Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 287 The "Ghost" of Rockland

——【Dragon Hunter Rocklan】!
When he saw the name, Luo Xiu wondered if he had seen it wrong.

His first reaction was—

...Fuck?
——Did Rockland win the resurrection match? .jpg
"Locklan", the "universalist" who was supposed to have been killed by "Executioner" Koros and his Black Fang outside Songyuan City a few months ago, his name actually appeared in the suffix of the puppet summoned by Baberon!
By the time Luo Xiu confirmed that his vision was clear and he had not seen anything wrong, various possibilities had already emerged in his mind.

At that time, the body of Rocklan Skarchi, the "generalist" of the Alchemy Institute in Sina City, was recovered by Baberon and stuffed into a puppet rated as "natural disaster" to be refined into a flesh and blood puppet? ... No, it's impossible. Because the news of Rocklan's death was because the [Supreme] people in Songyuan City found his body, there is no possibility of fakery here.

Did Koros extract Rocklan's soul by some means when he killed him? His subordinates, the Fangshou who believed in "Nothingness", could indeed do such a thing... But it shouldn't be like that. As a "Quadruple Fate" transcendent, Rocklan's soul can have other uses, but it shouldn't be stuffed into the Puppet Knight...

Because Luo Xiu knew very well that the "Hidden Elder" Baberon did not master the relevant skills.

Although the remaining fragments of "Said's Notes" were indeed in the hands of Koros and Baberon, and it did record the forbidden skill of "investing the soul" as the core of operation, Luo Xiu had torn up all the related pages. He was sure that Baberon could not reproduce them, at least not in a short time.

"..." Luo Xiu's mind was racing, and he was still wondering why the three words "Rockland" appeared.

Suddenly, he sensed another deep gaze, staring at him from under the dragon hunter's armor.

"Dragon Hunter Rocklan", when it saw Luo Xiu, it seemed surprised and hesitated for a moment.

Luo Xiu, whose perception attribute has been stacked to nearly 150 points, can detect such subtle emotional fluctuations.

He was sure he wasn't wrong.

But a "puppet" shouldn't show such emotional reactions!

This is equivalent to the "puppet" coming to life, transforming from a simple creation that operates according to instructions to a kind of living being.

However, since the relevant forbidden skills had been torn up by Luo Xiu, Baberon was unable to do this - although the alchemists of [Intellect] could indeed give real life to creatures after achieving the eighth level of destiny and becoming "demigods", that was definitely not a level that Baberon could reach now.

Suddenly, just as Luo Xiu was still amazed at what he saw.

His panel jumped, triggering a new branch task -

[Hidden Mission: Forbidden Ghost]!
This is a "branch task" in a series of serial tasks in "Side's Notes", triggered by special conditions!
[Hidden Mission: Forbidden Ghost (Nightmare Difficulty)]

[Recommended level: lv.40+, fifth level of destiny and above]

[Task type: serial task, branch task]

[Mission Description: You have met the "Hidden Elder" Baberon and started a fierce battle with him. During the battle, Baberon summoned the puppets of "Natural Disaster" - "Fen Tian Ao Long" and "Dragon Hunter Knight". Among them, you felt a trace of unusual emotional fluctuations from the "Dragon Hunter Knight".]

[That is not the kind of emotional fluctuation that a "puppet" should have. You have keenly noticed that it has a strong connection with the previous owner of "Said's Notes" - Rocklan Skarchi.]

[You will make your decision: to smash it here and solve this unstable factor once and for all; or to act according to circumstances and dig deep into the hidden truth behind the incident. ]

[Mission Objective (Option 1): Defeat "Dragon Hunter Rockland" and make him completely incapable of action.]

[Mission Objective (Option 2): Observe and wait, perhaps "Dragon Hunter Rockland" will show you special motives.]

[Completion Reward (Complete Mission Objective 35000): Basic Experience +15, Free Attribute Points +1, Limited Epic Specialty "Dragon Rider Hunter" *]

[Completion Reward (Complete Mission Objective 35000): Basic Experience +15, Free Attribute Points +1, Limited Epic Specialty "???"*]

【…】

A "branch task" is triggered - that is a supplement to the "serial tasks" that are linked together. The corresponding "branch task" will only be triggered after the main task of the corresponding "serial task" has been triggered and certain special triggering requirements have been met at the same time.

Generally speaking, "branch quests" are equivalent to the hidden content of "serial quests", just like the "hidden levels" in the game map - whether they are completed or not will not affect the progress of the main line in most cases, but you can get some more special rewards.

Hiss... After quickly browsing the content of this branch task, Luo Xiu became more and more certain of a possibility.

