The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 1075: Inspecting the Incident Scene

Aldrian’s two avatars then made their journey toward the Ivory Kingdom together with Sylphia. As for Baek Jimin, she stayed in the palace.

The two avatars disguised themselves using different faces, and the three of them wore black robes to cover their features. They had to use normal means by traveling through a nearby teleportation station since the avatars could not use the real body’s domain ability.

The moment they arrived at the Ivory Kingdom, the situation immediately appeared tense. Many elves from the royal family were checking everyone who wanted to enter the teleportation station.

They checked their bodies and asked where they came from and where they were going. All people who wanted to leave through the teleportation station had to be thoroughly inspected.

"My apologies for the inconvenience, but we are looking for a fugitive. Once we make sure you are clear, you may continue your journey," one of the royal male elves shouted to those waiting to enter the teleportation portal. He possessed peak Emperor Stage cultivation.

Sylphia decided to approach him since he was one of the royal troops she knew.

"Excuse me," she said.

The elf turned his head, and the moment he saw the face beneath the hood, his eyes widened in shock.

"Your Ma—"

"Shhh. Not so loud, and do not call me that here. I came with only a few people knowing," Sylphia quickly said, stopping him before he could speak further.

The elf nodded solemnly. To think that the Empress was here. If she had arrived personally, then as many had expected, this incident had already reached the Emperor’s ears. With the Empress present, they understood that this matter held great importance in the Emperor’s eyes.

He also glanced at the two figures behind Sylphia and assumed they were the guardians sent to escort the Empress. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"What is the current situation?" Sylphia asked.

The elf nodded. "Currently, we have spread our search across the kingdom with the help of several noble families. We check every person who wants to leave the kingdom using teleportation portals, cruisers, or even interstellar vessels. We make sure that no one leaves the kingdom unchecked."

He then sighed. "However, we still have not found any clues regarding the kidnapper until this moment."

Sylphia nodded. "I want to continue my journey to the place where the kidnapping incident happened."

"Ah, yes. Let me bring Your Majesty to the capital city of the Valerin Dukedom. Someone there will be able to guide Your Majesty to the kidnapping site."

They made their way toward the territory of the Valerin Dukedom without much trouble, and soon they arrived at the capital city of the Valerin Dukedom. The situation there was far more tense, with the inspection process much stricter. Elves from the Valerin family were stationed everywhere, questioning many people across the streets.

Sylphia’s group was about to be questioned as well, but the moment they realized who she was, they were shocked and immediately informed Duke Valerin.

Sylphia’s group was then brought to the incident scene while the earlier elf returned to his original post.

As Sylphia was being escorted to the incident scene, Duke Valerin, who had heard of her arrival, felt astonished, though not entirely surprised.

It only confirmed that his guess was correct. The Emperor regarded this incident as extremely important for even the Empress to come personally. Without waiting any longer, he dashed toward Sylphia’s location together with his right-hand man.

A few seconds later, he arrived at the scene, which was one of the streets in the market that had already been closed off, with many elves from the Valerin family guarding it.

He saw that Sylphia was already there, talking with one of his underlings, and the moment he arrived beside her, he instantly bowed.

"I greet Your Majesty."

Sylphia turned her head and smiled slightly at him before nodding.

"Duke Valerin, His Majesty has already heard what happened here, and I came on behalf of His Majesty to assist with the investigation. I have brought with me the best people who can help with the investigation," she said as she gestured toward Aldrian’s avatars behind her.

Duke Valerin sighed.

"Thank you for His Majesty’s attention. I am truly ashamed that I could not protect my own daughter and granddaughter after I made my promise to His Majesty to take care of them."

"Please do not blame yourself, Duke Valerin. I can see that you are also saddened, and this matter truly weighs on your mind. We were also surprised that something like this happened, as no one predicted it. Do not put too much pressure on yourself. You must take care of your condition so you can meet Vera and Evin in good health," Sylphia said with a gentle smile.

Duke Valerin sighed again and nodded. He then turned to look at Aldrian’s two avatars, who were already conducting their own investigation.

There were still dried bloodstains on the ground, and judging from the size of the stains, the amount of blood was considerable. One of Aldrian’s avatars observed it for a moment before looking toward another direction.

The other avatar calmly observed the surroundings.

"So, Duke Valerin, could you tell us what you know so far? From when the kidnapping happened to what you have discovered until now," Sylphia asked.

"This morning, Vera brought Evin to the market as today is the day of the Festival of the Full Moon Lily, a festival we hold once a year to celebrate the blessing of the Heavenly Tree of this land with the Full Moon Lily," Duke Valerin narrated.

"They traveled with three guardians that I assigned. All of them are King Stage cultivators."

"We do not know the exact details of what truly happened, but at this place, a commotion suddenly broke out when many people saw dead bodies. Later, we found that the dead bodies were the guardians, all of them decapitated. Vera and Evin had already disappeared." He sighed as regret still filled his heart while explaining the situation.

"Strangely, this street, which was packed with people, did not see the kidnapper. They only saw that the guardians were already decapitated. They also did not see how Vera and Evin disappeared. It was as if many people were distracted and did not notice that Vera and Evin were already gone."

"I quickly ordered the city to be closed down and searched every corner of it. From the moment the commotion began until we completely sealed the city took more or less twenty minutes. Since then, we have continued searching for traces of the kidnappers, but we have found nothing." Duke Valerin’s eyes revealed the blame he placed upon himself.

"But from the signs showing no traces anywhere, not even any residual energy, I can only think that this was the work of assassins, as they are masters at leaving no traces behind. As for their motive in targeting Vera and Evin, we still do not know. The kidnappers have not contacted me or anyone regarding this matter."

The two avatars, still observing the scene while listening to the duke’s explanation, looked at each other.

Although the kidnappers seemed to have carefully used techniques that left no traces, they could still sense a faint residue of energy. It was extremely minuscule and contained profound Darkness Laws, making it impossible for even pseudo Immortal Foundation Stage cultivators to sense it.

They sensed three different energy signatures, which showed that there were three kidnappers.

Considering the time of the kidnapping and the moment the city was completely sealed, they feared that the kidnappers might have already left the city.

The clues they obtained from the scene, along with Duke Valerin’s explanation, were truly lacking and could not provide any clear direction on where to begin the pursuit.

However, the two avatars did not show any panic as they shared the same mind at this moment. It was not like they had no one who could help them. They had a witness who might have seen the kidnapping incident more clearly.

Both of them looked toward the giant World Tree, its lush canopy stretching across the entire city.

One avatar nodded to the other before disappearing. Seeing one of the avatars suddenly vanish, Sylphia said nothing and simply trusted him.

Duke Valerin wondered where he was going, but he did not ask anything.

The disappearing avatar appeared on one of the branches of the World Tree, located near the top of the canopy.

He stood there calmly.

Not long after, a figure suddenly manifested from particles of light before him in a kowtowing position.

A woman with long golden hair appeared, wearing attire usually worn by the spirit of the World Tree.

The avatar, who had already expected her arrival, listened as the woman spoke.

"The spirit of the World Tree of Evilan City greets Your Majesty."