Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 78: The Despicable Zhao Shanhe

On the way back, Zuo Guanglie was barely able to contain his excitement.

"What should we do, Brother Fang?"

"We can perhaps take out the other ones on our own, but the biggest one is clearly too much for us to handle alone," Fang Che replied.

"You're right. We have to recruit some strong personnel again. We can't afford a repeat of what happened last time at the drum tower."

"How about we just pass the tip onto the battle hall? That way, we'll only receive merit points for making the report, but it's the safest way to proceed," Fang Che suggested.

"Sounds good," Zuo Guanglie agreed.

"If we're going to make a move, then let's take out all of the other branch helms as well."

"My thoughts exactly!" Zuo Guanglie eagerly agreed.

***

That night, the entire battle hall of the White Cloud Prefecture Hall of Protectionists was assembled, consisting of hundreds of warriors, and they were led into the darkness by Deputy Hall Master Chen Ruhai and Battle Hall Master Yuan Jingjiang.

At the same time, Fang Che, Zuo Guanglie, Zhao Ying'er, Jing Xiuyun, and a large team of other administrators were also on the move.

In a single night, all of the branch helms that had just been established by the subsidiary demonic factions of the southeastern path were uprooted, and all of the demonic church members inside were slain without exception, including over twenty from the main church!

It was the most stunning victory that the White Cloud Prefecture Hall of Protectionists had scored in many years, and the cherry on top was that one of the eradicated branch helms had belonged to the Night Demon Church!

Not only that, but the leader stationed there had been a ninth-rank King!

Chen Ruhai had personally put an end to Liu Hanshan's life, while the rest of the battle hall warriors made short work of the other demonic church members.

That triumphant night was later dubbed the Blitzkrieg Operation, and over seven hundred demonic church members were slain before the sun had even come up!

The people from the battle hall returned around the same time as the administrators, and everyone was so excited that no one got even a wink of sleep that night.

Hall Master Song Yidao was ecstatic, and a celebratory banquet was held that night.

Once again, the White Cloud Prefecture had become a power vacuum for the Church of the Self-Righteous, and a King tier branch helm of the Night Demon Church had been eradicated, earning the Hall of Protectionists a Guardian promotion opportunity.

At the moment, everyone who had the experience and accolades required for Guardian promotion was eagerly waiting to see who would be granted the prestigious honor.

***

Fang Che received 3,300 merit points, taking his total to 14,470.

The ceremony for his promotion to second-rank administrator status still hadn't even been held yet, and he was already close to halfway to becoming a first-rank administrator!

This resounding victory was immediately reported to the southeastern headquarters, and Zhao Shanhe was ecstatic.

That night, a celebratory banquet of several hundred tables was arranged in the White Cloud Prefecture Hall of Protectionists, and an award-presentation stage had also been set up.

Zhao Shanhe's deputy, An Ruoxing, had also come to celebrate with everyone on behalf of the southeastern headquarters.

He was a handsome middle-aged man who appeared to have only been in his thirties, but his tremendous aura hinted to everyone that he was actually far more advanced in age than he appeared.

In fact, he was already over a thousand years old!

Everyone was standing at their tables as he delivered an address on the stage.

"This is a monumental victory! However, while it's fantastic news that all of the demonic faction branch helms in the White Cloud Prefecture have been eradicated, we must not forget that there is still much work to be done. There are still many demonic church members lurking in the prefecture, particularly from the main church, and due to Night Demon's recent reemergence, more and more of them will continue to flock to the White Cloud Prefecture!

“Hence, our mission remains as arduous as ever, and we must not grow complacent over this victory. The White Cloud Prefecture is about to become a whirlpool of peril, so please continue to work hard and remain diligent, everyone!"

An Ruoxing extended a bow to everyone from the stage, then continued, "With that out of the way, please allow me to extend my utmost gratitude and admiration to the heroes who have sacrificed their lives for the safety of the people. I thank all of you for the lifetimes of contributions you've made to the prefecture, and I pray that you may rest in peace."

Everyone observed a minute of silence for their fallen comrades, and some were unable to hold back their tears.

"Our deceased colleagues can rest easy now, but we must continue to fight! The fate of the continent rests on our shoulders!"

An Ruochen concluded his address with another deep bow, and he was met with thunderous applause.

An Ruoxing raised a hand in a quieting gesture, and the applause quickly died down.

"Now then, let's get down to business. I have come here on behalf of the southeastern headquarters to officially present you all with the promotions that you've earned through your efforts in the battle against the demonic churches. Congratulations to..."

After several names were called out, it was finally Fang Che's turn.

"Congratulations to Administrator Fang, Fang Che, for his promotion to become a second-rank administrator. Please step onto the stage, Administrator Fang."

Fang Che stepped onto the stage amid thunderous applause from his colleagues, and An Ruoxing regarded him with a warm smile as he replaced the bronze star on his collar with a bright, silver one.

From this moment forth, Fang Che was a second-rank silver star administrator.

"In light of Administrator Fang's significant contributions, the southeastern headquarters has decided to award him with an additional..."

An Ruoxing's voice abruptly trailed off here as he stared with an incredulous expression at the instructions that had been sent to him via communication jade.

"My apologies, everyone, but please give me a moment."

With that, he flew out the window in a hurry, leaving everyone to look on with perplexed expressions. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

***

An Ruoxing immediately contacted Zhao Shanhe using his communication jade after flying out the window.

"Did you make a mistake in the number of merit points to be awarded to Fang Che."

"No."

"He's only receiving twenty merit points as his reward?!"

"That's right!"

"Is this meant to be a prank, Zhao Shanhe?"

"That's Chief Supervisor Zhao to you!"

"Chief supervisor my arse! How could you do this? This is like a slap across the face! If I knew you were going to give him twenty merit points, I would've had you come and present them to him yourself!"

"But you're already there, and I showed you all of the rewards to be allocated before you went. If you had a problem, why are you only bringing it up now?"

"I didn't even look! How was I supposed to know you would hand out such an insulting reward?!"

"That sounds like your problem then! Please follow the orders of the southeastern headquarters, Deputy Supervisor An!"

An Ruoxing sent through several messages of protest, but Zhao Shanhe offered no further response.

An Ruoxing stood in mid-air in the night sky, looking back at the people inside the room, and he had never felt this awkward in his life!

Never had he imagined that Zhao Shanhe would do something so absurd!

He had heard rumors that Zhao Shanhe had been targeting Fang Che due to a report made by a certain super clan, but he had shrugged off those rumors as mere tall tales.

He had always seen Zhao Shanhe as a very upstanding individual, and he was certain that he wouldn't stoop to something so underhanded.

However, he had no choice but to believe the rumors now!

Why did I volunteer to come here? How am I supposed to announce this reward? Twenty merit points? I may as well just give him a slap across the face and be done with it!

After taking a moment to compose himself, An Ruoxing prepared to go back inside.

His embarrassment was already unavoidable, so he had to simply man up and accept his fate.

With that in mind, he flew back into the room, then explained with an apologetic smile, "My apologies, everyone. I had an urgent matter to discuss with my superior just now."