Chapter 86 Escape, Agent Wheatman!
26th June 301 Paign Era, Vofors City.
Vofors is in flame. The smoke makes the sky cloudy. One might mistake it as a sign of incoming rain.
Despite all of that, the citizens in the city regardless of gender didn't run away. The murmur and shouting filled the city. There are various weapons in their hands which is odd. Anyone who sees the scene will ask the same question in their mind.
How can a group of peasants afford steel weapons? Of course, they can't.
It is all thanks to the Blackout. The extensive network they had built over years finally played a major role in rallying the people against the ruling family, The House of Vofors. The dissatisfaction which has long accumulated in the heart finally erupted with the help of Blackout. Adding the fact that their location is next to Cerdeauxia makes it even worse.
As an epicentre of revolution, President Matthew is more than happy to help spread the revolutionary idea. He needs an allied nation that shares the same system as Cerdeauxia to curb his people from leaning back toward monarchy.
Thus, the wave of revolution has officially come to Vofors.
By taking matters into their own hands, the citizens march to the central area of the city where the rich people live.
No one can stop it except the group of bootlicking soldiers. Not when the sentiments of the nobles' oppression toward the commoner are played out.
"Block the entire area!" Shout the rioter.
"Don't let this vampire escape! They suck our blood for generations." said another one.
But their movement was halted by a group of soldiers.
"Stop!! I am Johan Edwina, the captain of the guards. I ordered all of you to cease your barbaric act and return to where you belong. Otherwise, we will use violence to settle this." said Johan with a bossing tone.
The rioters curse at him, "F*ck you! Stop talking from afar and come here if you dare."
"Boy, come here for a moment. Let us talk this out." said the old rioter with a soothing voice but his hand is brandishing the steel sword.
Johan's warning seems to have no effect on the rioters. They have lost their reasoning. Slowly, the rioters continue approaching the rich district. While on the other side, the nobles, the rich merchants and the privileged keep pleading. The soldiers were spotted on their side.
"Wait! I'm not a noble but a merchant. Please let me and my family go."
"Yes, we are not nobles who are responsible for your pain."
Unfortunately, their pleas are like pouring oil into the raging fire. The rioters' hatred grew even more when hearing their plea.
How could they not? These merchants collude with Vofors to oppress the commoner and small businesses.
"Lies! Don't trust these snake-like people. My daughter was violated by one of them. No punishment was given to him."
"My business was destroyed by them!"
"They scam me with fake products!"
"My son was killed with their carriage!"
The atrocities committed by these people were revealed one by one, causing the commoners to be riled up even more.
They begin to light up the entire district with flame. Burning the rich, young and old altogether.
The sound of screams and cries penetrated the area yet the rioters stood undisturbed. No mercy in their eyes as they stare coldly at the burning figures. They are their oppressors and their children will eventually grow up oppressing them as well. For the bright future ahead, they need to be eliminated.
In the midst of this chaos, there is one man watching it unfold from afar with a worried face.
The man's name is Remy Robinson. A 24-year-old young man with brown hair and brown eyes. Currently single.
He is a typical young man born as the eldest son of a family of farmers. According to tradition, he should follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a farmer too. Due to the social and economic changes made by the king, he decided to forge his own path.
With a pure and unstained determination like any young man, he moved to Bideford for a better job opportunity.
Reaching there, he got a job at the black powder manufacturing factory. It is a well-paid job since it requires the workers to shut their mouths. Something that Remy is good at.
His everyday life changes when he walks past Lady Charlotte unnoticed which startled her but also attracted her attention. His lack of presence and interest in socializing turned out to be a good point for a spy she wanted.
Soon, he received an invitation from Lady Charlotte to join Spies Intelligence Network or SIN for short. Of course, after she done a background check on him.
Realizing it is a rare opportunity that is not offered to just anybody, he accepted the offer without hesitation. His hellish training lasts for a few months before he finally gets the rank of [Recruit] and receives a codename [Wheatman].
He didn't know how the codename was decided but Remy is certain that person has no naming sense.
SIN's ranking system begins with the lowest rank;
[Recruit]
[Informer]
[Saboteur]
[Assassin]
[Secret Spy]
[Deputy Director]
[Director]
Each mission has a rank with the lowest being an E, followed by D, C, B, A and S ranging from listening to current news, intercepting messages, stealing money and technology, sabotaging, forming unrest, spreading rumours, assassinating rulers and becoming a double agent.
All spies have missions assigned to them. They don't have the liberty to choose their mission.
"Vofors took a completely different path from Naharog."
It all starts with Naharog's declaration of independence. He received a mission to bring the independence wave to Vofors County. But instead of a kingdom, the higher-up decided the county was appropriate to be a republic. Therefore, unrest is needed.
But when he and several other spies reach the county, everything has been put into motion by other intelligence organizations called Blackout. At first, he didn't care too much. They did a job for him after all. He and his team try to avoid head-on clashes with them and focus on their mission.
However, this organisation began targeting and killing all the SIN agents stationed in the city at an alarming rate.
Leaving with no choice, he begins to retaliate by killing their agents but because SIN is a newly formed organisation, they were constantly at a disadvantage in terms of information sharing, speed of communication and coordination with all agents in the region.
As a leader for this mission, Remy decided to abort the mission and order his team to escape from Vofors before they ended up losing all agents. The mission's objective has been achieved anyway though it is not done by them.
"Wheatman, all of our newbies have escaped the city. Some couldn't make it but the damage is not severe."
"Thanks for the report, Nerdwolf. It's time for us to esc-"
*Clank!*
Metallic objects collide. The sound produced vibrates to its surroundings. Remy blocks a sudden attack from the unknown assailant.
"Go, Nerdwolf! I will handle this one," Remy shouted to his subordinate.
His eyes never left the assailant.
Nerdwolf quickly runs out from the dark alley leaving Wheatman behind. Though it looks heartless, Nerdwolf needs to prioritize delivering a detailed report on the events that transpired here back to the capital.
"Hee~ Good reflect you have there." The unknown assailant compliments him.
"Not as good as your sneaking ability. I almost mistook you for a rat. Blackout agent, I presume?"
"Yes, you probably can guess my purpose for coming here."
"Absolutely, but I think your luck has come to an end now. I am not a weakling like those spies you killed."
*Clank!*
Their swords collide against each other again. Quite fast but not hard for Remy's eyes to follow its movement and dodge. Every swing they made aims at each other's vital point.
"Not bad~ You do have this level of sword mastery at such a young age." said the Blackout agent. He had an impressive look on his face right now.
Remy ignored the compliment which meant him. Inwardly, he had a lot to say.
'He talks so much for an espionage agent. I want to end this fast and return to Bideford.'
The barrage of attacks goes on for several minutes. But, the stalemate was broken when Remy finally managed to cut his opponent's thigh. Riding on this momentum, he charged at him as fast as he could. Remy sends a powerful thrust forward, piercing the assailant's chest.
His opponent died instantly. Such an attack is impossible to survive.
"Haa...Haa...Haa"
Although he won, he wasn't free from injuries either. If he is unlucky, he will be the one lying on the ground right now.
"I better escape now before more of them arrive here. Our manpower can't match them."
He ran into the dark alley and blended with darkness, leaving the corpse behind.
Little does Remy know this fight will continue for years to come.