Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 273 Preparation, Intelligence, New Skills

[Countdown to internal testing: 3 day]

【…】

March 768, 1 in the Tianqi calendar.

Fanor continent, Red Maple City, on the border of Songyuan Territory of the Nolan Empire.

Inside the Glorious Church.

Early in the morning, Luo Xiu woke up from his newly rebuilt residence.

According to the previous requirements for the reconstruction of the residence, although Luo Xiu's promotion to the "Five-fold Destiny" and becoming a "saint" has not yet been made public to the clergy, the reconstruction of the "High Priest's Residence" has been rebuilt according to the standards of the "Holy See".

This was also a kind of forward-looking consideration - the older generation of clergy in the church all knew that their "High Priest" had completed the fourfold destiny, and promotion was just a matter of time.

Three days ago, the new "Holy See" was rebuilt. Compared with the previous "High Priest's Residence", the "Holy See" is much wider inside, has a larger courtyard, and the number of floors has been expanded from two to three.

The outer "Golden Barrier" has also been repaired, and it resonates with the "Great Sun Golden Barrier" covering the church, and its defensive capabilities have been significantly enhanced.

Luo Xiu was very satisfied with the results of the reconstruction. In addition to the "Holy See", the reconstruction of other damaged church buildings has also been completed in recent days.

The residential area built for the clergy has doubled the area and number of houses than before. The current church is large enough to accommodate 500 clergy. Although the current number of clergy in the church is less than one-third of this number, Luo Xiu has also left enough space for the future expansion of the church.

Even the capacity of 500 people was still too small in Luo Xiu's eyes - three days before the "adventurers" were about to arrive, another project that Luo Xiu had already arranged was finally completed.

As early as three months ago, Luo Xiu asked Mayyev to buy 150 acres of land in the suburbs of Hongfeng City.

After paying 1.2 times the land price to local residents, the church built a series of small manor-style houses there, adding nearly a thousand more people to the living capacity.

Because the church paid enough money and there were relevant senior architects providing design and supervision, the house was built at a very fast speed.

After it was built, it would be considered a subdistrict of the church in the outer suburbs. A clergyman of the church applied for the right to live in the suburban manor, but was rejected by Luo Xiu - because this "district" had other uses in Luo Xiu's plan.

After the parish manor was built, Luo Xiu asked the clergy to seal off the place. He planned to open it to the "Adventers" after they arrived, as a "greeting gift" for the players to join the church.

This is one of the benefits that the church will soon give to players.

——"Home"! Luo Xiu knew how tempting "home ownership" was to an orthodox RPG player.

This was in the early days when the "Adventers" were newbies with nothing. The cost of buying a property was not that big for Luo Xiu now, and being able to win over a large number of players in this way was a good deal for him.

Although players will consider replacing properties in better locations after their wallets are full in the later stages, that is a matter for the later stages - at least in the early stages, among the various camps trying to win over the "Adventers", Luo Xiu has already been at the forefront, so he won't worry about too many other things for the time being.

When he thought about the players who would "arrive" soon, Luo Xiu felt excited, but also a little nervous.

He knew that they were a group of chaotic neutral individuals because he had once been one of them. In addition to the "benefits" that he had prepared for the players, Luo Xiu was also "on guard" against them.

In the past ten days, "Executioner" Koros and his men had not made any major moves. The clergy of the church were divided into two groups, one responsible for vigorously developing the church's infrastructure, and the other conducting rounds of patrols in Red Maple City, clearing out any remnants of the enemy they found.

Although the "patrol" is openly for the purpose of judging heretics, it is secretly also an early drill for patrolling the "players".

Luo Xiu, who had memories of his previous life, clearly remembered that some conservative extremists among the players, the first thing they did after "arriving" was to kick down doors and rob houses one by one, and gather players with the same "gaming habits" to try to massacre the city.

Although their atrocities were quickly suppressed by the city guards and their weekly resurrection times were emptied, the incident still caused great panic and led to the "Adventers" being labeled as "natural disasters."

However, this incident is ultimately an isolated case. Because it will damage the gaming experience and interests of more players, other players will mark these extremist players as red names in the world channel and order them to be hunted down.

The natives of the "Apocalypse World" often give generous rewards to those players who hunt down those "red-named" players, which to some extent achieves a balance of interests between players.

