This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Dick had never experienced true maternal love in either of his lifetimes, while Frederick the Great, although not related to Dick by blood, genuinely treated him as his own son, always showing him tenderness and care. This, in turn, made Dick somewhat insecure, unable to act as decisively as he would with other women!

So when he heard his mother call him to dinner, Dick obediently sat down at the table and waited for the food to be served. Neither of them talked about the "spectacle" of the previous night. Even though they knew the truth, they chose to ignore it. It was as if Dick had obediently gone back to his room to sleep after eating the cake last night, without wasting the food or turning the "cake" into a cream puff.

Did you sleep well last night?

"Uh...it's fine, it's fine."

Dick took a big gulp of hot milk and then started eating the fried eggs that the Emperor's mother had made. He was about to say that they were delicious when he turned his head and saw Lucoa coming out completely naked. He almost couldn't hold back and nearly spat out the milk and eggs in his mouth.

Even if you live inside a castle and there are no outsiders around, you should at least be mindful of your public image!

Lucoa is very unrestrained at home. On holidays, she simply transforms into a nude woman, sprawling naked in Dick's bedroom. Under her influence, the once naive school doctor, Shizuka Marikawa, also shows a tendency to develop in this direction, testing his resolve as her leader every now and then.

Can Dick stay calm? Absolutely not!

On her days off, Lucoa is in complete "useless mode," like a plump and lazy orange cat. She lies down at the dining table, and the team's number one "world-class" breasts are instantly flattened, with lots of soft, white flesh spilling out from the side of her body. Dick, who has clearly experienced how amazing those two big treasures feel, has an urge to reach out and poke them a couple of times.

"Dick, I want to eat fried eggs, can you feed me?"

Before Lucoa could even open her mouth to be fed, a new fried egg was placed in front of her, along with a shirt. Frederick the Great spoke in a calm yet undeniably authoritative tone.

"Put it on, be careful not to catch a cold."

With Lucoa's constitution, catching a cold is impossible for her. Let alone indoors, even if she went outside naked and ran around in the freezing snow, she wouldn't sneeze once.

But when facing Frederick the Great, Lucoa obediently sat up straight and put on her shirt. This obedience had nothing to do with the strength of the figures, but simply a difference in aura. It gave off a feeling of your mother being afraid you'd catch a cold, so you immediately covered your stomach with a small blanket.

Soon, the others who had gotten up also arrived at the dining room. Belfast and Rita arrived then to help prepare breakfast. They weren't late because they had overslept, but because Frederick the Great had asked them last night to prepare breakfast for everyone this morning. It was a mother's duty; seeing her children eat the breakfast she had prepared made the Great Mother feel very happy.

The whole family was having a happy meal together. Because there was a five-day public holiday after the New Year, everyone had some rare free time. Many people who had been busy all year were also thinking about how to relax. However, their eyes kept glancing at Dick during the conversation, obviously wanting to invite Dick to join them.

Being watched so much, even though Dick knew that no one would really do anything too outrageous to him, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. He always felt that someone would stand up and shout "Let's divide him up!" and then physically turn him into twenty-six equal parts of a bride.

Before he knew it, the number of girls around him had reached a whole platoon. Dick tried to control the number and minimize the number of girls he summoned, so as not to exceed his capacity to handle too many.

However, as the territory's population and influence continue to expand, the talent gap in the lord's mansion is also growing, especially with the establishment of the navy. The conventional development model is so slow that it requires decades of accumulation, so it is far less efficient than directly summoning ship girls.

Alas! For the sake of the country and its people, I can only suffer the hardship of my kidneys!

Since it was the dead of winter with heavy snow, going on a picnic was obviously not an ideal choice, but staying in the castle would inevitably feel monotonous.

So Hongye suggested that everyone go on vacation to the mountains. There was a resort built for the lord next to the spy classroom in the mountains. Wouldn't it be wonderful to soak in hot springs and enjoy the snow scenery in the mountains?

Although everyone had gone a few times during their off-duty hours before, going as a group like this now feels just like a youthful school trip, doesn't it?

Hongye's suggestion immediately received enthusiastic responses from several high school girls in the team.

