Chapter 319: The Arrival of the Church of Light!

"The Church of Light? This…" Upon hearing this, Mi Gen and the others froze, then their faces twisted with unease.

Gervas, however, looked curious, "What? You're familiar with the Church of Light?"

After confirming that the servants were far away, Mi Gen and the others whispered cautiously, "My lord, we heard this from Lord Andrew and others during their conversations."

"They said that after the Church of Light built temples in certain noble lands, the serfs there were swayed and bribed, until they no longer obeyed their own lords!"

"But the Church is too powerful—the nobles simply can't do anything about it…"

Clearly, the Church of Light had a notorious reputation.

Gervas nodded, offering no further comment.

Instead, he dismissed his subordinates and ordered the knights to fetch Knight Commander Lei Meng.

"Mi Gen, Yefulan—you two stay with me!"

Immediately, Gervas led the two to the parlor.

Soon, Lei Meng arrived in a hurry.

"My lord, you summoned me?"

Lei Meng, seeing Mi Gen and Yefulan already seated, felt a flicker of curiosity.

"Correct. Since everyone's here, let's get to the matter at hand!"

He gestured for Lei Meng to sit as well, then began, "Lei Meng, Yefulan just reported that a group containing members of the Church of Light has entered Storm Domain."

"The Church of Light?" Lei Meng immediately frowned, "My lord, do we know their purpose?"

"Actually, I received word in advance—because of the two recent attacks by dark creatures, they found an excuse to enter the southern region."

"And their plan is likely to build a temple in Storm Domain, since it's one of the closest regions to the dark creatures' lair!"

"Build a temple in Storm Domain? My lord, please don't agree—even if it's just rumor."

"But I feel all nobles dislike these priests for good reason!"

"Otherwise, why have we never heard anyone complain about the Church of Nature?" Mi Gen immediately grew anxious, urging Gervas.

But before Gervas could respond, Lei Meng shook his head, rejecting Mi Gen's suggestion: "Mi Gen, we can't refuse. I've heard that even past nobles tried to refuse—but the Church's right to build temples was approved by His Majesty the King!"

"Though the number is limited—say, only three or five temples at a time—the locations can be freely chosen within a region!"

"This… then what can we do? Are we just going to let the Church of Light build a temple in Storm Domain?" Mi Gen's face fell.

As knights serving Lord Gervas, they most feared any threat to his rule.

After a pause, he had a sudden idea: "My lord, what if we lure more dark creatures here…"

Good heavens! Gervas thought, Good heavens!

You've become addicted to using dark creatures!

Others would be half-dead at the mere mention of "dark creatures."

Yet you treat them like draft animals.

Even the dark creatures themselves would cry if they heard this!

Gervas nearly laughed, "Mi Gen, you're trying to make all the nobles in the kingdom look like fools!"

"The last two attacks were one thing—but if the Church arrives and immediately suffers another dark creature assault, even a fool won't believe it's coincidence!"

"Besides, you forget—the Church of Light rose to power by resolving dark creature threats. Do you really think your old tricks will work on them?"

Mi Gen's face instantly drooped—he clearly understood what Gervas meant.

"Enough! Don't worry—I called you here because I already have a plan!"

"R-Really? My lord!" Mi Gen's spirits instantly revived.

"Of course! Otherwise, why do you think I'm so calm?"

"My lord, you're truly brilliant! Tell us what we must do!"

Gervas wasted no time and began explaining his plan.

His plan was simple: scare the Church members away.

"Scare them away?" Everyone looked confused.

"Yes—scare them away!"

"We can't stop them from wanting to build a temple, but we can make them choose not to build it in Storm Domain."

"The reason they'd avoid building here? Make them feel this place is unsafe."

"The Church members are still human—they have faith, but that doesn't mean they're not afraid of death," Gervas explained slowly.

"But my lord, you just said they aren't afraid of dark creatures—how can we scare them?"

"Not fearing dark creatures doesn't mean they fear nothing—like foreign races, beasts, or demons! Have you forgotten? Storm Domain was once known throughout the kingdom as a land of death!"

"This…" The three seemed to grasp it, yet still felt something was missing.

"My lord, are you saying we lure these dangerous foreign races, beasts, or demons?" Lei Meng, quicker-witted, immediately understood the key.

"Correct. But I've already prepared the foreign races—they're the fishfolk!"

Earlier that morning, Gervas had sent Old John to sea for precisely this purpose.

He ordered the Buwa tribe to gather all their fishfolk clans and come to Storm Domain's coastline to put on a show.

"As for demons, don't worry—Zhui Yue has detected a group of demons planning to attack Storm Domain today!"

"Now we only need a beast."

"My lord, are you asking us to search for a beast? We'll go right now—there are so many beasts in the Death Mountains, we'll complete the task!" Mi Gen now understood.

And the more he heard, the more he believed his lord's plan might succeed.

"No need to search deep in the Death Mountains—it's simpler. We already have a perfect beast right here in our domain."

"In our domain? Really?"

"Of course. Have you forgotten the mother of the two little fire lizards?"

The iron-scaled fire lizard, perhaps due to grief over losing her cubs, never left the Black Pine Forest.

Aside from occasional hunting trips, she treated it as her den.

Gervas had flown overhead on Zhui Yue multiple times during his passes and always spotted the mother lizard.

Upon hearing this, Mi Gen and Lei Meng's eyes lit up.

The iron-scaled fire lizard was a third-rank beast—her strength was no small matter.

With thick hide, massive size, she was among the strongest of third-rank beasts.

"My lord, are we going to use the cubs' scent to anger her, like last time?"

"No—this time, I want to try cooperating with her as an equal."

"Cooperating as an equal?"

…

More than half an hour later, outside the Black Pine Forest at the exit of the Death Mountains, everything felt familiar—the scene of the day they stole the cubs while the iron-scaled mother fought the beast-wolf still vivid in memory.

Now, Storm Domain had flourished.

The two cubs had grown.

And they seemed to recognize their surroundings—or perhaps smelled their mother's scent—beginning to emit low, plaintive cries.

Yet they had been unusually quiet since arriving.

Bi

"Little ones, do you remember something? Don't rush—you'll see your mother soon. Just don't let her attack us or my lord!"

Mi Gen and Lei Meng soothed them at once.

"Roar! Roar!"

The two cubs could sense their intent through the bond, and gradually calmed under their reassurance.

Just then, Zhui Yue descended from the sky.

"Let's go—the mother lizard is in her den!"

Saying this, Gervas led the two straight into the depths of the Black Pine Forest.