Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 208 Arrival as "Master of the Grand Ceremony" (5k2)

Nolan Empire, Songyuan Territory, Red Maple City.

The carriage with sun patterns on the curtains drove into the street where the Glorious Church was located.

The first "High Priest" of the wartime church was in this carriage.

All the clergy of the "Wartime Church" then stood still under the leadership of Anthony, and with their right hands lightly placed on their left chests, they saluted the carriage carrying the "High Priest".

As the crisp sound of horse hooves became closer, the priest driving the car pulled the reins to stop the post horse.

The carriage stopped in front of the church, and the clergyman sitting in the driving seat got off from one side and walked towards the other clergymen who were waiting at the entrance of the church.

Anthony had already recognized that the clergyman driving the car was another "deacon" named Mayev who used to be in the same church in Sina with him.

Maiev greeted Anthony first, and then said to all the clergy:

"The 'Great Sacrifice' of the wartime church has arrived. Please join me in worshipping the sacrament!"

As he spoke, Mayev stood in the same row as Anthony. His right hand was lightly placed on his left chest, while his left arm was raised to the upper side and his body was slightly bent downward.

This is the standard "sacrament" that lower-level clergy within the "Holy Court" should perform to higher-level clergy.

The other clergy also followed Maiev's actions, raising their arms and bending their bodies to show their respect and admiration for the great man in the carriage.

Tap, tap, the sound of footsteps came from the carriage, and the outline of the carriage also shook slightly.

Then, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a high-ranking clergyman dressed in a priest's robe slowly walked out of the carriage.

"...Everyone, please get up. This is an emergency. No need to be polite."

"The chief priest said in a calm and gentle voice.

Anthony was half-lowering his head at this time, and his line of sight could only see the new "High Priest"'s neck and below, but he could not see the High Priest's appearance.

He was wearing the robe that symbolized the "priest" of the Holy See Church, and he came to the Glorious Church in Red Maple City at this time. His identity must be the "high priest" without a doubt... But, the voice of this "high priest"... why did it sound familiar?

Anthony was thinking about this in his heart. When the "high priest" told them not to be polite, Anthony and other clergymen stopped saluting and resumed standing at attention.

When Anthony's eyes fell upon the face of the "high priest", his heart was suddenly filled with a storm of shock!
This newly appointed “Grand Priest”…

——It was Luo Xiu! It was Luo Xiu Carlos!
"You...how did you..."

Anthony was speechless for a moment. He felt a little complicated, and this complexity was reflected in the expression on his face.

Anthony murmured incoherently: "You... preside over the high sacrifice... Luo Xiu... you..."

Anthony thought that maybe Luo Xiu came to the wartime church as a "deacon", just like Anthony himself and Pamier... But this was not enough to explain why Luo Xiu was wearing the robes of the church's "priest"... Or was he instructed by Priest Leonard to take over the holy position of "presiding priest" on his behalf...

The latter was more likely, Anthony analyzed the situation and the truth behind what he saw.

The only thing he hadn't thought about was that Luo Xiu had been promoted to the "Quadruple Destiny" and became a priest of the church, and he didn't dare to make such a guess.

"..."

"Long time no see, Captain Anthony."

Luo Xiu waved to Anthony and said with a smile: "As you can see, I am the first 'High Priest' of the Red Maple City Wartime Church. I will formulate the development plan and work of the wartime church and preside over all other affairs of the wartime church."

"This is an extraordinary period, and I don't like to give you long speeches. I hope you will give me your full trust, and I will rely on your strength to help the Red Maple City Church find a new and bright way out in the turbulence."

After saying that, Luo Xiu walked towards the crowd of wartime church clergy.

The clergy made way for Luo Xiu, their eyes filled with complex emotions such as admiration, reverence, surprise, and suspicion, as they watched the new "High Priest" Luo Xiu walk into the church.

