A Very Bold Idea

Every world had its differences.

In the Dark World, all Fang Zheng saw was boundless darkness. Even during the day, the dark clouds pressing overhead seemed like the lid of a gigantic coffin, making it hard to breathe. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but wilderness and dark forests. After staying there for too long, one could even develop the illusion that the entire world was about to be destroyed before one's eyes. Desolation, darkness, despair—those were the themes of the Dark World. As for hope? Perhaps such a thing existed, but its only purpose was to be destroyed.

But in the Main World, what Fang Zheng saw was an entirely different sight.

"Is this the place?"

Sitting in the carriage, Fang Zheng looked toward the city before him. From the original owner of this body, Fang Zheng had learned that this city was called Karthus, which meant "where starlight and moonlight shine" in Elvish. The people of this country collectively referred to it as Starmoon City.

This was merely a small city within the Holy Kingdom, but even so, it displayed something extraordinary in Fang Zheng's eyes. Nearly twenty-meter-tall walls made of white stone surrounded the entire city, while a beautiful river ran through its center, bringing lovely lakes and abundant fishing resources to the city.

"Yes, my lord. This is Starmoon City."

Hearing Fang Zheng's question, the coachman driving the carriage replied with a grin. Fang Zheng, meanwhile, gave the white Holy Temple within the city a meaningful glance before looking once more at the Dimensional Codex before him.

Executor: Fang Zheng

Dimension Points: 5

Equipped Soul Stone: Arthas

Buff Obtained: Undying King (50% increased perception of Undead creatures, 50% increased damage against Undead creatures, 50% increased protection against Undead creatures)

Title Equipped: Sacred Guardian

Strength: E (Still enough to kill a chicken with a blade)

Agility: D (Running faster than others always helps you live longer)

Constitution: E (When people are killed, they die)

Perception: D (Watching in all directions and listening in all directions is basic for you)

Charm: D+ (Good looks are a fundamental element for improving communication and mutual understanding)

Equipped Skill: Royal Cross Swordsmanship (A)

After carefully reviewing his status screen, Fang Zheng took a deep breath.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

Soon, the carriage set off again and continued forward.

"Whew..."

Sitting in the carriage, Fang Zheng took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began steadying himself. After leaving the Dark World, he had calculated the time. He had spent three days in the Dark World, yet less than ten hours had passed in the Main World. Fortunately, they had not stubbornly stationed people to wait for him. Otherwise, Fang Zheng might not have been able to escape.

After leaving the forest, the first thing Fang Zheng did was change his clothes in a nearby village, then hire a carriage to take him to the nearest city. What relieved him was that he did not see any wanted notices for this body's original owner in that village. Perhaps they had not yet given up searching for him, but once their search proved fruitless, they would definitely issue a wanted order immediately. Fang Zheng had no doubt about that. Although this world appeared to be at an ordinary medieval level on the surface, the memories he possessed told him that, in terms of civilization alone, it was probably not much worse than the world before his rebirth.

Considering its terrifying high-end combat power, it might even surpass it.

After all, in Fang Zheng's world, aside from nuclear weapons, there was hardly anything capable of destroying a planet.

Before arriving in this city, Fang Zheng had fully assimilated the memories of this body. At the same time, he had decided what he needed to do.

Running away was impossible. The Holy Kingdom of Sares was one of the four most powerful nations in this world. The other three were the Magic Kingdom of Lyon, the Wealthy Kingdom of Kalon, and the Flame Kingdom of Vanriel.

According to the memories of this body's owner, the Holy Kingdom of Sares occupied nearly one-fifth of this continent's land and possessed powerful armies and clergy. The reason the Holy Kingdom held such a position was that, during the Tide of Chaos a thousand years ago, its King had led humanity through the destructive blockade of darkness and chaos by his own strength, ultimately protecting this world. Thus, the Holy Kingdom became the ruler of this land under the identity of humanity's Guardian. The land and population it possessed were almost no different from Fang Zheng's own country before his rebirth. One could imagine that against a nation with such a huge population and vast territory, Fang Zheng had no chance of winning.

Of course, if Fang Zheng could choose, he would rather go to Kalon or Lyon. Unfortunately, that was difficult as well. Not only was Fang Zheng currently deep within the Holy Kingdom, meaning that traveling to either nation would require a long journey and a great deal of time, but even if he successfully crossed the border, those two countries might not accept him. The Magic Kingdom only allowed mages to enter; even a merchant had to possess official mage qualifications. The Wealth Nation's requirements were even more straightforward—one had to have money.

But Fang Zheng clearly did not have that much money on hand. As for the Flame Kingdom? It was on another continent, so he could not get there at all. Even if the Storm Sea had not been covered, Fang Zheng could not swim across it.

As for magic... he did not know the slightest bit.

Although there were many small nations in this world besides the four great powers, they were like the small countries in Fang Zheng's world. When the great powers spoke, all they could do was obediently endure it... Oh, no.

At least in Fang Zheng's world, those small nations could maintain a veneer of sovereignty. But here... well, they still had their own land and borders, didn't they?

Given the current situation, Fang Zheng could not escape the Holy Kingdom. Even if he did, he could not guarantee that he would not be captured by the Holy Kingdom's pursuers one day. To be fair, Fang Zheng did not have any fundamental, irreconcilable conflict with the Holy Kingdom. He had simply been a little too unlucky and chosen the wrong person to be reborn into.

