Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 229 The beginning of war (5k)

After completing the "insane piety" transformation of Asves, Luo Xiu and his Holy Abyss "apostles" withdrew from the stronghold before the "throne knight" Frosa broke through the illusion.

After all, the main purpose of this operation has been achieved. The "Priest of Death" Asvis has been transformed into a "Mad Believer", so there is not much point in delaying any further.

After leaving the base, Luo Xiu, Index, Buzer and the Undertaker went to another hidden alley in Rust Street, activated the key of the "Lost Court", and teleported back to the Lost Court together.

The moment Throne Knight Frosa appeared, Luo Xiu was ready for all exits of Rust Street to be blocked by the Border Court. They would then conduct a carpet search in Rust Street, and in such a situation, teleporting back to the Forgotten Royal Court for temporary shelter was the safest option.

This time would not last too long. Luo Xiu estimated that it would take about half a day. After half a day, he would come out of the Lost Royal Court and return to the church in his true body.

……

Isol was left in the royal court, in the main hall.

At this time, Luo Zheng was sitting upright on the throne, looking down at his apostles.

Index, Buzer and Undertaker were now crawling on both sides of the hall, waiting for Luo Xiu to comment on the action they participated in.

"Well done, Index, Boozer, and Undertaker."

Luo Xiu nodded and praised in an approving tone: "You successfully resisted those undead spirits and did not let them hinder me. You did a good job."

"I will give the meritorious people the rewards they deserve, and you can be grateful."

As he spoke, Luo Xiu took out the divine object "Spiritual Spring" from his storage bracelet.

Recently, Luo Xiu, who did not have much need for experience points, continued to feed a lot of experience points to the Spiritual Spring.

The experience points stored in the spring pool had reached 60,000 points, and the resonance level between the "Spiritual Spring" and Luo Xiu himself had also reached Level II.

[Sacred Object: Spring of Spirituality]

[Current experience value storage: 62382/5000000]

[Current Resonance Level: Level II]

[Level II Resonance Level: When taking out stored experience points, it is effectively converted to 60%]

[Has reached Level II resonance, "Spring of Spirituality" can condense natural spirituality]

[Efficiency of Condensing Natural Spirituality: 7/min]

【…】

The Spiritual Fountain of Level II Resonance increases the effective experience conversion rate by 10%, and also unlocks the effect of "Condensing Natural Spirituality", which means that the "Spiritual Fountain" can generate experience points by itself, and with a growth rate of 7 experience points per minute, more than experience points can be accumulated every day.

After Luo Xiu took out the "Spring of Spirituality", he held the handle of the cup and shook it gently. The azure liquid in the cup then swayed with layers of luster, emitting a mottled fluorescence like the starry sky.

Then, Luo Xiu put his finger into the cup, dipped the liquid and flicked it towards the three people in front of the hall.

The azure liquid carrying spirituality then transformed into three silk-like spiritual strands, floating towards the three people. Intis, who had received the same "reward" before, was no longer afraid at this time, but calmly waited for the spiritual silk to touch her body.

Soon, the three spiritual energies "hit" their respective targets. Intis, Buzer, and the Undertaker all felt at the same time that the comfortable, immaterial, and surging spiritual energy flowed into their bodies in an instant, merged into their spirituality, and became part of their strength.

The amount of "experience points" Luo Xiu gave them was just enough for them to level up. As a result, they could quickly feel the increase in strength, and they showed great excitement about the "reward" they received.

"Thank you for your gift, my Lord."

Index, Boozer, and the Undertaker all prostrated themselves before Luo Xiu and thanked him:
"Thank you for the power you have bestowed upon us. We swear to follow you forever and become the sharp blade that carries out your will."

……

Half a day passed.

Ross and Index were then teleported back to the real world from the Lost Palace, while Buzzer and the Undertaker remained in the Palace, overseeing the construction of the Palace which had not yet been completed.

The first thing Luo Xiu did after returning to the real world was to recall the "Mist Shadows" that were stationed nearby by "Shadow Raven" Wu Ye.

Although it is impossible to sense the external situation and atmosphere in the Lost Royal Court, using the "fog shadow" created by the foggy night as the "medium" connecting the two places can avoid such problems to a large extent.

According to the vision sharing of "Mist Shadow" that Luo Xiu had set up here in advance, the royal guards at the border had just searched this street an hour ago.

The Rusty Street where they were at the moment had just been searched by the Royal Guards. Not finding any suspicious people, they took advantage of the situation to seize a small base of another pagan organization, and returned to the border court to report to the "Grand Inquisitor".

The blockade of the Royal Guards was lifted, and Ross and Index were able to leave Rust Street safely without meeting any Royal Guards on the way.

When they returned to the main street of Red Maple City, Luo Xiu gave Index another task. Index then left Red Maple City and went to the main city of Songyuan; while Luo Xiu went directly and silently back to the church and his high priest residence through the small path.

After returning, he removed the "real phantom" that "Shadow Raven" had created based on his appearance. During this half day, his "phantom" handled some matters for him, and no clergyman noticed anything.

