Chapter 355: Way of Salvation, Authority Dog

"Hey, lend a hand, don't go dying on me now—this is to save your own skin."

A dwarf extended his palm toward the resident before him, whose lower body was pinned beneath a collapsed, molten building, motioning for the weak and luckless fellow to put in a little effort himself, while the dwarf's companions from the same adventuring party waited just behind.

"My waist hurts so much..."

The unfortunate soul trapped under the heavy debris of masonry had been buried here for a very long time; that he had been found at all was thanks to the druid in the party who had shapeshifted into a wolf, before which, in truth, no one had noticed that a survivor still remained beneath these shattered walls and ruined cliffs.

Most of the residents were already hard-pressed to look after themselves in the face of the disaster, and the members of the Church of Nightfall who had rushed over to volunteer in the rescue were also severely lacking in manpower—after all, not everyone possessed an extra measure of kindness to share with others.

The members of the Church of Nightfall who happened to be nearby, apart from those who responded within the prayer communication network, also included those who silently ignored the plight and walked away, which, of course, was entirely beyond reproach.

"It's fine, it doesn't hurt; your lower body is over there, so how could it hurt?"

The dwarf patted the other's cheek with a hand stained with potent liquor and pointed to a spot in the burnt woods nearby, where a corpse lay with its upper half already covered by solidified lava, leaving only its lower body perfectly intact.

"Ah!?"

The pungent stench of the strong liquor in the dwarf's hand and the sudden shock of information flooded the guy's brain, instantly snapping the weakened man awake as he let out a query laced with confusion and terror.

This was precisely the opportunity they needed; the dwarf's two companions, a human warrior and a half-elf druid wildshaped into a giant bear, heaved aside the thick stone slab pinning the man's lower half in one swift motion, revealing a lower body that was clearly a bloody mess—though fortunately, it was merely severely damaged from the prolonged heavy pressure and could still be saved.

"I! Gulp, ugh..."

The exceedingly weak survivor, who had been pinned for ages, wanted to say something more, but the dwarf immediately shoved a bottle of healing potion into his mouth; the bitter liquid surged down his throat, and the extremely fast-acting medicinal effect caused a violent sensation of pain to flare up in his grievously injured lower body.

"Aaaaaagh!"

Watching the rescued man shriek in agony, the dwarf took a satisfying swig from a bottle of spirits by his side, which was strong enough to serve as medical alcohol; to be able to scream so loudly meant he was quite full of vitality.

The man was considered saved; the beings of this world were relatively resilient, and even an ordinary person, as long as they didn't breathe their last and die the moment the heavy weight that had pinned them for ages was lifted, would generally face no further issues thereafter apart from some lingering sequelae.

And it was at this very moment that drifting clouds began to gather in the sky, their altitude noticeably much lower than normal cloud layers, with a golden glimmer shimmering upon them—exceedingly soft, yet unhidden by the bright sunlight.

Subsequently, pattering raindrops began to fall from within these clouds that shimmered with a faint golden light; by contrast, the raindrops were of a pure gold, their radiance flashing as they revealed their illusory nature upon contacting solid matter, injecting a gentle vitality into the bodies of the wounded even as they dissipated.

The divine magic of the Goddess of Wealth: Golden Rain of Revival—its intensity depended on the quantity of gold coins sacrificed to Eline, the Goddess of Wealth; the more gold coins, the vaster the vitality contained within and the wider the area of coverage.

The gold coins spent to bring down the golden rain this time had been scraped together by the nearby Church of the God of Light and members of the Church of Nightfall, and in truth could not be considered much; the coverage area spanned half of the disaster zone, and as for the vitality, it could only allow those wounded who had been kept alive by a sip of healing potion to pull through.

The wounded outside the coverage area of the Golden Rain of Revival relied instead on the priests of the Church of Light chanting their prayers, utilizing the healing divine magic of the God of Light.

A faint singing drifted into the ears of the wounded enveloped by the divine magic, and upon the injuries and chests of these beings, small spheres of light appeared, gradually fading and dissolving as they slowly consumed their own power to heal the wounds.

The divine magic of the God of Light: Sanctuary—providing continuous healing for the wounded within its range; the scope, effect, and duration depended on the number of those invoking the divine magic, as well as the piety of their faith.

"Thank you for your rescue; if not for your help, my brother and mother would certainly have had no chance of being saved."

The youth, who had previously been in despair, watched his kin whose complexions were gradually recovering under the influence of the timely poured healing potion and the current effect of the Sanctuary; his joy and excitement were beyond words as he sincerely expressed his gratitude to the member of the Church of Nightfall who had aided his family.

