Lavian returned to the Night Sanctuary, which is not just a religious name but a real place, though it exists within a dream.
As for why it is called the Night Sanctuary, aside from the fact that the Lord of the Morning Star controls dreams with the power of the night, this place is indeed pitch black, with only a long table for meetings.
Lavian’s mask was expressionless, but internally he looked down on this so-called sanctuary. After all, he had seen more magnificent, exquisite, and fantastical churches in the dream. In Lavian’s eyes, the church casually built by Lord Bernice in the dream truly deserved to be called a sanctuary.
This place was nothing but a void; upon closer inspection of the long table, one could see several blurry patterns, the resolution severely lacking, as if reminding the onlooker that this was within a dream.
Lavian felt he had separated himself from those around him who were smug over controlling a little power, calling themselves the Apostles of the Morning Star. He had seen the true Apostles of the divine; compared to the so-called Lord of the Morning Star, the great Goddess, and His Majesty the Emperor, they were utterly insignificant.
Having undergone the baptism of the Goddess, Lavian felt he had distanced himself from the local scum of the Solun Continent.
Although Lavian’s expression on the mask was quite arrogant, the figures appearing one after another did not sense anything amiss, for everyone in the Night Sanctuary was similarly arrogant. As a regional bishop, it was only normal for Lavian to be even more arrogant.
However, beneath the mask, Lavian was sneering. He had already strayed from the faith of the Lord of the Morning Star, even accepting the baptism of heresy, yet these people remained oblivious to any signs of discord.
Great is the Goddess, great is His Majesty the Emperor; if it were not for the meeting, Lavian would have even thought to pray to the Goddess in the style of Professor Bernice.
“Alright, let us begin the decisions for this meeting.”
In the darkness, the Pope adorned with a tall crown said, “Lavian, how has your interaction with that Gray Robe progressed? It seems you have taken a considerable amount of time with the Apostles of the Morning Star.”
The so-called Apostles of the Morning Star were mere pawns; though they sounded grand, they were nothing but the cheapest consumables.
“After all, the other party is a well-known high-level professional, once a national master, so it requires some time.”
Lavian stood up to report.
Upon hearing this explanation, the Pope merely nodded slightly, the tall crown swaying comically with his nod.
No one disputed this explanation, for their ability to invade dreams was indeed a form of magic; the caution of an experienced mage like the Gray Robe, who had held high office and could traverse the Sea of Instability, was quite reasonable.
Seeing that no one felt anything was amiss, Lavian felt even more contempt, yet he continued speaking as per Bernice’s request: “He does not wish to cooperate with us, but neither does he want to be our enemy.”
“Hehe, is that really the case?”
A voice with a hint of sarcasm came from beneath a bishop’s mask.
“That Gray Robe has already taken the little lord of Castile to establish a nation at Valunia Port; I think we need not ask what he is up to.”
“Why not directly invade that little lord’s dream and threaten him in the dream? Plus, deal with those so-called imperial folks first; let’s seize that fleet before we discuss anything further.”
During the meeting, the bishops exchanged remarks, hardly considering the supposed Empire, but the more they discussed, the more Lavian felt they were foolish. How had he been involved in such foolishness before?
“Everyone!”
In the end, Lavian couldn’t help but speak, “I think establishing cooperation with New Castile is not out of the question.”
In the Night Sanctuary, everyone’s gaze turned back to Lavian.
“You should know, given our current number of Apostles of the Morning Star, controlling half of Castile is already a limit. We still need to first solidify our base by controlling those three Castilian regions and capturing Apostles of the Morning Star.”
“Moreover, aside from the artillery from the Old Empire, they have also brought along dragons from the M Continent.”
Upon hearing this term, even the Pope sitting at the main seat trembled slightly.
“Are you saying there are dragons among that imperial fleet?”
Upon hearing the Pope’s inquiry, Lavian bowed respectfully and replied, “Yes, Your Majesty. They are not the dragons of the Solun Continent, but dragons from the M Continent. They likely reached here under the protection of dragons, and this so-called Empire may very well be allies of the Avar, much like the Avar themselves. I believe we need to tread carefully regarding this relationship.”
Upon absorbing this news, everyone fell silent. They had no means to invade a dragon’s dream, and they did not even know whether dragons dreamed.
If they had a way to deal with dragons, they would have long strived to confront the Dragon Church, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Until the Church had grown strong, they still needed to be cautious of the dragons’ retaliation.
In fact, it was not so simple for the Night Sanctuary to kill in dreams; at least it was far more challenging than the Lantern Dream from before. They needed the cooperation of the persons involved to control the dream, and dragging someone into the dream was merely chatting; they could only threaten with illusions. Although it was not impossible to kill, it would be very troublesome and would require a massive amount of Apostles of the Morning Star; each time they acted, it required a resolution from the Night Sanctuary.
“I understand.”
The Pope’s tall crown swayed gently once again.
“ACCEPT the terms of that Gray Robe. Everyone, do not forget our ultimate goal is to counter those brutal dragons and to restore, or even surpass, the position held by the Lord of the Morning Star on the continent—there is no need to create excessive enemies.”
“Lavian, you have done well. Recently, some in the Church have been too impulsive, leading to many monarchs being very resistant toward our sect. Everyone should take Lavian as an example; prepare adequately before threatening others, investigate the intelligence, and then make decisions.”
Several bishops bowed their heads, having somewhat forgotten their purpose after gaining the power of dreams, madly targeting Castile to carve out wealth from those small nations, causing those nations to explode directly, even preferring to join their previous mortal enemies than align with the Night Sanctuary.
The Night Sanctuary had just begun to flourish, and many had started to forget their purpose and began dividing up benefits. This bishop then took Lavian’s reminder as an opportunity to suppress those fools.
Following this, within the Night Sanctuary, the bishops discussed other issues, and the meeting concluded quickly. After all, while this method of communication was convenient, it consumed lives—literally consuming lives in a physical sense—requiring double-digit Apostles of the Morning Star for each contact.
However, after everyone else exited, Lavian remained in place. Though it appeared to others that he had likewise left the meeting at the Night Sanctuary.
In the darkness, a lantern appeared in a hazy manner, accompanied by the crisp sound of boots stepping on the floor.
“Great Goddess’s envoy, Lord Bernice, I have acted according to your wishes and prevented those foolish ones from coveting New Castile.”
If it weren’t for knowing that the Empire forbids kneeling at will, Lavian would have even wanted to kneel within the dream to kiss Bernice’s boots.
“I certainly know; I have been watching.”
Bernice sat down before Lavian, crossing her legs.
“However, you have indeed done well. I acknowledge you.”
Upon hearing this, Lavian was overwhelmed with excitement, tears streaming down his face, completely engulfed in fanaticism as a believer.
Bernice handed him a stack of documents and said, “These are the Emperor’s gifts, the fundamentals for controlling dreams. Study them diligently, and do not let me down.”
Lavian solemnly received the documents with both hands, already starting to fantasize about himself sitting in the main seat of the Night Sanctuary, leading the entire sanctuary to submit to the Empire, truly becoming part of the Goddess’s church.
Just thinking about it made Lavian feel elated.
After Bernice left, Lavian slowly opened the documents within his dream.
“Numbers, math problems?”
