Chapter 124: Shadow Valley

Dark Sun, Lies, Madness.

Shirick's experience can be called Legendary, and he is also one of the most active evil gods in recent times.

Four hundred years ago, after the Saint's Cataclysm ended, Shirick connected with Magic Goddess Mistra and the Death God Klanvo, and in one night ascended to godhood; under the Great One's appointment, he leapt from mortal to become three noble, mighty divine powers.

At first, Shirick's codename was only Dark Sun; he wielded the three divine offices of Murder, Conflict, and Conspiracy, replacing the fallen former Death Trinity (who respectively had held Murder, Conflict, and Death).

But this did not last long; soon, Shirick used a filthy conspiracy to kill the former Goddess of Lies—Laira—and took over her divine office of Lies.

Perhaps because this office fit Shirick too well, since becoming the Prince of Lies, Shirick has grown increasingly mad; their followers are likewise affected, spreading everywhere that they are the sole true god, and that everyone else in the world is a false god.

This makes most true gods extremely loathe Shirick, deeming them an arrogant madman.

But this does not affect Shirick and his church's possession of extremely powerful strength.

Shirick himself is not only a noble, mighty divine power; under them, the Church of Lies has also gathered the powers of the former Murder God Bar and the Conflict God Banen, who were among the Death Trinity.

The dictatorial nation—Santi Erbao—that originally belonged to the garden of worship of the Conflict and Tyranny God Banen has in recent years gradually been supplanted by Shirick's faith.

In such a situation, if Saint Delis truly pulls the Church of Lies over, the Dawn Church might indeed be unable to sanction them.

Facing Conrad's accusation, Saint Delis's reply was clearly without remorse, even indifferent to what impact the Church of Lies' joining might cause.

Murder, Lies, Madness—since then, the majority of Yinbu Tu Kingdom's true‑god churches will gradually depart after the Church of Lies takes residence, and these chaotic scenes will continue to play out in Yinbu Tu.

The Dawn Church could of course choose to go to war with the Church of Lies, but that choice must be made by the true form of Loshanda, because the church is a subordinate of the deity; before the deity decides to launch a divine war, the church has no authority to privately start a full‑scale war with any force.

Divine wars have not been fought for many years; the most recent one was launched by Shirick against the Goddess of Lies, but that also came after this evil god's long period of groundwork before a sudden launch.

Regardless of the outcome, it will not be something that can be foreseen in the short term.

After the priest of the Church of Lies appeared, the matter quickly fizzled out; Bishop Conrad, looking displeased, flung his sleeves and left, and Lawrence also helplessly said he could do nothing.

Prince Rain and Duke Gavin were clearly the most anxious; they have already had a falling out with the queen—now properly called the king's side—and may soon be retroactively held accountable.

"Damn! That guy, he didn't die—why, why!" Prince Rain clutched his own hair fiercely, his eyes blood‑red; what happened today completely exceeded his expectations.

"Now is not the time to get tangled over this," Duke Gavin said, his face also grim, "Even if we didn't participate today, that Saint Delis fellow certainly knows we were the ones pulling the strings behind the scenes."

"Really didn't expect it," he sighed, "I thought this was all orchestrated by the queen and Leoriel, but it turned out that old man was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes."

Duke Gavin's words made Prince Rain feel the same; he also hadn't expected that the king himself had dispatched two cities.

Only Naimi Xisi disagreed with this statement.

He frowned, recalling his reaction when using Mind Power to probe the king's mind; it wasn't a completely isolated, undetectable state, but it was filled with fragments and ramblings, just like a madman.

But the king's condition was clearly not that.

The whole matter made him feel very strange; he trusted the feedback from Mind Power, believing the king's thoughts at that moment were far from what a normal person possesses—those chaotic memory fragments arranged just like a lunatic's rambling. "I think," Naimi Xisi considered what suitable word to use, "the king's condition... isn't quite right."

Prince Rain sneered, "He's not just wrong; he's downright lost his mind, bringing in the Church of Lies? Ha, he's really bold; he'll sooner or later be turned into a true madman by those lunatics!"

"No," Naimi Xisi frowned and shook his head, "He may already be mad; I probed his thoughts, they're chaotic, nothing like normal reasoning."

Prince Rain and Duke Gavin exchanged glances; as a master of Psychic Ability, Duke Gavin said, "How did you do it? I can't even silently read Saint Delis's brain."

Naimi Xisi shrugged, indicating he has his own method.

Duke Gavin pondered, "But he appears perfectly normal, unless... he's being controlled by someone."

Prince Rain sighed at the remark, "I'm not surprised at all; who knows how long the Church of Lies has been around him, they may have already used some means to control him, but the problem is, even if we know, what can we do?"

Duke Gavin also nodded in agreement, pinching his own brow; today's events gave him a headache.

"Perhaps... we should enlist secular power? Since the church route isn't working," Duke Gavin considered for a moment, saying cautiously.

"You mean seeking help from other kingdoms? Damn, how is that any different from being a true traitor!" Prince Rain rejected outright.

"No," Duke Gavin frowned, "You may have forgotten that the Church of Lies also has enemies, enemies from the secular world."

Prince Rain's eyes lit up, "Shadow Valley?"

"Shadow Valley!" Duke Gavin nodded with a smile.

Naimi Xisi beside them completely didn't understand what they were saying; Prince Rain, seeing his confusion, smiled and explained.

"Shadow Valley is a very special force in the central region of Frelen."

"Their military strength isn't especially great, but very few forces in central Frelen dare to provoke them."

"Because they have the strongest Mage of Frelen stationed there!"

"Ilminster?" Naimi Xisi said, surprised.

"Yes, the most powerful Legendary Mage, a chosen of Magic Goddess Mistra, the ageless, undying Decoder. His power is certainly enough to counter the Church of Lies!"

"More importantly, the Church of Lies and Ilminster are already openly mortal enemies; Santi Erbao harasses Shadow Valley day and night with conspiracies, even repeatedly sending attempts to assassinate Ilminster, while Ilminster, through the Harpist spy network he established, counters Shirick's schemes across the continent."

"If he can pressure the Church of Lies to force them to withdraw their influence in Yinbu Tu, we might still have a chance," Prince Rain said, somewhat excited.

Naimi Xisi narrowed his eyes, saying nothing.

Prince Rain's meaning seems to be that they're planning rebellion? Even though they've discovered the king is still alive, they clearly aren't abandoning the plan; Ilminster is likely to agree with them, after all the other side probably doesn't want the Church of Lies' power to keep growing.

Finally I can set aside the Yinbu Tu Kingdom map; I'm sick of writing it.

(End of Chapter)