Kureha raised an eyebrow at that.

"You sure you don't need any help?"

"Yeah. Richie's pretty light." He frowned. "I hope he has been eating properly. He feels like he's underweight."

What can I say? No matter how much I ate, I never grew fat.

"Halt!"

Before the two could approach the military camp any further, the two sentries called out to them. The first one stepped forward, his finger on the trigger guard, but he wisely didn't aim his rifle at the three of us.

"This is a restricted area. Civilians are not allowed here."

"Sorry, but we have an emergency." Troy gestured toward my unconscious form. "One of us got seriously injured when fighting a monster, so we might need some help. You have a doctor or healer in there? Or maybe a transport to bring us back to Jing Tian City?"

The two sentries glanced at each other, and the first sighed before he nodded. "Wait here. I'll have to check with my superiors."

"Hey! I know that kid!" the second sentry blurted out as he studied me. "Isn't he one of Feng Hai's students? He came here for the training camp a few months back, didn't he?"

"Oh, you're right!" the first sentry paused to look closely at me. "Now that you've mentioned it, he is that student from Jing Tian Academy!" he then turned to regard Troy and Kureha. "What about the two of you? Where are you from?"

"I'm also from Jing Tian Academy. I was away on a mission during the training camp, so I didn't take part in it." Troy produced his student ID as evidence.

"I'm Kureha Franklin. I hired these two Jing Tian Academy students for a mission." Kureha lowered her head. "It's my fault that they are injured. If you could please help treat our wounds or bring us to a hospital, I'll find some way to compensate somehow…"

"No need for that," the first sentry a.s.sured her. "We're soldiers. It's our job to protect civilians."

"And besides, you guys aren't exactly civilians," the second sentry added. "Don't feel guilty, Miss. These students already knew the risks and dangers when they accepted your mission. You should thank them, not apologize."

"I will." Kureha nodded." She turned to Troy. "Thank you."

"No problem. Make sure you thank Richie as well."

The sentries contacted their sergeant, who reported to the Regimental Sergeant Major, who then gave his permission, on the condition that they watched us. After all, they couldn't just allow outsiders to casually stroll into a highly restricted military camp without supervision. I was unconscious the entire time, so I didn't know the details, but I was delivered to the medical center and placed in the infirmary. The military doctor or medical officer in charge cast his healing spells on us and then left us to recover.

Before he did, though, he a.s.sured Troy and Kureha that I would be fine.

"Yes, that boy certainly suffered severe injuries," he acknowledged. "But he's mostly exhausted. His mana is completely depleted. He'll probably sleep for a few days before he finally wakes up." he frowned and adjusted his gla.s.ses to peer at us. "You said you guys were fighting a dragon? A rank A dragon?"

"Yeah." Kureha gestured to my gla.s.ses, which was lying on the bedside. "You can check the mission recordings if you don't believe us."

"No need. But it explains how this young man used up all of his mana. That's a rare occurrence – most people don't simply expend all their mana to the point of collapse like this. But against a dragon, I can see why he was forced to go all out."

He then glanced at Troy and Kureha.

"But I must say, I'm surprised that the three of you survived an encounter with a dragon. How did you escape?"

"By nuking the dragons," Troy replied. He jabbed a thumb at me. "Richie's insane. He has this nuke-level spell…"

"…huh?" the doctor raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You actually slew the dragon?"

Dragons. Plural. But neither Troy nor Kureha was in the mood to correct him. Instead, Kureha nodded.

"As I said, if you don't believe me, you can view the mission logs for yourself."

"Right." The doctor frowned as he glanced at me, and then he blinked. "Ah, now that I think about it, this young man reminds me of that Jing Tian Academy student who used a large-scale spell to destroy a trio of rank B Crastrates…"

He trailed off when realization dawned on him.

"Oh…so this is the student…"

"Yup, Richie was the one who nuked those Crastrates." For some reason, Troy sounded proud, as if my achievements belonged to him.

"I see." The doctor nodded and turned away to leave. "Anyway, he'll require a long period of rest before he wakes up. You two should get some rest too. It's not as if you got off lightly."

"Will do, doc!" Troy called out cheerfully after him.

*

The next morning, Troy and Kureha were getting ready to depart.

"What are we going to do about Richard?" Kureha asked. "We can't afford to wait here for a few days until he wakes up."

