Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 301 [Night of Melting Iron and Burning Steel]

After saying this, Luo Xiu stopped talking and looked calmly at the old man below who was clearly showing fear.

He waited for Balin's answer, and at the same time silently prepared the "crazy and pious" sacred prayer.

For Luo Xiu, he actually didn't want to transform the "ghost craftsman" Balin into a "crazy believer". That would deprive and tamper with Balin's subjective consciousness to a great extent, and would greatly overdraft Balin's potential and greatly weaken his ability. Moreover, the transformed "crazy believers" would also require Luo Xiu to consume more spiritual energy to maintain them.

But "mad piety" is still a possible option, but it is a last resort.

It is not yet time to use this last resort.

……

"..."

"Huh..." Feeling the tremendous pressure coming from all directions, Balin let out a long breath.

He knew that he couldn't make another move, he would never have the chance to make a move - what happened just now had already shown that the "Lord of the Holy Abyss" in front of him was very strong, even to a level that even the previous "Undertaker" and "Sevis" could not catch up!
What kind of existence could contract so many terrifying beings at the same time? Their auras were not even from the same source, and were mixed with something that Balin had never sensed before...

"..."

"Okay, deal." Barin nodded. "What do you want?"

"Join the Holy Abyss and let you and your Steel Shield Mercenaries work for me, Balin."

Luo Xiu said calmly, "This is your only choice. I hope you can stay in the Lost Royal Court and forge for me with peace of mind."

"In return, Balin, I will give you a generous reward, the best forging environment, the best materials, and I will protect you. As long as you are in the Lost Royal Court, the Holy Abyss will be able to guarantee your personal safety."

"That's my proposal, Barin."

"..."

"Do I have a choice? 'Lord of the Holy Abyss'?" Balin smiled bitterly.

"Of course you do. You can choose to reject me, Balin." Luo Xiu shrugged, "But correspondingly, you need to bear the consequences of rejecting me."

"Out of kindness, I want to remind you of something."

"I know that, apart from the Steel Shield Mercenary Group, you are all alone in Songyuan Territory and even in the entire Nolan Empire. You will not be nostalgic for your original place. Staying here will only bring you greater benefits."

"Besides, you don't have to worry - the 'Steelburners' can't find you. As long as you stay here peacefully, they will never find you. Isn't that what you need, Barin?"

"..."

"I see." Balin said in a deep voice, "Actually... I don't have a choice, right?"

"Since you need my skills, and you also need the Steel Shield Mercenaries behind me to work for you, huh. The stakes you've raised are too low, Lord of the Holy Abyss."

"I accept your deal, but not your price."

"..."

"So, what else do you want?" Luo Xiu asked with interest.

Baring accepted the "deal" - although he was forced and had no choice, he was a smart man after all and did not let the situation become serious to the end.

Balin raised his eyebrows and said:

"I want you to help me kill all the 'Steel Burners'. I want to see the head of 'Steel King' Harris!"

After hearing Balin's request, Luo Xiu felt relieved.

Where to go, who to kill, how many to kill, this is really the most popular task for "players".

Although before the Undertaker, Sevis and Balin came into contact, Luo Xiu did not know that Balin had a past with the "Steelburners", but Luo Xiu, who had the memories of his previous life, was quite familiar with the "Steelburners".

They are members of the secret society "The Furnace of Steel", all of whom are blacksmiths from "Ku Tu". Because their forging skills are too evil, they are defined as a cult organization by the Empire.

They are keen on using the "sacrificial forging method" - that is, throwing spiritual transcendents directly into a "steel furnace" to quench them as a "sacrifice". The forged weapons or equipment are often quite powerful.

However, this kind of forging products often have the characteristics of cursed creatures, such as densely covered bloody hands, eyes that are rolling around, etc. ... Because these weapons or equipment are too recognizable, other people dare not buy, sell or use them blatantly. Most of the time, they are used by the "Steelburners" or other members of other cult organizations for their own amusement.

That is why, although Luo Xiu knew the existence of the "Steel-Burning Furnace", he did not intend to transfer them to the Holy Abyss because the risks outweighed the actual benefits.

As for the "King of Burning Steel" Harris mentioned by Bahrain, he is the leader of the "Burning Steel Furnace" and a [Bitter Tea] forger with a fifth-level destiny.

"Okay, Balin, I agree to your terms."

Luo Xiu nodded slightly and said, "This is not difficult to do. You just need to tell me where they are. Within a week, I will place the head of Harris, the King of Burning Steel, in front of you."

