A voice spoke, “The Black Dragon has sent his subordinates to the twenty–eight nations to investigate
the background of the deceased of the hijacking incident. As his subordinates are competent people,
they should get to the bottom of it soon.” Pablo asked, “What should we do now?”
“We‘ll stay put. Let him investigate. The more he finds out, the better. I know him well. He‘s an
advocate for peace. Once he finds out, he‘ll make his way here and try to deal with the current crisis
without any unnecessary bloodshed. That will be when he meets his doom.”
“Understood.”
Pablo nodded.
They hung up the call.
Looking at the generals, Pablo instructed, “You heard him. We‘ll stay put. Order your men to behave.
Do not do anything they aren‘t instructed to.” “Understood.”
The generals nodded. At the same time, James, Henry, and Levi left Lavender Town in secret and
headed toward the outskirts of the Southern Plains City where the hijacking incident occurred. A jeep
that was driving along the desolated road stopped. The three of them stepped out of the car. Henry had
a map in hand. Looking at the routes marked on the map, he pointed in front of him and said, “This is
where the hijacking incident occurred.”
James walked over to that place.
Many days had passed. Hence, no traces of the incident remained.
He scanned his surroundings but found no clues. Immediately, he asked, “Where was the tour bus
found?”
Levi stepped forward and pointed to the road before them and said, “It‘s further north from here. We‘ll
reach the place after going around Southern Plains City and continuing inland. It‘s about three hundred
kilometers away from here.” “Let‘s have a look.”
James got onto the jeep once more. Levi then headed in the direction of the incident. Three hours later,
they arrived at a barren wasteland. The three of them got off.
Levi pointed at an empty plot of land and said, “Here‘s the spot. Everyone on the bus was already dead
by the time the authorities found it. The tour bus was in perfect condition, while the deceased all died a
quick and painless death with a single blow of a blade. Their corpses are
Located at a funeral parlor in the Southern Plains City. Since the city is currently occupied by enemy
forces, we‘re unable to observe the situation.” James then ordered, “Give me the autopsy report.”
Levi got back into the car and got him the autopsy report.
James scrutinized it.
Unfortunately, from this report, James could not identify who were the ones who hijacked the tour bus
and murdered the passengers on board. He rubbed his temple and asked, “Henry, Levi, who do you
think those people on the tour bus are?”
Henry said, “That‘s obvious, no? They must be sent by the one behind the scenes.” James rolled his
eyes. “Isn‘t that just bullsh*t?”
“Ahem,” Henry coughed and began analyzing. “This is the Southern Plains, a territory within Sol. The
ones who did the hijacking are most likely Soleans. Furthermore, they don‘t seem to be just any other
criminal group. The way they conducted their operation was akin to that of a disciplined fighting force.”
James looked at him and asked, “How can you tell?”
Henry continued, “The Black Dragon army has erected many fortifications on this road. However, the
perpetrators seemed to know their positions inside out. They managed to completely steer clear of the
Black Dragon army. Not only are they trained, they know the geographical landscape here well. The
incident must have been carefully choreographed. Besides, there were no signs of struggle on the bus.
There are two possibilities.”
“Mhm.”
James nodded and said, “Your analysis is spot on. There are two possibilities: One, the passengers on
board knew they would die. And so, they didn‘t resist at all. Two, the opponent was too strong. They
had no way of fighting back.” Levi chimed in, “Sir, I don‘t think investigating the tour bus will be useful.
Our countrymen are extremely concerned with the situation on the battlefield. If we still insist on staying
put instead of retaking the lost territories, I‘m worried they‘ll be rather displeased.”
James lightly waved. “There‘s no need to rush things. As long as there are no orders from the higher–
ups, we‘ll stay put and investigate the matter thoroughly. By the way, have you looked into the
deceased‘s personal belongings? Have you checked their phones to see if there are any clues?”
Levi shook his head. “All their phones are currently sealed away in the military region of the Southern
Plains City. As for the investigation... Everything happened in a blur. We only had a day between the
hijacking incident and the invasion of the twenty–eight nations. We didn‘t have enough time.”
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