Chương 118: Chapter 118: Let Them Taste Their Own Medicine
Starlight Calendar 1254, Blossom Moon.
A shocking event shook the entire Starlight Duchy.
Marquis Key Aniest of Shimmer Territory publicly opposed the Spark Church's faith, angrily accusing them of assassinating nobles and causing turmoil in the country.
Three days later, the Grand Duke of Starlight publicly rebuked Marquis Key during a court session for slandering the state religion, ordering him to immediately lift the ban on the Spark Church, allow them to spread their faith in the Goldrock Province, establish churches, and personally embrace the Spark Church's beliefs. Failure to comply would label him a rebel, and military action would be taken to suppress him.
On the day the edict reached Shimmer Territory, Marquis Key directly raised the flag of rebellion.
Marquis White Tower soon followed suit.
Thus, following the rebellion of Marquis Goldrock, a second, even larger rebellion erupted in the Starlight Duchy.
The Grand Duke of Starlight was furious, ordering Marquis Soman, Marquis Purple Bamboo, and Marquis Lake Blue to send troops to quell the rebellion.
War was imminent.
In the council chamber.
Everyone gathered there.
Besides Key and Sunan, the core nobles of Shimmer Territory, including Breden, Joden, and Stali, were present.
They were all engaged in a heated discussion about strategic plans.
"Soman Province and Purple Bamboo Province are behind us. I suggest we concentrate our forces to take these two provinces first, then focus on the others without worrying about attacks from the rear."
"No, Soman Province and Purple Bamboo Province aren't strong. We can station a force in Monguang City to hold them down. Lake Blue Province, however, is advancing aggressively and should be treated cautiously."
"That's right. During the Beastmen Calamity, Lake Blue Province's army suffered minimal losses and is much stronger than the other two provinces."
"Precisely because they're formidable, we should first deal with Soman and Purple Bamboo Provinces. Once our rear is secure, we can focus on Lake Blue Province!"
"That's not how it should be..."
The attendees quickly split into two camps, arguing with valid points on both sides.
Key watched without anger, turning to Sunan with a calm demeanor.
"What do you think is best?"
Sunan pondered for a moment and replied with a question: "What about Marquis White Tower?"
"White Tower Province is near Redleaf Province. He'll block the Redleaf Province army for us."
"Among the five provinces, where is the Spark Church's influence the strongest?" Sunan asked next.
"In Redleaf Province and Lake Blue Province."
Key answered without hesitation, clearly familiar with the intelligence.
"With royal support, the Spark Church's missionary work in Redleaf Province is the most successful. It's where their influence is the widest and strongest."
"Next is Lake Blue Province. Many nobles there have been assassinated by the Spark Church, with the survivors being either their puppets or collaborators. Every medium to large town in the province has a Spark Church branch."
Sunan's eyes glinted, and he suddenly smiled: "In that case, first attack Soman and Purple Bamboo Provinces. Secure the weakest territories first."
Key hesitated: "What about Lake Blue Province?"
"I'll take a trip to Lake Blue Province and cause some trouble for the Spark Church and the nobles there, distracting them from the war."
Sunan's face showed a playful smile.
"They can't always be the ones assassinating others without facing any consequences, right?"
"It's time they tasted their own medicine."
Hearing this, Key also smiled but then showed concern, asking:
"Are you sure? Those Spark Church folks aren't easy to deal with!"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Sunan replied with a slight smile, his tone calm yet imbued with reassuring steadiness and strength.
Hearing this, Key nodded without further comment.
Unbeknownst to them, the hall had fallen silent, everyone listening to their conversation.
Seeing that the lord and Sunan had finalized the strategy in a few words, the attendees stopped arguing and calmly accepted the decision.
Moments later, the generals left the lord's mansion in quick succession, heading in different directions.
The war machine known as Shimmer Territory sprang into action.
In the Underground World, Yohu Lake City.
Puppet Factory.
Due to its proximity to the mines, Sunan had recently been crafting golems at the puppet factory there.
