NEC Chapter 73: The Truth Unraveled Thread by Thread

Under his father's guidance, the truth of the entire affair penetrated through layers of fog and was gradually restored piece by piece.

That fellow named Chen Mo was ninety-nine percent likely a "lone crow" from the Sky Empire who had left the nest and, for some reason, ended up in the Greenspine Kingdom where he was picked up by Black Crow Castle.

Following this line of thinking, many previously incomprehensible issues in the investigation reports suddenly became clear.

For instance, why could someone who claimed to have zero foundation and severe amnesia learn the Resting Moon language in one month and necromantic summoning in forty days? It was all an act!

This cunning "crow" pretended to have amnesia and be ignorant in order to lower Black Crow Castle's guard, allowing him to lurk within this gloomy fortress.

So their little nineteen, that blonde kid, had likely inadvertently discovered some secret, which led to his fatal misfortune.

Black Crow Castle certainly wouldn't admit it was jealousy between apprentices or that the blonde kid was killed while attempting murder himself, so the situation they reported was that Chen Mo had deliberately and premeditatedly committed murder.

Perfectly reasonable.

According to the post-incident scene investigation, this fellow had also kidnapped the accompanying scout and another female apprentice during his escape.

He brought the scout to guide him, while the female apprentice was probably for his amusement along the way.

After reaching the outskirts of Six-Leaf Grove, he ruthlessly killed that poor pair and abandoned their bodies in the wilderness.

Wasn't this exactly what a cold-hearted, ruthless spy would do?

Another bullseye!

Then there was the matter at Six-Leaf Grove, where many wanderers witnessed this fellow constantly throwing money around, and finally using some mysterious item to win over the people from the Cloudmist Domain, ultimately boarding their airship.

This point had never made logical sense. Why would someone who was impoverished at Black Crow Castle suddenly have excessive wealth and extraordinary bargaining chips? Even if money could be robbed, could rare items just be picked up anywhere?

But if his identity as a "crow" was confirmed, then it made sense. Six-Leaf Grove, being such a mixed place, certainly had Sky Empire's underground contacts or intermediaries who supplied him with funds and other important items.

"Right! That witch doctor!" Haisen slapped his thigh and, predictably, hit his wound, grimacing in pain.

"Our people investigated many witnesses. This fellow only contacted those silly centaurs at the camp, and the only other place he visited was the witch doctor's hut!"

The centaurs were a bunch of foolish natives, but that witch doctor of unknown origin who had been holed up in the camp for years... Haisen kept slapping the table, "That old thing must be a well-hidden old 'mole'!"

A mole, meaning someone who digs deep holes, hides underground, and doesn't surface until critical moments.

At this point, Haisen's eyes filled with sudden understanding. He had been thinking about Chen Mo's affair day and night, and now, finally, everything fit together perfectly in a logical loop!

"Exactly!" The marquis nodded, "This explains another suspicious point. Someone capable of easily killing so many people, how could such an elite crow be so easily injured? So his injuries were probably self-inflicted!"

"Pretending to need medical treatment, he naturally contacted the camp's witch doctor, secretly obtained supplies from him, then pretended to be driven away, giving him an excuse to trick the centaurs into taking him to find those Emerald people for treatment!"

"It's not impossible that he knew the Emerald Duchy people were there from the beginning. He was targeting them specifically!"

As the marquis spoke, he became increasingly excited and began pacing back and forth, "He didn't just contact the Emerald Duchy, he also wanted to contact the Crescent Moon Federation. Unfortunately, he didn't know we already had a secret alliance with the Crescent Moon Federation."

"He even wanted to privately contact Crescent Moon's mages! Willing to spend big money to change his identity and enter a mage tower!"

Haisen gestured animatedly, quickly clearing himself of blame, "So my assassination attempts could never have succeeded! This isn't my fault. It's because the opponent was too powerful, and each failed assassination could even be disguised as an accident!"

Marquis Valen nodded with satisfaction. The child wasn't completely hopeless after all.

It should be noted that everyone, when speaking to Zircon Family's investigators, would certainly magnify information favorable to themselves while concealing unfavorable information.

These "hazy" truths, combined with an already established "factual conclusion," formed a complete logical chain.

The eldest son's analysis could only go this far. His vision was too narrow to see more.

But the marquis was different.

Under his think tank's analysis, this affair contained many elements that could potentially cause regional instability, though he didn't need to explain the details to his foolish son.

"So, do you now know where you went wrong?"

Haisen shook his head, both confused and ashamed.

Marquis Valen grabbed a soup bowl and hurled it at his son's head, "Fool! For something obviously beyond your control, you should have reported to me immediately. You wasted too much deployment time and might have let many things spiral completely out of control!"

"Two days ago, a heavy infantry company that Lookout Mountain City deployed at Green Radish Pass, along with two accompanying mages, was completely wiped out without even sending a distress signal."

"If you had told me earlier, I would have made more precise arrangements instead of letting my forces suffer such heavy losses! And it ruined my plans!"

"This is the consequence of your foolish arrogance!"

"Stay close to me these next few days!" Marquis Valen lifted his foot for a maid to put on his boots, stamped lightly on the ground, then strode purposefully outside, "I'm going to personally deploy the operation to capture that little girl!"

Eldest son Haisen hurried to follow, still somewhat confused as he asked, "That, that little girl is just some fortieth-something heir of the Cloudmist Domain. Why does everyone seem to value her so much?"

"Ha, you only know she's a fortieth-something heir of the Cloudmist Domain, but haven't you wondered why a count's daughter can be called a lady?"

"Why is your sister only called a tower mistress? Why is your second uncle's daughter only called a pavilion mistress?"

Haisen looked puzzled, "Ah? What's the difference? Isn't my sister called 'tower mistress' because she's rather dim?"

"Nonsense!"

"That little girl's father has some family connection to the Emerald Duke!"

"Looking deeper, the Cloudmist Domain branch holds six or seven hundredth place inheritance rights to the Emerald Duchy."

"Moreover..." Marquis Valen stopped and looked toward the distant south, "That girl called Frost, tracing her maternal lineage, can claim chief-level bloodline connections on both the elf and orc sides."

"Used properly, she would be an excellent bridge!"

"Crescent Moon doesn't need it, the orcs are disappointing, but we certainly can't let this opportunity slip by."

An encirclement operation personally directed by the marquis thus began.

But soon, both Zircon Family and the Greenspine Kingdom discovered a helpless and absurd reality: this opponent was simply too good at hiding.

Mountains, forests, wetlands were all excellent places to hide people. Even on modern Blue Star, when someone gets lost in the mountains, massive rescue teams with search dogs and drones often can't find them, let alone on the Starry Continent.

Large forces couldn't track the opponent, small teams were easily eliminated by them. The enemy seemed to have eyes planted within their own army, knowing every unit's movements like the back of their hand.

As more and more squads went missing or were killed, Marquis Valen finally ordered a halt to this futile manhunt.

"Let them cross the river!"

"On Emerald's soil, we'll stage a grand performance. I want them to jump out themselves and leap into my net!"

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