There were 3 Mid and 2 Small-sized nations in the South-Central Region of the Blue Sky Continent, to the west of which lay the extremely vast Great Western Forest.
These kingdoms had a mix of relationships between them, some on good terms, some on bad, but one thing was consistent among all of them, they were all vassals of the Rising Sun Empire.
In order to ensure its authority was maintained in this region far from the Empire's base of power, and in all external regions in general, Imperial Overseers were dispatched.
Each Imperial Overseer was a Spirit Master Realm powerhouse and was accompanied by an entourage of a dozen or so Imperial Envoys in the Spirit Elite Realm, a few hundred Imperial Guard in the Spirit Adept and Initiate Realms, and several thousand Sea Establishment soldiers and servants.
The Imperial Overseers and their subordinates were the eyes and ears of the Rising Sun Empire, meant to ensure that Imperial Rule remained unchallenged, that taxes and tributes were paid in full and on time, and that their various material and political interests were maintained.
This force was also designed to be capable of single-handedly causing massive damage to a Large-Sized Kingdom or outright destroying any mid to small-sized power.
When Vanessa saw the Silver Moon Eagle in the palace grounds, she had assumed it belonged to an Imperial Envoy.
This made the most sense seeing how there were 12 of them in the South-Central Region who were constantly flying around the 5 kingdoms they were responsible for monitoring. Vanessa had never imagined that the one who had come to the palace was the Lord Overseer himself.
This was truly a stroke of misfortune.
Imperial Overseers had essentially unlimited authority in the regions they supervised. For instance, they could seize control over a kingdom and execute its royal family if they felt such actions were warranted.
Such unfettered power, coupled with the fact that as Spirit Masters there was essentially no-one who could possibly harm them, often resulted in these Overseers being extremely arrogant and overbearing, more-so than those from the Empire already tended to be.
While it was rare to see an Imperial Overseer or Envoy openly abuse their positions, as that might damage their prestige within the Empire and result in punishment, more subtle acts of corruption were basically commonplace.
Taking bribes in exchange for favours, imposing unreasonable demands for money or resources, snatching talented youths to bolster their own forces, claiming beautiful women or men as slaves or playthings, all these were just a few examples of what could be considered 'normal' for the Imperials.
Vanessa's best friend, Allina, had even been 'solicited' by an Imperial Envoy once for her beauty and talent, and it was only thanks to an old connection Celestina had made many years prior that Allina was able to avoid the tragic fate of becoming a plaything for that man.
Even then, the issue was only resolved peacefully because the Envoy in question was just half-heartedly pursuing Allina and simply didn't think it was worth expending the effort to obtain her.
It had been a fairly traumatic experience for the young Vanessa and Allina back then, and only made them even more grateful to their instructor at the time.
Now, though, the real ruler of the South-Central Region, Lord Jeremiah, had shown up, so there was no way to predict what would happen next.
"As for why Lord Jeremiah is here," General Gunthar continued, "Apparently, he just happened to be in the neighbouring Zilon Kingdom, visiting the Kardesh Royal Family for some reason, when he sensed a faint trace of the incident in the south-west."
"So, it really was just bad luck," Vanessa frowned.
The Zilon Kingdom, along with the Elros Grand Dutchy, were the 2 Small-Sized Nations in the South-Central Region, each boasting fewer than 3 million citizens. These small kingdoms were actually breakaway states formed at roughly the same time about 300 years ago during one of the civil wars the Large-Sized Black Tiger Kingdom to the north-east so frequently experienced.
As one might suspect from their origins, both the Zilon Kingdom and Elros Grand Dutchy had smaller populations and a lower standard of living for their commoner citizens compared to their neighbours.
An Imperial Overseer and their entourage, who came from the wealthiest and most advanced nation on the Blue Sky Continent, would naturally not choose to establish their residence in such backwater places. They wouldn't even deign to visit such dingy kingdoms if not for having official business there.
Ordinarily, the Imperial party supervising the South-Central Region spent their time in the capital of the Tarnath Dynasty, located to the north of the Rockwell Kingdom.
The Tarnath Dynasty was the biggest and most powerful kingdom in the South-Central Region with over 10 million citizens, 60 plus Spirit Adepts, and over 2,000 Spirit Initiates, far more than any other local nation. It still paled in comparison to the Empire, but it was at least more comfortable for Lord Jeremiah while he served out his 50-year term as Overseer.
