Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 212 Questioning understanding becomes... (5k2)

When Luo Xiu returned to Anthony's room in the Inquisition with the newly obtained letter, Anthony and Pamier were still "counting" the number of Inquisitors who could participate in the Inquisition mission.

It was not until they began to personally manage the entire "Holy Tribunal" that they finally experienced firsthand the heavy workload of Priest Leonard when they were in the Sina City Church.

When Anthony and Pamier saw Luo Xiu coming back, they both put down their work and cast eager glances at him.

"How was your conversation with Lord Nelson?" Anthony asked directly. "Also, what is that thing in your hand?"

"Lord Nelson, he is indeed a very good person." Luo Xiu replied calmly, "He was cursed, and the purpose of coming to the church was that he hoped I could help him remove the curse. I just performed a purification for him."

Then, Luo Xiu raised his hand, pointed at the letter in his hand, and said:
"And this is your next task."

"..."

"Mission?" Pamier on the side couldn't help but wonder. She took the letter from Luo Xiu and read it through.

Pamier's cold face remained calm until he read the end of the letter. He just handed the letter to Anthony beside him and said softly:
"...We will eventually bring about a vengeful death? Wishful thinking."

"Is that the pagan who wants to avenge Starro? Is that the remnant of the 'Ancient Priory'?" Anthony quickly read the contents of the letter, put it down, and blurted out.

"I'm not sure yet." Luo Xiu shook his head and said, "This letter is the threatening letter that City Lord Nelson received. His trustee passed it to me, and I happened to find out some information that partially matches the content of the letter."

"Do you have any information?" Pamier tilted her head, her golden-green eyes looking straight at Luo Xiu. She asked in a calm voice, "Do you know who the Announcer of Death is?"

"...maybe he knows something." Luo Xiu answered Pamier without comment, and then said solemnly to Anthony and Pamier, "'Gren Brussel', you must remember this name. It may be a 'spellcaster' or 'necromancer' of the third or fourth destiny. It is also the name of the person who wrote this letter."

"Then, I will give you several positions to clear out the [Lost] pagans in those strongholds and gather intelligence about 'Gren Bruiser'. That is the task I will give you."

"..."

When the problem was simplified to "where to go, who to judge, how many to judge", Anthony and Pamier were immediately full of energy. The expressions on their faces at this time seemed as if they had understood everything.

"I see."

Anthony nodded and said, "We have already compiled a list of Holy Inquisitors who can participate in the 'Judgment' mission. Just as you said, we will complete the cleanup of those lost pagan strongholds and investigate the intelligence about 'Gren Bruiser'."

"Very good, Antoine, and Pamier."

Luo Xiu smiled, put his fingers together under his chin, and said:
"Then I'm waiting for your good news."

……

Afterwards, Luo Xiu gave Anthony and the others the locations of three [lost] strongholds.

There were three medium-sized strongholds, located in the old streets and alleys of Mawei Street, Lavender Street and Sifen Street respectively, and each was guarded by at least one "spellcaster" or "necromancer" who had lost his triple destiny.

For Antony and Pamier, it was not difficult to "judge" enemies of such extraordinary level, and it could even be considered easy.

And Luo Xiu did not directly tell them the location of the large stronghold where the "Quadruple Destiny" extraordinary person was stationed. Although enemies of this level might know more about "Gren Brusa", it might also put Anthony and Pamier in danger, which was not the outcome Luo Xiu wanted to see.

The most important task for Anthony and Pamier is to gather information about "Gren Bruiser"... Luo Xiu thought. If that is really the enemy of the "Fourfold Fate", then he can only deal with it by himself.

……

While thinking about this, Luo Xiu had already left the Holy Court and walked to the vicinity of the statue of Shuyu.

He was walking on the avenue in the inner courtyard at this time. When the sunlight penetrated the cold clouds and shone on Luo Xiu, he felt a warmth like melting spring water.

At the same time, he heard someone calling him.

"——Master Daji! Master Luo Xiu!"

Panting shouts were heard, along with the sound of hurried footsteps. Luo Xiu looked towards the source of the sound and saw the figure of a priest.

That was the "consecrated priest" of the double destiny, and according to the affiliation of the priesthood, he should be a priest of the "place of preaching". At this moment, he was holding a large stack of files in his hands.

"Finally I see you... Master Daichi!"

The priest ran to Luo Xiu, held the files and bowed slightly to him, then said respectfully: "Master Chilanta of the Mission House asked me to bring all these files to your Holy Office... But you were not at home at that time. Fortunately, I met you here!"

"Master High Priest, these are the files that have not been processed or reviewed since the establishment of the Red Maple City Church. Master Chilanta and several other masters are not qualified enough as deacons to fully review them, so you are needed..."

"..."

When listening to the priest saying these words, Luo Xiu already had a bad feeling in his heart.

He smelled the scent of "overtime"...

"...I understand." Luo Xiu put away his complicated feelings and said gently to the priest, "I will take you to the Holy Office."

