Chapter 127: The Howls of Winter's End

After wandering through the intricate streets and alleys of the capital for a while, Wang Yu found a secluded spot to activate his Voidblade and access the Gap. As space rippled, he once again stepped into the corridor of compressed space, where distance had been condensed sixteenfold.

He still didn't fully grasp how it worked. After swiftly traversing this space, sandwiched between the void and reality, Wang Yu pushed open a side door along the passage and stepped inside.

The room was a familiar-looking office that resembled Sieg's. However, while the style and layout were the same, the details were different—this office was far messier, with significantly fewer books. Instead, piles of files were stacked in paper folders.

Behind the desk, Hugin lifted his head upon seeing Wang Yu enter. He straightened up and set aside the documents in his hand.

"You're here? You've made quite a bit of progress this winter. Judging by your physique, I'd say you've reached the level of a full-fledged knight. The last person to advance this quickly was likely the Grand Marshal of the royal guard."

Hugin gave Wang Yu a quick once-over. Despite having not seen each other for much of the winter, Hugin's keen experience allowed him to accurately assess Wang Yu's growth.

"My physical attributes have improved, but my fighting spirit hasn't changed much. I don't think I'm close to unlocking my inner potential, either. I can't compare to that guy."

Wang Yu knew of Uller, the Grand Marshal. He was a prodigious knight of terrifying talent. What took others decades to achieve, he might well accomplish within a year.

"Garcia mentioned your unique circumstances. You figured out how to handle your fighting spirit before, so I trust you'll find a way through this as well. If you need resources, the Nightblades' library is open to you. You'll have to speak with the Professor for that, though—I only keep archives here. He's the one with books and research materials."

"Thank you, Captain. Are you certain about introducing the faith of the Lady of the Night to the Nightblades?"

"Quite so. Sieg and I have discussed this thoroughly. As you know, the Nightblades are currently split—half of us are atheists, and the other half follow the God of Light. The God of Light is a unique deity—unlike most gods, he does not reject the worship of other deities. However, you also know that other religious sects still harbor deep-seated animosity toward him."

Wang Yu nodded. His opinion of the followers of the God of Light hadn't changed—they were largely ordinary people whose deeds were all the more extraordinary given their limited strength. When they invoked the God of Light, they weren't necessarily thinking of their deity, but rather the ideal of justice.

When an enormous holy hammer came crashing down on the heads of evildoers, they would belatedly realize that the righteousness in the hearts of these devout believers was stronger than even their iron fists.

The winter had remained so peaceful largely because Aleisterre was a stronghold of the Church of Light. Other religious factions inherently opposed to the God of Light had little presence in Aleisterre.

And if the kingdom were to be invaded, these followers of the God of Light would volunteer en masse to join the war effort to repel foreign aggressors.

Meanwhile, the invading empire's Church of Light would refuse to provide any divine magic or assistance related to the war. In the eyes of the God of Light's followers, defending one's homeland was always an act of justice.

This winter's temporary ceasefire had allowed these holy warriors to return to the capital for a while. No thieves nor bandits would dare commit crimes when they ran the risk of being suddenly surrounded by a gang of muscle-bound zealots.

But now that winter was nearing its end and the truce was coming to a close, most of the kingdom's army and paladins from the Church of Light had returned to the frontlines against Selwyn after a season's rest.

The only ones remaining in the capital were Garcia's rapid-response force, somewhat like the special ops team in its own right.

As for the Archbishop of the God of Light, Fang Stuart, he hadn't returned to the capital all winter. Given how turbulent things remained, his decision to stay away had likely been correct.

"After careful consideration, we decided to introduce a measure of faith to the Nightblades. Sieg personally visited the Church of Nightfall and had an exchange with an avatar of the Lady of the Night. After that, he was convinced that she was a deity worthy of trust."

"Worthy of trust?" Wang Yu was curious. He personally trusted the Lady of the Night, but he wasn't sure how Hugin and Sieg had reached that conclusion.

"She is... different. Only a select few know her true identity—Fang, Sieg, myself, and you. She is a product of a Selwynian project, isn't she?"

"That's right." Wang Yu hadn't forgotten—the Lady of the Night was a creation of Selwyn, an experiment whose nature remained unknown even to the empire itself. She shared the origins of the Font of Life, Erphine, and the so-called Warlord, whom Hugin and Sieg had sealed outside the capital.

"Here. This is the divine emblem of that so-called Warlord. You should be able to perceive deities directly—take a look at what this deity really looks like. Then you'll understand why Sieg and I say that the Lady of the Night is different."

Hugin pulled a familiar-looking emblem from a drawer of his desk. It was identical to the Lady of the Night's, except that this one depicted a bare-chested man with arrows piercing his back—the supposed Warlord.

Taking the emblem, Wang Yu read the inscription on its back aloud: "Praise be to You, Commander of the Battlefield, King of all Warriors, Bringer of Endless Carnage and Strength—the Warlord Gaius."

