Chapter 62: Everything Is Ready, the Advantage Is Mine

The three priests left the meeting room scowling. Silvia had issued an ultimatum: find the Death Knight’s warhorse and sword within ten days, and they would keep their jobs; fail, and they would go home and starve.

Finding them was impossible. The Death Knight’s mount came and went without leaving any trace. It was rumored to be a magical creature that the Goddess of Death created personally to reward the Death Knight, possessing inherent spatial magic that allowed it to move about unnoticed unless it willingly made an appearance. Even if they got lucky and located it, they couldn’t capture the horse.

The three of them were Silver-rank mages who had risen to their current station through seniority. They were politicians skilled in management but not combat, far weaker than Silvia and inferior to Sidney, who was once a High Reverend candidate.

In the entire Windsor branch, Sidney alone could match Silvia’s power, and even he couldn’t guarantee that he would be capable of capturing the undead warhorse.

The Death Knight and his horse were one. If the undead warhorse had come to Londan, the Death Knight wouldn’t be far away. All of the Church of Nature’s elites in Windsor had failed to defeat the Darkness Knight, let alone the Death Knight, who had made a name for himself way earlier. With the previous High Reverend’s near-death serving as a warning, Sidney would never willingly duel the Death Knight, and he would have to have a death wish to seek out the horse.

The Death Knight’s sword would be even more difficult to retrieve. Shadow Nightmare was notorious for its vicious nature, carrying an inherent death curse that would corrupt any living being that dared to touch it. Their flesh would collapse, their thoughts would cease, and even their souls wouldn’t be safe. The sword would devour them all and send them to the realm of Death to be sealed eternally.

Shadow Nightmare was an evil holy relic too dangerous to even touch. It shouldn’t exist in the Chosen Land.

Therefore, while Silvia had given them ten days, she’d effectively announced their fate: pack up and get the hell out after ten days, and if they refused, she would make them leave by following procedures.

“Damn wench, who does she think she is? A Scalpel specialized in combat who got lucky and became a priest. Headquarters sent her to Londan and appointed her the new High Reverend to assist us and appease Sidney, not to fight us for power,” Lawrence said acidly.

“Accusing us of embezzlement—how ridiculous, as if she’s never taken a silker!” Dane gritted his teeth. He hated double standards.

Simone said weakly, “I heard her family is very well off...”

“It’s her husband who has money. Auston Lando, the banker.” Lawrence sneered dismissively. “Auston is known for being a playboy who’s never without an armpiece. They definitely didn’t get together for love. He’s after her body, and she’s after his money. Simple as that.”

“Right, she doesn’t need to embezzle money,” Dane said sarcastically. “When she wants cash, she just has to spread her legs—and it’s legal!”

Simone didn’t respond. Her colleague’s sardonic and contemptuous comment made her uncomfortable as a fellow woman. She changed the subject. “What do we do now? Order a city-wide search for the undead horse?”

“What can we do even if we find it?”

They all fell silent.

Indeed, there was nothing they could do. Simone sighed. “The High Reverend is doing this to make us submit. Sidney was implicated by his master and lost power, but he still has numerous supporters in Windsor. Many are watching from the sidelines. She needs our backing.”

“What, do you want to be her lapdog?” Lawrence scoffed. “You should’ve realized the kind of person she is over the past couple of months. You’ll be getting a leash on you.”

Well, many wanted to be her dogs and couldn’t!

Simone sighed and took her leave, issuing orders to search for the undead warhorse on her own. Her two colleagues had been in power for years and enjoyed the pleasure that came from authority for too long, so much so that they forgot their vows when joining the church and the reason they had started pursuing power in the first place.

Dane watched Simone leave with a steely expression. “Simone has surrendered and even called that woman High Reverend. To my knowledge, that woman invited her to a meal.”

“It makes sense. She has the least power among the four of us. Now that there’s a vacancy, it’ll benefit her to wag her tail at her new master.” Lawrence scoffed. “Pathetic. Sitting in the office has made her brain go rusty. She actually thinks our enemy will spare her? Without us, she’s nothing.”

“Now what?” Dane asked with a frown.

Lawrence didn’t respond. Submitting was out of the question. The moment he saw Silvia for the first time, he found her an eyesore. The thought that she would become his superior repulsed him. Dane, similarly, loathed Silvia.

It had nothing to do with personal grievances but their pure obsession with power. They would feel the same resentment toward anyone who got appointed the High Reverend from outside the institution and attempted to rule with an iron fist.

They strolled through the roofed corridor in the garden, lost in thought. After a moment, they stopped at the same time and exchanged a glance and a nod.