Kasumi and Ayane exchanged a glance instinctively, both recalling their "..."

fighting

"The places I've been."

And so, everyone decided to go to the mountains for a few days. The lord's mansion was relatively quiet during the New Year period, and a small number of single middle and lower-ranking officials were enough to handle official duties.

However, just in case, Dick left three sets of magical alarm devices, one for main use and one for backup. If something serious happened in the next few days, the people on duty could ring the bell three times to notify Dick, who was on vacation in the mountains, and everyone would be able to get back within fifteen minutes.

After deciding on their vacation destination, the group set off from the main city at noon. Instead of riding horses or taking the dog sleds that were most suitable for the season, Lucoa volunteered to transform into his dragon form and carry everyone directly to the mountain resort.

Not long after they left, a group of out-of-towners entered the city through the south gate of the main city.

This year's snowfall was less than usual, and the lord's manor regularly organized personnel to clear snow from the main roads within the territory, so the roads were not closed, and merchants from the southern inland areas were still able to arrive. Among the many outsiders coming and going, it was inevitable that some uninvited guests with ill intentions would sneak in.

Chapter 215: The Instigator

A small caravan of a dozen or so people drove three oxcarts into the city. The caravan members all appeared to be human. After entering the city, they pretended to be curious and looked around at the street scenes on both sides of the main road, but in reality, they were wary of their surroundings. Their hands, which were kept warm in their sleeves, never let go of the weapons hidden inside.

However, compared to the other members who appeared relaxed but were actually tense, the shortest and skinniest boy in the group commented nonchalantly.

"Is this the main city of Lagug? That Bloodstained Territory doesn't look like much at all!"

"Shh! Don't talk nonsense on human territory, shut up!"

Upon hearing the short woman's reckless use of the term "bloodstained one" in public, the middle-aged man leading the group immediately glared at her fiercely. He then cautiously surveyed his surroundings and, seeing that the noise of the street completely drowned out their conversation, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

That was close! If someone else had overheard that, things would have been in real trouble!

On the way to Laguge, the team leader collected a lot of information about the area, especially after they crossed the Central Mountain Range and entered the northern border of the Empire. Information gathering became much easier. Sometimes, he didn't even need to ask around. He could just sit in a tavern for a while and hear people nearby talking about the amazing stories of Laguge.

Throughout the northern lands, Ragug and its lord Dick Best enjoyed immense prestige. People generally praised and worshipped him, calling him a wise, benevolent, and martial lord who governed his territory in an orderly manner, ensuring the well-being of his people. When faced with orc invasions, he united the patriots of the north and led the charge against the invaders.

If the outsiders' feelings towards this lord were merely respect, then the locals from Laguge were practically fanatical worshippers. They would not tolerate anyone slandering their lord, and would even resort to physical violence to uphold his dignity.

Such popular support is rarely seen in other noble territories. If the common people do not hate the lord above them, then they can already be called a "benevolent lord".

Given the situation in Lagug, the team leader could hardly imagine the uproar that would erupt if passersby heard "outsiders" using insulting and derogatory terms to refer to their lord!

The team leader's unease grew stronger as he thought about the purpose of his team's trip.

"I've always said, you can't trust those old-timers from the 'Dead Tree Party'!"

The leader's real name is "Ioria". He is an elven assassin from the Principality of the Tree Sea. He and his companions are secret guards kept by the Grand Duke of the Tree Sea. Their identities and existence are unknown to outsiders. They are usually responsible for protecting the Grand Duke in secret or doing some dirty work for him.

Their visit to Lagug was due to the influence of the Tree Sea Grand Duke on the Dead Tree Party. He sent his secret guards to cause trouble in Lagug and then frame the Emerald Crown Elves who had recently settled there.

Of the three elven duchies, the Tree Sea Duchy is the smallest, with a population of only 170,000, but it has always considered itself to have the noblest bloodline and is at odds with the other two small duchies. They despise the Emerald Crown Duchy's obsequiousness towards humans, and look down on the wheat-skinned grassland elves of the Stream River Duchy, still regarding them as uncouth and uncouth bumpkins, just as they have a thousand years ago.

