The Princess stood there exasperated. She looked at the mess of soldiers she had.

"Lieutenant Brier, take the Major into custody and lock him up," the Princess said.

The Lieutenant froze as he slowly turned to look at the Princess. "Your Majesty, whaaa..."

"Or, you can lock yourself up and I'll have someone else do it," the Princess said.

The Lieutenant jumped to salute and carried out his orders. "I need to speak with father," she thought.

Just as she was turning around to leave she saw a small form running towards the Wu Di Clan's entrance. It was a Silver Horn Dragon baby! Where did it come from? Even more startling, the baby made a hand sign and went into the Clan without a problem.

Lieutenant Brier!" the Princess cried.

Lieutenant Brier was arresting the Major as the Princess ordered when he heard her crying out for him. The Lieutenant immediately rushed to her side.

"Yes, Princess!" Lieutenant Brier said as he saluted.

"Why would a Silver Horn Dragon baby go into the Wu Di Clan?" the Princess asked.

Lieutenant Brier thought the princess was telling him a joke. He relaxed and smiled.

"I think I've heard this one before Princess, but I don't remember the punchline. Why would a Silver Horn Dragon baby go into the Wu Di Clan?" The Lieutenant repeated her question expecting a punchline.

"I'm serious Lieutenant," she said.

"I'm serious Lieutenant Who?" He asked while still smiling.

The princess looked at this person like he was an idiot. After a moment of not hearing a punchline, the Lieutenant looked at the Princess and saw the annoyed look she gave him.

"Oh, you're asking me. I don't know Princess," the Lieutenant responded.

"Find out why a Silver Horn Dragon baby is allowed into the Wu Di Clan but I'm not. I also want you to find out where he comes from," the Princess said.

"Yes ma'am," The Lieutenant said.

After the Princess left, Lieutenant Brier searched for his best friend Lieutenant Foxx. He was the smartest person he knew. He might be able to help him solve the mystery of the Dragon baby. They could share the credit for this if he finds out what the Princess needed to know. Foxx and Brier had an odd relationship. Brier would always get himself into strange situations, Foxx would think of a way to get him out, and they would both usually benefit from these adventures.

Lieutenant Brier found Lieutenant Foxx and told him what happened. Foxx was in the ship during the encounter and wasn't aware of the standoff. Everything happened too fast. The people on the ship only found out what was going on when the Major was dragged in and thrown into a prison cell. He was still unconscious.

After hearing Brier's dilemma, Foxx moved quickly to ask around. He soon returned with the needed information. Foxx and Brier went to deliver the report to the Princess.

"Princess, we have the information you requested." Lieutenant Brier quietly said. The princess was startled and looked at Lieutenant Brier.

‘That was fast, I was considering who else I could send to find this information. I thought this guy was an idiot.’ The princess thought.

"That was quick Lieutenant. Who’s your friend?" asked the Princess.

"Princess, this is why I was able to find the information for you so fast. This is my friend Lieutenant Foxx. He's the smartest person I know. If I have a question he can find the answer. If I have a problem, he can find a solution," Lieutenant Brier said with a smile.

The man was an idiot, but he wasn't a lost cause. He at least knew if he couldn't solve the problem by himself, he found someone who could. This was good leadership and management.

"Let's hear it then," the Princess said.

"Yes, ma'am. There are a Dragon and a half-Dragon couple who live at the edge of a large Beast forest. For some reason, the family is close to the Wu Di Clan. The Dragon baby is actually famous in the area. He found three inheritance treasures and passed them to the Clans they belonged to. He just seems to enjoy finding the treasures, but he isn't interested in them," Lieutenant Foxx said.

"What kind of Dragons are they?" the Princess asked.

"The male is a Four-Clawed Silver Horn. It isn't clear what kind of Dragon the half-Dragon woman is." Lieutenant Foxx said.

"Do you find any of this odd Lieutenant?" the Princess asked.

"Yes." Lieutenant Foxx said.

"What in particular?" the Princess asked.

"I think the mother is suspicious. The Dragon DNA is very aggressive. It tends to dominate any bloodline it is a part of unless it is extremely diluted. I don't think she's a half-Dragon. I also find it odd they have a relationship with the Wu Di Clan. The Clan might tolerate the family, but would they give them open access to the Clan? Even if the Dragon baby is sweet and trustworthy his relationship is hard to explain. This leads me to believe the Dragon baby is the half-Dragon and this mother is a member of the Wu Di Clan," Lieutenant Foxx concluded.

The Princess was surprised inside but kept her emotions hidden. She was really impressed by this Lieutenant Foxx.

"Good work Lieutenant. I don't have the power to directly promote you to major, but I will suggest the promotion to my father. For the time being, you are in charge of the soldiers now and Lieutenant Brier is your right-hand man. Arrange a meeting with the couple near the woods for tomorrow. Congratulations Lieutenant. You may go," the Princess said.

Foxx and Brier left the Princess to carry out her orders.

"Congratulations buddy!" Lieutenant Brier said.

"I couldn't have done it without you. It's like you're my lucky charm," Foxx smiled.

The Princess went to her room and compiled all the data she was given and the information she gathered herself. After reflecting on everything and making sure the details were clear in her mind she called her father, the Dragon Emperor.

An image of a large man appeared in her communication screen. The man looked fierce. Glowing gold eyes with two magnificent horns. Each horn had several small branches connected to it almost forming a majestic helmet. His hair pulled through the horns in the back. He was dressed regally in a fiery red dragon robe.

"Father," the princess said.

"Yu'er, how is your progress?" The Dragon Emperor asked.

"Father, everything is a mess," the Princess said.

"A mess, what happened?" the Emperor asked.

Princess Yu told her father everything that happened today including the appearance of the heroic dragon boy and the Ying family. The princess even bitterly complained about Major Fennu. After hearing everything the Emperor laughed.

