Chapter 64: Beyond Expectations

"Do you feel anything?" Sieg asked hesitantly. He had watched Wang Yu activate his perception ability before freezing in place.

"Yeah... Aside from endless darkness and an empty void, there's nothing else. No hallucinations or mental contamination that I could sense. Nothing unusual," Wang Yu replied calmly.

His expression remained unchanged, even though he knew what had actually happened. There was no need to reveal the truth—others just needed to know that he was resistant to mental pollution.

"Forgive me for being rude, but let me run a quick scan." Sieg relaxed slightly.

Sieg hadn't just been standing by. If Wang Yu had shown any anomalous behavior, Sieg would have restrained him immediately and severed his connection to the abyss.

"Go ahead," Wang Yu replied calmly.

Though he wasn't great at subtle expressions, maintaining a blank, composed face was something he excelled at. This made it impossible for anyone to discern his emotions or detect lies through microexpressions or changes in his heart rate.

A small magic circle appeared at Sieg's fingertip, its rotating runes shining faintly as he pressed it to Wang Yu's forehead. The light flickered briefly before fading.

"Phew, no issues at all. Your mental resistance is incredible. Honestly, if I were one of those traditional mages or alchemists, I might not be able to resist the urge to kidnap you for research."

Sieg finally relaxed, assured that the person before him was indeed Wang Yu and not some unknown entity that had taken over his body.

"Good thing you're not a traditionalist then," Wang Yu replied with a faint smile. Internally, he considered whether Sieg might actually help him study his own soul. After all, determining whether or not he even had a soul was still one of his primary research goals.

"I'll take that as a compliment, I suppose. Anyway, I'm glad you've got such incredible mental resistance. I don't want to bring any of my colleagues to the sanitariums by the border."

"Sanitariums?" Wang Yu asked.

"Not a good place to be. That's where they send the Nightblades whose minds have given out or been corrupted. To be frank, the environment at those places isn't bad, but there's an oppressive undercurrent hidden underneath the cheery atmosphere that the personnel impose there. I simply don't think that anyone can recover under those conditions, and few ever have," Sieg said. He didn't seem to want to dwell on the topic.

"I see." Wang Yu didn't ask for more details. After some pondering, he decided there would be no need to have Sieg help investigate his soul just yet.

Wang Yu trusted his fellow Nightblades to some extent—60%, say. Before he had a deeper understanding of their personalities and backgrounds, however, he didn't intend to expose more of his secrets to them.

Fang, who was a known figure in the church of light, and Garcia and Lilya, with whom Wang Yu had spent a considerable amount of time, were at a trust of about 80%.

As for Avia, she had saved Wang Yu's life. There was no reason not to trust her.

"Since you have such impressive mental resilience, it makes this job significantly easier—this part was supposed to be the hardest. There are three such lighthouses in total. You, Charles, and Edward will each be taking responsibility for one lighthouse. Captain Hugin is in charge of any leaks to the surface, while I will serve as backup in case any of you encounter issues.

"Your job is simple. In the middle of each month, you'll place this lamp at the top of the lighthouse in the designated groove. Its purpose is to release the madness and chaos from this sea of mental energy."

Sieg took Wang Yu's lamp and placed it in the groove at the top of the lighthouse. Mechanical gears ground loudly as a complex system of machinery elevated the lamp.

The top of the lighthouse slowly opened up, exposing the lamp to the surroundings. With his ripples, Wang Yu noticed the space filling with scattered mental energy that began flowing into the lamp.

Some faint screeches reverberated by Wang Yu's ears—not illusions, but actual sound. Were there... wraiths trapped in the lamp?

Sieg frowned. The chaotic mental energy didn't affect Wang Yu, but Sieg clearly felt bothered by it. Though his strong willpower allowed him to resist its encroachment, it was still an unpleasant experience.

The process lasted two or three minutes before the screeching subsided and the flow of chaotic mental energy ceased.

The lamp, withdrawn by the machinery, returned to Sieg's hand. Sieg examined the lamp's contents—a thin layer of powder. Wang Yu recognized the powder as the dust left behind by destroyed wraiths. So his guess was right!

"Odd," Sieg muttered to himself. "There's much less than usual. Not even half of the wraiths in the lamp have been used up."

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Sieg shrugged, handed the lamp to Wang Yu, and led him out of the lighthouse.

Wang Yu's task was simple: bring the lamp to the lighthouse every month, absorb the chaos, and prevent the sea of mental energy sea from reaching a critical threshold.

As for the lamp's contents, Sieg explained that they included both wraiths and the souls of condemned prisoners. Given what these prisoners had done, Wang Yu didn't object to their souls' inclusion in these lamps.

In fact, Wang Yu thought it was a brilliant idea. The wraiths and souls were bait to attract the ambient chaos in the region, while the chaos would break down the wraiths and souls for subsequent use. It was truly an elegant solution.

What others considered the hardest part of the job—enduring the influx of madness while activating the lamp—was irrelevant to Wang Yu, who was completely immune. For him, this was an effortless task.

As for Sieg's comment about the reduced madness, Wang Yu knew what was going on: he had absorbed a significant amount of the chaos during his earlier interaction with the abyss's consciousness, but there was no need to mention that.

Their next destination was the Nightblades' headquarters in this underground city.

It was to be Wang Yu's base of operations, and also served another important purpose. It would be the church at which Wang Yu would spread the teachings of the Lady of the Night.

