In the empire, and even across the continent, very few people knew that Prince Regent Leko had trained a secret force. Even Leonhardt, who was the captain of the imperial guard, could not find any clues that could be used as solid evidence before getting the personal confirmation from the instructor.
The functions of the secret force in the imperial capital revolve around intelligence, including collection, induction, analysis, and most importantly, the core personnel are responsible for... control!
Control is just a general term, the details are quite complex and often not glamorous. Therefore, the word "secret" has been used throughout this force. Even its code name is only known to the core members and Regent Lecco himself.
Strictly speaking, only the core personnel who know the code name are the real secret troops.
"Night Crow"
This was the codename given to the covert force by Lecco in front of only nine members when it was first established.
Xiaoyue still remembers it vividly.
In the common language of the mainland, the code name "Ye Crow" is the same as her name "Xiao Yue", which is a bit difficult to pronounce.
The two have one more thing in common: they were both given by Lecco.
Xiaoyue's original name was abandoned by herself, and now it only exists in the depths of her mind.
…
Hurley was born into a somewhat special business family. The special thing is that not only her father is a businessman, but her mother is also a businessman.
What's more coincidental is that her parents, without knowing each other, unanimously gave up the relatively stable and common option of running a fixed store and chose to become merchants and operate in various places.
In what they like to say to others: "Only by seeing different scenery can you enrich your knowledge, and ultimately this knowledge will feed back into your career."
It sounds reasonable, but in fact, to put it bluntly, they are pursuing excitement. However, Hurley's parents did have matching strength. When they first came into contact, they were already the leaders of their respective caravans.
They got acquainted because of their similarities, gradually fell in love during mutual competition, and finally formed a family. These experiences will become a very romantic and popular story in the mouth of any bard.
The birth of a child did not make this couple, who were considered weird by ordinary people, feel relieved. Even though they had established a very large network of contacts and accumulated enough wealth to find a prosperous place to settle down.
As long as she can remember, Hurley has traveled with her parents around the world, watching them trade with people in different places, and instinctively learned the skills of negotiating with people. Everyone took great care of her, the only child in the caravan.
Hurley inherited her parents' talents and had her own opinions at a young age. When she was ten years old, she asked her parents to conduct a business negotiation on her own. Under the watchful eye of her parents from a distance, she achieved remarkable results in the end of the negotiation.
Hurley always remembers that the glass of juice she drank under the praise of her parents, uncles and aunts was particularly sweet.
Everyone in the caravan thought that Hurley would grow up to be a brilliant and famous businesswoman.
Hurley believes so herself.
Unfortunately, misfortune eventually befell this famous caravan. Bandits with complex origins intercepted the caravan in the wilderness.
The hired armed forces were suppressed from the beginning and were unable to fight back, and the caravan's proud negotiation ability had no effect. The robbers came completely prepared.
When the caravan was unable to resist, the bandits even taunted them and talked about the reason for attacking the caravan:
The ability and reputation of Hurley's parents were jealous of their peers, and the "big shots" were greedy for the wealth accumulated by the caravan. They hit it off and decided to let the caravan "unfortunately" encounter bandits, and no one survived.
Among them, there were even people whom Hurley knew. They are amiable on the surface, but in their hearts they wish the caravan would disappear quickly so that their own interests could increase...
Can people be so bad?
Hurley saw a completely different world, and her mother's desperate apology echoed in her ears before she came back to her senses, her eyes filled with tears uncontrollably.
The bandits had satisfied their evil taste and were about to kill the caravan when their own screams suddenly sounded from the outside.
Hurley looked up and found that the person in front of her had changed. The people in front of her formed a circle around her and her mother, and the robber's voice changed from deafening and arrogant to sporadic wails.
In Hurley's eyes, although the people around her were covered in blood, she felt at ease.
The caravan is safe. Even though the losses were heavy, many people survived.
The joy of surviving turned into guilt for the unfortunate, and then turned into the raging flames of revenge.
Hurley's father, who usually had a good face, knelt directly in front of the person who saved the caravan, pleading for help at all costs.
Those who called themselves the "Guards" immediately stopped Hurley's father's movements and brought him to a middle-aged man named Haider.