……

The next day, a messenger from the "Border Court" suddenly came to the church and claimed to the leading clergy that he wanted to meet the "high priest" Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu met with the "messenger" and learned from him some follow-up information about the incident of "Priest of Death" Asvis.

"Grand Inquisitor" Baines received feedback from "Knight of the Throne" Frosa shortly afterwards. According to the messenger, their second leader, Lord Frosa, had carried out a mission to clear out the pagan strongholds on Rust Street the day before. And from this clearing mission, he obtained information about the distribution of all the strongholds of the "Death Secret Prayers" in Red Maple City.

The messenger sent by Baines came to share this information with the church. But they still concealed the location of several bases, and one of them was the hiding place of "Death Priest" Asvis after his transfer.

It seems that the "Bianting" still chooses to continue to protect Asves... Luo Xiu thought. Having transformed Asves into a "crazy believer", he naturally obtained the distribution locations of all the "Death Secret Prayers" strongholds, and even more comprehensive information than the Border Court, but there is no need to let the Border Court's "envoy" know these things.

"It's just that the 'clean-up' mission we carried out was not completed perfectly."

The messenger continued to tell Luo Xiu these things. He said that an unknown [Lost] fourth or fifth level heretic of destiny appeared at the scene, and that unknown heretic was practicing the way of "death". He even made a contract with the "gods"... The messenger said that the "Grand Inquisitor" Baines from the border court shared this matter with the church out of kindness, hoping that the church would pay more attention and be on guard.

But when Luo Xiu heard this, he felt inexplicably happy in his heart.

A [Lost] pagan who practices the way of "death"? He also made a contract with the "gods"... As soon as Luo Xiu heard it, he knew that this so-called "unknown pagan" was himself.

At that time, Amber, the "Guardian of Illusion", successfully resolved the death curse released by Asves with the "Dissociation of Illusions". The power he possessed was then temporarily transformed into death, which caused Frosa's misunderstanding...

Luo Xiu thought that the reason he didn't do it himself was to hide his identity and avoid direct contact with Frosa. Now it seems that Frosa's misunderstanding is a good thing, and Luo Xiu doesn't need to hide anything anymore.

Afterwards, the envoy hinted to Luo Xiu that they had recently conducted an internal investigation in the "Border Court". It was said that it was proposed by Frosa to Baines that every supreme leader of the "Border Court" must verify their loyalty in order to eliminate internal concerns before the war actually came.

Although it was unknown why Bian Ting chose to catch the traitor at this time...but Bian Ting did not seem to catch any suspicious termites from this self-examination. This was equivalent to finally confirming the loyalty of their own members. Apart from causing some people in Bian Ting to panic for a while, it did not cause any loss to them.

After sharing this with Luo Xiu, the envoy from the Border Court prepared to leave. He also had to report the same information to the Fangbei Court of the Sage's Tower in Hongfeng City, so his schedule was quite tight.

The guiding clergy then sent the envoy out of the church, and Rossu lived in the church residence for a period of time, handling church affairs while waiting for Intis to complete an important "diplomatic" mission.

……

Half a month later. Red Maple City Church, the inner courtyard of the church, the Holy Office Hall.

In the morning, just as Luo Xiu finished the work at hand, the spiritual conduction of the "Family Emblem" brought him a warm breath.

Luo Xiu, who had noticed something, left the "Bishops' Room" and the Holy Office, and went straight back to his high priest's residence, where he opened a golden barrier.

He then went up to the second floor of his residence and returned to his bedroom, where he saw a white two-tailed cat lying lazily on the windowsill.

Index is back. She has completed the task assigned to her by Luo Xiu before. She sneaked back to the church and reported the completion status to "Lord" Luo Xiu in person.

"Intis..." Luo Xiu sighed and said, "I should have told you not to barge in casually."

"……never mind."

"How did you go to Songyuan City this time? "

"..."

Green mist immediately filled Luo Xiu's eyes, and a white two-tailed cat nimbly jumped off the ground and transformed into a graceful human form.

At this moment, Index was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and the veil at the edge just covered half of Index's face; she was also wearing an elegant and exquisite pleated dress, revealing an elegant aristocratic temperament.

This was the dress style that Index wore most often when she and Luo Xiu went to Songyuan City. And the mission that Luo Xiu had asked Index to go to Songyuan City to perform was to go to the "Gold Country Bank" and deal with the follow-up matters of the "Gambling Agreement"!

It was already the end of October, and the "Betting Agreement" signed by Luo Xiu and Gonzalo Manston, the vice president of the "Golden Country Bank" in Songyuan City, had now reached its final deadline.

——At that time, he borrowed 2.3 million commercial bonds from the bank, and the collateral for the loan was the three assets he first invested in. Only if the total amount of these assets doubled within a month, would Luo Xiu be considered to have "won the bet" and continue to be qualified as a distinguished customer of the bank.

Whether he would become rich overnight or suffer a great loss overnight, it all depended on the result of Index's trip to Songyuan City this time... Although Luo Xiu, who had the memories of his previous life, was very confident about this bet, he was also worried about what might happen.

Index now returned with the results, so Luo Xiu immediately returned to her residence to see her and waited for her report.

