Chapter 1628: Or the second prince?
After that, someone else took them on a shuttle and transported them to the mountain villa on the planet.
No one opened the box at all.
Watching this video footage that proved his innocence, Duke Chaumet was practically bursting into tears of joy.
“We need to check this video surveillance footage,” the female interrogator from Xiaolong said with a serious expression.
Then she left the room with the extracted video footage.
What followed was another period of agonizing waiting.
Even Marshal Medusa made a rare contact with the interrogation officer of the investigation team.
"How is your investigation progressing?" Marshal Medusa inquired.
The reason she personally intervened was naturally because of the one-month time limit.
They can't waste any more time here.
"Marshal, I do have some very important news to report to you," the female interrogator from Xiaolong said with a serious expression.
"Go ahead and say it," Marshal Medusa asked with concern.
"So far, our investigation has revealed that the individual frost cannon is in the possession of Duke Chomai, who previously said that he had placed the weapon in his collection room."
There are also related surveillance videos.
"But the problem is, the single-soldier frost heavy cannon is missing from that collection room!" said the female officer in charge of interrogation, Xiaolong.
"So that means Duke Chomai has been cleared of suspicion?"
But where is the individual frost heavy artillery now? Marshal Medusa frowned.
The female officer interrogating Xiaolong said seriously, "Nothing in this world can disappear for no reason."
We investigated all the video materials we obtained.
Ultimately, this led us to some clues!
Moreover, this clue... could have a significant impact.
"What clue?" Marshal Medusa asked, puzzled.
The female officer in charge of interrogation pulled up the surveillance video footage of the transport of the individual frost heavy artillery that she had obtained from Duke Chomai.
He further explained, "The entire transportation process of this individual frost-resistant heavy artillery was recorded by monitoring equipment."
This seems to be fine.
However, after careful investigation by our specialized department, we discovered that a two-second segment of the video was problematic!
"A forgery?" Marshal Medusa's eyes widened immediately.
"Those two seconds were precisely when the crate containing the individual frost cannon was loaded onto the shuttle."
During those two seconds, there was overlap in the video footage; the real footage showed that the box containing the individual frost cannon had been switched.
The fake one was sent to the planet's collection room.
But the real footage is still on Duke Chauma's starship at that time! The female interrogator pulled up those two seconds of real footage.
"So, there's a problem with Duke Chomai?" Marshal Medusa narrowed her eyes.
The female officer interrogating Xiaolong shook her head and said, "I can't be sure about that yet."
After that, I retrieved other video footage from that starship.
This led me to discover that the surveillance footage had been tampered with, which was subsequently repaired by our department.
It was discovered that a soldier had boarded another transport plane and left the starship carrying a box that actually contained a single-soldier frost cannon.
In the video, we were able to capture the soldier's facial information.
According to relevant information, this soldier served in the personal guard unit under the Second Prince!
It's the Second Prince again!
Medusa frowned. Before each investigation, the Second Prince was always the most suspected.
It's as if the Second Prince is at the center of this incident.
"So, this is the possibility that has emerged now."
All of this was orchestrated by the Second Prince behind the scenes. He appeared innocent, but in reality, he was the one pulling the strings.
He arranged for someone to secretly switch the crate containing the individual frost heavy cannon, and then deliberately led the trail in his direction.
Marshal Medusa muttered to herself, frowning. "But there's still a lot that doesn't seem right."
For example, why did the Second Prince go to such great lengths just for these things?
In order to attack the delegation of our Dragon Star Empire Legion?
"You took such a huge risk just to do this?"
The female interrogator nodded and said, "Yes, although the Second Prince is now a suspect in the chain of evidence, he has absolutely no reasonable motive."
I personally suspect that all of this is still orchestrated by a mastermind, deliberately leading us towards the Second Prince.
Marshal Medusa frowned, then she said, "Can we find the personal guards under the Second Prince now?"
