Chapter 123: The Wager

Link wanted cooperation, not to become someone else’s subordinate. He would never accept a position beneath another, while Sylvanas spoke as though she were constantly bestowing rewards upon her subjects. It irritated him immensely and made him realize that unless he made it clear now that they could only be partners, not lord and vassal, the Church of the Father God would be constrained at every turn even after it had grown powerful.

Thus, Link decisively revealed his forceful side.

After hearing Link’s words, Sylvanas narrowed her eyes. A powerful killing intent suddenly erupted from her, making the air seem viscous. This was absolutely not something that could be produced by killing a few, or even a few dozen, people. Even Altair, who had slaughtered countless men, had never given Link such a terrifying feeling.

In an instant, Link remembered Sylvanas’s epithet—the Nightmare of the Stars.

Many years ago, a barbarian tribe in the north had rebelled. Sixteen-year-old Sylvanas personally led an army to suppress the revolt, defeating forty thousand barbarian soldiers with only thirteen thousand troops. Afterward, she buried alive more than eighty thousand barbarians, from the highest chiefs to the lowliest commoners, and used the heads of the forty thousand enemy soldiers to create a forest of skulls.

Her fearsome reputation spread throughout the continent of Euryn. The neighboring kingdoms, which had been itching to take advantage of the barbarians’ rebellion, were terrified. They cried out that Sylvanas was truly the Nightmare of the Stars, and the name soon became synonymous with her.

She had committed such a massacre at only sixteen. One could easily imagine how merciless a heart lay beneath Sylvanas’s beautiful appearance. Her domineering temperament had not arisen without reason.

How could Sylvanas not be enraged when Link openly challenged her? Her killing intent flooded the entire room. Anyone else would probably have been crushed beneath it, but Link remained perfectly still, as though the overwhelming pressure were no more than a gentle breeze.

In truth, the killing intent had little effect on Link. Though it was intimidating, he felt no discomfort. The instant it surged toward him, the holy power within his body was suddenly activated, as though forming an invisible shield around him. Sylvanas’s killing intent was held completely at bay and could not affect him in the slightest.

This astonished Sylvanas. There were not many people in the world who could withstand her killing intent. Anyone below the seventh rank would be forced to kneel before it. Could Link be a seventh-rank powerhouse?

Yet this thought produced no fear or apprehension in her. Instead, she found it interesting. Her eyes narrowed further as she said, “It seems you have some ability after all. To face my killing intent directly at your age is quite remarkable. Could it be that, like me, you have inherited the legacy of an ancient saint?”

The legacy of an ancient saint? So that was the reason. No wonder this woman, who was barely twenty, was so formidable. Damn, she really was just like the protagonist of a novel!

People blessed with such protagonist-like fortune could indeed not be judged by ordinary standards. Still, Sylvanas had revealed her own secret without the slightest hesitation. What exactly was she thinking?

As Link pondered this, he could not help looking into Sylvanas’s eyes. They held only pride, confidence, and calm indifference. At once, he understood her intentions.

It was not that she had failed to consider the consequences. Rather, she possessed such absolute confidence and such contemptuous pride that she looked down on everything. It was precisely this extreme character that made her disdainful of concealing her secrets.

At the same time, it was a display of strength—a declaration that even if Link had inherited the legacy or relic of some great figure, she would not fear him, because she possessed an equivalent advantage herself.

Faced with this, Link smiled faintly and said, “Father God above, Your Highness, I have never received the legacy of any ancient saint. Everything I possess was granted to me by the exalted Father God. How could that so-called ancient saint possibly compare with the exalted Father God?”

“Father God? Hmph…” Sylvanas gave a disdainful laugh, as though she knew something about the matter, but she did not pursue the subject. Instead, she withdrew her killing intent and said coolly, “Neil Night, I do not care whether what you said is true or false. I only want to ask you one thing: do you dare make a wager with me?”

Link raised an eyebrow. “A wager? What kind?”

Sylvanas held up one finger. “One year. For one year, I will allow you to do whatever you wish, but I will not help you. If you can unify the religious world of Redmoon Province within that year, I will change our relationship from ‘lord and vassal’ to ‘partners.’ But if you fail to accomplish it within one year, you must swear loyalty to me. Well? Do you dare?”

Unifying the religious world of Redmoon Province within one year? It was neither especially difficult nor particularly easy. Given the Church of the Father God’s current situation, there was more than enough time as long as nothing unexpected happened.

But that was precisely the problem. The possibility of something unexpected happening made this wager rather unsettling.

With that in mind, Link asked, “Father God above, Your Highness’s proposal is very tempting. However, how can I be certain that Your Highness will honor your word? What if you interfere while I am unifying the religious world of Redmoon Province, or refuse to keep your promise afterward? What am I to do then?”

