Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 391 (7k3!) Executioner! Zanskar, the Soul Reaper
Inside the Kaveri Fortress.

"The Crocodile Stewed in an Iron Pot", after he died three times in the fortress, when he was resurrected for the last time, he deliberately avoided the hostile superhumans in the fortress, quietly returned to the place where he died last time, and recovered his equipment and weapons.

He then put on the "Paladin Armor" again, grasped the "Paladin Sword" with both hands again, and rushed in the direction he came from.

This time, they bravely entered the Kaveri Fortress and went about two-thirds of the way into the fortress. Although they didn't reach the deepest part, it was enough for the crocodile.

Through this operation, he had "detected" intelligence on two "quadruple fates" and nine "triple fates" enemies within the Caffrey Fortress, and had also found out the distribution of the main buildings on the periphery, which was enough.

The task that the "bishop" - Ross Carlos assigned to them before leaving was to find out as much as possible about the garrison distribution and the configuration of the extraordinary people inside the "Caffrey Fortress".

If you report the intelligence you have obtained with your three lives back to the "Bishop", you can complete the commissioned task [Break into Fortress Cavernier (Dangerous Difficulty)] accepted before leaving, and you can also get a considerable bonus!

The crocodile thought excitedly in his heart, and at the same time he kept running wildly, rushing towards the place inside the Kaveri Fortress where there were few enemies -

The hostile superhumans around were immediately alerted and started to chase after the crocodile.

At the same time, more and more players who used the "Rune Wings" to glide into the city have appeared on the walls of Cavernier Fortress. They are different from the "detection" missions accepted by Crocodile and Thomas - they simply come in to kill, create chaos, and have fun fighting!
That was an agreement that pioneers like Big Crocodile and Thomas had made with supporting players.

After the pioneer players have roughly explored the map of Caveri Fortress, they will share it with other players through the [Chat Channel].

Then, more than 2,000 players stationed in various places in the Blackrock Mountains will glide down, climb onto the walls of the Kaveri Fortress, rush into the city and kill people indiscriminately, causing rivers of blood to flow!
Players like Crocodile and Thomas, who act as "vanguards" and lead the charge, are undoubtedly the strongest among all the players participating in the action, and less than one-third of the players who arrive later are extraordinary people with "double destiny" - the players' current strength alone is not enough to completely destroy the Cavernier Fortress from the inside out, but it is quite easy to cause some heavy damage to the defenders in the city.

When thousands of players from the "Church" and "Border" appeared on the walls of the Kaveri Fortress like airborne soldiers, the dark transcendents stationed in the fortress were stunned.

"Where did so many... so many people come from!"

"The main force of the empire is coming? Aren't they still camping dozens of miles away?!"

"Stop them! Stop them!"

"We must not let them get close to Lord Zanskar's residence!"

"..."

Just as the crocodile was concentrating on running away, he heard a "gladiator" in scarlet armor not far from him shouting loudly.

At the same time, the crocodile used the panel to throw a detection at him - it was an enemy with the fourth destiny of [Bitter Tea] that he had never seen before, the "Gladiator Champion" Harveylu.

——Fuck, this is the third enemy of the “quadruple destiny” that I have encountered!
The crocodile thought excitedly, and quickly sent this message to the chat group of the "Mirror of Glorious Light" Guild, writing down the information about the "Gladiator Champion" Harvey.

[Iron Pot Stewed Crocodile (Administrator)]: Brothers, "Quadruple Fate" boss intelligence collection is happy +1! [Bitter Tea], "Gladiator Champion" Harvey!

[Alicia]: Okay, fighting champion

【Thomas the Tank Engine (group owner)】: OK, fighting champion

[Sweating soybeans]: OK, fighting champion

[Human High-Quality Repeater]: Okay, Fighting Champion

【……】：……

Afterwards, the crocodile closed the panel again, and while the "gladiator champion" Harvey Lu hadn't noticed him yet, he quickly turned a corner and ran away from him.

While escaping, he felt as if he had just heard some incredible information -

Didn’t that “gladiator champion” Harveylu mention…something about the official residence of “Lord Zaska”?

Who the hell is that?

Executioner?
"..."

The crocodile chewed on the name and had some guesses in his mind.

At the same time, he also realized that the extraordinary people chasing him seemed to be chasing him even more closely because of his slight delay, so he put aside these speculations in his mind and instead quickened his escape speed.

