Chapter 743, Building a Church
Wu Heng memorized this location.
The Second Prince was different from the First Prince. The First Prince was involved with the Adventurer's Guild, colluding with the sect to kill the local steward of the Guild, and the rest was Wu Heng's own investigation.
The Second Prince, on the other hand, had been eyeing Rentam City all along, which was Wu Heng's personal property.
A personal feud.
The last question—Wu Heng asked, "Are there any high-level Professionals around the Second Prince?"
"Yes, I suspect he's at level 18."
After saying this, the corpse fell back.
Another level 18 Professional.
Why were so many high-level Professionals appearing one after another?
The First Prince had the support of the sect, and from his conversations with the Fifth Princess, most of the Kingdom's ministers and generals also supported the First Prince.
Then where did the Second Prince find so many high-level Professionals?
Also the sect?
Or some other force?
Why didn't these level 18s participate in the battle for Rentam City?
There must be some missing information in all this.
Perhaps capturing the Second Prince directly would reveal the answer.
With the questioning of the Commander's corpse complete, there was nothing more to ask from the others.
[Battlefield of the Dead] was cast, and all the corpses turned into skeletons and stood up.
Wu Heng said, "Put on your original gear and guard this place."
The skeletons began equipping themselves. Wu Heng, with the ghost and his personal servant, headed toward the inner mansion. "Let's go see if anything good was left behind."
Beni said, "I checked earlier, there's no one inside, but they didn't take much."
"As long as they didn't take the good stuff."
...…
Gold-Silver Island, harbor.
"Look, what fleet is that?" someone suddenly exclaimed.
The surrounding crowd also looked out toward the sea.
On the vast ocean under the high-hanging sun, a fleet made of dark wood appeared in everyone's sight.
Sunlight streamed through the clouds, casting golden rays as if cloaking the fleet in a divine robe.
As the fleet approached, the sails rose high, white as snow, embroidered with a giant emblem symbolizing religious faith, fluttering in the sea breeze.
"It's the Church's fleet—are they going to attack Gold-Silver Island?"
"The island's naval defenses can't be beaten by the Church! Remember the pirate hordes."
"The Island Lord is appointed by the Guild. Why would the Church attack Gold-Silver Island? Use your brain."
"With such a formation, the Church leadership must be here."
"If the Church lands and sees all the skeletons, won't that be fun?"
"Now that you mention it, I'm kinda looking forward to it."
People gathered at the port, speculating about the Church's personnel and their intentions for coming ashore.
Anywhere else, seeing Church ships wouldn't be strange—but coming to Gold-Silver Island aroused curiosity.
After all, skeletons were everywhere on the island.
Undead troops that the Church always sought to destroy.
Tap tap tap~!
At that moment, footsteps echoed from behind.
Sheila Grey led a large group from the Guild, glanced at the approaching ships, and said, "Clear the crowd and coordinate with the docked ships to make room for the Church vessels."
Guild members responded and got to work.
The path was cleared, and docked ships made way.
...…
The Church's ships slowly docked.
A formally dressed and ornate Church delegation walked down the gangplank and stood at the port.
Then, a figure formed of holy light appeared before everyone.
The features were unclear, but one could vaguely see a crown on his head, a splendid robe, and a radiant halo surrounding him.
Sheila Grey, along with the Deputy Steward and City Hall officials, stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Leader Saidu."
"Mm, you must be Sheila Grey," Saidu said calmly through the golden light.
"Yes, Leader," Sheila Grey replied more respectfully.
Saidu asked again, "Where is Wu Heng? Didn't he come?"
Sheila Grey lowered her voice, saying, "Leader, Island Lord Wu Heng is not on the island. A letter has been sent, he should return in a few days."
Saidu didn't mind. "Just passing through to have a look, no need to wait for him. We'll leave this afternoon."
"Please, Leader. The carriage is ready," Sheila Grey gestured.
Saidu nodded and boarded the carriage, heading toward the center of the island.
...…
Among the isolated crowd.
Discussions started again.
"Who's that? He's glowing all over."
"An elemental projection, maybe! Must be at least level 18 Cleric."
"That skill's better than street lamps."
"Gold-Silver Island looks good now—level 18 Church personnel came to inspect."
"Come on, our Island Lord has killed level 18s before."
The discussions continued.
...…
The Church members, accompanied by Sheila Grey and City Hall personnel—
Visited the city's cinema, expo center, and stores selling pens and watches.
Everything went smoothly along the way.
Which made Sheila Grey and the others secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
It seemed they really were just curious about the island and came to visit—not to find fault.
This would also make reporting to Wu Heng easier.
On the return, the carriage passed through the central district again.
The carriage stopped, and Saidu stepped down. Sheila Grey and others followed from behind.
"What is this building for?"
A City Hall official replied, "As per the Island Lord's instructions, this was meant to become a Mage Research Institute."
Saidu ignored the official and said to someone nearby, "Go coordinate with City Hall and buy this place."
"Yes." A Cleric nodded and walked off to complete the paperwork.
Sheila Grey felt something was wrong. "Leader, you like this place? I'll ask Wu Heng to prepare a residence for you."
Saidu shook his head slightly.
Before long, the Cleric returned, "The purchase is done."
Saidu glanced casually and said, "You stay here and convert it into a church."
"Yes!" the Church members nodded.
Sheila Grey and the others widened their eyes instantly. "Leader, this..."
Saidu's body turned into a stream of light and flew back toward the harbor.
Sheila Grey and the others were startled.
A Church church on Gold-Silver Island.
It's over!
When Wu Heng returns, conflict with the Church is inevitable.
...…
Serted Fortress.
Wu Heng assembled the radio.
He picked up the microphone to contact Rentam City. "Wen Mansa, can you hear me?"
Soon, Wen Mansa's cheerful voice came through. "Master, already missing me?"
Ignoring her teasing, Wu Heng leaned on the chair. "Serted Fortress is secured. Got any plans?"
"So fast? You took it yourself?" Wen Mansa exclaimed in shock.
Back in Rentam City, she had briefed Wu Heng on the fortress's significance and how strong its defenses were.
The plan was to station troops first, then attack once prepared.
But Wu Heng had left just the night before, and now it was already captured.
"I arrived just as the skeletons attacked, so I helped out," Wu Heng said.
"Master, you're amazing," Wen Mansa replied blankly, then asked, "So what's your plan?"
"Let me hear your strategy first."
Wen Mansa paused, then said, "Keep pushing south. Serted Fortress can be used as a resource point to supply materials more easily."
Wu Heng thought for a moment. "I feel we can take a short rest and utilize the tracks here."
"Master wants to halt the advance? At this stage, peace is unlikely," Wen Mansa said softly.
Both sides were fully engaged by now.
And the Kingdom was in chaos, unable to concentrate fully on this front.
Once the Kingdom stabilized, whoever sat on the throne would first want to reclaim lost land.
Regardless of whether the Second Prince coveted Rentam City first or not.
War would reignite.
Stopping it now was unrealistic.
Wu Heng was aware of that too. "That's not what I mean. The Guild's main religious hero is coming to the Kingdom soon. They're prejudiced against undead. Let's pause our offensive for two days. Second, connect the railway to the closest point near Rentam City."
After a short pause, he added, "We'll see how things go before pushing further."
"A hero?"
Hearing the mention of a hero, Wen Mansa gasped.
A hero.
The highest combat power in this world was actually coming to the Kingdom.
Continuing the attack wouldn't scare the Kingdom.
But attracting a hero's attention would be far more troublesome.