Chapter 408: Assistance Arrives, Charles's Business

The power I can now directly command is about eight times what it was before; even the energy originally reserved for maintaining the Tree of the Night Sky is now at my disposal.

At some point, the Lady of the Night, previously lost in her computer games, had appeared behind Avia and Wang Yu. The dark, water-like essence swirled around her, and her already tall stature seemed, perhaps only as an illusion, to have grown even more imposing. Her long black gown was now adorned with far more intricate and elegant patterns and decorations.

"It was indeed the right decision to leave these matters to you two."

The Lady of the Night nodded slightly, voicing her thoughts.

Avia and Wang Yu exchanged a glance. Wang Yu felt he could definitely detect a hint of smugness in the Goddess's tone; this was likely a peculiar form of "wisdom" unique to her.

In this regard, she was quite similar to Wang Yu himself: if one is not adept at a certain task, one simply delegates it to those who are.

Although the Lady of the Night had essentially done nothing but slack off all day, the outcome had indeed trended in a positive direction. Could this be the legendary "great wisdom appearing as folly"?

Then again, perhaps the Lady of the Night hadn't thought that deeply at all; she simply trusted Avia and him, and let them handle it. After all, this Goddess’s true hobby was merely observing her followers and ensuring they lived well.

"Congratulations. Now, members of the Church of the Night will be able to utilize even more powerful divine arts."

Avia said with a smile. Regardless of the details, the Lady of the Night being able to wield more power was a boon for them all.

"Indeed. Once the majority of the Tree of the Night Sky’s power is liberated, the faith provided by the believers will be more than enough to sustain the prayer communication network. The Midnight Library will no longer have time restrictions on its access, and the remaining power will allow me to grow even stronger."

"Perhaps, in a little while, your Goddess will become even more formidable."

The Lady of the Night spoke to them, her evident joy quite easy to read.

"Splendid, we shall look forward to it."

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow in response, wondering what she meant by "more formidable." Could she perhaps become a bit more combat-capable?

"The support from several merchant guilds within the Church of the Night is already on its way. Charles is among them; he likely has business with you, though he didn't inform you in advance."

Mentioning the Church, the Lady of the Night shared this news with Wang Yu. He had previously mentioned the situation here to those he trusted within the Church, but he hadn't expected their efficiency to be this high.

"Uh, Charles? He isn't coming to collect a debt, is he? Given his personality, a wonder-tier item like the Chronos Hourglass would surely cost me hundreds of thousands of gold coins."

Wang Yu scratched his head. Charles had arrived, and although Wang Yu had sent him updates on Dragon Island, Charles had never replied. It seemed he had decided to show up in person.

Still, while Charles might want to give him a fright, it was unlikely he was coming to settle scores over the hourglass; he surely had a specific purpose.

Bidding farewell to the Lady of the Night, the two left the Void and headed toward the coast of Dragon Island.

...

From the direction of the Endless Sea, a vast fleet of alchemical vessels was approaching Dragon Island. The decks were stacked high with dense rows of sealed metal containers and large wooden crates, loaded to the maximum weight the ships could bear; their waterlines were pushed to the absolute limit.

The fleet was immense, and the ships were uniform in design. A closer look revealed the emblem of the Lady of the Night painted on their hulls, accompanied by a small goblin head, grinning slyly with a gold coin clenched in its teeth—it was unmistakably the mark of Elliot.

This was the insignia of the "Twilight Merchant Guild." As the Merfolk had told Wang Yu, thanks to the Church of the Night’s absurdly convenient communication and unique cohesion, Elliot had successfully formed an alliance with a group of merchants, creating a guild that now wielded significant influence.

"Boss, I have a question. Are we really delivering these supplies to the island for free? I know it’s the island of the dragons, and I’m not questioning your decision... but such a massive amount of capital requires turnover to sustain. Is it really okay to just give it away without any profit?"

Standing at the prow, Elliot, dressed in much finer attire than before, cast his gaze toward the Merfolk escorting the fleet. It was these Merfolk who allowed the ships to be loaded to the limit without fear of shipwrecks or accidents.

There was a saying at sea: "May the Lord of Tides and Storms protect me!" In this situation, the old deity was essentially protecting the Merfolk, and by extension, the Twilight Merchant Guild’s fleet.

"Damn it, can you stop chattering like a noisy goblin? Didn't I choose to take you goblins under my wing to give you a leg up? At this rate, I might as well have hired a real goblin to be my assistant."

The cowering, incessant questioning of the goblin beside him infuriated Elliot. Now a high-ranking executive of a major guild, he found himself missing the early days of his humble shop with only Emon and Vena.

Emon was obedient, and Vena was reliable. Unlike these people, who failed to grasp his vision and loved to question him, he had no choice—who else possessed the talent of Elliot?

"Do you understand what investment is? Do you truly grasp the significance of the Dragon Island? These are dragons! Dragons that haven't appeared on the continent for ages! If we build a good relationship with them, even if they just sell us their shed scales, we’d break even after just one or two deals!"

"Not to mention dragon blood or dragon bones! Though that might be wishful thinking for now, what about later? Be polite, be courteous; after establishing long-term cooperation, who knows? Maybe the dragons will be in a good mood and sell us some! Do you have any idea how much profit lies in that 'maybe'?"

Elliot spoke incessantly, lecturing his subordinate and painting a bright future for the guild upon reaching Dragon Island. After finishing, he suddenly gripped the other’s neck and stared straight into his eyes.

