Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 236: Aftermath Settlement and Response (5k2)

Half a day later, Anthony and Pamier's injuries improved, so they left the mission and returned to the Inquisition to deal with the aftermath of the previous "獠首" invasion.

Luo Xiu went to the bishops' room in the "Holy Office" and asked the "Guide Pastor" Colen to inform the chief officer of the mission station, Maeyev, to come to the Holy Office.

Luo Xiu's expression looked somewhat gloomy at this moment. He sat on the chair that belonged to him between the bishops, with one hand on the table and the other hand half supporting his cheek. His fingers tapped lightly on the side of his forehead, reviewing the previous events in his mind.

With the "violent swordsman" Bagri passing the message to his "lord" in advance, Luo Xiu was able to successfully grasp the location of all the invaders and arrange for the clergy to intercept them in advance. But even so, there were still victims.

Two "full-time clergy" and four "apprentice clergy" were sacrificed... Although the church's high-level combat power was not seriously damaged, the church was successfully invaded and there were deaths, which would inevitably cause panic in the area.

After all, this was not a battlefield outside the city. Among the three "legitimate fates" in the city, only the church was the first to be invaded. Although all the invading enemies were wiped out afterwards, this also exposed the weakness of the church's defense mechanism.

——If the enemy could sneak in so smoothly the first time, they would definitely be able to do it the second time. In fact, Luo Xiu had been alerted when Intis was able to enter and leave the church without hindrance, but now that the problem was exposed, it completely attracted his attention.

When he thought of this, Luo Xiu frowned. He began to think about the possible construction of the defense mechanism and the corresponding expenses.

While he was thinking, there was a gentle knock on the door of his "inter-bishops' room".

"Come in." Luo Xiu said, and at the same time he put down his hand that was supporting his forehead and picked up the undipped pen from the table.

With a creak, the door between the bishops was pushed open, and Mayev, who had been summoned, walked in.

"Greetings, Lord Luo Xiu, the 'Grand Priest'."

After entering the room, Mayyev first paid a sacrament to Luo Xiu, then closed the door, walked to the desk where Luo Xiu was examining the case, and asked softly:
"Are you looking for me?"

"Yes, I'm looking for you."

Luo Xiu nodded, and then said to Mayyev:

"Maiyev, regarding the invasion that occurred in the early morning, I need the mission to prepare a list of the victims as soon as possible and provide compensation to their families."

"I'll arrange it as soon as possible." Mayyev nodded in response.

"besides."

After a pause, Luo Xiu continued to say to Mayyev: "All the places in the church courtyard that were damaged by the invasion need to be repaired as soon as possible."

"In addition, I will write a request to the Church of Sina City and ask Bishop Fabion to share the knowledge related to the 'defense barrier' with us. The next time there is an enemy invasion, I don't want to repeat the lessons of this incident."

"Yes, I'll arrange it as soon as possible." Mayyev nodded.

"Finally, it's about the 'altar ceremony'."

Luo Xiu turned the pen in his hand over, tapping the table with the end of the pen, and said to Mayyev calmly:

"The 'altar ceremony' originally scheduled for this afternoon will be postponed for one day. Mayyev, I need you to prioritize the things I mentioned earlier."

"There are also 'priests' who are about to participate in the ceremony. They need to recover from the previous events. After everyone has recovered, the 'altar ceremony' will be held again."

"Okay." Mayev nodded again and said:
"I'll arrange it as soon as possible."

……

Afterwards, before Mayyev led the mission away, Luo Xiu took out a blank sheet of paper from a cabinet on the side, wrote an application letter for the knowledge of "defensive barrier" on it, and asked Mayyev to take the letter away and find time to send it to the Sina City Church. This still required Bishop Fabion to receive it in person.

It just so happens that the "Obsidian Key" that I had previously applied for from Bishop Fabion has not yet been approved, so these two items can be sent back together when the time comes.