At that moment, the corner of the puppet factory was filled with dense rows of Twin-Blade Spiders, occupying nearly half the building.
"One hundred and eight, ten more to go."
Sunan used Mage Hand to move ingots from the corner, beginning to craft Twin-Blade Spiders.
Before heading to Lake Blue Province, he needed to be well-prepared.
Crafting a Secret Puppet was out of the question, as the materials hadn't been gathered.
But a second-circle legendary-level Twin-Blade Spider was feasible.
Sunan had been accumulating Twin-Blade Spiders for some time.
Had he not given Key a batch in the middle, he would have already gathered the required 118.
However, he was close, and it wouldn't take long to complete.
With sufficient materials, Sunan spent only half a day crafting eight Twin-Blade Spiders.
He then placed all 118 Twin-Blade Spiders into the cube for synthesis.
With a flash of black light, a giant, pitch-black spider appeared before him.
The enhanced Twin-Blade Spider's size hadn't changed much, but its body was now a deeper shade of black, exuding a cold metallic sheen under the magic stone lamps.
Its sharp forelimbs gleamed with a chilling light, looking quite menacing.
"Not bad. It's enough to handle a level-three wizard apprentice like Hebb."
Sunan nodded in satisfaction.
A second-circle legendary-level puppet was sufficient to deal with weaker level-three wizard apprentices.
With this additional trump card, the upcoming action was more assured.
At that moment, a knock came from the door.
"Come in," Sunan said without turning around.
Karolena slithered in, her eyes falling on the Twin-Blade Spider before Sunan. Her body tensed momentarily.
Her wild instincts from her bloodline sensed a strong threat from the Twin-Blade Spider.
She had only felt a similar feeling from her master and the former city lord, Yusula.
Could this Twin-Blade Spider possess combat power akin to Yusula's level?
The thought startled Karolena.
She had always known her master excelled at crafting puppets and even had first-circle legendary-level puppets, but she hadn't expected even second-circle legendary-level puppets.
If these could be mass-produced, forget Matu and Orson—ruling the entire Underground World wouldn't be impossible!
"What is it?"
Seeing Karolena enter and stare silently at the Twin-Blade Spider, Sunan frowned slightly.
Karolena snapped out of it, quickly bowing with reverence, her gaze toward Sunan growing more respectful.
"Master, envoys from the Red Widow and Black Duke have arrived, seeking an audience with you."
Sunan raised an eyebrow: "What do they want?"
"It seems they wish to discuss an alliance against Kasham."
An alliance?
Sunan pondered.
It seemed the Red Widow and Black Duke were aware of Yohu Lake City's change in leadership. Otherwise, as Karolena mentioned, those two city-states, having been deceived by the Man-faced Lions in their last alliance against Kasham, wouldn't proactively seek cooperation.
Recalling the two city-states' previous probing actions, Sunan smirked and waved dismissively: "Brush them off. I'm busy now and can't deal with this. We'll talk after I'm done with my current matters."
Karolena hesitated to speak but ultimately complied respectfully.
"Yes, Master."
After Karolena left, Sunan put away the Twin-Blade Spider, preparing to fetch another batch of golems from the warehouse.
He knew what Karolena wanted to say but didn't value the alliance much.
Previously, the Man-faced Lions couldn't fight Kasham's bugs alone and needed cooperation.
Now, Yohu Lake City's strength had greatly increased, capable of battling Kasham even without the other two city-states.
Moreover, Yohu Lake City's strength would only grow with time.
In another year or two, a counterattack against Kasham wouldn't be out of the question.
With sufficient confidence, Sunan had no intention of engaging in a potentially deceitful alliance with the other two city-states.
On deeper reflection, he might even use Kasham's aggression to weaken Matu and Orson, then annex these two city-states to expand his power.
Sunan's ambitions extended beyond just a corner of the Underground World like Yohu Lake City.
But for now, these were just ideas, contingent on the situation with Kasham.
"First, let's deal with the Spark Church issue."
