Investigation

[Note: A quick heads-up: I'm very grateful to the readers who pointed out errors. However, I can only make a limited number of changes each day, so it may take a few days. Also, this was not written by AI, not by AI. The problems in AI-generated writing aren't as serious as the ones in my own typing.]

[Also, to explain why the Zheer Continent had such abundant natural energy and such powerful animals, yet no Soul Beasts: Soul Beasts originated when the Dragon Race went extinct. The energy released affected many animals, mutating them into Soul Beasts and giving them Soul Power. At the time, the Zheer Continent hadn't appeared alongside Rus Wang and the system.]

After the Grand Mentor of the Grey Feather Division and Rus Wang learned that the Star Luo People had begun to notice us Elves, Rus Wang flew into a rage. He ordered the military and the Grey Feather Division to investigate the military observation teams in Dragon Valley Forest. If the personnel involved in the incident had indeed failed to follow regulations by disguising their faces and camouflaging their observation sites, they had to be sent before a military tribunal.

Since the matter involved the kingdom's military, Grand Mentor Ulides of the Grey Feather Division and Army General Massena took on the task of investigating the serious security breach caused by the military observation operation. They immediately began looking for suitable candidates.

First, the investigation into this serious incident had to involve both military personnel and the Grey Feather Division. Second, the military base in Dragon Valley Forest absolutely couldn't be thrown into chaos. Third, the Black Water River front, where the Indigenous People were facing off against the Star Luo Empire's army, needed close attention. And finally, there was the intelligence angle: once they had confirmed that the military was blameless, they needed to find out whether human gods from the Divine Realm were secretly behind the incident.

"Who do you think we should send?"

Massena, the current Army General of the Elf Kingdom, was a Soul Douluo. She had followed the third Prime Minister, Tewitz, in handling the Soul Master uprising that swept the nation in 196. She had even killed a hundred Elf Soul Masters who had defied the law, all by herself.

She was also a far-sighted veteran. With the army's limited budget, she had devoted most of its funding to researching the industrial production of Soul Guidance Military Trucks. She had also submitted a letter of advice to Rus Wang, urging him to encourage the government to build a nationwide network of railways and highways so the military could mobilize quickly.

So she was burning with rage over an incident this serious—one that could expose the Elves to the human world.

"Both the military and the Grey Feather Division need to send people, but we can't send everyone. Otherwise, Dragon Valley Forest will be thrown into chaos. If that happens, with us unable to intervene, the Star Luo Empire could completely cross the natural barrier and overwhelm the Indigenous People at the Black Water River."

Ulides Roderick stood in Army General Massena's office, looking at the world map of Douluo Planet. She pointed to the blank area to the right of Star Luo Continent and Dragon Valley Forest.

Thanks to the Dragon Clan Observation Secret Technique, the kingdom had gained a complete understanding of Douluo Planet. The mountains and rivers of its four continents and various archipelagos, along with all kinds of resource sites, had been clearly marked. The map was even more detailed than anything the old Douluo Continent humans—who had begun their mass flight overseas to escape the Sun Moon Empire's army nearly four hundred years ago—could boast of today.

"So, Ulides, you mean we should send someone with military connections and a big reputation, someone who has served in the upper ranks and has a global perspective, and who later joined the Grey Feather Division to handle this incident?"

Ulides nodded.

"You know it too, my old friend. The humans and our kingdom are bound to go to war. They've already occupied three continents, and they won't be content to leave the fourth alone."

Ulides walked over to a drawer, pulled out the seaweed-flavored rice crackers Massena had hidden inside, then opened a bag and popped one into her mouth without asking.

"Damn it, Ulides! If you want rice crackers, buy your own. You're the Grand Mentor of the Grey Feather Division, and the king pays you a salary. Do you f—do you really have no money? Why do you always take a few bags whenever you come over?"

Massena suddenly caught herself. There was a reason she didn't curse Ulides's entire family: Ulides's relatives were either already buried or had all been poisoned by that bowl of chicken soup. She herself was an utterly invincible Elf, and she still hadn't remarried or made any move to continue the Roderick family line.

"Why not take advantage when I can? Ahem, anyway, back to the serious business His Majesty the King asked us to investigate. I do have someone in mind. I just don't know if you'll approve, Massena."

"Who?"

Massena had been about to get angry at Ulides for stealing her rice crackers again, but the mention of a candidate made her put that aside for the moment. She asked:

"Thranduil Frederick."

"That one who imitated the daughter of the fifteenth Prime Minister, married and had a child with His Majesty's son, Barus, and whose own spouse is a Turquoise Dragon? She's certainly famous in the military."

This time, Massena was the one who stared in shock. That candidate was a little too famous—not just in the military, but throughout the country. After all, she had given birth to a second Dragon-born Elf. The media had made a huge fuss about it.

And the repeated attention had also led to some very undesirable consequences. Energetic young men and women in the military had started pestering the Dragon Race serving at military bases, who happened to be nearing the pseudo-hundred-thousand-year mark. The Dragon Clan Committee had even tearfully begged Massena to do something about it.

There weren't many dragons on the Zheer Continent to begin with. Even after Rus Wang had rescued another fifty-seven in recent years, the total had only just passed 1,200.

But putting all that aside, it was hard to find any fault with this candidate. First, her record showed that she had served during the nationwide uprising of 196, so her loyalty to the kingdom was beyond doubt. Second, after joining the Grey Feather Division, she had kept her record spotless. If anything, she took her job too seriously, sentencing all kinds of underground black-market members to death on the spot. Then there were her excellent connections among the Dragon Race; supposedly, she was deeply respected. Finally, she was now a Titled Douluo, and her home was next to Herundis Manor—not by her own choice, but because Rus Wang had arranged it. The king was openly grooming her. More than once, Massena had seen her following Rus Wang around during his annual inspections of the military.

So if she was sent to Dragon Valley Forest, she certainly wouldn't act recklessly or give the Star Luo Empire a chance to completely defeat the Indigenous People's human kingdom.

"Then let's submit her name to His Majesty the King."

After giving it some thought, Massena decided she was the right choice.

After Ulides and Massena submitted their candidate to Rus Wang to investigate the serious security breach, Rus Wang approved the choice.

And so the investigation was about to begin. A few hours later, the candidate selected by the king to lead the military and the Grey Feather Division's investigation was notified.

A black Soul Guidance Car pulled up in front of Thranduil's manor.