Afterwards, the clergy followed Luo Xiu's footsteps into the church. The last clergyman finally closed the door of the church and locked it. From today onwards, no irrelevant persons would be allowed to enter.

Anthony followed behind Luo Xiu, and the expression on his face became more and more complicated.

Luo Xiu... He did not come here on behalf of Priest Leonard, but he really became the "High Priest" of the church during the war...

Why? Why could he become the presiding high priest? Could it be that he had been promoted to the fourth level of destiny and passed the assessment of the senior deacon from the diocese... Anthony thought anxiously. The gap between him and Luo Xiu was widening day by day, which made Anthony feel frustrated for no reason.

His mood at this moment was similar to Leonard's, but even heavier.

At least Luo Xiu has not really surpassed Leonard in terms of the extraordinary level yet, but he has already formed an absolute crushing advantage over Anthony in terms of level, and this current "High Priest" was once an ordinary Holy Judge under him... Anthony thought about this with emotion, and the image of Luo Xiu in his mind became increasingly blurred, and it was a little difficult to see his back clearly.

The person who had the same idea as Anthony was the "Paladin" standing behind him, Pamier Scardia.

At this time, Pamier was not wearing the heavy paladin armor, but a white clergy robe, standing in the same row with Anthony and other triple-destiny clergymen.

Pamier followed behind Anthony, her cat's eye-like golden-green eyes occasionally looking at Luo Xiu's back in the front, her eyes full of confusion and yearning.

Before this, Pamier had successfully completed the promotion from the second destiny to the third destiny according to the promotion experience "shared" by Luo Xiu, and became the "Grand Knight of Judgment". She thought she had made up the gap between her and Luo Xiu.

But Pamier had not expected that after only not seeing Luo Xiu for a month, she would have fallen behind him by such a large margin... This shocked Pamier, but it also brought her a new and stronger desire to become stronger.

I am still too weak... Pamier thought - "Triple Destiny" is by no means the end of my extraordinary career, my goal should be endless.

……

When Luo Xiu arrived at the newly expanded inner courtyard of the Glorious Church and stood in front of a sun-casting altar, he turned around, leaned against the statue of Xu Yu, faced the clergy of the wartime church and said loudly:

"Under your witness, I, Luo Xiu Carlos, will officially take office as the 'High Priest' of the Red Maple City Church. I hope that all of you glorious fellow believers will entrust your strength to me. I will also live up to your trust and lead you on the right path."

"Now, I hope you can explain to me the current situation of the Red Maple City Church."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Anthony spoke first and said to Luo Xiu:
"The Red Maple City's 'Wartime Church' has now completed the expansion of the Glorious Church and has reached the standards of a 'church'. All the clergy selected to the Red Maple City 'Wartime Church' have also arrived. The church now has four 'Triple Destiny' and thirty-six 'Double Destiny' clergy. After Mayyev arrives, the number of Triple Destiny 'deacons' in the church will reach five."

"At present, Pamier and I serve as the chief adjutants of the Church's 'House of Holy Judgement', and the other two deacons of the Church are in charge of the 'House of Preaching' and the 'House of Secrets' respectively. According to the arrangement of the diocese, Mayev will serve as the adjutant of the 'House of Secrets', and the other clergy will perform their duties and have their own clergy."

"..."

"I see, thanks for explaining that, Anthony."

Luo Xiu nodded. He roughly understood the current internal situation of the church.

The Red Maple City Wartime Church has three sanctuaries inside, which is the most standard and lowest configuration of the church.

The "Holy Court" is the holy place responsible for judging heresy, and it is also the place where Luo Xiu once served as a priest;

The "Place of Preaching" is responsible for coordinating the affairs inside and outside the church. The clergy of this office are responsible for the specific duties of various churches. The clergy responsible for "guiding", "care", "guarding" and other duties come from this office. They also undertake the task of spreading glory and gathering believers; the "Secret Place" is more secretive. The clergy of this office are more independent of the sacred affairs of the church. They are responsible for the secret contact between the church and the [Supreme], [Wisdom] and other imperial supernatural beings, and more often play the role of church messengers. The clergy of this office do not often appear in churches, but hide in cities or other secret organizations, and only appear when necessary to convey important information to the church or carry out some secret tasks sent by the church.

