Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 308 [Gifted by God]

Fran, Gracia and Howard all exuded an aura of longing and fanaticism, which was somewhat unexpected for Luo Xiu.

Seeing this, Hubert explained to him that the three "priests" of the general church came here after the archbishop issued an order to send "priests" to the Red Maple City Church.

They are all admirers of the former Red Maple City "High Priest" Luo Xiu Carlos. When they were in the General Church, they always paid attention to the sacred deeds of Luo Xiu and the "Red Maple City Church". Today, they finally have the opportunity to join Red Maple City and work with their "idol".

Luo Xiu did know that after he became the "High Priest" of the Red Maple City Church, groups of clergymen appeared in various churches in Songyuan Territory who were curious about his and the Red Maple City Church's deeds and eventually formed a fanatical worship of Luo Xiu.

The three "priests" standing in front of Luo Xiu at this moment were the best among such admirers, the most outstanding and the strongest ones.

This is quite good... Luo Xiu thought. Having been promoted to the "Fifth Level of Destiny", he could clearly feel that the reverence they exuded was real, not just a false pretense, as he had already reached the "Fifth Level of Destiny".

"On behalf of Red Maple City, I welcome you again, Fran, Gracia, and Howard." Luo Xiu smiled calmly, "I will arrange suitable positions for you. I hope you can adapt to the work and life of the church as soon as possible."

"Everything will be in accordance with your instructions, Bishop." Fran placed his right hand on his left chest and bowed slightly to Luo Xiu to pay the sacrament, "We will follow it devoutly."

……

Afterwards, Rossouw called the "guide pastor" Colen and asked him to take the three "priests" to their residence first, and then he and Hubert worked out their job arrangements.

According to their original holy duties as "priests", they will directly serve as "priests" in the Red Maple City Church. Since Luo Xiu was officially promoted to bishop, the scale of the church has officially developed into a quasi-large church, and the level of the three major sanctuaries will be raised to a higher level and need to be managed by "priests".

The "large church" was actually the size of the church in Sina City. Luo Xiu had a ready-made priesthood structure that he could directly refer to. He and Hubert finally agreed that Fran, the "Knight of Illumination", would be the priest of the Secret Hall, Glaisha, the "Fire Worshiper", would be the priest of the Mission Hall, and Howard, the "Pastor of Purification", would be the priest of the Holy Inquisition Hall.

But they had just arrived and were not familiar with the true situation of the church. Therefore, Luo Xiu did not make any changes to the positions of the original "chiefs" of the three holy places.

Olga, Maiev and Pamier will still be in charge of most of the affairs of the sanctuary, but they will need to report to the three new "priests" and obtain their approval before proceeding to the next step.

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In a sense, this could be seen as a "supervisory officer" sent by the General Church... Even though the three "priests" were all his admirers, almost all high-ranking clergymen were quite clear about handling sacred affairs. Luo Xiu knew this very well, but he also accepted it with a sense of ease.

Because although he accepted this "trade-off", he did not directly hand over the management of the three major sanctuaries of the church to the priests.

In addition to the direct descendants of the Red Maple City Church such as Pamier, Mayev and Olga, there is also the "High Priest" Anthony who is on the same level as the "priests" and is placed between the priests and the bishops. Although Anthony no longer directly manages the affairs of the sanctuary, he can coordinate and supervise all sacred affairs of the three major sanctuaries of the church, so his real "real power" is above the three new "priests".

It's just that Anthony may bear more pressure because of this.

But it doesn't matter. The vast majority of clergy in the entire Red Maple City Church are his solid backing. In addition, his reputation and prestige in the church are second only to Luo Xiu, so he should be able to withstand the pressure.

Under such a structural arrangement, the power that Luo Xiu can exercise at the lower levels of the church will not be undermined by the three new priests - if necessary, Luo Xiu can even undermine them and allow the Red Maple City Church to return to a state where it is truly managed by "legitimate" clergy.

This was similar to the situation when Luo Xiu first came to the Red Maple City Church and dealt with different voices from clergy from different churches, except that he was obviously much more calm now.

……

After negotiating with Hubert about the job arrangements for the three new "priests", Luo Xiu sent Hubert out of the Holy Office. It seemed that he also had some matters to hand over with the three "priests".

That was about some matters entrusted by the General Church, so Luo Xiu did not participate in their discussion and went straight back to the Holy See.

He began to pack his luggage, and tentatively planned to go to Songyuan City the day after tomorrow.

If nothing unexpected happens, Anthony and his team will complete the holy judgment mission in "Wongsika Town" and prepare to return to Red Maple City the day after tomorrow.

