Chapter 275: Shadows

Words : 1124 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

Chapter 275: Shadows The Baron could try. Provided he doesn’t burn before he even gets there. Kyle, for one, had somehow forgotten how ruthless their Captain was. Months of seeing him calm, restrained, and ever so vomit-inducingly gentle had allowed Kyle to temporarily mask the true identity of this monster. One that was currently prowling while waiting for the next prey he could toy with. And the poor adjutant regretted why he wasn’t the one who ended up obsessed with plants, for if Kyle had been popping out lettuce children here and there, then he would be out there attending the lecture on aquaponics and not here plotting revenge. He could’ve been there with the sunshines and rainbows team and not with the lighting tribulation one-man army. But, alas, there were people to roast and maybe a few who needed personal time in the void. "Captain, all the trackers are in place, and so far, it’s only Baron Firth who has been moving." "That’s a given. The rest are waiting to see what would happen." Xavier cocked his head to the side as a finger tapped rhythmically on the desk. This was something they expected. Well, in particular, Xavier, Kyle, and Ollie. It was just that Ollie imagined scenes similar to those dramas he liked to watch at night, and not really something to the likes of what was really happening. Such as the daily security breaches and attempts to target clients. But if it were up to Xavier, he’d rather they never find out. In his opinion, their job was to innovate and reap the benefits of their hardwork, while his job was to make sure they were able to keep on doing that safely. Also, which idiot would want to inform his wife about this long list of monsters if it would only give him added stress? But he also wasn’t stupid enough not to warn the little chipmunk about the dangers they were encountering. And so a list had been compiled, one that had numbered to over 400. Honestly the number had been lower than expected, but this was likely because the outside perimeter alone had hundreds of security details waiting for their respective bosses. Not to mention the fact that this was Planet Nova, home of the Empire’s Military Headquarters. But if even the Imperial Palace could be attacked, what would stop the truly desperate? Nothing, save for the unlikely ally they found—the pocket dimension itself. Apparently, unlike the Dungeon Space, pocket dimensions were created with the will of the original maker, and this particular dimension was made with peace in mind. And this was partly how they had been able to weed out assailants that managed to make it through initial screening. The door wouldn’t open. In fact, it wouldn’t even be there for people with malice. But while this sounds like a fool-proof way of safeguarding the facility, it only considers those people who were active participants. What do you do with people who didn’t even know they’ve been implicated? And that was exactly why Xavier and Kyle had been working with the people of the Duchy to ensure round the clock monitoring. For the Baron’s latest attempt could’ve gone wrong had it not been for their initial surveillance efforts. The target was a desperate commoner, but one who hadn’t been particularly told what to do, save for going in with a very sick pet. More like infected, really. In fact, the reasoning used was because with the social status of the pet’s owner, it was impossible for him to qualify for the single-session appointments. The alleged owner was desperate, and so the pay was sizeable for a person whose only job was to bring in a rodent. Sure, one that had been given a capsule of corruption that would’ve dissolved by the time the animal got to the appointment. It was a way to contain corruption by estimating how long it would take before the particular container corroded. Just like an ancient Trojan Horse that was once used by the earliest humans. However, Xavier would not have survived this long as the Imperial Crown Prince if he had not learned about such things early on. So, excuse him for being a little twisted, but some people don’t deserve to share in limited resources. Like some of these people who had been tracked from the moment they decided to start this kind of business. Xavier was using his own people, while delegating the actual perimeter’s security to the people of the Duchy. And right now, their biggest contributor was, surprisingly, D-29, who had been momentarily moonlighting as an investigator. Actually, it was more like he was being held hostage after Xavier discovered D-29’s sudden access to information kept in the military servers. D-29 panicked upon being discovered but had to announce that it was not its fault that their scanning systems could be ridden all the way back into the main servers. The little system alleged that it was basically a free security test. Obviously, that didn’t exactly work with the Prince, and now D-29 was tasked to actively report on landing permit applications. Sigh. But how did the little information borrower know which ones to monitor? That would be thanks to Xavier’s tagging. In reality, not all of these tagged people were expected to move with malice, but some were tagged as the likely people to be implicated. First were direct competitors, exactly like Baron Firth, who thought he had been oh so covert about his actions, and then the rest were stakeholder,s including suppliers, and even lenders. Then you’ve got those that would seriously be sending attempts to poke at the Empire’s defenses by siding with group one, such as the Federation and the Pirates. Lastly, you’ve got the extremists and the insane fans. Yes, Kyle once asked why the insane fans were lumped together with the extremists, but Xavier only glared back. But he should’ve known better, considering how the Captain treasured the guild leader. How could these fans who profess their love for Luca daily not be included in Xavier’s most wanted list? So, there they were, right with the extremist groups who have been waiting for the end of the world like it was meant to renew the universe. Though really, there was another party that should be on there, and one that Xavier and Kyle were just trying to ignore for now. The Imperial Family, and well, the ministry by extension. It was one thing to keep on moving by themselves, but when the Imperial Crown Prince’s shadows were ordered to move, a few concerned parents would likely notice. Such as the ones bombarding them with a few loving messages.

Chapter 275: Shadows

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