Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 119 (3): Wanted Dead Or Alive

"You did very well that day, Mei'er. Pope Yin was very happy with you."

"Really?"

Zhou Mei'er was ecstatic to hear this, and a wide smile instantly appeared on her face.

"Really," Starlight confirmed. "From this day forth, our escort agency will stop taking in new members. Yunqi, how many people do we have right now?"

"We took in twenty-seven more people over the past few days, which takes the total number of escorts in our agency to 696," Zheng Yunqi replied.

"Have all of the new members been settled in?"

"Yes, and they've all been told the rules as well."

"Any trouble-makers or dissenters among them?"

"No, Helmsmaster. You can rest assured on that."

"Have they all sworn vows to the Heavenly Centipede Deity?"

"They have."

"Good. According to Pope Yin, none of the other people sent down from the main church have put up performances as good as yours, nor have they managed to achieve as much as you have here. Many of them went into hiding as soon as they arrived in the southeast, and some of them have treated this as a sightseeing trip.

“In particular, all of the other branch helms in the White Cloud Prefecture have already been eradicated, and the branch helms in the other sixteen southeastern prefectures cannot even begin to compare with ours. Several thousand people will be able to return to the main church alive, but I'm sure the 696 of you will be the standout performers among the survivors. I'm sure you understand the importance of this.

“We've already done all the hard work. Now, all we have to do is maintain the status quo, and the reward for our efforts will come soon. Honestly, the twenty-seven new members are very fortunate because they get to benefit from all of our hard work without having to put in any of their own."

Zheng Yunqi and the others were very excited to hear this, but also a little annoyed.

If they had known this would happen, they wouldn't have allowed those twenty-seven people to join the branch helm. We put in so much hard work and even had to put our lives on the line, yet they didn't have to do anything!

It was a bit of a bitter pill to swallow.

"You can all begin writing letters back to your clans now. You've completed your missions with flying colors, and you've gained identities that will allow you to return to the southeast at any time to continue going undercover. This is already beyond what has been asked of you. Now, you can begin requesting the support of your clans to help you climb to greater heights in the main church."

Everyone was even more ecstatic upon hearing this.

Finally, all of their hard work was paying off, and their futures were secured, and it was all thanks to Starlight.

"However, at the same time, you also have to be even more careful and vigilant from now on, whether it be in the White Cloud Prefecture or out on escort assignments. There is still danger lurking around every corner, and this would be the worst time for you to die, so close to the finish line."

Serious looks instantly appeared on everyone's face.

Starlight was right, they couldn't afford to get complacent.

If they were to die right on the cusp of victory, then that would truly be a travesty.

"Don't ever let your guard down!" Starlight reemphasized. "You're only allowed to relax once you've physically set foot back in your clans in the main church. Before that, I want every single one of you to exercise the utmost care and vigilance!"

"Yes, Head Escort!"

"Also, do not slack off in your training. The Guardians are aware that there are still many of you left alive, so on your way back to the main church, there will definitely be people to intercept you to try and kill as many of you as possible. Do not let yourself become a statistic, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Head Escort!"

"Alright, that's enough lecturing from me. I'm sure all of you are starting to find me very annoying."

"Not at all, Head Escort. We know you're looking out for our best interests."

"Alright, call those twenty-seven new recruits in to see me."

***

Before long, the twenty-seven new recruits were ushered into the main hall by Zhao Wushang, and this was their first time meeting Starlight.

As soon as they entered the hall, they were immediately greeted by the sight of several hundred of their peers standing ramrod straight like a well-trained army unit, and they couldn't help but shudder at the solemn atmosphere around them.

They then looked up to discover an atrociously hideous man sitting on the throne.

This was the legendary Starlight that they had heard so much about? The man who Zhao Wushang and the others were practically lauding as a god?

"Kneel!" Zheng Yunqi yelled.

The twenty-seven new recruits instantly fell to their knees to pay their respects to Starlight.

"You may stand," Starlight said in a cold voice. "Our escort agency actually stopped taking in new members five days ago, but seeing as Zhao Wushang and Zheng Yunqi have already welcomed you into our fold, it would be remiss of me to kick you out.

“Right now, our branch helm has already completed the mission assigned by the main church. All of the hard work has already been done, and all we're waiting on now is an assessment from the main church, so the twenty-seven of you are very lucky to have joined at this time."

The twenty-seven new recruits were ecstatic, while everyone was staring daggers at them.

"For the next few months, everything in our escort agency must run smoothly! Zhao Wushang, Zheng Yunqi!"

