Lux's Farewell

Although there was some misunderstanding when they met, Nunu's appearance did bring very important news to Lux and Kalya.

At least they can confirm that Ashe should not yet stand with Lissandra. Although there are Frostguard priests participating in the alliance, this should not be a precursor to the easing of relations between the Avarosa tribe and the Frostguard tribe - Ai Xi Nevia thought that Ashe was not part of Lissandra's group, so it was absolutely impossible for her to be.

Naturally, Lux would not refuse Nunu's request to meet Ashe through the Demacia Mission. She simply invited Nunu and Willump to rest in the courtyard of the Demacia Mission, and they would have the opportunity to meet directly tomorrow. Go see Ash.

Nunu naturally accepted this happily, and jumped up and took Willump away to rest.

But Nunu can go to rest, but Lux and Kalya can't.

The mages of the intelligence team were awakened from their dreams. After a high-quality sleep, it was now their overtime time. Before taking Nunu to see Ashe tomorrow, Lux must come up with a plan. A valid charter will do.

Originally this was a task that would take at least three days to complete, but as Nunu brought critical news, part of the information about the possibility of Ashe falling to Lissandra no longer required special verification. As long as he gritted his teeth, today I should be able to talk through the negotiation charter tonight.

To be honest, the intelligence team stationed in Rakstadt had not been working with such intensity for a long time.

As the largest "foreign consul" in Demacia, the intelligence team actually does not have much daily work. In addition to collecting, sorting and transmitting intelligence, they are only busy when the Northern Trade Amendment is re-signed every year.

Now with the arrival of Lux, these magicians suddenly increased their intensity, and they were a little dizzy for a while.

It can only be said that thanks to Nunu's song, if it weren't for that period of high-quality sleep, I'm afraid the intelligence team would be unable to hold on any longer.

Of course, not only the members of the intelligence team participated in this verification and decision-making, but also the accompanying civilian clerks who came to Lakstak with Lux. However, they did not completely belong to the intelligence team, and not everyone could participate. in this job.

........................

I have to say that Lux's luck is quite good.

Because Ai Xi has always had strong opinions on the Frost Guard tribe in the past, "Frost Guard Priest" is also a keyword that can be searched in the original records of the intelligence team.

After all the information related to the Frostguard priests was found, cross-verified, and summarized, the Avarosa tribe's overall attitude towards the Frostguard tribe finally came to a more credible conclusion:
The relationship between the two parties is not hostile. They have been avoiding contact before and have eased slightly.

This is quite interesting information.

Because in addition to this piece of information, Ai Xi also had another piece of information that even the intelligence team didn't know about: Ai Xi most likely participated in the battle against the void under the Howling Abyss, and had the experience of fighting side by side with the Frostguard tribe.

This piece of information can be used as a supplement to the previous information. Because there is a causal relationship, if the two are combined, the overall credibility will be improved, and it can basically be used as reliable information.

In this way, it is not difficult to explain the reason why the Frostguard Priest appeared in the alliance. Ashe's attitude towards this should be roughly within the neutral range. In the subsequent negotiation process, Lux can ignore the other party. Relationship with the Frostguard tribe.

With this conclusion, both Lux and Kalya breathed a sigh of relief.

Subsequently, the intelligence team conducted a large-scale search verification again on the keyword "diplomatic attitude".

Judging from the intelligence collected by the intelligence team in the past, Ashe and the Avarosa tribe have always attached great importance to diplomatic relations and attitudes with Demacia, and have been very active in communication - although the frequency of Ashe's personal participation in communication has been decreasing. , but considering the expansion of Avarosa's influence and the increase in Ashe's work tasks, this gradually decreasing frequency is a very normal phenomenon.

What's interesting is that more than three months before Lux was assassinated, Ashe had a very abnormal time.

I don’t know what Ai Xi has been busy with during this period. There have been some changes in the itinerary that the intelligence team is not aware of. This part of the content is marked "Attitude Changes" and "Unknown Risks", but if compared with the timeline, this " "Ashe doesn't know what to do," the time coincides with the results of the assassin's interrogation.