As Luo Xiu thought so, he watched Mayev leave the "Bishops' Room" and closed the door of the room again.

After Luo Xiu explained all this to Maiyev, he breathed a sigh of relief, relaxed his tense nerves a little, and began to review the church affairs that had been accumulated before.

Until the evening when the sun is about to set and the moon is rising.

……

at dusk.

After dealing with the remaining affairs, Luo Xiu finally dragged his tired body out of the "Holy Hall", came to the inner courtyard, and walked towards the "High Priest's Residence".

Influenced by the incident of the previous day, there are now fewer clergymen moving freely in the inner courtyard of the church than before. Many tedious aftermath matters need to be completed by the clergymen as quickly as possible, which makes the inner courtyard suddenly become a lot quieter.

The clergy who passed by Luo Xiu would still offer him pious sacraments, but their faces were more or less gloomy, reflecting their depressed mood.

But their steps are still firm, and grief will not cast dust on their inner sacred faith. The assassination of "Liao Shou" did not make them fall into doubt and confusion, but made them more cautious and more united.

This was the subtle influence that the assassination of "Liao Shou" in the early morning had on the church. Luo Xiu observed the status of the clergy around him while continuing to move forward in the direction of the "High Priest's Residence" and soon arrived at his destination.

After entering the residence and opening the barrier, Luo Xiu returned to his room and then locked the doors and windows.

In his mailbox panel, the kill rewards for "Shadow Warrior" Bode and "Poison Hunter" Alessa have not yet been collected, and two red dots are flickering in front of Luo Xiu's eyes.

Luo Xiu then sat down on the edge of the bed, performed the routine sacrifice work that had to be done before drawing a card, and then gave the "receive" command on the panel.

The two red dots in front of him disappeared immediately, and the light and shadows on the panel floated, and soon the contents of the settlement appeared -

[Kill "Shadow Warrior" Bode (lv.37), gain 3136 basic experience points]

["Glorious Judgment" takes effect, gain 4 free attribute points]

[Rewards settlement, actual experience points gained: 3136! ]

【…】

[“Shadow Warrior” Bode is a mad boss]

[Rewards for killing the Mad Doom boss are being generated...]

[Kill rewards generated]

[Obtain the expertise "Shadow Hunter (Epic)", free attribute points*5]!
[Shadow Hunter (Epic): You dance in the shadows. You are the embodiment of the hidden hunter.]

[Your "Agility" attribute gains a basic correction of 30 points. For every 1 point of "Agility" attribute you have, your "Physical Attack" attribute value increases by 0.5. The first attack you launch will be less likely to be predicted or detected.]

【…】

"...Not bad." After quickly browsing the contents on the panel, Luo Xiu nodded slightly.

Luo Xiu's current character level has reached the upper limit of the "Quadruple Destiny", so he no longer receives extra experience rewards when killing enemies with lower levels than him, but Luo Xiu no longer cares about that.

Then, he slid open the panel and calculated the reward for killing the "poison hunter" Alessa.

[Kill "Poison Hunter" Alessa (lv.32), gain 2636 basic experience points]

["Glorious Judgment" takes effect, gain 4 free attribute points]

[Rewards settlement, actual experience points gained: 2636! ]

【…】

[“Poison Hunter” Alessa is a mad boss]

[Rewards for killing the Mad Doom boss are being generated...]

[Kill rewards generated]

[Obtain the expertise "Poisoned Blade (Rare)", free attribute points*5]!
[Poisoned Blade (Rare): The faint light on your blade contains death.]

[When you perform a melee attack, the "poison" attribute damage you cause increases by 30%. At the same time, each time you attack and cause "poison" attribute damage, an additional 10% of the damage amount is "origin" damage.]

【…】

"…It's okay." Luo Xiu pondered.

The results of the two kill rewards were quite satisfactory to Luo Xiu. After completing the calculation, he closed the panel and lay down on the bed, falling into a deep sleep before the exhaustion really swallowed him.