The shouting and killing sounds behind him gradually died down, and the big crocodile rushed directly into several dark alleys, killing several hostile transcendents of the "first level of destiny" and even the "second level of destiny" on the way. Finally, when he turned into the deep alley for the fifth time, he completely shook off the pursuers.

"Hu, hu..." The big crocodile stopped running and leaned against the wall of the alley, breathing heavily.

After feeling that his strength had almost recovered, the crocodile raised his arm and took off his arm armor.

The back of his right hand then appeared before his eyes, with white dragon claw marks flashing on its surface, and a deep red teleportation circle appeared at his feet.

The crocodile has activated a "teleportation" mark.

——[Seal of the Isol Royal Court (White)]!
This mark will only take effect after you leave the combat state.

After shaking off the pursuers, the crocodile teleported itself to the lost royal court of "Holy Abyss"!
……

The Holy Abyss was left in the royal court.

When the crocodile's vision regained color, he had been teleported to the front square of the "Holy Abyss".

This is the "fixed teleportation point" for players to arrive at the Holy Abyss. The crocodile then ran towards the "Advent Manor" in the "Holy Abyss" -

It was located on the edge of the Lost Royal Court, a residence provided by the "Holy Abyss" specifically for the adventers, and both Crocodile and Thomas were assigned a room.

He soon arrived at the Advent Manor, and came to a villa building where the "Guardians" of their church lived together. He went in, found his room, activated the [Seal of the Isol Royal Court (White)] again, and opened the locked door.

The crocodile then walked in.

Compared to his residence in the "church", his residence in the "Holy Abyss" was much simpler, with only a bed, a table and a chair.
Although there are indeed "Apostles of the Holy Abyss" who can provide "fine decoration" services for residences, that requires a certain amount of "Holy Abyss Points" and payment of money or experience points. The crocodile's main residence is not here, so he has not commissioned a special "Apostle of the Holy Abyss" to do the fine decoration.

The big crocodile came back this time with other purposes.

He went straight back to the room, closed and locked the door, and then began to take off his armor -

He took off the Paladin suits such as "Paladin Breastplate", "Paladin Arm Armor", "Paladin Leg Armor" one by one and piled them on the bed, and then placed the "Paladin Sword" on the wall rack.

——Deposit your valuable weapons, equipment and props in the "Holy Abyss" and they will not be left behind at the place of death when you die!
This is a new use of "Holy Abyss" developed by the big sharks and other "Holy Abyss" players.

The big guys have successfully preserved valuable props, weapons and equipment many times in this way.

In this way, "The Big Crocodile in the Iron Pot" has taken off all his weapons and equipment, and is only wearing a set of civilian clothes - a civilian suit that will not drop upon death.

Then he walked to the table, picked up a red orb engraved with complex runes, and tied it around his waist with a rope.

After completing these, a satisfied expression appeared on the big crocodile's face, and then he sat on the edge of the bed, raised his arm, and activated [Isol Royal Court Seal (White)] again——

His body quickly became illusory, and the deep red teleportation circle reappeared at his feet, and his vision was quickly shrouded in gray and colorlessness.

……

When I opened my eyes again.

The big guys have returned to "Fort Caffrey".

At the same time, a bright light flashed in his eyes. He took off the red ball with complex runes engraved on it from his waist and rushed back in the direction he came from.

I am no longer afraid of anything! .jpg
He shouted in his heart and rushed out of the alley where he had been hiding before. The extraordinary people from Kaveri Fortress who were chasing him just now had re-entered his field of vision -

"Where is he!"

"Kill him!"

Dozens of gazes came at him at the same time, and the crocodile instantly felt that he had been locked in by a lot of strong hostility.

The extraordinary people from the Kaveri Fortress then rushed towards him again. Some of them had puzzled expressions on their faces, and the crocodile had also heard the puzzled murmurs of several dark extraordinary people -

"Where's his equipment? Huh?", "He's... the same Paladin from before?", "It's definitely him! My spiritual perception can't be wrong!";
"He escaped again, haha! He even took off all the Paladin equipment. Is he trying to disguise himself as a civilian and escape?!", "He didn't even take the Paladin sword. Haha!", "Kill him! Cut off his head and report to Lord Zaska for the credit!"...

