Who hid my body?

Chapter 349 The Eight Great Churches
To be honest, if it weren't for having to consider Rhine's feelings, Rocky would have preferred to sleep on the floor under Tian Sheng's obedience; his main strength was his steadiness.

Fortunately, the place where the Contract Land arranged accommodation for them was not far from the Heavenly Voice's Obedience. They could see the towering pillar that reached into the clouds just by opening the window of their room, which slightly alleviated Loki's unease and dissatisfaction. He thought to himself that he could finally get a good night's sleep.

Before he could even lie down, the Land of Contracts sent another message, inviting him to a brief meeting.

Rocky naturally didn't want to go, but he had no way to refuse, so he could only leave with a belly full of annoyance.

But despite his departure, Loki couldn't stop complaining. He directly asked the guardian who had come to guide him, "Why does this meeting have to be held now? Can't we just hold a general assembly?"

"The formal gathering will be the day after tomorrow," the Guardian replied. "This meeting is just to allow the representatives of each religion to meet each other and at least become familiar with each other."

"Who is there?"

“Apart from Senluo and Xingyi who is on his way, the representatives of the other churches are all here.”

Rocky narrowed his eyes slightly.

Aside from the no-longer-existent Senluo (Wildfire), is the only one excluded the Star Relic? Star Relic will arrive soon, but the Land of Contracts didn't wait for them. Instead, they held a meeting directly. Loki could guess most of the content of this meeting.

Tsk, the Contract Land's reaction is really quick. Was it that Miss Ring Finger who made the move?
Yes, Rocky had already guessed that Miss Ring Finger came from the Land of Contracts.

But who exactly is she? Could she be watching from the side right now?

Thinking of this, Rocky immediately looked around warily, trying to find the mysterious Miss Ring Finger among those unfamiliar faces... Of course, it would be a miracle if he could find her, and this also brought Rocky a great sense of unease, as if he was being secretly watched, and his heart, which had been at ease before, was in suspense again.

Damn it, is it just his imagination? Why does he feel like everyone else is in the shadows while he's the only one in the light?

What bad luck!

Rocky's mood worsened.

Just then, the guardian led Loki to a large tent, stopped, and gestured for Loki to enter: "It's right here. You can go in directly."

Rocky nodded, but did not go in directly. Instead, he tidied his appearance slightly, trying his best to show the majesty of "the next Pope of the Rhine" before lifting the curtain and entering.

Then he saw a huge round table, with several figures sitting around it, some distance apart from each other. After hearing the sound of the curtain being lifted, they all turned their gazes toward Rocky.

Rocky frowned slightly, about to continue displaying the majesty of "the next Pope of the Rhine," when he suddenly smelled a foul stench, and his expression changed drastically.

"Hi! Bishop Loki, over here!" A familiar voice rang out. Loki looked up and saw Fenris, the High Priest of Eternal Nightmare, greeting him with a beaming smile, as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time, even though they had only parted ways the night before. "I've been waiting for you for ages!"

Damn it! It really was this guy!
Rocky's carefully constructed air of authority crumbled instantly amidst the stench.

Can't those idiots in the Land of Contracts smell the stench emanating from this cultist?! Couldn't they have chosen a slightly more well-ventilated place for the meeting?! Is this stuffy place trying to suffocate him?!
While cursing inwardly, Rocky refused Fenris's invitation with a sullen face and sat in the seat furthest away from Fenris.

Then he realized that the taste was even stronger.

The stench wasn't coming from Fenris, but from right next to him!

Rocky turned his head sharply and saw a sinister-looking figure sitting next to him, wrapped in dirty rags. He couldn't see the face clearly, only a stubble-covered chin was visible. The figure was smiling sinisterly at him: "Good afternoon, Bishop Rocky, right?"

As he spoke, he reached out his hand to Rocky, and Rocky saw that his hand was covered in pustules, with grayish-white worms wriggling in the rotting blood vessels.

