The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix’s Novels Also Desires Happiness

104. The Black Tide

In the morning mist, with the rising sun and gentle breeze, the suspended city seemed to have just awakened.

DONG.

The bells of the Belrand Cathedral rang out, and the worshippers clasped their hands together, fervently praying under the goddess’s radiance.

On the towering Origin Tower, apprentice mages diligently practiced their flying spells, but this practice quickly turned into a lively game of chase and play, as they hurriedly fled under the reprimands of their mentors.

Adventurers from the Adventurers’ Guild pushed open the doors, stretching and yawning as they poured in, lighting up their first beer of the day in the warm morning light.

Everything felt so real, as if…

“Is this really Belrand?”

The Archbishop of Canterbury, for the first time, lost his composure. He suddenly stood up, staring at the suspended city, and in his aged eyes, an infinite holy light burst forth.

In the sacred gaze bestowed by the goddess, all illusions would be pierced through.

But at this moment, no matter how brilliant the holy light bursting from his eyes, the prosperous city suspended above still felt so real… and vibrant.

“That is indeed Belrand.”

“That is Belrand, so where are we now?”

“We are naturally in Belrand as well, another Belrand.”

Hathaway raised her hand to adjust the gold-rimmed glasses on her nose, fully expecting the reactions of the crowd, and felt little surprise.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please look over there.”

With another wave of her hand, under the influence of an invisible force, the gray mist enveloping the hall completely dissipated. Beyond the already dismantled walls, one could overlook the entire city from a high vantage point.

It was a city that seemed to have fallen into a nightmare; when all colors and light faded away, the silhouettes highlighted in the thin mist appeared incredibly eerie and grotesque, like demons gnashing their teeth and sucking blood in the darkness.

But this was also Belrand, a pitch-black Belrand, starkly contrasting with the suspended city above.

“What… is this?” A terrified sigh escaped from someone at the round table.

They were the crowned ones, transcending human limits, near-divine beings who should not fear a dark city.

Yet at this moment, even the gaunt hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury could not help but tremble.

His gaze crossed the dark urban area, flowed over the blood-stained ancient Rhine River, and passed through the lower city where ghostly shadows seemed to linger, all the way to… the outskirts of the city.

There lay a sea.

A sea that seemed poised to engulf the entire city at any moment, a pure black sea that did not exist in reality.

And at the blurred boundary between sea and sky, a half-moon rose from the water, a foreboding azure moon, like a weary eye, coldly gazing down upon everyone.

The Dark God.

The Silent Moon!

“Ladies and gentlemen.”

Hathaway lowered her eyes, as if unable to bear the sight of that blue moon, and softly said:

“Welcome to the Shadow of Belrand, a city constructed by divine authority, born as a prototype of the divine realm… the City of Shadows!”

“Impossible…”

The stench of decay wafted in from the distant sea breeze, jolting everyone from their shock, but even the crowned ones could not suppress their pale faces at this moment.

“Impossible!”

The Archbishop of Canterbury roared in anger:

“How could the Silent Moon be here? Under the watch of the Holy City, he was clearly about to meet the Withering King; how could he possibly appear here!”

“Archbishop, calm down.”

King Aldrich III still rested his chin on his hand, his expression languid, as if he had long grown accustomed to the presence of that blue moon.

“That is merely a projection.”

“But even if it is a projection…”

The Archbishop of Canterbury whispered in disbelief, “At such a critical juncture, to divide power—does He truly fear losing to that withered king?

You must understand, these two hold similar ranks; even the slightest external factor could completely alter the course of battle!”

“I thought the same.”

King Aldrich III glanced at Heather, signaling her to explain.

Heather gently nodded, clapping her hands to draw everyone’s attention back.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I know the Silent Moon casting a shadow here is perplexing, but through my research and the analysis of the entire Special Countermeasures Department, combined with His previous attack on St. Mary’s Academy, I have reached a conclusion—

The Silent Moon may have felt from the very beginning that it was not a match for the withered king, which is why it has been… seeking an escape route.”

“You mean… the Silent Moon wants to flee?”

“Exactly.”

“But how can it escape?”

Most people still found it hard to believe this bizarre situation—a malevolent god thinking of fleeing without even fighting. How could that be possible?

“Based on the intelligence we currently possess, the Silent Moon’s objective should be…”

Heather continued, “Using its own authority, building upon the shadow of Belrand, to evolve its divine realm, and then, leveraging the characteristics of that divine realm, bypassing the barriers of the world…

To fully descend into the mortal realm!”

“Hiss—”

A collective intake of breath echoed through the room.

The divine realm.

A kingdom evolved from divine rules, where all laws are controlled by the deity itself. If it could indeed bypass the world’s barriers using the divine realm’s characteristics… it didn’t seem entirely impossible?

“I have a question.”

Dodg raised his hand suddenly.

“Please, go ahead.”

