Chapter 294 The Helpless Spy
It seemed that industrial espionage was something he couldn't get away from no matter which world he was in.
It would be quite easy to apprehend them all or kill them if he wished. Yet, this might only result in more spies being sent.
After all, realistically, there was no way that he could constantly keep an eye on the warehouse to make sure that it wouldn't be spied upon by other forces.
Hence, the priority was to find out the motive and the origin of these three spies.
Deciding to spend more time on it, Daneel used the entire day to frequently shift positions between them in order to catch any transmission they made.
His advantage was that he had noticed that they only had trinkets which needed to be spoken aloud into instead of hearing the thoughts of those that held them.
The latter type of trinkets were quite expensive, and were hence used only in limited situations where a specific need was there.
Each spy was using the surroundings perfectly, completely out of sight from anyone that happened to pass through. They were also using specific trinkets which reminded Daneel of periscopes back on Earth. These had two components, one on the outside disguised and camouflaged, and the other in the hands of the spy who was using it to both get the images and the sounds from the warehouse.
Spies were required to give regular updates about their work, so Daneel finally managed to intercept a few transmissions.
One was from Axelor, but he had already guessed this due to the savagery that sometimes came on the man's face when he heard someone praising Daneel or the Kingdom inside the warehouse.
The other was actually from the Eldinor.
Since putting Eldra on the throne, Daneel had mostly let her do her own thing except for using her to get any information he needed from that Kingdom.
After all, she was being watched at all times by a few people who suspected that her loyalties lay elsewhere. Hence, he had decided that he would only use this pawn of his when the situation was dire.
Yet, he had asked Eldra to regularly send all the undertakings of the Kingdom of the Elves so that he could act accordingly or advise her if he needed something to be changed.
Deciding to check those logs after getting back to the palace and finding out their motive, Daneel moved onto the last one.
Where the last two spies were quite professional and would have passed the tests for the top spies in the Lanthanor, this one was quite amateurish.
His origin actually surprised Daneel. He seemed to be some sort of a neutral spy. and he was actually sending information to multiple parties. Although Daneel didn't manage to recognize all the names of the organizations that he was sending it to, he realized that they were all the brands and establishments which were quite famous in Angaria.
This one was definitely the most disconcerting of them all, as it meant that Helena and Dalia had already drawn the attention of the top industrial organizations of the continent.
Right now, he was quite tempted to use his power and route them out because he felt uncomfortable about their presence.
All three of them seemed to be peak Eminent Human Mages, so it would be a large undertaking by the Army if he were to deploy it.
Getting an idea, Daneel teleported back to the Palace where he contacted someone he hadn't talked to frequently in a long time.
An hour later, at the spot where the spy from the Axelor Kingdom was located.
This man had dug himself into the ground and much like Daneel, he was using a spell to get air from above.
Suddenly, 10 people wearing maroon robes teleported on top of this location before immediately deploying a space lock trinket.
Without pausing their moments, the 10 thrust their arms into the soft soil.
"OW!"
The spy from Axelor was around 1 foot underground, and with a loud yelp, he had just used a spell to throw himself out without caring for being scratched by all the soil on the way.
He had done so very rapidly, and the reason behind it was a blade of metal that had been conjured jointly by the 10 people and had almost pierced him through completely.
Its speed was so shocking that he had only managed to react at the last moment. Still, he clutched his stomach which was bleeding due to the hole the blade had made.
Just as he was wondering what the hell kind of magic this was, he looked at the faces of those who surrounded him and realize that they were all actually teenagers.
"Who the hell are you? "
His real goal was to take out the space lock breaking trinket he had in his pocket, and this question, although genuine, was only meant to distract these kids who he hoped were inexperienced.
Yet, he had a very bad feeling about his situation due to the spell they had cast before.
Seeing his obvious ploy, a few of them smiled before all 10 moved again as one to thrust their hands forward.
This time, the spy noticed just how the spell before had been formed.
Each of these Mages were actually quite weak, only at the level of either a 3rd Grade Amateur Human Level Mage or at most a 4th Grade Eminent Level Mage. They each conjured a tiny metal blade in the air, showcasing their affinity and talent in metal elementary particles.
Yet, these tiny blades would be harmless on their own. It was only when they joined together that an actual silver blade was formed that cut off the spy's hand before he even had the chance to react.
As he had had to smuggle in all the trinkets he had through the border with great effort, he had only come with a few. Hence, he had no barrier trinket, but he was powerful enough to cast one.
Belatedly realizing that defense was his best option here, he tried to ignore the pain from his bleeding stump and immediately made a barrier appear around him that knocked the blade away.
Just as he was about to take out another space lock breaking trinket using his other hand, he witnessed a shocking sight.
One person was actually running towards him with his hands thrust out behind his back. As for the 10 people around him, they had turned around towards this man and were pointing at him with their eyes closed.
With horror, the spy helplessly managed to grasp the trinket in his pocket, but it was almost as if he was moving in slow motion.
His horror was due to the fact that the hand of the man who was running towards him had actually turned into a metal spike that glinted in the sun.
Just as the spy was about to squeeze the space lock breaking trinket, the man leaped into the air and brought the spike down on the top of the barrier.
Like a knife cutting through butter, the extreme penetrative force immediately broke the barrier and went through the head of the spy before stopping.
Even this man was also a teenager, but he did not seem to care about the gory scene he had just caused. As the metal spike dissolved away, he wiped the blood that had splashed onto his face and said, "Domination Corps, move out."
Watching this scene from a little distance away covertly, Daneel smiled as he saw the debut of the secret force he had been building for a long time.
Trained by the instructors of the Fists of Justice training hall, these teenagers who had joined him before to usurp the Throne had now been trained in co-ordination magic casting and formations.
Along with the training technique that hastened their training speed, they had been given the best conditions and resources.
Clearly, it had all paid off.
This scene also reminded him of the events that had happened before he had taken in the first member of the Domination Corps, who was currently its captain.
Teleporting to him, Daneel once again marveled at this kid who had once been so sullen because he had been defeated by a bunch of nobles.
"Well done, Joshua. Their training is top notch. You've been an excellent leader. Now, all that is required is an upgrade in power level. After that, the Domination Corps can begin to terrify the foes of Lanthanor."