Atop Distant View Tower, Shandela Allen was browsing through the weekly summary report of the city guard.
This was the highest point in the city, even a good ten meters taller than the lighthouse out at the harbor. Due to its height, it was naturally not the finest environment—an exceedingly narrow circular room was all that could be built at the top of the tower. After fitting in a long table, a couple of bookshelves, and a few chairs, there was scarcely any space left. Most of the time, the windows and doors of the room had to be kept tightly shut to prevent the howling sea wind from rushing in and sending all the arrangements into disarray. Even though the fire in the fireplace never went out, the temperature here was always hard to increase, since the vast and hollow tower shaft pulled away a large amount of heat, necessitating a basin of charcoal fire to be placed beside the table to ensure that no one would freeze and shiver.
In short, it was small, cold, and rather damp.
As the supreme commander of the city guard, Shandela could have chosen to work anywhere in Magnificent Castle, even right next door to the Governor's Mansion, but she had chosen the top of Distant View Tower. It wasn't out of affection, but rather because from here, she could constantly see the persistent white fog encircling the city outskirts—that never-dissipating mist reminded her of her duty: that the city was not impregnable, and although it had existed for nearly a century, as long as the mist lingered, it could be consumed at any moment, just like City of Defense once was.
Fortunately, the mist today remained the same as always, still maintaining about fifty li from the city.
When she turned to the last two pages, Shandela frowned and uttered a soft "Hmm."
"What's the matter, did a team forget to report?" Deputy Commander Woody asked while rubbing his hands.
Most of the city guard's summary report contained trivial matters, such as the disposition of prisoners after interrogation and the deployment arrangements for patrol squads. Ever since the major companies funded the establishment of police stations, the city guard's responsibilities had been reduced, and reviewing reports had become more of a routine.
The troops were divided into fifteen groups in total, with the later-numbered ones being the least regarded, and omissions were the most common oversight.
"It's not an omission, but something strange," Shandela said as she turned the notebook around and placed it on the table, "Here in Group Fourteen, there is a reward report."
Woody stepped forward to look at the spot his superior pointed out.
It read, "Sidong Bradley received promotion from squad leader to platoon leader for his merits in repelling the roving pirates, with a reward of ten gold crilly."
"Ma'am... shouldn't that be alright? The patrol scope of the last five groups is the edge of the city, and protecting the outlying residents from pirate attacks is precisely one of their main duties."
"That may be true, but if I'm not mistaken, Group Fourteen is in charge of the southern district of the city." Shandela stood up and approached the wall-mounted map, "Even if our patrol boats miss something, have you forgotten what happened last week?"
"Uh..." The deputy commander thought for a moment, then suddenly it dawned on him, "Last Tuesday, the prince's inspection group visited Magnificent Castle!"
This was a significant event known to everyone in Magnificent Castle.
But only a very few were aware of the inspection group's itinerary.
As their next destination was Saint Teryan to the southwest, the prince's fleet took the southern communication line. And the fleet that escorted the inspection group stayed in the open sea, certainly clearing all obstacles on the route during that time. Pirates might prey on merchant ships and defenseless civilians, but engaging in a fight to the death with a real navy was utterly out of the question!
"Exactly," Shandela nodded, "There shouldn't be roving pirates in that direction unless the Royal Fleet has gone blind."
"So... this is a case of imposture."
"It seems so, and not a very clever one at that."
"Ma'am, leave this trivial matter to me." Woody volunteered earnestly.
"Hmm, but we need to clarify the whole story before taking any action," Shandela walked back to her desk, "Who is Shidong? Why did the officers from Squad 14 choose him? If it involves corruption, we must also find out how many people are implicated." She paused, "If it's about claiming credit by killing innocent people outside the city..."
A chill seemed to sweep through the room for a moment.
Woody's expression hardened, "Understood, ma'am!"
After the adjutant left, Shandela let out a soft sigh.
She did not fear external threats; what worried her more was actually coming from within the city itself—although she had only been appointed as the Commander here for three years, she had gradually come to understand that this fortress city was not as impregnable as it seemed.
Once the new frontier city, Durey Ring, was completed, the pressure on Magnificent Castle would be greatly alleviated, and by then, she might have the opportunity to take more decisive action. But until then, she had to maintain the integrity of her troops and keep the City of Defense's combat readiness at its peak.
Therefore, corruption was absolutely intolerable.
Unfortunately, many in the military did not realize this, including her own adjutant. Thankfully, he was also a military academy graduate with decent basic discipline, especially when it came to following orders.
Half an hour later, Woody returned to the office.
"That was quick?" Shandela was somewhat surprised.
"Ma'am, the situation... is somewhat complex," the adjutant showed a troubled expression, "Neither Officer Dalrum from Squad 14 nor Shidong himself admit to any false reporting."
"Then they must present evidence," Shandela raised an eyebrow.
"That's the most unbelievable part," Woody looked down, seemingly pondering how to respond, "They claim to have heads and captured goods as proof, but when asked to produce them, they've all disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Isn't that blatant deception? Shandela was taken aback, having originally thought there might be some unexpected twist, only to find the answer so straightforward. But on second thought, if it were merely deception, there was no reason her adjutant couldn't handle it, "You mean to say that the quartermaster responsible for the evidence also agrees with their version of the events?"
"Not just that, I've asked several people, and they all told the same story—they assert that raiders indeed landed that day, and Shidong had turned in four heads," Woody's face showed similar perplexity, "So I immediately sent people to that village they mentioned, and it confirmed the news of the pirate raid."
Now it was Shandela's turn to be at a loss for words.
It couldn't possibly be that the officers from Squad 14 had such far-reaching influence that they managed to control the whole squad of thirty-odd men, as well as the villagers in the outskirts, could it? However, another problem arose: although it was unclear how these raiders managed to slip through the Royal Fleet's blockade and reach the shores of Magnificent Castle, if it was true, how could all the evidence just disappear?
"Are the men brought over?" she broke the silence and asked after a moment.
"They are waiting outside the door," the adjutant answered.
"Have them come in."
Soon, the promoted Shidong, Officer Dalrum responsible for the military, and two soldiers who were with Shidong on the day were summoned into the office, filling the small room to capacity.
Shandela glanced over everyone and her gaze settled on Shidong, "Describe in detail what happened during your patrol that day and when you encountered the pirates, without leaving out any details. You start first."