"It is of no consequence; the Nocturnal Scripture teaches us to do what is within our power when we are able to provide help to others, for there is nothing bad about it—this is likely the 'payment' we make for the conveniences brought by using the divine magic of the night."

This human member of the Church of Nightfall, who had rushed to this spot and saved the youth's mother and brother, waved his hand to indicate that the other need not be so formal; compared to the convenience of night divine magic, doing some good deeds was quite simple instead—and of course, he himself very much agreed with these philosophies.

"Ah? Forgive me for taking the liberty to ask, but are you not a believer of the God of Light or the Goddess of Wealth..."

The youth was somewhat bewildered; he had originally thought his benefactor would be a believer of the God of Light or the Goddess of Wealth, never expecting the other to actually be a follower of a deity of the night.

"That's right, I am a believer of the Lady of the Night, and quite a few of those who came to help this time are members of the Church of Nightfall; if you wish, you can join as well—this is the Nocturnal Scripture, you may look through it if you are interested."

The human believer took out a compact Nocturnal Scripture from his backpack and handed it to the youth, gesturing that he could take a look; the youth, with a somewhat delayed realization, took the Nocturnal Scripture and flipped through it rapidly.

In addition to the original content, on the final few blank pages of the Nocturnal Scripture, there were the related pieces of information concerning the Void Chatroom and the Midnight Library that this believer had added himself with a pen.

In the rescue efforts following this disaster, although there was no sign of night divine magic, the figures of the Church of Nightfall members permeated the entire process; the prayer communication network, and even the Midnight Library, had played considerably important roles therein.

This could also be considered a somewhat unique point of the Lady of the Night; she merely bestowed these things capable of providing help to her believers, while for everything else, it still depended on the actions of the believers themselves—the path to salvation lay precisely within.

"This..."

Reading from the beginning this Nocturnal Scripture written in plain vernacular, the gratitude arising from his kin being saved drove the creation of a thing called "faith" within the youth's heart.

...

Looking at the voluptuous, enticing woman of exquisite beauty dressed in revealing clothing who sat opposite him, as well as the handsome, mature man in a suit and leather shoes beside her, Wang Yu fixed his gaze upon the blood bat hovering above the woman's head—this thing looked rather plump.

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Wang Yu conjured a bit of blood out of the blood pool, transforming it into a nimble little red dragon that spiraled around his fingertips to perform various movements, ultimately exploding after Wang Yu flicked it with a finger when it bit him.

This series of maneuvers caused the woman opposite to be slightly surprised; after using her agile tongue to lick the corner of her lips, she directed her dark red, gemstone-like eyes toward Wang Yu.

Taking down the blood bat from her head—which was likewise dazed from watching—she rubbed and kneaded it between her hands covered in silk gloves, speaking with great interest.

"Your Excellency the Archbishop, I did not expect that you too would be so fond of these little fellows; I had not expected before that the Archbishop of the Church of Nightfall would be a human, but now I understand somewhat why your blood is so attractive to me."

Tossing aside the blood bat in her hand that had been kneaded to the point of dizziness, this lady, who was clearly of the blood race, placed a finger against the fang peeking from her lip and nudged it, making her interest in Wang Yu's blood plain to see.

"Uh, it's alright... I have not yet learned the names of you two, so please inform me."

Wang Yu waved his hand casually; he had simply found that vampire lady's bat rather amusing, so he had mindlessly mimicked it.

But that lifelike little blood dragon he had produced was conjured through a mixture of the Chariot's power and the secret method of the Bloodwind Wrath Knight; in essence, that thing was an extension of himself, so that sequence of interaction just now counted as him amusing himself, which actually looked somewhat idiotic in his own eyes.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry for my rudeness; my name is Lilith."

Covering her mouth in a display of surprise, Lilith apologized for her previous breach of etiquette.

"You may call me Wolf."

The man dressed in a suit also reported his name; neither of them stated their surnames, likely having some misgivings in this regard, as real surnames might be exploited, whereas making one up would instead seem insincere.

"Then regarding the matter this time, I must ask the two of you to recount it in greater detail; as for the cooperation between the Church of Nightfall and you two, I naturally have no major objections, so long as you can restrain those behaviors and instincts of the Night Clan that would threaten other races."

Wang Yu said this while deliberately casting a glance at that beautiful lady named Lilith; wasn't this one's name a bit too inflated, wouldn't it bring a curse upon her? Though the Vampire Progenitor of this world didn't seem to go by this name either, so that was fine.

