Chapter 188 – The Turmoil of the Kingdom of Dylan

For Formal-Level powerhouses, time was a rather inexpensive commodity. Unbeknownst to all, Punk had already spent over half a year since returning to his laboratory with a large number of slaves to continue his “seclusion.”

He had gained a neighbor—Bloodclaw. Of course, on the surface, the two were still allies. And because Bloodclaw always knew when to yield appropriately, their cooperation had remained relatively harmonious so far.

Meanwhile, quite a few major events had recently occurred in the Dillon Kingdom, with the one that caught Punk’s attention the most being the internal strife within the kingdom.

That’s right, the Dillon Kingdom was in turmoil. The third princess of the Dillon royal family, Trelinka, had openly rebelled in the northern part of the kingdom. Leading her “Glory Army,” she declared under the banner of “upholding the kingdom’s honor” that she would drive the Church of Dawn—which had dared to usurp royal authority—out of the Dillon Kingdom.

The Church of Dawn, accustomed to being the aggressor and never tolerating defiance, would not take this lying down. Almost on the same day the news of the rebellion broke, Trelinka was branded by the Church as a “Devil worshiper,” a “schemer who recognizes no kinship,” and a “wicked blasphemer.”

Overnight, the nobles of the Dillon Kingdom split into two factions. The “Church Faction,” led by the King, explicitly labeled Princess Trelinka as a “traitor” and publicly declared their willingness to follow the leadership of Archbishop Kasparqi in sending troops to suppress her.

However, the other faction, the “Glory Faction,” staunchly protected the princess, who was solely devoted to saving the kingdom. Initially, they tried to persuade King Edward to halt the military campaign and resolve the conflict through negotiations, using the argument that “the Kamos Kingdom is watching closely, and the Dillon Kingdom cannot afford internal strife.”

But soon, the Kamos Kingdom issued a statement declaring that it “would not interfere in the Dillon Kingdom’s internal affairs and would form an alliance with the Dillon Kingdom.” At that point, the “Glory Faction” had nothing left to say. With Grand General Viktor’s unwavering loyalty to the King, they didn’t even have military authority and could only resort to futile petitions.

The most absurd part was that the National Guardian Archmage of the Dillon Kingdom, Sangus, chose this critical moment to announce his seclusion for a breakthrough, forbidding any disturbances. Thus, the war escalated without any powerful mediator to intervene.

The combined strength of the Dillon Kingdom’s nobles and the Church was undeniably formidable, while the “Glory Army” only had the backing of three Lords.

Under such circumstances, Princess Trelinka’s rebellion naturally suffered repeated defeats. Although the situation had not yet spiraled out of control, if things continued this way, her eventual collapse was all but inevitable.

While these events could be considered earth-shattering for the kingdom, a rebellion that seemed fraught with hidden agendas could hardly affect the Formal-Level powerhouses lurking in the shadows.

Logically, in the face of such internal strife, the sinister forces hiding in the darkness would choose to observe from the sidelines and cautiously manipulate the situation for their own gain, never allowing themselves to be drawn into the conflict.

But this time, a message displayed on a small card shattered the calm of the shadows.

——————Divider——————

“Black Card? Nightwalker Alliance? Silver Staff. How intriguing.”Deep within the underground base in the slums, Punk fiddled with the “Nightwalker Alliance” Black Card he had obtained from White Night. The Black Card, which had remained dormant for half a year, now displayed dense, intricate silver-hot lettering. Though elegant and clear, the characters were extremely fine—impossible to read without Formal-Level strength.

The Black Card read:

“Good evening, fellow Nightwalkers. We extend our sincere gratitude for your acceptance of this small gift. Now, we present the alliance’s first mission since its establishment. We urge you to deliberate carefully, choose boldly, and seize this readily attainable opportunity.

Mission Name: The Fall of the Charlatans

Mission Description: We all share a profound disdain for the hypocritical charlatans of the Church of Dawn. The time has come to deliver them a modest lesson. Seven days from now, we plan to destroy the following five churches:

• 105 Tulip Street, Hodlan City

• 322 Golden Road, Mosha City

• 772 Red-Green Fruit District, Guolan City

• 307 Old Lantern District, Mimig City

• 19 Chris District, Christon City

Mission Hint: Participation is entirely voluntary. Each of the five churches is guarded by Formal-Level clergy, with the strongest being a Level 12 Holy Warrior. Additionally, the location at 772 Red-Green Fruit District, Guolan City, also hosts a Level 11 Ranger City Lord alongside the Formal-Level clergy.

If you decide to engage at any of the attack points, detailed intelligence will be accessible via the Black Card.

Rewards: All spoils of war are to be distributed among the Enforcers at their discretion. Looting within the cities is permitted. However, if Archmage Sanggesi pursues you, the Nightwalker Alliance assumes no responsibility and will not provide support.

Note: Each of the five churches will receive five bottles of ‘High-Concentration Holy Water’ on the evening seven days from now!”

After reading the mission description on the Black Card, Punk set aside his experiment and fell into thought.

The mission indeed adhered to White Night’s principle of “entirely voluntary,” but the underlying purpose of the Nightwalker Alliance’s task was deeply thought-provoking.

This mission almost explicitly revealed the alliance’s intent to strike at the Church of Dawn. Moreover, the timing was no coincidence—they chose to launch this fierce assault precisely when the Church of Dawn was pressing its advantage against the Glory Army.

The most valuable aspect of this mission was undoubtedly the five bottles of “High-Concentration Holy Water.” This substance was a powerful weapon against curses and negative status effects, even surpassing the efficacy of a Formal-Level Conjuration spell—”Remove Negative Status”—enhanced by soul-based Mana Compression.

However, obtaining High-Concentration Holy Water was exceedingly difficult. Its primary use was to be heavily diluted and mixed with distilled water to create low-concentration “Blessed Water,” which was then supplied to frontline soldiers.

The impact of “Blessed Water” on warfare was undeniable. With healing effects rivaling Apprentice Rank healing spells, it essentially served as a second life for soldiers on the front lines.

If the twenty-five bottles of High-Concentration Holy Water—enough to supply twenty thousand elite troops—were seized from the five churches, coupled with the loss of five Formal-Level clergy, Punk could vividly imagine Archbishop Kasparqi vomiting blood in fury.But Punk had no interest whatsoever in whether Kasparqi was spitting blood or not. What concerned him more was—why would the Nightwalkers do this? No matter how you looked at it, the biggest beneficiary of this incident was Princess Trelinka, who led the “Glory Army.”

Punk didn’t believe there wasn’t a deeper reason behind it. Unless the “Nightwalker Alliance” was running a charity, Silver Staff would never have resolutely carried out such an act—barely distinguishable from robbing the national treasury—during such a sensitive period, merely because he despised the Church of Dawn!

As for whether the “Nightwalker Alliance” had been hired by Trelinka? Good heavens, a group of madmen from the evil faction being hired by a follower of Tyr, the God of Justice? That lame joke wasn’t the least bit amusing!

Votes, favorites, and subscriptions, please~

(End of Chapter)