Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 55: Flourishing Branch Helm

They didn't dare to audibly celebrate, but they finally dared to at least relax a little.

"What time is it now?"

"Around 4AM."

"First light will arrive soon, so let's not bother with sleeping. Just decide on who's staying in which room for now."

Zhao Wushang made his way to one of the Grandmasters, then pulled out ten thousand taels' worth of silver vouchers as he requested in a polite manner, "Please go and purchase a few copies of the code for us in the morning. We stand out too much, so we have to stay here and work on altering our appearances. Please also purchase some more mundane clothes, accessories, shoes, and weapons for us. Thank you."

After being disciplined by Fang Che, these previously arrogant Lords had become much more polite and docile, even learning to speak with basic manners.

Prior to coming to the branch helm, they would've treated these Grandmasters no differently than stray dogs, but it seemed that trauma had taught them the importance of humility.

***

As soon as Fang Che left the branch helm, he immediately sent a message to Yin Shengong.

"I did something big today, Master!"

"What'd you do?"

Yin Shengong was performing seated meditation. He had slept terribly the past couple of days. Whenever he closed his eyes, he felt as if he were still typing, and sleep proved very sporadic and elusive.

"I used your name to teach all of those helmsmasters a good lesson! They were all acting all cocky when they first came here, but as soon as I mentioned you, they instantly became completely docile!"

Yin Shengong was instantly reinvigorated.

"Is that so?"

"I'm not exaggerating to you at all, Master! That helmsmaster of the Night Demon, Liu Hanshan, he's a ninth-rank King, but he was scared stiff as soon as I showed him the messages you sent me! When can I become like you, Master? Just the mention of your name was enough to have all of them trembling in their boots!"

A smug smile appeared on Yin Shengong's face as he replied: "Keep working hard, and I'm sure you'll be able to do the same someday."

Unbeknownst to Yin Shengong, the name of Starlight struck just as much fear into everyone's hearts.

At the very least, Yin Shengong was a faraway threat, whereas the threat of Starlight was much more immediate and potent.

"I managed to recruit a bunch of Lords to our One Heart Church branch helm, Master!"

"A bunch of Lords? Where from? Hold on a second, did you recruit all of the Lords from the main church that the helmsmasters brought with them?"

"Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Master! You've hit the nail right on the head!"

Yin Shengong gave a cold harrumph. Night Demon hadn't come into contact with anyone else since their previous correspondence, so the answer was obvious.

"These people are not easy to control, so be on your guard."

"I already made them swear vows to the Heavenly Centipede Deity to serve me with absolute loyalty before they return to the main church, so it should be fine."

Yin Shengong was very relieved to hear this.

If they had sworn vows to the Heavenly Centipede Deity, then there was no longer anything to be worried about.

However, he was very curious about how Night Demon had managed to accomplish this. Were there no enemies of Night Demon among them?

In response to Yin Shengong's question, Fang Che replied: "Quite a few of them are out for Night Demon's blood, but that has nothing to do with Starlight!"

Yin Shengong instantly erupted into thunderous laughter at this message, waking up many people in the One Heart Church headquarters. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Is that Pope Yin? Has he gone insane?!

"Well done! You did a splendid job!"

Yin Shengong was extremely pleased with Night Demon.

"What do you plan to do next?"

"I was just thinking about that. I can't just recruit all of these people and have them do nothing. Can you give me some ideas, Master?"

"No! If I have to think of everything, then I'd run the branch helm myself! Think of something yourself."

"Alright, Master. I'll try."

Yin Shengong set his communication jade aside with a glowing smile on his face.

Could it be that Night Demon was about to save the One Heart Church from another crisis?

In a single night, he had recruited over forty Lords to his newly established branch helm!

***

Fang Che was feeling just as ecstatic as Yin Shengong.

He had managed to recruit over forty Lords to become his subordinates, all at the cost of only a single night of sleep.

Additionally, he had learned the addresses of all of the factions' branch helms and completely intimidated them into subordination, and that wasn't even to mention the vast amount of wealth he had reaped for himself.

This had been an absurdly bountiful haul for just a single night's work!

All he had to do now was think about how he could put these people to the best use.

***

Early in the morning, Fang Che left for work, while Ye Meng was compiling a report.

