Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 331 Second Audience

Archbishop Sid wants to see me... Luo Xiu, who was soaking in the "Holy Spring" medicinal bath, nodded secretly, then got up from the bathtub, wiped his body, then walked to the clothes rack and changed into his usual bishop's robe.

The archbishop might have learned about his achievements from "Bishop of Justice" Raymond, "Glorious Knight" Krull, and Olivia... He killed "Hidden Elder" Elius and Gattuso with his own hands. His role in this battle was not just providing key intelligence, which might have made Archbishop Sid pay enough attention to it.

I thought that Archbishop Sid had said that the time for them to "rest" could be longer... Luo Xiu thought to himself as he walked to the porch and opened the door.

The guiding clergyman was waiting quietly outside the door. When he saw Luo Xiu open the door and walk out, he bowed to him respectfully.

"Lead the way." Luo Xiu nodded to him, "To the 'Lord Temple'."

……

Songyuan City Church, the Holy Temple.

Archbishop Sid, wearing a pure white robe and a pure white crown, was sitting on the pure white throne.

He was nodding slightly, his fingers constantly stroking his meticulously groomed jaw, his eyes lowered as he thought about something.

"Bishop of Justice" Raymond, and "Glorious Knight" Kruel and Olivia, were standing before the Archbishop's throne, waiting for the Archbishop to give new instructions.

They had not gone deep into the bottom of the black crystal factory, so they were not seriously affected by the violent explosion. But just a few minutes ago, Archbishop Sid summoned them, and he had roughly learned from them the process and results of the operation.

The "Black Crystal Factory" has been completely destroyed. The two "Hidden Elders" Elius and Gattuso who were guarding it were killed on the spot, and the saints of the General Church even captured another "Hidden Elder" Baberon alive. This operation went quite smoothly.

However, the General Church also paid a painful price for this - among the nine saints who participated in the operation, six of them suffered serious injuries to varying degrees, and even the "Bishop Qihui" Richester was on the verge of death... The backbone of the General Church was severely weakened, but it was fortunate that no saints were killed.

But they also had many extra gains - from the "Black Crystal Factory", the Holy Judges recovered a variety of quality materials, alchemical creations, rune weapons and equipment that far exceeded their expectations. A considerable number of them could be put into use again after being identified and the taboos attached to them were washed away.

There are also many scrolls containing forbidden knowledge belonging to [Wisdom]... Those have been sealed in the holy storage place by the returning saints. According to the normal process, the Grand Council will be notified to claim them, and they will be completely burned under the joint witness of Archbishop Sid and the dean of the Council.

……

"Rosius Carlos..."

Archbishop Sid murmured the name.

"Bishop of Justice" Raymond has reported how Luo Xiu finally used his "merciful punch" to knock Baberon to the brink of death.

This "Apostle of Divine Light" was actually able to suppress an intellectual saint with just his physical body. This had never happened before among the clergy who were promoted to "priests". Archbishop Sid was quite surprised by this.

Even the "Shining Knights" Olivia and Krull, on behalf of Gulanbato and Evans, relayed to the Archbishop the strength that Luo Xiu displayed at the bottom of the Black Crystal Factory. He was not only physically brute, but he also mastered the holy art of [Glory] quite skillfully, which also played a crucial role in the final killing of the "Hidden Elders" Elius and Gattuso!
There is no doubt that the new bishop of Red Maple City has demonstrated his impressive strength very well. After this, the other saints in the general church who are suspicious, jealous and covetous of him will also change their minds.

Fortunately, he is a believer of [Glory]. If such a gifted person were discovered by the pagans of [Lost], [Red Lotus] or [Nothingness], he would definitely become a great enemy of the Holy See...

This was the first thought that came to Archbishop Sid's mind after listening to the reports from Raymond, Olivia and Krull.

While he was thinking about this, Archbishop Sid heard the extremely subtle sound of someone walking into the corridor of the temple.

The footsteps were very steady, so Archbishop Sid looked up and saw the figure of "Rosius Carlos" in front of the two huge doors.

"You're here, Luo Xiu." Archbishop Sid smiled and nodded slightly to Luo Xiu.

