Chapter 99

Adria Kingdom, Military Department.

Maston, as usual, went through the necessary procedures at the entrance of the Military Department and then skillfully made his way to a deep, quiet white building.

This was the archive belonging to the Kingdom's Military Department, the most heavily guarded place in the entire department.

On the surface, the Military Department seemed not as mysterious and terrifying as rumored, but "Maston" knew that if anything unusual happened here, countless dangers would instantly appear.

It was relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside, like a trap designed to lure people in.

Maston, or rather, Xalan.

The night had allowed him to extract a lot of information from Maston, bits and pieces, important and unimportant, all of which he carefully memorized.

Details determined success or failure, and he was more aware of this than anyone else, and he valued it more than anyone else.

Perhaps years of working in the Military Department's archive had made many people familiar with Maston's face, greeting him casually and going about their work as usual...

He was not himself; his current identity was "Maston."

To ensure the deception was convincing, he even used a concealment potion. Although he suppressed his aura to deceive many, this was the Military Department, a place full of hidden talents, and no one could predict what unexpected events might occur.

The Military Department's archive was divided into five floors, each with a supervisor responsible for management. Maston's job was to organize and file different documents according to the supervisor's arrangements, and to store them in the archive.

There were many ordinary archivists like him, each with a serious and meticulous expression. For them, working in the Military Department's archive was a unique honor.

Maston worked on the second floor of the archive, a position he had reached after many years of experience. Each floor of the archive had a different level of confidentiality.

The first and second floors had ordinary confidentiality, the third and fourth floors had important confidentiality, and the fifth floor, according to Maston, could only be accessed by the highest-ranking officials of the Military Department.

Xalan was somewhat troubled. He didn't know if Alek's information would be on the third or fourth floor, or even the highest fifth floor. But now, he could only proceed according to his plan.

He could have coerced Maston to act as his puppet to conduct the investigation, but he didn't.

Because he couldn't allow any unexpected events.

If he let Maston investigate for him, Maston might betray him or delay and lie... Anything could happen.

While completing the tasks assigned by his supervisor, Xalan did not make any rash moves. He didn't want to be seen as an outsider. After thoroughly completing his work and reporting to his supervisor, he finally got a short break.

This was the time for his action.

Every document in the archive was meticulously organized to save time and provide convenience when searching, which greatly benefited Xalan.

Pretending to casually inspect, he approached the bookshelf containing personal records. Xalan's eyes quickly scanned for information related to Durentes Hannel Alek, but after going through the entire shelf, he was disappointed.

Because he found no useful information.

Could it be on the first floor? With this thought, Xalan lied to his supervisor, using the pretext of organizing and searching to gain permission to go to the first floor.

People on the first floor were not allowed to enter the second floor, and so on, but people on the second floor could freely move around the first floor. The levels had different levels of confidentiality, so the treatment also varied.

When the people on the first floor saw Maston come down to search for something, they didn't find it strange. Sometimes, documents were overlooked during organization, and they would check through less important documents. So, Maston's actions seemed normal to them.

Time passed, and Maston returned to the second floor of the archive. He was wrong again, as there was no information about Alek on the first floor.

Do I really need to take the risk and go up?

Xalan glanced at the stairs leading to the third floor, feeling helpless.

Suddenly, the supervisor on the second floor clapped his hands, and the crisp sound immediately caught everyone's attention. The supervisor nodded in satisfaction and announced, "Guys, someone from the upper floor just came to borrow two people to help with some tasks. Who among you is available?"

"I am!"

The unexpected opportunity immediately brought a wave of excitement to Xalan, and he stepped forward without hesitation.

"Very good, Maston, you seem very energetic today... I won't forget you when nominating someone for the third floor." The supervisor looked at the standing Maston and nodded in satisfaction.

Hearing this, the others quickly stepped forward to volunteer, knowing that entering the third floor would significantly change their salary and status. Such a good opportunity couldn't be missed.