……late at night.

Outside Hongfeng City, there is a dark military camp.

The "executioner" Afatak was sitting in the tent in the center of the camp at this time, frowning as he waited for the results of the "scouts".

At the bottom of the tent, "Berserk Swordsman" Bagri, "Cursed Binder" Haziz, and "Beast Tamer" Klauer occupied three positions respectively, and next to them, there were two vacant positions.

The four "Fourfold Fates"' 'Leaders' and 'Commanders' gathered in the tent, but they all had gloomy faces and no one spoke.

There was an eerie silence in the air for a moment.

"..."

"Bode, the Shadow Warrior, and Alessa, the Poison Hunter, failed to return as expected."

The low voice of "Executioner" Afatak sounded, breaking the strange silence, and said:
"We have to prepare for the worst."

As soon as he finished speaking, the curtain of the tent was lifted, and the "scout" wearing a black mask and a black cloak finally returned and came straight to Afatak.

After paying simple respects to the three important figures in the tent one by one, the "scout" reported in a low voice:
"Master Bode, the Shadow Warrior, and Master Alessa, the Poison Hunter... They have been killed."

"And none of the ten Black Fang compatriots that the adults brought into Sina City survived. They all died in that church."

"..."

"I understand." Afatak nodded. There was no expression of shock, anger, or fear on his face. He just asked the 'scout' calmly, "How did they die?"

After thinking for a while, Afatak added: "Were there any extraordinary people from the 'Bianting' or 'Fangbeiyuan' who caused their sacrifice?"

"No, not really." The Scout shook his head and said, "I witnessed the deaths of Lord Bode and Lady Alessa with my own eyes. They... were both killed by the High Priest of the Church."

"..." The expression on Afatak's face froze for a moment, and a deep cold light flashed in his eyes.

"Go on." Afatak ordered the 'scout'.

"In addition to what we already know, that the church's 'high priest' controls the 'confession' glow, as well as the power of 'holy thunder' and 'dragon thunder', he... he also established a contract with two 'holy beasts'."

The Scout continued:

"First, it was a giant wolf with golden flames all over its body. Second, it was a Pegasus also with golden flames."

"The former seems to possess the powerful power of the Holy Flame, and the latter...it can run in the air, and its sharp horns have extremely strong penetrating power. When it runs, dozens or even hundreds of golden flying stars will gather around it and shoot towards the target at a certain moment, causing a violent explosion."

"What is that?" Afatak was puzzled and murmured, "A sacred beast in the form of a 'Giant Wolf'? And a 'Pegasus', uh... Crow, do you know what those are?"

As he spoke, Afatak looked towards the "tamer" Klauer who was sitting below him, hoping to get an answer from him.

"I'm not sure what the 'Scout' Didier said."

After organizing his words, Claure said slowly:
"A golden giant wolf-type sacred beast? I've never heard of it. I only know that there was the Holy Wolf that was born in the light, and the Sky Wolf that was one of the mounts of the former pillar god of light, the Sun-Forging Moment... But the clans of these two sacred beasts were extinct as early as the Age of Gods."

"Moreover, according to the records in the Beast Notes I have, the 'Holy Light Wolf' should be a small sacred beast, only half the height of a man, and the 'Sky Wolf' is a giant beast with a huge body, enough to cover the sky of an entire town... None of these match the characteristics of the 'Giant Wolf' sacred beast that Didier said was contracted by the 'Chancellor' of that church."

"But, the other sacred beast that Didier mentioned, the Pegasus..."

"That looks like the 'Golden Pegasus' in the Glory legend... It's the sacred beast contracted by the first generation of apostles of their Pillar God... And now, although the blood of their descendants is much thinner than in the Age of Gods, the 'gold' blazing color has almost faded and turned into a 'pure white Pegasus', there are still very few Glory believers who can establish a contract with the pure-blooded 'Golden Pegasus'."