Sounds like this were transmitted vaguely and intermittently into the ears of the crocodile.

At the same time, several dangerous spiritual surges gradually became clearer as the sounds came, and gradually approached the crocodile.

There was a strong aura of some extraordinary beings at the "Triple Destiny" level, and the crocodile had already seen one of them -

He was a forbidden warlock with the destiny of [Intelligence], and he was about to summon puppets to besiege him together with other extraordinary people from the surrounding Kaveri Fortress!

He is also the extraordinary person from the "Triple Fate" Caffrey Fortress who is closest to the big crocodile.

A smile suddenly appeared on the crocodile's face. He took a step forward and rushed towards the forbidden warlock, using the "Paladin" skill in the last part of the journey!
——"Holy Charge"!
He moved directly in front of the forbidden warlock!

The Forbidden Warlock, who was suddenly approached, showed a somewhat panicked expression on his face, but in his eyes, he only saw the "Paladin" in front of him. He had raised a red ball in his right hand, and instantly poured a large amount of [Glorious] spirituality into it!
The Forbidden Warlock's face suddenly changed. He had recognized the rune-shaped object in the hands of the opposite Paladin.
——【Skull of the Martyr】!
That was a rune creation developed by the Empire's "Tower of Sages" at the request of a cardinal of the "Holy Court". It was a forbidden warlock who defected from the "Tower of Sages" and knew how terrifying this thing was;
But [Skull of the Martyr]... this rune creation should be banned from production because it is too dangerous!

How did it appear in the hand of the opposite Paladin——

--boom!!!!!

Before the forbidden warlock had time to think more, his vision was flooded by the sudden surge of red light.

His body only felt the burning sensation for a moment before he lost all consciousness, and even his soul turned to ashes.

"Cooking a big crocodile in an iron pot", the large amount of annihilation spirituality he poured into the [Skull of the Martyr] completed the chain reaction of "Rune Activation" in an instant!

[Skull of the Martyr], this thing was specially commissioned to Fangbeiyuan to reproduce after the church carefully studied the characteristics of their "Adventers" that can be resurrected from the dead. It was then distributed to every "Guardian" who was promoted to the "Triple Destiny".

Although the manufacture of this rune creation was once banned, with the endorsement of the Supreme "Thunder General" Albert, putting them back into production was just a matter of Albert nodding his head.

The reason why the [Skull of the Martyr] is distributed to every "Guardian" of the triple destiny is so that they can "self-destruct" in an emergency, exchanging one life for ten lives, and causing a devastating blow to the enemy!
The giant crocodile at the center of the explosion saw his health reduced to zero in an instant, and the [Intelligence] triple destiny forbidden warlock who was right in front of him was also instantly annihilated by the explosion without leaving any residue.

A dozen or so "double-fate" extraordinary people from the Caveri Fortress who were nearby were melted on the spot by the annihilation heat wave generated by the explosion, and the "single-fate" guards who were further out were also affected by the fierce waves of the explosion. Before they could escape the range of the explosion, they were burned to death by the continuous damage of the high temperature!

Within a radius of twenty meters from the center of the explosion, basically no guards with "first-level fate" could survive.

There were also some extraordinary beings with second and third fates who escaped from the center of the explosion, but they had basically lost more than half of their health before they could barely escape from the center of the horrific explosion.

Even though they were seriously injured, they did not care about their injuries. When they escaped, their faces showed complex expressions of fear, panic, and relief, as if they had been resurrected from the dead.

They didn't bother to "hunt down" the paladin anymore. After the annihilation heat wave of the explosion of the [Skull of the Martyr] dissipated a little, the surviving extraordinary people of the Kaveri Fortress returned to the center of the previous explosion. What they saw was only a messy scene.

There were broken walls and bodies everywhere that had been shattered by the explosion.

The smoke was still billowing, and the "Black Fang Leader" of this area - the forbidden warlock with the triple destiny of [Wisdom] - had disappeared from the face of the earth, and the body of the "Paladin" had disappeared without a trace, not even a trace of ash was left.

The extraordinary people from the Kaveri Fortress who entered the range of the previous explosion to search all had expressions of fear and despair on their faces to varying degrees.

The huge noise caused by the explosion also attracted new players who were roaming around and looking for new targets.