By then, Luo Xiu and Anthony will seamlessly connect, and there will be no vacancy in the highest authority level in the church.

Another day passed quickly.

……

The next morning, Luo Xiu went to the Holy Office as usual to handle the day's affairs, while Olga, the chief officer of the "Secret Office", came early in the morning to report to Luo Xiu on the situation at the "Border Court".

"I have two things to tell you, Bishop," Olga said:

"I have relayed your previous words to 'Grand Inquisitor' Baines. Baines accepted your proposal and launched a surprise attack late last night, completely defeating the remaining dark garrison!"

"'Throne Knight' Frosa personally killed their executioner. Although a small group of the Dark Army escaped during the chaos, they were unable to form a sufficient force and could no longer contend with the Red Maple City's army!"

"After achieving such a victory, Baines asked me to express his gratitude to you. In addition, Baines also said that the Border Court is already preparing for your proposal to have the three major garrisons in Red Maple City switch to an offensive posture."

"Very good. I understand, Olga." Luo Xiu nodded, and then asked Olga: "Then, what about the second thing?"

"The second thing I want to report to you," Olga paused and said to Luo Xiu solemnly:
"The 'Round Table Chief' and 'Thunder General' Albert Perez of the Songyuan Law Office officially arrived this morning."

"He has taken over all of Baines's powers at the Border Court and asked me to convey new information to you. I hope you can go to the Border Court in person to meet him."

Let me go to the border... Luo Xiu chewed on the meaning of Olga's message, and his eyes gradually became deep.

Although Olga said that Albert "hoped" he would come over, in the real situation, Albert probably used an emphatic tone of command.

Luo Xiu still remembered that when he first came to Red Maple City and became the "High Priest", the person in charge of the Border Court at that time, Baines, just kept sending Lord Nelson to visit him and test him - but as the [Supreme], Baines had never called him to the Border Court, and Albert did just that as soon as he arrived.

——This is the appearance of a true Supreme person... Luo Xiu thought. Baines is over a hundred years old and has not yet broken through to the realm of Saint. It is because he is not "superior" enough and not "dignified" enough...

"Go back and tell Mr. Albert that I'm preparing for an important trip and it's not convenient for me to come."

Luo Xiu tapped the table with his fingers and said to Olga, "Tomorrow afternoon, if Mr. Albert wants to see you off, I can wait for you at the East City Gate."

——Although he understood that Albert asked him to go to the border in person in order to establish his authority, Luo Xiu would not just follow his wishes.

There was no way he would just obey like that. After all, his church had at least half the credit for the Red Maple City's survival to this day - but the moment he set out for the border, the church's long-established prestige would instantly become the fruit of others, and the first step for Albert to establish his own prestige.

This is the importance of the first meeting - the attitude and location of the two parties' first meeting will determine many things.

But even if the other party is the [Supreme], Luo Xiu is not afraid of him.

After all, for Luo Xiu, what he is worried about is not the church but the Border Court - the Border Court cannot and dare not lose its alliance with the church, and Albert will understand this sooner or later.

But there was no need to confront him head-on. Luo Xiu later asked Olga to convey Albert's proposal, which was to give Albert a way out. "I understand, Bishop." Olga nodded, "I will pass your words to the 'Thunder General' Albert."

……

Olga then said goodbye to Luo Xiu and went to the border without stopping to convey the words of their bishop to the new person in charge, Albert.

Luo Xiu no longer paid attention to the developments over there. After finishing the matters at hand, he opened the [Player Forum] and the chat channel and began to observe the execution of Anthony's Holy Judgment mission in "Wongsika Town".

The previous afternoon, Anthony had led the Inquisitors and Guardians to raid three medium-sized strongholds of the "Blood of Thorns" destroyers.

The battle situation was very good - they killed five enemy Self-Destroyers, as well as more than sixty Blood Cultists and Blood Slaves. The remaining Self-Destroyers, Blood Cultists and Blood Slaves had retreated to the last nest, together with their "big leader", preparing for the final resistance.

Their leader is the "Blood Eater" of the fourth destiny of [Red Lotus], a magic profession that can greatly enhance its own strength by sacrificing and eating flesh and blood. In their last lair, the Blood Eater has prepared a large number of fresh corpses, ready to fight to the death with the Holy Judges.

But what they didn't know was that the players of the "Saint Guardians" had already contacted the players who had landed in the vicinity of Onsika Town at that time. The players of Onsika Town, instigated by the "Saint Guardians" players, pretended to be qualified vagrants and were discovered by the Destroyers early on and abducted into their lair.

These players were raised as "blood slaves" and imprisoned in the deepest part of the nest.

