The Major General had a couple of possible targets he could think of.
The first person he went to was a stalwart man with silver hair, carrying a sword.
This man was close to the World Peak, in a seemingly random mine.
"Major General," the man spoke in greeting.
He was neither subservient nor superior.
He talked to the Major General like an equal.
"Vice-Guild Leader," the Major General returned in the same tone.
"What brings you here?" the Vice-Guild Leader asked. "I was under the impression you were planning a mission."
"I am here regarding that same mission," the Major General said. "Let me be direct. Have you had a major conflict within the last two days?"
"No," the Vice-Guild Leader answered. "Father can confirm."
"I do not doubt your words," the Major General said. "I am here on a hunch."
The silver-haired man was exceptionally powerful, and while his status was technically inferior to the Major General, his power was definitely superior.
He had been the Guild Leader of a temporary Four-Weapons Guild, but after he had killed two important people in the kingdom out of self-defense, his astonishing power had come to light.
This was the Chief, Kyle's former boss, and right now, he was a Late Expert.
There was only one other person in the Third Realm who could fight him, and only because that person also had an Aristocrat's Body and was a level higher.
The Major General suspected that the only reason the Chief was still in the Late Third Realm was to bait exactly that person into attacking him.
"Did something happen?" the Chief asked.
The Major General weighed his options.
He was not supposed to discuss ongoing investigations with people outside the army.
The Vice-Guild Leader was one of the Vice-Guild Leaders of the Skysand Guild.
However, this would only be temporary.
Either the Chief would become a Transcendent or die.
Additionally, the Major General had also gone through all his other options already.
Going to the Chief had essentially just been a Hail Mary.
The Major General severely doubted that the five people were stupid enough to attack the Vice-Guild Leader.
"One of my Colonels, his Lieutenant Colonel, the Guild Leader of the Shore Shells, Vice-Dean Meragin, and Maester Lillian went rogue," the Major General said. "All five of them went missing two days ago."
The Chief nodded. "That's a powerful line-up. You believe they went to the Winterfire Kingdom?"
"The chances are very low, " the Major General answered.
The Chief nodded again. "Then, their target was inside the kingdom. Who did you visit already?"
The Major General gave the Chief all the names.
"What about Kyle?" the Chief asked.
"That name is not familiar to me," the Major General said.
"He used to be my representative years ago," the Chief said. "From what I've heard, he's been causing a ruckus in Forest Haven Cradle."
The Major General furrowed his brows. "I have heard that someone of renown has been living there, but I don't think they are powerful enough to resist an attack by such an elite group."
The Chief nodded. "Killing these five people would be very difficult, but Kyle is not weak. I am not certain if he is powerful enough to kill them, but it's also not impossible."
The Major General raised a brow. "You think it's possible?"
"Maybe," the Chief said.
The Major General looked at the Chief.
Finally, he nodded. "Then, I will pay a visit to this person."
The Chief nodded, and the Major General left.
The Major General quickly traveled to Forest Haven Cradle.
When he arrived, he saw three absolutely enormous craters.
It looked like a brutal battle had taken place here.
That was when the Major General noticed a bird flying out of one of the craters, carrying a boatload of stone.
When the Major General saw the green hawk, his eyes narrowed.
He recognized this bird.
That was Maester Lillian's bird!
"Oh boy, oh boy!" a man shouted excitedly as he ran out of the building in one of the craters. "More assassins!"
Then, the man summoned a ridiculously thick and heavy set of armor as he turned to the Major General waiting just outside the private property sign.
"Alright! Here I am!" Kyle shouted, waving to the Major General with his hammer.
The Major General just furrowed his brows.
"You are the owner of these lands?" the Major General asked.
"Yep!" Kyle shouted back. "You're stronger than the last ones! Are you here to kill me? Hey, don't get this the wrong way, but I hope you're not alone. I mean, you're strong but…"
"You know…"
The Major General narrowed his eyes.
This person lacked any kind of decorum and respect.
On top of that, he had essentially called him weak just now.
The Major General had already seen Maester Lillian's bird, which made him 90% sure that Kyle was responsible for their deaths.
Yet, he was still a Peak Royal Knight, and the necessary respect had to be given.
The next moment, the world seemed to lose some color around Kyle as a heavy pressure appeared around him.
The Major General had activated his Momentum.
Kyle whistled, impressed. "Wow, that's a lot of Momentum," he answered.
When the Major General saw Kyle's reaction, his eyes narrowed further, and his hand quickly entered one of his pockets.
"Now that you've shown me yours, I'll show you mine!" Kyle shouted.
WHOOOOM!
The Major General's eyes defocused as the world around him turned grey.
He felt like he was standing in front of the World Wyrm, and fear entered his mind.
BANG!
The next moment, Kyle exploded forward, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
He reached the Major General in almost no time.
Yet, the Major General just pulled his hand out of his pocket and pointed it at Kyle.
When Kyle saw the object in the Major General's hand, his eyes widened, and fear entered his mind for the first time in a long while.
He instantly stopped, put his armor and weapons away, and gestured to his home respectfully.
"Major General, how nice of you to visit," Kyle said with a smile. "May I assist you with something?"
Naturally, the Major General had just retrieved his emblem and showed it to Kyle.
Attacking a high-ranking member of the army would be bad.
Very bad.
King Skysand might arrive personally to eradicate Kyle.
The reason why the Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel hadn't shown their emblems was for a similar reason.
Showing the emblem meant that someone was here on official business.
If the two of them had shown their emblems, Kyle would have gotten their names, and if it came out that they had been there without official business, they would have been executed.
So, they had to choose.
Fight Kyle and maybe survive, or show their emblems and get executed.
The Major General was here on official business, and Kyle didn't dare to attack him.
Naturally, while the Major General was proud, he wasn't stupid.
He wouldn't have dared to test Kyle without this trump card in his pocket.
He might not be powerful enough to kill Kyle, but he was still powerful enough to pull a mere emblem out of his pocket.
At that point, the green bird returned, and the Major General glanced at it.
"Is that bird yours?" he asked.
"Eh, kinda?" Kyle answered. "It belonged to one of the assassins who tried to kill me. I think her name was Maester Lillian. When she died, the bird didn't know where to go, and I offered it a place in my home. "
The Major General nodded.
The mystery of the five missing people had been solved.
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