Chapter 387: A Difficult Task
The insignificant person who had once bowed and scraped, begging for his life, had long since been tempered within the Root organization. It was he who had led the Root operatives in a brutal assassination war against the Black Hand’s forces in the Northland during the Empire’s collapse. He had even paid the price of losing an eye, personally killing Little Finger. This was the reason Owen had chosen him; after all, a one-eyed leader for SHIELD was common sense.
“Take a look at this plan first.” Owen looked at Harvey, who was wearing an eye patch and whose face bore the marks of hardship. He nodded in satisfaction at his appearance. Although he wasn’t bald, his temperament was quite fitting.
After taking the documents and spending a considerable amount of time carefully reviewing them, Harvey asked a few more questions. With a clear understanding, he accepted the task.
“Very good, I have high hopes for you.” Owen specifically gifted him a black leather trench coat and a new eye patch, then signed the appointment letter and other documents.
Harvey, now wearing the black trench coat and new eye patch, respectfully received the appointment letter signed by Owen and a box of SHIELD-style badges.
“From today onwards, you are the Director of Divine Shield, possessing authority independent of all other departments in the territory, answering directly to me.” With these words, Owen bestowed considerable power upon him. Even Maya, known as the uncrowned queen of the Northern Glory Alliance, wouldn’t be able to interfere with Harvey’s operations. This made Harvey feel both immense pressure and honor.
“In addition to Jonathan, I will also transfer Blood Princess An Qi to serve as your Deputy Director, Deathblade Vanessa as the leader of the Action Team, and Necromancer Mogg as your magic consultant. You can recruit the rest of the personnel from the territory yourself.” Owen’s words made Harvey gasp. Even with his current composure, he could barely handle it.
Necromancer Mogg was originally a member of the Imperial Capital Mage Corps but ended up cursed into undeath. However, this didn’t affect his vast knowledge, making him perfectly capable of serving as a magic consultant. Harvey had no objections to this.
Deathblade Vanessa, the top assassin of the territory, was a legendary swordsman and warrior, as well as a renowned legendary hunter. If Harvey was the watchful eye, keeping the Black Hand constantly under surveillance, then Vanessa was the sharp blade that would sever their existence.
If Vanessa’s addition merely made Harvey feel valued, then An Qi’s inclusion was a complete shock.
Few people knew that the territory had a Demigod, and that was An Qi, who had absorbed the divinity left behind by that Demigod vampire.
A high-level Necromancer, a legendary hunter, and a vampire Demigod. Together, they could unleash a calamity in any faction’s territory. What qualifications did he possess to have these three as his subordinates? The only explanation was that the tasks of Divine Shield were not as simple as they seemed. Harvey sighed inwardly.
Seeing Harvey’s solemn expression, Owen nodded in satisfaction. Good, he hadn’t been blinded by the benefits offered and remained clear-headed. He had even immediately grasped the underlying issues. So Owen continued.
“Cleaning up the Demon’s Head, the Flesh and Blood Church, the Necromancers, and the Fel in the Northland are just routine tasks. Divine Shield also has four long-term missions.” Owen paused, then continued with words that made Harvey’s eyelids twitch.
“Gather intelligence on the Imperial Capital and the former site of Academy City. Search for the missing Academy City and Heaven’s Scar.”
Harvey, pressing a hand over his eye patch, couldn’t help but wonder if it was still too late to retire.
There was no helping it. For thirty years, countless individuals and factions had been interested in these four events, with countless lives lost in pursuit of them, including powerful organizations and legendary figures. However, none who dared to delve deeper had ever returned alive.
“I don’t require you to delve deep into exploration right now. Gather enough intelligence first.” Owen knew this was asking a lot; otherwise, he would have gone himself, so he spoke reassuringly.
Harvey breathed a sigh of relief, then pondered for a moment before raising some conditions.
Owen didn’t mind the conditions Harvey put forward. He was the one giving the orders, and Harvey was the one carrying them out. Without providing strong support, how could things be done well?
After obtaining the conditions he desired, Harvey hurriedly turned and left, afraid that Owen might give him another hair-pulling super mission.
He wasn’t afraid of death. After being converted by the system, he wouldn’t disobey Owen’s orders. Harvey was afraid that his own abilities would be insufficient to handle the task properly.
Harvey was very clear about the implications of these four tasks. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the whole world was watching. Therefore, if there were any mistakes, and someone caught wind of it and traced it back to the territory, it would definitely be a huge problem.
Fortunately, there was no time limit for the mission, which gave Harvey more time to plan, just like when he had eradicated the Black Hand’s personnel in the Northland. But for now, he would go and take over the base that the Lord had bestowed upon Divine Shield.
The third floor of the ruins now had a strange tower. Luckily, the space here was constantly being expanded; otherwise, it really wouldn’t be able to accommodate it.
In fact, it was unnecessary to worry. This tower was far more wondrous than anyone could imagine.
The tower occupied the original location of the Void Mana Well, having clearly integrated the well into itself, making it the tower’s energy core.
Because it was filled with vast Void Mana, this tower could enter the Void or move between the two realms at any time. As long as the attack couldn’t break through space, the tower would be immune to damage from both the Void and the main world. And this was just a negligible part of the tower’s ever-evolving functionalities.
This was a unit-producing building Owen had exchanged for from the Heroes of Might and Magic world, a Mage Tower capable of recruiting fourth-tier mages from Academy City.
Compared to summoning mages in large numbers, this Mage Tower, which Owen had fused with the Mage Guild from Heroes of Might and Magic, was more suitable for various magic research. Thus, besides the mages recruited, the Mage Corps also moved in, becoming one of the forces contributing to the tower’s development, and one of the two core research centers for the territory in the future.
Since it was so important, ordinary people could only dream of getting close, let alone entering. However, with the authority granted by Owen, Harvey smoothly entered and found Necromancer Mogg waiting for him.
“Where is Divine Shield’s base?” Harvey only knew to come here to find Mogg but didn’t know where Divine Shield’s base was, so he asked.
“It’s right here. It has already started its second round of testing. Once the testing is complete, you can take it away. In the future, it will return once every six months for maintenance and upgrades.” Although Mogg had become undead, he had retained his consciousness from his previous life. He spoke to Harvey with a hint of excitement in his voice. It was evident that even though he had been well-informed and had seen much in the Imperial Capital during his life, he was still amazed by what he had seen and heard today.
As soon as Harvey heard this, he understood that Divine Shield’s base wasn’t an underground base like the Root’s, but a mobile magical base. He immediately perked up.
The Root’s base was undoubtedly good. It was not only large but also had very comprehensive facilities. However, it was only suitable for use within the territory. If it were built outside the territory, once discovered, even the best base would fall into endless passivity. Therefore, a mobile base was most suitable for Divine Shield.