"Yeah…" Troy's expression was hard. "I don't want to leave Richie by himself, but now that I know that Tyrant might be part of this Research Foundation Group, I can't waste too much time doing nothing. I need to track him down."

Tyrant King was Troy's brother and a notorious ma.s.s murderer who often made the headlines for arson-related atrocities. The city that Troy tracked him to just recently had been burned down by his experimental weapon. Even without successfully developing a bioweapon, Tyrant King was still a deadly foe.

"Me too. Now that I know who is responsible for ordering the hit one me and my sister, I must return to the Franklin family to settle things. I also need to contact my mother and grandmother and warn them."

Kureha was clenching her fists, vengeful fury burning in her eyes. She couldn't forgive her uncle for her sister's horrible death.

"I will definitely…!"

"Don't worry."

The corporal who was a.s.signed to watch over us gave his a.s.surances.

"You two go ahead and do whatever you need to do. I'll take care of this kid." He grinned. "He's safest here, in a highly guarded military base. You don't have to worry about him. I'll let him know where you guys go once he wakes up."

"Thanks. I'll write him an email and tell him everything." Troy nodded in relief. "I'll leave him in your hands."

"No problem."

The two of them then departed from the base.

"So where do you intend to start?" Kureha asked Troy. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I plan to return to the city where I found my brother. Tyrant must be working on something there. I won't be surprised if the facility he was residing in belonged to the Research Foundation Group." he narrowed his eyes. "I should find some clues there…a.s.suming he didn't burn it down completely."

"Aren't they rebuilding and reconstructing the city?"

"Yeah, but it'll take them some time, and I suspect the facility will be their last priority. Otherwise I'll try and get hold of the city records." He struck a fist into his palm angrily. "d.a.m.n it! I should have investigated the facility more closely! I didn't think it was important at that time, but if I paid more attention, I would have gotten more clues!"

Kureha didn't say anything. Taking a deep breath, Troy calmed down.

"But now that I know he has links to the Research Foundation Group, it helps me narrow things further. I should be able to locate him more easily." He then stared at Kureha. "What will you do? Return to your home city?"

"Yes, that's what I intend to do…eventually."

"Eventually?" Troy repeated incredulously. Kureha nodded.

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"There are a few things I want to investigate in Jing Tian City. That's why my sister and I came here in the first place. To check things out."

The apartment where Kurenai was abducted wasn't their home, but a place they rented out temporarily. It explained why the security surrounding the Franklin sisters was so spa.r.s.e. They were moving independently, and actually without permission from the main family. That was why they were so vulnerable and open to attacks.

However, Kureha had no choice but to take the risk.

"We heard a rumor that a member of the Franklin family had gone rogue. So my sister and I came to Jing Tian City to investigate that rumor. It had something to do with consorting with criminal organizations and experimenting on monsters…but the family elders judged it as preposterous and unfounded. After all, if it was true that a member of the Franklin family had partic.i.p.ated in such illegal activities, it will cause a huge scandal, especially given how we're one of the ten Great Families in the Federation."

"So they refused to investigate."

"Correct." Kureha affirmed Troy's guess. "They closed down all investigations pertaining to the matter and ordered us not to pursue it. But…I can't just let it go, you know? This is a matter of honor…of justice. If someone in our family is engaging in such heretical practices, then it is my duty as the newest Sword Saint to arrest and stop him."

"How did that turn out?"

"Well…you know." Kureha looked glum. Then she brightened up. "But we've found out a few things, thanks to you and Richard. Now I know what to look for." She clenched her fist. "The Research Foundation Group, huh…knowing my uncle, he must have set it up as a legitimate company, while covering up their illegal experiments with a false front. They must have used Jing Tian City to set up their base. I'll find them and flush them out." Her fist trembled violently. "Uncle Frank will pay dearly for what he did to my sister."

"Well, when Richie wakes up, you can ask him for help."

"No, I can't trouble the two of you any more than I already have." Kureha lowered her head. "Thank you for everything. Don't worry…for this new mission, I have someone else in mind." She smiled dazzlingly. "But if I need some hired muscle, I'll contact you and Richard."

"It'll be tough for me to show up, but Richie definitely will be there." Troy returned with a grin and raised a fist. "Well then…good luck!"

"You too."

The two of them then went on their separate ways the moment they returned to Jing Tian City. And with that, our party officially disbanded.