Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 371 Hidden History and Mourning! (8k, huge burst of coding attributes!)
I actually found such a loophole... When settling the account, I can get an extra 10000 basic experience points, 5 free attribute points, and a "rare" quality expertise!
This is so sweet!

And that’s not all - when he killed Naigu, the “giant warrior” with the triple destiny of [Kutu], the corresponding kill reward popped up on the panel.

During the internal test, according to posts from several players who belonged to large guilds or who had the luck to kill extraordinary people of this level, it seems that the extraordinary people of the "triple destiny" are already bosses of the "twisted" level. Killing them in the double destiny will most likely obtain an expertise of "rare" quality.

But what if it is still the “single destiny”?

Thomas thought with excitement on his face, his heart full of anticipation.

However, he is still on the battlefield, and the column for receiving kill rewards is gray. He has to wait until he is out of the battle before he can receive it.

Thomas was not in a hurry, he also knew that after the two executioners of the enemy were killed, the defense battle of Red Maple City would soon come to an end.

……

It was around Thomas, in the very center of the entire battlefield.

When the "Bishop" of the Red Maple City Church, Ross Carlos, was riding a golden Pegasus and carrying the head of the giant executioner "Storm Lord" Muset in the sky.

Almost everyone on the battlefield looked up and saw this scene.

"Storm Lord" Muset is dead!

He was the leader of the attacking Dark Army, and his death meant that the Dark Army was basically doomed to defeat.

This shattered the last glimmer of hope in the hearts of the Dark Army soldiers who were still fighting to the death, and the army began to collapse beyond the border.

But there are still many extraordinary people in the Dark Army who are fighting stubbornly - like the giant warrior Thomas encountered before.

The "Bishop" Rossu Carlos, who was patrolling the sky on a golden Pegasus, would order Pegasus to give them a precise attack after discovering them.

On the battlefield, the remaining forces of the Dark Army were rapidly decreasing.

At the same time - outside the city wall of Red Maple City, on the edge of the main battlefield.

A crimson light surged up into the sky, and pieces of crimson light curtains like roulette wheels quickly spread out over the battlefield. Everyone heard the deep and powerful voice of "Thunder General" Albert, which seemed to be superior and irresistible:

"——Enemy chief executioner, Quilton has surrendered!"

"Knights of the Supreme, listen to my command—"

“——【Use tempered blades, flesh and fire to forge a path to conquer】!”

——Buzz!!!!!!!

At the moment when Albert's "decree" fell, the red light curtain covering the sky above the battlefield suddenly shook!
It circled and finally broke into pieces, constantly changing in mid-air, and finally condensed into hundreds of rays of light that were projected into the battlefield, and absorbed into the bodies of the [Supreme] "Royal Guard Knights" and "War Knights" who were still fighting the enemy.

That is the authority to capture the soul of "Silver Blood Dragonborn" Quilton and crush it into spiritual essence by means of the [Supreme], thereby greatly enhancing the strength of other [Supreme] extraordinary beings.

That is also the only Level II authority held by "Thunder General" Albert!
In an instant.

The aura of countless [Supreme] Knights with second and third destiny who were strengthened suddenly increased, and their strength rapidly leaped upward in a very short period of time, almost reaching the height of the next destiny level.

After obtaining the power to crush and transform the soul of the "Silver-blooded Dragonborn" Quilton, the Knights of the Supreme have become real meat grinders. Wherever they pass, there is only a battlefield filled with piles of flesh and blood with no survivors.

And at the same time.

The clergy of the Red Maple City Church also poured out of the city under the command of "High Priest" Anthony, launching a large-scale counterattack against the dark army outside the city!
Countless golden lights surged up and began to wash the battlefield with holy magic.

The Dark Army's manpower was rapidly reduced by the horrific annihilation magic of the church's clergy.

The red dragons and dragon riders flying in the air also became the focus of the priests' fire. Together with the warlocks of the [Intelligence] Monumental Institute, the priests and a large number of puppets with long-range capabilities shot a surge of light at the remaining red dragons and dragon riders in Quilton!
While the puppets of the [Intelligence] Monument Courtyard were emitting surges of light, they were also shooting out rapidly opening capture nets at the cruising red dragons. As long as a corner of the net touched their bodies, it would immediately wrap around them like a spider web and release a powerful electric current, temporarily paralyzing them!
Soon, many red dragons entangled in the nets fell from the sky, twitching and struggling, while the soldiers below who had been prepared rushed forward and threw the entangled red dragons into special prison devices.

If there are still "Dragonborn Soldiers" with a fate of the second to third level of [Red Lotus] who have not died after falling from a high altitude, the surrounding [Glorious] Clerics and [Supreme] Royal Guard Knights will immediately take action and kill them completely.

