GOT/ASOIAF: Ruler Beyond The Ice

Chapter 641 643: Leak (Part 1)

Is that all?!

Arm the entire army? Even the Night's Watch has not managed that yet. Who do the Riverlands think they are? This threat is too low-level.

"Where is the letter?" Aegor chuckled, shook his head, and held out his hand.

Nina quickly stepped forward, took out the letter, handed it over with both hands, then retreated to her original position. She stood silently with her hands lowered, not daring to breathe.

Am I that frightening?

The girl's behavior was somewhat strange, but Aegor did not think much of it. He casually took the letter, leaned back in his chair, slowly unfolded it, and began reading without a word.

A moment later, he finished reading the entire letter, sighed deeply, and slowly placed it on the table.

---

Brutal and rapid expansion is not without cost. After several years of development, the Long Night Industrial Park has grown into a massive and bloated entity. It is unbeatable in direct confrontation, but full of flaws upon closer inspection. Thousands of people from all over the Seven Kingdoms have come to work here, but most are only earning a living, not serving any noble cause or belief.

This has led to a situation where the Night's Watch industry is powerful, but neither strict nor pure.

That he was able to keep the secret of black Powder hidden for so long under such conditions was due not only to a complete strategic deception plan that concealed Powder under the guise of fighting the White Walkers, but also to a method of fine division of labor and flat management. The Night's Watch Armory was isolated as a specialized institution responsible for managing critical military secrets. Outside of that, personnel in different departments performed their own duties without access to core information.

Whether it was the saltpeter production site along the Blackwater Rush, the sulfur mines on Dragonstone both inside and outside the volcano, or the charcoal kilns shared between the Industrial Park and Crown Town, the workers there were simply exchanging labor for wages. Very few knew what they were actually producing.

These two layers of protection were effective, but not unbreakable, for a simple reason. The Night's Watch industry was only a corporate group, not a complete political entity, not a unified state, and not an independent civilization.

It had no geographic isolation. There were no differences in language, culture, or ideology. Even loyalty to the Night's Watch was based only on wages and future prospects. Moreover, the combination of sulfur, carbon, and saltpeter was not complex. Any alchemist with the right direction could eventually figure it out.

Because he understood this clearly, Aegor never expected to keep this secret forever.

Using thermal weapons openly against people was like tearing off the outer layers and exposing everything. Once revealed under the open sky, anyone with intent could study it, and the secret of Powder would eventually be uncovered. Instead of foolishly trying to guard an unkeepable secret, it was better to focus on more technical information such as raw material refining, casting methods, and artillery techniques for cannons. That was the correct way to maintain long-term military superiority.

---

Unfortunately, although he was mentally prepared, Aegor did not expect the secret of Powder to be leaked so quickly.

In his estimation, even at the fastest pace, it would at least take until the outcome of the war in Westeros was decided, when the world knew that Daenerys possessed such a weapon, and external forces like Braavos and Volantis began sending elite agents such as the Faceless Men to steal the secret. Perhaps after one or two years.

But now, how many days had passed since the bombardment of the Golden Company?

From the contents of the letter, the Riverlands had indeed learned of the Powder formula, that was certain. Arming the entire army was impossible, but making it public would be troublesome. However, after the initial moment of surprise, Aegor quickly relaxed, and even felt like laughing.

The enemy might know that Powder was made from sulfur, carbon, and saltpeter, but they certainly did not know the proportions. Otherwise, the writer would have included the ratio in the letter to make the threat more convincing, or they would have used the time to produce large quantities of Powder and demonstrate its power along the Gift army's marching route, just as Aegor had frightened the Westerlands into not sending troops out of the Golden Tooth.

Even more decisively, they could have kept the discovery secret, built up strength, and used it as a trump card on the battlefield, or even fought for the throne on behalf of Aegon.

Yet instead, without knowing the exact proportions, they chose to send an anonymous letter to frighten him.

What better phrase is there for this than stirring the grass to scare the snake?

