Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 264 Interrogation
After the brief conversation, Luo Xiu rode on the "Golden Pegasus" and went to the border with Frosa and the captive Lias.

On the way, they did not encounter any enemy obstructions and soon arrived at their destination.

……

Red Maple City, the [Supreme] Frontier.

When he first arrived here, a devastating scene quickly came into Luo Xiu's sight.

The number of royal knights originally guarding the main gate has been increased from two to eight.

Behind these eight knights was a half-ruined courtyard, a bumpy road, and large patches of horrifying blood.

The solemn and luxurious outer buildings of the border were at least half destroyed. Occasionally, two or three knights of the border hurriedly passed through, either supporting the seriously injured knights or carrying the bodies of knights covered with red cloth.

When Luo Xiu followed Frosa to the main gate of the border, the knights on duty surrounded them.

"Lord Frosa, you are back." The leading Royal Guard Knight saluted Frosa and then said respectfully, "The brothers are still cleaning up the battlefield. All the enemies who invaded the border have been killed or repelled, and no remnants have been found."

When reporting this to Frosa, the Royal Guard's gaze under the visor quickly fell on Luo Xiu, who was behind Frosa.

He was standing behind Florosa, wearing a dark priest robe, and only a vague outline was visible in the night.

And behind Luo Xiu, the captured "Fang-Head" Lias was tied up and carried on the back of the "Golden Pegasus".

"I understand." Frosa nodded, and then said to the Royal Guard Knight in front of him, "The High Priest of the Church and I have important matters to attend to. You must continue to hold your posts and do not relax for even a moment."

"Understood." The Royal Guard knight stood at attention solemnly, and the gilded spear held in both hands also stood straight on the ground.

Afterwards, Frosa walked through the knights on duty and entered the inner court with Luo Xiu, then went straight to the "Judgment Hall" to meet with the "Grand Inquisitor" Baines.

……

In the courtroom at the edge of Red Maple City.

The president of the side court, "Grand Inquisitor" Baines, was in the deepest room, frowning as he wrote a letter.

Just as the "high priest" of the church, Luo Xiu, had predicted at first, the "executioner" Kolos had indeed arrived, and as soon as he arrived, he dealt a heavy blow to the three major destiny bases in Red Maple City!
There were a total of four pitch-black "Fang Heads" and a dozen "Black Fangs" invading the border.

Although Baines and Frosa were not seriously injured, the enemy's crazy attack like a hungry wolf caused the deaths of more than a dozen "war knights" and six "guard knights" of the Border Court. The overall strength of the Border Court suffered a very serious blow again.

At this time, the letter Baines was writing was a "request for help" to the Songyuanling Law Office.

He urgently needed reinforcements from the lord. At the same time, due to the arrival of "Executioner" Koros, Baines also requested the superiors to send the "Supreme" person of the "Five Destinies" to compete with Koros and Baberon.

As Baines was formulating his words, he heard footsteps and looked up.

He saw the "Knight of the Throne" Frosa coming back, and behind him were the church's "High Priest" Luo Xiu and the sacred beast "Golden Pegasus" that he had contracted with.

When he saw them, Florosa's frown relaxed slightly.

A symbolic smile appeared on his face, and then he put down the ink brush in his hand, nodded slightly to Luo Xiu, and said:
"You are here, Lord Luo Xiu. I am glad to see that you are alright."

I'm fine... Luo Xiu inexplicably thought of the strange internet greetings from his previous life, and he nodded in response:
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Baines. I have heard from Lord Frosa about the general situation of the border court."

"I feel sorry for what happened to the border, and we also suffered the crazy and shameless raid of that group of enemies."

"Oh, what a misfortune..." Baines shook his head, looking annoyed.

His gaze then passed through Luo Xiu's side and fell on the back of the "Golden Pegasus" behind him, and he said solemnly:
"I heard that you successfully captured an enemy leader."

"This is crucial for us, Lord Luo Xiu. Thank you for your once again making a crucial contribution to breaking the deadlock."

While Baines was saying this, Frosa had already walked to the side of the "Golden Pegasus" Pegasus and grabbed the "Fang-Head" Lias who was tied up.

"Without further delay, Lord Baines."

Luo Xiu nodded and said to Baines, "Let's stop with the pleasantries. I hope to start the interrogation as soon as possible so that we can learn the enemy's deployment and motives as soon as possible."