"..." After listening to the 'Lord of the Holy Abyss' saying all this calmly, Balin couldn't believe that he agreed so easily.

In fact, he had not expected that the 'Lord of the Holy Abyss' would agree to his request. After all, he was trapped in the lair of the 'Holy Abyss'. From all aspects, the other party had an absolute crushing advantage over him. Even Balin himself felt that his proposal was playing with fire and bargaining with his life.

As a result, the 'Lord of the Holy Abyss' actually agreed. This made Bahrain have a better impression of the leader of the Holy Abyss in front of him, and his inherent impression of the "Holy Abyss" also changed for the better.

What Balin didn't know was that

Just before Luo Xiu agreed, a new task panel popped up in front of him.

That's the new [Commission]!
[Trigger the commission task]

[Commissioned Mission: Night of Melting Iron and Burning Steel (Hell Difficulty)]

[Recommended level: lv.50]

[Task type: commissioned task]

[Mission Description: 'Ghostsmith' Barin has issued a commission to you. Find the "Steel Burners" in the "Steel Burning Furnace" and kill them to deliver the commission to Barin.]

[Basic mission objective: Kill as many "Steelburners" as possible (the number of Steelburners killed is 0/73, and the delivery can be obtained by killing more than 50 "Steelburners")]

[Additional mission objective: Kill "King of Burning Steel" Harris]

[Basic goal completion reward: Basic experience +60000, free attribute points +12, rare specialty 'Ironheart Hunter' *1]

[Additional goal completion reward: Basic experience +120000, free attribute points +18, epic feat 'Steel Destroyer'*1]

【…】

Looking at the task panel that popped up in front of him, Luo Xiu couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly.

But because he was wearing the black-patterned puppet mask, Balin could not see the changes in his facial expression.

While Balin was still thinking, "The Lord of the Holy Abyss is quite nice," he heard Luo Xiu say:
"Well, old Balin, I agreed to your terms, so shouldn't you also express something?"

What does it mean... Balin thought about Luo Xiu's words. He knew what the "Lord of the Holy Abyss" in front of him wanted him to do.

"I understand." Balin nodded, sighed, and said:
"I will do as you say and stay in the royal court of 'Holy Abyss' to work for you."

"As for the 'Steel Shield Mercenaries' behind me, after I see the head of 'King of Burning Steel' Harris, I will write a letter to them and ask them to join you."

"Very good, Balin." Luo Xiu nodded slightly, and said with a friendly tone in his voice, "I was expecting you to react like this."

……

Afterwards, Balin told Luo Xiu the location where the "Steel Furnace" was hidden.

It was a settlement town located in the border area of ​​the Dark Principality. It was said that they used a tavern as a disguise, but in fact they dug their base ten meters deep into the ground and built a hidden sacrificial forge there.

After learning about the location of the "Steel Furnace" hiding place, Luo Xiu issued his first mission to Balin -

Forge a large number of "Bronze Key" prototypes and wait for his next instructions. If it does not involve the engraving method, the "Gold" and previous key templates are not secrets among blacksmiths. Although Balin did not know why Luo Xiu wanted to forge so many keys, he did not ask much and agreed casually.

……

Afterwards, Luo Xiu dismissed Balin and asked Pior to take Balin to familiarize himself with the various places in the "Lost Royal Court". He then activated the dragon claw mark and teleported back to the real world from the royal court.

In the bedroom of the bishop's throne in the inner courtyard of the church, the first thing Luo Xiu did when he returned from the royal court was to mobilize his spiritual power and communicate with another "Apostle of the Holy Abyss" who was dozens of miles away.

Soon, he heard the voice of "Executioner" Koros.

"Greetings, my lord." Koros said humbly, "What do you want me to do?"

"I have a mission for you, Koros." Luo Xiu said calmly:

"In the town of Odud, on the border of Fafnir City, within the territory of the Dark Principality, there is a secret society called the 'Burning Steel Furnace'."

"He is blocking the path to the Holy Abyss - Koros, you know what to do."

"..."

"I will wipe them out, my lord." Koros' voice came back from the other end.

"Very good." Luo Xiu nodded.

"I want you to kill Harris, the King of Burning Steel, and bring his head to see me in the Forgotten Court. Koros, I believe it will not be difficult for you to do this."

"I will follow your will, my lord." Koros promised humbly on the other end.