That is to say, Ashe did provide some kind of support to some of the assassins on their way to Demacia.

The intelligence team was unable to find out reliable information about why she would provide such support, but thanks to the Frost Guard Priests, among the relevant information, the most important one was "Frost Guard Priests' visit."

Combining the above information, it is not difficult to find that Ashe's provision of material support for the assassins is closely related to the visit of the Frostguard Priest.

Coupled with what Lux and Kalya knew, Ashe had most likely fought side by side with the Frostguard tribe, and a clear clue was gradually clarified.

Everything starts with that strange movement in the void - at that time, whether it was Icathia, Freljord, or even the Sea of ​​Mermaids, the void was unusually active.

As the talker of Rakstark, Ashe naturally participated in a battle against the void as the leader of the alliance, and remained silent after the war, sealing off the news very tightly. Only a few crazy warriors were exposed in their gibbering. information.

If Kalya hadn't participated in the Battle of Icathia and had some speculation about the situation in the Freljord, no one would have known about the threat beneath the Howling Abyss.

Maybe it was because Ashe saw the important role played by the Frostguard tribe in the fight against the void, maybe because Ashe witnessed some of the sacrifices of the Frostguard tribe, maybe because of the friendship of fighting side by side, after that Avaro The frosty relationship between the Sar and Frostguard tribes has softened, and Frostguard priests have entered Rakstak.

I don’t know what means they used, but these Frostguard priests persuaded Lux ​​to provide supplies to the assassins - and judging from Nocturne’s interrogation results, there were many tribes providing supplies, and the assassins didn’t know what orders the Frostguard tribe relied on. Or persuaded tribes along the way to provide supplies and assistance.

But if we look at it based on Ashe's experience, maybe Lissandra chose to pull the flag and connect this matter with the void. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why Ashe's relationship only eased. , but before normalization, he took out quite excellent weapons, supplies and mounts to supply passing assassins.

When this clue was completely displayed in front of Lux and Kalya, the master and disciple looked at each other with a smile.None of them spoke, but there was no need to speak.

Now they have found a very obvious breakthrough!
"Retrieve the tax statistics records of the northern trade." Lax had already found the key data without Kalya opening her mouth. "For long-distance trade, the tax records of the caravans crossing the Nyuskara Pass."

"The intelligence team compared the number and size of the caravans that visited Rakstadt and the number of registered people in three months - no, six months." Kalya added, "If you want original records, the intelligence team should have it, right?"

"Theoretically, all caravans that come to Larkstadt will come here to register." The leader of the intelligence team nodded, "But it's just a simple registration...not too detailed."

"There is no need to be too detailed." Kalya narrowed his eyes, "After comparing the two sides, we should have a conclusion!"

Soon, the relevant information was dug out and placed on the table in front of him.

The tax records are very complicated, but because there are additional tax rebates for trade directly with the Avarosa tribe in the northern trade, this share is compared with the size of the caravan arriving at Laxtaq. After careful investigation, many Things cannot be hidden.

"It's really interesting." Kalya, who was almost multitasking, flipped through the two original records at the same time, and soon smiled, "In the past three months, the Avarosa tribe's trade share has increased significantly. Although the trade The increase in volume is highly coincident with alliance preparation, but this growth share is really a bit exaggerated, right?”

"You mean, Ashe is hoarding supplies?"

"And it's a large-scale hoarding, because the trade volume of tea and tobacco is even decreasing!" Kalya pointed to the tax refund record, "But the trade volume of many other commodities, such as special metal products, herbal medicines and sugar, has increased rapidly. These things will not be used in the alliance!"

Special metal products, herbs and sugars, Lux can understand their properties without Kalya's explanation - there is no doubt that these things are proper military supplies!
Ordinary steel will shatter under the erosion of Anivia's Breath. With the development of trade in the north, in order to pursue higher profits, the Forsbarrow Iron Works developed a method that can cope with the long-lasting effects of Anivia's Breath. This part of the trade was a special metal eroded by time. As the Avarosa tribe moved into the Laxtaq Plains, the scale of the oat trade between the two sides decreased, and it soon became a very important export commodity for the northern trade.