With the combined power of the annihilation light surge and the capture net, half of the red dragons were killed and half were captured.

Those red dragons were originally all raised by the "Silver-Blooded Dragonborn" Quilton and used on the battlefield. Now, there are more than fifty of them captured by the warlocks of Fangbei Academy with nets.

According to the research of the current president and vice president of Fangbei Academy, "Great Alchemist" Elvan and "Great Rune Master" Eureka on the monster "Blood Corpse Hyena" that had appeared before, combined with the knowledge about "dragon hunting" that the special puppet "Dragon Hunter" Rocklan almost gave away all his knowledge - Fangbei Academy has developed a rune colonization suit that can replace [Red Lotus] to control these red dragons.

As long as enough red dragon samples are captured, Dean Ervan is confident that he can reduce the loss of captured red dragons to less than 10%, complete the colonization and return them to the battlefield.

……

This massive invasion and defense war lasted until late at night and early in the morning.

The two elite regiments of the Dark Army - the Giant Regiment and the Dragon Rider Regiment - have been completely annihilated, and the tens of thousands of Dark Army soldiers who stubbornly resisted have been piled up into a mountain of corpses. Blood has gathered into streams in the low-lying areas of the gravel plain, and the smell of blood has even spread to Red Maple City, and it is difficult to dissipate.

About 10,000 Dark Army soldiers fled the battlefield. The Red Maple City Border Court has organized a pursuit force to chase them, while the clergy of the church and the warlocks of the Fangbei Court have begun to clean up the battlefield and recover useful weapons, equipment, materials or supplies.

At this time, the "Bishop" of the church, Luo Xiu, was standing on the city wall side by side with the ruler of the border court, "Thunder General" Albert, overlooking the battlefield which was already in ruins.

The soldiers who went out of the city to clean up the battlefield raised torches, illuminating the battlefield that was already shrouded in darkness. Luo Xiu turned his head slightly and glanced at "Thunder General" Albert next to him. His bright eyes were reflecting the flames on the battlefield, reminiscent of amber.

"……it's over."

After a while, Albert let out a sigh, and his gaze, which had been staring fiercely at the battlefield, finally dimmed at this moment.

From the beginning to the end of this defense war, Albert's spirit has been tense - until now, he can finally relax a little.

"Is your arm okay?"

Luo Xiu's gaze fell on the side of his body, on the empty left sleeve of his sleeve, and asked.

His severed arm had been recovered from the battlefield by the Royal Guards and was now sealed in a storage box made of special wood, lying on the steps behind Albert.

"..."

"arm?"

"Oh, you're talking about this old fellow."

Albert smiled, his voice sounded a little old, and he answered nonchalantly:
"This isn't the first time I've experienced something like this, Luo Xiu."

"Both the left and right arms have been broken a few times."

"But they always recover, it's just a little painful, but it's nothing to worry about."

"Back to the topic - Luo Xiu."

Albert retracted his gaze and said:

"This time... you really saved my life, Luo Xiu."

"At the beginning, Astralis, the Crow of Despair, tried to trap me with the Mist of Despair and disperse my 'spiritual body'. You stopped him, didn't you?"

"And when the giant executioner, the Storm Lord, Muset, was about to strike me, you were the one who locked him up, right?"

"I must admit that I should thank you, Luo Xiu."

"..."

"You don't have to be so polite, Mr. Albert."

Luo Xiu nodded slightly and responded to Albert with a smile:
"That's my job. After all, even if our fates are different, we are still 'colleagues' of Red Maple City. I'm not helping you in the hope of getting anything in return. It's just because, at the moment, we share the same aspirations."

"..."

"Haha, we do have the same ideals at the moment."

Albert also smiled. He was actually a little surprised by Luo Xiu's answer, but he also felt comfortable.

In Albert's past experiences, he had come into contact with the bishops of the Holy See several times.

Among them, some admired the Supreme and were fawning on Albert; some were distant from the Supreme and were almost indifferent to Albert.

Among those [Glorious] bishops, there are very few who can maintain a normal attitude towards extraordinary people whose destiny is not [Glorious].

Because [Glory] is generally a sacred belief.

For this reason, the clergy who are actually responsible for contacting the extraordinary beings in the two legitimate destinies of [Supreme] and [Wisdom] are basically "priests" or "paladins". Unlike the "bishops" who mainly hold the authority of the church, "priests" or "paladins" are naturally closer to the extraordinary beings in other destinies.

Therefore, Albert was somewhat surprised when Rossio, as the "bishop", expressed this to him.

