Chapter 46: Shadow Thief!
March 20, 2016
Author: Floating Tower
Spearwind Hills.
Near Shipwreck Bay in Cuimu Town, a nimble figure flipped over the wooden wall, completely ignoring the guards outside, and directly darted into a small alley behind the tavern. Soon after, the figure entered a hidden tavern through the back door. There were quite a few customers inside the tavern, but they weren’t the focus. The key was that they were gathered around a gambling table, intensely focused on their game. The bouncer glanced at the newcomer, and upon seeing a signal, his face immediately broke into a smile, leading them into a small room behind the bar.
“Lord Chouhou!”
Upon entering the room, the visitor slightly bowed and looked up at the young man in front of him, whose expression was cold and carried a hint of lethal intent, slowly saying, “All of our spies sent out have disappeared!”
“Something strange is happening in Shipwreck Bay! A group of very powerful experts has appeared recently, competing with us for territory!”
“The attitude of the Thieves Guild has been very strange lately.”
“It seems they have no intention of helping us, but they’re not helping the other side either.”
The young man in the room was carving patterns with a dagger. Hearing this, he raised his head and frowned, asking, “Who did it? Haven’t you found out their identities yet?”
Chouhou’s tone sank, and the atmosphere in the room became notably heavy.
As a rising star in Modo, Chouhou was now a High-Level Wanderer, just one step away from legend. He was an elite who grew up in slaughter, and his strength ranked among the top in Modo, not to mention he had Lord Soren’s blessing, allowing him to call upon the power from the God of Wanderers in critical moments.
“I’m incompetent!”
“However, we found this on them.”
The newcomer suddenly knelt down but immediately produced a peculiar insignia, slowly saying, “It seems there are Dark Creatures among the enemies. They seem to have vampires that appeared during the last night’s attack.”
Chouhou reached out to take it, glanced at it, and his expression changed slightly as he said solemnly, “Shadow Thief?!”
“Vampires?”
“It looks like the minions of the Lord of Shadows have finally shown themselves! Immediately send someone to request the Bishop! This matter must be reported to Modo at once!”
“Forget it.”
“I’ll go myself. You gather the manpower now!”
“Get the Shadow Guards from the City of Wealth and the Assassins from Taro Port to assemble!”
After speaking, Chouhou put away the insignia in his hand. This matter was significant and could involve the struggle between two deity churches; he no longer had the authority to make decisions and had to report back immediately.
………………
At the same time.
In the Grand Temple of Modo, the High Priest received a spell message at the first opportunity.
“The Shadow Thiefs have appeared?”
The High Priest frowned slightly, slowly saying, “This organization has a history of over a thousand years. Since the Lord of Shadows took over the shadow clergy, it has split, with part integrating into the Thieves Guild and the other part submitted to him.”
“This cannot be allowed.”
“This matter must be reported to our Lord immediately!”
Although the Half-Elf Church was not weak, it was still inferior to established divine churches. To contend against the Shadow Thief Church led by the Lord of Shadows, it would likely require the assistance of the secular powers in Modo.
Fortunately, Modo operated like an iron barrel, and the Shadow Thiefs did not dare to make trouble there, while the City of Wealth was under Lady Wealth’s domain. Taro Port was secured by the Ocean Goddess’s church. Thus, the only target the Shadow Thiefs could choose to strike was Shipwreck Bay, which was the weakest link for Modo—a mixed place where it was easy for them to undermine Modo’s power there. If the route to Shipwreck Bay was cut off, Modo’s slave trade would be interrupted. Although revenue in this area was no longer enough to impact Modo’s development, the losses would be significant.
The High Priest stood and walked out of the temple.
This matter was highly significant and related to the conflict between two deities; she must inform Gloria.
If necessary, she might also need to enlist the Witch Council’s power!
………………
In the Underdark.
Soren furrowed his brows as he looked at the deceased Claw Terror before him and the nearby corpse of a Grey Dwarf.
The Stone-Skin Grey Dwarf was found. However, the first contact did not go well; the Grey Dwarves were incredibly xenophobic. Upon discovering Soren’s identity, they immediately regarded him as surface-dwelling humans and launched an attack. The outcome, of course, goes without saying. Although Soren subdued the enemies with slaughter, the encounter did not go as he had anticipated.
There were still three Grey Dwarf captives before him.
Unlike the other Grey Dwarves, their situation was not good, as their clothing indicated.
They lacked material, and while the Underdark was rich in minerals, other necessities were scarce.
“How should I approach this?”
Soren fell into deep thought, but before he could decide whether to subjugate them by force or persuade them, a mental message from the High Priest suddenly arrived.
Upon hearing it, Soren’s body stiffened, muttering, “Have they finally revealed themselves? The Shadow Thiefs!”
“This is a tricky old organization!”
Since the Lord of Shadows had already torn the veil with him, he could not remain passive anymore—Soren was waiting for them to expose themselves.
However, he did not expect to draw out a big fish.