With a "whoosh," Rocky, who had just sat down, immediately stood up and ran to Fenris's side to sit down, his movements remarkably swift and seamless.

There was no way around it; compared to that guy's stench, Fenris's own smell was child's play.

In comparison, if Fenris's smell was like rotting food, then that guy was rotting shit!
Seeing that Rocky had finally leaned against him, Fenris revealed a knowing smile: "As expected, Mr. Rocky, you can't stand those guys either."

"Who is he?"

"The underworld".

Rocky frowned.

The Underworld, one of the four major esoteric Buddhist sects?
Loki was naturally aware of this church, but their existence was somewhat like that of the Star Remnants within the orthodox Church, located on another border of the continent, and also the type that remained detached from worldly affairs. Therefore, this was the first time Loki had ever met any of their people.

“If I remember correctly…” Rocky looked at the other person, “these guys are advocating…”

“Embrace death, embark on the path to the underworld,” Fenris said. “That’s their doctrine.”

Rocky sensed a strong disdain and disgust in Fenris's words, which surprised him. After all, Fenris usually seemed half-asleep and rarely showed such direct emotion.

"You hate him?" Rocky asked. "Aren't your doctrines similar to theirs?"

In an instant, Fenris went berserk like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "How is this possible? How could we be the same as them?! We admire dreams, we pursue being immersed in eternal sleep, unlike these guys!"

Then, Fenris and Rocky explained in detail.

The Underworld is a group of dead people who, due to the power of the Lord of the Underworld, remain in the human world and become "living dead" who are close to immortality. The Eternal Nightmare, on the other hand, is a "dream chaser" who has broken away from reality and embraced dreams.

Although Rocky felt that Fenris's description of him as a "dream chaser" was somewhat shameless, he had to admit that the description was indeed very straightforward.

Until the messenger from the underworld on the other side chuckled and said, "Mr. Fenris has some misunderstandings about us. We are not as bad as you think."

They actually overheard?

The two turned their heads and saw that the messenger from the underworld was "looking" at them, and that gaze made Rocky feel very uncomfortable.

"The term 'living dead' is merely a misconception you hold about us through the eyes of the living," the messenger of the underworld said calmly. "We have our own kingdom, our own homeland, the Underworld. There, we don't need to rely on our bodies; our souls are everything. We are not tormented by illness, nor do we worry about our lifespan. In the embrace of the great and benevolent Lord of the Underworld, we are immortal... and a blissful immortality. In this respect, we are actually quite similar to you, aren't we, messenger of eternal nightmares?"

“Who the hell is like you foreigners?!” Fenris said viciously. “We don’t just throw away our bodies like you do. Our brains are our most valuable part!”

“Ah, yes.” The messenger of the underworld nodded slightly, looking as if he understood Fenris very well. “That’s why you are brain dead and can’t live a true immortal life like us. No wonder you are dissatisfied with us… Hmm, I understand.”

"What the hell do you understand?!" Fenris snapped.

Rocky, meanwhile, rubbed his temples, his head aching. These cultists were truly wicked beyond words. Although he also felt that these two—one embracing death, the other embracing dreams—were quite similar in their actions, he dared not say it aloud, lest Fenris shift his attention to him later.

But then again, aren't there many normal people here?

Why should he, the future Pope of the Rhine, be caught between two strange cultists?
Thinking of this, Rocky turned his gaze to the others in the tent.

There are three more waves of people remaining.

Loki looked over and saw that the person closest to him was the representative of the Holy Sound. He was all alone and looked unwell, as if he was just there to make up the numbers.

To be precise, they are indeed just there to make up the numbers. Currently, the Holy Sound Players who can still use musical spells are basically former guardians. The Holy Sound is now just a name, so there's nothing left for them to do. Therefore, the Holy Sound Messengers here are more symbolic than practical.

Beside the Holy Sound was a young woman, the only woman in the area. She did not have the distinctive features of the Underworld and Eternal Nightmare, and looked like an ordinary person.