Albert originally wanted Luo Xiu to ask him for something, such as money, supplies, "epic" or even "legendary" weapons and equipment, etc.

But since Luo Xiu didn't ask him for these, Albert didn't bring it up.

Just when Albert had finished the previous sentence and was organizing his words to ask Luo Xiu something.

He suddenly heard the calm and gentle voice of the "bishop" Ross Carlos next to him again -

"Mr. Albert."

Luo Xiu asked calmly, "Do you have something you want to ask me?"

"..."

"indeed."

Albert nodded, and his deep, wolf-like gaze turned to Luo Xiu, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I do have something I want to ask you, Luo Xiu."

Albert said slowly, "You reminded me of some things in the past, Luo Xiu. You can also choose not to answer, and I won't do anything to you."

Nothing will happen to me... Luo Xiu pondered over what Albert had just said, thinking that he should not have revealed anything.

He still maintained a gentle smile on his face and responded calmly:

"Please ask me, Lord Albert. Just what I know."

"it is good."

Albert nodded.

He immediately turned around and faced Luo Xiu, and said in a hoarse and low voice:

"At the very beginning, when you were still on the city wall and Muset raised his axe to chop me down, what was the 'authority' you used to freeze him?"

Albert had already recognized it. Before, Luo Xiu had used the [Lock of Time] on the "Storm Lord" Muset - that was "authority"!
"Is that what you wanted to ask?"

Luo Xiu was a little surprised.

But he soon realized and responded to Albert:

"That is the 'ancient inheritance' obtained from a certain ancient seal - [Lock of Time]. This is indeed authority that can temporarily lock the flow of time within a certain range."

He told Albert the truth about [Isol, the Lock of Time], but deliberately did not mention the word "Isol".

"What's wrong, Sir Albert?"

"..."

“…It’s an ancient heritage.”

After hearing Luo Xiu's answer, Albert nodded, a look of relief appearing on his face.

"Nothing, just a simple confirmation," Albert said afterwards, "Because what you showed before - that was considered the [Supreme] ability, but it was a little different."

"I don't know how to express it, but you should understand, Luo Xiu - you are a clergyman from Sina City, you should know what I am talking about."

Does he want to talk about...the former bishop of the Sina City Church, Bishop Alfonso Durant?
Albert also knew about Bishop Alfonso?
But he looked like a middle-aged saint, so he probably had not personally experienced the "holy war" that year...

He was worried that another priest who was destined to be the Supreme would appear and use the authority of the Supreme to control the Glory and blaspheme the Supreme once again?
"..."

Luo Xiu thought about this, and the gentle and calm expression on his face did not diminish. He just nodded lightly and said:

"I know, Sir Albert."

"That is not the power of the Supreme. It is probably just similar... and when I got it, I also saw different inscriptions from the place where I got it."

"I remember... it should be engraved with [Authority]."

Luo Xiu specifically mentioned the last sentence.

"..."

"... [Authority]?"

Albert asked back in a somewhat puzzled tone.

Luo Xiu didn't say anything, just looked at Albert, and Albert then fell into deep thought.

After thinking for a while, Albert said half to himself:
"I have an impression."

"In the library of the Round Table, there are ancient records that before the ascension of the Supreme Pillar that we are following today - in the ancient Age of Gods, there was indeed a destiny called Authority."

"And the Pillar God of Authority, the ancestor of the ancient dragons who symbolizes 'rule and conquest', has long been above the end of fate. He established order, laid down laws, and created the largest kingdom of 'Dragonborn' at that time on the now broken continent."

"That was a time when gods walked the earth. And then - our god, the 'Supreme Heaven', ascended to godhood."

“He represents the Supreme, the authority that is above and beyond everything, including the authority established by the ancient dragon’s ancestor.”

"When the conflict reached its peak, the 'Highest Sky' swung his sword, severing all the laws and shackles of the Authority, and ultimately beheaded the First Ancestor of the Ancient Dragons, devouring his remnants, reshaping his laws and authority, and also annexing the fate of his Authority."

"It is said that the reason why the current 'Broken Continent' is broken is that the Supreme swallowed up the remaining miracles of the Authority in the world - this is the legend about the ascension of the Supreme, and it is also the real history of God that once happened." "..."

After a pause, Albert looked at Luo Xiu, his eyes shining, and then said:

"And you, Luo Xiu. The inheritance you received from the ancient seal, the authority that comes from [Authority] - [Lock of Time]."

"In a sense, that is also the [Supreme] authority."

"I won't say much, Luo Xiu. I'm just kindly reminding you that it's best not to use it in front of other Supreme Beings."

