Child of Destiny

...

Shin stared at Blackie who emerged victorious in the battle before turning his eyes to the notification that he got from the system.

*Ding!*

System: Elemental Spirit Companion/Pet had awakened her Monarch Bloodline Powers and was promoted into an Abysmal Penumbra Spirit.

It was just a simple notification but it was already enough for Shin. It meant a lot for him since it would not only boost his battle prowess but would also increase the number of cards that he could use for different kinds of situations.

Based on the rules of this competition, he could let Blackie continue for the next round. He was also curious about how far she could go with her current awakening.

But at the same time, there seemed to be nothing more to see into it after watching the previous round.  If ever, the next round would let her more accustomed to her newly found strength.

Thinking about that, Shin didn't summon Blackie back and let her continue. After all, she already had lessened the number of disadvantages that they had, so if she managed to win another round, then their chances of winning this competition would increase drastically.

While he was making his decision, the next opponent from the other side was already climbing up on the battle area.

"Let's wait and see what is going to happen next," muttered Shin as he sneaked a peek at Dracula, trying to see if the latter still had some plans for him.

*******

Soaring Continent, Eastern Sea Region, Ace City.

While things inside the game were getting more and more chaotic, the situation in the real was also starting to get a little complicated.

Nathan was sitting inside a luxurious room of a hotel under the Springfield Family. In front of him was a number of files, forming a tall pile of them. They were reports about the incident that just happened last night where police officers died in a horrifying way.

Based on the reports, those officers were from a special force built to pursue high-profile criminals. They seemed to be investigating a certain case related to the criminal that they were pursuing.

The clues led them to the location somewhere in the woods where the last night incident occurred. But before they could even reach the designated location, they encountered a powerful expert that led to their demise.

When the police and military were forced to head over to the location indicated by the reports. But when they arrived there, the whole place had already been completely devastated and fully destroyed.

They would not be able to launch a proper investigation in that place due to its state. But based on the destroyed machinery and apparatuses left behind in the scene, it seemed to be a large laboratory.

Aside from that, the case related to the said criminal seemed to be about the mysterious disappearance of some talented young people.

Reading that particular part of the report, Nathan couldn't help but frown deeply. The previous incident that happened in the Main Region was also related to laboratories that were experimenting on some young people.

No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like the two incidents were somewhat related to each other. The timing was also perfectly aligned with each other.

If his suspicions were right, then the laboratories here in Eastern Sea Region also had some relationship with the powerful Shadow Alliance and the reemerging Hextech Laboratory.

Nathan couldn't help but feel unease when he thought about it. "It seems like those underworld organizations are getting more and more proactive recently. It feels like they are plotting something big."

Creasing his brow even further, he thought about another large organization and muttered. "But, on the other hand, the Black Serpent Mafia, who is supposedly the most proactive among all of them, seemed to be the ones who are not making any large movements."

From the reports that their spies had sent, the Black Serpent Mafia seemed to make a deal with the Shadow Alliance. There were even some rumors circulating in the underworld that they had become a part of the latter after the military and elder's court foiled the Shadow Alliance's plans in the Main Region.

They had almost crippled the forces of the Shadow Alliance in the Soaring Continent. At least, that was what Nathan was thinking, but after learning what was happing in the Eastern Sea Region, it seemed like the operation of the organization was much larger than what they had expected.

Fortunately, the military forces stationed in the Eastern Sea Region managed to sniff it already and were able to start doing countermeasures.

But, at the same time, the opposing side was also able to move a step ahead of them and started vacating their facilities before the military could catch up to them.

Nathan found it a pity since the military forces in this place were not able to wipe out all of the laboratories hidden within the Eastern Sea Region.

Well, they were not as lucky as the forces in the Main Region where the opposing side committed the grave mistake of abducting a friend of a particular monster which led to their demise.

Aside from this particular case, there was also another matter that was bothering Nathan. It was the familiar aura that he sensed from the place where the last night incident took place.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but he was really not getting a good feeling about it. He could feel that a huge incident would happen if he ignored it.

Unfortunately, he also didn't have any evidence that he could present to warn the military forces of the Eastern Sea Region.

In the end, he could only investigate the matter by himself. But he also needed to be careful not to provoke the higher-ups of the Military Forces of this region. After all, it was his area of jurisdiction.

While he was thinking about how he was going to investigate, a call suddenly interrupted his thoughts. And when he saw the name of the caller, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

After a brief moment of thinking, he answered the call. "General Kingsman, I don't expect that you are going to take the initiative to call me."

The person on the other side of the call didn't bother to exchange greetings and quickly get straight to the point. "I will not beat around the bush, Commander Nathan. I know that you are showing an interest in the case that we have. I call to hear your thoughts about it."

Nathan smirked when he heard those words and asked back, instead of answering. "And what about it? It is not like you are going to let me partake in the investigation."

He trailed his words for a brief moment before continuing. "Unless you are planning to take advantage of my curiosity and let me take the matter in my hand while you are waiting to rip all of the benefits."

General Kingsman remained silent and refused to acknowledge or deny those words.

Seeing the latter's reaction, Nathan sneered for a moment before continuing. "I know that you want to use my forces to investigate to avoid all of the unnecessary sacrifices from your side."

"After what happened last night, I know that you are going to be careful with your moves, especially now that you discovered that a Domain Realm Expert is involved. You are even afraid that there is an even more powerful accomplice hiding in the dark."

pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 "To avoid all of the unnecessary trouble, you want to use me, one of the top experts in the world, to test the waters."

"I must admit, it is a quite wise plan that you have. But it is also quite bold of you if that is really the case. It may even backfire on you, given my personality."

At this moment, General Kingsman finally opened his mouth and spoke. "I am not that bold to use such an important and powerful person, such as yourself. I am just planning to propose working together."

"I know that you read all of the reports, so I can assume that you also have a certain understanding of what is going on.  As well as a suspect in mind."

Nathan knew what the latter was trying to say and immediately nodded. "You are right about that. It is somehow related to the incident that happen to the Main Region."

"But the difference is we handle our situation pretty well and clean up everything without sacrificing much of our forces."

Hearing those words, the corner of General Kingsman's mouth couldn't help but twitch. 'You  only manage to pull it off because you manage to get the assistance of the Elder's Court.'

But despite the thoughts that he had, he didn't dare to voice them out since he knew that he was not Nathan's match. Instead, he quickly asked. "So, what are your thoughts?"

Nathan didn't answer and instead asked. "You are right about me being curious about this matter. But I can do my investigations without your help or your forces. I can also do it without provoking your superiors."

Trailing his words once again, he asked. "So, I wonder what you can offer in exchange for cooperating with me?"

"I am hoping that it is good enough to pique my interest, or else, you can forget about it," he added with a smirking tone.

General Kingsman gritted his teeth as he hesitated. And after an internal struggle, he finally said. "An Energy Ore Mine. We are going to handle the ownership of an Energy Ore Mine to you in exchange for your help."

"It is a top-quality mine that can help you improve the manufacturing of your military weapons and help you in your researchers," he added, afraid that it would not enough for Nathan.

Nathan smiled mysteriously before saying. "Let's hear about the details first. Let me see if the 'compensation' is enough for me to take the risk."

"After all, you are desperate enough to hand us a mine in exchange for our help. This can only mean that you discovered something that you can't handle and require my strength to handle it," he added, being able to see through the intention of the other side.

...

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