But that did not mean Fang Zheng could go to a Holy Temple in the Holy Kingdom and tell them, "You made a mistake. The person you're looking for died long ago. I'm just an unlucky reincarnator," and have them nod and say, "Ah, yes, we're terribly sorry," before everything was settled that simply. No matter what, Fang Zheng had killed several of their Knights. Judging from Williams's memories, those Knights did not hold particularly high positions, but neither were their positions low.

It was the kind of matter that did not necessarily need to be pursued to the bitter end, but still required some explanation.

In Fang Zheng's mind, the Teleportation Gate of the Multiverse Dimensional System had already closed and entered its cooldown state. It would open again fifteen days later. Fang Zheng could not keep hiding in the wilderness and playing hide-and-seek with the Holy Kingdom.

Thus, after careful consideration, Fang Zheng came up with an idea.

A very bold idea.

But first, he needed an identity.

That was why Fang Zheng had come here.

"We're here, my lord."

The coachman's voice came from the front, and at the same time, the carriage slowly came to a stop. Fang Zheng took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, pushed open the carriage door, and stepped down.

The first thing that entered his sight was a two-story stone building. It looked rather old. From the outside, it was not a particularly grand or magnificent structure. There were only two ordinary guards at the entrance, and the place seemed extremely quiet, as though there were hardly any people around.

But Fang Zheng knew that this was the first step of his gamble.

This was City Hall.

"Tap... tap... tap..."

Fang Zheng entered through the doors and looked around. There were not many people in the entire city hall either. Only an old man was dozing behind a desk. That was not surprising. In such a small city, nothing much usually happened.

Fang Zheng coughed, then walked to the counter and raised a finger to tap against it.

"Knock knock."

Hearing the tapping, the dozing old man suddenly shuddered and hurriedly sat upright. He widened his eyes and glared at Fang Zheng. He had originally intended to scold him, but upon seeing the finely tailored formal attire Fang Zheng wore, he immediately jolted and quickly composed himself.

"Hello, sir. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I wish to stay temporarily in this city. Please issue me a certificate."

Seeing the man's expression, Fang Zheng smiled faintly to himself. This suit had cost him quite a bit of money. It had been made by the city's most famous tailor using the finest fabric, and had nearly cost Fang Zheng one-third of this body's original wealth.

But Fang Zheng did not feel any heartache. The experiences of his previous life had taught him that everyone judged by appearances. Clothes made the man. If you dressed well and behaved elegantly, then no matter how filthy you might be in private, at least the first impression you gave others would never be bad.

If he had come here wearing ordinary clothes to handle the paperwork, this old man probably would not have been so polite. He might even have grumbled and cursed at him. If he were the sort to look down on others, he might have taken Fang Zheng for a country bumpkin because of his shabby clothes and developed some petty urge to make trouble for him, perhaps even throwing a few small obstacles in his way.

But now, before figuring out Fang Zheng's identity and background, he could only do his job honestly.

"Of course, no problem, sir."

Everything Fang Zheng displayed had clearly made the old man somewhat nervous. He looked in surprise at Fang Zheng's formal attire and the Skycleaver Sword behind him, instinctively swallowing.

"P-Please give me your travel documents."

"Here they are."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng took out a travel document and handed it over. He had also spent money and gone to considerable trouble to obtain this document. Fang Zheng was immensely grateful that this body's original owner had been a fairly competent Cultist. At the very least, he knew all the shady channels and backdoor connections. That was why Fang Zheng had been able to find the Thieves' Guild and, after promising a large reward, obtain such an "official" travel document.

Of course, a so-called official document was naturally a legitimate travel certificate. It stated where the holder came from and where they were going, and it bore the appropriate seal. Since all such travel documents were made of special magical paper, they could not be forged at all.

But being impossible to forge did not mean they were impossible to obtain.

As long as one offered sufficient payment, "losing" one or two travel documents had never been a big deal, had it?

"Mr. Fang Zheng from the Silver Duchy... Hmm..."

The old man put on his monocle and carefully examined the text and seal on the document. Only then did he cough and raise his head to look at Fang Zheng.

"May I ask what you've come here for?"

"I have come to seek the guidance of the Goddess of Order."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng raised a finger to his forehead and lightly tapped it, making a gesture similar to a believer's prayer.

"I wish to strengthen my resolve through the Sacred Oath."

"All right, I understand."

The old man was not particularly surprised by Fang Zheng's answer. The Holy Kingdom was the source of faith, and many people from other nations made special trips there on pilgrimages. Put simply, most people believed that the Holy Kingdom's faith and teachings were more "authentic," making it easier to hear the divine revelations of the Goddess of Order.

Of course, anyone with an education knew that was nonsense, but one could not stop people from making a special trip to pray at a Holy Land church, could one?

The old man clearly was not encountering this situation for the first time. He quickly checked the documents, and after confirming there were no issues, filled out another form. Then he picked up the seal beside him and pressed it down with some effort. Afterward, he looked toward Fang Zheng.

"All right, young man. Next, take this document to the Astrology Chamber—you know what to do."

"Of course. Thank you."

Hearing the old man's words, Fang Zheng smiled and nodded. He reached out to take the document, casually placing several Silver Coins on the counter at the same time. The old man quietly swept the coins into his sleeve in one motion, and his smile toward Fang Zheng became even more enthusiastic.

"My name is Pander. If you need anything, feel free to come find me. So long as it's something I can do, there won't be any problem."

"Thank you."

Hearing the old man's reply, Fang Zheng nodded. Then he picked up the document, turned around, and left.

The moment he turned, a cold gleam flashed through Fang Zheng's eyes.

The first step was complete. Next came the most dangerous part.