Chương 551: Chapter : 551

"My glorious, undisputed Master!" Ryu announced. His voice was a booming, dramatic baritone. He sounded like a theatrical stage actor giving the performance of a lifetime.

"I have answered your call! Tell me your command, Supreme Ruler!"

"Lower your voice, Ryu," Ken commanded coldly. His voice dropped into the terrifying, deep tone of the Sovereign.

"The walls in this house are incredibly thin. Luna is sleeping downstairs. I do not want to wake her up."

"Forgive me, my Lord," Ryu whispered instantly. He kept his head bowed. He lowered his booming voice to an intense, aggressive whisper.

"I merely overflow with absolute devotion. I have returned from my investigation. I bring urgent news." Ken crossed his arms over his chest. He looked down at the kneeling spirit.

"Speak," Ken ordered simply. Ryu stood up slowly. He stood at attention. His golden eyes looked very serious.

"You instructed me to investigate the origins of the Solurious weapon," Ryu reported. He paced slowly across the small bedroom.

"You told me to dig into the background of Dr. Raven. You wanted to know how the corrupt politicians secured the highly toxic materials." Ken nodded once. He listened closely. He knew Dr. Raven did not build the bomb overnight. A project of that massive scale required years of preparation. It required vast amounts of stolen resources.

"I infiltrated the deepest archives of the Imperial Ministry," Ryu explained. He clenched his giant fists.

"I bypassed their magical security wards. I reviewed the classified inventory logs for the Solurious mining project. I tracked the exact movement of the toxic radiation cores." Ryu stopped pacing. He stood directly in front of Ken. He looked incredibly angry.

"The official records state the Solurious program was shut down ten years ago," Ryu growled softly.

"The records claim all toxic materials were sealed away in the deepest royal vaults. They claim the vaults are totally secure."

"But the records are a lie," Ken stated flatly.

"Yes, Boss," Ryu confirmed.

"The records are entirely falsified. I found a hidden ledger. A shadow ledger. It tracks the true movement of the inventory. The toxic core used in the recent Bluemoon explosion was not stolen recently. It was not a sudden theft." Ryu raised a scaly finger. He delivered the massive revelation.

"The Solurious unit used in the weapon was actually stolen from the royal vault exactly three years ago," Ryu announced. Ken blinked his dark eyes. He did not show any outward surprise. He remained completely stoic. But inside his mind, he felt a sudden jolt of pure realization.

"Three years ago," Ken analyzed silently. His internal voice was sharp and calculating.

"That is a massive time gap. That completely changes the timeline of this entire conspiracy." Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Ken understood anime logic perfectly. He understood narrative pacing.

"A three-year gap is a classic time skip trope," Ken reasoned in his head.

"If the core was stolen three years ago, then this apocalyptic plot was not a spontaneous idea. The villains did not just wake up last month and decide to build a bomb. Someone has been orchestrating this massive disaster from the shadows for a very long time. They spent thirty-six months preparing the board." Ken looked at Ryu. The situation was much larger than a few corrupt politicians in the Upper Council. Dr. Raven was just a pawn. Senator Norman was just a greedy funder.

There was a true mastermind hiding in the background. Someone who possessed the incredible patience and the vast resources to plan a continental war three years in advance. The true enemy was still completely unknown. The real game had just begun.

Ken Eliot stood in the center of his dark bedroom. The green light from the summoning circle faded away. He processed the massive intelligence report. A three-year conspiracy was a very serious problem. It meant the enemy was highly organized. It meant the enemy was incredibly patient.

"Three years," Ken said out loud. His deep, echoing voice filled the room.

"The theft occurred thirty-six months ago. Someone bypassed the highest level of imperial security. They stole the most toxic material on the planet. And they kept it completely hidden until now." Ryu gripped his massive hands together. His knuckles cracked loudly. His golden eyes burned with pure, unfiltered rage. The dragon-man was absolutely furious.

"This is an unforgivable insult to your supreme authority, my Lord!" Ryu hissed aggressively. Smoke puffed from his nostrils.

"These pathetic mortals are playing games. They stole the core. They built the weapon. They fired it at an allied nation. And then they went to the international summit and tried to shift the blame onto you!" Ryu paced across the wooden floorboards. He looked ready to destroy a building.

"The King of Zenith accused Lancelot of mass murder!" Ryu roared in a harsh whisper.

"They tried to frame the Sovereign! They wanted the entire world to view you as a rogue terrorist! They used your legendary status as a convenient scapegoat for their own vile crimes!" Ken watched his servant pace. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his sweatpants. He did not feel angry about the false accusations. He just felt mildly annoyed.

"Calm down, Ryu," Ken commanded softly. The absolute authority in his voice made the dragon-man stop moving instantly.

"Yelling does not solve mysteries. It just gives me a massive headache. The politicians at the summit were fools. They only believe what they are told. The true mastermind manipulated them flawlessly." Ryu dropped to one knee again. He bowed his head.

"Forgive my outburst, Supreme One. My anger burns hot. I wish to punish the perpetrators. I wish to find the insects who dared to use your glorious name in their dirty lies." Ken slouched his shoulders just a tiny bit. He thought about the vast, complicated political network of the Belmontia Empire. He knew finding a three-year-old secret would require a massive amount of digging. He could not do it alone. He refused to do the digging himself.

"I do not want to spend my vacation reading old documents," Ken decided internally.

"Researching paper trails is incredibly boring. It is a total chore. I need to delegate this task. I have an entire army of elite spirits. They can do the boring work for me." Ken looked down at the kneeling dragon-man.

"We will find them, Ryu," Ken stated coldly.

"But we will not use brute force. We will not burn buildings to the ground. We will use absolute precision. We need to find the missing link. We need to know exactly who signed the vault access logs three years ago."

"What are your orders, Boss?" Ryu asked respectfully.

"I want you to coordinate a massive search operation," Ken instructed. His voice was completely flat and merciless.

"Contact the other commanders. Utilize the entire shadow network. I want every single spirit actively scanning the capital city and the outer borders." Ryu lifted his head. His golden eyes shined with absolute dedication.

"I will mobilize the forces immediately. How should we divide the search grid?"