The outcome was entirely predictable. After Roland proposed his solution, many of those stirring up trouble behind the scenes began to back down.
They had ulterior motives to begin with and did not dare gamble on what Roland might do to them.
In fact, whatever Roland did, they would only see it as entrapment.
So they did not dare show themselves at all.
Still, some High Mages lacked political sensitivity, while others genuinely wanted to uncover the truth, and they signed up according to the established rules.
Rather than publicly breaking his promise, Roland openly and graciously welcomed their cooperation.
He had Grand Mage Shagengs's team grant them access to some of the materials, sharing Rune Beast Technology and the secrets of the wisdom spark.
Only then did everyone learn that, although the two technologies shared an origin and were closely connected, they were still distinct technological paths.
Moreover, even if Soreno himself came, he would still have a very long way to go before truly achieving ascension to godhood.
With that, the earlier rumors collapsed on their own and lost all traction.
While Roland was dealing with the various disturbances on his side,
Antonia personally arrived in the Sals Kingdom to capture Soreno, who had fled there.
"Sir, we've largely established the target's movements and are steadily narrowing the search area."
A member of the advance force came over to brief the newly arrived Antonia on the current situation.
"Based on the information we have, he's hiding in the forest to the north."
"That's hardly surprising. The forest has dense trees, abundant wildlife, and relatively concentrated mana, all of which can block many detection methods.
"But we've locked directly onto his true name. This technique isn't widely known yet, so even a High Mage like him would find