Child of Destiny

Chapter 1424: Ripples

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”So, it turns out that simultaneous attacks happened,” mumbled Nathan as he listened to the reports of his subordinate while also comparing it to what Shiella had said to him earlier.

”It must be a carefully crafted plan given that everything went too quickly. It did not even take half an hour before everything unfolded and ended,” he added as he tapped his index finger on the table before him.

According to the investigation that they had launched, it was highly likely that the assailants were people from certain organizations that were ambushing the chosen participants while exploring the recently discovered cultivatorʼs tomb.

However, Nathan was also slightly doubtful since this case was a little different from the other incidents. Most of the students that were ambushed were attacked when they were about to return to their dormitories outside the premises of the academy or currently doing some business outside.

But none of those cases included attacking the place where the students were staying, particularly as big as this one.

Moreover, the operation was conducted very professionally, indicating a well-orchestrated plan similar to how those big underworld organizations worked.

All the cameras were taken down and the signal of the entire place was tightly sealed, preventing anyone from contacting the outside. More importantly, all of it happened in just a very short time, not giving the outside help any time to respond even after realizing the strange movements within the hotel.

Aside from this, there was also a simultaneous attack that targeted him, Shiella, and even David, indicating that the opposing side was very familiar with them and planned their actions well before making their move.

Even Vincent and Jerimiah were also delayed by unknown assailants from arriving at the hotel before retreating with just a few exchanges that did not even last for ten minutes.

This could only mean that whoever was behind this incident had already planned after considering various conditions.

Even himself, the Dragon King, was occupied by an unknown Venerable Mentalist, preventing him from arriving here after receiving the news.

Nathan then turned to his subordinate and asked. ”Have any of our people regained their consciousness?”

The person standing beside him bowed before responding. ”I am sorry, Commander. But it seems like they have been poisoned or drugged by an unknown substance. It doesnʼt put them in any danger, but it was strong enough to put them in a deep slumber.”

”But based on our investigation and from the blood samples that we have gotten, it seems like whatever it is, the majority of its materials are made from the unique flowers that can only be found in the Silver Wing Continent.”

Nathan squinted his eyes as he heard that. ”Are you sure of it?”

”We are 100% sure, Commander. But we still canʼt come up with a conclusion that this incident was done by those people. They will be not stupid enough to leave such an obvious trace that will lead back to them,” replied the subordinate.

Nathan nodded in understanding. ”It seems like we can only wait until the two unit leaders wake up.”

After that, he dismissed the lieutenant as he pondered on himself.

At the same time, David suddenly entered and greeted him. ”Sir Nathan.”

Nathan glanced at the latter and nodded. ”How is it? Can your special technique locate Shin?”

David smiled bitterly as he shook his head. ”I am afraid that even my techniques canʼt sense his location. It seems like he is branded by a special seal that prevents me from finding him.”

Nathan tapped his finger on the wooden table before suddenly remembering something. ”Oh! How is Shiella doing? Has she calmed down yet?”

Earlier, after learning that Shin had been abducted by the unknown people, Shiella went berserk and wanted to flip the entire region just to look for him. She was about to mobilize the secret forces of the Flying Dragon Corporation just to turn over the entire city.

Fortunately, David arrived in time and calmed her down, telling her that she could not do anything rash, especially when there were foreign forces within the continent, acting as guests.

If she somehow had provoked those people and created a conflict with them, particularly the representative of the Silver Wing Continent, who were their main suspects, things could lead to an international dispute.

And that exact outcome was what the people, who were watching from the sidelines, wanted to see.

Those sly foxes and cunning wolves were waiting for such an opportunity and took advantage of the chaos to rip some benefits.

Those delegates from different forces from overseas were still manageable since they would not dare to cause too much trouble in the territory of their main rival. But those from the underworld organizations would be a whole different matter since they could use underhanded tricks, and not play by the rules.

”How about the other kids?” asked Nathan remembering Arthur, Leonard, Cloe, and the rest of the group.

Those guys were supposed to be victims of this ʼassaultʼ as well since they were all trapped in a sealing formation earlier. But for some unknown reason, the people who were supposed to attack them backed out without raising that much of a conflict.

But when they rushed out of their respective rooms and discovered that the unconscious soldiers filling the entire corridor, they realized that something must have happened.

They also thought that the reason why the assailants retreated was because Nathan and the rest of their reinforcements had arrived, but they had learned that it was not the case after a few minutes.

That was also when they realized that the only one who was not present was Shin, so they quickly rushed toward his room and saw the devastated scene of the place.

That was also when they learned that Shin was currently missing.