"We're here!"

"I'll leave these twenty-seven people for you to whip into shape. Nothing must be allowed to go wrong at this crucial juncture! If these twenty-seven new recruits threaten to spoil all of our hard work, you two have my permission to kill them!"

"Yes, Head Escort! If we fail in our duties, we'll gladly pay with our lives!"

Zhao Wushang and Zheng Yunqi were very grateful to Starlight. They knew that he was giving them the jurisdictive power to do as they pleased with these twenty-seven new recruits, and at the end of it all, they had to be grateful to the two of them.

Essentially, Starlight had just done the two of them a huge favor and granted them twenty-seven underlings for the future!

"Alright, you can all go now," Starlight dismissed.

Everyone quickly departed, but Zhou Mei'er stayed behind along with around ten other girls.

Starlight leaned back against his throne in a weary manner, and he was just about to close his eyes when he noticed the lingering group of girls.

"What do you want?"

"Is there something on your mind, Head Escort?" Zhou Mei'er asked in a concerned manner. "You seem very unhappy."

"Why are you so concerned about me all of a sudden?" Starlight scoffed. "You wanna marry me or something?"

"I do!" Zhou Mei'er immediately replied, and the other girls instantly erupted into laughter.

Starlight was so shocked by her response that he choked on his saliva and erupted into a coughing fit.

"Quit joking around at my expense! What do you want?"

"I'm not joking around," Zhou Mei'er insisted. "I agreed to marry you just now!"

"What you're doing is trying to get me killed!" Starlight snapped. "You think someone like me is worthy of people like you? If your clan finds out, I'll be hunted down in an instant! I still want to live for a few more years."

A hint of dejection flashed through the eyes of Zhou Mei'er and the other girls.

They knew that what he had said was true. Even if they were only branch lineal descendants, their clans would never allow them to marry a helmsmaster from a mere subsidiary church.

"I was just making a joke to try and cheer you up," Zhou Mei'er said, but deep down, she was very disappointed.

She had been fully serious just now. If Starlight dared to marry her, then she would accept in an instant!

"It's fine, it's nothing for you to worry about. It's just that Pope Yin implied that once all of you have left, I'll be transferred elsewhere, while someone else is assigned to take my place."

The girls were furious.

"How could he do that? He can't just get rid of you after all you did!"

"Of course he can!" Starlight scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "He's the pope."

"But that's way too unfair! You..."

Starlight raised a hand to interrupt them, then said, "Pope Yin has already done me a great kindness by allowing me to stay on until all of you have left. There's no need for any of you to be concerned about me, just worry about yourselves. The finish line is within sight, but you could still fall at the final hurdle if you're not careful. Now quit bothering me! If you have time to complain about Pope Yin, you have time to cultivate!"

The girls departed in a huff, clearly still very unhappy with Starlight's unfair treatment.

Zhou Mei'er left the main hall, but couldn't bear to leave Starlight when he was clearly in such a vulnerable mood.

However, upon her return, she discovered that the throne was already empty.

She strode over to the throne and stared blankly at it for a moment, then reached out to feel the residual warmth on the seat.

Two drops of tears came dripping down onto the throne as she murmured to herself, "I do, Helmsmaster."

***

Fang Che sped through the night, using his Cool as Ice mental technique to suppress all of his tumultuous emotions.

He was a man on a mission, and he couldn't allow his emotions to sway him.

Zuo Guanglie and his band of brothers were only the beginning. From this point onward, he was undoubtedly going to have to kill more of his allies, and if they resented him for it, then he would just have to pay once he went to join them in the afterlife.

By the time Fang Che returned to the Virtue Manor, it was already past midnight.

He entered his study and pulled out the Spirit Nourishment Pill given to him by Chen Yin.

Ye Yun had told him that the pill could be consumed once he reached the Warlord tier to enhance his spirit sense, but he had refrained from taking it this entire time.

That final beating from Ye Yun had left Fang Che feeling very suspicious.

He had told Fang Che that the pill could be consumed upon reaching the Warlord tier, only to then give him a beating that helped him reach the Warlord tier right away.

Clearly, he really wanted Fang Che to take the pill as soon as possible, and that hinted at some ulterior motive.

This was why he had intentionally delayed until he had reached the pinnacle of the fifth-rank Warlord tier before taking the pill.

He carefully opened the vial, and in the instant that he tipped the Spirit Nourishment Pill out from inside, a cloud of mist instantly rose up within the study.