……

In the inner courtyard of the church, next to the high priest's residence.

Luo Xiu brought the priest through the barrier of the high priest's residence and came to the "Holy Service Hall".

The "Holy Service Hall" is an independent building located on one side of the high priest's residence. It is the place where the "high priest" of the church handles holy affairs during wartime, and it is usually not open to other clergy.

Before this, Luo Xiu had not officially started handling holy duties, so this was his first time in the "Holy Office Hall".

Luo Xiu then took out his unique key to the Holy Office from his bracelet, opened the door, and asked the priest to move all the files in.

He then stepped into the Holy Office Hall and began to observe the furnishings inside.

In the main hall facing the main entrance, a huge statue of Suyu is placed in the middle. The actual working rooms for the "master of the great ceremony" are located on both sides, with a total of eight rooms.

That corresponds to the possible increase in the number of "high priests" in the future development of the Red Maple City Church. After all, the current church is still only a "small church", but the Holy Office has been built in advance according to the standards of a "medium-sized church".

The first and largest sacred room on the left is the "Bishop's Room" belonging to Rossio.

As the only "high priest" of the Red Maple City Church at this time, Luo Xiu is the bishop - and if the Red Maple City Church expands again in the future, or if Luo Xiu is promoted to the "fifth level of destiny" during his tenure, he will also get the real title of "bishop".

"Here it is." Luo Xiu smiled and said gently to the priest who was holding a pile of files, "Just sort them out and put them on the table. Go back and tell Qilanta, the chief officer of the mission station, to come see me tomorrow."

"Yes, Master High Priest." The priest nodded and responded respectfully, "I will convey your instructions to Master Chiranta."

After saying that, the priest took his leave and Luo Xiu was left alone in the room.

Luo Xiu then came to the main seat and sat down, leaning back against the backrest, his eyes falling on the pile of files on the table.

In his mind, he inexplicably recalled the scene of Leonard the priest working before - in Luo Xiu's memory, the Leonard he saw was working almost all the time, and it seemed that he rarely had any free time.

The pile of files in front of him made Luo Xiu feel similar. He picked up a file and unfolded it to read it. The first line read:

—— "About the details of the church land expansion plan and the application for the final payment of the construction materials"

Below was the detailed building divisions and planning, as well as a list of corresponding building supplies. Luo Xiu browsed through it patiently, and it took him nearly half an hour to finish reading this application report of more than ten thousand words.

Then he picked up the pen on the table, dipped it in ink, and wrote in the blank space below:

——There is no problem with the expansion plan of the church land. The 16000 gold coins required for the materials used by the contractor does not match the quoted price. The upper limit of the gold coins allowed to be paid is a maximum of 14786 coins.

This was just a simple calculation. When he first took office, Luo Xiu did not want to allow empty salaries to appear. After reviewing the file, Luo Xiu placed it in the "problematic" column on the side, and waited until the head of the "missionary station" Qilanta came to him to ask him related questions.

Afterwards, Luo Xiu grabbed the second file and glanced at its title.

——The content of the file "Application for the Holy Inquisition's 'Beast Cult' Medium-sized Stronghold" is very clear and easy to understand. It basically describes the situation of the discovered "Beast Cult" medium-sized stronghold, and the application was prepared by the Holy Inquisition and submitted to the presiding high priest for approval.

The author of this dossier was none other than Anthony, the chief officer of the Holy Inquisition. He did not discuss this with Luo Xiu during their chat, but instead went through the official channels, insisting on handling the matter impartially.

Luo Xiu then wrote the word "agree" at the bottom and put the file into the "no problem" column.

Afterwards, he took the new files one by one to read and review them. This process lasted from noon to evening, and Luo Xiu had only finished reviewing one-third of the files.

These many files that have been piled up for a long time cannot be reviewed and approved in just one afternoon... Luo Xiu rubbed his eyes, which felt a little sore, then leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

He gradually began to understand Leonard and became Leonard...

Luo Xiu complained about all this in his heart, and after resting for about ten minutes, he sat up straight again and continued to review the files.

……

In the evening, on the main street of Red Maple City.

In the city lord's mansion, which was dominated by ochre red, City Lord Nelson put on a dark robe and walked out of the mansion and headed for the newly built "border court" of Red Maple City.

Like the "Wartime Church" of the Holy Tribunal of [Glory] located in Red Maple City, the "Border Court" is a military and political court where the people of [Supreme] gather. Several extraordinary people with the destiny of [Supreme] are also stationed there, and the "Grand Inquisitor" Baines is the acting president of the "Border Court".

When Nelson arrived at the main gate of the side court, two royal guards stopped him with their weapons drawn.

"The area ahead is the Supreme Area. Civilians are not allowed to enter." Such a cold warning came from under the visor of a royal guard knight, but Nelson was not moved.

He simply reached into his bosom calmly, took out a red sword-shaped token, and said to the Royal Guard Knight: "I am Lord Baines's secret envoy, Nelson Hampton. Please inform Lord Baines on my behalf and tell him that Nelson has something important to report."