After Luo Xiu asked Index, Index knelt on one knee and nodded in reply:
"—We won the bet, my lord."

"..."

"……call."

When he heard Index give a positive result, Luo Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, the impact of the "October Famine" has become increasingly severe. According to Luo Xiu's estimation of the situation, the total value of his assets should have met the betting conditions set by the terms of the agreement.

And what Intis said confirmed these estimates. Luo Xiu then listened to Intis continue to say: "The total assets of your three investments in the Golden Country Bank have reached 5.12 million commercial bonds. They have more than doubled compared to when you signed the "Vet Agreement", which has met the terms and conditions of the "Vet Agreement."

"According to the agreement, Vice President Gonzalo has carried out the subsequent operations. Half of your three investment assets have been returned to the 'Gold Country Bank', and the other half remains in your name. Vice President Gonzalo used his authority to waive all interest on this loan for you."

"The vice president's original words were: 'The bank has gained enough benefits through this 'Vam Agreement'. As for the profits generated by it, they are completely incomparable to the benefits we have obtained.' Now, the remaining half of the investment assets, with a total value of 2.56 million commercial bonds, are now normal investment assets and are no longer used as collateral for any loans."

"Very good." Luo Xiu nodded, "I understand."

This is indeed good news before the "Trial War" officially begins.

Luo Xiu's savings were almost exhausted, and he could only rely on the church's stipend to make ends meet. The news brought back by Intis made Luo Xiu's funds abundant again, and he could consider doing more things.

After Index finished reporting all of the above, she took out a large and exquisite cash box from her bracelet.

She handed the cash box to her master, saying:

"According to your previous instructions, I took out 10% of your total assets."

"Two hundred and fifty thousand business notes, equivalent to two hundred and fifty platinum coins, are all here. Please accept them."

After Luo Xiu took the heavy cash box, Index said finally:
"Also, there's one last thing."

"The vice president of the 'Gold Country Bank', Mr. Gonzalo Manston."

"He said he was looking forward to working with you next time and asked me to give his regards to you."

"I understand." Luo Xiu nodded and said with a smile:
"I will think about it."

……

In the two months after confirming the "Gambling Agreement", Luo Xiu stayed in Hongfeng City, openly developing his "church" while secretly expanding the scale of his "Holy Abyss".

At the same time, he launched at least one "just sanction" against the pagan strongholds in Red Maple City almost every week to maintain his own and the church's prestige in Red Maple City.

Outside of Red Maple City, in the wider Nolan Empire, the turmoil of war gradually surfaced.

In early November of the year 767 of the Tianqi calendar, a shocking assassination occurred in the imperial capital. Dozens of imperial officials were assassinated overnight, and the murderer even left a black knife at the scene and wrote the twisted words "revenge" in the blood of the dead.

——This incident was later called the "Black Knife Revenge" incident.

In late November of the year 767 of the Apocalypse, a riot broke out in Kuma Territory, which was located on the border of the Empire and adjacent to Songyuan Territory. As the origin of the September Plague and the hardest-hit area by the October Famine, the people of the territory joined forces with the "Executioner" who infiltrated the local area to overthrow the rule of the lord, and formally declared independence, declaring that they would take revenge on the Empire by "bloody" means and reclaim the lives of the deceased.

——This incident was later called the "Bloody Declaration" independence movement.

In the following month, in mid-December of the year 767 of the Apocalypse, a horrific sacrifice took place in the important mining city of Rolling Stone City in the Imperial Territory. Half of the citizens exploded and died overnight, and their souls were captured by an unknown group of saints, and then disappeared.

The whole city was in a panic, and the extraordinary people of the empire, who were busy dealing with various emergencies, had no time to spare the sixth or seventh level of life force to investigate the matter. This horrific sacrifice also became an important point of disagreement between the people of the empire and the imperial family, activating the contradiction between the ruling and ruled classes of the empire. A large number of civilians moved their families from the imperial territory to the direction of the theocracy and the Golden Kingdom.

——This incident was later called the "Rolling Stone Sacrifice" tragedy.

In addition, many more human tragedies broke out in the empire in just two months, making the empire's situation more dangerous and the imperial family's rule more shaky.

At the end of December, it is the intersection between the 767th and 768th years of the Apocalyptic calendar.

In the capital of the Nolan Empire, a duke, three marquises, and a dozen earls had their souls "taken away" overnight and wailed all day long.

Two days later, they were found dead in their own residence in a miserable manner.

The "Great Sage" of the Empire's Tower of Sages examined the cause of death for these imperial descendants and ultimately confirmed that it was the work of the "Envoy of Peace" of the Seventh Fate of Nothingness, who was affiliated with the Dark Principality. This completely intensified the conflict between the Empire and the Dark Principality and became the fuse for the outbreak of war.

Just as the empire was ready to declare war and began to fully mobilize its troops and prepare to march to the border.

The cavalry of the Dark Principality was the first to invade the territory of the empire.

——The "War of Revenge" against the Empire and the "War of Judgment" against the Principality, the clarion call of war has truly sounded.

……

(End of this chapter)