Chapter 5: The Crisis of Light

Once the situation at Bruce Fortress stabilized, Komer realized he might have to face the most serious problem yet. While using dark necromantic powers could drive Homer’s army out of Bruce Fortress, it would also put him directly in conflict with the Church of Light. Homer might not send his army back to Bruce anytime soon, but the Church of Light would never tolerate an area where dark forces ran rampant like in Homer’s territory. Whatever the reason, such a situation would be resolutely suppressed and eradicated. How to deal with the impending purge by the Church of Light was the harsh reality Komer had to confront.

There was still some time, though. Komer didn’t yet have the strength to confront the Church of Light head-on; he could only use other tactics to maneuver, eliminating all traces of darkness in the Caucasus and Leon. It was essential to push the light priests and ministers who had established churches in the Caucasus to the forefront as a cover. As for the natural religion worship of other races, Komer had no intention of stopping it. If the cover-up went too far, it might arouse suspicion among the people of the Church of Light. Those members of the Church of Light were no easy targets, especially since Homer itself did not ban other forms of worship, which was more in line with the realities of the Caucasus and Leon.

After delegating daily governance of Bruce to Puber, Komer devoted himself entirely to negotiating with the Great Secret Sect and assessing the situation in the kingdom. Although Uma hadn’t revealed his true identity to Xuro, Xuro’s keen sense had already detected that this Mr. Uma must have deep ties to the dark faction. Uma, in turn, placed high hopes on the shrewd and capable Xuro. Though neither of them revealed their full backgrounds, their shared allegiance to the dark faction allowed them to quickly join forces to pressure Komer, demanding an answer on how to revive the dark faction and restore the glory of the Dark Holy Church. The scale of this issue was so vast that even Komer, who was mentally prepared, found it somewhat overwhelming.

Although Uma owed him a debt, he was clearly not the kind of person who valued gratitude. His extreme obsession with the Dark Holy Church, the Dark Empire, and the unfulfilled ambitions of the late King Kenifer III drove him to take steps toward reviving the Dark lineage. With Xuro’s Great Secret Sect as a foundation, Uma believed all the necessary conditions were in place—especially since the Great Secret Sect had deep roots in the south. This was the perfect opportunity for the Dark lineage to rise again. Xuro also sensed that Uma had considerable influence over the Dark Lord, even a degree of control over him. By joining forces, they could gradually push the Dark Lord onto the path of the Dark lineage, making it impossible for Komer to leave even if he wanted to.

Their alliance made Komer feel as though he were being held hostage. It would be easy for them to destroy him—not necessarily through physical elimination, but by leaking just a little information to the Light Church. The furious Inquisition would then ensure he had no chance of survival. Of course, Komer didn’t think they would go that far, as he carried on King Kenifer III’s legacy. Without him, their efforts to revive the Dark lineage would be like chasing illusions. It was this fear of being attacked from both sides that made both Komer and the others seek a compromise through a mutually acceptable solution.

The alliance between Uma and Xuro put pressure on Komer. Clearly, they were dissatisfied with his obsession with competing for secular power. They also disagreed with his claim that expanding secular power would benefit the Dark lineage in the long run. While expanding secular power might help, the more urgent task was to unite the dark forces in the south under the upcoming Dark Holy Church. Only by concentrating all dark forces could they truly confront the Light Holy Church. However, it was obvious that the baron’s enthusiasm for this matter disappointed Uma and Xuro.

Komer knew that without a clear statement or detailed plan, it would be difficult to win the full support of Uma and Xuro again. But it was impossible for him to give up everything he had achieved so far just to pursue the vague and uninteresting cause of the Dark Holy Church in the south. Uma and Xuro understood this as well. How to bridge the gap between their goals became the key to reaching a compromise.

After some discussions between the two sides, the outcome was fairly satisfactory. Komer finally agreed to visit the southern regions at an appropriate time to meet with important figures from the Great Secret Sect, as well as to contact some other smaller dark sects active in the south, in order to better unite the forces of the dark faction and restore the power of the Dark Holy Church as soon as possible. Umma Huxi Luo agreed to temporarily withdraw the dark forces from the Caucasus to prepare for any possible crackdown by the Light Church. They were aware that it was not yet the right time for the dark forces to openly confront the Light Church—neither their strength nor the timing allowed them to expose themselves to the Light Holy Church now, as that would be catastrophic.

Although the Great Secret Sect would withdraw from the Caucasus for now, Komer could summon them back at any time if needed. For the sect, the Caucasus could also serve as a foothold for the dark faction in the north, taking advantage of its unique conditions compared to other northern areas to gradually infiltrate dark forces there and lay the foundation for the future restoration of the Dark Holy Church.

Umma would return to the south with Huxi Luo and the others, while Mihajic, Newman, and the two Dark Knights would also head back to Ugru first. Komer estimated that the people of the Light Church would soon receive news and begin a thorough search of areas including Bruce Fortress, Leon, and the Caucasus, in an attempt to uncover any activities by the dark faction in those regions.

Damolangsk Fortress would not be the safest place for Mihajic and the others either. Once the Light Church sent people, they would surely start by searching Damolangsk Fortress. Therefore, Komer had to plan ahead and take various precautions in the fortress, especially by making adjustments to the underground structures to prevent them from being discovered by the Light Church members—after all, those structures carried strong traces of the dark faction, which would be easily recognizable to them.