Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 1220: Unplayed Hand

'I have no idea how I can launder all of these resources,' Kyle thought. 'The most obvious way would be to buy loot from random teams and sell it, but if the teams start to talk to each other, I'll seem suspicious.'

Kyle sighed. 'Well, for now, I can't use my newfound wealth. That sucks. If I sold everything, I would have enough to become a Minor Immortal. That's three entire advancements. After all, I'm still a New Immortal. Also, the Abyss Hammer Team doesn't have enough money yet.'

'Anyway, I should tell the others that everything's fine.'

Blue and Red dug upwards while Green returned to Wild's Summit in the Immortal Dimension.

Yet, just when Green arrived in Wild's Summit, he received a voice transmission.

"Have you activated a Last Light?" the Protector asked.

Kyle immediately became nervous. 'Shit! She sensed it!' Naturally, Kyle wasn't afraid that she would believe that he had activated the Last Light. After all, he could simply swear a confirmation oath. The issue was that she would find out who had activated the Last Light and who their target was. The logical follow-up question was how Kyle could still be alive.

"I have not activated a Last Light," Kyle transmitted back. "I swear, I have never used a Last Light, ever. I never injected Energy into one. I never activated one. I've never built one. I've never bought one. I've never been gifted one."

The Protector waited for a moment. When she saw that Green's Karmic Luck hadn't changed in the slightest, she confirmed that Kyle hadn't used it. However, that had also never been her suspicion. The higher one's Battle-Strength was, the less likely they were to use a Last Light.

"The systems have picked up the usage of a Last Light on the Planet on which Team Ankylosaurus currently resides. The closest Communicators to the activation site are yours and three others. You must have noticed something," the Protector transmitted. "Your statement is imperative for the investigation."

'Acting like I haven't noticed anything won't fly. I have to give her some information. Well, here goes...'

"I have seen the person who activated the Last Light," Kyle transmitted.

"I require confirmation with a higher level of reliability," she transmitted.

"I swear that I have seen the person who activated the Last Light," Kyle transmitted.

The Protector looked at Kyle's Karmic Luck. With his Law of Karmic Causality, he could hide some of the changes in his Karmic Luck but not all of them. Not even he could hide the damage his Karmic Luck would receive if he broke an oath.

"Who was the person?" the Protector asked.

"I... am not sure if I want to tell you," Kyle transmitted with uncertainty. "Almost everyone has a backer. This person must have received the Last Light from their backer. I don't believe this investigation will uproot the entire network behind them. Only some people will experience consequences. If they find out that I sold them out, I will become their target."

The Protector's brows furrowed, but Kyle couldn't see it. She was still within her house. She could sense him, but he couldn't sense her. "The person who used the Last Light must be dealt with. International rules demand their execution. Immortals who knowingly protect the identity of such a person will be dealt with in the same manner."

"What if they are already dead?" Kyle asked.

"Can you confirm it with sufficient certainty?" the Protector asked.

"I swear on my life, I am 100% certain that the user of the Last Light is very much dead, with all of their Avatars destroyed," Kyle replied.

The Protector remained silent for a moment. "I need you to confirm some statements. These statements act as confirmation oaths. Do you agree?"

Green nodded.

"You are certain that you know who has used the Last Light, correct?"

"Yes, I swear."

"You have seen them activate the Last Light, correct?"

"Yes, I swear."

"You know who their target was, correct?"

"Yes, I swear."

"You are certain the user of the Last Light has perished, all their Avatars destroyed, correct?"

"Yes, I swear."

"This concludes the primary investigation," the Protector transmitted. "Finding the origins of the Last Light is also important, but international rules are not as strict about this investigation. You are free to remain silent on this issue, but I would advise against it."

"Who was targeted by the Last Light?" she asked.

"I don't want to tell you," Kyle answered.

"Is the target of the Last Light still alive?"

"Yes," Kyle answered.

"Has the target of the Last Light killed the user of the Last Light?" she asked.

"Yes," Kyle replied.

"Was the target of the Last Light a member of the Cult?" she asked.

"I don't think so, but I can't be entirely sure," Kyle answered as he scratched the back of his head. Kyle had two identities. One was part of the Cult, while the other one wasn't. Did that mean that his first identity was also part of the Cult? As he said, he couldn't be sure. He didn't know how this entire thing worked.

"Are you willing to swear a confirmation oath?" she asked.

"I swear, I don't think they're part of the Cult, but I can't be sure. I'm primarily guessing here," Kyle answered.

"That's good enough," the Protector replied. "What did the Last Light look like?"

"Like a blank coin," Kyle answered.

"Are you willing to share more information about the user?" she asked.

"No, for personal reasons," Kyle answered. "I've got a question. If I change my mind, can I still tell you about them later?"

A small glimmer appeared in the Protector's eyes as she realized why Kyle was protecting the identity of the user. In fact, she was already pretty sure about the identity of the user, but without some evidence, she couldn't start an official investigation.

She was 95% sure that the Minor Immortal from Extended Family had used the Last Light. She knew that Kyle and Extended Family had a conflict. If he so chose to, Kyle could share the information about the Last Light with her, which would lead to an official investigation. Extended Family would need to think thrice about every decision in the future.

Initially, she had thought that Kyle simply didn't want to wake sleeping dogs, but that wasn't the case. Instead, he wanted to use this information as protection. If Extended Family decided to keep coming after him, he could threaten them with information that would lead to an official investigation.

Additionally, he could also use this information to force them to keep information about him secret. After all, Extended Family wasn't the only party with secrets.

The Protector was sure that Kyle hadn't been the target of the Last Light. She knew that he was powerful, but he couldn't possibly be a threat to three Minor Immortal Avatars. Even if he were, his level of threat wouldn't reach such an enormous level that the Minor Immortal believed that they had to use a Last Light to survive.

Most likely, Kyle had some kind of ally or senior who had supported him. The Protector was very interested in this senior. After all, the systems hadn't picked up any other Communicators on the scene. Either this senior was not registered with any power, or they had traveled through the Immortal Dimension without a Communicator, which was very risky.

Both sides held secrets, and keeping his hand unplayed allowed Kyle to force the other side to keep their hand unplayed as well.

"Yes, you may make your statement whenever you wish," the Protector answered. "Is there anything else you want to share with us?"

"Not for now," Kyle answered.

"Fine," the Protector replied before cutting the connection.

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