Foolish Game of the Chapter 927: The Fates of Those in Power

The investigation continued. The commander's tent appeared to hold quite a few secrets.

This was undoubtedly a mont of euphoria for any History Scholar. Sun Miao's enthusiasm far outpaced Cheng Shi's.

She combed every corner at breakneck speed, overturning every searchable nook. Before long she had a new find — a journal pulled from the sand-table drawer. No, not a journal... more like an observer's ledger. It didn't chronicle Keinlaur's own daily life but rather the routines of the other two Supre Inquisitors: Lo Yat and Esa Res.

The ledger recorded in ticulous detail the "audience with god" schedules of these two supre wielders of power — specifically, their pattern of reporting to Iron Law.

Sun Miao had barely flipped through a few pages before she spoke up:

"As I thought — sothing is wrong with Order. Even His own followers have begun avoiding Him.

I know about the Grand Tribunal's rotation system for Supre Inquisitors, and I know that reporting everything to Iron Law is the most devout display of faith. But according to this record, Lo Yat reported constantly, Esa Res reported occasionally, and between the two of them, there was no window left for Keinlaur to report at all.

So... Keinlaur likely discovered long ago that his Benefactor had a problem — and deliberately avoided contact with Order?

But what kind of change would make the follower closest to Order unwilling to approach Him?

The Shared Law Faction's consistent vision was never to distance itself from Order. If anything, they're the believers who most wanted Order to perate every corner of the world. So if even the Shared Law Faction's leader began distancing himself from Order, I can only conclude that in his eyes, Order may have already ceased being Order.

This is the crux of Order's problem — isn't it, Cheng Shi?"

Cheng Shi's pupils contracted faintly. He'd underestimated this teammate. She was formidable indeed.

And observing his micro-reaction, Sun Miao nodded expressionlessly, essentially confirming her hypothesis.

"This is a worthy research topic. No wonder Zhen Xin takes it so seriously. It seems your investigation has shifted from history to... Them.

Interesting. If I may have the honor, I'd very much like to assist you. As you've seen, I consider myself sowhat talented at deconstructing history."

"Oh?" Cheng Shi smiled aningfully. "Is deconstruction really the only thing you're talented at?"

Sun Miao froze mid-stride, then stiffly retreated into silence.

Seeing her unwillingness to be candid, Cheng Shi didn't press. He turned back to searching. Soon, inside the armrest drawer of the Supre Judgnt seat, he fished out an arrowhead — forged from steel and inscribed with the Grand Tribunal's sigil.

He studied it carefully. It looked familiar sohow.

Sun Miao ca over to look. She pointed at the scratchy signature on the arrowhead.

"Esa Res. Strange — why would Esa Res's na be on this arrowhead?

As far as I know, that Supre Inquisitor was an Elental Mage. But this arrowhead is clearly an investigator's weapon component. He..."

'Wait!'

'Esa Res!?'

In that instant, Cheng Shi knew exactly why the arrowhead felt familiar. He'd seen one on Grand Investigator Lid Yara — and Lid Yara was Esa Res's adopted daughter!

So this was almost certainly one of Lid Yara's arrowheads.

Cheng Shi's thoughts drifted to the three wrongfully imprisoned souls from that trial. He frowned and asked quietly: "How much do you know about Lid Yara?"

Sun Miao blinked. She glanced at the inscription, paused, then answered:

"The Grand Investigator?

She apparently wasn't originally from the Grand Tribunal. There were rumors she was Esa Res's illegitimate daughter with soone from a Nature Alliance tribe. So... the rumors were true?"

"?"

Cheng Shi was thrown off too. 'Wasn't it adoptive father? How did "illegitimate" get into the picture?'

"Seems you're not sure either. Well — that's the charm of gossip. It always tempts people to dig deeper.

In my assessnt, she was an extrely devout Order follower but only a middling investigator. Public records show she once investigated a case about Tower of Logic scholars conducting secret experints within the Grand Tribunal. But now it seems...

She may not have been investigating the Tower of Logic, but the Shared Law Faction.

The Grand Tribunal was already rotting from its roots. The factions' wills were mutually incompatible. Add in Order's own problems, and the decline was irreversible.

If this is true, her death raises many questions — historical records say she was ambushed and killed by Truth followers within Grand Tribunal territory. Whether those 'Truth followers' actually followed Truth...

Hard to say. After all, even Tower of Logic scholars occasionally dabble in War, don't they?"

Cheng Shi didn't respond. He only nodded thoughtfully.

Given what he knew of the Grand Investigator's temperant from that trial — combined with the replacent of Order, Keinlaur's preemptive distancing from the power center, and Esa Res's silent pretense of ignorance — Lid Yara had likely conducted a new, unauthorized "investigation" of the "blasphers" within the Supre Court after her escape.

Only this ti, there was no official mandate. It was more like a "blaspher" committing a second desecration of the existing Order.

And her investigation most likely stopped here — at Keinlaur.

'The so-called Truth ambush...' He sighed inwardly. 'I hope this devout Order follower didn't die at the hands of her own people.'

Cheng Shi gripped the arrowhead. "Do you know the final fates of Supre Inquisitor Esa Res and Grand Executioner Artair?"

"I do."

Sun Miao's answer was concise. She was a living history book — every bit worthy of her title as History School Vice President.

"Esa Res, leader of the Traditionalist faction, lost two favored successors in quick succession. Devastated, he died of resentnt at ho.

Though alternative accounts claim that on the day he died, all of Katouting was hunting an escaped prisoner — and that prisoner, in desperation, broke into the Supre Inquisitor's residence and killed him.

But I think that version is too wild. Never mind whether the elderly Esa Res still had formidable power — any prisoner strong enough to kill him would have been locked in the Howling Iron Prison at minimum. And once inside the Howling Iron Prison, who could escape?

The Grand Tribunal's history is full of escaped prisoners, but not a single one ever broke out of the Howling Iron Prison.

Honestly, they might as well have stuck with 'Truth followers killed Esa Res.' At least that would give Truth followers an intellectual thrill."

"..." Cheng Shi rolled his eyes. He sensed she was slipping in her own bias — she clearly had a bone to pick with Truth followers.

"Compared to Esa Res, Artair's later years were far more dramatic.

As the Grand Tribunal's strongest combat force among its six supre figures, and as a champion of the Strict Law faction, Artair beca the sole surviving supre authority after Keinlaur died on the southern battlefield. Before new Supre Inquisitors could be appointed, he single-handedly steered this crumbling empire for quite so ti.

With defeat's fallout and constant harassnt from the Kingdom of War, the Grand Tribunal was rife with grievances and conflict. He seized the opportunity to impose his will — escalating punishnts, tightening laws, and temporarily stabilizing the situation.

But these asures only slowed the nation's decline. They solved nothing.

After all — when the god Himself had a problem, what could even the most devout mortals do?

So the answer to all dilemmas is ascend to godhood. Only by becoming one of Them can one achieve what one truly desires."

"?" Cheng Shi frowned. "You actually think that way? Don't tell

you moonlight at the God Worship Society too."

Sun Miao paused. She typed with noticeable stiffness:

"Correct. I also serve as vice president of the God Worship Society. But my fanaticism is an act.

I aspire to beco one of Them — but only through a viable path. Mindless zealotry only accelerates one's own destruction; it does nothing for apotheosis.

I didn't join the God Worship Society because I share their vision. I treat them as intelligence-gathering tentacles.

I told you — the History School's scale far exceeds your imagination. In a sense, even the God Worship Society could be considered a subordinate organ of the History School. Because their president...

seems to have long forgotten he's a president at all."

"...?"

...