"Father you find this funny?!" Princess Yu asked indignantly.

"I do," The Emperor responded.

"What do you find funny about all of this?" she asked.

"I think the whole things is pretty funny and the Dragon boy is interesting. The Wu Di Clan Chief was right to be mad at you. You didn't convey my sincerity. If you will remember I didn't want to assign this mission to you originally. Do you know why?" the Emperor asked.

"No, why?" the Princess asked.

"I didn't want to assign it to you earlier because I was almost certain you would screw the whole thing up like you have," the Emperor said as he chuckled.

The princess was flustered and turned red.

"I know I failed on this important mission father, but I wish you wouldn't make fun of me,” the Princess said feeling very sad.

"Who said you failed the mission?" the Emperor asked.

"You just told me I made a mess of everything," the Princess said.

"That doesn't mean you failed. Do want to know how you will know you failed your Ambassadorial mission?" the Emperor asked.

"How?" the Princess asked.

"You'll know you failed when I recall you home and send someone in your place," the Emperor said.

"I don't understand," the princess responded.

"Messing up is expected. It didn’t matter who I sent, this mess with the Wu Di wouldn't have gone smoothly. It was destined to be a big mess. However, the reason I sent you was you were able to convince me you could succeed with the goal of the mission. I still think you have a shot. I think you've found two possible allies. The Wudi Long boy, and the Dragon family," the Emperor said.

The Princess nodded her head. "Yes, I still think I can salvage this," the Princess said.

"Good, you just need to find a replacement for Fennu. Let him know he's been demoted to Sergeant. If you have any more problems with him just execute him as an example," the Emperor said.

"I have a replacement in mind for Major Fennu. Two replacements you might say. I'm sending you their data. I want to promote 1st Lieutenant Foxx to Major and I would like to promote 1st Lieutenant Brier to Captain. Both of them performed well in this situation, especially Lieutenant Foxx. He has a knack for gathering intel and deciphering clues. He also has a solid command of psychology. I've sent you their files. The two have worked as a team for years and produced some amazing results," the Princess said.

The Emperor read over the files sent over and seemed amused and impressed.

"These are the kind of men I like in our Dragon Forces. I'll pass down the promotions myself. You've found some good men, but good men must be controlled and used properly. Don't let them get a big head," the Emperor advised his daughter.

"Yes, sir, father," the Princess said.

"Oh, father, any news about those dragon twins?" the Princess asked with concern.

"None, but General Long has his best man on it, so I'm expecting good news soon."

* * *

Kal led the twins to the coordinates the fairies indicated. It was a half a day's travel from their cave. As Kal and the twins set out, Master Ba Rel and his forces landed on the planet. Kal expected this. The fairies were equipped with high-level weapons and sent to mess up the spiritual energy flow of the world. This involved blowing up hills and mountains and making discreet attacks on the search teams. While they created all of this mischief, Kal and the twins moved at full speed to the gate.

"Master Ba Rel, we're getting reports of attacks by fairies," a soldier reported to Master Rel.

"What are they attacking?" Master Rel asked.

"Everything and everyone. They don’t appear to have a specific target," the soldier said.

"Let me see the orbital scans," Master Rel said.

Master Rel received the Active Scan Map (ASM) and looked at several key points around the world.

"We're dealing with a wily one," Master Rel said.

"Sir?" the soldier asked.

"He's on the move and trying to mask his tracks. He doesn't want us to know where he's headed so he's using the fairies to create disturbances in the planet ’s spiritual energy flow and harassing our troops while he heads in leisure to his destination," Master Rel said.

Master Rel's eyes sparkled as he considered the actions of his new prey. When was the last time he had such a difficult hunt? The more difficult the hunt the better. Not only would this push him to increase the depth of his understanding of his Dao, the Dao of the Hunt, but when he successfully captured his enemies his rewards would be unbelievably high.

Of course, he couldn't just claim this person is a challenge; he needed to demonstrate this to the Syndicate. Master Rel prepared a report and let them know it was a much tougher task.

As Master Rel expected, the Syndicate upped the bonus for the capture of the twins and also expanded the mission to include the fairy technology. If they could use fairies like his opponents, they would be unmatched in the universe.

Master Rel, however, wasn't satisfied. He would allow the pressure to build up before he finally struck against his prey. He really wanted the Syndicate to demonstrate their sincerity.

The fairies had orders to give Kal and the twins half a day and then they were to flee to the sea to hide until he was able to rescue them. If he couldn't save them they could find their own way back home or die and reincarnate. The fairies were given a one-time use Samsara pods as compensation for the mission.

Three hours after touching down, Master Rel had already lost a third of his men in the indiscriminate attacks. Instead of being angry, Master Rel was actually quite happy. The Syndicate was tracking the situation and realized just how difficult the mission had become.

The Syndicate stopped slowly increasing the bounty but directly asked Master Rel what he needed and what he wanted to complete the mission. After a couple of hours of arguing both sides came to an agreement. Master Rel walked over to his cultivators and told them it was thumbs up. Then Master Rel commanded the soldiers to prepare to break camp and move out.

Even though Master Rel spent several hours milking the benefits he wasn't just sitting around idle. Master Rel reviewed several hours-worth of orbital scans and noticed just about an hour before the fairy onslaught there was a lot of activity in one area. Master Rel believed that's where his prey was headed.

Master Rel and his men rode their combat spirit bikes followed by the soldiers in their land attack vehicles. The orders were to mow down any fairies in the way and pursue an aggressive capture strategy. The aggressive capture strategy had already been explained to the soldiers. In the very fast attack vehicles, they only needed an hour to arrive at the location Kal and the twins were headed for.

"I'm coming for you little dragons," Master Rel laughed viciously.