Chapter 205: Corruption Suspects

Ethan fell silent for a moment when Hanss said that. After all, Arkban was in the eastern region and close to Mavelard.

He didn’t want that city becoming an affiliate of the Big Three, because that could threaten LionArk’s existence in Mavelard.

“I still have to convince them to join,” Ethan said.

“Do you know anything about the situation over there?” he asked.

Hanss shook his head. He hadn’t heard any news from Arkban ever since the dispute between LionArk and that city.

Ethan’s question clearly meant he wanted Hanss to start investigating the conditions there, like how the people lived, whether there were conflicts, whether there had been a change in the ruling guild leader, and so on.

“I’ll send a spy team over. You can expect information from them in five days.”

The man cleared his throat. That was fine as long as he could learn what was going on inside Arkban. Once he knew, Ethan would take action based on what was actually happening.

“All right. Thank you, Hanss.”

“Of course, Sir Ethan. You can count on me,” Hanss replied.

Their conversation ended that afternoon. Ethan stood up and shook Hanss’s hand. He was about to take his leave since there were several things he still needed to handle.

The issue with Porco City was resolved, but Ethan still had to help with their administrative matters like sending aid and arranging the return of refugees.

But since Ashley and Jill were already handling a large part of those responsibilities, Ethan’s workload was easier for now. Maybe he would take care of other, more important problems inside the city.

Ethan walked out of Hanss’s office and instinctively glanced to the side as he remembered Jason.

Darcy’s office was on the second floor, and lately he had been busy cleaning out corrupt members inside LionArk.

Many members of the Law Authority were investigating and charging LionArk staff. The sentences varied depending on how involved they were in each crime.

He decided to go to Darcy’s office on that floor to learn what was happening inside LionArk’s headquarters. Ethan clearly wanted LionArk to become a guild free of corruption.

KNOCK!

Ethan knocked on Darcy’s office door. It was opened by a female staff member from the Law Authority. She smiled at him and invited him inside.

“Who is it, Nath?”

“Sir Ethan, Leader Darcy,” Nath replied.

“Ethan?” Darcy said in surprise.

He stood up and left his desk, walking toward Ethan to greet him. He never expected Ethan to come meet him.

“If you need something, you don’t have to come all the way to my office. I can go up to the third floor,” Darcy said.

Ethan stepped inside and saw five Law Authority staff working on files and other documents. The place was a mess. Ethan assumed they had a lot of work piled up.

“You look like you want to fill a whole prison with LionArk staff, Darcy.”

“Corruption has been rooted here for a long time, since LionArk fell,” Darcy answered with a sigh.

“I actually tried to propose this investigation to Miss Ashley, but she refused.”

“She refused?” Ethan asked.

Darcy nodded. He had only received a rejection without being told the exact reason. That left him no choice but to close the case and store everything.

Luckily, before Mavelard fell, Darcy used his condominium to store all the files to keep them safe. It was useful and effective.

He couldn’t destroy the files or bring them to the Trident Sea guild headquarters.

But ever since Ethan arrived, Darcy had become braver and more confident. That was because Ethan protected him and the entire Law Authority.

Now the Law Authority had become one of the departments inside LionArk feared by every member without exception. That was because they knew Ethan was guarding that department.

“She must have had her reasons. The situation was difficult when LionArk collapsed. Ashley didn’t have any other choice.”

“Yes, but corrupt people can’t be trusted, Sir. If they had to choose between LionArk falling or losing their money, they would choose LionArk to fall,” Darcy explained.

“That’s the face of corruption. That’s why I killed Jason.”

Hearing Ethan’s confession shocked the five staff members. The wild rumors were finally proven. Jason didn’t die to another person or a monster, but by Ethan’s own hand.

“How many people can we charge?” Ethan asked.

“Since many of them left LionArk, we can only charge 178 people.”

“How many suspects left LionArk after the guild fell?”

“About 632 people.”

“632? Are you serious?” Ethan was shocked.

Darcy confirmed it. That was why so many files were scattered around the room. There were that many LionArk members listed as suspects. In total the number reached 810 people.

“This is insane,” Ethan muttered.

“How much would we gain if we seized all their assets?” Ethan asked.

Darcy turned and signaled Nath to come over and tell Ethan the total assets LionArk could recover based on the corruption amounts, excluding salaries or income outside their pay.

“The total is 13,550,000 gold.”

Ethan closed his eyes, took a long breath, then exhaled slowly. Thirteen million was an enormous amount of money, enough to support both the city and the guild.

“Focus on seizing the assets of LionArk members who are still active,” Ethan said.

“Understood, Sir Ethan.”

“Do you have the list of usernames for those 632 people?” Ethan asked.

“We have it.”

Ethan brought out a small empty token and asked Nath and Darcy to copy all their names into it. Fortunately for Ethan, the Law Authority had already recorded the guilds where the 632 people were currently hiding.

[Data Copy Completed]

He held the token and activated it. A long list of suspects appeared, showing their names, guilds, involvement, and corruption amounts.

They took LionArk’s money. I’ll make sure they give it back.

“Thank you, Darcy, Nath.”

“Of course, Sir Ethan. We can only help you with the data. We can’t collect anything from them since they’re outside our authority,” Darcy said.

Ethan stored the token and tapped Darcy’s arm, clearly placing his trust in him. Darcy felt proud and honored, feeling that Ethan truly valued him.

“I’ll handle them myself.”

Darcy and Nath exchanged looks, curious about what Ethan meant.

“What do you mean, Sir Ethan?” Darcy asked.

“I’m going to meet them and take my money back. If their guild tries to stop me, I’ll destroy their guild too.”

“I’m not joking about this.”

“It’s time for LionArk to tear through other guilds.”

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