"This is an absolute certainty; members of the Night Clan who have reached the level of us two will certainly not go about consuming those low-quality foods at whim; even this werewolf gentleman beside me, whose scent is unpleasant, will not lose control at certain moments due to his lineage."

"Of course, Mr. Wang Yu's blood is truly quite enticing to me; if you do not mind, could you let me have a taste of it later?"

Lilith responded, expressing her interest in Wang Yu's blood once more in the intervals; she wasn't usually this blunt, but Wang Yu's blood would probably be quite attractive to every vampire.

"We can talk about this after discussing the official business; if you can restrain those of the Night Clan, joining the Church of Nightfall is naturally not an issue, as entering the church isn't difficult in itself anyway."

"As for positions, it seems we don't currently have such things, though there indeed exist certain beings who can utilize greater power; if you wish, as members of the Night Clan who fit quite well with the night, I deem it feasible."

Wang Yu did not talk much about blood or the lack thereof; it was fine if the opponent wanted some blood, since as long as they didn't drain his high-energy blood and he didn't actively manipulate it, the opponent probably wouldn't explode from drinking it.

These two had suddenly sought him out through someone who previously knew he was the Archbishop of the Church of Nightfall to discuss the cooperation between the Night Clan and the Church of Nightfall—this was the key point today.

After being approached, Wang Yu learned from the Lady of the Night that these two were precisely the leaders of that bunch of the Night Clan up on the Sky Mechanical City, so he had simply come over in person.

"Your understanding brings me joy; however, Your Excellency the Archbishop, although we can completely restrain the behavior of ourselves and a portion of the Night Clan who possess a certain level of strength,"

"We have no way to guarantee that those of the Night Clan who have not yet fully matured and cannot control their instincts will remain under control, for I cannot control them at every single moment either."

Lilith expressed her thanks for Wang Yu's general agreement, but then shifted the topic, indicating that a portion of the Night Clan still remained beyond control.

"Then just don't let those members of the Night Clan who can't control themselves join."

Wang Yu remained indifferent; those base werewolves and vampires, lacking the restraint of higher-order Nightborn, were slaves to their own instincts and would inevitably spill blood.

Absorbing such rabble into the Church of Nightfall was futile; purging them was the only logical course—to use a term that might not be entirely precise, it was a matter of "purification," and there were benefits to be had.

"Yet, they are of our own blood, and for that, I pray you grant me a measure of selfishness. Besides, Your Excellency Archbishop, I believe you understand that regarding our faith, we stand as your equals."

"In fact, as Nightborn, we are inherently more attuned to this faith and far more likely to garner the favor of the Divine. Thus, I suggest you reconsider the terms of this alliance and the inclusion of our kin."

Lilith’s tone shifted abruptly the moment Wang Yu finished speaking. In her hands, a potent manifestation of high-tier Night-divinity coalesced; she was right, the Nightborn were indeed gifted vessels for the Lady of Night.

Her meaning was transparent: she prioritized the interests of her kind over the safety of lesser races, and her final words were nothing less than a veiled threat.

While the hierarchy of a church might be shaped by early maneuvering and political intrigue, its foundation rested solely upon the magnitude of divine power bestowed by the deity; a Bishop or Patriarch must, by necessity, be a vessel of divine grace.

Lilith was making it clear that she only sought an alliance with Wang Yu to exploit the Archbishop title he had secured and the influence it carried. Her polite honorifics were merely a facade, a warning for him not to overstep his station.

She believed the Nightborn were destined to be the true stewards of the faith, more deserving of the Lady’s favor than any human or other sentient race.

Lilith wanted Wang Yu to recognize the reality: once the Nightborn mastered the higher mysteries, he would be cast aside, and he should be grateful for the chance to retain his hollow title through their cooperation.

The high-tier magic in her hands was a display of force, and Wolf, the werewolf, followed suit, manifesting his own divine power to signal his full endorsement of her ultimatum.

They unleashed their aura—high-ranking Nightborn, either legends themselves or standing on the precipice of that threshold—bearing down upon Wang Yu, whose own strength was merely that of a Great Knight.

In any other order, such as the meritocratic Church of the War God, this coup might have succeeded, as their claims were rooted in a cold, pragmatic truth. But, unfortunately for them, this was the Church of Nightfall.

"Believe, or be gone."

Wang Yu did not waste another syllable. Unfazed by their crushing pressure, he rose and turned to leave; had he known their idea of cooperation involved such insolence, he would never have squandered his time.

Behind him, Lilith and Wolf watched in horror as their high-tier divine magic dissolved into nothingness, their connection to the Tree of the Night Sky severed instantly.

This was the final judgment, delivered by the one who held the keys to the kingdom.