Chapter 66: Church of the Night

Wang Yu, this fellow who had suddenly become an Archbishop, had no other choice; he copied what he could, tweaked what he couldn't, and cobbled it all together into a scripture. His knightly physique granted him a writing speed so rapid he was practically a human printer.

A bit copied here, a bit learned there, mixed and matched—Wang Yu actually managed to assemble a scripture suitable for the Church of the Night.

For now, the scripture existed only as content recorded on Wang Yu’s Pages of Infinity. But at least he had a deity by his side now; regardless of her strength, printing a few books was entirely out of the question.

The Lady of the Night scanned the contents of Wang Yu’s Pages of Infinity, then channeled the power of that crystal of faith.

With a mental connection to the void—a mastery of application that surpassed even Wang Yu or Avia by more than a few grades—a trace of void energy pried open reality. Slowly, three exquisite and archaic-looking books materialized in the air.

"How amazing..." Wang Yu sighed in genuine admiration as he watched the Lady of the Night conjure the books with such effortless grace. An outsider might not see much, but as a wizard, he could sense the profound power contained within.

The precision required for such objects was higher than that of ordinary weapons. Wang Yu could barely manifest physical objects by hand, and Avia could only manage simple items like screws at a massive cost, yet the Lady of the Night could conjure matter from thin air with ridiculous ease.

"Our affinity with the void is indeed vastly different from yours. The unique environment here allows me to perform divine arts without consuming too much of the faith crystal. As long as I do not exceed a certain threshold, I barely need to draw upon its power at all."

The Lady of the Night handed a book to Wang Yu, who flipped through it.

It was a magnificent volume. Truth be told, Wang Yu had rarely seen such fine books in this world; most were either parchment scrolls or simple, unadorned bindings.

The book the Lady of the Night had conjured on a whim featured a hard cover with metallic engravings depicting a woman holding up the moon. In the center, written in elegant, archaic Common, were the words: "Whispers of the Night."

"..." Wang Yu fell silent for a moment. He realized this goddess seemed quite fond of a style that could be described as poetic, or perhaps, chuunibyou.

She had been cryptic when they first met, and seeing this scripture she had named "Whispers of the Night," he felt it was almost expected. Wang Yu had originally intended to name it "The Night Scripture."

But this would do. Compared to the scriptures he had read about in this world—those made of flesh and blood, or those that dragged readers into the void upon being read—this hastily compiled volume could be considered high-end.

The three greatest features of this scripture were: practicality, practicality, and more practicality.

Wang Yu’s goal was to ensure that anyone who picked up the book would be intrigued, regardless of whether they truly intended to worship the Lady of the Night. Thus, he wrote all the benefits in a tone of high praise right at the beginning.

He described the boons of faith: the ease of using practical divine arts like Shadow Leap and Dark Stealth.

Then, he fabricated an organization that didn't exist—a loose intelligence network composed of assassins. As for the name, he borrowed one: the Assassin’s Brotherhood.

Though the organization was a fabrication, the intelligence network itself was real.

Wang Yu was a member of the Blade of Night’s special operations team, holding a relatively high clearance. He could freely provide and obtain information within the Blade of Night.

This meant that if the Lady of the Night’s church eventually gained a foothold in the Royal City of Shadow and established its own network, the two could perfectly integrate.

Wang Yu could even act as a middleman, recruiting suitable talent from the church into the Blade of Night.

In the scripture, he briefly described the benefits of joining the Assassin’s Brotherhood, such as intelligence sharing, mutual bounty posting, and providing sanctuary—features common to any guild, though they seemed a bit odd in a church.

The middle section contained the commandments for believers. Wang Yu wrote in a very straightforward tone about the Lady of the Night’s personality and conduct, embellishing the version of Eunice from the Seovintan stories.

He portrayed the Lady of the Night as a benevolent goddess who provided shelter in the darkness. Much of this was adapted from the doctrines of the Church of Light; in short, Wang Yu wanted to ensure that the followers of the Lady of the Night would not be villains.

