"I need you to assess if there is a risk of a second burst. If a threat is confirmed, take direct action to eliminate it without requesting permission."

Vic was silent for a moment, then knelt on one knee and replied in a low voice, "As you command."

"Choose thirty high-tier elite knights whom you trust," Edmond added softly, "We can't gamble that this is just an 'accidental appearance' this time."

"Yes." Vic stood up, his expression unchanged, yet as sharp as a sheathed blade.

He turned and left, immediately going to select the knights to head for the Red Tide Territory.

......

Steady footsteps echoed on the stone stairs of the Red Tide Lord's Castle.

Louis looked up to see a tall knight entering the office, accompanied by a servant.

"Vic Glanser," the knight introduced himself with a slight nod, his tone crisp and decisive.

"Welcome, Knight Glanser." Louis stood up, proactively shaking his hand, "I've been waiting for you."

They each took a seat on opposite sides of the long table, the firelight from the fireplace flickering on the wooden map and the documents spread out.

Louis succinctly explained the location of the insect swarm sighting, the cause of the event, the current lockdown areas, and the Red Tide Lord's response measures.

Throughout, his tone remained steady, even when mentioning those who died in battle, he expressed no superfluous lamentations, just presenting the facts convincingly.

"I want to hear from those two personally," Vic spoke in a calm tone, looking at Louis, "Especially the mage... you mentioned in the letter that he's the only witness."

Louis nodded at these words and summoned his attendant, whispering instructions.

"I'll invite them here," he said, looking up at Vic, his voice steady, "You judge for yourself, but I'll be listening as well, as this matter isn't over yet."

"Of course." Vic nodded slightly, a hint of approval in his eyes, "To be honest, you've handled this well."

In no time, the attendant brought in two people.

First was the middle-aged search knight, tall and dressed in dust and battle intent, who stood quietly after saluting.

The search knight recounted the patrol findings one by one, mentioning the charred, sagging ground of the campsite, the bloodless clearing marks, the putrid stench, and that unsettlingly silent environment.

Vic listened to these words, his expression heavy.

Every detail was exactly the same as three years ago.

Next was Lei Xi'er, still looking weakened, who was helped inside.

He was somewhat surprised, not expecting Louis to report the matter directly to the Governor of the North.

Although his magic robe had been changed, his face was still pale, and his magic power flowed weakly.

He emotionlessly recounted his ordeal: the ambush by the riverbank, teammates being parasitized, himself being poisoned, mental erosion, forcibly suppressing magic power to escape, until collapsing outside the Red Tide...

Of course, he concealed some things, like his identity, his mission...

Vic listened in silence, nodding only after a long while.

His expression was even grimmer than when he first arrived.

"The intelligence is sufficient." He saluted Louis, then took a black-sealed letter tube from his cloak, "This is from the Duke for you."

Louis accepted the tube, not opening it immediately, just nodding, as a response to Vic.

"We will conduct a search from the location you provided, and will inform you when we need assistance."

Vic said calmly, putting on his hood and turning to leave, without the slightest hesitation in his actions.

Moments later, the sound of footsteps vanished completely at the end of the corridor, and the office returned to silence.

Louis silently glanced at the letter, then gently placed it by the table, before turning to look at Lei Xi'er.

"I'm sorry..." he said softly, "This matter is too grave. I can't handle it here and had to report it."

Lei Xi'er nodded gently, without a trace of dissatisfaction, his tone carrying a hint of relief, "I understand. Surviving is already an accident, without you... I probably would have been burned and disposed of."

He paused slightly, then added, "Now with the involvement of local nobility in the investigation, it's also a good thing for us."

After saying this, he was assisted by the attendant to leave.

Louis sat back in his chair alone, staring at the silvery-grey letter tube for a long time, his fingers slowly tracing the edge of the wax seal.

Only after ensuring there was no one else around did he gently open the envelope and pull out the neatly folded letter paper.

The letter began with polite and warm greetings, carrying the typical duke-like tone and style.

But Louis merely glanced at it, skipping over those parts, his attention focused directly on the main points in the latter half.

The letter primarily talked about two things.

The first was the reappearance of the insect swarm traces.

The Duke's wording was uncharacteristically serious, with a touch of suppressed gravity.

He reminded Louis of the matter's severity far exceeding normal demon disturbances, even bringing up the events of three years ago.

Finally, he emphasized that if necessary, the Northern Territory's wartime mechanisms might be activated.

As the Cold Fir Territory had become the forefront observation point due to their appearance at a missing location and its exhibited judgment, it would be considered one of the primary observation points.

"When necessary, I need your full cooperation," the letter stated.

Although it seemed calm, it represented an extremely heavy trust, and this content was not outside of Louis's expectations.

However, what truly raised Louis's eyebrow slightly was the second matter.

It was a notification of rewards.

Accurately speaking, it was about how he had "accidentally" discovered and captured a Jade Federation spy in the outskirts and uncovered Joseph, a traitor daring enough to betray the country.

It triggered a large-scale intelligence cleanup operation across the Southwest Province of the Empire.

Now the storm had finally settled, and he was written at the fore of the cleanup report.

"Thus, it is decided that Joseph's former direct territory will be assigned to the Red Tide as a commendation for this critical intelligence cleanup operation."

Joseph's territory near Qingyu Ridge was now rightfully part of Louis's domain.

Additionally, there was a reward of ten thousand gold coins, along with a batch of unspecified material supplies to be arranged later.

"Well, this reward is quite reasonable."

Louis refolded the letter, his tone carrying a hint of subtle amusement.

After all, on the surface, he indeed merely "happened to pass by and caught a spy."

The subsequent earthquake-like chain reaction across the Empire could be attributed to "luck."

The reward was indeed generous.

Moreover, he had used this event to directly reorganize the various nobles of Snow Peak County, which could be considered an invisible reward.

He called in the attendant and instructed, "Have Bradley come over."

Before long, Bradley jogged into the room.

"Arrange for officials to quickly take over the new territory assigned to us," said Louis calmly, "Officially name it Qingfeng Territory."

"Qingfeng Territory? A nice name." Bradley's eyes lit up, and he swiftly noted it in his notebook.

"That territory was originally managed by Joseph, and since his capture there should be no one overseeing it. Have someone check how many residents remain, and distribute relief aid to those willing and able to stay."

"Understood." Bradley nodded immediately.

"Inform the storage department to allocate fifty sets of temporary farming tools and transfer a batch of seeds from the Red Rock Warehouse, spring planting cannot wait," Louis continued, "Also, send three experienced agriculturists to assist the locals in making plans, aiming to complete sowing by the end of the month, and maybe send some livestock to transport seeds and equipment."

"Yes." Bradley was taking notes quickly, "Understood, I will arrange for a resource officer and a terrain expert to go along."

Louis pondered for a moment, then added, "It needs to be done beautifully; don't just take over, make sure the citizens see changes within a week, spread the word that we're 'here to govern, not just to levy taxes.'"

"Alright, I'll get on it immediately." Bradley nodded with a smile. Seeing Louis had no further instructions, he quickly closed his notebook and left in haste.

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