Hearing this, the two royal knights looked at each other, and one of the knights opened the gate of the side court and stepped in to ask for instructions from the "Grand Inquisitor" Baines.

The other knight stood guard in his original position, with the long spear in his hand still tilted at an angle. He would not let any unrelated person pass through the gate before obtaining permission from Lord Baines.

Nelson was very patient. He stood quietly in front of the main gate of the side court, waiting for the previous guard knight to return.

About ten minutes later, the Royal Guard Knight returned from the depths of the side court, and a deep voice came from beneath his visor:

"You can go in."

The other knight then retracted his spear and made way for Nelson.

Nelson then paid the highest salute to the two knights, then stepped into the inner courtyard. His back then disappeared in the swaying shadows of the trees.

……

Deep in the borderland.

The "Judgement Hall" located at the core is the residence of "Grand Inquisitor" Baines, and it is also the main place where he handles border court affairs.

Nelson came here directly with a sword-shaped token in his hand. After passing two "Royal Guard Knights", he entered the courtroom and came to the door of the room of "Grand Inquisitor" Baines.

Nelson knocked three times on the door, and it opened inward, revealing a phantom, reddish figure.

The one who opened the door for Nelson was the "spiritual body" of "Grand Inquisitor" Baines, who was half lying on a luxurious bed, looking at him through the curtain with eyes as deep as a wolf.

"Greetings, Lord Baines."

Nelson bowed slightly, saluted Baines, and then reported to Baines:
"You are right. The newly appointed High Priest of the Holy See's wartime church has cleansed the curse on me... His transcendent level is indeed at the 'Fourfold Fate'. There is no doubt about that."

"And I have followed your instructions. If he can really cleanse the curse from me, I will donate 5,000 gold coins to the church in the name of the mansion to show our sincerity."

"And then he asked me for the threatening letter. I think he should have some ideas about the 'judgment' of the death informant."

"……Um."

Baines, who was behind the curtain, nodded slightly and made a long and meaningful low nasal sound.

Then, Baines said as if talking to himself:
"Rosius Carlos... the newly appointed High Priest of the Wartime Church of the Glory Holy See. He is indeed of the Quadruple Destiny. It seems that those mystical bishops of the Grand Church are not stupid enough to send an unqualified clergyman to serve in such an important position."

"Indeed." Nelson said from the side, "However, that Ross Carlos is indeed as young as the rumors say. According to the information we have about him, he is just a clergyman who has just reached adulthood, but he can remove the curse set by the 'Death Announcer' Grion, which is enough to show his true extraordinary level."

"...Heh. The chief priest of the 'Fourfold Fate' is only eighteen years old. How scary."

Baines suddenly smiled, his voice sounding a little old, and asked Nelson, "Nelson, tell me. How did he help you cleanse the curse?"

"A ball of light appeared in his palm, and then it 'dissolved', and the warm light spread throughout the room. The curse on me was pulled out like a thread, and disappeared bit by bit in front of me like a flame burning off fluff."

"…That is 'Pure Glow'."

After listening to Nelson's statement, Baines was able to judge what kind of sacred magic the "High Priest" had cast on Nelson.

"He knows 'Pure Radiance'... If he is not the master of 'Enlightenment', it will not be easy for him to learn and master this sacred art."

"It seems that the young 'High Priest' may not be as strong as the one who has just entered the 'Fourth Fate'... Could he be a senior priest? But he is too young..."

"……interesting."

Baines nodded, and then continued to say to Nelson:

"Remember my next words, Nelson."

"The new 'High Priest' of the Wartime Church may have some unknown secrets, but don't try to reveal them before the time is right."

"War is coming, Nelson. What you need to do next is to unite all the forces that can be united as much as possible. And the 'High Priest' of the wartime church is the one you need to focus on winning over."

"correct."

Baines paused and asked Nelson, "You seemed to have mentioned before that the new 'high priest' Luo Xiu Carlos asked for a threatening letter from you?"

"Yes, Lord Baines." Nelson nodded.

"...He's really impatient. He wants to use this to establish the merit of the first 'Judgment'?"

"However, this is not bad for us. After all, Grion, the 'Death Announcer', is the real enemy."

"Nelson, keep an eye on the church's movements for me. And...when the time is right, have someone disclose to the church in a covert manner the location of 'Death Announcer' Grion's hiding place."

"Let the church or the 'Teller of Death' let one's clothes be stained with blood first."

"This false tranquility and peace has lasted too long. Nelson, Red Maple City needs to see blood, and the initiative must be in the hands of the Supreme."

After saying this, Baines stopped talking and just looked at Nelson behind the curtain, waiting for his reaction.

"...Yes, Lord Baines."

Nelson responded respectfully, the expression on his face hardened and his eyes became deeper.

"Everything is in accordance with your will, Lord Baines."

"I will make the church the blade that pierces the silent night, all for victory and to usher in true peace."

……

(End of this chapter)