"Haha, of course there is no problem, Mr. Luo Xiu."

Baines stood up, then walked to the wall of the room and tapped the wall with his hand.

——A rumbling sound came from the inner side of the wall. The originally smooth wall suddenly opened up a crack, and gradually revealed a secret door leading to a deeper place.

"Come with me, Lord Luo Xiu."

Baines then walked into the secret door, and his voice gradually became vague in Luo Xiu's ears:
"The 'underground prison' is where the interrogation takes place. It is the safest place in the entire Border Court."

……

Border, underground prison.

Luo Xiu and Frosa followed Baines into the dungeon, only to find that the air here was much colder and more humid than outside, which made Luo Xiu's breathing feel extremely heavy.

Luo Xiu looked around. On the damp walls of the dungeon, water droplets were slowly sliding down the cracks in the stone. The dripping sound echoed in the quiet cell. The iron bars of the cell were covered with spots of rust, and the chains made slight clinking sounds with the weak airflow.

In the cells on both sides, prisoners huddled in the corners, their hands locked with heavy iron chains, and special shackles made every step they took extremely difficult.

Most of the prisoners who can be imprisoned here by the "Border Court" are extraordinary people from various secret organizations. The "Border Court" will not kill them immediately, but will try to "dominate" them. Although the [Supreme] will never set these captives free, it can usurp their spirituality and turn it into its own power.

This is considered the secret of [Supreme] - Luo Xiu, who was not a [Supreme] player in his previous life, only learned this information from the [Supreme] players later.

While observing the prisoners in the cells on both sides, Luo Xiu pretended to know nothing and followed Baines to the deepest part of the dungeon.

It was a prison cell made entirely of fine steel.

And on each fine steel guardrail, there are high-level burning runes engraved.

If the prisoners inside try to escape or touch the guardrails on a large scale or for a long time, the Burning Rune will immediately activate in the form of resonance, and a burning fire will rise inside the cell, preventing the prisoners from escaping.

This cell has no "owner" for the time being, and the interrogation of "The Fang Chief" Lias will be conducted here.

Florosa carried Lias into the cell, untied the ropes that bound Lias, and personally locked him in neck cuffs, wrist cuffs, and leg cuffs from top to bottom.

Afterwards, Frosa brought a few thin chains and took a chisel, aiming at the collarbone and piercing it!
"-Ah!" The severe pain woke up the unconscious Lias instantly. When he opened his eyes, he saw three figures in front of him, and then felt the dim environment around him, he had a bad premonition.

Florosa did not stop his actions because Lias woke up. He directly took the chain, passed it through the hole that went through Lias's collarbone, and then pulled it hard!
“——Hiss!” Lias howled and began to struggle hard.

Outside the cell, watching Luo Xiu's skillful manipulation of Frosa, he felt inexplicably a wave of phantom pain.

This is called professionalism... Luo Xiu complained in his heart. He watched as Frosa quickly and effortlessly completed the task of imprisoning Lias.

At this time, Lias's clavicle and knee bones were pierced by Florosa's chisel and passed through the thin chain. The severe pain made Lias wail constantly, but he no longer struggled because struggling would make the pain worse again.

Then, Frosa left the cell and came to Luo Xiu's side.

Baines walked into the cell and came in front of Lias, and at the same time he signaled Luo Xiu to follow. Luo Xiu then walked in, and he watched Baines raise his arm and gently press his palm on Lias' forehead.

Then, Baines issued an "edict":

"——【No silence here】."

"——【No sophistry allowed here】."

"——【No lies allowed here】."

"..."

Baines issued dozens of decrees to Lias in succession, and finally, he used the mental control technique of "consciousness domination" on Lias.

Only after seeing Lias's expression become dull and his pupils gradually lose focus did Baines ask him:

"tell me your name."

"Lias...Blancha..." Lias replied weakly.

Under the influence of the "Edict", Lias will involuntarily tell the information he knows. This is the unique method of the Supreme, and it is also the reason why Luo Xiu handed over the "Fang Head" Lias to the Border Court.

"Very good, Lias." Baines nodded.

He then asked, "Tell me, your master, 'Executioner' Koros, what is his purpose in coming to Red Maple City?"

"...An order. It's an order from...the Grand Duke."

Lias' pupils turned white, his body twitched, and the outline of his body was glowing with a blurry red light.