Afterwards, Luo Xiu severed his spiritual connection with Kolos.

With the power and means of the "Executioner", it is easy to wipe out a group of blacksmiths from a secret society.

Luo Xiu didn't need to do the commission for Balin himself. He just needed to wait for Koros to report the result to him.

After handing over the commission to Kolos, Luo Xiu's attention shifted to another place.

He opened the [World Channel] and began to pay close attention to the movements of some "wild" players.

That was the second phase of his "Holy Abyss" plan, and it would soon be put into action.

……

late at night.

The pale blue moonlight poured quietly on the eaves, and there were few pedestrians lingering on the quiet streets.

A young man with dyed yellow hair was wandering on the streets of the outer ring, holding a rusty half-broken iron sword.

He was wondering where to sleep tonight.

But that wasn't for sleeping, it was just for logging off.

——If he doesn’t find the place that is judged to be a “bed”, he will not be able to log off and return to the real world.

"I really don't know who came up with... this kind of groove setting!" The yellow-haired man sighed and complained a few words.

His true identity is the "Adventer" of this world.

"Pure Love Yellow Hair" is his ID as a player.

The night before yesterday, he finally found an abandoned shabby house and logged off on a hard bed inside. At that time, he had already decided not to play this game, but today he couldn't help it and "descended" into the motion sensing cabin.

As a result, the shabby house had been occupied by real homeless people, and the yellow-haired man, who had lost his bed, had to find another place to live.

Huangmao is regretting now, very regretful.

"..."

At the beginning, he was not like most other players who quickly chose to join the border court, the church or the outskirts of the Fangbei Courtyard when they "arrived" in this world. Instead, he chose to be a solo player and explore the town "independently".

"Don't join any faction" is indeed the first choice for many RPG players in the first week.

Huangmao originally thought that this would reduce a lot of restrictions, and his freedom as a "player" would be greatly improved, allowing him to do things that ordinary players wanted to do but dared not do.

But soon, he found out that he was wrong, completely wrong -

"This game is too damn real..."

Huangmao sighed, "I originally thought that free exploration would reveal some hidden content...but this town is too real and too clean..."

"Why can't I do it like in a fantasy adventure, with a treasure chest every few steps? At the very least, some hermits or secret believers will come and give me secret scrolls or something like that when they see that I have a special body..."

"I'm a player, a player! A 'descent' from the world! How dare you be so shameless?"

"Even though I've been walking around for a whole day, there's no place like the Adventurer's Guild in this town...Apart from the Border Court, the Church, and the Monument Courtyard, is there really no place to go?"

"In the end, I couldn't even find a place willing to hire 'vagrants'! It's really a medieval wandering simulator..."

"...A sneeze!"

The yellow-haired man complained, feeling his cold, sleepy and hungry body, and couldn't help sneezing.

The body he is controlling now retains a series of physical sensations of a normal person. The sensitivity can be adjusted in the background settings. In pursuit of realism, he set the initial settings to 100% when he entered the game.

As a result, after being hungry for a day, he finally calmed down. Half an hour ago, he reopened the settings and adjusted the sensitivity simulation to 20%.

His panel then popped up a prompt:
[Adjusted to 20%, effective after re-launch]

“…Fuck!” When Huangmao saw this panel again, his eyes went dark.

This is what it’s like to be a bad player but still love to play… Although he knew from other players’ sharing in the [Player Forum] that players can be forced to log off through “death”, but under the 100% real physical setting, Huangmao justified his cowardice.

He wandered and wandered like a ghost in the quiet night, floating in the intricate streets of Red Maple City.

Suddenly, at the corner of the street in front of him, a figure covered in a dark cloak appeared.

The figure quickly approached the yellow-haired man and stopped two body lengths away from him. A deep and faint voice asked him:

"Are you... the 'Adventer'?"

“……?” The yellow-haired man was stunned.

Is that a secret believer? A hermit? How did he know that I was the Advent One...

Without thinking too much, Huangmao nodded.

The figure suddenly trembled, and a white but thin hand stretched out from under the cloak.

There was a dark dragon claw mark flashing on it!
"Then...according to the will of the Lord, I come to invite you..."

As these creepy sounds reached his ears, Huangmao saw that a deep red magic circle had emerged at the feet of himself and the man in the cloak in front of him.

Then, his eyes went dark, and he heard the deep voice in his ears -

"'Holy Abyss'... welcome."

……

(End of this chapter)