Haider agreed to Hurley's father's request, but hoped that the caravan could help them later.
Hurley's father agreed without hesitation.
At this point, the escort secretly protected the caravan. Soon, the businessmen involved in providing assistance to the bandits were controlled one by one and sentenced according to their crimes.
At that time, the caravan learned about the imperial official to which the escort team belonged, which made them extremely happy, thinking that those who deserved the crime would be punished.
But when it comes to the "big shot", the problem arises. They were nobles from other countries, and it was difficult for the escorts to take action.
Having avenged most of their enemies, the anger of many in the caravan was appeased. They expressed their understanding of the escort's difficulties, no longer forced it, took the initiative to fulfill the contract, and secretly provided intelligence support to the escort.
But the anger in Hurley's parents, including Hurley herself, has not dissipated.
One day Hurley found her parents and expressed her intention to join the Guards. Hurley's parents were persuaded by her despite their hesitation and sent her to the members of the escort protecting the caravan.
Hurley was sent to Haider by the embarrassed escort members. She didn't expect that even Haider couldn't make a decision.
Finally, it was Leko who came to her.
Hurley couldn't believe it at the time. The boy who looked about the same age as herself was actually the real leader of the guard. Later, she realized that he was the youngest regent of the empire!
At the beginning, Lecco also fell in love with the caravan's network and planned to contact the caravan. Unexpectedly, he encountered bandits and robbed him halfway. After rescuing the victim, he realized that the victim was the caravan he was looking for.
Subsequent help to the caravan was also led by Lecco.
Hurley learned this, thanked him in person, and then expressed her thoughts——
She wanted to take revenge on that "big shot" with her own hands!
Leko learned Hurley’s thoughts from the members of the escort in advance. When listening to her own words, Leko revealed the price of revenge: “You will lose your current name, and it will be difficult to see your own in the future. Parents, are you willing?"
Hurley thought about the familiar faces that had disappeared, and the conversations with her parents. The eyes full of anger gradually became calm and turned into ice-cold frozen springs.
Finally, she nodded deeply.
Feeling Hurley's determination, Leko sighed deeply. After bringing her back to the Imperial Capital, Lecco told her about the plan codenamed "Night Crow".
That was a plan that Lecco had prepared for a long time, but was unable to launch because there was no suitable candidate.
To join the plan, you must first have enough plasticity and talent, which means the members must not be too old. However, the nature of Night Crow is destined for its members to face the darkness of the world, which is why Lecco doesn't want to start.
Developing the caravan into his own spy is Lecco's lower-level replacement for the "Night Crow" plan.
After listening to Lecco's description of "Night Crow", especially the gray part he focused on, Hurley felt that she was a good fit and joined without hesitation.
As the plan unfolds, Hurley, who gradually understands Night Crow's true nature, understands the reason why she needs to give up her real name: to protect her family.
People in the same field as "Night Crow", regardless of their ability, have no bottom line in what they do. If someone learns his real name and uses this clue to investigate his interpersonal relationships, it will inevitably lead to a tragedy!
Disguise is a must.
Out of concern for her family and friends, as well as respect and gratitude for Leko, on the eve of the gathering of the secret troops, Hurley, who had completed her martial arts training from the escort, approached Leko and asked him to give herself a name.
Lecco was also very concerned about the girl who was the first to be absorbed into Night Crow. Not only did he openly let her serve as his personal attendant, but he also taught her knowledge from time to time. It's like treating her as a daughter...sister.
After hearing Hurley's idea, Leko did not refuse. After careful consideration, I gave her her current name.
…
People who are aware of the existence of Night Crow often regard it and the Guard as two different units. But in fact, this is a misunderstanding. The distance between the two is not far. It can be said that Night Crow was born out of the Guards.
Except for the key training, which was taught by Lecco himself, the rest was conducted in the escort team.
Liliana thought well, everyone in Night Crow had good skills. But compared to their main jobs, these are just icing on the cake.
The most outstanding among them was the one who was given the internal code name "Chief" and was responsible for coordinating Nightcrow for the Regent after he disappeared——
Xiaoyue.
