Chapter 62

After Klasuna and Giske acted, Bishop Ignatius, whose strength had long been exhausted, finally collapsed. After sealing him in an iron coffin already prepared, they set fire to the Sanovan Cathedral and, feigning innocence, quickly left the Sanovan dimension and returned to the Duke’s domain in the Crimson Moon dimension.

In any dimension, the ways in are few and often tightly guarded, but the ways out are many; the dimension’s will seems to strongly reject foreign forces, and even a tiny crack is enough to slip through—yet entering is impossible.

Before leaving, Sakavi specifically ordered that several Holy Knights be left alive as messengers; if everyone were killed, his crime of looting the Church of Light and slaughtering clergy would be undeniable. With a few witnesses to confirm he was sent by Senned, the matter could no longer be avoided by the Rosen Empire.

Whether this Grand Archbishop interfered in Rosen Empire’s internal affairs is still unknown, but the Dufeng Republic has interfered extensively—that is common knowledge. Given the current mutual hostility, a joint investigation or demanding Senned punish Sakavi is unrealistic.

No matter what Senned thinks, if he dares to agree, the tough persona Sakavi cultivated will crumble, and the morale painstakingly built over the years will likely vanish entirely.

But then again, the Rosen Empire’s situation has now stabilized; after years of effort, its army has been rebuilt, and there is no need to bow to President Rodman.

In the coming days, Sakavi had only two tasks: closely monitor the Rosen Empire’s movements to see how they would handle the matter, and heal his wounds. Holy light inflicted damage unlike ordinary attacks—it was a type of elemental suppression, extremely difficult to purge, even with a Troll’s Regeneration Furnace.

Through the relentless exploration of predecessors, a complete method to cleanse the influence of holy light was finally devised. At this point, the Koutao fishmen were called upon again; if any creature satisfied both the requirements of high soul and physical strength and allowed Sakavi to use them without psychological burden, it was none other than the Koutao fishmen.

Upon returning to Agrik, Sakavi immediately entered his laboratory and ordered that no one disturb him unless under special circumstances, entrusting all matters to Klasuna. As a seasoned plunderer, the number of Koutao fishmen in his water dungeon had never fallen below a hundred; there was no choice—these creatures were too useful, intelligent yet impossible to enslave or effectively communicate with.

On a ritual altar in the laboratory, Sakavi extended his intact dragon claw, squeezing out a viscous fluid mixed with dragon blood and necromantic magic. The fluid, as if alive, slithered across the ground beneath his claw, forming a precise and eerie array.

The main body of the array was a twisted inverted pentagram, symbolizing the subversion of conventional order and reverse energy flow. At each angle and inner circle of the pentagram were ancient Dragon Script runes representing “Pain Transfer,” “Life Link,” and “Contract Fulfillment.” The entire array emitted an ominous aura, blending dragon majesty with the peculiar fishmen’s stench.

Below the altar, where a groove connected to the base, was etched a larger but structurally simpler subordinate array. This array was drawn with cheap yet highly conductive Abyssal Moss slurry mixed with Koutao fishmen blood, appearing as a murky dark green.

The array’s structure consisted of repeated, twisted chain-link symbols, filled with universal enslavement runes representing “Life,” “Connection,” and “Endurance,” alongside crude demonic sigils of the Koutao fishmen clans. Its primary function was to bind, amplify pain, and drain life.

Dozens of Koutao fishmen were chained at the nodes of this subordinate array with thick black iron chains, writhing uneasily, instinctively sensing terror.

As Sakavi chanted ancient Dragon Script in a low tone, the runes across the obsidian platform ignited one by one, their emerald-green glow pulsing like breath. The drawn lines seemed to come alive, throbbing like veins. A powerful energy field formed, tightly linking Sakavi at the array’s center with the terrified Koutao fishmen above the subordinate array through the groove.

“Contract… activated!” Sakavi roared a deep dragon growl, forcing the lingering holy light energy and severe physical injuries from Bishop Ignatius—manifested as a “curse concept”—through the array’s amplification and transformation, along the invisible soul-contract channel, into the bodies of the Koutao fishmen!

