers asked while fitting the barbarians with fine iron shackles.
“These aren’t rats this time; they’re barbarians. Be careful. These savages are incredibly strong, and they might know curses or other evil arts. Just remember not to touch them.”
“Understood. And what about their treatment?” the jailer asked for more details.
“His Highness ordered that they should not be mistreated. Follow the new regulations for the Border City prison.”
“Understood, Sir Knight,” the jailer said with a nod. He quickened his movements, locking the shackles onto the new prisoners before stepping out and bolting the cell doors.
Even through the bars and weighted down by shackles, Kaxier continued to shout at the knights.
“Just you wait! The warriors of our Iron Jaw Tribe will surely trample this pathetic Border City to the ground!”
However, the knight ignored her. After delivering the prisoners, he left the prison alone to return to his post at the city gate.
The jailers, fearing the barbarian curses and evil arts mentioned by the knight, simply pretended they couldn’t hear her shouting and ignored her as well.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Kaxier caused a ruckus for a while longer before gradually falling silent.
The jailers assumed the barbarian woman was simply tired.
They had no idea that the barbarians, held in three separate cells, had begun to communicate quietly through the bars using the unique hand signals of the Iron Jaw Tribe.
‘Priestess Kaxier, the human guards aren’t paying attention to us,’ the barbarian in the cell to her left signaled.
‘Good! I will use the Blood Secret Art to report our situation immediately. Cover me while I prepare to release the art,’ Kaxier responded.
‘No problem.’
The barbarians on either side of her nodded and began to keep watch. Seeing her companions’ response, Kaxier moved slowly to a corner of her cell.
She bit her finger with a sharp canine tooth and used the blood to draw the totem of the God of Thorny Rocks—the deity her tribe worshiped—on the floor.
Once the totem was complete, she closed her eyes and silently recited an ancient incantation, activating the Blood Secret Art to connect with another Priestess back in the Iron Jaw Tribe.
As the secret art took effect, the blood-drawn totem on the floor began to glow with a faint, eerie green light.
“Sister Kaxier, what danger have you encountered? Why have you activated the secret art?” a voice began to ring in Kaxier’s ear, growing clearer by the second.
It was the other Priestess of the tribe, Kaxier’s twin sister, Cassia Dragonfang.
“Cassia, we have been captured by the human Lord of Border City.”
“What! How did this happen? Did your Bewitchment fail?”
“It didn’t work. The human Lord of Border City hid one of his Imperial Guard Knights among the guards inspecting those entering the city. My Bewitchment had no effect on those rigid tin cans.”
“Then what should we do? Aren’t you and the Niesang brothers in great danger?” Cassia’s voice was laced with anxiety.
“We are fine for now. However, that cunning human Lord tricked me into talking, and he now knows the troop strength of our Iron Jaw Tribe. Also, there is a red-haired female knight here who feels incredibly powerful—no one in our tribe would be able to defeat her. Cassia, as soon as this connection ends, tell the Chief immediately. He must be extremely careful of that woman when he attacks Border City!”
“I understand, Sister. But what about you? Those humans will have no mercy for us.”
“Our safety is not important, as long as everyone has enough grain to survive the winter… Remember what I said, you must be careful of the red-haired female knight here!”
After finishing her instructions, Kaxier snapped her eyes open and severed the connection. She tapped on the prison bars, drawing the attention of the Niesang brothers, who were still watching the jailers.
‘It is done. I have informed the Chief and the others of our situation.’
‘Great! Those humans are going to get what’s coming to them!’ the younger Niesang brother signaled, his eyes filled with excitement.
‘Priestess Kaxier, back in the barracks, why didn’t you just take that opportunity to assassinate the human Lord?’ the older brother asked.
He was still thinking about how Kaxier could have struck from that distance.
‘Because I felt it. The person standing beside that human Lord was terrifying—extremely dangerous! If I had made a move then, it would have been impossible to succeed, and none of the three of us would have survived.’
‘Why? Wasn’t she just a human female?’
‘A human? The feeling she gave me… she didn’t seem human at all.’
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