To be honest, as an undercover agent, Otto was so nervous that cold sweat was seeping from his palms.
Standing before him was none other than the Legendary top assassin of the Cult, "the dark trinity."
He had been undercover in the Plasma Cult for a full ten years.
Ten years!
If it hadn't been for the Osterburg stronghold being wiped out recently, giving him the chance to dig up a secret report from the ruins, he probably wouldn't have reached the Cult's true inner circle in his entire life.
The Plasma Cult was an ancient evil organization with five hundred years of history, almost as long as the history of the Lordaeron Empire itself. Trying to sneak into the core and reach the Legendary "Seven Sages" was harder than reaching the heavens.
Hidden within that secret report was a shocking secret.
In this round of the Church of Light's Saintess selection, someone from the Cult had infiltrated. One of the important informants was about to arrive in Osterburg with the Sacred Patrol Team.
Otto could have handed over this top-secret intelligence regarding "the Cult's infiltration of the Saintess selection" and retired with his achievements.
But he didn't dare.
Even the Church of Light had been infiltrated; God only knew how many spies were hidden within the upper echelons of the Lordaeron Empire.
If he handed it in, he might end up dead the next day from "suicide" by eight stab wounds to the back.
More importantly, Otto wanted to dig up deeper intelligence. Wealth is found in danger. The small man gritted his teeth and decided to make a big gamble.
According to the intelligence, the Cult's contact would approach the Sacred Patrol Team tonight. He followed them all the way to the Convent, and just as he was wondering how to sneak in, a chill suddenly ran up the back of his neck.
That feeling was like being stared down by some kind of apex predator.
Otto stiffly turned his head.
Under the moonlight, a tall dark figure crouched on the roof of the Convent. The person wore a voluminous black cloak, with the front of the hood curved like an eagle's beak, concealing most of the face.
Only a pair of golden vertical pupils glinted with a cold light in the shadows.
When did he appear?
Otto was an experienced thief and was extremely sensitive to the surrounding presence. But this person seemed to have grown out of thin air, without making a single sound.
An expert. Definitely an expert.
Could this be the Legendary strongest assassin trio of the Cult—"the dark trinity"?
Otto swallowed hard, suppressed the urge to run, lowered his voice, and tentatively asked:
"The code?"
The air was terrifyingly silent.
The dark figure didn't answer immediately, just stared down at him from above. This made Otto feel as small as an ant.
After a second, a low, raspy voice came from under the cloak:
"9909."
When those numbers entered his ears, Otto's face relaxed slightly, but his spine grew even more tense.
That's it, that's the code!
He appeared! One of the three strongest assassins of the Plasma Cult, the Legendary figure codenamed "the dark trinity"!
Whether he could dig up more intelligence depended on his performance next!
...Caesar hadn't expected that by just blurting out a password from a game, he would actually guess correctly.
In the pokémon Black 2/White 2 games, Team Plasma's passwords were basically formatted as xx0x. He just picked one that sounded right, and it actually worked.
Watching this Cult member instantly become friendly and start trying to get close to him, Caesar's Dragons Kiss beneath the eagle-beak cloak opened slightly, revealing a hint of amusement.
Things seem to be getting a bit interesting, huh?
The other party had clearly mistaken him for some big shot.
Although he really wanted to complain about why even the password settings were exactly the same as in the game, he decided to play along and maintain his cool persona.
Dragons Might: Traitor I was quietly released, and a bone-chilling pressure enveloped the entire alley.
Otto's mind was shaken by this Aura, making him even more certain of the other's identity, and his attitude became even more respectful.
"My Lord! The branch stronghold in Osterburg has been destroyed," he began his report again. "That damned Dragon! Not only did it destroy our base, but it also cruelly murdered Bishop Andorn! Your subordinate happened to be out on a mission at the time and narrowly escaped."
Caesar raised an eyebrow.
Clearly, that old man was the one who insisted on fighting to the death; he was just acting in self-defense and collected a little interest while he was at it.
But he couldn't say that.
Caesar remained in his statue-like pose, his voice devoid of emotion: "So, why are you still here instead of evacuating?"
This was a life-or-death question.
Otto's mind raced. If he said he was waiting for the organization, it would sound too fake; if he said he had nowhere to go, it would sound too useless.
He had to give a reasonable excuse, one that would allow him to continue lurking by this "big shot's" side.
"It was the Bishop's dying command!"
Otto looked up, a sorrowful expression on his face. "Your subordinate did not dare to evacuate. Before his death, Bishop Andorn instructed that if anything happened to the stronghold, I must wait for your arrival. He said... the 'Phase Two' temporary mission is more important than establishing the stronghold!"
Caesar's heart stirred.
"Temporary mission?"
"Yes!" Otto pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from his robes and offered it with both hands. "The Bishop said that in the Osterburg Church of Light, a fragment of an ancient blasphemous tablet was recently discovered."
"We had intended to flatten this city after summoning the demon, but who would have thought Lord Andorn would meet with misfortune... Your subordinate has kept this in mind and has not dared to be the slightest bit negligent."
Caesar took the parchment and glanced at it.
It was a simple map of the Osterburg Church of Light, with marks at several locations. One of those locations was this Convent.
A tablet?
Caesar narrowed his eyes. In the pokémon world, tablets were fragments of Arceus, possessing the power to change the rules of types. If the tablets in this world were the same kind of thing, their value would be immense.
This was a mess worth wading into.
Seeing that the man in black had accepted the map, Otto quickly pulled a black metal disc from his pocket.
It was engraved with a large "P" shaped emblem.
"My Lord, this is the communication magic tool left by the Bishop. Your subordinate has already cracked part of the defensive arrays on the outskirts of the Convent and can coordinate with your actions at any time!"
Otto looked completely loyal. "As long as you give the command, your subordinate will not hesitate even if it means ten thousand deaths!"
Caesar took the cold piece of iron and glanced at it. He was quite thorough, providing both intelligence and equipment. This kid was a talent.
He looks good and speaks well, but unfortunately, he took the wrong path.
"Withdraw for now."
Caesar put the items into his storage ring, his tone remaining cold. "Do not act rashly. Wait for my orders."
"Yes!"
Otto felt as if he had been granted a great pardon. He backed into the shadows and disappeared in a few leaps.
Once that "loyal" cultist was far away, Caesar hopped over the Convent wall—
This misunderstanding had grown quite large.
But having a free informant wasn't bad. As for that tablet thing, he would wait until he met up with Cecilia.
If that silly dragon got too hungry, there's no telling what stupid things she might dop