Metal products that can be used for a long time are very important to the Avarosa tribe. In the past, Freljord only had a few fine forged products with extremely limited output that could withstand the erosion of the Breath of Anivia. Due to the material Due to scarcity and difficulty in crafting, these fine products are often used as weapons.

As Forsbarrow developed special corrosion-resistant metal, the Avarosa tribe has been steadily importing metal tools, a small part of which are weapons, and the majority of which are various tools.

However, in the past three months, the import volume of special anti-corrosion metal products has increased significantly, almost showing a "you sell it and I take it" attitude.

Moreover, among the import share, the proportion of corrosion-resistant metal ingots has also increased significantly. Combining this with the intelligence team's "I heard that coal mines were discovered in the Crampon Mountains in the north and a new city is to be built", I am afraid that it will be a big problem. Behind the large-scale import of special corrosion-resistant metals, the Avarosans are trying to manufacture weapons on a large scale!
From the fact that it imported metal ingots instead of weapons, it can be seen that the Avarosa tribe consciously kept secrets, but the method of keeping secrets was a bit rough.

Similarly, the large-scale import of medicinal herbs and the import of various sugars are undoubtedly signals of preparation for war. Due to the large scale of northern trade, the Avarosa tribe is no longer the only northern trade in Demacia. Partners, in addition to some specialized projects, Demacia and other tribes are also conducting large-scale transactions, so this part of the information did not attract attention at the first time.

But when they are specially selected and put on the desk for comparison, the meaning can no longer be concealed.

The Avarosa tribe is trying to prepare for war!
So, the question is, where is Avarosa's goal in preparing for the war?
When the intelligence analysis reaches this point, the final conclusion is ready to come out.

Howling Abyss.

........................

Kalya and Lux's judgments were generally correct.

On the surface, it seems that Ai Xi is indeed busy with the alliance.

But in addition to the alliance, the Avarosa tribe, which has always advocated peace, is indeed entering a state of preparation for war, as Kalya and Lux ​​judged.

However, what was slightly different from the judgment was that it was not Ashe who discovered the threat of the Howling Abyss, but that the preparations for the war were actually a collaboration between the Avarosa Tribe and the Frostguard Tribe.

Lux and Kalya believe that relations between the Avarosan and Frostguard tribes have eased.

But in fact, this judgment is slightly conservative. The actual situation is that, perhaps because they have personally seen the surging insect swarms, Ashe pays more attention to the threat under the Howling Abyss than they imagined. When the Frostguard Priest expressed his hope that When asked about the idea of ​​​​cooperating and completely solving the problem, Ai Xi agreed without any hesitation.

Therefore, the reason why Ashe doesn't seem to care much about Demacia's expansion of its sphere of influence to the north, and even tolerates it, is because she wants to focus her main energy on the follow-up issues in the west. .

Even the alliance itself was part of the cooperation between her and Lissandra, and it was considered a mutual test between the two parties.

However, although Ashe did not know about Lissandra's arrangement of assassins to assassinate Lux and sow discord between Avarosa and Demacia, the Avarosa tribe's intelligence network was not enough to let her know about a far-away event. Although she was assassinated by Xiongdu, she was always wary of Lissandra and the Frostguard tribe.

In a sense, Ash is also dancing on three eggs.

She wants to work with Lissandra to fight against the swarm of insects under the abyss, but she also has to prevent the Frostguard tribe from infiltrating and using excuses at all levels.

She needs to carry out armaments through Demacia trade, but she also needs to learn to absorb some technologies and take some processing links into her own hands.

She wants to be an innovator in the Rakstark order, but she also wants to guide the tribes to follow the will of the three sisters and fight for the Freljord.

It's midnight again, embarrassing.