The Monster King's Legacy

Soon after, the wyvern king and his entourage were presented with the recovered eggs. The king's enormous form loomed over the city square as he examined the eggs with a critical eye.

"They're unharmed," he rumbled, his voice filled with relief. "You have my gratitude, Lance."

Lance nodded respectfully. "We only did what was right. Let this incident not tarnish future relationship between our people."

The wyvern king nodded. "You've proven your integrity. The wyverns will remember this day."

With that, the Wyvern King extended an offer of alliance. The wyverns would stand with the monster kingdom, their strength and aerial superiority bolstering the growing nation's military strength. Lance accepted, solidifying another powerful alliance. Though he was surprised at first, he didn't hesitate.

The wyverns roared in unison, a gesture of approval that echoed through the city. Lance stood tall, knowing that his kingdom had grown stronger with this newfound alliance.

The human thief had been taken to the dungeons, placed under heavy guard. Special wards were placed around his cell to neutralize any play at using his magic to escape, as they were still uncertain of all he was capable of.

As the wyverns departed, the citizens of the goblin kingdom breathed a collective sigh of relief. The immediate threat had passed, and the alliance with the wyverns brought a sense of security and pride.

While the thief sat in silence, his fate uncertain, the monster kingdom celebrated the outcome of an unexpected gain, knowing they had gained a powerful ally. Surely, the thief was also to thank for this. After all, he was the one who brought forward the opportunity.

Later that night as Lance reflected on the day's events, feeling quite lucky, he couldn't help it. "Another challenge overcome," he muttered to himself, a smile on his face, when suddenly, Zarra barged into his room with a grave expression.

"Lance," Zarra said, her voice low but firm. "We have a problem…" She said, looking at an almost dumbfounded Lance with a serious expression on her face indeed.

'Another one so soon?' Lance wondered to himself in disbelieve.

"What is it?" Lance asked, following a sigh.

Zarra dropped a worn satchel onto the table with a heavy thud. A scattering of letters, coded maps, and a small insignia, a stylized human kingdom crest, spilled out. "Spies. I found a network embedded right under our noses."

The room fell silent for a moment as Lance listened.

"Explain," he said, his voice calm but carrying an edge of deep tiredness.

Zarra gestured to the evidence. "I've been tracking strange movements for a while now, outsiders sneaking into the capital under false identities, unusual gatherings, and coded messages. At first, I thought it was just rogue merchants. Then I caught one of them slipping out of the southern gate at dawn. He was carrying this."

Lance examined the letters closely. His sharp mind quickly pieced together the key details: troop counts, defense placements, and even a rough timetable of their kingdom's expansion.

"This… this is military intelligence," Lance said coldly, placing the documents down. "They've been watching us."

Zarra nodded. "Not just watching. This is coordinated. They're gathering intel on us, Lance."

"How deep do you think this network goes?" Lance asked, though he could already guess it.

Zarra's gaze was hard as she answered. "Deeper than we'd like. I've captured one of their operatives. He's being held in the lower chambers."

Hearing this, Lance rose to his feet. "Let's have a chat with him."

…

They information they gained wasn't any useful in the end. It was the same old things being spout, of the humans being afraid of Lance and his Kingdom, but there was a twist. Unexpectedly, for whatever reason, these spies had been ordered to reduce their operations and leave only very few behind. It appeared that the words of the god-blessed individuals had indeed moved the humans.

Seeing as they used special methods, the captive ended up spilling up a lot more information, and with adequate action, taking care of this spy network was to be easier than expected.

Rynne cracked her knuckles. "I say we hunt them down first."

Listening to her and being aware of her intentions, Lance shook his head. "First, we root out the spies. Then, we send a message."

He turned to Zarra. "I want every agent captured alive. Avoid death as much as possible, and do it in one fell swoop."

Zarra nodded, her eyes glinting. "They won't see us coming."

"I trust your skills and leadership, get going, night time is the best for this sorts of things. You can also go ahead with what we talked about." Lance said.

"Turn their own tricks against them." Zarra said with a smile. "I've sent for support already, they should arrive any time now." She said, just as Lia and a few demons entered the room.

"I've brought them, they will be more than helpful in your operation." Lia said.

The demon standing as the head, a pale, sharp-featured demon clad in dark robes, bowed respectfully.

"Our expertise in mind and illusion magic will accelerate this process."

Lance met the envoy's gaze with a measured look. "Mind magic is invasive and dangerous. Can you guarantee results without unnecessary damage to the prisoners?"

"Fear not, my Lord" the demon replied with a faint, knowing smile. "We will only pry where needed. Their secrets will unravel like threads under our touch."

"Good."

…

The night passed like a whirlwind. The demons worked with ruthless efficiency, their magic bypassing whatever little mental defenses of the captured spies. In darkened chambers, shadows writhed like living things as the demons laid bare the spies' memories, prying into their thoughts with chilling precision.

From the spies they fished out following the information they got from the interrogated captive, the demon mages supporting the mission were able to draw out more information from them, and part of that was the location of other spies the captive hadn't mentioned, possibly because he too had no idea.

By dawn, Zarra strode into a room within the central building where all government activities were carried out. Her posture was proud, and her face weary but satisfied.