The female officer interrogating Xiaolong had a very strange expression as she said, "The guard who was responsible for the switch in the video was executed by order of the Second Prince just one month ago."
The fact that such an important person died before the incident happened makes one wonder.
"What a coincidence," Marshal Medusa said, squinting.
Too many coincidences mean there must be more to it than meets the eye.
"The source of all this goes back to this second prince."
"What about our next steps in the investigation?" the female interrogator asked with some concern.
Others found no problems with the investigation.
But this second prince's identity is quite special; he is the crown prince and future heir of the Mahas Interstellar Empire.
After a moment of silence, Marshal Medusa said, "Then let's investigate this Second Prince."
The female interrogator, Xiaolong, looked at Marshal Medusa with surprise.
But since Marshal Medusa has decided to do this, those of them who are subordinates naturally have nothing to say and can only obediently comply.
Investigating the crown prince, the future heir of an empire, would naturally have a tremendous impact.
Then.
The entire Mehsa Star Empire was shaken by this event.
First, the Xiaolong Interstellar Empire Legion fleet once again sailed to the border of the capital system of the Maihas Interstellar Empire, with the intention of entering the capital system.
However, having learned from past mistakes, the number of troops responsible for defense outside the capital system of the Majasian Interstellar Empire has been greatly increased this time.
The Second Prince even dispatched a large number of his own legions and fleets!
This created a tense situation on the border of the capital star system of the Majasian interstellar empire.
Furthermore, the Second Prince directly ordered a state of full martial law in the capital star system, and even the celebrations that had been going on were stopped.
This has drawn more attention to this area.
With more people paying attention, rumors will naturally start to circulate.
Some say that the attack on the starship of the Xiaolong Interstellar Empire's envoy was related to the Second Prince.
There are even clues suggesting that those involved in this matter are related to the Second Prince.
Duke Jomay, and the personal guard under the Second Prince.
There was even some evidence that the Second Prince had negotiated with the Three-Headed Flood Dragon Pirate Gang, leading some to speculate that the Three-Headed Flood Dragon Pirate Gang was actually a force raised by the Second Prince to deal with some troublesome matters.
As a result, the Second Prince naturally became the prime suspect in the attack on the starship of the Xiaolong Interstellar Empire delegation.
The second prince has not made any public statement on this matter.
However, there are rumors that the Second Prince is currently in secret negotiations with the fleet of the Dragon Star Empire that came to investigate.
They discussed how to properly handle this matter.
A major question arises here: why did the Second Prince attack the interstellar cruise ship where the Xiaolong Interstellar Empire delegation was located, and why did he do so in such a cruel way?
The two most likely possibilities currently circulating are...
Firstly, the Second Prince did not originally intend to attack the interstellar cruise ship of the Xiaolong Interstellar Empire. It was his Three-Headed Flood Dragon Pirate Crew that attacked the wrong target, which led to the current situation.
Therefore, the second prince had no choice but to continue down the wrong path and cover up the truth of the matter.
Secondly, during the time the delegation from the Xiaolong Interstellar Empire was in the Maihas Interstellar Empire, they made contact with a high-ranking official of the Maihas Interstellar Empire, who happened to be a potential successor to the empire who could compete with the Second Prince.
The Xiaolong Interstellar Empire and the prince of the Maihas Interstellar Empire reached an agreement: the Xiaolong Interstellar Empire would find a way to help this prince become the future emperor of the Maihas Interstellar Empire.
The Maihas Interstellar Empire will also unconditionally support the Xiaolong Interstellar Empire in the future.
Because of this factor, the Second Prince chose to directly attack the interstellar cruise ship, thereby disrupting their cooperation.
Although this claim is somewhat far-fetched.
But at least it's passable.
Let's get back to the main topic.
The Majas interstellar empire is now focusing almost all its attention on that area of airspace that should have been completely empty.
Some powerful families have attempted to send starships to investigate.