For this reason, the Principality of the Tree Sea has always been flirting with the Dead Tree Party, and their secret dealings have never stopped.

The current Grand Duke of the Tree Sea is an old elf over 1,900 years old, the nephew of the last Holy King of the Elven Dynasty. Therefore, with the direct line of the Elven royal family long since exterminated by humans, his branch is the closest collateral line. The Withered Tree Party guessed the Grand Duke's thoughts, and thus consistently used the promise of "upholding the throne after successful restoration" as bait to persuade him to provide them with various forms of support. This tactic has proven consistently effective.

At 1,900 years old, and not even a Saint-level powerhouse, this elf already looked old and frail, practically ready to be buried from the neck down. But precisely because of his old age, his mind wasn't as clear, making him exceptionally stubborn and easily fooled.

According to the Dry Tree Party, this operation is a very "simple" task. They do not need to assassinate Dick Best, who has Saint-level strength. That is a target that the Dry Tree Party will handle. The reason for requesting the assistance of the Tree Sea Duchy is that they are currently short-handed and therefore need the assistance of the Grand Duke's secret guards.

Aeolia had carried out similar missions before. This wasn't the first time they had secretly cooperated with the Deadwood Party. It had indeed caused considerable trouble for the Emerald Crown Duchy's immigration plan. Several settlements had become the result of their internal and external sabotage, leading to a surge in conflicts between the elven immigrants and the local humans, which ultimately resulted in bloodshed and the mass expulsion of the elven immigrants.

To put it bluntly, the Duchy of the Tree Sea looks down on its own kind in the Duchy of the Emerald Crown, yet it doesn't want them to actually side with the human race. Therefore, it is happy to cooperate with the Withered Tree Party and secretly sabotage them.

Aeolia himself disliked carrying out such dirty tasks and was also disgusted by the rogues of the Dry Tree Party who always used sweet words to bewitch the old patriarch, thinking they were a bunch of liars. But having been raised as a bodyguard, he had long since ingrained the idea of ​​"absolute loyalty to the patriarch" deep in his mind, so even if he had a million reasons not to, he would absolutely carry out the patriarch's orders.

The only thing we can do is to be as careful as possible while carrying out the mission, so that we and our teammates can return as safely as possible after the mission is completed.

However, this mission made Aeolia instinctively feel that it was unusual. At first, it was the unease brought on by his sixth sense, but this feeling became stronger as they actually entered the territory of Lagug.

Soon, the group disguised as a caravan found a place to stay, not far from the local Elf Street. Ioria ordered his men to stay put while he led an old subordinate out to scout out the Elf Street first.

Following their usual tactics, creating conflict between elves and humans is simple: first, spread some unfounded rumors, and then pretend that both sides are deliberately stirring up trouble.

For example, one could disguise oneself as a human thug and cause trouble for a lone elf, and harming a child is more likely to provoke the elves' anger than harassing an elven woman.

Because elves have a very low birth rate, they place great importance on their children.

When a conflict breaks out between the elves and humans, Ioria disguises himself as an elf and slaughters several humans. The two sides will then fight to the death because of the blood feud. This tactic has always worked. In order to quell the resentment of the majority of the human population, the local lord will not side with the elves.

However, when Ioria went to scout out the Elf Street, she was unaware that there were already more than one sentry secretly watching them around their lodging.

Chapter 216: An Accidental Encounter

Being observant is a basic quality of a secret agent. By observing a person's body language, manner of speaking, accent, and other behaviors, one can roughly deduce a person's basic information.

Therefore, to train the trainees' observation and memory skills, the spy classroom would arrange for trainees who had just finished learning the theoretical knowledge to take turns serving as guards at the main city gate under the guidance of instructors. The instructor in charge would randomly select a person entering the city and have the trainees profile them to achieve the training purpose.

The training in the spy classroom is 24/7. After all, to receive the highest salary, one must be subject to the most stringent requirements. Even overtime is part of the stress-resistance training.

