NOVPUB
Chapter 56: Chapter 56: A Rural Team-Building
Hearing this, Vikrant’s face changed in an instant. Audrey—the very person he had tricked into a death sentence—had somehow returned alive from that savage storm? And yet, even if she had survived, why would she betray the Legion? It didn’t make sense. Frankly, she ought to be hunting him, not the other way around.
"How peculiar," Vikrant murmured. He didn’t doubt the Undead; their minds held only the faintest awareness, incapable of falsehood. He turned to the Devotees and said, "Parishioners, I suspect that wretched Holy Cultivator Guild has meddled with our soldiers. Let them expend what remains of their strength."
To unleash the power of Ruse on such a grand scale could hardly have been for mere curiosity. Now these fallen soldiers were undead—cursed abominations rather than men—and sending them toward Riven would both evade the border guards and divert any suspicion from us.
"Vikrant," one Devotee spoke up, "if we do this, it amounts to the God of Deceit’s faction declaring war on the Divine Mother Goddess’s. Are you aware of the consequences?"
Vikrant inclined his head with a respectful smile. "Of course, my esteemed Parishioner. I, too, am one of our faction, ready to bear this burden. The God of Deceit is supreme—surely He will revel in our deed, will He not?"
Though counted among the greater deities, the God of Deceit was notorious for caprice—a fact well recorded in theological scrolls. To please him was to act in ways that amused him. From his divine vantage, unleashing a handful of undead against Riven was mere sport. But to mortals, even a god’s jest could yield vast advantage.
Vikrant could not simply report failure—Legion annihilated, their commander vanished—he would be held fully accountable. Under the Duke’s judgment, execution was certain. He needed a spectacle to redirect blame, thereby cleansing his own name.
...
Hidden in the underbrush, Audrey’s heart thundered as she watched the undead Legion march. They were bound for Riven. If Bishop Ashu traced this calamity back to her, she would pay dearly. After all, it was her doing—the Legion’s ruin, her failure to slay Vikrant—that drove him to raise the undead and unleash this horror. She had broken rank and botched her mission.
"I will seek out the Bishop and accept my punishment," she whispered. "You seven stay here. If anything changes, send word immediately." With that, she vanished, racing toward Riven alone.
Her speed far outstripped the lumbering undead. By the time they were halfway, she had already reached the Holy Cultivator Guild’s Chapter Church. The Gem of Deceit at her side granted her free passage inside.
Before long, she found Ashu deep in his cultivation chamber. The instant she laid eyes on him, she sprinted forward and slid to her knees in abject submission.
"Bishop, I have failed. I couldn’t kill Vikrant, and he rallied forty-seven Devotees of the God of Deceit to raise the Legion’s corpses as Undead—they’re now marching this way."
Having spoken, Audrey slammed her forehead repeatedly into the floor, as if her head were a battering ram, each impact more desperate than the last.
Ashu snapped out of his meditation, frowning. "Enough."
Audrey froze, her brow a crimson smear, stars dancing across her vision.
"Bishop?"
"Do you really think this will turn the tide?" Ashu reproached softly, then leaned forward. "Tell me about these Undead Legionnaires: their combat strength? Their numbers?"
"My Bishop," Audrey gasped, "there are just over nine hundred of them. In life they were mere mortals; the power of ruse deceived them into believing they still draw breath. They can only fight as they did in life—but they feel no pain."
"Good." Ashu’s tone grew calculating. "If they wield only human might, they’ll learn their lesson beneath the storm at Riven. Mere specters like these mean nothing in siegecraft—it’s all a diversion. Now, what of that officer? Vikrant—what is he doing?"
"That wretch," Audrey replied, "stays well behind the Undead column. He doesn’t dare show himself."
"Then we’ll send an invitation in the name of the Cidi faith—offer him a share of Riven’s spoils." Ashu’s voice dropped lower. "He’ll try to trick you. But play along. Lure them into the Church. Leave the rest to me."
Audrey hesitated. "Bishop, Vikrant knows every one of us. If we send word, he’ll see through the ruse."