Nathan was not sure what had happened, but their current suspicion was Shin had come into an agreement with the opposing party, which was none of them were harmed while he came with them willingly.

But there was also a possibility that it was purposely done to mislead them, so they could not ignore any angles.

David could not help smiling even bitter as he heard that. ”It seems like Arthur and Leonard are able to calm down, but Cloe canʼt do the same. Lorraine is even starting to contact her family for help. It is the same for Alice, who just came back from the academy.”

Nathan sighed and nodded. ”I understand. You can leave for now and look over them. Make sure that they will not do anything rash.”

He then paused before changing his mind. ”No, leave them to Vincent and Jerimiah. Just keep Shiella company as I am afraid that she will do something stupid.”

”She may not look like it, but she is overprotective when it comes to her brothers,” he added.

David nodded his head as he retreated and left the room.

It was at that moment when Nathan turned to the darker corner of the room, where the shadow seemed to dance before spitting out a woman with a flexible and alluring figure. ”Have you not seen anything as well, Emily? I reckon that you are around during the entire incident.”

The woman was one of Nathanʼs friends along with Joaquin Geovanni, Elias Stuart, and Eugene White.

Emily shook her head as she also found this case rather strange. ”I happen to be passing by when it happens. But someone blocks my path. I donʼt know who it is, but they are at least as strong as Joaquin in terms of physical strength.”

She was commissioned by the local forces to investigate the recent ambushes on the students of the special program of the Magic Ace Academy. She would act as an independent unit that would look into both the foreign forces staying within the Eastern Sea Region, particularly in the Ace City, and the faculty members of the academy, who were also tasked to investigate the same assignment.

This was the reason why she was roaming around the students enrolled in the special program of the academy.

She happened to be on the scene when everything happened. But she was a little too late to notice the strange movements within the hotel.

Moreover, the person, who blocked her, was also a pretty skilled expert with the same level of strength. Even if she had tried to send a distress signal, she was being jammed by the latter, making it impossible for the reinforcements to arrive in time.

”But one thing is for sure. These people are not your average guys. They act a little differently from the cases that I am investigating, but also share a similar trait, which makes it hard for me to come up with a solid conclusion,” she added as she recalled everything to the best of her abilities.

”My first guess is the previous incidents are just a distraction to hide their real intentions while abducting your nephew is their real target.”

”Or it can also be these guys are from a different group who are trying to pin the blame on the others.”

”Either way, I must say that they have done a decent job since they have somewhat achieved their initial goal. It is either creating chaos in this busy time or abducting a target at the perfect opportunity,” she added as she tried to assess the situation.

”So, what is your plan?” she asked as she could tell from Nathanʼs expression that this was going to be a serious matter.

”This matter will be kept secret from outsiders for the time being. Shin is undergoing special training under Sir Henry and Senior Ryong anyway, so his classmates will not notice if he disappears or not,” said Nathan with a serious tone.

He paused for a moment before continuing. ”Sir Henry has already ordered all his students to form a team to look into this matter. All of them are as strong as the top talents of the same generation, so they will be fine.”

”Moreover, Joaquin and Eugene volunteered to help, so they will be leading this operation.”

”Senior Ryong canʼt move that much due to his recent fight against Jan Mateo, but Senior Lin Huang said that he will be looking into this matter as well.”

”Due to the recent attacks on the students, the higher-ups of the academy can no longer sit still and started making their move. Each head of the department is assigned to keep an eye on the people from different forces staying in the region.”

”Since those guys are provoking us a little too much, we will show them why the Soaring Continent is known for our military forces.”

Hearing those words, Emily could not help but shiver as she pictured the main forces of the Springfield Family and Magic Ace Academy inside her head.

She could not believe that there were people, who would dare provoke these powerhouses. Both factions had old monsters that could not be provoked.

It seemed like those monsters had stayed too dormant for such people to forget about them.

”Do you want me to lend a hand?” she offered.

Nathan thought for a moment before shaking his head. ”It is fine. You can just stay here and keep an eye on everything. That is more than enough.”

Emily shrugged her shoulders before leaning on the walk, waiting for any update.

…

While everyone was panicking due to Shinʼs disappearance, the news somehow reached the ears of a certain Demonic Practitioner staying in the mountains.

Jan Mateo just received the news about Shinʼs disappearance from his subordinates.

Knitting his brow deeply, he suddenly crushed the nearby boulders and took down the surrounding trees with his pressure alone. ”Someone dared to lay their hands on my prey?”

He then opened a special channel on his advanced watch and issued an order. ”Investigate what happened and make sure to find the kid as soon as possible. I need him for my ʼmealʼ at the end of this month.”

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