So the instructors and trainees who were conducting training that day discovered that a group of rather strange merchants had come to the south gate of the main city. They claimed to be from the south of the empire and came to Laguge to sell frostbite ointment. At first glance, there seemed to be nothing wrong with them, and all kinds of certificates and documents were in order. However, the instructors and several trainees still felt a very subtle sense of unease about them, but they couldn't quite put their finger on what was wrong.

Finally, an elf student noticed the problem. He recognized that the language used by several of them had distinct elven characteristics. Furthermore, when he pretended to approach them while checking their goods, he could sense a faint magical fluctuation emanating from them, which covered their entire faces. This indicated that they had used disguise magic to change their appearance.

In contrast, this elven student also disguised herself to conceal her elven face, but not through magic; rather, it was a "makeup technique" personally taught by Head Instructor Tia. Although the preparation for the makeup technique was tedious, because it was not magic, it would not be detected by magicians with keen magical senses.

So the trainees, who were acting as gatekeepers, pretended not to know anything and let the group of suspicious targets into the city. They then reported the situation to the authorities, which quickly attracted the attention of the intelligence agencies.

It's the Lunar New Year period right now. If any trouble happens at this time, it will severely damage the public's trust in the lord's mansion. If the lord gets angry, their intelligence agency will be held responsible.

However, if they can handle these troubles properly and promptly, the Earl, who is always fair in rewarding and punishing, will certainly not treat these meritorious officials unfairly.

So the duty officer quickly made a decision: to report immediately and make full preparations for control, waiting only for the lord's order to collect these "medals" that came to them.

During the Lunar New Year, sending someone's head from a thousand miles away—that's quite a gesture!

Meanwhile, the group of elves from Ioria were also surprised to find themselves exposed so soon after arriving in Ragug. After all, in ordinary noble territories, the main city gate guards, a lucrative position, were usually controlled by incompetent officials with nepotism, making them practically useless. The real elite guards were stationed at the gates of the lord's own castle.

But what is considered "common sense" elsewhere does not apply to Laguge.

At this moment, Ioria was pretending to stroll around Elf Street, scouting the area. In addition to observing the layout of the streets, she was also observing how the elves interacted with the locals.

Generally speaking, most humans are attracted to appearances. Before they actually get to know the elves, they generally have high hopes for their beauty and elegance. However, once they become neighbors with the elves, their illusions are quickly shattered by the elves' inherent arrogance, and they leave the fantasies and turn against them.

Therefore, conflicts are inevitable. Ioria doesn't think Lagug will be an exception. Even if they have a lord with half-elf blood, ordinary people won't tolerate those pointy-eared scoundrels just because they love the house. Ioria knows his own kind of nature all too well. Some old habits are ingrained and can't be completely erased by a few words like "be more restrained".

It's clear that this settlement hasn't been established for very long; some shops along the street are still under renovation and haven't officially opened for business yet.

In most cases, once the various shops of the elves open, they will obviously have a devastating impact on the human shops of the same type. Moreover, they mainly occupy the most profitable high-end market. Human shops cannot compete with them by legitimate means. They either close down and move to other places to operate, or they lower their status and go into the low-end market that the elves look down on, earning a little bit of scraps that others don't want.

Would human merchants be willing to do this? Obviously not.

However, after Ioria conducted an on-site inspection, she discovered something strange: the number of Pokémon here seemed to differ somewhat from the information provided.

Intelligence reports indicate that the Emerald Crown Duchy sent three thousand immigrants here in one go, but the number of shops along the street and the proportion of elves among the pedestrians do not match this figure at all, making it seem far too small.

This puzzled Aeolia. Where had all the other elves gone?

Ioria was unaware that of the first three thousand elves to immigrate to Lagug, more than two thousand went directly into the production workshop of the alchemy workshop, becoming glorious assembly line workers who made full use of their talents to efficiently mass-produce key components of magical machinery.

Therefore, after these elves arrived in Lagug, their main purpose was to fill key gaps in the local economy and contribute to Lagug's industrialization, rather than to compete with the locals for profits. Furthermore, with Dick mediating and guiding the situation, the relationship between the elves and humans was generally harmonious.

Aiolia, puzzled, was about to investigate further when he suddenly realized he was being watched from behind. The spy was skilled at tracking, but seemed somewhat inexperienced, and in his haste, failed to maintain proper distance, which alerted Aiolia.