"Shadow" had provided her an extremely detailed account of everything that Fang Che had done the night before, and all she had to relay the information to her higher-ups.

After sending the report, she couldn't help but heave a forlorn sigh.

It seemed that Fang Che was going further and further down the path of no return.

***

A day later, Dongfang Sansan received Ye Meng's report, and he was very pleased after reading through its contents.

While Fang Che had caused him a great deal of grief, Dongfang Sansan had to admit that he had done a good job here.

Now that the branch helm had been established, he had to give Fang Che a helping hand.

Thus, after some contemplation, he issued a string of orders.

Firstly, the southeastern area of the city was to be placed under lockdown, and a concerted effort was to be made in hunting down all of the demonic church members there. Secondly, there was to be a particular focus on eliminating Night Demon Church members, and for each Night Demon Church branch helm that was eradicated, the Hall of Protectionists responsible would receive the opportunity to promote one designated Protectionist into a Guardian!

Thirdly, those who made significant contributions in this effort would be awarded medals of honor...

This string of orders instantly created a massive stir in the southeast.

Only one Guardian promotion opportunity would be awarded for each eradicated branch helm, so the chances of receiving such an opportunity were quite slim, but medals of honor were highly sought after as well!

Of course, there were also some seasoned Protectionists with plenty of accolades to their name that were eying the Guardian promotion opportunities.

Such an opportunity was extremely precious, and it immediately lit a fire under them.

To put things into context, over the past century, fewer than a hundred thousand people on the entire continent had been promoted to become Guardians.

A hundred thousand sounded like a lot, but given the population of the entire continent and the timespan of a hundred years, this was an extremely rare and prestigious honor.

All of the Protectionists in the entire southeastern area were buzzing with excitement.

An opportunity for Guardian promotion in exchange for the eradication of a single Night Demon Church branch helm almost sounded too good to be true!

With these orders issued, everyone began eagerly searching for Night Demon Church branch helms, particularly those who felt like they had good chances of promotion.

***

Going back to the day before, Fang Che had gone to work at the Hall of Protectionists after a bountiful night's work.

As soon as he arrived, he was immediately greeted by a concerned Zhao Ying'er.

"Are you alright? I heard you were injured, and I was worried sick, but Deputy Hall Master Fan didn't permit anyone to visit you."

"I'm fine! There was no need for anyone to visit me over such minor injuries," Fang Che chuckled as he turned to everyone that had gathered around him. "Don't worry, everyone, I'm as fit as a horse!"

Zuo Guanglie approached him with a wide smile, then punched him on the shoulder in a friendly manner as he asked, "Where're we going today, Administrator Fang?"

"I have a new lead, Administrator Zuo. Would you like to hear it?"

Zuo Guanglie's eyes instantly lit up, and he slung an arm across Fang Che's shoulder, guiding him into a corner before asking, "Have you found another branch helm?"

"Perhaps. At the moment, I'm still verifying the authenticity of the lead. Pardon me for being frank, Brother Zuo, but you and your buddies aren't going to be anywhere near enough powerful enough to capitalize on this opportunity."

"Whoa, sounds like we've got a big fish on our hands!" Zuo Guanglie exclaimed in excitement.

Fang Che brought a finger to his lips in a quieting gesture, then said, "Like I said, I'm still verifying the tip that I received, but there should indeed be a big fish on the hook."

Zuo Guanglie was barely able to contain his excitement.

"In that case, I have to find some helpers."

"That would be best. Otherwise, it's too dangerous. You know how I like to do things. If I could take care of it on my own, I would've already done so."

"Thanks, Brother! Really!" Zuo Guanglie said as he gave Fang Che a grateful pat on the shoulder. "You focus on verifying the lead, leave it to me to get all the help that we need!"

"I knew I could count on you, Brother Zuo!"

"Man, I don't know how you do it, but you seem to be able to sniff out branch helms like a bloodhound!"

"Not at all, Brother Zuo. I still have much to learn from you in that regard."

"Ha! What could you possibly have to learn from me? You've already sniffed out more branch helms in a matter of days than I have over my entire career!"

With that, Zuo Guanglie hurriedly departed, clearly off to find helpers for the task ahead.

On this day, quite a few battles took place in the city.

There were many targets that had been under investigation for some time and had already been busted, but had been left untouched up to this point.