When fear and despair merged into the air and filled the hearts of the extraordinary people in the fortress,
They suddenly discovered that there were many invaders around them that they had never seen before!

The players rushed forward and soon engaged in a fight with the extraordinary people from the Caffrey Fortress.

Soon, more than a dozen corpses appeared on the already messy ruins of the explosion.

The smell of blood quickly spread, and before long, the players had slaughtered all the dark transcendents around them.

Then, the players will go to the next battlefield to look for their next "prey".

……

Andrian Blackrock Mountains, foot of the mountain.

In a pointed tent at the Red Maple City Pioneer Camp, the body of the "iron pot stewed crocodile" condensed again in the thick fleece sleeping bag, and he opened his eyes soon after his body was completely condensed. "Resurrection..."

The crocodile murmured. After using up all the "Instant Resurrection Scrolls", he waited for five minutes before he was finally resurrected.

This time when he was resurrected, he chose to resurrect directly at the "default resurrection point" - that is, the sleeping bag in his tent.

Since joining the expedition and leaving Red Maple City and entering the territory of the Dark Principality, the "sleeping bag in the tent" has replaced the bed in the Red Maple City residence and has become the new default resurrection point.

And the first moment after resurrection.

The crocodile opened the panel and glanced directly at the "Mailbox" panel, where a bean-sized, bright red dot had appeared, flashing a conspicuous light.

The crocodile then opened it with excitement, and indeed saw something that made him even more excited—

[Kill "Forbidden Warlock" Aggek (lv.23) and gain 996 basic experience points]

[Kill Priscilla Garfield (lv.13), gain 343 basic experience points]

[Kill Valentinian Clayton (lv.16) and gain 399 basic experience points]

【Kill...】

【…】

More than twenty kill reward prompts appeared in succession. They were all the kill rewards that I got just now by self-detonating with the [Skull of Martyr]!

——It feels great!
The crocodile suddenly felt that the boredom of dying four times in a row was swept away in an instant, and his mood became happy and beautiful.

Afterwards, the crocodile activated the [Seal of the Isol Court (White)] on the back of his hand.

His body quickly disappeared and was teleported to the Holy Abyss Royal Court, and he returned five minutes later, fully equipped with his "Paladin Suit".

He then walked out of the tent and came to the bushes outside the tent where the warhorse was tied. After handing over to the players who stayed there, he mounted the warhorse, whipped the horse's buttocks, and galloped towards the plain thirty miles away where the main force was.

……

Half an hour later——

From the crocodile's perspective, he could already see the massive expeditionary army heading out from Red Maple City.

On the right side, on a small plain next to the hilly area, there are rows of white tents like a sea of ​​flowers. That is where the clergy of the "Church" set up camp.

The crocodile headed straight for the church camp.

Soon, he arrived at the main gate of the camp. The clergy on duty in the church came towards him, helped him get off the warhorse safely, and led the horse for him.

"I'm here to present intelligence on Fort Caffrey to the Bishop."

The crocodile said as he handed the reins of his warhorse to the priest.

The clergyman who holds the reins of the big crocodile is none other than the attendant clergyman of "Bishop" Rossouw, the "Guiding Pastor" Colen.

Colen first led the warhorse over, called another clergyman on duty nearby, and asked him to lead the warhorse to the stable. Then he came to the crocodile, paid homage to it, and said:
"Please come with me."

"You are the first Guardian of the Saint to return. The Bishop is waiting for you in the big tent."

Am I the first one back?

The crocodile felt a little excited, but also inexplicably nervous, so he followed Colen to the tent of "Bishop" Ross Carlos.

The air was filled with a sacred and solemn atmosphere. Even in the tents set up in the wild plains, the priests passing by were very careful to keep quiet. Under the influence of this atmosphere, the big players did not make much noise as usual.

Colen led him to the tent of "Bishop" Ross Carlos.

After that, the two "priests" of the "Quadruple Destiny" - Howard and Gracia, took over from Colen.

In the eyes of the crocodile, he saw that Colen was quite respectful to the two priests. He first performed the sacrament of respecting the superiors to Howard and Gracia respectively, then turned around and said to the crocodile:

"After that, the two priests will lead you in."

"Please pay attention to your behavior when meeting the Bishop. Although the Bishop has emphasized that you, the 'Saint Protectors', do not need to strictly abide by the rules of the 'Holy Court', please also pay attention to the etiquette of the 'Holy Court'."