It was hard to imagine someone like the Queen of Thorns or a commander like Randyll Tarly making such a foolish decision. Given the unusual delivery and the lack of a signature, this was most likely not an official decision from the Riverlands leadership, but a private act by a lord near the front lines who did not want to become a casualty of the war and was already terrified.

The writer was gambling, and lost.

This letter did not frighten Aegor. Instead, it exposed the sender's panic and lack of confidence.

As he thought about this unexpected letter, Aegor could roughly infer the current situation in the Riverlands. The presence of such foolish behavior indicated internal disagreement, but it also meant that many perceptive individuals had already sensed his intention to target the descendants of Garth Greenhand and had resolved to resist.

The battle ahead would likely be difficult.

His eyes flickered, and after quickly calming himself, Aegor relaxed.

Analysis was one thing, but changing plans because of this letter would be inappropriate. The correct course was to proceed as planned while making additional preparations in secret, in case the enemy managed to produce usable Powder weapons at the last moment. Even simple explosives or noisemakers, if used at the right time and place, could influence the course of battle.

As he continued his calm and rational thinking, Nina, who had been standing before the table, suddenly spoke cautiously, "My Lord, may I speak with you privately for a moment?"

Privately? When do we lack chances to speak privately?

Aegor was puzzled, but quickly understood. He nodded toward Myrcella, the only other person in the room, signaling her to leave.

The young princess obediently stepped out and closed the door. Before Aegor could speak, Nina suddenly dropped to her knees in front of the desk.

The enemy's threatening letter had not startled him, but this action from his trusted subordinate did.

"What is it?" Aegor frowned. "Stand up and speak slowly."

Nina did not rise. She looked up with tears in her eyes and pleaded, "My Lord, I may know who leaked the secret, but please, for the sake of my brother and my years of service, spare his life!"

Neil?

Aegor immediately understood her unusual behavior, and his expression darkened. "When did you find out, and how? Tell me everything, do not leave anything out."

...

That afternoon, while Aegor was in the war council, Nina was in Blackwall Keep handling the Industrial Park's affairs as usual. She received the letter from a subordinate. After reading it, she realized the seriousness of the matter and immediately set aside her work and rushed into the city. As she was leaving, she ran into her brother and mentioned it casually.

Her intention was to let him share the burden and begin organizing an investigation into how the secret had been leaked. But Neil replied casually, "Powder? Isn't it just sulfur and saltpeter? I figured that out long ago. How many people in the Industrial Park still don't know? Why would it need to be leaked?"

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it seriously. Nina, who had been in a hurry, felt as if struck by lightning.

How many people still did not know? She herself did not know, not because she was foolish, but because she was too busy to think about such matters. Could it be that her brother had long guessed the key secret due to his position, but did not realize its importance and unintentionally leaked it?

Thinking back, Lady Margaery had always been close to them and often came to the Industrial Park to find Neil and pass the time as a business partner. A terrifying possibility formed in Nina's mind. She immediately questioned her brother, asking if he had ever revealed anything to the Tyrells.

Neil denied it at first, but under her repeated questioning, he finally admitted that he had mentioned Aegor's unusual concern for saltpeter and sulfur mining during casual conversation with Margaery, and that she might have figured it out herself.

Neil was telling the truth, but Nina could no longer believe it was that simple. Convinced he was downplaying his responsibility, she panicked. After some time, she forced herself to calm down and reached a grim conclusion. If Aegor investigated this matter, her brother would surely die. It was better to confess immediately, there might still be a chance.

That was why she knelt and confessed.

Is this what they call guarding against outsiders while failing to guard against one's own?

Margaery truly is everywhere.

Should he start comparing whose side has more fools? Aegor could not help but press his hand to his forehead. The good news was that Nina had not known about this earlier. The bad news was that Neil, a veteran of the Night's Watch industry and in a sense his own man, had leaked a military secret. Whether intentional or not, Aegor did not know how to handle it.

After thinking for half a minute without reaching a conclusion, and unable to bear seeing Nina kneeling, he finally straightened up. "Where is he?"

"Waiting next door."

"Bring him in."

(To be continued.)