Chapter 959: The Lightpoint Fortress Has Arrived

Damn, we’ve been tricked! Augal instantly realized it, glaring at Silvercoin.

If Silvercoin hadn’t added that last line, Augal might not have been certain—but that final phrase, “your inner spirit,” revealed not only Silvercoin’s malicious intent but also his deep understanding of their “spirits,” even suggesting the entire conversation might have been deliberately guided. Damn, we walked right into the trap.

Spirits are inner convictions, collective perceptions of a certain image, shared beliefs of a group, and the source of their power.

Without consensus, there are no spirits; without spirits, there is no power.

To some extent, spirits are very similar to gods, which is why Augal seeks to slaughter gods—they occupy the same ecological niche.

Even if not all gods are exterminated, they must be registered; if gods willingly register, they are no longer omnipotent deities but registered, limited forces.

The one who registers them becomes a greater power that constrains them, which is why Augal values the title “Registrar of the Gods.” If enough people form the same consensus, could not the Registrar of the Gods become another spirit?

But he never expected Silvercoin would use spirits to trap him—and Augal couldn’t refuse, because he himself had proposed it. Though he’d been fooled, he’d wanted to use Silvercoin’s own rhetoric to counter him, yet he couldn’t deny these words had come from his own mouth.

A man can deceive the entire world—even, like Anthony, deceive gods—but he can never deceive his own inner conviction. So Augal must offer an equally important piece of information in exchange.

What information could be more important than the capture of the Lightpoint Fortress? These people have already seized the Lightpoint Fortress? When?

Augal considered several possibilities: first, they captured the Lightpoint Fortress before contacting them; second and third, the two times the lightpoint went dark.

Everyone had assumed the lightpoint dimmed from exhaustion—but if the Lightpoint Fortress had already been seized, their attack must have affected it, making those two dimmings very likely the result of the assault.

Augal took a deep breath. These three possibilities carried three entirely different implications.

The first possibility meant these people possessed the capability to penetrate deep into the Vast Emptiness and launch attacks—a massive challenge for logistics, long-range travel, spatial positioning, and energy reserves.

If you walk ten kilometers in a desert, you only need one bottle of water; if you want to walk a hundred kilometers, it’s not enough to carry ten bottles—you also need food, a tent, fuel, clothing, and more. The supplies required are dozens or even hundreds of times greater.

The Vast Emptiness is like a desert. The difficulty of penetrating it for ten days versus a hundred days isn’t tenfold—it’s dozens or hundreds of times greater. If these people can penetrate the Vast Emptiness, Augal must reassess their strength.

Unless…

“Are you men of the Grand Councilor?” Augal suddenly froze. Only the Grand Councilor’s Deathless Soldiers could penetrate the Vast Emptiness without heavy supplies.

Silvercoin smiled calmly: “What are you talking about? My lord, the Duke of Divine Light, was personally enfeoffed by Empress Feilie.”

Nearby, the little girl, now stripped of her heavy armor and clad in a puffy dress, dozing off, stirred at hearing her title, blinked sleepily, and asked: “Are they here? Are we fighting?”

“No, go back to sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive,” Augal said.

“Oh.” The little girl Feilie rolled over and fell asleep again.

Augal studied Silvercoin carefully. Though Silvercoin denied it, Augal suspected even more strongly that they were the Grand Councilor’s men—otherwise, why would they use the title he himself had granted them as an excuse?

He had always suspected they were one of the six Councilors of the Divine Light Alliance, never considering the Grand Councilor, because intelligence indicated the Grand Councilor had vanished many years ago.

But what if the Grand Councilor’s disappearance was caused by the other Councilors? Then it would make perfect sense for the Grand Councilor to use Augal’s strength to eliminate traitors.

The logic held. He must be right. Augal silently nodded to himself, then began pondering what information would be valuable but not truly “important.”

It had to have value—at least equal to the information Silvercoin revealed—or it wouldn’t pass the “spirit” test.

But it couldn’t be too important, or Augal would feel cheated. He needed something valuable to others but insignificant to himself.

Once he clarified this, he immediately thought of something and said: “The Grand Councilor of the Divine Light Alliance was driven out and fled here, where he founded the Divine Light Trading Company.”

Was the information about the Grand Councilor of the Divine Light Alliance valuable? Of course. But important? Not to Augal at all.

You claim to be the Grand Councilor’s men? Then I’ll tell you news about the Grand Councilor—see if you choke on information you already know.

“Oh? Impossible. The founding of the Divine Light Trading Company happened ages ago. You’re lying, aren’t you?” Silvercoin exclaimed.

Augal smiled. Good acting. Or perhaps the Grand Councilor’s men didn’t know his origins. Thinking this, Augal added: “Here’s another piece: the Grand Councilor is an immortal lich.”

Silvercoin nodded calmly. He wasn’t surprised by this news—anyone capable of creating Deathless Soldiers could reasonably be an undead being.

No more pretending? Augal saw Silvercoin’s expression and became even more certain—they were the Grand Councilor’s men. Who else wouldn’t be startled by such a revelation?

“Enough. Your turn. Since you’ve seized the Lightpoint Fortress, give me a full report on its origins,” Augal said. That was their original agreement.

“It is a void fortress belonging to the Church of Light, called Holy Heaven. Its length, width, and height are…” Silvercoin began detailing the origins of Holy Heaven and the Church of Light—all historical facts, which he recounted truthfully.

Listening to such detailed information, Augal found no flaws, so he probed: “All this is your word. And it sounds nearly identical to the Radiant Lord’s—both worship light. Do you have physical proof?”

Silvercoin was prepared. He held up a Holy Crystal: “Holy Crystal—a condensed form of Light Power. Its energy inflicts bonus damage on undead. Find an undead creature to test it. The Radiant Lord’s light causes no such damage.”

No test needed. Augal saw at a glance—it was not the Radiant Lord’s power. Every power carried unique information. Even the same holy light differed vastly between Ang’s and the Church of Light’s. A discerning eye could tell immediately.

Registrar of the Gods Augal was such an eye.

With detailed information and physical evidence, Augal could find no lie. He asked: “Then how did it end up here? How did it leave the Vast Emptiness? How many similar forces or planes remain inside the Emptiness…”

Before he finished his flood of questions, he saw Silvercoin watching him with a smug, smiling gaze—like a merchant spotting a fat lamb. “These questions fall outside our agreement. What price are you willing to pay for their answers?”

Augal’s heart sank: Con artist…

Before Augal could decide whether to let himself be fleeced, a voice rang out from the cabin: “Here it comes! The Lightpoint Fortress is here!”

PS: It’s the last day of 2023. May all your wishes come true.