But Rocky still guessed the other party's origin—Lyra.

In the past, the Lycans were quite recognizable, as most of them were half-human, half-machine. However, after that incident, the vast majority of their machinery was damaged, and their previous technology was lost, plunging the Lycans back to a primitive state overnight. It's said they've stabilized now, but they're still far from their former power.

Previously, the Rhine and Lyra had a close relationship, with exchanges and cooperation between the two religions, but that has ceased now. Therefore, Rocky had no interest in dealing with the Lyra messenger who was no longer what he once was, and was preparing to turn his attention to the last one.

But just then, he caught a glimpse of the man standing behind the woman out of the corner of his eye.

Judging from his position, the man appears to be the woman's attendant. He is wearing a mask that covers half of his face, but the exposed half of his face is extremely pale, making him look like he is seriously ill.

Rocky wasn't too surprised by this, since after that disaster, there were hardly any normal people left among the Lyra people; they were mostly disabled.

The other person noticed Rocky's gaze and gave Rocky a friendly look in return.

Rocky snorted inwardly.

Hmph, trying to get my attention this way?

You're so naive. I've seen countless versions of your type.

Next!
Rocky turned his gaze to the last group of people—two armored messengers.

If we needed to rely on other characteristics to infer identity in the previous steps, this final step can be determined by the process of elimination.

The last esoteric Buddhist practice—the union of Yin and Yang.

The moment Loki saw the other person, a strong sense of disgust welled up in his heart. This was different from the physical disgust he felt from the stench he had smelled from Fenris and the messenger from the underworld. This disgust came from the bottom of his heart.

Even though the other party was wearing armor that covered his entire body, making it impossible to see his face, and didn't have the same scent as Fenris and the Messenger of the Underworld, Loki still felt disgusted.

The other side sensed something, and a very neutral voice came from under the armor.

“Bishop of the Rhine, I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but I sense that you seem to be somewhat dissatisfied with us.”

"Don't doubt it, that's just your imagination." Rocky withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "I have no complaints about you."

The other person fell silent, remaining still as still as a statue.

In this way, all eight major churches except for Xingyi and Senluo (Wildfire) took to the stage.

The three major orthodox religions: Rhine, Lyra, and Sacred Sound.

The three major esoteric Buddhist sects: Eternal Nightmare, Underworld Path, and Twin Forms.

Rocky narrowed his eyes slightly.

From this perspective, the orthodox Church's current strength is actually far inferior to that of the esoteric Church. Lyra is being rebuilt, the Holy Sound is practically defunct, the Starry Sky is too far away, and even its strongest force, Isaiah, is now embroiled in trouble. Even the Rhine has been significantly weakened by the loss of two bishops within six months. With this shift in power, the esoteric Church, which has been suppressed by the orthodox Church for millennia, has unknowingly reversed the tide.

...How did things suddenly turn out like this?

Thinking about it carefully, it all started when that guy Uru killed Corey.

Damn it, it's all the one-eyed man's fault!

Rocky cursed the dead in his heart.

Just then, the tent flap was lifted, and a massive figure, as large as a small mountain, appeared before everyone.

In an instant, all the little thoughts in the tent vanished. Fenris and the Messenger of the Underworld stopped bickering, and everyone's eyes fell on the newcomer. Even Loki subconsciously sat up straight, like an obedient child.

Because the person who came was three meters tall, the spacious tent looked like a toy in front of him, and he had to bend down to get in.

At the same time, he was not wearing clothes or armor, but rather chains wrapped around his body, with sealing runes drawn on the chains.

He walked slowly forward, the chains dragging on the ground with a harsh sound, creating a great sense of oppression.

Finally, he took his seat in the main seat, his two scarlet eyes scanning everyone present through the gaps in the chains, and then a deep, hoarse voice came from beneath the chains.

"My name is Furniat."

He said slowly.

"Of course, you can also call me by my title—Warden."

"I only have one target under my supervision."

"That is... Vesas."

(End of this chapter)