"You know what I mean. I want you to think carefully before using it - it's best to avoid the worst consequences before the disaster happens."

"..."

From Albert's perspective, this was indeed a well-intentioned reminder.

Luo Xiu still had a smile on his face, but his heart was already in turmoil.

——The fate of [authoritarianism]!
Although Luo Xiu had already made some guesses when he obtained the entire "Secret Realm of the Isol King's Court" and saw the inscription left by King Isol, what Albert said now finally made Luo Xiu confirm this guess.

Apart from the nine existing destinies in this world - there are only many more that have already perished!
Just like [authoritarianism]!
And [Glory], [Abyss]... does the path I am walking on also have a more original destiny?
If so, what are their remnants?
Or, from another perspective——

Can I also be like the former "Supreme Heaven"... replace the existing "Pillar Gods", carve out a new destiny, and become the new "Pillar God"?
"..."

Luo Xiu was thinking about this.

He had never felt that his mind was so active as it was now.

Until Albert's voice came, pulling him back to reality from his wandering thoughts -

"Luo Xiu?"

"..."

"……Um."

Luo Xiu's expression was a little dazed for a moment.

He looked at Albert again, and as he met his sharp gaze, the dazed look on his face gradually faded away.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Albert," Luo Xiu said with an apologetic expression, "I suddenly learned so many things, and I'm a little shocked."

"Really?" Albert smiled.

"When I first learned about this, I had the same expression as you."

"But let's not talk about this for now."

Albert's gaze shifted away from Luo Xiu and turned towards the battlefield in front of Red Maple City.

The soldiers who were still cleaning up the battlefield were still holding torches, and the light of the fire reflected in Albert's eyes, as if he was seeing an upside-down starry sky.

"I should go now, Luo Xiu."

Albert said:
"The war here has just ended. I should go back to the border. It's time for others to report to me."

"When it's daybreak, I'll have Baines count the spoils of war on the battlefield. You can have your clergy come to the Border Court to inform the church of the losses. I promise you that the Border Court will provide you with all the supplies."

"..."

After saying this, Albert patted Luo Xiu's shoulder lightly, with an exhorting smile on his face.

"Thank you again, Mr. Albert."

Luo Xiu thanked Albert.

A sincere expression of gratitude also appeared on his face - in many ways, he was indeed grateful to the Supreme General in front of him, and Albert nodded slightly in response.

Then he turned and walked away, down the city wall.

Under Luo Xiu's gaze, his back disappeared at the corner of the stairs at the end.

……

Until Albert left.

Luo Xiu was still thinking about what he had said before - thinking about things about [Supreme] and [Authority].

But apart from what Albert said, Luo Xiu didn't know more. He couldn't try anything beyond his abilities in the short term.

However, he can still investigate some other things based on this.

For example, are there more hidden secrets in his "Lost Royal Court" that have not been discovered?

Another example is the "Bishop Alfonso Durant", his suspected 'ancestor' - after he was taken away by the Supreme a hundred years ago, are there any traces left in the world...

What Bishop Alfonso used to control "Glory" might not be the [Supreme] but the fallen [Authority] - otherwise, how could Alfonso Durant, as the Bishop of [Glory], obtain the [Supreme] authority? That could only come from other ancient seals.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this that the Supremes are wary of Alfonso and make it their primary condition to have the Holy See hand over Alfonso Durant...

Thinking about it this way, perhaps these are exactly what Albert wanted to remind or "warn" himself about.

"..."

Thinking deeply in my mind.

Luo Xiu had a vague feeling that he had indeed touched upon a corner of the true truth of the "Holy War" a hundred years ago that had been hidden and buried in the ocean of history.

Although all signs indicated that Bishop Alfonso Durant should have died and disappeared, Luo Xiu was the first to remove such habitual cognition.

He had a vague feeling that "Alfonso Durant" might still be alive, but no one knew where he had escaped to or was hiding.

In this case, a trip to Bishop Alfonso's hometown, the village of Cassivo in the town of Sina and Rhines, would become much more important in Rosso's plan.

The formal arrangement will be made after leading the players to counterattack the Dark Principality, invade Fafnir City, and kill the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice".

By that time, I should have returned to the Church of Sina City with a method or something specific that could save Bishop Fabion. By then, I could go to Kasiwo Village on the way without having to spend any extra time.

At that time, after killing the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice", I would be ready to try to advance to the sixth level of the "Glory" destiny. If I encountered any unexpected danger during my trip to Kasiwo Village, I would be able to deal with it more calmly.

Luo Xiu was thinking about these things and planning them carefully in his heart.

After sorting out what he needed to do in the next period of time, Luo Xiu let go of these thoughts and turned his attention back to the present.