Realizing she was being watched, Aeolia immediately gave her companion a wink, and the two split up, heading in different directions.

Aeolia wanted to find out the identity of his pursuer first, as it was possible that he was just a petty thief targeting his merchant identity. That was nothing to worry about; it was the other possibility that he was concerned about.

Intentionally controlling her pace, Aeolia used the corner of her eye to determine the location of her pursuer, and then led the other party into a secluded alley that she had previously scouted out.

As soon as Aeolia passed the first corner, he immediately accelerated and sprinted, using his family's martial arts technique "Shadow Step," which he had practiced for 250 years. Not only was his speed lightning fast, but his feet seemed to be flying through the air, making no sound at all.

Aeolia planned to shake off his pursuers first, and then turn the tables on them, but to his surprise, when he sped around the second corner like a ghost, he ran into several strange guys.

They were changing clothes in the alley when Ioria's sudden intrusion seemed to freeze time, plunging the scene into an eerie and somewhat awkward silence.

At this moment, Ioria noticed that the clothes these people were about to change into seemed to be the uniforms of the local city gate guards, and the faces of two of them looked very familiar to him, as if he had just seen them.

Aeolia forced an awkward yet polite smile and put down her sentence.

"Sorry to bother you," is the next thing to say.

Leave this place.

But before he could move, he heard someone shout from the other side.

"it's him!"

Chapter 217: The Newcomers Who Are Beginning to Be Useful

Dick, who was vacationing in the mountains, was enjoying a relaxing soak in the hot springs while reviewing the documents and reports that had just been sent by the main city. Just yesterday afternoon, less than half a day after he and his female subordinates left the main city, the intelligence department unexpectedly captured a group of "terrorists" who had infiltrated the main city.

The terrorist group consisted of eighteen people. Agents captured eight of them, killed seven, and three others escaped in the chaos and are still being pursued.

It is worth mentioning that the forensic examination revealed that the group of people were all elves. They used high-level shapeshifting potions combined with disguise magic to maintain their human appearance for a long period of time.

"Forget-Me-Not" is currently conducting surprise interrogations of the eight people captured alive. The interrogation part is handled by a few big guys who were temporarily called in to work overtime during the Chinese New Year. Therefore, it is inevitable that some "personal emotions" will be brought into the work, but fortunately, it has played a positive role in promoting progress.

In fact, it has been proven that when faced with a lewd, burly man wielding a red-hot iron rod and grinning menacingly, and hearing him confidently declare that he is going to shove that thing directly into one of your delicate and vulnerable parts, most people would find it difficult to resist.

Dick has his own moral bottom line, but he won't waste his time talking about human rights with terrorists!

Through torture and confession drugs, the interrogators roughly figured out the identities and purposes of these people. They came from the Principality of the Tree Sea and traveled thousands of miles to Laguge, just to incite racial conflict between the elven immigrants and the local humans. Ideally, they wanted to escalate the conflict into a large-scale bloodshed, thereby completely severing the possibility of peaceful coexistence between the elves and humans.

Unfortunately, these scoundrels severely underestimated the counter-espionage capabilities of the local intelligence department in Lagug. They entered the city at noon and ended up in prison that very night.

Inside the castle dungeon, Ioria, whose legs had both been broken, lay sprawled on a hard wooden bed, still utterly bewildered by how quickly his group had met their demise.

He thought that with his high-level warrior strength, even if his whereabouts were exposed and he was targeted, even if he couldn't defeat the other party, he could at least escape with his proud martial skill "Shadow Step".

When they actually engaged in combat, he discovered that everyone on the other side knew the "Shadow Step" technique. He ran for over ten miles but still couldn't shake off his pursuers. The enemy was even able to send someone ahead of him to set a trap for him to walk right into.

That's incredible! Laguge is a place teeming with hidden talents; this level of strength is far beyond what an ordinary local lord could possess.

Unbeknownst to Aeolia, at the Forget-Me-Not internal debriefing meeting, he also received "high praise" from the participants in the capture operation, who all called him "Master Slippery" to commend his slippery escape skills, which were as smooth as an eel.