Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 75: I Have Night Demon

"Why?" Starlight asked in a puzzled manner.

"Think about it!" Zhao Wushang urged "If you report this matter to Pope Yin, only for him to deny us, then we won't even be able to attack the other branch helms in secret anymore! If that happens, those branch helms will become untouchable to us, and we won't be able to do anything to them!"

"But if I don't report this matter to Pope Yin, who's going to provide us with the personnel to take out those branch helms? Don't forget that Liu Hanshan is a ninth-rank King!"

Everyone immediately fell silent upon hearing this.

After a brief silence, Zhao Wushang murmured, "We can report him..."

Everyone shuddered at the mention of the word "report." That was the word that had gotten all of them into this mess in the first place.

"What the hell did you just say?!" Starlight snapped.

"I said we can just go and report him to the Hall of Protectionists!" Zhao Wushang declared in a defiant manner.

Starlight kicked him in the rear end as he yelled, "We can't do that! We're worried about them reporting us, we can't go and report them before they've even done anything!"

"We have to strike first, Helmsmaster!" Zhao Wushang insisted. "If we wait until after they've made a move, it'll already be too late!"

"He's right, Helmsmaster!" everyone chimed in. "We have to report them before they have a chance to report us! That's the only way we can tie up all of our loose ends!"

"As for the other ones, we don't even have to report them. We can just take them out on our own!" Wu Lianlian said with fierce killing intent shimmering in her eyes.

"No!" Zheng Yunqi immediately opposed. "It would be a waste for us to take down those branch helms ourselves! Instead, it's much better to report them to Administrator Fang. That way, we'll be able to curry more favor with the Hall of Protectionists!"

"You're right! That's brilliant!"

"If you're going to do this, then you better not get caught!" Starlight warned. "Otherwise, our reputations will be completely ruined!"

"So what?" Zhao Wushang scoffed. "What use do people from the Church of the Self-Righteous like us have for spotless reputations?"

That was an irrefutable argument, and Starlight could only glower at Zhao Wushang in silence, while everyone else did their best to suppress their amusement.

Unable to come up with a response, Starlight could only take his frustrations out on Zhao Wushang by giving him a beating.

However, it wasn't a very vicious beating, so Zhao Wushang knew that Starlight wasn't actually angry.

He immediately put on a fawning smile as he implored, "Please don't be angry, Helmsmaster. I was just speaking the truth!"

"The truth hurts, you idiot!" Starlight harrumphed. "Did you not hear him just now? He was slandering the main church just now! Get him!"

Everyone immediately pounced on Zhao Wushang at once, and he immediately began begging for mercy, but it was clear that everyone was only putting on a show of hostility.

After everyone settled down, Starlight returned to his throne and warned, "Don't celebrate too soon. We'll only be able to survive this ordeal if everything goes exactly according to plan. If there are any unforeseen mishaps at all, we could still all end up dead."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Hence, I want all of you on full alert at all times!" Starlight continued. "We're currently walking along the edge of a cliff, and any misstep could send us plummeting to our deaths!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Everyone nodded once again with grim expressions.

They had come up with a plan, but the execution was the key.

"We absolutely cannot afford to screw up anymore than this, everyone! Please, I'm begging you all!" Starlight implored in a desperate manner.

Everyone's faces had turned beetroot red with embarrassment, as they collectively hung their heads in shame.

"I feel like I'm already very capable when it comes to causing trouble, but all of you have put me to shame!" Starlight sighed.

Everyone blushed even deeper at this backhanded compliment.

"Alright, you can all go rest now. Oh, one more thing. I know that all of you have your own rooms now, but given the current situation, we could come under attack at any time, so you can't just all sleep soundly in your beds. Instead, I advise each of you to dig a hole under your rooms and sleep in there. Obviously, make sure to disguise the hole so no one knows you're in there.

“That way, even if you're caught unaware, the attackers will be misled into thinking that all of the rooms are empty. That's not going to be too difficult, is it?"

"Not at all!"

Everyone was extremely touched that Starlight was looking out for their safety. In particular, the women were so moved that they would've been inclined to offer themselves up to him for marriage had he been just a little less unsightly.

"Make sure to make your underground burrows waterproof. You don't want to drown in your sleep!" Starlight warned.

"Thank you for looking out for us, Helmsmaster!"

"Call me head escort!"

"Yes, Head Escort!"

***

Starlight departed shortly thereafter, while everyone followed his advice and began digging underground burrows.

After everything that had just happened, Starlight's status had been significantly elevated in everyone's hearts, and they were all extremely grateful to him.

"Helmsmaster Starlight is incredible!"

"I know, right? I can't believe he was able to take such a dire situation and completely turn it around!"

Thank heavens for Helmsmaster Starlight! If anyone else was in his place, we'd all be screwed!

***

Meanwhile, Night Demon was reporting his work to Yin Shengong.

"Master, I have some fantastic news to report!"

Yin Shengong had been sliding deeper and deeper into depression these past few days, and on this day, complete despair had already taken hold of him.

He had just received confirmation that all fifteen of the teams that he had sent out to establish branch helms had been completely eradicated, and all of them had been killed by people from the main church and the One Heart Church's rival factions!

The terrible news left him feeling so distraught that he wasn't even in the mood to drink anymore, and the joy from the church's promotion to the second rank had long since evaporated.

He knew that the church would be falling back down to the third rank in the near future, and his only bright spot of hope, Night Demon, was still not powerful enough to make a real difference.

Once the One Heart Church dropped back down, he would once again find himself level with Hai Wuliang and the others, and to further compound his woes, he would surely be made into a laughing stock for all of the other popes.

The entire world is against me! I may as well just lay down and accept my fate!

He was in such a glum mood that even Night Demon's message failed to spark any intrigue in him, and he responded in a lazy manner: "What happened? Did you make a breakthrough to the Sovereign tier?"

"I'm being serious, Master! I have fantastic news to report!"

"Fine, tell me what it is then."

"Do you remember how I recruited all of those people from the main church to our branch helm? Together, we founded an escort agency, and..."

Fang Che gave Yin Shengong a detailed recount of events, all the way up to the contents discussed during his meeting with everyone at the branch helm just now.

"In light of all of that, our branch helm is going to experience a period of rapid growth, while the branch helms of the other factions will all be eradicated very soon. Without any competition, our branch helm is only going to develop even more rapidly.

“On top of that, my identities as Helmsmaster Starlight and Administrator Fang can work together to make our branch helm a fully legitimate entity in the eyes of the Protectionists. In fact, our escort agency will become a partner entity to the Hall of Protectionists, and..."

Fang Che was sending through one long message after another, and initially, Yin Shengong had been reading through them with casual disinterest, but it didn't take long before he sat up straight on his bed, his eyes glowing with renewed hope.

After reading all of Night Demon's messages, Yin Shengong felt completely reinvigorated, and all of the depression and frustration that had been building over the past few days had completely disintegrated!

"The heavens must be on my side! Everytime I'm driven into a corner, a path always opens up for me just in the nick of time!"

Yin Shengong was grinning so widely that his cheeks were beginning to hurt.

My One Heart Church won't have to suffer a demotion! On the contrary, I'm going to claim the reward offered by the main church! So what if all of the clans of the entire main church conspire to plot against my One Heart Church? I have Night Demon on my side! So what if you confine me to my own headquarters? I have Night Demon!