……

Luo Xiu, who knew that players were a "double-edged sword", recalled all these things while putting on the robes of the high priest and walking out of the "Holy Seat".

He came to the inner courtyard, and several clergymen passing by stopped in front of Luo Xiu and saluted him respectfully.

Luo Xiu nodded in response, and the clergy returned to their posts. Luo Xiu then went to the Holy Office to prepare to handle today's work.

But when he walked into the Holy Office and into the "room between the bishops", he saw another familiar figure waiting for him between the bishops.

"You are here, Luo Xiu." "Holy Deacon" Hubert nodded to Luo Xiu and said, "I have been waiting for you for a while."

Hubert came to the church? Colen, the "guiding priest", did not tell me, which means he came here on his own... Luo Xiu's mind turned slightly, a smile appeared on his face, and he responded: "Hello, Master Hubert. I am preparing to handle today's holy affairs."

Although Luo Xiu and Hubert are now both at the fifth level of the "Holy Court" rank, Hubert is his senior after all, so Luo Xiu still calls him "Sir".

This was also a kind of social etiquette. Hubert came here almost every three days, mostly to ask about the latest developments of the "Executioner" and "Hidden Elder", and to see if Luo Xiu had adapted to the power of the "Fivefold Fate".

The moment Luo Xiu walked into the room, Hubert felt that the spiritual surge emanating from Luo Xiu was much more stable than the last time they met.

This means that he is indeed gradually mastering new powers... Hubert nodded lightly.

Then he said:
"I have just received the instructions from the Archbishop, Luo Xiu. According to your wishes, you will continue to stay in Red Maple City and join the war as a 'bishop' on the front line until the end of the Judgment War."

"Also, regarding the plan you mentioned of sending a 'priest' here, the Archbishop also approved it. Moreover, he decided to send three."

Hubert first told Rossio the reply he had received from the Archbishop.

Then he changed the subject and continued to say to Luo Xiu:

"Then there is another matter. I have already found out the hiding place of the 'Dead Bishop' Passaro and what he is planning."

In the past few days, Hubert was mainly investigating matters related to the "Dead Bishop" Passaro. With Hubert's participation, the church's investigation of Passaro was much smoother.

But Luo Xiu could clearly see that Hubert's face was not very good. "What happened?" Luo Xiu asked Hubert, "What is Passaro planning?"

"..." Hubert was silent for a while before he said seriously:
"I have to tell you, Luo Xiu. Our success in stopping Koros and Baberon was more crucial than we expected."

"——'Bishop of the Dead' Passaro, he was originally the third link in the invasion plan arranged by Koros and Baberon."

"Koros and his 'Fang Heads' and 'Black Fangs' carried out the killing in the city, while Baberon attracted attention outside the city. The dead souls killed by them were collected by Passaro and put into the 'Divine Fetus' condensed by the weak divinity of the [Original Mother]!"

Hubert's face showed a look of fear, and he said, "The ultimate goal is to bring the 'Death-born God' to the world! If Passaro really succeeds, Red Maple City will be a dead city now!"

...Death-born God? When Luo Xiu heard this term, his pupils shrank slightly.

He did know what the "Death-born God-Heirs" were - "Heirs of God" were lives that were born from the true divinity of God, while "Death-born God-Heirs" were lives that were born from a large number of deaths in the process of "Heirs of God", which accelerated the birth of "Heirs of God" but also distorted their origins.

Born to die, they hate and detest everything they see. Possessing direct power from gods, they are also extremely powerful. Their appearance often means the destruction of a city or even several cities.

In Luo Xiu's memory, the Lost Pillar God, the descendant of the original Mother, did appear in Songyuan Territory in his previous life. But it was not in Hongfeng City, but in another city.

Soon after the birth of the "Deathborn God", news of the destruction of that city came. Afterwards, the Law Office, the Holy Court, and the Sage's Tower simultaneously sent dozens of saints to suppress the disaster, and only then did the disaster disappear.

And now, the "Death Birth God's Heir" appeared in Red Maple City... Is this also a butterfly effect caused by himself? Luo Xiu couldn't help but think of this.

"But fortunately... the 'Deathborn God' that Passaro tried to feed was not able to absorb enough death."

Seeing the astonishment on Luo Xiu's face, Hubert continued:

"Now, the 'Deathborn God' has awakened. He will no longer sleep, but will try to devour all the individuals around him who gather 'spirituality' to supplement his own strength."