What all this meant was that if Lord Jeremiah had only vaguely sensed the disturbance from the Zilon Kingdom, he would surely not have detected anything had he been in his residence in the Tarnath Dynasty which was much further away.
Although it would be impossible to conceal the situation in the Great Western Forest from the Empire forever, the Rockwell Kingdom could still have investigated and dealt with the situation first before reporting it to the Imperial Overseer.
If rapid action needed to be taken, or any advantages were there to be gained, not having a higher authority looming over them would be better for the Rockwell Kingdom, but now that Lord Jeremiah was present, he would undoubtedly seize absolute control and also reap all the possible benefits, leaving only the cleanup and cost to the Rockwell Kingdom.
With a light sigh, Vanessa had no choice but to accept the situation as it was and swiftly retrieved the situation report Lucas had written up from her Space Bag.
Like many of the Spirit Realm Cultivators in the Rockwell Kingdom, Vanessa Clark had a simple Space Bag, a High-Rank Grade 1 Spirit Tool about the size of a melon on the outside, with roughly 50 times more space inside of it.
A Space Bag allowed one to store a multitude of things like water, rations, daggers, arrows, pills, medicines, romance novels, and so on and so forth without the need to carry a bulky sack on their back, but it was not without its disadvantages.
Firstly, a simple, low-quality Space Bag like the one Vanessa owned could only take in objects that fit through its opening, so there were many limits on what could be put inside.
Secondly, it didn't reduce the weight of stored objects, so if it was filled with heavy items, it could become quite awkward to carry.
Thirdly, it had no additional isolation or preservation properties, so food could still spoil if left inside, or get wet if the bag was dropped into a puddle.
Lastly, although those below the Spirit Realms could still use Space Bags, without a powerful enough Soul Sense to properly manipulate it, it became quite difficult to sift through and retrieve the items one was looking for.
Despite all these limitations, on top of costing at least 10,000 Low-Grade Spirit Crystals as it had to be ordered from one of the Large-Sized Kingdoms or the Empire, Space Bags were still quite popular with those who could afford them.
To put it simply, the conveniences outweighed their detriments.
Handing over the written report to her commanding officer, Vanessa gave him a moment to scan its contents before she began responding to any questions General Gunthar had that she could answer.
When Vanessa mentioned the possibility that a Roth Family Elder, Gregory Roth's youngest son Madison, and 100 or so servants and guards might have perished in the incident, Kyle Gunthar frowned deeply.
Not missing this odd reaction, Vanessa couldn't help asking, "Did the Duke not mention this when he arrived at the capital?"
Shaking his head, General Gunthar grumbled aloud, "No, that little snake didn't say a word about this. He did seem oddly intent on being involved in this matter, but we all believed that was because the Imperial Overseer was present and he was simply wanted to keep an eye on what Lord Jeremiah was doing."
"That might still be his motive," Vanessa muttered disdainfully.
"It wouldn't put it past him. He's always been more concerned about influence and power than anything else, even his own flesh and blood," Kyle Gunthar grunted, clearly not having a high opinion of the current Duke Roth.
"What about the Royal Council? Have they reached some kind of decision about what we are going to do next?" Vanessa decided to set the matter of the Roths aside for the moment and ask the critical question.
Kyle Gunthar's scowled when he heard this, remaining silent for a time before spitting in frustration, "As I said earlier, Nathanial had almost managed to convince the Council to deploy the military, but everything was put on hold when Lord Jeremiah's presence was made known."
"But the Imperial Overseer is already here," Vanessa inquired, "Even if Lord Jeremiah assumed absolute control, a plan of action should still have been decided upon, right?"
The wrinkles on General Gunthar's face deepened before he explained, "Lord Jeremiah indeed took absolute control, but the first thing he did was declare that his people would be taking over. Apparently, he intends to have his own people investigate the matter. The Council no longer has much say in this situation, so we've been told to remain on standby for now."
Frowning, Vanessa asked incredulously, "So they want us to just do nothing? How are we supposed to accept that! The damage in the South-West Province is already extensive! If we can't contain the beasts pouring out of the Great Western Forest quickly, hundreds of thousands of our people will die!"