"...You're sure this is the place?" Wang Yu asked. He looked at the building before him with slight exasperation. Although he trusted Sieg, he still felt the need to confirm what he was seeing.

"I'll admit I didn't expect it to be this bad," Sieg replied awkwardly, clearly embarrassed. He hadn't anticipated that their so-called headquarters would be in such a state.

Wang Yu and Sieg were standing on a certain main street of the underground city—Black Street No. 7.

Here, aside from the rough architectural style—with pipes everywhere and makeshift elevated floors—the underground city bore a significant resemblance to the capital above.

The streets were lined with all sorts of shops. Passersby cloaked their faces with hoods and robes, with the occasional group of individuals proudly strutting about, not hiding their identities at all. Others instinctively made way for them—they were the de facto rulers here, the gangs in charge.

Wang Yu and Sieg stood before their so-called base—a simple, crude shack.

It lay by the edge of the street, half of it precariously suspended in the air. It was supported by flimsy steel frames embedded in the rocky mountainside, with iron plates forming a floor that didn't look remotely stable.

Even this pitiful space was being encroached upon. The neighboring alchemy shop, specializing in potions, had stacked boxes of nearly expired, low-quality brews outside the base's door, marked with cheap prices to attract bargain hunters.

"This setup is pretty terrible," Wang Yu remarked, rubbing his chin.

"Indeed. I'll contact the Nightblades' local informant to help expand and refurbish this base. That area extending outward is part of our property," Sieg replied.

"Though honestly, worrying too much about the base's condition doesn't seem worth it. My task doesn't require me to stay here—I just need to manage the madness monthly," Wang Yu added, always the optimist.

"The base's dismal state also reflects the Nightblades' limited presence in this underground city. The royal family has similarly adopted a hands-off approach here," Sieg explained. "But now that the war has started, the Nightblades desperately need to unify the forces of the capital's shadow. If possible, we'd like to extend our influence into this underground city and gather intelligence."

"Wang Yu, since handling the madness is no issue for you, we can move this plan forward. Using any means you see fit, I hope you'll be able to establish influence and intelligence channels in this underground city."

Wang Yu looked at Sieg. He stared at him with a peculiar expression and remained silent for quite some time.

Even someone as composed and refined as Sieg couldn't help but feel awkward. He knew his request was excessive, especially for a newcomer. What he was asking would be challenging even for seasoned veterans.

"Sorry. I know it's difficult, but your unique qualities make me think you might succeed. At the very least, give it a try. Here's your budget—don't worry about funding," Sieg explained awkwardly, handing Wang Yu a mana crystal card. Wang Yu's calm demeanor and unwavering composure always gave others the impression he was reliable.

Sieg hadn't intended to pile tasks onto Wang Yu, who was, after all, just a rookie.

But Wang Yu had seamlessly handled the chaos, which made Sieg feel it would be a waste not to entrust him with the next phase of the Nightblades' plan.

After all, with the war approaching and the chaos within the capital escalating, the Nightblades' lack of time and personnel was growing more and more apparent.

Sieg pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes briefly. The capital needed change. This era needed unpredictability. And perhaps... he needed to change, too.

Shaking off his thoughts, Sieg handed the card to Wang Yu.

"This card contains 3,000 gold coins. Two thousand are operational funds, while the remaining thousand represents my personal investment in you," Sieg said, shaking his head with a wry smile.

"I know it's challenging, but even if you can't manage, it's fine. Just give it your best shot. These chaotic times are also full of opportunities. We need bold individuals, and I have high hopes for you."

"Alright, then. I need to oversee Charles and Edward now. You're free to proceed as you see fit. Of course, your safety is the top priority—take care," Sieg said, patting Wang Yu on the shoulder before leaving.

Wang Yu tossed the mana crystal card up into the air a few times, not bothering to watch Sieg's departing figure.

"I didn't expect him to be in such a hurry. Well, at least he's generous—3,000 gold coins. It's a bit tough, but maybe it's worth making a name for myself here," Wang Yu mused.

Wang Yu gleaned quite a bit from Sieg's urgency. It was a rather excessive task, and one handed over quite haphazardly, at that. Sieg clearly wasn't expecting much.

It spoke of just how badly the situation in the capital was getting, and of Sieg's own situation. A professor without significant combat power, but with access to such funds and a critical role within the Nightblades...

There were surely secrets hidden in Sieg's background, but that wasn't Wang Yu's concern. He would focus on his immediate goals, starting with the establishment of the Lady of the Night's church.

The underground city was chaotic, and all sorts of faith mingled with one another. The harsh environment drove many to seek solace in religion.

Plenty of churches with no followers aboveground found a surprising number of adherents here.

The church of suffering and torment, the cult of chaos, the circle of balance—esoteric and baffling faiths were hidden in the nooks of this sprawling, bloated city.

In comparison, the Lady of the Night's faith seemed downright ordinary.

Wang Yu glanced around and casually placed a statue of the Lady of the Night on a windowsill. It might have been somewhat irreverent, but as someone who didn't believe in gods, it seemed like the most appropriate spot.

"Hmm?" Wang Yu noticed fluctuations in the void after positioning the statue. In the liminal underground environment, these anomalies were particularly noticeable.

Wang Yu turned toward the source of the fluctuations. A figure cloaked in sheer black fabric was standing at the door to the base—the Lady of the Night herself, staring at the crooked, barely stable statue on the windowsill.

Wang Yu scratched his head. It seemed that he had been caught red-handed in his act of irreverence.