Chapter 678

"Kill two birds with one stone?"

Cleya stared blankly at Evenson and the Eredar Twins as they exchanged smug looks.

After everything that had happened, she had figured out that Evenson was building up his forces, creating powerful warriors who would obey him without question. Apparently, that wasn’t his only objective.

"So," she asked, "what exactly have you been planning? I think you can finally tell me now."

Evenson nodded. Now that he’d practically laid all his cards on the table, there was little reason to keep this particular plan from her.

"There’s one principle that doesn’t need explaining. Soldiers belong on the battlefield." His smile widened. "I’m going to start a war."

"A war?"

Cleya frowned.

"You mean you’re planning to strike first?"

"Strike first, or spend the war reacting to everyone else." Evenson’s smile remained calm. "This battle will give us an important advantage. More importantly, it’ll give our newly trained warriors a chance to see firsthand what kind of enemy we’re actually dealing with."

"I’m not convinced that’s a good idea."

Cleya’s eyes shifted uneasily.

"If we attack without warning, won’t that just draw their attention to us?"

In her mind, the situation was straightforward.

If the enemy was really as powerful as Evenson claimed, then the sensible thing was to quietly build their strength, prepare for the coming war, and avoid detection for as long as possible. If they were lucky, perhaps they could remain hidden altogether.

And if they were unlucky enough to be discovered, they should still delay a direct confrontation for as long as they could. Every extra day meant more strength, more troops, more preparation, and better odds when the inevitable battle finally came.

Evenson, however, barely had an army.

They had only a handful of people, yet he was already talking about launching a preemptive attack.

That didn’t sound particularly wise.

"It’s fine."

Evenson gave her a reassuring look.

"You know me. I’m a man who values his life. When have I ever gambled with my own neck without being absolutely certain of the odds?" He spread his hands. "If I didn’t have complete confidence in this plan, do you honestly think I’d take such a risk?"

Cleya blinked.

Then realization dawned on her, and she slowly nodded.

Evenson had kept plenty of secrets from her in the past. A good portion of their time together had involved him putting on an act.

But there was one part of him she was absolutely certain had never been fake.

His cowardice.

The man who wouldn’t even smoke a cigarette without first activating Unlimited Breath was apparently going to gamble with his life?

Who would believe that?

"I’m planning to attack a place called the Fel Scar Rift," Evenson continued, his expression turning slightly sinister. "I’ve been preparing for this for a long time. I personally scouted the place three or four times. I can say with absolute certainty that it’s on the very edge of enemy territory, and it’s been completely forgotten."

He paused.

"More importantly, the Burning Legion’s main forces are preparing for a decisive battle with a particularly troublesome world. A place like the Fel Scar Rift could be blown into dust, and nobody would even bother asking what happened."

The Eredar Twins nodded in complete agreement.

Azeroth really was an absurd world.

Not long ago, Agatha had reported the latest developments from the front lines.

Every Legion stronghold on the Broken Isles had already been wiped out. The Legion was now reduced to teleporting Fel warships into a single region and using them to transport troops for each attack.

And those offensives had barely begun before the resistance forces launched massive counterattacks within hours.

Most of the Legion’s attacks ended in failure.

As for Gul’dan, the orc warlock on whom the Legion had placed such high hopes, he was now hiding inside the Nighthold and didn’t dare show his face.

He was even carrying three different Fel Infernal mounts with him, apparently prepared to mount one and run for his life if things became truly desperate.

To make matters worse, Suramar, the city surrounding the Nighthold, had erupted into rebellion. The outer districts had already fallen, and the armies of Azeroth had launched several assaults against the fortress.

Kil’jaeden was furious.

With every setback, his temper grew worse.

At present, he was gathering troops on Argus and preparing to personally take the field with a fleet.

So this was hardly the time anyone would care about a forgotten outpost that had been abandoned for tens of thousands of years.

Even if someone bothered reporting an attack on the Fel Scar Rift, there was a good chance the matter wouldn’t even reach Kil’jaeden.

And if it did?

His response would probably amount to:

Let them die.

I don’t have time for this.

For all I know, it’s an enemy trick designed to distract me and slow down the attack on Azeroth.

I’m not stupid enough to fall for that.

Cleya’s expression eased somewhat after hearing the explanation.

"If it really is an abandoned outpost, then attacking it directly shouldn’t be a problem." She hesitated. "But the garrison itself can’t be completely helpless, can it?"

Evenson almost laughed.

Of course it wasn’t.

By the Burning Legion’s standards, the Fel Scar Rift was about as weak as a military installation could possibly get.

By his standards, however, that still made it dangerous.

If the place had been easy enough to conquer, he would’ve charged in and taken it months ago.

Did Cleya really think he only had one defining trait?

Being cautious was one.

Picking on enemies weaker than himself was another.

"You don’t need to worry." Evenson waved a hand dismissively. "I’ve been preparing for this for quite some time."

He paused.

"In fact, the operation against the Fel Scar Rift has already begun."

Cleya stared at him.

"Already?"

"Not an open war."

Evenson’s smile turned mysterious.

"A shadow war."

"A shadow war?"

Cleya’s brows rose.

She understood what the term meant. Espionage. Infiltration. Undermining an enemy from within.

What she hadn’t expected was that Evenson had already managed to plant spies inside the Fel Scar Rift.

"Exactly."

Evenson looked extremely pleased with himself.

"The codename for this operation is... Listener."

He had come up with the name only moments ago, but delivered it with the confidence of a man unveiling a legendary military operation.

"The Fel Scar Rift’s lord-general’s adjutant, the Doom Lord Mother Agatha, was once a subordinate of the Eredar Twins. She has been dissatisfied with the current lord, Hal’mondar, for a long time. She secretly defected to our side quite some time ago."

Cleya’s eyes widened.

"She commands the Fel Scar Rift’s internal security forces. Every female demon under her command follows her orders without question."

Evenson’s grin deepened.

"Her codename is... Deep Sea."

Cleya was stunned.

This wasn’t some low-level spy who could sneak around collecting scraps of information or spreading rumors.

This was a senior commander with troops at her disposal.

And not just any troops.

She commanded the internal security forces responsible for maintaining discipline and conducting purges within the fortress.

In other words, Evenson had someone inside who could potentially turn the entire organization against itself.

"And that’s not all," Evenson continued.

"Hal’mondar is a blunt, thick-headed brute who has spent years discriminating against technical demons. As a result, Gnos, the chief technician of the Fel Scar Rift’s scientific forces and leader of the Gulgans, has long since had enough of him."

Evenson paused.

"When I infiltrated the Fel Scar Rift last time, I only had to give him a little push. He switched sides."

Cleya stared.

"He became one of my contracted demons. He’s actually working in this building right now."

Evenson hesitated.

"His codename is..."

He frowned.

"Uh..."

He thought for a moment.

"Shrine."

Cleya’s expression went blank.

Evenson continued as though nothing unusual had happened.

"The entire artillery network of the Fel Scar Rift is under his control. Once the battle begins, he can bombard the entire fortress."

Cleya could only stare at him.

"You..."

Her voice was almost incredulous.

"You’ve already gained this much control from inside?"

Then another thought occurred to her.

"If that’s true, why haven’t you attacked yet?"