But Maston had already secured one spot, leaving only one more to be chosen from the rest. Many people looked at Maston with envy and jealousy.

That guy, usually so quiet, but so proactive at critical moments. Such cunning was hard to see.

After the supervisor casually chose someone, he led Maston and the other lucky person to the third floor. Just as they were about to enter, two soldiers with long swords blocked their path.

"Pass clearance." One of the soldiers said coldly.

"Please tell Spart to let him know that the people he asked for are here." The supervisor didn't get angry but smiled.

"Wait."

One of the soldiers turned back to report.

Maston calmly watched everything. It turned out that there were soldiers guarding the third floor, but Maston hadn't mentioned this... It was a good thing he hadn't rashly tried to sneak in, or the consequences would have been dire.

When the soldier returned, he was followed by a tall, muscular middle-aged man.

"Ah, it's Barket. Thank you for this. I'll treat you to a drink later." The middle-aged man saw the three people being blocked and warmly smiled at Maston's supervisor.

"Spart, these two are for you." Barket said with a hint of annoyance: "I always find it troublesome to come here. I feel uncomfortable staying for too long."

"Got it, got it. Who doesn't know that Barket loves freedom?" Spart laughed.

With that, Barket waved and went back downstairs, while Spart led Maston and the other person into the third floor.

As soon as they entered the third floor, Xalan immediately became more alert.

Because he saw soldiers stationed every three steps throughout the entire third floor!

"Here, work diligently, no talking, no looking around, no moving around, no..." Spart, leading Maston and the other person, began to list the rules, using the word "no" nineteen times.

It was indeed a suffocating and oppressive environment, no wonder Barket didn't want to stay here for even a second.

Suddenly, Spart turned around and whispered to them with a strange smile, "If you violate the rules and are accidentally killed by a soldier, you can only blame yourself."

Maston's colleague quickly promised not to violate the rules, while Xalan remained cold.

"Is it the one-eyed Maston?" It seemed that Xalan's calm demeanor piqued Spart's interest, as if he recognized him: "No wonder you're a veteran of the kingdom."

"Sir, you flatter me. I am just an ordinary person who loves this country." Xalan respectfully replied.

"Alright, I don't want to pay attention to you." Spart waved his hand and pointed to a chaotic pile of documents, saying, "You two will organize and file all the documents here today. If you do a good job, I will reward you with a gold tor."

"Thank you, sir." Xalan's colleague said with a delighted expression, perhaps thinking that a gold tor would be enough for a good day.

Xalan didn't care why the documents were so messy and piled up. His eyes were focused on the bookshelf containing personal records, as that was his true purpose.

Organizing and filing documents was a tedious task. The work was simple, but it numbed the mind. After lunch, Xalan continued to work without any unusual actions until the drowsy afternoon, when he finally made his move.

He held a stack of documents related to personal records, which he had taken responsibility for organizing from another colleague. Although his colleague didn't know why he did this, he was happy to reduce his burden.

The soldiers around Xalan didn't make any moves, but their piercing gazes made him cautious. Xalan acted normally, giving them no chance to notice anything unusual.

Casually placing the documents on the bookshelf, his eyes scanned the shelves. As he was about to finish, he finally found what he was desperately looking for.

"Non-Commissioned Officer Student Outcast - Durentes Hannel Alek"

Taking the document, Xalan began to read it without hesitation.

The initial content was similar to the information provided by Niniro, including his background, his sword skills, his conflicts with the Military Department, and his travels...

Until he reached the most important page, which contained the Military Department's investigation and analysis. A cold voice interrupted his reading.

"What are you reading?"

Xalan turned around and saw a soldier with a cold expression, his hand on his sword, staring at him with a murderous intent.

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Today there is only one chapter. I need to adjust the plot. As some readers have pointed out, the dark tone of the story has lightened, and the story's color has changed. The next important event may require careful refinement.