As soon as he finished reciting the prayer, something new appeared within his mindscape. It felt somewhat similar to his previous encounter with the Lady of the Night—but there was also a clear difference.

He closed his eyes. Within his mindscape, beneath a vast starry sky, he gazed across the distant landscape. There, looming on the horizon, was something massive and grotesque, a mountain of flesh, endlessly writhing and distorting.

This grotesque mass wasn't made of mere flesh alone—it was composed of countless soldiers' bodies, warhorses, armor, banners, swords, bows, crossbows, cannons, wands—a chaotic amalgamation of war itself.

Flesh was flayed from bones and mashed into the chaos. What lay at the bottom of this mountain of war was white bone—countless bones. This mountain of flesh seemed to move by rolling over and crunching down on bones underfoot.

Some soldiers within the macabre mess still seemed alive. Their boneless muscles twitched as they attempted to extricate themselves, only to be squashed by the weight of what lay above. They turned into mash as they struck the ground, only to be reabsorbed into the mountain of flesh.

Even in death, none could escape this eternal battlefield. Wang Yu couldn't help but be reminded of an existence he had seen once before, the Ossuary...

"War incarnate? He has completely lost himself. He is powerful, far more powerful than me, but... it doesn't really matter." At some point, the Lady of the Night had appeared beside Wang Yu. She too gazed at the distant, vaguely distorted mountain of flesh.

"So that's the Warlord, Gaius? A battlefield of corpses and blood... it does indeed resemble war itself."

"Yes. He was once the most widely worshiped deity among the people of Selwyn. During armed conflicts between villages, it was common for people to pray for his blessing.

"And as long as it was war—no matter how big or small, when or where—he never refused. He granted all prayers. Often, battles would end with everyone lying dead save Gaius' followers, still locked in combat against each other."

Wang Yu thought about it for a moment. It was a vivid image—almost amusing, in fact. But when he looked back at that grotesque, writhing mountain of flesh, at war incarnate, he no longer felt like laughing. Instead, he felt a sense of sorrow. Was this what had become of Erphine as well? Just what was Selwyn trying to do by twisting its own gods beyond recognition?

"So, Darkness, do you have any objections to the Nightblades' faith?" Since the Lady of the Night was right there, Wang Yu took the opportunity to ask whether she was willing to accept the Nightblades, as Hugin and the Professor had suggested.

The moment he saw the grotesque form of the Warlord Gaius, Wang Yu understood why Sieg and Hugin considered the Lady of the Night to be uniquely suitable for worship. The gods that Selwyn had created were utterly deranged—none of them could be reasoned with like the Lady of the Night.

"I have no objections. Whether they believe in me is their choice. Observing the actions of different people, watching the trajectory of their lives—that, to me, is something very close to the human concept of 'happiness.' Having more followers would be a good thing for me.

"And of course, I must thank you once again, my friend. If you hadn't slain those three goblins back then, I fear I would have ended up just as twisted as they are."

Darkness' voice carried a hint of a smile in response, confirming Wang Yu's expectations. He had long understood that this deity, who delighted in observing human life and found satisfaction in the well-being of her followers, would never refuse such an offer.

"No need to thank me. You've helped me a lot as well. Until next time."

"Farewell."

Wang Yu's consciousness returned to reality. He nodded, signaling that he had seen the grotesque Warlord. "I understand now. The Lady of the Night is indeed special. I also asked her thoughts on it—she has no objections to being worshiped by the Nightblades."

"She doesn't object to being worshiped alongside the God of Light?" That had been Hugin's main reservation.

"She doesn't object. If anything, I think the Lady of the Night is more like an exceptionally unique and powerful human than a traditional god. She would never oppose the faith of the God of Light."

It was quite an amusing thought—two seemingly opposing churches, the Church of Nightfall and the Church of the God of Light, were somehow mixing to create what might be the first dual-faith worship in history.

"Excellent. In that case, we'll begin placing statues of the Lady of the Night in some of the Nightblades' hideouts, along with the sacred text you compiled. As the Archbishop of the Church of Nightfall, you will also receive an additional budget. How you choose to use it is up to you."

"Alright, but please keep my status as Archbishop a secret. The major noble families are already paying attention to me. I could feel their informants' eyes on me while coming here. It'll be even more troublesome if my identity is exposed."

"That's inevitable—you know how chaotic the capital is. Both Charles and Edward have established forces and strong backgrounds. You're the only one with no apparent backing. As you continue to grow, their interest in you will be unavoidable. I will endeavor to keep your status as Archbishop a secret."

Hugin understood the situation well. As the noble houses remained locked in a stalemate, they had started shifting their attention beyond their current assets. The Nightblades had become one such point of interest. This would bring both opportunities and challenges in the future.