Though he knew he couldn't control the personal behavior of every believer, at least if one caused trouble and offended the wrong person, the church could produce the scripture and show the clear commandments written within.

"Our scripture demands we be good people; this individual has apostatized, so do not blame us," they could say, cutting ties immediately.

As for the final section, Wang Yu added all sorts of cryptic nonsense, purely to elevate the status of what was essentially a sales pitch.

He took various concepts from Earth—the three philosophical questions, the Tao Te Ching, and even some mathematical theories—and translated them into the text.

To Wang Yu, these were nearly useless, but if one were to ponder them deeply, it was easy to get lost in thought and experience the illusion of sudden enlightenment, as if one had transcended. Whether that was true or not, however, was hard to say...

Regardless, he didn't care what the believers realized; that was the goddess's will. And with these cryptic additions, the scripture might actually attract sincere believers in addition to the pragmatists.

After flipping through the scripture and confirming there were no issues, Wang Yu placed them on the windowsill with satisfaction. Next was the simple renovation phase.

Zieg had already given him the key to the hideout shack. Wang Yu opened the door, surprised to find the interior quite decent despite its dilapidated exterior.

Two beds, a storage cabinet, and various simple furnishings were present. Weapons, shields, crossbows, longswords, and axes hung on the walls. Though covered in dust, they were in good condition and appeared to be of high quality. Wang Yu swung a double-edged short axe a few times before strapping it to his back.

He opened the cabinet, found some tools and potions, and began hammering away at the doorway.

With the help of sorcery and his knightly constitution, simple carpentry was easy. Wang Yu built a small wooden canopy, covered the stones on the ground with planks, and placed the scriptures on display.

After a moment’s thought, he made a sign and wrote in eye-catching colors: "Church of the Lady of the Night Recruiting Believers."

Thinking of something, Wang Yu asked the Lady of the Night, who had been watching from the side, "Shouldn't our church have a name? Calling it the Church of the Lady of the Night is strange, and if we call it the Church of the Night, it will clash with the Night Church among the Seven Great Churches."

"You are right. How about the 'Song of Night' Church?"

Wang Yu slapped his forehead. The Lady of the Night’s taste was as peculiar as ever. Ignoring her potential objections, he changed "Church of the Lady of the Night" to "Church of the Nightfall."

"This is better. It’s shorter and more likely to attract believers," Wang Yu explained.

"Very well." As expected, the Lady of the Night offered no rebuttal.

Finally, Wang Yu added details below the large characters. Since the expansion and future work required manpower, he decided to include it in the recruitment.

He listed the benefits just like a job posting: five days a week, room and board provided on workdays, and meals provided on non-workdays if they helped out, plus extra wages paid monthly.

Wang Yu understood the situation in the chaotic Royal City of Shadow; such terms were quite generous in a place where people often went hungry. He hoped things would get on track soon.

Looking at the crude wooden shed that resembled a temporary street stall, and the three scriptures displayed on it, Wang Yu felt that without the clear sign, no one would even glance at the place.

Shaking his head helplessly, Wang Yu noticed a wooden rocking chair had appeared next to the scriptures. The Lady of the Night was sitting in it, rocking gently with a graceful and comfortable air.

"You are?" Wang Yu realized that although the Lady of the Night could turn ethereal at will, she could do much more now that she had a physical form. He didn't know what she planned to do, and he couldn't stop her anyway.

"I believe I should participate in the management of my own church. Let me handle the recruitment of believers myself." The Lady of the Night stated her intentions.

She was a very responsible goddess. It was quite surprising that a deity would personally handle recruitment, but the Church of the Nightfall was already strange enough that he didn't need to worry about such trifles.

With the Lady of the Night personally presiding over recruitment, Wang Yu didn't have to worry about anything. Although he didn't know her exact strength, anyone who lacked the specific ability to deal with void evil gods like the Blade of Night did would likely be helpless against her.

