Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 113 (3): A Visit From the Pope

After practically drowning in wine, Starlight made a tactical retreat.

Upon his departure, he forbade everyone from leaving the agency.

Inside the agency, they could play and fool around however they wanted, but not one was permitted to set foot outside.

Thus, everyone indulged in wild celebrations in the escort agency for an entire night.

The next morning, they went out bright and early to go shopping.

Meanwhile, Fang Che had already kicked everyone out of the two administration halls to go patrol the streets.

Following Fang Che's promotion, Tang Zheng was no longer of a sufficient rank to serve him, but Fang Che still insisted on keeping Tang Zheng by his side.

Not only that, but he had even gifted Tang Zheng a bunch of pills to assist him in his cultivation.

Tang Zheng was driven to tears, such was his gratitude, and he vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to serving the people.

The days began to pass by in relative peace and monotony, and Fang Che continued to make rapid progress in his cultivation base.

The only downside was that everyone was barely catching any demonic church members.

Fang Che was wondering why Yan Beihan's gifts to him still hadn't arrived. Was it customary for the young masters and young mistresses of the main church to be so slow when fulfilling their promises?

First Chen Yin, now Yan Beihan.

Fang Che was beginning to notice a pattern...

***

The day after the celebrations at the Unmatched Escort Agency, a horrific battle place in the distant Ancient North Mountain Pass.

While traveling through the mountain pass, the disciples of the Frost Sword Sect were attacked by the Church of the Self-Righteous.

The Church of the Self-Righteous had sent out seven hundred powerful warriors from its battle altar, led by three of their most formidable enforcers, and they tore through the Frost Sword Sect disciples like a pack of wolves released into a herd of sheep, dominating them in a one-sided bloodbath.

The mountain pass was inundated by the blood of the Frost Sword Sect disciples, and it was clear that the Church of the Self-Righteous was eager to make an example out of them as a means of deterring all other sects from joining forces with the Guardians.

Of the 17,500 disciples sent out by the Frost Sword Sect, over ten thousand had lost heir lives, and the Sage Lord tier elder leading the pack was slain in battle by the three enemy enforcers.

Gu Changhan returned to his sect as quickly as he could, but he was ultimately too late, as were the reinforcements from the Guardians.

By the time they arrived on the battlefield, the warriors of the Church of the Self-Righteous had already been gone for more than an hour.

Of the fewer than seven thousand disciples who survived, over two thousand were severely traumatized, reduced to catatonic, sobbing wrecks, while the rest vowed to avenge their fallen brothers and sisters.

From there, they parted ways, with the former group returning to the sect, while the latter joined the Guardians to begin their quest for vengeance.

Gu Changhan was furious, as was Dongfang Sansan, but unlike the latter, the former's fury was intermingled with an overwhelming sense of regret.

Back in the Guardian headquarters, Dongfang Sansan had offered to send people to escort the Frost Sword Sect disciples on their journey. At the time, he had most likely already anticipated this attack from the Church of the Self-Righteous.

However, Gu Changhan had been too proud to accept his help.

He had thought that this formidable army of Frost Sword Sect disciples would be a near-invincible force, but reality had given him a vicious slap across the face.

His pride and hubris had indirectly resulted in the deaths of over ten thousand disciples, and he was crippled with guilt and remorse.

The excavation of the Amethyst Ore vein was still ongoing, while the new Frost Sword Sect recruits began to settle into their designated positions in the Guardians.

***

Over in the White Cloud Prefecture, Fang Che was becoming more and more harsh and demanding on his subordinates, and all of the administrators were protesting his tyrannical rule, but they had no choice but to comply.

Thus far, close to ten administrators had already applied to be transferred to different departments, and Fang Che signed their application forms without raising any objections. If they wanted to leave, then they could go wherever they liked, but for those who stayed, they had to follow his orders.

Fang Che was particularly strict and demanding of the female administrators that he had been on very good terms with in the past. He did this in order to set boundaries and show everyone that there was no favoritism at play.

The female administrators could only cultivate with tears in their eyes while cursing Fang Che in their hearts.

Everyone, including even those who had left, knew that Fang Che was doing all of this to increase their chances of survival while on the job, but they had been comfortable and complacent for too long, and these new changes were simply too grueling to bear!

Funnily enough, Cripple Hong, who had always been the prime target for Fang Che's abuse, didn't leave. Not only that, but he was working harder than almost anyone else in his cultivation, almost as if he had a chip on his shoulder, and he was making very fast progress.

In order to light a fire under the female administrators, Fang Che declared during a meeting, "If any of you fall behind Cripple Hong in cultivation base, he's allowed to harass you all he wants, and I won't do anything!"

Immediately, it was as if the female administrators had been given shots of pure motivation straight into their veins!