"Bishop of Justice" Raymond, "Glorious Knight" Olivia, and Kruel then retreated to both sides, making way for Luo Xiu to have an audience.

"Greetings, dear Bishop."

Luo Xiu had come to the archbishop's throne and performed the sacrament on the archbishop while greeting him.

At the same time, he glanced around. The other holy throne next to Archbishop Sid was still there, but the "Saint" Franya from before was not on it. He should be somewhere else doing something assigned by the "Holy See".

Archbishop Sid nodded, and then said:
"I've heard from Raymond, Olivia and the others about your contribution in the operation to eradicate the 'Black Crystal Factory'. You did a great job."

"The priest in charge of guiding me told me that you are in good condition, so I can't wait to meet you."

"Thank you for your hard work, Luo Xiu. I want to give you the reward you deserve. Tell me, what do you want?"

"..."

"That is my job, Archbishop. I don't need any extra reward." Luo Xiu responded to Archbishop Sid calmly and said:
"It's just... if possible, I hope to get a sacred material of 'epic' quality - because my 'holy beast', the golden Pegasus, unfortunately died in the previous battle. I need to preside over a ceremony to revive it, and that ceremony will require such a material."

While speaking, Luo Xiu saw Archbishop Sid nodded slightly again.

"You are not greedy, that's good, Luo Xiu."

"I can easily satisfy your request, but this is not enough...far from enough."

"Tell me, what else do you want? Or, what do you want to do? As long as it's not too much of a request, I can satisfy you."

"..."

In response to the question raised by Archbishop Sid, Luo Xiu actually already had an answer.

To be honest, he really didn't have anything he wanted to get from the General Church, unless it was the "holy treasures" that were truly kept strictly guarded... But the merit of destroying the Black Crystal Factory alone was not enough for Archbishop Sid to reward him with those real treasures, so Luo Xiu simply kept silent.

Now, he just wants to lay the necessary groundwork for another [Hidden Mission]——

"All right, Archbishop."

Luo Xiu performed the sacrament again to Archbishop Xide, and then said:
"Then, before I return to Red Maple City, I would like to reserve some people from you first."

"Who do you want to take away?" asked Archbishop Sid.

After a pause, Luo Xiu raised his head, looked into Archbishop Sid's golden eyes, and said:

"Before, I found a group of dwarves whose spiritual awareness was obscured by the forbidden methods of [Intelligence] at the bottom of the Black Crystal Factory."

"I learned in advance that they might be slaves abducted by the 'Hidden Elders'. I hope the General Church can help release them from their control and restore their spiritual freedom."

"...You want to take those dwarves away?" Archbishop Sid asked thoughtfully.

He did hear from the Holy Inquisitor who returned to the General Church that thirty-nine dwarf survivors who believed in "Wisdom" were found in the ruins of the factory. According to the General Church's experience in dealing with the "Hidden Omniscients", this group of "Wisdom" dwarves was most likely not in cahoots with the Hidden Omniscients, and they might have been believers who simply believed in "Wisdom".

According to the laws of the Empire, [Intelligence] is a legitimate destiny in the Empire - therefore, as long as those dwarves have not truly joined the "Hidden Omniscient", they should also be "good citizens" after their identities are restored.

"Yes." Luo Xiu nodded, "I believe they are not real cultists. As long as we remove the control over them, they will be able to regain their normal spiritual awareness and be used by us."

"The reason why I want to take them away is - you know, Archbishop Sid. The situation on the border has become increasingly tense. I want to unite all the forces that can be united as much as possible, and the alchemical creations of [Intelligence] are sometimes very important in boosting morale and strength."

"You may not know that in Red Maple City, the church has established a good cooperative relationship with a dwarf with a fourth-order destiny of [Intelligence]. I think that dwarf can help me take care of them."

"..."

After listening to what Luo Xiu said, Archbishop Sid nodded slowly.

What he said were indeed legitimate reasons, and according to the normal process, the General Church would have released the dwarves from their bonds and then handed them over to the "General Church" established by the Tower of Wisdom Sages in Songyuan City...

If Luo Xiu's request was agreed to, it would only skip the last step. For Archbishop Sid, it would just be a matter of a word.