Although the number of clergy in the current "Wartime Church" of Red Maple City is still small, the three basic sanctuaries are complete, which can be said to be "small but complete"... Luo Xiu thought.

"So, what about the external situation?" Luo Xiu then asked Anthony.

Anthony paused, organized his words, and said to Luo Xiu: "Outside the church, we have detected many foreign forces pouring into this city. Some of them are secret cults or organizations that spontaneously combine and operate independently, and some are from the Dark Principality or the Holy Tower Church. Our Holy Inquisitor is still investigating their backgrounds, and we should be able to get some conclusions in a while."

"Well, although the situation outside is not good right now, the enemies are currently lurking in the dark and have not launched any hostile actions against our church." Anthony added.

Luo Xiu nodded. From Anthony's words, he roughly understood the situation of the Red Maple City Church.

In the strategic location of Red Maple City, all forces want to gain a foothold here before the war actually comes.

The Red Maple City is now in a turbulent time, but it is precisely in such a turbulent environment that no force is willing to act rashly to avoid exposing their important details.

Therefore, while all parties were still in the stage of exploring and confronting each other, a kind of wonderful balance was formed during this time, and Red Maple City thus maintained such an eerie tranquility and peace.

"Okay, I see, Anthony, thank you again."

Luo Xiu smiled and nodded, thanking Anthony again. Anthony nodded slightly in response.

"I have a general understanding of the current situation of the church. Today is my first day as the 'High Priest', so everyone should return to their respective duties."

"After that, I will show you the future direction of the church, and formulate new tasks and arrangements for you." Luo Xiu finally said.

"..."

"Yes. We comply with your wishes."

Anthony, Pamier and another "deacon" of the church led the other clergy to perform a sacrament on Luo. Afterwards, the clergy dispersed and returned to their respective posts.

Anthony, Pamier, Connor and Colen, who were in the ranks of the "Double Destiny" clergy, stayed behind. They looked at Luo Xiu with complicated eyes, waiting for Luo Xiu to tell them in person the real reason why he could serve as the "high priest" of the Red Maple City wartime church after the other clergy dispersed.

After all the other clergy had left, Luo Xiu, Anthony, and Pamier went to the newly built "House of Inquisition" of the church, and sat down at the head seat of an ancient square table in the main hall of the Holy Inquisition. Then he said to Anthony, Pamier, and others:

"...You are right. I was promoted to the 'Fourth Fate' and passed the assessment of Hubbert, the 'Senior Deacon' above the diocese, and became the 'High Priest' of the Red Maple City Wartime Church."

"This is the whole process. Captain Anthony, and Pamier and Connor, you know me. I will not and there is no need to hide anything from you." Luo Xiu spread his hands with a smile.

When he finished saying this, old friends like Anthony and Pamier suddenly felt a strong spiritual surge from Luo Xiu.

The spiritual tide was surging yet restrained, emitting only a trace of spiritual aura in a very small range, which made Anthony and the others feel extremely oppressive - that was the crushing at the extraordinary level, which made Anthony, Pamier and the others truly understand that Luo Xiu was indeed a transcendent who had been promoted to the "quadruple destiny".

"..."When Anthony felt the true aura of "Quadruple Destiny" emanating from Luo Xiu, his expression became complicated again.

In fact, there was nothing wrong with what Luo Xiu said before, and the spiritual aura exuded by Luo Xiu also truly proved the extraordinary level he was at. Anthony just simply couldn't accept, or at least couldn't understand such a result.

"...then...then...congratulations, Luo Xiu."