"Do you know what the most important point is?"

"I... I don't know..."

The goblin, whose eyes had just been shining at the bright prospects Elliot described, now trembled in fear.

"What’s most important? It’s that the Archbishop himself gave the order! Ha, following the Archbishop never leads to a loss. Joining the Church of the Night was the best decision of my life. My current status is all thanks to grabbing every opportunity that came from this Church."

"I was among the first batch of members. Do you think I don't understand how the Church reached this point? Now that the Archbishop has spoken, this is our chance!"

"That wall of lightning—no other power on the continent can pass it. Only we, with the Merfolk and the Church of the Night, can cross it. You have no idea how rare this opportunity is!"

Elliot spoke with intense fervor. Whether his dizzy subordinate believed him or not, he was certainly convinced. And undeniably, the facts supported him.

"Bo... Boss, we're here."

The goblin pointed toward Dragon Island. While Elliot had been lecturing, the ships had reached the shore. The orc laborers and the Church members who had hitched a ride began to unload the cargo.

"Is this the island where the dragons live? It looks like it’s been through a great war. And that flying overhead—is that a real dragon!?"

"This is an unprecedented opportunity to verify the descriptions of dragons in books and then write my own to be placed in the Midnight Library. Damn, I’m getting excited just thinking about it. Calm down, Gregory, this is a chance to make history!"

"..., to think I would one day return to this place. I wonder if those old friends survived."

"..."

The composition of the Church of the Night was incredibly diverse; in truth, any existence could be a member. Beyond those marveling at the island, there were others with special identities who had arrived, each harboring their own hidden agendas.

"You, go, direct the laborers. I’ll go assess the situation."

Elliot assigned a task to his subordinate, and once the goblin scampered off, he trotted toward a specific spot on the shore.

"Lord Wang Yu, Lady Avia, it has been a long time."

Looking up, Elliot greeted them with delight.

Wang Yu and Avia stood on the shore watching the fleet arrive, unnoticed by the crowd.

Although he was the Archbishop, most members of the Church did not recognize Wang Yu’s face. Furthermore, he possessed no distinctive features; even standing among the believers, only his earliest friends would recognize him.

"Well done. Has the guild grown this large?"

Wang Yu remarked. Looking at the scale of the fleet, the Twilight Merchant Guild was at least on par with the Gold Rain Alliance of the Alastair capital. Wang Yu truly felt that the goblin had great capability.

"Heh heh, it’s all thanks to you and the Church. Once the scale is large enough, business just flows in. Praise the Lady of the Night!"

Elliot chuckled. Wang Yu’s praise was always sincere, and the goblin blushed slightly, feeling a touch of pride as he performed the standard gesture of praise to the Lady of the Night.

"The aid I brought this time includes everything you mentioned—basic alchemical materials, various metal ores, and the like. I hope they prove useful."

Elliot proceeded to introduce the cargo, all of which were hard assets that could be used to rebuild Dragon Island.

"I’m sure the dragons will be pleased. Handle the guild’s operations on the island as you see fit. You’re not one to cheat, so as long as you keep others in line, there won't be any problems."

Patting the goblin on the shoulder, Wang Yu spoke casually. He didn't understand the intricacies, but Elliot’s competence was clear. Letting the Twilight Merchant Guild develop on Dragon Island was a good choice, beneficial to both the dragons and the guild. What constituted sustainable commerce was something Elliot certainly understood better than an outsider like him.

"Oh! By the Lady of the Night, thank you, Lord Archbishop! I must get to work immediately!"

Elliot cheered, waved, and ran back toward the ships.

Yet, before long, Elliot’s silhouette came sprinting back from the shoreline, waving his arms and shouting.

"One more thing, ugh, ugh, ugh, let go, let go, I’m suffocating!"

However, before this "Elliot" could finish his sentence, Wang Yu, having blurred into existence behind him, locked him in a chokehold, causing him to cry out in agony for release.

"Cough, cough, cough, damn it, I thought my sorcery was up to par, how could you still see through it?"

The voice of "Elliot" shifted into Charles’s, his form and posture restructuring simultaneously to reveal a thoroughly disgruntled Charles.

"This."

Wang Yu smiled, pointing to the perfect fractal lens set in his right eye socket, omitting the fact that the Chariot’s power had long since locked onto him.

"Fine, a masterpiece by Miss Avia, I concede, I concede."

Shaking his head in resignation, Charles admitted his defeat.

"Long time no see, what brings you here?"

Wang Yu draped an arm over Charles’s shoulder, asking casually.

"Need you ask? I’m here to collect my debt, damn it! My Chronos Hourglass! That’s a strategic-grade artifact; without it, I’m on edge every day, never knowing where an assassin might spring from."

"Come on, come on, you’re definitely loaded now, hurry up and give me five hundred thousand gold coins to subsidize the Night’s Edge, and maybe throw a lifeline to that pauper Edward while you’re at it."

A peeved Charles rubbed his thumb against his fingers rapidly in front of Wang Yu, signaling that he wouldn't let this go without payment.

"I don't have any money, truly, the funds belong to the Church; I’m dirt poor."

Wang Yu spread his hands, insisting he couldn't produce a cent, which was, in fact, the absolute truth.

"Ugh, fine, no point in doubting you, you’re clearly telling the truth, so we’ll leave it for another time. I actually came to see you about something, and also, to see what kind of place it is that the Professor was willing to sacrifice his life to protect..."

"..., it’s beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is truly beautiful."