"Okay, I can promise you." Archbishop Sid promised.

Hearing Archbishop Sid personally agree to this, Luo Xiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

With Archbishop Sid’s personal consent, we can now have a legitimate reason to take the group of dwarves from the “Sand” tribe away!
This way, when he returns to Red Maple City, he won't have to hide anything and can directly and openly hand over his commission to the dwarf Mil - this is the most convenient for Luo Xiu, and it will also be easy to settle the dwarves of the "Sand and Gravel" clan.

"Thank you, Archbishop Sid."

Luo Xiu thanked Archbishop Sid in a sincere tone, bowed slightly, and performed a pious sacrament to Archbishop Sid.

Archbishop Sid simply nodded slightly in response.

But in Sid's mind, he still felt that this "reward" was not enough...

Afterwards, after watching Luo Xiu bid farewell to him and walk out of the pure white door of the "Lord's Temple", Archbishop Sid turned around and said to the "Bishop of Judgment" Raymond who was sitting next to him:

"Raymond, pass on my message."

"Go to the Holy Reserve and count out 50,000 gold coins."

"Well, count three more pieces of 'epic' quality, twenty pieces of 'rare' quality, and one hundred and thirty pieces of 'uncommon' quality sacred materials, and have the clergy there arrange and transport them to the Red Maple City Church."

"Also, I heard that the Red Maple City Church has already reached the threshold of a 'large church'. You should prepare some holy scrolls applicable to the 'Fourfold Fate' and arrange for their delivery to the Red Maple City Church."

"I will follow your instructions, Archbishop." Raymond nodded in response.

"Hmm..." Archbishop Sid nodded.

He then said slowly, in a calm but unquestionable tone:

"Remember, Raymond. Luo Xiu doesn't need to know about this."

"Although he doesn't need other rewards now, he will always accept them when he returns to Red Maple City."

"This is my gift to him. I hope... he will not disappoint me."

……

Next to the ruins of the Black Crystal Factory, commercial vehicles and travelers kept passing by on Tongcheng Avenue. Many people were always attracted by the huge building filled with scorched earth and rising black smoke, and stopped to take a look.

No one knows what exactly happened here - it was like a meteorite crater that suddenly appeared, but there were no exaggerated signs of ground cracks.

The Holy Inquisitors of the General Church have completely sealed off the perimeter of the ruins of the Black Crystal Factory.

But there are always people who quietly watch from places that are difficult to notice - such as the "Holy Maiden of Light" Franya, who is wearing a beige wind robe, standing on a protruding rock, overlooking the place from top to bottom.

The wind blew through her white hair, gently caressing her flawless white cheeks. Her silver-gray eyes dotted with light gold were focused on a certain direction - there was a plain carriage parked there, the curtain behind the carriage had been opened, and a thin man wearing the clothes of a senior scholar of the "Tower of Sages" walked out holding the handrail.

The "scholar" wore a short hat and walked towards the ruins of the Black Crystal Factory with a silver-studded cane in his hand, somewhat tremblingly.

In front of him were three "Holy Inquisitors" on duty - but until the "scholar" walked very close to them, the Holy Inquisitors did not react at all, as if there was nothing in front of them.

He walked straight past the Holy Judges and stopped at the edge of the ruins of the Black Crystal Factory. He stretched his neck and looked into the deep pit.

"..."

After a long time, he retracted his neck, sighed deeply, and said something.

——“It’s so clean.”

This is the part where Franya reads the tremors of his lips and determines the words he says.

Then, she looked down at the "scholar" returning to the carriage and heading towards Songyuan City.

Franya stopped looking down and went down the hillside, secretly and quickly following the direction of the carriage.

That was based on her intuitive judgment, and was also a habit driven by the experience she had accumulated when dealing with similar incidents in the past.

There will always be remnants of the pagans who will try their best to come to the scene of the incident just to see if there is anything left.

The same goes for the Hidden Omniscients; it will be a great opportunity to uncover their deeper organizations.

“As the Pope always teaches…”

Frenya murmured.

And in her eyes, the carriage was getting closer and closer.

……

(End of this chapter)