Chapter 896: 896
Tide sighed, his golden shark teeth catching the light. "The refineries are slowly coming about, but the locations of some of these mines make things difficult. Contact with the local lords and nobles who own those lands is becoming completely inevitable."
"Due to my name being explicitly mentioned, and because of the merchant positions my believers hold, these lords are willing to look away while we act, as long as they are paid well and a few favors are done for them."
Tide paused, glancing at Ikenga to gauge his reaction, but the elder god simply continued to listen.
"On the surface, they appear to have looked away," Tide continued, his brow furrowing deeper. "But behind the scenes, these nobles have taken a lot of covert action to plant their own people inside the ongoing project."
He scoffed lightly, a flash of gold gleaming from his teeth. "These individuals have already been identified. Because I don’t want the nobles raising their guards against us, no direct action has been taken against the spies. Instead, they’ve been posted to less troublesome positions where they won’t be a problem for now."
Tide leaned back, a trace of urgency creeping into his tone. "A lot of steps are being taken to ensure the absolute secrecy of our plan, but I believe we don’t have much time before these nobles become far more aggressive in their actions to find out exactly what is going on."
"And the same goes for my believers," Tide added, shaking his head. "They are mostly merchants, and nothing moves a merchant more than profit. They are already deluding themselves with the belief that they would be far more helpful to me if they just understood why I am so intent on securing these mines and building these refineries."
Ikenga seeing he was done finally spoke "You have handled the spies correctly by not striking them down," his eyes fixed on Tide. "But simply hiding them away in quiet positions only delays the inevitable. If you want to buy yourself real time, you must feed them."
Tide tilted his head, listening intently as Ikenga continued.
"A noble’s suspicion grows wildest in the dark. If their spies return with absolutely nothing, the lords will only assume you are hiding something more precious or dangerous, and their actions will become desperate. Instead, allow some information to be slowly and deliberately leaked into the ears of these spies."
Ikenga leaned forward slightly, a small smile playing on his lips. "Let them overhear fragments. Let them discover minor, fabricated secrets about trade monopolies, rare resource hoarding, or petty rivalries. No matter how small the information is, to a noble, it is a victory. It gives them something to analyze, something to scheme around and most importantly, it satisfies their curiosity. A well-placed crumb will keep the nobles occupied and hesitant to act aggressively, buying you the exact time you need to finish the refineries."
Shifting his focus from the nobles, Ikenga leaned back, his gaze steady on the younger god. "Now, as for your believers. You complain that they are merchants driven only by profit, deluding themselves into thinking they need to know your full design."
Ikenga’s with a teaching tone said "Tide, a merchant’s greed is not a flaw to be managed, it is the most predictable lever you possess in their case. A devout warrior requires faith, but a merchant only requires an incentive. Do not look at their curiosity as a threat. Look at it as an appetite, that has to be fed"
Tide shifted in his gold-plated robes, taking in the words.
"They believe they need to understand your grand plan to be useful," Ikenga continued. "So, give them a piece of it. Create tiers of exclusivity among them. Let those who hit your refinery quotas first be granted "divine insights" or exclusive trade rights authorized by your priesthood. If they hunger for profit, make your favor the most profitable commodity in the realm."
Ikenga paused, letting the silence settle between them before asking a question.
"But tell me, Nephew, you expressed frustration at being forced to rely entirely on these humans instead of your merfolk. If the land is too slow and the humans too suspicious, what stops you from moving the secondary stages of this project into the deep? Can the raw ore from the surface mines not be brought down to the trenches, where your merfolk can refine it in absolute secrecy, far from the eyes of human lords?"
Tide was taken aback by the question, the jewelry around his neck clinking slightly as he straightened up. He stayed silent for a moment before answering, "I did want them involved in this, Uncle... but the merfolk godlings are the only race in this world so far that are completely removed from its conflicts, except for the occasional skirmish with the tainted murlocs. I didn’t want to risk them getting dragged into human politics and the conflicts that are about to occur."
Hearing his words, Ikenga shook his head, a look of disagreement replacing his earlier smile.
"This is no longer the past, boy," Ikenga said "The merfolk are so far removed from the conflicts and politics of this world, but that should be the very reason you find a way to get them into it."
Tide blinked, listening intently as Ikenga spoke.
"They may have peace now, but that peace breeds stagnation," Ikenga continued, his eyes locked onto Tide’s. "It means they risk being completely outgrown by the other races on the surface, who are constantly adapting and growing stronger under the harsh pressure of conflict. Besides, the merfolk stand to gain an immense amount from this project. If they are involved, it will elevate both them and the other godling races. You are protecting them from the storm, Tide, but you are also keeping them from the harvest."
Tide showed a thoughtful look on his face, absorbing Ikenga’s words, before his expression shifted into a skeptical look.
"You make great points, Uncle, and you have given me much to think about," Tide began, leaning forward as his golden robe rustled. "But everything you have advised me to do risks having the true nature of what is going on leaked. Is it a misunderstanding on my part... or do you no longer want this to be kept a secret? Do you want it to be known?"
Tide’s words brought a sudden smile to Ikenga’s face. For some reason, the smile made Tide shudder, the gold-plated shark teeth in his mouth locking tight.
Ikenga nodded slowly, his eyes gleaming with joy.
"Indeed," Ikenga said, his voice echoing softly against the palace walls. "It is my will that this won’t be kept secret. But not yet for the world, Tide... but to a certain individual."
Ikenga continued, the sharp smile still fixed on his face, though his eyes burned with a terrifying intensity.
"My son’s birth was accompanied by the birth of the paragons" his voice smooth yet heavy with underlying power. "He has a deep connection with them, and this connection is not a good thing in the eyes of these paragons. They fear him, and because of that fear, they wanted his end. Among these newly ascended paragons, a certain figure made himself prominent. He showed so much bravery in his tone as he proclaimed to myself and Keles that we cannot protect the boy forever."
Ikenga began to laugh at that moment, a booming, resonant sound that echoed off the palace walls. But Tide, who sat directly across from him, could not join in. He sat completely frozen, a cold wave of fear washing over him as Ikenga’s laughter distored the air around him.
Ikenga’s laughter subsided into a dark, amused grin as he continued. "As an origin god, I admire such courage, such profound strength... and I believe a creature with that much boldness should be rewarded. So yes, boy, I want the secret to leak. But it must find its way only into his ears."
"I have so much to grace upon him," Ikenga added, his voice dripping with an eerie, benevolent warmth that sent a fresh shiver down Tide’s spine.
Those words made Tide feel a profound sense of pity for whoever this individual was. Tide had known his uncle for a while now. He remembered how Ikenga looked when he was angry, and that version of the him was scary. But there was something more terrifying about him right now, calm, smiling, and seemingly completely devoid of rage, yet weaving a web of absolute destruction.
Tide swallowed hard, the heavy gold jewelry around his neck suddenly feeling like a noose as he realized just how thoroughly the arrogant paragon was being set up for ruin. He didn’t know, how his uncle did it but the image of an individual emerged in his mind, lettng him know who the target was.
"I understand, Uncle," Tide said, finding his voice at last. He smoothed down his golden-plated robe, trying to steady the slight tremor in his hands. "The spies will be fed exactly what they need to hear. The information will trickle out, and I will make sure the trail leads directly to where you want it to go."