——"Dragon Hunter Rocklan", he is indeed "Rocky Skach" himself!
Judging from his previous reaction, he obviously recognized who he was - the surprise and hesitation shown by "Dragon Hunter Rocklan" just now revealed this point!
With this thought in mind, Luo Xiu followed the requirements of "Mission Objective Two" and cast several auxiliary sacred arts on himself while observing the reaction of "Rocklan" on the opposite side.

While the Burning Sky Dragon was still circling in the sky, the "Dragon Hunter" Rocklan flashed and charged towards Luo Xiu.

A hurricane like a barrier immediately arose around it, with violent air waves pressing down one layer after another, pressing heavily on the air!

Luo Xiu felt that his "perception" seemed to be blocked - the spiritual reaction of the outside world became increasingly weak because of the sudden appearance of the barrier, and it seemed that he could only perceive the sound and the surge of breath within the barrier.

Then, the "Dragon Hunter" Rocklan flashed and rushed to Luo Xiu with his curved hunting knife raised high.

Just when Luo Xiu was ready and the "Dragon Hunter" Rocklan was about to slash down with his sword, he would resist or dodge according to the established operation.

Suddenly, he heard a dull, rusty sound.

"help me."

"…I am not your enemy."

"..."

"Lockland" said these two sentences first, and then the curved hunting knife in his hand chopped down fiercely!

——Boom! A huge explosion sounded, scraping a sharp sound like the sound of metal in Luo Xiu's ears, causing the skin on Luo Xiu's face to feel a sharp pain.

However, even though he was prepared, Luo Xiu did not feel the actual feeling of being hit.

The shield of his "Triple Holy Guard" was only affected by the surging air waves and caused ripples. The slash of "Locklan" exploded backwards along the side of Luo Xiu, and the ground suddenly cracked into a long, narrow, and terrifying deep scar.

...Did he chop it crooked on purpose? Luo Xiu looked at the "Dragon Hunter" who was so close to him, and this thought flashed through his mind.

At the same time as "Rockland" slashed, Luo Xiu had already flashed backwards, creating some distance between himself and it.

At this time, the barrier-like wind wall released by Rocklan had gradually dissipated, and Luo Xiu was able to see the figure of the "Hidden Elder" Baberon behind him again.

His expression was calm, as if everything was under control. It seemed that he did not notice anything unusual about the "Dragon Hunter".

In other words, when the "Dragon Hunter" Rockland appeared, the wind field he summoned was just to cover up the perception of the "Hidden Elder" Baberon? And the purpose of "Rockyland" doing this was to convey two words to himself without being noticed?
Out of caution, Luo Xiu has not yet completely believed what "Locklan" said, but from the perspective of the mission, he has decided to carry out the second mission objective of [Hidden Mission: Forbidden Ghost].

At the same time as "Lockland" slashed the air with his sword, the "Burning Sky Dragon" hovering in the sky also moved at the same time.

"Roar!--" The giant bronze dragon in the air roared. One of its two slender necks emitted a cold green light, and the other emitted a blazing red light. Then, from its two bloody mouths, frosty ice and burning flames spewed down!

Sizzle! Luo Xiu seemed to hear the sound of breaking ice, and then the dazzling flames engulfed him, making him feel a cycle of cold and heat -

Before the icy frost or the raging flames could truly engulf his body, Luo Xiu had already mounted the "Golden Pegasus" Pegasus and fled the battlefield at an even faster speed.

"Roar!--" The bronze dragon was still roaring and chasing him. The "Dragon Hunter" Rocklan on the ground also took exaggerated steps and kept running wildly along the shadow of the dragon.

In Luo Xiu's field of vision, the figure of the "Hidden Elder" Baberon was gradually shrinking and blurring. In a blink of an eye, Luo Xiu had run a considerable distance with the bronze dragon and the "Dragon Hunter" Rocklan.

This was exactly what Luo Xiu was after, and he had already prepared the sacred technique that he would release later. While running, Luo Xiu took out the "Poisonous Bite", and the crystal core of the magic staff flashed with golden light, pointing in the direction of the "Fen Tian Ao Long" behind him!

Two cross-shaped rays of light emerged from the staff and slowly and unstoppably flew towards the dragon.

And in the air, the cross glow continued to expand, emitting an extremely bright light, and soon it collided with the huge body of the bronze dragon!
——Boom! ! A dazzling light burst out violently in the air, drowning out the roar of the bronze dragon, and its speed of pursuit slowed down.

At the same time, Luo Xiu had already ridden the "Golden Pegasus" back to the ground and appeared in front of the "Dragon Hunter" Rocklan who was following closely.

While the huge bronze dragon above was still being blocked by the "Holy Cross of Glory", Luo Xiu had already raised his staff and prayed:
“——A moment of supreme greatness!”

"--I pray that you will look upon me, I pray that you will grant me favor, I pray that you will listen..."

"——I pray that you will lower the 'Lightless Cage'!"

"..."