Returning from the warehouse, Sunan emerged above ground, summoning the Shadow Dragon, which appeared soundlessly beside him.
Sunan leaped onto the Shadow Dragon's back, casting a Lightness spell on it.
The Shadow Dragon growled lowly, sprinting forward.
As she exited the workshop, Karolena frowned slightly.
She vaguely knew about the impending war on the surface,
The recent movements of the golem puppets corroborated this intelligence.
While Kasham's bugs were restless, they showed no signs of invasion, so it wasn't surprising that the master focused on the surface.
But outright rejecting the Red Widow and Black Duke's offer seemed somewhat contentious.
Geographically, Yohu Lake City was more threatened by Kasham. Previously, the Red Widow and Black Duke had exploited this, taking advantage of Yohu Lake City, leading Yusula to deceive them.
Flatly refusing them might provoke the Red Widow and Black Duke to retaliate, causing headaches for Yohu Lake City.
Despite her thoughts, Karolena dared not question her master's decision.
When she entered the council chamber, her beautiful face was calm, showing no trace of her inner turmoil.
Two individuals were seated inside.
On the right was a stunning woman with blood-red eyes and pale skin devoid of color.
She wore a black cloak, exuding a cold demeanor.
This was the envoy from Matu, a vampire.
On the left was a humanoid creature with a skull-like head, wrapped in dry flesh, its skin a strange bluish-gray.
Its hands ended in sharp claws, and eerie blue flames flickered in its hollow eye sockets.
Most striking was the dark flame atop its head, encircling it like a corona.
Though a flame, it emitted no heat, instead radiating a chilling aura.
This was the envoy from Orson, a ghoul.
"I'm sorry, but the master is busy and cannot meet you now. Please return another time."
Karolena stated bluntly upon entering the chamber.
Hearing this, the vampire envoy from Matu's face darkened, suppressing her displeasure as she said:
"Are you joking, Karolena? I traveled all this way to Yohu Lake City, and you dismiss me with such an absurd excuse? Do you think Matu is easy to bully?"
Karolena replied calmly, "That's not my intention, but the master is indeed busy. You could stay here for a while, and once the master is free, he'll meet you."
"Wait? How long?" the vampire's face grew darker. "Karolena, we didn't hold you accountable for last time and even came to discuss cooperation in good faith. Is this how you respond to our sincerity?"
Karolena remained unmoved: "That was Yusula's doing, unrelated to my master."
The vampire envoy, infuriated, was about to retort when the ghoul envoy from Orson interrupted.
"It seems Yohu Lake City has no intention of cooperating."
The ghoul envoy stood, casting a cold glance at Karolena, the soul fire in its sockets glowing icily.
"In that case, I have no reason to stay."
With that, the ghoul envoy left the chamber without hesitation.
The vampire envoy frowned but soon followed suit.
"You'll regret this, Karolena!"
As the ghoul envoy exited Yohu Lake City, she heard a gust behind her—the vampire catching up.
"You seem rather calm. Karolena was clearly brushing us off, and you're not even angry?"
The ghoul envoy glanced at her, replying calmly, "What good would anger do? Were you planning to fight Karolena on her turf?"
"Besides, Yohu Lake City's stance is clear. My job is to report this to Lord Black Duke. What happens next is for him to decide."
Hearing this, the vampire's expression softened, though she remained dissatisfied.
"That bitch Karolena, once so proud, now groveling to a human. How disgraceful!"
"He's no ordinary human; he's a wizard."
The soul fire in the ghoul's sockets flickered as if in thought.
"Judging by Karolena's demeanor, she seems willingly enslaved to this wizard. Only an exceptionally powerful being could make Karolena submit like that."
"This new lord of Yohu Lake City might be even more formidable than we thought!"
"Hmph."
The vampire snorted disdainfully.
"So what if he's powerful? Can he single-handedly fight Kasham's bugs?"
"You'll see. When Kasham's bugs stir, they'll have to come begging us!"
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