Holt looked up, and the Dark Messenger said, "Let me ask you this, Holt. Do you want Skermann to be involved in the Burd Bay wars too?"


    "Yes, sir."


    The Dark Messenger was infuriated and rebuked, "Tell me why you''re causing havoc in Burd Bay! What are your intentions? I need an honest answer from you!"


    Holt hesitated for a moment and replied, "Sir, the citizens of Burd Bay are faithless. The Church of Holy Illuminati, as a vassal of Light Valley, must incite conflict in the Burd Bay region to exert our influence. By causing strife here, the people will suffer, and subsequently develop faith. This will ensure Light Valley''s eternal legacy."


    "Well answered. You know all about Wilbur Penn by now, right?"


    "Yes, sir."


    "I need you to lure him out. I don''t care what you do, but you need to remember that you can''t kill him. I need him alive. Do you understand?"


    "Don''t worry, sir. I will fulfill your orders."


    There was a hint of intrigue in Holt''s gaze as he spoke. He had thought about ways to conceal his true intentions long ago. However, Light Valley never asked about what happened in Burd Bay, so he never had a chance to try if his concealment would work.


    He gave it a try and it was proven rather effective. Since the Dark Messenger had tacitly approved of his actions in Burd Bay, he believed that he could continue concealing his true intentions. His goal was to corrupt the minds of the poption in Burd Bay in order to sustain the evil god he worshipped.


    The evil god would then provide Holt with more power. Holt believed that one day, he would surpass the Dark Messenger and rule over him. The Church of Holy Illuminati would overpower Light Valley and be the true ruler of the world.


    However, Holt was unaware that the Dark Messenger saw right through his thoughts. However, Wilbur was more important to the Dark Messenger at the moment. Wilbur was a dragon n cultivator, and he was also the chosen one. By that virtue, he was more important to the Dark Messenger whenpared to Holt.


    The Dark Messenger could not wait to devour Wilbur alive, so Holt still had some uses for now.


    Holt led his subordinates to the Ede military camp at night, after which he gave the order to attack a small town at the Skermann border.


    The small town was bombarded with over a thousand bombs within thirty minutes, destroying the townpletely.


    Half of the town was demolished during the day, and with this round of bombing, the rest of the town was gone too. A town with a poption of a hundred thousand people was gone in just one day. The news instantly stirred a hugemotion when it reached Beven.


    "Why did the enemy attack again so quickly?"


    "What should we do now?"


    General Arthur hurriedly gathered the members of the Cultivator Guild. The sudden outbreak of war left him frazzled, and he paced back and forth in front of everyone.


    Steviat saluted and said, "Sir, at this point, there''s only one option left."


    "What is it?"


    "You have to let me take them to the border immediately, we have to infiltrate the Ede military camp to assassinate theirmanding officer to ease the rage."


    Arthur pondered for a moment and said, "It seems we have no other choice. Steviat, I order you to bring twenty men and head to the border immediately. You must assassinate theirmanding officer and foil their ns to attack us."