Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 97: Candid Conversation

"That's right!" Zhao Wushang agreed as he nodded vigorously. "We'd be doing everything in our power to pin the blame on someone else, how could we possibly say something like that? And the fact that he only said that at the very end makes it feel like a last-second effort to shift the blame once he realized that he wouldn't be able to wipe us all out."

"Keep going," Starlight prompted with a dark and brooding look in his eyes.

"Now that we're certain that the attack wasn't orchestrated by the people from the main church, we can conclude that it has to have been one of the subsidiary churches. The other smaller factions don't have the power to do something like this, so it has to be one of the other southeastern subsidiary churches!" Zheng Yunqi analyzed. "All those helmsmasters came to visit our branch helm that night, and even though we eradicated all of them after the event, someone among them has to have reported the location of our branch helm to their higher-ups.

“Hence, even though we've obtained clean identities with the Hall of Protectionists, our own people are still aware of our status as demonic church members. Their objective for this attack was never to take down the Unmatched Escort Agency. Instead, their goal was to destroy our One Heart Church branch helm from the very beginning!"

Fang Che fully agreed with Zheng Yunqi's assessment of the situation, and he couldn't help but be impressed with the latter's critical thinking skills.

"I've also arrived at the same conclusions, but I'm yet to figure out which of the subsidiary churches was responsible for the attack," Starlight mused. "All of you are very smart to have eliminated the main church as a potential culprit. After all, if everyone sent down from the main church is similar to all of you, then they would lack both the ability and the courage to stage such an attack."

No one knew what to make of this statement.

Was this meant to be a compliment or an insult?

"Just as you said, the three guilds and two gangs lack the power required to stage an attack of this magnitude, so it has to be one of the subsidiary churches. What we have to figure out now is which one of the subsidiary churches is the culprit. The branch helm of the Divine Heavenly Church was the first to be eradicated, so if they were going to make a move, then they would've done so long ago.

“Hence, I think we can tentatively eliminate them as a possible option. As for the Church of Light and the Three Saints Church, they barely even came up before they were destroyed. That leaves the Night Demon Church as the likeliest candidate..."

"Why didn't they just report us?" Zhou Mei'er asked.

Everyone's expressions instantly stiffened slightly at this question.

"It's obvious that the eradication of their branch helms has something to do with us, and I'm sure they're not too stupid to realize that. If they've already deduced that we've betrayed them, then why wouldn't they do the same to us?" Zhou Mei'er asked.

"That's not a viable option for them, Mei'er," Zheng Yunqi said. "Thanks to the efforts of Helmsmaster Starlight, our branch helm has been transformed into a completely legitimate business, one that's even collaborating with the Hall of Protectionists, so reporting us isn't going to do them any good.

“The only way for the Protectionists to determine if we're demonic church members or not would be to kill one of us, then examine the body's chest cavity to see if the heart is gone, but what if it's a false report? Right now, the Hall of Protectionists is using us as a positive example for everyone to follow, so they can't just go around killing us based on unsubstantiated reports.

“Helmsmaster Starlight's brilliant foresight has ensured that this is no longer something that they can use against us."

"That's right, reporting us isn't going to get them anywhere," Fang Che agreed. "The only thing they can do is try and find evidence of wrongdoing to use against us, but we've been following the law every step of the way, so they have nothing. Even if they somehow manage to convince the Hall of Protectionists to be suspicious of us, don't forget that we've been helping the Protectionists capture demonic church members this entire time.

“On top of that, we're following the law, and we're providing a significant boost to the White Cloud Prefecture's economy. In light of all of that, even if they suspect us, they won't do anything. If anyone tries to report us, they'll only be drawing suspicion to themselves, and that's why they had to resort to such a direct approach.

“This is why I've been making all of you memorize the legal code. If anyone tries to investigate you, you can shut them up on the spot by reciting a passage out of the legal code! Even among the Protectionists, how many of them have memorized the legal code from start to finish? This legal code is a life-saving talisman for all of us!