Luo Xiu knew that compared to what would happen later, what he had to do now was clearer and more important.

——While waiting for the church clergy to clean up and recover the spoils on the battlefield, he will settle several rewards!

The kill rewards for "Storm Lord" Muset and "Silver-blooded Dragonborn" Quilton have been settled, as well as the task rewards for the limited-time task [Dark Sky Haze]!

However, before making the final settlement of these rewards, Luo Xiu still had to do one last thing.

—kill the last executioner who escaped,

——Kill "Crow of Despair" Astralis!

Only then can the limited-time mission [Dark Sky Haze] be successfully completed.

……

Outside Hongfeng City.

In a desolate mountain range far away from human habitation, there is a cramped and narrow beast cave.

The crooked tree next to it stretched several dry and colorless branches obliquely towards the cave entrance. A few crows were perched on them, making "caah-caah" sounds.

It was late at night.

The moonlight with a pale blue glow flowed down, shining on the branches of the old tree and on the crows.

However, their feathers did not reflect the matte black luster that real "crows" should have. Instead, under the glow of the blue moonlight, they emitted bursts of gray mist as if something was burning!

Suddenly.

The branches of the old tree began to shake violently, and the air around them also trembled unnaturally. A deep crack connected to the [Nothingness] slowly opened, and a withered hand covered in blood stretched out from it.

“Ah, it’s coming out…”

A light, hoarse sigh came from behind the crack, and the hand immediately grabbed the edge of the crack and tore it open completely!

Then, a thin body crawled out from the crack.

His body was hunched, and his upper body was wrapped entirely in black and white cloth. However, most of the cloth had been broken, and could no longer cover the bloody body underneath, which was missing pieces here and there.

He wore a "weeping" mask on his face - but nearly one-third of it was damaged; in his hand he held a cane with a handle carved in the shape of a "crow" - but the "crow" was also shaky, and there were obvious cracks at the connection with the cane.

He is Astralis, the "Crow of Despair".

He had just escaped from the spiritual sea of ​​nothingness!

For him, it was nothing short of a bitter journey.

The Pillar God of Nothingness - "Void Devouring Serpent" undoubtedly had a bad taste. This time, he turned Astralis, who had escaped into the sea of ​​spirituality, into a snake and deprived him of almost all of his perception.

He just felt that he could not hear any sound and could not see anything - there were only clusters of deep red in front of him. He squirmed in the direction of the deep red, and finally got out of the spiritual sea and returned to the real world.

And the place where he was now, on the desolate mountain range, was the place chosen by Astralis in advance.

His servants - his "Gray Mist Crows" have been staying here, acting as his "eyes" to observe and pay attention to everything around him, making sure that this is an absolutely safe hiding place.

"call……"

Astralis spread his senses and confirmed that there was no danger around him, then he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Behind him, the torn void crack began to close slowly after losing the support of the content, and finally disappeared without a trace.

"Well, now..."

Astralis looked around, his eyes finally falling on the narrow cave entrance, muttering to himself:

"This is the border between Red Maple City and the Principality... It's late at night..."

"'Funeral Mask'... they should have received the message from my Gray Crow."

"Now... let's rest in this cave for a while, and then go down the mountain before dawn. There should be..."

"..."

Astralis was mumbling, but suddenly, his mumbling like talking to himself stopped abruptly -

He suddenly felt as if his surroundings were plunged into darkness and he could no longer see anything.

He also lost all his senses and felt as if he was falling, falling, and falling into a deep valley.

In a flash.

Gray fog rose from the edge of Astralis's vision.

But that was not the fog of his despair - Astraea only felt sinking, he felt that all his senses - what he saw, what he heard, what he could touch, and so on, all these perceptions were being replaced by false reality!

At the same time, Astraea saw an even stranger and more terrifying scene.

A completely grey slender figure appeared before him.

It was a monster floating like a ghost, with an oval face and four eyes!

There was a pointed horn on his forehead, and his body was covered in a gray mist. Four slender and bloodless arms extended from both sides, making a ritual-like gesture.

For some reason, Astralis felt that the four eyes on His face seemed to reveal some kind of compassion, mourning, and strong emotions.

That is an emotion more desperate than despair.

Fear inexplicably began to rise in Astralis' heart.

He didn't know the reason for his fear, it was just like some kind of instinctive throbbing.

At the same time.

A sharp but not harsh voice entered Astralis's ears:

“…I am here to mourn.”

"I am sad and hungry..."

"..."

The monster in front of Astralis - the 'mourning' monster let out a dry, thin sigh, and its lips moved:

"Are you a corpse or food?"

……

(End of this chapter)