The murmuring around us vanished.

There had been scattered whispers, but they were swallowed by a sudden silence.

The only sound remaining was the faint crackling of the torches mounted on the walls.

After a long stretch of this oppressive stillness—

"Did the Star Dragon Captain just say that?"

One of the Azure Dragon soldiers, standing at a distance, whispered cautiously.

That broke the dam. Murmurs rose again, but this time they were centered around Ilcheon Sword.

"The captain… used poison?"

"No, forget the poison. What did he mean by the Celestial Stream Sect?"

The whispers, though hushed, carried clearly …