The middle-aged general in a red and black military uniform spoke, his gaze laced with mockery.

“In the past ten years, geniuses have emerged from all the academies of the Empire. How can our Imperial Knight remain stagnant?” Imperial Knight responded, his words carrying the unique accent of the Grand Star Ao County nobility.

The middle-aged general let out a cold laugh, then glanced at the woman, his eyes burning with heat, appreciation, and a hint of wariness.

“I didn’t expect you to come as well. In another five years, the position of the next Minister of Security is practically guaranteed to be yours. But if you recruit that cadet back, things might change in five years. Aren’t you worried?”

The middle-aged general smiled.

“The position in the Security Department can be filled by anyone. If someone is truly more qualified than me, I’d be happy to step aside.” The woman’s eyes flickered, her tea-colored pupils shining with a commanding brilliance.

The middle-aged general and Imperial Knight glanced sideways, then turned to look at the light screen in the hall, where the information of this batch of cadets was being displayed.

At the entrance of the hall, Merlin and David Armstrong walked in. Seeing the representatives of the three major departments, their hearts skipped a beat.

Chapter 06: Newcomers at White Arrow Port

“All the successors of the three major departments have come?”

“There are too many promising candidates in this batch. The three departments have been preparing for a showdown for a while.”

The two whispered to each other as they approached, exchanged a few pleasantries with the three representatives, and then all turned to look at the light screen.

On the screen, the information of each cadet popped up one after another, and relevant personnel immediately began verification.

Unlike training camps in other provinces, the Imperial Training Camp holds a special status. Every cadet who enters must have their background thoroughly investigated, especially their information on the Alliance Academy’s virtual platform.

After all, the information on the Alliance Academy’s virtual platform and the Alliance CoreNet is absolutely confidential—even the major countries of the Eastern and Western continents cannot access it.

Unless someone exposes themselves.

Cadets of the Imperial Training Camp are required to be absolutely loyal to the Empire, and this information must be reported.

The three department representatives, Merlin, and David Armstrong conversed, all knowing their words were meaningless; everyone’s attention was fixed on the information flashing across the screen.

The atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly tense. The middle-aged general’s eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s. He had already devised a thorough plan: as soon as the true identity of “Lynn” was discovered, secret units across the Empire would be mobilized and would appear before this mysterious genius within half an hour.

Then, money, power, beauties of the nation, peerless combat skills, doomsday-level CoreNet weaponry, the military’s prodigy cultivation program, the candidacy for the next military commander… all of these would be thrown at “Lynn” to make him a member of the Imperial military.

Glancing at the two other department representatives beside him, the middle-aged general sneered inwardly. He knew the other two departments had similar tactics, but could they match the military’s speed?

When it comes to recruiting talent, the military is the true expert!

Time ticked by, second by second—

Ding!

The information on the screen froze on the final entry. Registration for the Imperial Training Camp had closed, but everyone present looked grim.

By the time registration ended, the identities of all this batch’s cadets had been verified. All the highly anticipated geniuses from the academies had signed up—except for one: Lynn.

“What’s going on?! Did your training camp make a mistake?” The middle-aged general stood up, flung his cap, and roared.

“I protest! Mr. Merlin, did you make a deal with one of the department heads to conceal ‘Lynn’s true identity? This is blatant dereliction of duty! A genius like this belongs in the Imperial Knight!”

Imperial Knight also shouted, declaring he would go to the parliament to report Merlin for abuse of power.

“I did not.”

Merlin argued his case, feeling extremely wronged—he was still hoping for third authorship on that stunning academic paper.

Beside him, the woman sat quietly, her tea-colored eyes reflective, deep in thought. Then she stood, donned the white cloak handed to her by her adjutant, and walked out of the hall.

The midday sky was a clear, washed blue. The scorching June wind blew, golden flame flowers fluttered along the roadside, falling onto the white cloak.

“‘Lynn’, the most outstanding genius cadet the Star Ao Empire has seen in decades, has just vanished like this…”

Lifting her head, the woman’s tea-colored eyes reflected the sight of golden flame flowers dancing like fireworks: “Such a decisive move—why didn’t I think of that back then?”

Behind her, the adjutant shuddered involuntarily, staring in astonishment at his superior.

……

White Arrow Port, located at the southernmost tip of the Nanluo Province, on the outskirts of Rail County.

From high above, the port’s shape resembles a white arrowhead, thrusting straight into the York Inner Sea, bordering the Empire’s third-largest province, Dunkadan.

In the history of the Star Ao Empire, the ownership of White Arrow Port has always been a point of contention between the Nanluo and Dunkadan provinces. At every annual Royal Banquet of Grand Star Ao County, envoys from both provinces would argue endlessly over it, often coming to blows, causing headaches for every Star Ao monarch.

On the map of the Star Ao Empire, White Arrow Port belongs to Nanluo Province, but the security team in charge of the area is under Dunkadan’s jurisdiction, while tax revenue is split fifty-fifty between the two provinces.