At this challenge, Sylvanas narrowed her eyes but did not lose her temper. She simply lifted her chin and said with immense pride, “I disdain lies. If you can truly unify the religious world of Redmoon Province within one year, it will prove that you possess outstanding ability and are qualified to speak with me as an equal.

“However, I warn you: if you fail to unify it after one year and then attempt to wriggle out of the wager, I will personally lead an army to flatten your Church of the Father God and slaughter every last one of its members!”

Though Sylvanas did not release any killing intent as she spoke, her words were still chillingly murderous, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop considerably.

Yet her proud and threatening declaration also demonstrated that she was far too arrogant to break a promise. This reassured Link somewhat. He then discussed several details of the wager with Sylvanas, and only after they established a magical contract was the matter settled.

A year later, whether they would be allies or lord and vassal would depend entirely on what Link did.

However, after the magical contract was established, Sylvanas smiled playfully and said, “Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you something. Although the major churches of Redmoon Province appear to possess only so much strength on the surface, I have learned that there are hidden experts among the Five Great Churches. Some of them are even seventh-rank powerhouses. If you cannot find a way to deal with those seventh-rank experts within a year, your unification campaign will probably end before it begins.”

Link’s expression changed. He left with a darkened face, while Sylvanas paid him no attention and began handling her own affairs with the bearing of a victor.

Lothermar led him back as before. Seeing Link’s gloomy expression, Lothermar guessed that he had suffered a hidden setback at Sylvanas’s hands. He did not know what to say and could only offer a few words of consolation. Link merely nodded in response, leaving the atmosphere so oppressive that hardly a word was spoken along the way.

It was not until they returned to the villa that the gloom vanished from Link’s face, replaced by a faint smile.

“Hmph. Did they really think only they knew about this? Do they believe the countless films, television dramas, and novels I’ve seen were all for nothing? How could a major power like the Five Great Churches possibly lack hidden experts guarding them? Even if Count Lothar does not know about it, would I really fail to think of such a possibility? I prepared for this long ago. With a whole year to develop freely, and with the Church of the Father God’s current strength, unifying the religious world of Redmoon Province truly will not be difficult.

“It is just that the Heretic Tribunal must be established as soon as possible. The real problem is manpower…”

Given the harmonious atmosphere within the church, Link felt that strengthening the Heretic Tribunal would be somewhat difficult in the short term.

Unless something happened—something that provoked the fury of the entire populace.

With this thought, Link’s mind grew heavier, and the long night passed quietly.

The next day, Link prepared to leave the royal capital. But Lothermar suddenly arrived and said that Sylvanas hoped he would stay for a few more days, because an interesting spectacle would soon take place.

Although Lothermar did not explain what this so-called spectacle was, Link could more or less guess. After hearing him out, Link did not ask what the event would be. Instead, he stared at Lothermar and said, “Your Highness, why do you support the princess?”

Lothermar replied with a faint smile, “Because my elder sister will support my dream, while Father will not.”

“Your dream…” Link nodded and did not continue the subject.

The royal family was heartless, and the man before him was even more so. Link did not know whether Lothermar’s words were true, but one thing was certain: he genuinely did not care whether his own father lived or died.

Lothermar left soon afterward, but Link began paying close attention to the prince. Compared with Sylvanas’s domineering cruelty, Lothermar’s attitude and demeanor were far more approachable, yet he was also much more mysterious. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Deep down, Link felt that this man was extremely dangerous. Perhaps the throne truly did not interest him, but what his real objective was remained impossible to determine.

Link immediately summoned Altair, Lin Xi, and Ling Meng and told them about Sylvanas and Lothermar. After learning about the two heirs, even Ling Meng, who ordinarily cared little about affairs beyond their own circle, remarked that the siblings were extraordinarily unusual.

Both were the sort of people who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals, making it impossible for anyone to feel the slightest affection for them.

However, Link had not told them about the siblings in order to make them like the pair. After finishing, he instructed everyone to act cautiously over the next few days and avoid going out whenever possible. Altair, meanwhile, was to gather as much information as he could so they could remain constantly aware of developments outside.

And so Link and the others stayed quietly in the royal capital. It seemed that the outside world had also caught wind of something, for the number of people in the capital had decreased considerably over the past few days.

Finally, on the third day, astonishing news emerged.

The Nightmare of the Stars, Princess Sylvanas, was critically ill.

The king, overcome with grief, had taken to his bed and was unable to rise.

The immense Star Kingdom seemed to have suddenly lost its central pillar.

At once, a large number of ministers stepped forward and urged Lothermar to take control of the state. The king then issued a proclamation, declaring that he was in poor health and that, from that moment onward, Lothermar would serve as regent and govern all state affairs.

He also announced that Grand Duke Balthazar intended to rebel, ordered his arrest, and commanded him to appear at the royal palace immediately to receive punishment.