"Fair enough. By the way, why is the Nightblades incorporating the Lady of the Night's power? She isn't particularly strong. You must have felt it yourselves while subduing and imprisoning the so-called Warlord, and even the Font of Life, Erphine. The difference between these deities and a true god—there's an insurmountable gap between them."

Wang Yu pondered the situation. The Lady of the Night could indeed bestow power upon her followers, but her abilities—concealment and shadow teleportation—weren't particularly strong. Moreover, they required a period of prayer to accumulate enough faith for their usage, making them impractical for an organization like the Nightblades, which had the capital's full logistical support.

So why had Hugin taken the risk of introducing the Lady of the Night's faith?

"The divine abilities themselves are only a small part of it. The more important reason is this." Hugin tapped his temple.

"Mental resilience?"

"Indeed. The Nightblades' primary duty remains combating the void. Even with the royal family's 'Heaven's Gloom' ritual, our members still face immense psychological strain. Those with faith show significantly higher resistance against void corruption.

"With most of our God of Light worshippers stationed at the frontlines, the number of Nightblades suffering mental breakdowns and being sent to the border sanatoriums this year has tripled compared to previous years.

"We need more faith to bridge this gap. The Lady of the Night's is an excellent choice that will allow us to greatly reduce the effects of Void corruption. This would be an enormous benefit to us."

Wang Yu was stunned. The primary purpose of faith wasn't to gain power, but rather to mitigate void corruption?

It... made sense. Warlord Gaius', the Font of Life Erphine's, and the God of Light's followers all seemed more resistant to void corruption.

From what Wang Yu had learned, it was likely that faith functioned as a conduit, transferring a portion of the corruption from the followers to their deity. The deity bore the burden on behalf of their believers.

In other words, the Nightblades were introducing the Lady of the Night's faith not for her power, but to have her absorb the void's corruption in their place.

Thinking back to the grotesque form of Warlord Gaius, Wang Yu couldn't help but wonder if he had simply born too much corruption. If faith were simply a mechanism to be exploited, could it even properly be called faith?

The only deity Wang Yu knew was the Lady of the Night. The rest were either evil gods like the Undying Lord or ones like the Warlord Gaius, who had been imprisoned at the bottom of the Abyssal Depths—so much so that even his appearance within Wang Yu's mindscape was obscured due to the abyss's unique nature.

To Wang Yu, the Lady of the Night was clearly a truly admirable deity. She cared for her followers and never demanded worship or sacrifices. One of her rare hobbies was simply observing the lives of her believers and watching what they were up to.

Setting aside her status as a deity, they were, in a way, good friends. Hugin's attempt to use her displeased Wang Yu. Maybe not everyone could converse with a deity like he could, and of course Hugin had the Nightblades' interests in mind, but understanding Hugin's motivation didn't mean he was willing to accept what was happening..

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly. "Captain, I know this would be a great help to the Nightblades, but I still don't want to see our organization following the Lady of the Night purely out of utility. That would do the Nightblades no good."

He looked at Hugin seriously. He didn't hesitate to voice his dissatisfaction to his superior.

"As I've said, the Lady of the Night is surprisingly humane. Faith built on mere utility—I don't believe that can be called faith. I'd much rather see her as an ally of the Nightblades, not someone to be coldly exploited.

"Captain, please think this through. What is it that truly brings the Nightblades together? Fang gave me an answer once, and that's precisely why I hold this organization so dear."

Wang Yu spoke in a calm tone, one with clear sincerity.

"...You're absolutely right. Let's go back for now—I'll reconsider this matter." Hugin was silent for a few seconds. His expression was complicated, and a hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.

Wang Yu didn't say anything more. He closed the door behind him and left the office.

Once Wang Yu was gone, Hugin dropped the composed façade he had been maintaining. He leaned back into the wooden chair before his desk, feeling exhausted. He ran a hand through his hair with a lost expression on his face.

"Hugin, since when did you become like this...?" he murmured, a stifling feeling pressing against his chest. The recent turmoil within the capital and the pressures from all sides had subtly changed his mindset. His way of handling things was gradually resembling something he once despised, yet he hadn't even noticed the change.

"Old man, is this why you left...? I think I'm starting to understand. At least you made the right choice. That kid Wang Yu really is something special. He's always so clear-headed. My trust in him... doesn't seem to be just because of you anymore, but because of his own actions."

Hugin stared at the light above him, muttering to himself, his thoughts drifting into the distance. In his mind, he recalled the image of Wang Yu closing the door, that distinctively familiar bracer on his arm.

Wang Yu shrugged as he left the Gap. Hopefully, Hugin would understand. Otherwise, if he and the Lady of the Night were to have a conversation, their so-called faith might just collapse entirely.

As he stepped out of the alley, Wang Yu raised his head in surprise. A sound could be heard from beyond the city walls—a chorus of wolf howls, one after another, ceaseless and spreading in all directions.

A beast stampede was about to begin—but wasn't it still too early in the year?