“You just mentioned that even the Silent Moon’s authority can only evolve a mere semblance of the divine realm based on the shadow of Belrand. That is still far from a true divine realm, and as it stands, even this semblance is not fully under the Silent Moon’s control; otherwise, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”

Dodg stared into Heather’s eyes, unknowingly clenching his wizard’s hat into a crumpled mass.

“Fundamentally, the Silent Moon’s plan is unfeasible. If the divine realm could evolve so easily, those malevolent gods would have already descended in their true forms one by one.”

“Indeed.”

Heather habitually adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, and through the reflection, one could see the weariness accumulating in her eyes.

Yet even so, she stood tall in her ten-centimeter heels, her posture straight, her tone serious.

“As Mr. Dodg has pointed out, the shadow of Belrand is still under our control. The Silent Moon’s desire to descend through the divine realm is undoubtedly a fool’s dream.

But—”

Heather’s tone shifted:

If here, in the palm of the Silent Moon… it could then, in turn, erode the true Belrand, turning millions into its sacrifices…

Heather didn’t say anything more, but everyone knew that ending.

At that time, amidst the blood flowing from millions and the wailing souls, the divine realm would be fully realized, and the Silent Moon would become the second successfully descended evil god in history.

For all of humanity, this would be a catastrophic disaster.

Just like the first time.

…

At this moment, the eerie blue moonlight grew increasingly sinister.

“Wow—”

A piercing, infant-like cry echoed.

The black tide surged violently, countless long, terrifying shadows rising from the sea.

They were covered in scales that reflected a chilling gleam, their thick, powerful serpent tails thrashing in the waves, as if they could directly shatter steel.

On their scale-covered faces, an expression of insatiable greed and fervor emerged, as if they were heading to a feast of flesh and blood.

“Serpent people…”

The sea suddenly parted, as if an invisible blade of the heavens had descended, carving abyss-like scars upon the surface.

From that abyss, monstrous creatures the size of Godzilla stood upright, the moonlight outlining their grotesque silhouettes on their exoskeletons.

“Moon beasts…”

The cries abruptly ceased, replaced by a more melodious sound, akin to the song of whales, echoing above the shadowy city, like a divine hymn descending, yet no one could pinpoint the source of this sound, only catching a glimpse of a massive shadow gradually approaching from the depths of the sea.

“Catastrophic-level monster, Sea Demon Leviathan, it has also followed the Silent Moon.”

Like a gambler revealing their chips one by one, when any one of those terrifying monsters capable of causing unimaginable disasters appeared, everyone finally extinguished the last flicker of hope deep within and chose to accept reality.

The Silent Moon… was truly coming.

What they had to face was a… evil god, who, in its dying moments, would struggle madly against everything!

…

“Do evil gods feel fear too?”

In this cold and silent atmosphere, someone instinctively asked.

“Ha, if they feel fear, that’s what makes them an evil god, isn’t it?”

It was not Heather who answered, but Aldrich III.

He finally rose from his throne, extending a hand as if to firmly grasp the city that belonged to him.

He lowered his gaze, and in his eyes, it seemed a majestic sun rose, making even the Archbishop of Canterbury dare not meet his gaze.

Beneath his feet, in that dead silent shadow city, suddenly, countless sounds of commotion erupted.

“Quick, quick, quick, Level One defense alert!”

The entire city buzzed violently, massive steel plates, propelled by precise magical instruments, rose with a thunderous roar, constructing an indestructible wall.

Above the wall, the royal knights clad in silver armor had long been on high alert. The new weapon developed by the Royal Research Institute, known as the “Magic Cannon,” replaced the old magical crossbows. The cold barrels glimmered with a chilling light, aimed at the approaching monsters.

Behind the wall, more crowds rushed about, mobilizing supplies, preparing fortifications, and digging out a second line of defense.

Those well-dressed nobles, with their family crests shining on their chests, despite their faces as pale as white paper and their bodies trembling as if they had just returned naked from a deep winter night, still gritted their teeth and did not flee. Cursing the damned Silent Moon, they commanded their subordinates to bring out their cherished treasures, their hearts aching with every piece.

—There was no choice. Once King Aldrich III had sealed off all exits from Berland under the pretext of combating smuggling, they too had become passengers on this solitary ship.

If Berland sank, they would perish along with it!

So the Silent Moon must take my entire family to the heavens!

“A rare beautiful sight, isn’t it?”

Glancing below, a faint smile curved Aldrich III’s lips.

But soon, his expression turned solemn.

With steady steps, he walked to the end of the hall.

His gaze crossed the shadowy city, over the walls, over the monsters and the black sea, meeting the calm blue moon.

“Lords, behold, this is the reason I summoned you.”

Aldrich drew the sword from his waist, and under the silent gaze of the crowd, he pointed it at the cold, fierce Silent Moon, proclaiming with the authority of thunder:

“War has begun!”

—