"But from what I know, the followers of Glory who can establish a contract with the Golden Pegasus are usually very powerful, and have basically entered the spiritual level of 'entering the saint'. The 'high priest' of that church has obviously not reached such a level."

"..."

"But he's strong enough, Krall."

The Executioner Afatak had a serious expression on his face. He immediately "refuted" the Tamer Crowler, saying, "You know, two of our colleagues with the 'Quadruple Fate' have died at his hands."

"Do you think his true strength is far inferior to that of a true 'saint'? If it weren't for the 'executioner' who is one of the best 'saints', I think it's possible that the 'high priest' could defeat him..."

"Moreover, since he was able to kill Bode and Alessa without any warning or preparation... I have reason to suspect that if he is prepared, even if the four of us attack together, we may not be able to kill him, and we may even be killed by him."

"..."

"Are you afraid of fighting, Lord Afatak?"

The Curse Binder, Haziz, who was sitting next to the Beast Tamer, Claure, suddenly made a sharp sound from his face which was wrapped in bloody bandages, and asked:

"No matter what, the other party is just a transcendent with the 'Quadruple Destiny', and you, me, Mr. Claure, and my colleague Bagli, we are also 'Quadruple Destiny', so why can't we ..."

"No, Your Excellency Haziz."

Afatak interrupted him and said, "You are wrong, Lord Haziz, I am not afraid of fighting. As a giant born in the Storm Continent, I don't know what cowardice is."

"However, as the leader of the vanguard, I must prioritize the correct execution of Lord Fafnir's orders. I must consider more aspects, and my vision cannot be limited to the remote battlefield of 'revenge'."

"So, this is by no means a sign of cowardice. It is just a way of preserving our manpower."

"...I agree with Afatak's idea."

Beast Tamer Crow nodded and said, "We are no longer in control of the numerical advantage of the 'Fourfold Fate' extraordinary people. Moreover, the actions of Bode and Alessa must have aroused the vigilance of the 'Border Court' and the 'Square Monument Court'. I think the current situation does not support us to avenge our compatriots."

"Perhaps they are celebrating this brief victory?" Bagli said, "I suggest that we take advantage of this opportunity to launch an attack with all our forces. We may have a chance to capture Red Maple City in one fell swoop."

"But this is not safe." Afatak shook his head and said, "We...actually have a safer option."

"Mr. Bagli, and Mr. Haziz."

Afatak's blazing eyes looked down at the three people who were discussing fiercely. He spoke in a heavy voice with a resolute expression on his face:

"Your 'Lion Lord', the 'Executioner' Koros, should be here soon. Why don't we wait until he actually arrives before launching a general attack on Red Maple City?"

"By then, we will regain our absolute advantage in combat power. Whether it is the church, the border court, or the Fangbei Court, they will all be crushed like ants in our hands."

"..."

"If possible, I don't want to make that adult worry about this matter, because the adult has a more important mission."

Haziz sighed, blood seeping from the bandage on his face, and his tone became quite sad. He said:

"...But. Lord Afatak is indeed right. You have successfully convinced me that revenge for my colleagues is not urgent."

"Then prepare your defenses, everyone."

Afatak said in a low voice, "Since Bode and Alessa have unfortunately died, the enemies in Red Maple City must have been ready to make a move."

"They must think we are weak, and must think this is a great opportunity to turn the tide of the battle."

"I think it won't be long before they launch a counterattack against us and try to wipe us out in one fell swoop."

"Withstand their final rage. We need to, and only need to, withstand it this time."

A deep dark light flashed in Afatak's eyes. His voice became deeper and his expression became more fierce. He said word by word:

"Trust me, wait for the moment when Lord Koros arrives."

"They will wail, they will flee! Their flesh will become our food, their bones will be sharpened into our arrows, their heads will be carved into our drinking cups!"

"They will surely die without a burial place, and pay a terrible price for their foolish arrogance and stubborn resistance!"

"This is the real 'revenge'."

……

(End of this chapter)