Instantly, the chained Koutao fishmen emitted shrieks unlike any creature of this world—a convergence of ultimate suffering! Their slick skins bore identical, vast charred and cracked burn scars, as if invisible holy flames were scorching their souls and flesh.

Simultaneously, Sakavi’s body underwent a reversal: the charred wounds peeled away rapidly, revealing newly grown, darker scales beneath. His shattered dragon wings, their bone membranes, healed rapidly under the infusion of life energy. His weakened aura stabilized and surged with astonishing speed; his soul-fire reignited.

Reinvigorated, Sakavi had no intention of appearing yet. Every seemingly accidental event concealed deeper strategic maneuvering; “accidentally” leaking news of his severe injury would reveal the reactions of his domain’s personnel and the various Crimson Moon factions.

Since the source of the Grap leak remained unknown, it was better to stir the waters and see who would crack first. The untrustworthy, newly subdued drow elves within the domain could also be properly punished now, so they wouldn’t cause trouble behind his back when real events arose.

One month later, the laboratory door was suddenly kicked open. Sensing someone’s presence, Sakavi quickly feigned a feeble, dying state. “Stop pretending here—do you think I’m fooled?” Seeing Sakavi still covered in burn scars and half-dead, Klasuna swiped at him with a claw.

“How heartless are you, girl! Don’t you see I’m dying? You dare strike a dragon so grievously wounded? I’ll report you to the Five-Headed Dragon Queen!”

“Really? Shall I send you there right now? Your gold will all be mine then.”

“Dare to lay hands on my gold, and I’ll twist your head off. Any news from outside?”

“Yes, the Rosen Empire sent envoys demanding an explanation. I told them you’re severely wounded and unable to receive visitors. The Black Forest and Purglin have also sent representatives—besides inquiring about your condition, Lady Reidna sent healing potions, reportedly made from the liver of a Druid who failed to ascend to demigod status. The effects are excellent.”

“Klasuna, what’s your take on this? Which factions within the domain are active?”

“Reidna’s attitude suggests she doesn’t want you to fail. Purglin is merely observing. Several drow cities have rioted but have been suppressed. The Black Forest, for now, appears likely to support us.”

“I think the biggest problem lies with the Black Forest. Never trust others too easily—no one cares deeply without a stake. Any news on Grap?”

“Grap’s execution has been delayed; the exact date remains unconfirmed. I suspect someone plans to use this to scheme against us—or perhaps it was a trap from the start.”

“It seems our response caught some off guard. But it doesn’t matter—they’ll come to us eventually. I’m going back to sleep. If Dufeng people ask you, stick to saying the old man is in Skullcrusher City and know nothing else.”

“Also, closely monitor the domain’s administrators. I want to see who, while I’m weakened, plans to defect or flee with funds. I’ll eliminate them one by one later—we no longer lack administrators; some need to make room.”

“You’re going to need a blood purge. Aside from those who graduated from Agrik Academy, nearly everyone else has been scheming—especially the gray dwarves of Dragonspine Mountains. Decades have passed, yet many low-level followers still bear Dilorok’s influence, constantly sparking small rebellions. It’s a headache.”

“Those creatures even the gray dwarves despise won’t cause major trouble—ignore them. Focus on the drow elves; they maintain deep ties and Liyi connections with drow elsewhere. They’re likely plotting something soon.”

After leaving Sakavi’s laboratory, Klasuna had to once again negotiate with Prince Rudanof of the Rosen Empire, who expressed strong displeasure over the burning of the church under his brother’s name.

Regarding the demand to hand over Bishop Ignatius, the two sides had negotiated dozens of times with no progress. Rudanof stated the Rosen Empire had no obligation to cover for Sakavi’s actions, nor would it pay to ransom the captured bishop.

In truth, Senned was under immense pressure and could not produce the man, yet dared not openly break ties with Dufeng. But fortunately, all factions in the Crimson Moon dimension disliked the powerful President Rodman; on this matter, most were willing to support Senned—this was good news.