His vague voice continued to reveal information: "Lord Koros said... 'Red Maple City' is the main force attacking Songyuan Territory... the most important front-line fortress..."

"Your Excellency is following the orders of the Grand Duke... As for the rest, I don't know..."

Is it just an order? Luo Xiu, who was listening in, couldn't help but start thinking about other things.

But Lias, who was only the "Fang Head", had no way of knowing what Koros was really thinking. Since the "Edict" had already made him reveal what he knew, there was no need to continue asking along this line of questioning.

"Then let's change the question."

Baines and Luo Xiu seemed to have the same idea. He then interrogated Lias: "Tell me, how many other 'Flangeheads' and 'Black Fangs' like you have been brought by Koros?"

"Master Koros... You have eighteen 'Fang Chiefs' under your command, and hundreds of 'Black Fangs'... In addition to us, Master Baberon, the 'Hidden Elder', also leads a dozen 'Anonymous'..."

"..." This time, the expression on Baines' face became visibly more solemn.

He hadn't even asked Lias about the "hidden elder" Baberon when Lias confessed everything himself.

But the enemy's configuration was far more luxurious than Baines had expected, which made Baines foresee the difficult situation in the future.

In addition to Koros and Baberon, two saints with the "Fivefold Destiny", the enemy also has more than thirty extraordinary people with the "Fourfold Destiny"!
And the number of people stationed in the three major destinies in Red Maple City and the number of extraordinary people with the "quadruple destiny" only adds up to five people!

This made Baines feel deeply powerless once again.

Compared with the enemy, their only advantage now is the home advantage - relying on the defensive measures in their respective bases, they may be able to withstand several enemy attacks.

But if Koros and Baberon came in person, no matter how strong the fortifications in the base were, they would never be able to see the sunrise the next day.

"..."

Seeing that Baines seemed to be distracted for a moment, Luo Xiu took over the interrogation and continued to question Lias:
"Do you know the purpose of the Hidden Elder Baberon's visit?"

"...I don't know." Lias replied in a vague voice.

"So, do you know what the next arrangements will be after Koros learns of your failure?"

"...I don't know." Lias shook his head blankly.

But he then continued vaguely: "Lord Koros... will definitely avenge us. He has always done so, without fail..."

So, I killed so many of his "fang heads"... Is he here to seek "revenge" from me? Luo Xiu thought about it, but still shook his head.

The interrogation could actually have ended at this point.

Luo Xiu always felt that Lias knew more, and also vaguely felt that there was something important that he seemed to have missed.

He racked his brains to think about where the possible missed point might be, and Baines had come back to his senses from his trance.

Baines also heard clearly what Luo Xiu said about interrogating Lias.

Baines then gave Luo Xiu a look of gratitude, and then took back the interrogation task.

While Luo Xiu was thinking, Baines, who was the Supreme and knew more comprehensive information, asked Lias the last and most crucial question:
"Tell me, 'Executioner' Koros, is he connected to the 'Holy Tower Theocracy'?"

——The Holy Tower Kingdom!
It wasn't until Baines said the name of the Theocracy that Luo Xiu seemed to wake up for a moment.

That was exactly the point that Luo Xiu had always felt might have been missed. The question that was about to come out from the bottom of his heart had already been asked by Baines.

You know, before the arrival of the Dark Principality’s army, most of the people who frequently made trouble in Red Maple City were secret societies of the “Holy Tower Kingdom”—

On the eve of the "War of Judgment" actually starting, Luo Xiu had already cleared out all the association bases that he knew belonged to the "Theocracy", and after that he no longer cared about possible threats from the "Theocracy".

But this threat has always existed, especially during the "War of Judgment", before the Theocracy officially intervened in the war, local chaos secretly caused by them was also common.

As a [Lost] believer, Lias might really know something.

A deep light flashed in Luo Xiu's eyes. He looked at the bound Lias, waiting for his answer.

"……Yes."

Lias nodded dazedly.

--really!
"This has nothing to do with our current operation... But Master Koros did give me the task of... contacting the remnants of the 'Ancient Hermitage'..."

Lias continued:

"They have been lurking here. They have never left since the 'Lodifu Incident'..."

"And their bishop...'Bishop of the Dead' Passaro Adoya..."

"Lord Passaro Adorya arrived here a week ago."

……

(End of this chapter)