Find Sidney and have him deal with Silvia!

Their dissatisfaction was nothing compared to Sidney’s. He had been a legitimate candidate for High Reverend, who only lost the chance because of his master, and Silvia was the one who cracked down on the Geocentrism Sect and drove him out of office. Given the bad blood between them, he might already be planning something.

“Should we find out?”

“There’s no harm in having afternoon tea with him.”

“Do you think Sidney actually had connections with the cult? Had he been keeping the intelligence to himself?”

“Unlikely. When the legendary mage was still around, Sidney was his most devoted student, but after the legendary mage became the Lord of the Void, he hated his master more than anyone—he’d avoided him like the plague. He couldn’t have been involved with the cult.”

“True. Unless he’s gone mad.”

“Hahaha—”

Both fell silent.

“...Say, could Sidney have gone mad?”

“Stop being paranoid. Sidney is one of the attending physicians at Red Leaf Asylum. If he’d gone mad, he would’ve been committed long ago.”

“Right.”

“Come on. Let’s have tea with him.”

***

Western District, Londan.

A black sedan drove away from the mansion. The two priests had departed in disappointment. During their stay, Sidney had talked about nothing but black tea, expressing no dissatisfaction with High Reverend Silvia. He seemed content with his premature retirement, even advising them to listen to the High Reverend and stop thinking about grabbing for power. Their priority was to serve the goddess.

Lawrence and Dane didn’t buy it. If this old fox could truly let go, he would’ve relinquished power three months ago rather than preaching it now. Although they didn’t get what they wanted today, they decided to come for afternoon tea tomorrow and the day after. Sidney would surely change his mind after three visits.

Back to the mansion surrounded by trees. The three-story building had originally been cream-colored, but with most of the paint peeled away, the bricks inside were exposed. Traces of time’s erosion were visible everywhere on the facade, making the whole scene look like a gloomy oil painting. Closer inspection would reveal the irregular shapes the blotchy paint formed, outlining hexagrams, crosses, and triangular stars on the walls other than the main entrance. The mansion was Sidney’s ancestral home, which he’d transformed into an impregnable magical fortress.

Standing on the balcony, he gazed beyond the trees at the departing car, shaking his head. “Fools. Why would I need to make a move against that woman? She’s desperate to achieve something, and sooner or later, she will encounter the Darkness Knight.”

He appeared in his forties or fifties, dressed in an impeccable suit over his robust build with broad shoulders and arms, his form radiating power. He maintained a neat beard with greying hair at his temples. Both his beard and slicked-back hair were streaked with silver strands. His eyes stood out for how piercing they were.

Having been in power for so long had given him a naturally dignified, authoritative presence. When he was standing with Lawrence, Dane, and Simone, he would be the clear center—there was no going around it, as his three colleagues seemed too much like someone’s lackeys.

And that was indeed the case. Sidney had a close relationship with the previous High Reverend, practically joined at the hip with him. The three priests had only risen to power thanks to his support, which he offered so that they would know who was in charge.

Everything was ready. He had the advantage. He just had to make the newcomer submit!

He’d never expected his troublesome master to not only create the Geocentrism Sect, but also make it so obvious. Most critically, he had failed and left ironclad evidence!!

“The world’s big. Why must you cling to Londan instead of going elsewhere?”

Sidney fumed with frustration. He had tried his utmost to distance himself from his master, but it was impossible. Everyone knew that his master, Marshall, had betrayed the Church of Nature, and that he was a complete madman and an irredeemable sinner. Therefore, when Silvia produced the evidence proving that the cult worshipped the Lord of the Void, there was nothing Sidney could do but comply with the higher-ups. Otherwise, he would’ve been labeled a traitor, too.

He had heard about Silvia from his fellow priests in Palis. She was a formidable character—their goddess’s chosen apostle and once the strongest fighter of the surgical strike unit of the Church.

Sidney was a Gold-rank mage, and so was Silvia. However, being the chosen apostle lifted her beyond the realm of Gold-rank mages. When he was suspended for investigation, Sidney had weighed his options and decided that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go home with the company of his owl.

His brooding was suddenly interrupted. Expression twisted, he ordered the servants to clear the dining table before hurrying into his study. He opened the hidden door behind the bookcase, stepping into the eerily quiet darkness. Past a maze, he stared darkly at the golden statue.

After a moment, he finally gritted out, “Master, you said you wouldn’t contact me again.”

“Sidney, my dear student, this is the last time.”

“What is it?”

“Find someone for me!”