“As long as we continue to follow the law, no one will be able to touch us, and even the Protectionists would stand up for us if anyone dares to come after us!"

Everyone was staring at Starlight with looks of admiration in their eyes.

He had orchestrated all of this from the very beginning and continued to remain several steps ahead of everyone else.

A sinister grin appeared on Starlight's face as he continued, "Now that I think about it, even though we've been dealt a heavy blow by this attack, this is also a rare opportunity for all of you."

"How so?"

Everyone was perplexed.

"Think about it: for all those people who were killed after being reported by all of you, you now have a chance to shift the blame to someone else, do you understand?"

Everyone was still perplexed, with the exception of Zheng Yunqi, whose eyes instantly lit up as he clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "Helmsmaster Starlight is right! If those people dared to come after us tonight, then they would definitely dare to kill other people from the main church as well!"

"Precisely!" Starlight chuckled. "Even though all the people who died are from the side branches of their clans, they surely still had family members who cared for them, and would be eager to avenge them. They can't come after us because they have no evidence, and they wouldn't dare to go after the Hall of Protectionists. Who can they target for vengeance then?

“Those people that attacked us tonight would make for perfect scapegoats! Not only did they kill all those other people, they killed nineteen of us as well! Which clans are those nineteen people from? Inform their clans that they were killed by a third-rank church and have their clans decide what to do from there."

Everyone fell into deep thought, and the more they thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed.

"If all of those plans don't even dare to target a subsidiary third-rank church with their collective power, then they may as well all kill themselves!" Starlight scoffed.

He then turned to Zheng Yunqi as he asked, "Can I get you to write the letters to be sent to the clans of the deceased?"

"You can count on me, Helmsmaster!"

Zheng Yunqi's eyes were glowing with excitement.

"This is a prime opportunity for all of you to shift the blame of reporting all those people from the main church onto someone else, and in doing this, you'll also be able to gain favor with the clans of the deceased, so make sure to capitalize. The importance of these letters cannot be understated, so make sure to be meticulous in your writing. Zhao Wushang, Zhou Mei'er, you two can help Zheng Yunqi out with that."

"Yes, Helmsmaster!"

At this point, everyone was brimming with excitement.

They all wanted to be able to make a glamorous return to their clans, and they certainly couldn't do that if everyone suspected them of plotting against their own allies.

"On top of that, all of you also need to work harder in your cultivation," Fang Che urged. "You've all been with me for quite some time already, yet you're still all pitifully weak! Just a single attack was enough to kill nineteen of you. At this rate, if we get attacked a few more times, there won't be any of you left!"

Everyone hung their heads in shame.

"As all of you saw earlier, given my powers, I can easily escape even if all of you are killed, yet I chose to stay for your sake. However, if you continue to weigh me down like this, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to save you all the time."

Everyone fell into deep thought.

Even if all of them were to end up dead, as long as Starlight survived, the Unmatched Escort Agency would remain standing, and he would just have to recruit more people to replace the deceased.

The One Heart Church certainly had more than enough members to scrounge together an escort agency's worth of people.

Hence, it was entirely the truth that Starlight had stayed and fought for their sake.

"In summary, our people can't have died for nothing tonight. We have to exact vengeance for them, but not by our own hands. Instead, we have to use the power of the clans of the main church, and in the process, we can clear ourselves of suspicion and shift the blame of our past actions onto others. Regardless of how your clans decide to respond to this situation, the people who attacked us must pay!"

Starlight's voice took a very menacing turn at the end, but in this moment, the undisguised malice in his voice didn't evoke any fear among the members of the branch helm.

Instead, their hearts were filled with gratitude to Starlight for saving their lives.

"Helmsmaster Starlight, am I correct to assume that you also have some other plans in mind for encouraging us to work hard in elevating our cultivation bases?" Zheng Yunqi asked.

"I do, but I don't know if those future plans will come into fruition," Fang Che replied with a wry smile. "As all of you are aware, I didn't take part in the Parasite Ascension Project, so my future path of progression is very unclear, and I don't know how far I'll be able to go."