"Can’t you disguise yourselves?" Ashu’s eyes flashed. "Or must I burn your faces for you to learn?"
His words sent a chill through Audrey’s bones. She nodded frantically, "I understand, Bishop. Thank you for your counsel."
"Go." Ashu reclosed his eyes and returned to his cultivation. With the power of Divine Points, he would break through to the next stage in less than a fortnight.
...
Audrey slipped out of Riven under cover of dusk. She found an iron helm and strapped it tightly to her head, then tore open her tunic to reveal the Cidi mark etched across her chest. Though the design was simple, in a world steeped in faith it carried absolute authority.
Steeling herself, she strode past the lumbering Undead Legion and made for the path she knew Vikrant would take.
As she had guessed, the Devotees of the God of Deceit trailing behind the Legion spotted her the moment she drew near.
"This one is..." Over forty Devotees of the God of Deceit stood like pampered nobles on a countryside retreat.
Only Vikrant’s eyes flicked once, confirming her identity. He smiled coldly. "Well, well... a stray dog, aren’t you? Cidi must be ashamed of you. Midaldas can’t protect you anymore—now that new Bishop must be ruthlessly efficient, yes?"
His tone dripped with disdain. Before the Demon Huntress Nun’s visit, Riven had teemed with Cidi Devotees; afterward, they all but disappeared. Today’s lone figure was likely a pitiful castoff.
Audrey fell silent for more than ten seconds. Once she was sure Vikrant hadn’t recognized her, she forced out a rough voice. "Oh? A messenger of the God of Deceit, following in my footsteps? Do you really believe that rabble of Undead—with souls barely held together—can storm a town?"
"Ha! A stray dog daring to yelp so proudly?"
Audrey bristled at his mocking. She wasn’t cunning enough to rip him apart on the spot—and she couldn’t risk derailing Bishop Ashu’s plan.
So she turned to leave, struggling to rein in her fury.
That moment of hesitation was exactly what Vikrant wanted. He called out, "Wait. Your mark gives you away—you’re no inner circle member. You probably don’t even know my connection to your Bishop."
In Audrey’s mind, there was only one Bishop: Ashu. But Vikrant’s "Bishop" was the previous Cidi Bishop.
"Listen," he continued. "Your Bishop—and even Midaldas—were under my command. They’re dead now because of that arrogant upstart. If you crave vengeance, join me."
Audrey’s stride faltered—she hadn’t expected this to land.
"I’ve already lost too many brothers and sisters..." she admitted.
Vikrant sneered. "Of course you have. The way you bare that mark tells me you’re courting death. Since you’re so eager, fight by my side. Maybe then we can topple that brat from his Bishopric—and avenge your fallen kin."
Audrey felt stunned by this unexpected turn. "Avenge them... What power do you possess for vengeance? His strength is beyond terrifying." 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
"Rest assured, the God of Deceit has ample means. Join us, and your vengeance will come sooner than you think."
Vikrant’s voice dripped with persuasion as he spoke to the Cidi Devotee. He was supremely confident that, by wielding a bit of his signature ruse, he could bend even a lowly Cidi believer to his will.
Having traded with Midaldas for years, he understood better than most the insidious power of the Cidi faith’s corruption. Though the Church seemed to have cleansed Riven of Cidi influence, it was merely a new beginning. With the right strategies in place, the cult’s rot could be sown anew.
Currently, power in Riven rested with the ancient Kyle family, overseen by an ageless matriarch. The moment she died and an ambitious young heir took the reins, the corrupting force of Cidi would surge twofold.
Vikrant’s ambitions had quietly shifted. What once was a plan simply to clear his name had grown into a desire to rise again—to reclaim authority. As a Devotee of the God of Deceit, he could never face that fearsome young Bishop—whose spiritual perception remained an enigma—in open conflict. But from the shadows, by first subverting the Kyle family and then gradually undermining the local Chapter of the Holy Cultivator Guild, he could easily eclipse the upstart Bishop and steer events to his advantage.