This is exactly the "authority" that Bishop Fabion entrusted to Rossio through a letter!
"The Cage of Lightlessness" is a Level I authority. After Luo Xiu was promoted to the "Fifth Destiny" and mastered the new [Glorious] skill "Glorious Authority", thereby obtaining two new Level I authority slots, he immediately accepted Fabien's "trust" and obtained this new authority.

"Lightless Cage" can only be used once a day, just like other Level I powers. Its specific effect is to create a caged area that completely isolates the inside and outside.

The coverage of the "Lightless Cage" can be freely controlled by the holder of authority. It can be as large as covering the entire church, which requires additional spiritual energy to maintain; or as small as covering a hemisphere with a diameter of ten meters, which is just enough to accommodate a duel between two people.

As Luo Xiu prayed, the originally clear sky gradually dimmed, and a semicircular gauze that blocked the light quickly emerged and covered it.

With Luo Xiu as the origin, the sarong that swallowed up the light quickly spread to the back of the "Dragon Hunter" Rocklan, and then stopped expanding, blocking everything else outside.

These included the soldiers of both sides who were fighting fiercely not far away, and a giant dragon hovering in the sky, breathing out frost and fire.

Now, in the entire "Lightless Cage", there are only Luo Xiu and "Dragon Hunter" Rocklan. From the outside looking in, no scene inside can be seen, nor can any movement inside be felt. The same is true from the inside looking out. Except for Luo Xiu, the caster of authority, Rocklan cannot sense any breath from the outside world.

While Luo Xiu was cautiously casting defensive sacred arts on himself, he quickly completed several prayers for offensive sacred arts. Light balls of the sacred arts of "Holy Annihilation Sword Formation", "Golden Starburst" and "Light Wings Sky Punishment" had already condensed in his palms.

If "Rocklan" shows any hostile behavior, Luo Xiu will attack him without hesitation - this "Lightless Cage" is completely his home court. Luo Xiu has already understood that he can kill "Rocklan" before "Burning Sky Dragon" shatters the curtain!

Only after he had done all this did Luo Xiu look at the "Dragon Hunter" opposite him with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Well, I have created a completely closed environment, Knight of Magical Suit."

Luo Xiu spoke.

His voice was steady and cold, the indifferent tone he used when facing an enemy.

"You seem special? Tell me, what do you want to do?"

"Remember, you don't have much time."

"..."

He did not directly expose the identity of "Lockland", but he also needed to confirm something from its answer.

After Luo Xiu's questioning, "Rockland" also took new actions.

It put down the dragon-hunting sword in its hand and thrust it deeply into the ground, a classic move to avoid a fight.

Then, Rockland said:
"Haha, that's a very wise move."

"I do need an environment where I can talk to you all alone, and your... um. This is 'authority', right? It does provide me with such an environment."

"Very good, Luo... the 'priest' of Red Maple City. Or, I should respectfully address you as 'bishop'."

"..."

It indeed has an independent and complete mind... Luo Xiu thought.

No, maybe calling it “mind” isn’t accurate, it should be called “intelligence”?
Moreover, it does want to make plans with us...

But that’s not the point. The point is that it really seems to recognize me!
Luo Xiu’s thoughts raced.

Just now, "Lockland" seemed to be about to blurt out the name "Luo Xiu", but it restrained itself, but Luo Xiu caught the clue.

That is to say...

It…he really is “Rockland”!
He is the "universalist" Rocklan Schaech himself, not a puppet named after him!
Luo Xiu has completely confirmed the identity of the "Dragon Hunter" opposite him.

But he remained silent, waiting for Rockland to continue.

"..."

"To make a long story short."

"Believe it or not, this is not my body—"

Rockland said in a somewhat sour voice through the tiny mechanism of the "magic puppet":

“…I’ve already died once.”

"And for some reason, my consciousness is placed in the bodies of the 'golems', and I can control them in a certain way, just like controlling my real body."

"Now, as you can see - my consciousness is using this 'Dragon Hunting Armor' as a container. I can control it to the maximum extent, and even ignore most of the instructions given by the 'Hidden Elder' Baberon."

"I thought this would be a perfect container, but I found that I couldn't get out of it."

"Because there are two orders that I cannot disobey at all - [Summon] and [Retrieve]. As long as the connection between this armor and Baberon is not severed, I will not be able to escape from this deepest shackle."

"..."

After a pause, Rockland said in a somewhat stagnant metallic voice with a sincere tone:
"So, I seek your help, Your Excellency."

"I don't expect to kill Baberon, but please at least 'kill' the dragon above. In this way, I can use my own way to forcibly break free from the shackles at the bottom."

"Before the 'Hidden Elder' Baberon notices, I will assist you at the critical moment."

"If you promise to help me, I will repay you in any way I can."

"As long as I can be free again, completely."

……

(End of this chapter)