But almost immediately upon approaching, they were warned and driven away.
Some even attempted to break through despite the warnings, only to be attacked directly.
As a result, everyone could only wait quietly in the outer area for news from inside.
"Yes, we can't get in at all."
We have no idea what the situation is like inside.
There's nothing we can do about it.
At least 30,000 interstellar warships under the Second Prince's command are gathered here.
"And there are many sentry posts deployed around it, so we can't get in at all." The captain of a small starship that had been dispatched here said helplessly.
"Then you will remain where you are and wait for any useful intelligence to be discovered."
"Send it back immediately!" the person on the other end ordered.
"Yes, I understand." The captain received the order.
The communication ended, and the captain looked up at the dark sky outside the bridge window. He sighed, "Hopefully, the guys inside can calm down."
If this causes a major disturbance, things could get very bad.
...
On the other end of the communication.
The fourth prince sat helplessly in his chair, holding a wine glass in his hand, looking at the crowd gathered in front of him: "I really don't understand why my second brother would do something like this."
He had absolutely no reason to do so.
Besides, none of us brothers should want to compete with him for the throne.
"Who says it isn't?"
This is the Xiaolong Interstellar Empire; if this isn't handled properly...
"Soon the army of the Wyvern Interstellar Empire will arrive. At that time, our Mahas Interstellar Empire alone will be no match for the powerful fleet of the Wyvern Interstellar Empire." An eleventh prince spoke up from the side.
"I've heard that the sixth prince, the tenth prince, and a few younger ones have all run away by now," the Ninth Prince said with a sneer.
The implication of these words, "running away," refers to the fact that these people have now left the Majas Interstellar Empire.
These people were never destined to inherit the throne; they were all well aware of their own limitations and simply accumulated wealth to enjoy life.
Not only within the Majas Interstellar Empire, but also in other interstellar civilizations and empires, numerous industries have been established.
So for them, as long as they can live, it doesn't matter where they are.
Seeing that their country was at risk, they all rushed out to seek refuge, so that if something really happened, they wouldn't be affected.
If nothing had gone wrong, they would naturally have returned to continue enjoying their rights and status here.
"Speaking of which, I've heard of a possibility."
"So it turns out that the eldest brother or the seventh brother is behind this." The fifth princess said cautiously, holding the arm of the third princess beside her.
"Big brother?"
That shouldn't be the case.
My elder brother's health had been failing for a long time, and he had been quietly recuperating in his territory ever since, never having any further thoughts of becoming regent.
As for the seventh brother, he and the second brother are biological brothers.
Before this, the second brother had said that he would pass the throne to the seventh brother and take care of domestic affairs; because the seventh brother had more of the ambition of a king who could conquer battlefields.
At that time, the seventh brother believed in respecting elders and publicly stated that he would not compete with his older brother for power and was willing to wholeheartedly assist his brother.
"It just doesn't make sense that they'd come back to fight for the throne now," the Third Princess muttered in confusion.
"Who knows? Everyone knows that things in the royal family are very messy."
Moreover, many things will change over time.
Aren't there enough cases of brothers killing each other?
Moreover, we don't know if there are any secrets between them.
"So what do we do now?"
"Should we just keep waiting here?" the Fifth Princess pouted.
"So, has the eldest brother made any moves?" Everyone looked at the fourth prince.
Among the idle princes and princesses present, only the Fourth Prince held the highest status and position.
Logically speaking, the fourth prince shouldn't have been associating with them.
However, due to recent rumors that the fourth prince covets the second prince's throne, he has been staying here to avoid suspicion, which can be seen as a way of silently expressing his attitude.
The other princes and princesses shared the same idea.
No matter what happens outside, as long as they stay here obediently, their safety is at least guaranteed.
Moreover, even though the people here haven't all moved, the Fourth Prince's network of connections remains intact.
They also have access to more intelligence information than others.