Anthony said bitterly, "To be honest, I am a little jealous of you. I am jealous of your talent and your ability... It has only been less than three months, less than three months... and you have been promoted to the fourth level of destiny..."

"If you were not wearing the robes that symbolize the church priests, and if Maiyev had not been there to testify for you, I really would find it hard to believe that you were promoted to the fourth level and passed the assessment of the parish deacon..."

"Luo Xiu, although you are not the youngest 'Quadruple Destiny' transcendent in the history of the 'Holy Court', you are definitely the one with the fastest promotion speed, no doubt about it." Anthony said at last, a little absent-mindedly.

"..." Luo Xiu smiled awkwardly. Just as he was about to say something to ease Anthony's somewhat lost mood, he heard Pamier's voice from the side:

"It's nothing to be jealous of."

Pamier said to Anthony in a cold voice, "We already knew that Luo Xiu was the 'Son of Glory'. Even if he has now become a saint of the 'Fivefold Fate', it is a good thing for us. 'Jealousy' is really an emotion that should not be felt."

“We are weak, and we should face up to our weakness so that we can become stronger.”

Pamier spoke firmly. She got rid of her strange emotions earlier than Anthony. At the same time, she looked at Luo Xiu with her golden green eyes and continued:

"I will take you as my goal, Luo Xiu. 'Fourfold Fate'... I will soon reach the same level as you."

"..."

"I'm looking forward to it." Luo Xiu smiled and nodded in response to her.

While Luo Xiu was chatting with Anthony and Pamier, he also noticed that Connor and Colen had not spoken for a long time.

The former Red Maple City Church's host, Pastor Kelun, actually only had one mission with Luo Xiu. But that mission left a deep impression on Kelun, so he kept the images of Luo Xiu, Anthony and others in mind.

As the former presiding clergyman of the Red Maple City Church, after the "Wartime Church" was established in Red Maple City, he was assigned to the "Place of Preaching" and was responsible for all guiding affairs of the church. It was Colen's job to guide the newly appointed "High Priest" to familiarize himself with all matters of the wartime church.

Therefore, Cologne stayed. It just so happened that he was old acquaintances with Anthony, Pamier and other former inquisitors of the Sina City Church, so it did not seem awkward for him to join in the reminiscing with Rossio.

Connor's face was gloomy at this time, and his eyes were dim as if they had lost their luster, as if he had just suffered a huge blow.

Seeing Connor showing a depressed spirit, Luo Xiu cast a questioning look at Anthony and Pamier.

Anthony understood, but just shook his head with a wry smile, not wanting to open Connor's wounds again.

But Pamier didn't seem to care. She patted Connor's shoulder and said to Luo Xiu:

"Don't worry about him. He just suffered some trauma before coming to Red Maple City."

"Trauma?" Luo Xiu asked doubtfully, and at the same time the correct answer had already emerged in his mind.

"Yes, trauma." Pamier said calmly, "Before we passed the assessment of the parish deacon and prepared to go to Red Maple City, Connor told us: 'This is the last chance. After this, he may not have the chance to meet little Marilyn.'"

"Then one day later, Connor became like this. I don't know what he went through. Anthony told me that he suffered some kind of serious 'psychological trauma'."

...Shit. Luo Xiu held his forehead with his hand. He already understood everything.

Luo Xiu then looked at Anthony, wanting to get some confirmation from him, but he saw that Anthony just nodded slowly and gave Luo Xiu a meaningful look.

After receiving the secret confirmation from Anthony, Luo Xiu looked at Connor with sympathy, and at the same time, a sense of uneasiness in his heart arose.

But this uneasiness soon dissipated, because he then saw Connor suddenly raised his head, his eyes dull but said firmly:
"I won't do this again... Luo Xiu. I promise you."

"I have understood it. I have understood a simple but correct truth."

"——Women will only slow down the speed of my hammer swing."

……

(End of this chapter)