Chapter 877: PAID

The investigation had nearly reached its conclusion.

To be honest, it wasn’t much of an investigation to begin with.

Though we moved around the area, calling it a search was a stretch. There was nothing substantial to uncover.

Everything had already been cleaned up. What more could we possibly find?

The only thing we could do was endure the stench of blood as we organized the bodies.

Even as we searched diligently for any clues, nothing turned up.

"Whoever did this was incredibly thorough."

I already knew they were enraged. And yet, despite that, they had handled the situation so perfectly.

It was another stark reminder of what kind of presence the Shadow King truly was.

“That’s enough.”

At my command, the members of the Azure Dragon Division and the martial artists of the Alliance halted their movements.

“There’s no point in continuing.”

“...”

Everyone seemed to agree. No matter how thoroughly we searched, nothing emerged.

“Did you find anything at all?”

“There are traces of something being erased, but nothing beyond that.”

“To be this meticulous….”

We had searched the archives of the Celestial Stream Sect and specific locations, but even after ransacking their branch offices, nothing of value was uncovered.

The only thing we managed to learn was:

“To think the former branch leader was actually collaborating with the unorthodox sect.”

We discovered through the ledgers that the man using the surname Mokri had been working with the Celestial Stream Sect.

It took some time to uncover since it was deeply hidden, but we found it in the end.

“This was likely information the Demonic Cult left behind on purpose, don’t you think?”

“They probably saw no need to take information that had already been exposed.”

“Then why is there nothing about the Ilcheon Sword?”

The Ilcheon Sword had not only colluded with the Celestial Stream Sect and the unorthodox faction but also had ties to the Demonic Cult.

This shocking revelation had even come directly from the Ilcheon Sword himself.

“That’s likely because the Demonic Cult deemed it information that needed to be erased.”

“Your reasoning makes sense.”

“Regardless, since the Ilcheon Sword himself confessed, there’s no need to dig further into that matter.”

Not to mention, Cheonma had come and personally killed the Ilcheon Sword.

Even if some information was lost, the confession from the Ilcheon Sword solidified the truth.

“To think the Grand Lord of the Martial Alliance was engaging in such underhanded deeds behind the scenes.”

“In this chaotic time, there’s no one left to trust….”

The murmurs of despair were palpable. Hearing them, I spoke up.

“Enough chatter. Gather what you need.”

“Yes, sir…!”