"That’s great. I need to head back to the surface. You handle the recruitment. With the Blade of Night’s permit, proselytizing shouldn't be a problem. I can also do some preaching when I reach the surface. I hope your congregation grows."

"My friend, thank you again for your help. Take this; if you need assistance, you can call upon me in the mental space. Although the amount of faith in the crystal is limited and it is difficult for me to exert power in this underground space, it should be able to help you."

As Wang Yu prepared to leave, an object suddenly appeared in his hand before he could react, and the Lady of the Night’s voice echoed in his ears.

He looked at the object—a small sculpture of the Lady of the Night. It was likely crafted by her own hand, and the workmanship was far superior to the one Zieg had helped make. With this, she could likely use it as a coordinate to exert her power; it was indeed very useful.

"Then I shall accept it without ceremony." Wang Yu put the statue in his pocket and prepared to leave again.

"Hm?" Wang Yu turned his head and noticed a group of people approaching from the street.

They made no attempt to hide their faces, and they marched toward the shack with menacing intent.

It must be a gang, noticing the changes at the hideout. Wang Yu frowned. He hadn't yet contacted the Blade of Night’s informant in the Black Street, and a conflict with a gang wasn't rational, but it seemed highly unlikely they could avoid it.

He discreetly unhooked the double-edged axe from his back. He planned to negotiate first; if a fight broke out, it wouldn't be impossible, but it would be troublesome.

There were surely experts among them. He might have to find a way to retreat from the underground city and rethink things later. What a nuisance...

As the gang members drew closer, Wang Yu prepared for negotiation or conflict. But then, the Lady of the Night’s voice entered his mind.

"You go first. Now that I have the support of the faith crystal, I can use much more power. Just leave; they will not see you. I will handle the rest."

As she spoke, the surrounding space trembled violently. Darkness began to writhe like flowing water, transforming into a thick black mist that enveloped Wang Yu. Clearly, this was the Lady of the Night’s power.

"This is... a Fifth-Circle spell, Ancient Darkness?" Wang Yu looked at the fluid darkness surrounding him in surprise. It was a high-level spell; materialized darkness provided extreme concealment.

"Instant-cast Fifth-Circle spell? Is this the power of a god corresponding to their domain?"

A Fifth-Circle spell was a dimensional strike against these gang members who weren't particularly powerful. Wang Yu walked directly into the shadows of the already dim city, the liquid-like darkness gently wrapping around him, erasing all traces of his existence.

The gang members clearly noticed Wang Yu’s sudden disappearance and quickened their pace, but they stopped in confusion when they reached the shack.

Everything they had seen before was gone. It was just the same dilapidated shack that their boss had said could be left alone, its entrance mostly blocked by broken crates from the neighboring potion shop.

"Damn it, have I been in this place so long that I'm hallucinating like those guys who jumped into the 'Great Abyss'!" one of them said, rubbing his eyes vigorously in annoyance.

Damn it, I saw it too; could those things be back again? We had better be careful, let’s go find a way to unwind, perhaps I’ve just been too tightly wound these past few days—I certainly don’t want to wake up only to find myself leaping off a cliff.

Forget it, let’s just go; I never thought there was much profit to be made here anyway, and now that we’re starting to hallucinate, this is truly wretched luck.

The other gang members chimed in with similar sentiments, their voices a discordant chorus as they drifted away.

What remained hidden from their eyes, veiled by a faint, suffocating shroud of black mist, was an elegant lady draped in dark gossamer, sitting upon a rocking chair beneath the crude wooden shed at the entrance of the outpost, swaying ever so gently.

By now, Wang Yu had already sprinted beyond the perimeter of the subterranean city, entering the "Root System" to navigate the "Interstice" and return to his residence on Red Maple Street.

(This is another transitional chapter; the narrative will soon shift into high-stakes conflict and a rapid acceleration of growth and plot.)