***

A few days later, a wealthy-looking old man appeared at the southern gate of the White Cloud Prefecture, and he was accompanied by three other old men who looked of a similar age. The four of them were straddled atop little donkeys, and they were allowed into the White Cloud Prefecture without a hitch.

Needless to say, these were none other than Yin Shengong and his three trusty elders.

The lockdown order on the One Heart Church had finally been lifted, and the assessment team from the main church was also about to arrive.

Hence, Yin Shengong was very eager to see Fang Che's branch helm for himself, just to make sure that it really was as splendid as Fang Che proclaimed.

Originally, Yin Shengong had only intended to bring Mu Linyuan with him, but Qian Sanjiang and Hou Fang insisted on coming along, and they wouldn't take no for an answer.

As soon as they entered through the southern city gate, they saw a large convoy traveling directly toward them, while many of the pedestrians on the streets were cheering, "Unmatched Escort Agency! Unmatched Escort Agency!"

The two young escorts leading the convoy on horseback wore friendly smiles as they cupped their fists in a salute toward all of the surrounding people.

"Thank you all for making way for us! We'll be returning in the afternoon in three days, and if you have children at home, you can come and wait for us. We'll be handing out lollies to the children upon our return." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Many of the children in the crowd erupted into cheers, while all of the adults waved in gratitude, wishing the escort convoy a safe journey.

The two young escorts were handsome and vibrant, and they displayed impeccable manners as they exited the city, as did everyone else accompanying the convoy.

Even after the convoy was long gone, Yin Shengong was still staring after them with a stunned expression.

"That's... the Unmatched Escort Agency?"

"I... I guess..."

Yin Shengong was truly astonished. He had never seen anyone from the Church of the Self-Righteous carry themselves with such grace and dignity in the territory of the Guardians, and the thought that these people were members of his One Heart Church made him feel as if he had walked into some type of absurd fairytale!

If Night Demon had been personally accompanying the convoy just now, Yin Shengong wouldn't have been surprised at all, considering he was the one who had established the rules.

After all, how was he supposed to enforce the rules if he didn't follow them himself?

However, these were his subordinates!

This was such a jarring experience for Yin Shengong that he was even considering the possibility that there was another escort agency of the same name in the prefectural city.

Are these really supposed to be branch lineal descendants from the clans of the main church? There's no way they could be so polite and popular! They look much more like people from the prominent clans of the White Cloud Prefecture, or perhaps students of White Cloud Warrior Academy!

The four of them continued onward, feeling as if they were in a dream, but it didn't take long before they encountered another Unmatched Escort Agency convoy.

Once again, the convoy was led by a pair of graceful and handsome young escorts, and they were also cheered out of the city, just like those who had come before them.

Yin Shengong scratched his head with a dumbfounded expression.

Are these really people from Night Demon's branch helm? They're even more popular with the people than Protectionists! This is a miracle!

"Should... Should we contact him, Boss?" Mu Linyuan asked in a quiet voice that was laced with bewilderment.

Of course, he was referring to Night Demon, and they couldn't refer to Yin Shengong as pope while out in public, so they had settled on "boss" instead.

"No," Yin Shengong replied with a shake of his head. "The whole point is to make a surprise visit. Let's find the escort agency, then pose as merchants seeking to employ his escort services. That's the original plan, and there's no reason to veer away from it."

Thus, the four of them continued onward, the hooves of their four little donkeys clip-clopping audibly over the stone road.

"Excuse me, do you know the way to the Unmatched Escort Agency?"

"The Unmatched Escort Agency? I sure do! Just go down this path until you get to the next crossroads, then go east..."

Everyone was very eager to help those seeking directions to the Unmatched Escort Agency. The Unmatched Escort Agency was a glowing role model for the people, so those who wished to do business with the agency were all welcomed by the people.

After hearing the directions, Yin Shengong quickly realized that the agency had been set up at the address of the old One Heart Church branch helm.

Hence, the four of them knew exactly where it was, but upon their arrival, they were all stunned into silence. They had expected to see that the escort agency still resembled the branch helm of old, but the entire place had undergone an unimaginable overhaul!

What was particularly eye-catching were the four gilded golden plaques hanging beside the entrance.

"Allies of the White Cloud Prefecture Hall of Protectionists."

"Official partners of the White Cloud Prefecture Garrison."

"Official partners of the Great Zhao Empire's southeastern, southwestern, and southern boards of trade."

"Designated official partners of the White Cloud Prefecture Hall of Protectionists."

These four plaques instantly lent the establishment an unmatched sense of credibility, and any merchant would instantly feel extremely safe as soon as they walked into this place.

Yin Shengong and the three elders gawked at the entrance of the escort agency with stunned expressions.

Surely this can’t be the right place!