"You mean..." Luo Xiu showed a look of enlightenment on his face, "You mean, Passaro..."

"Yes, it's what you think." Hubert nodded slightly and said, "The first target of the 'Death Birth God' is Passaro. Although Passaro has put many seals on the 'Death Birth God', they are 'shared fate' under some secret agreement, and the death of one of them will eventually bring about the true rebirth of the other."

"I see." Luo Xiu nodded, "So, how long will it take?"

He knew what the best thing to do in this situation was. The "Deathborn God's Heir" and the "Dead Spirit Bishop" would consume each other's strength. When one of them was killed by the other but before being devoured, that was when they were at their weakest.

Just wait. Luo Xiu knew this, and Hubert quickly answered him.

"Three days, four days at most," said Hubert.

……

After Hubert left the Holy Office, Luo Xiu sat in a chair with a thoughtful look on his face.

The countdown to the arrival of the "Adventers" is also three days, which makes Luo Xiu have already figured out in his mind what role the "Death Birth God's Heir" will play for him.

That would be his first battle to establish his combat prestige in front of the players.

While thinking, Luo Xiu had already opened his character panel.

Thinking about the upcoming battle, Luo Xiu checked his panel again.

The sum of his various attributes remained above the average level of the "Fivefold Fate", and the "Skill Creation" he had carried out previously also added some new things to the skill column -

[Glory of the Holy Cross (Glory, lv.5): All sins are annihilated by the glory of the cross. 】

[Summons two ten-meter-long and wide cross-shaped rays of light, which slowly move toward the target. The "Glory of the Holy Cross" cannot be blocked and will annihilate all flying objects on the path. Each cross-shaped ray of light causes 1200% physical attack + 1200% magic attack "holy light" attribute damage to all targets on the path, and continues to cause 100% magic attack "holy light" attribute dot damage per second to the target that has caused damage, which lasts for 10 seconds.]

【…】

[Golden Starburst (Glorious, lv.5): For those who have committed sins, a starburst is sent down to cleanse their sins.]

[The upper skill of "Golden Meteor", which can be learned after mastering "Golden Meteor". After a long time of chanting, a large area of ​​"Golden Meteor" will fall in the specified range. "Golden Meteor" will bombard for a total of nine rounds, causing a total damage of 1800% physical attack + 1800% magic attack "holy light" attribute damage, and the damage can be stacked on multiple targets. Each round of meteor hits the target, and 5% defense reduction penetration effect is stacked, up to 5 layers. ]

【…】

[Holy Annihilation Sword Formation (Glorious, lv.5): The sword that cuts off all evil, forms a circular formation here! ]

[The higher-level skill of "Holy Sword of Annihilation", which can be learned after mastering "Holy Sword of Annihilation". After releasing the skill, six small "Holy Swords of Annihilation" will gather around the body and attack in coordination during the battle. Each "Holy Sword of Annihilation" will cause 640% physical attack + 450% magic attack "holy light" attribute damage when slashing. After the slash is executed, the "Holy Sword of Annihilation" disappears. ]

【…】

[God's Glory Returns (Glory, lv.5): God's Glory protects and returns evil thoughts. 】

[Standing skill, after completing the prayer, you will gain the permanent "God's Glory Return" state. After gaining the "God's Glory Return" state, when you are attacked for the first time, you will enter the "God's Glory Charge" state for 2 seconds. After the "God's Glory Charge" state ends, the damage received during the period will be completely offset, and 50% of the basic damage received will be converted into "Holy Light" attribute damage and returned to the opponent, and a shield of 50% of the basic damage will be obtained. After executing "God's Glory Return" once, the "God's Glory Return" state disappears, and the "God's Glory Return" skill enters a 1-minute cooldown period. ]

【…】

In his previous "skill creation", Luo Xiu gained four more skills that matched the strength of the "Fifth Level Destiny". He was now confident that in most battles of the same level, he could at least be invincible.

After inspection, he closed the panel and started his day's work.

But just as he took a file and was about to spread it out, his spirit suddenly trembled.

It was his "follower" - Index who conveyed the message to him.

Connecting to Index's spiritual transmission, Luo Xiu heard a vague but clear voice:
"According to your instructions, I have participated in the antique auction of the 'Black Sword Mansion'."

"——I have obtained the complete divine heart of the 'Spirit of Skyfire', my Lord."

……

(End of this chapter)