What Eric said was true. The Shadow Guild's plan to cause chaos in the city had been successfully stopped by Ethan.

Their members were captured and subjected to interrogation, with the hope that Hanss would be able to extract additional information that could help Ethan deal with this case.

Even though Eric's words were accurate, they were still not enough to prove that Ethan could fully trust him.

Eric remained a mysterious figure, especially since he was a former member of the Shadow Guild. That fact alone made Ethan wary.

There were several things Ethan still did not understand, particularly how Eric had managed to obtain so much information related to the Shadow Guild's plans.

The source of that intelligence, the methods used to gather it, and the motivations behind sharing it all remained unclear.

They arrived at LionArk's headquarters that night. Hanss immediately ordered his team to escort the suspects to the prison facilities.

The workload for both the security authority and the legal authority of Guild LionArk was overwhelming, as this case required a thorough investigation from multiple angles.

Ethan himself headed to the third floor and entered his office.

Sherly was already there, still busy finishing her work, her attention fully absorbed by the documents spread out before her.

"You can put your work off until later, Sherly. Take a rest for today," Ethan said.

Sherly lifted her head, her eyes fixed on Ethan, who had returned alone.

"What about the Shadow Guild's plan?" Sherly asked.

Ethan removed his officer's cloak and hung it neatly in place. He walked over to the long sofa and produced a bottle of wine, pouring it into two glasses on the table.

"We managed to catch them before they could act," Ethan replied.

"That's good. We managed to minimize the chaos that could have happened."

The man cleared his throat briefly, lifted his glass, and slowly took a sip of his wine.

"This is only temporary. Without information from my informant, they could have caused significant damage."

"I've already looked into it," Sherly said. "I summarized all the incidents across the major cities in the eastern continent."

She stood up and handed a sheet of paper to Ethan. Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly as he accepted it and began reading.

Sherly explained that she had requested information regarding Shadow Guild cases from every city over a span of two months, up until today.

As Ethan read through the report, shock became visible on his face.

"The intensity has increased?" Ethan asked.

"Yes."

"It's as if the Shadow Guild was deliberately assigned to weaken the power structure of the eastern continent."

"From what I concluded, the highest number of their crimes occurred in Mavelard. Second place goes to Porco," Sherly added.

This further strengthened Ethan's suspicion that the man known as Mr. X might be someone operating from the central continent.

Scavenger and Silver Star were based there, as was Redemption Sword.

The popularity of the eastern continent had been steadily rising recently, largely due to LionArk's resurgence.

Many A-rank guilds chose to join the LionArk alliance rather than seek protection from guilds in the central continent.

This made LionArk's position even more solid and increasingly irreplaceable.

It was obvious that the three major guilds in the central continent were displeased with LionArk's rise, especially Scavenger, which had long been hostile toward them.

"What do you think?" Sherly asked.

"Based on my assumptions, there are only two possibilities: Scavenger and Silver Star," Ethan replied.

"I doubt it's Silver Star," Sherly responded.

Ethan turned his head to look at his aide, confusion evident in his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"During the Raid Tower Expedition, I became friends with someone from Guild Lion Fang. They're based in the central continent and understand the situation there very well."

"According to them, Silver Star's credibility took a severe hit after their city was destroyed. That forced them to focus on rebuilding their guild and their city rather than involving themselves with the Shadow Guild," Sherly explained.

"Credibility is directly tied to public trust. The Shadow Guild's operating system relies on clients who hire their assassins," Ethan replied.

"Exactly," Sherly said.

"Without strong credibility, it wouldn't be possible for the Shadow Guild to operate on such a massive scale in the east."

Ethan listened carefully to Sherly's conclusion. Her understanding and political awareness had grown significantly since she returned from the expedition.

She could quickly grasp situations, draw conclusions, and construct new hypotheses.

Ethan paid close attention to her analysis because her arguments were supported by data, whether collected through conventional means or direct interviews.

"So, if I sum it all up, you're asking me to keep a close watch on Scavenger?" Ethan asked.

"That's correct, Sir Ethan."

"Scavenger's current condition is more ideal for supplying resources to Shadow Guild members. Their credibility is also higher compared to other guilds, including Silver Star."

"If we look at the Shadow Guild's membership patterns, they closely resemble Scavenger's membership requirements."

Ethan nodded several times. He admitted that he felt fortunate to have Sherly as his aide. This time, her analysis had greatly helped him narrow down the case.

"For now, I'll keep your opinion as the final conclusion. Until we confirm Mr. X's true identity, I don't want to act recklessly in this matter," Ethan said.

"Of course, Sir Ethan. All decisions are in your hands," Sherly replied.

Sherly organized her documents and placed them neatly on Ethan's desk. She then excused herself to rest. Ethan nodded in response.

Now, Ethan was the only one left in the room. He walked over to his desk and noticed an unopened letter lying there.

The white envelope rested quietly on the surface of his desk, addressed solely to Ethan.

Ethan picked up the letter and checked the sender's identity.

"Florensia… White Coat Guild?"

"Aren't they one of the three major guilds in Arkban City?"

His curiosity deepened. Ethan opened the letter and read it. It contained a formal greeting and a request from Florensia, the Guild Master of White Coat, asking for a meeting.

The plan to disrupt the city's stability had already begun, with Hanss cooperating with Sacred Bonds.

With funding and equipment supplied, Sacred Bonds had been tasked with causing unrest, keeping Glorious Sword occupied with chaos instead of focusing on the city's economic condition.

White Coat must have noticed the turmoil. However, based on the message, it seemed they were still unaware that LionArk was behind the chaos, using Sacred Bonds as a pawn.

It seems I know what I should do with them.

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