However, what the cultists in the lair could never have imagined was that their newly captured "blood slaves" were constantly passing on messages to the "Guardians" in the outside world through things like the [Player Forum] and chat channels!
Including the layout of all the traps in the lair, the configuration of the guards, and the location of the "Blood and Flesh Festival", all were clearly conveyed to the outside world by the players who were raised.

The "Guardians" players also promptly fed back the information to Anthony. Although Anthony seriously doubted the authenticity of the information, after proving several times that the information brought by the "Guardians" was indeed true, Anthony temporarily put aside the issue of questioning their source of information and made detailed tactical arrangements against the strongholds of the remnants of the "Blood of Thorns" Destroyers.

The result can be imagined.

Soon it was noon, and Anthony led the Inquisitors and Guardians of the Saints to launch a final raid on the last stronghold of the "Blood of Thorns".

Because they knew all the enemy's traps and personnel arrangements in advance, the Holy Inquisition's clearing of the enemy stronghold went quite smoothly. The entrenched Destroyers and Blood Disciples were quickly killed, and the players who were "raised" were rescued by the "Saint Protector" players and placed under protection.

Until they approached the deepest part of the enemy's stronghold, the great leader "The Flesh and Blood Eater" had no way to retreat, and was forced to have a final battle with "The Purifying Patriarch" Anthony.

The battle did not last too long. Finally, under the joint siege of Anthony and several church deacons, the enemy leader was finally killed, and the disaster of the town of Onsika was completely resolved.

Anthony, other deacons, and holy judges then began to plunder the base for spoils. The "Saint Guardian" players were on guard outside, happily completing the mission.

Luo Xiu, who had been following their movements on the forum and channel, suddenly saw his panel jump.

That was the panel prompt for completing a "Divine Glory Oracle" -

[He is pleased to see that His pious apostles have fulfilled His instructions——]

[The holy light will shine, the wailing will disappear in the wilderness, and the thorns will be cut and melted in the sea of ​​light——]

【There is no more disaster in Onsika Town.】

[The conspiracy there has been shattered, the deformed death has been corrected, and the glory has dispelled the haze——]

[As the 'Apostle of Divine Glory', you fulfilled your oath and saved your compatriots from doom. ]

[A divine gift commensurate with your achievements will be bestowed in a moment]

【…】

[Completed the God-given quest: Onsika's catastrophe (?? Difficulty)]

[Receive a divine gift in a moment! ]

[Your "divinity" attribute increases by 42 points; the upper limit of health and mana increases by an additional 10%; you gain 24 free attribute points]

[You get the feat: "God-given (Epic, Milestone)"]

[The One Who Has Been Given by God (Epic): You are the one who has received the true gift from God, and the pillar god of your destiny has given you a subtle glance.]

[Your "Health", "Mana", "Physical Attack", "Spell Attack", and "Defense Reduction" attribute values ​​are all increased by an additional 10%. This increase is bound to "Divine Glory Oracle·Momentary God's Gift". As the number of "Divine Glory Oracles" completed increases, this specialty has a chance to be upgraded to "Legendary" quality. ]

【…】

Looking at the content refreshed on the panel that showed the gift from God after completing a "Divine Revelation", Luo Xiu felt quite happy.

The spiritual energy that was already surging in his body began to surge. The boundless spiritual energy, like the sea, was stored in the container of his body, as if it was always full of vitality and could never be exhausted.

His body was as if being nourished by some comfortable hot spring, with each muscle constantly absorbing nutrients. Luo Xiu felt full of strength, and subtle changes were taking place in his body.

After carefully feeling the changes in the formation, Luo Xiu then closed the panel and no longer paid attention to the movements in Wengsika Town or Anthony's side.

As the "Guardian" players, they could not participate in the process of looting. Through the information exchanged by players on the forum and channel, Luo Xiu could hardly get more useful information except killing time. Therefore, Luo Xiu planned to wait for Anthony to come back and listen to his report in person.

……

Another day passed in a flash, and in the blink of an eye it was the day when Luo Xiu was preparing to go to Songyuan City.

He had packed his belongings and in the morning, he dealt with church affairs as usual. He then handed over some matters to the three new priests, as well as Mayev, Pamier and Olga. At noon, he was ready to set off.

In the last two hours before departure, he waited for Anthony who had returned from the town of Onsika.

He knew that Luo Xiu was about to go on a long journey, so he was one step faster than the other Holy Inquisitors. The first thing Anthony did when he returned to the church was to rush to the "Holy See" where Luo Xiu was, and meet with Luo Xiu urgently.

As soon as they met, Anthony said with worry and anxiety:

"I have very important information to tell you, Luo Xiu."

"It's urgent."

……

(End of this chapter)