The Shadow Thief organization, capable of rivaling the Thieves Guild, was a gray force with a history of over a thousand years and a multitude of Wanderers.
“High Priest.”
“I’m returning immediately! I will handle the Shadow Thief matter.”
“However.”
“I have a task for you, too.”
Soren pondered for a moment and quickly devised a plan. Undoubtedly, dealing with the Lord of Shadows was the most important matter at present, but the Stone-Skin Grey Dwarves still needed to be brought back. This task could entirely be entrusted to the High Priest, as she was a mind sorcerer of legendary rank and could also channel Soren’s divine power. Using her mind control ability, it wouldn’t be overly challenging to recruit these Grey Dwarves. Moreover, Modo’s forces could provide support at any time.
“I’ll set up a portal beacon now!”
“You let Gloria connect the earth vein energy; if these Grey Dwarves refuse to submit, directly suppress them with force!”
Without further ado, Soren immediately began setting up the portal beacon on the ground.
Since Modo had gained sufficient energy, opening a portal had become much easier, almost catching up to the capabilities of the Witch Council. If these Grey Dwarves refused to submit, Soren could have Gloria directly teleport the Golem Legion over. By refusing the easy way, if the Grey Dwarves complied, they could gain citizen status in Modo; otherwise, they would only be captured as slaves. Although Soren treated slaves decently, the main composition of Modo still included many Indigenous slaves working as laborers.
Half an hour later.
Soren’s figure appeared in the Grand Temple.
The High Priest had long been waiting there. She handed over a piece of information and a special insignia, slowly saying, “My Lord!”
“The Shadow Thiefs have manifested power in Shipwreck Bay.”
“And there are traces of Dark Creatures; the vampires in Shipwreck Bay seem to want to drive us out.”
Vampires?
Soren frowned upon hearing this, immediately recalling past events.
During the time of the Vampire Son.
He had encountered vampires near Shipwreck Bay because it was a mixed area and a gray zone, where the vampire organization existed. However, Soren had never taken action against them.
“I understand.”
Soren glanced at the information in his hand, slowly saying, “This matter will be handled by me. Your task is to subdue these Grey Dwarves. Modo will need them in the future.”
“Immediately send someone to notify Arendelle!”
“This time, in dealing with the Lord of Shadows, we must leverage the power of the Princess.”
“By the way.”
Soren paused for a moment and slowly said, “Have you not found any traces of the Whip Maiden and the Winter Maiden?”
Whip Maiden, Winter Maiden.
These two deities were the evil deities that intervened against the Princess. Soren’s encounter with Princess Anna occurred because of an attack orchestrated by the Whip Maiden.
“None.”
The High Priest shook her head, saying, “However, we seem to have discovered some Drow from the Underdark.”
“They are not followers of the Spider Queen.”
Drow?
Not followers of the Spider Queen?
Now that the number of deities in the Underdark had greatly decreased, the God of Caves had fallen, and the whereabouts of the Grey Dwarf God were unknown, the Drow had very few deities they could worship aside from the Spider Queen. The Whip Maiden was one of them.
“Are they followers of the Whip Maiden?”
After thinking for a moment, Soren slowly said, “Send someone to keep an eye on their movements. Once we deal with the Lord of Shadows, it’s time to take action against them.”
Vivian’s divine profession still had no resolution.
Currently, the Little Girl’s divine power was stabilizing. After all, she was the strongest Demon Son of Fear, and the divinity Soren bestowed upon her was nearing completion.
Once the merger of her divinity was complete, Vivian would be able to advance to a Demigod.
At that time.
To continue her advancement, she would only be able to rely on divine powers. Vivian could not obtain a racial divine profession like the Vampire Son. Therefore, what was required was compatible divine power.
— Whip Maiden – Lav!
The divine professions she mastered included: Pain, Harm, Torment, Agony, Suffering, and Torture.
Although these were all similar divine domains.
Most of these merged into “Pain,” and Pain-related divine professions could possibly extend into the realm of “Fear.”
Because people fear pain and torment!
Based on Soren’s own judgment, the compatibility of some divine professions of the Whip Maiden with Vivian could reach over 50%.
That being said.
Once Vivian merged her divinity, she would have a divine profession, which could establish a foundation to independently combat the Demon God of Fear.
At that time, step by step, she could encroach on the Fear divinity, and the power of the Demon God of Fear would be greatly weakened.
Then.
The Winter Maiden must be dealt with.
Currently, Soren was an ally of the Princess on the same line; the Princess wanted to acquire the divine profession of the Ice and Snow Goddess, and the Winter Maiden was a hurdle she could not bypass.
Only by defeating the Winter Maiden could the Princess obtain the power of the God of North Wind and Ice and Snow.
Similarly.
For the Winter Maiden to advance to medium divine power or above, she also had to k*ll the Princess.
………………
(PS: I lose inspiration as soon as I catch a cold. It really seems I need to exercise more.) (To be continued ~^~)