"I know." The crocodile nodded solemnly.

Afterwards, the "guide priest" Colen came to one side and stood next to the big tent.

The two "priests", Howard and Gracia, brought the crocodile into the tent to meet the bishop.

In the eyes of the crocodile——

When the tent was opened and he stepped in, the soft yet bright light emitted by the four spirit crystal stone lamps made the crocodile's pupils dilate slightly.

He then saw a long white table, and the "bishop" of the church, Ross Carlos, was sitting behind the table, on a square chair that was also pure white.

The bishop had a gentle smile on his face, and the crocodile heard the voices of the two "priests" at the same time.

"Greetings, Your Excellency the Bishop."

The two "priests", Howard and Gracias, first gave Luo the sacraments and greeted him with pious and respectful greetings.

While the big crocodile was bowing deeply to them, he also bowed slightly to Luo Xiu and performed a clumsy "holy ceremony" in the same way.

"Bishop" Luo Xiuwei nodded in response to their greetings.

His golden eyes immediately turned to the crocodile, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face, and then his brows relaxed. He nodded and said:

"You're... 'Iron Pot Stew', eh. I remember your name."

"So, 'Iron Pot Stew'. Tell me, what did you find at Fort Caffrey?"

"..."

Shit, I always feel like... should I change my name to something more normal...

The big crocodile, who felt a little embarrassed, scratched his toes, and at the moment when the "bishop" finished speaking, he took a step forward and said to the "bishop" Luo Xiu Carlos:

"We have already discovered about two-thirds of the defense structure of the Kaveri Fortress, as well as the details of most of the extraordinary people stationed there."

"We have discovered a total of six 'quadruple fate' and twenty-six 'triple fate' enemies, and we have already mastered their names, fates, and occupations."

After that, he opened the [Chat Channel] and the group chat of the "Mirror of Glorious Light" and read out the messages that had been set as if they were the names of dishes.

"【Ku Tu】Fourth Fate, 'Death Sword Master' Lundina;"

"【Lost】Fourth Fate, 'Elemental Priest' Alu;"

"【Ku Tu】Fourfold Fate, 'Gladiator Champion' Harveyru;"

"[Red Lotus] The Fourfold Fate, 'Beast Tamer' Siegfried..."

"..."

He read out the names of the six "quadruple destinies" and the twenty-six "triple destinies" fang heads and black teeth to "Bishop" Luo Xiu Carlos like reading out the names of dishes, while Luo Xiu listened with a smile and asked an attendant clergyman beside him to record these names on a blank file.

After the big crocodile finished reporting the names of these "fang heads" and "black teeth", "Bishop" Luo Xiu praised him and said:

"You have a good memory, 'Crocodile Stew in an Iron Pot'."

"This information is very useful to us, and you have successfully completed the task I assigned to you."

"..."

Actually, I took an open-book test... The big crocodile thought with a guilty conscience.

Then, he remembered another piece of information, and after the bishop praised him, he naturally said it out:
"There should be another enemy. I only heard those enemies with triple and quadruple fates mention his name, but I don't know who he is."

As he said this, he raised his head and met the eyes of "Bishop" Luo Xiu.

"what name?"

A light flashed in Luo Xiu's eyes and he asked the crocodile.

"That's 'Zanskar'."

The crocodile organized his words and said to the bishop:

"It was in Kaveri Fortress, when we were fighting the enemy, I heard someone shouting 'Lord Zanskar' and saying 'Protect Lord Zanskar's mansion'."

"I thought it was a higher-ranking enemy, but I didn't actually see him."

"..."

"Zanska..."

In the eyes of the crocodile, he saw "Bishop" Ross Carlos, who was chewing on the name thoughtfully.

Soon, a golden light flashed in the bishop's eyes, and he said to the crocodile:

"Very good, I know, 'stewed crocodile in an iron pot'."

"Zanskar—that was the executioner's name."

"That is the fifth level of the Fate of Nothingness. Zaska the Soul Taker should be the current leader of the Kaveri Fortress."

"You have done a great service by bringing me this information, 'stewing a crocodile in an iron pot'."

After saying this, "Bishop" Luo Xiu looked to the other side, to the "priest" Gracia of the missionary center, and said:
"Afterwards, Glaisha, you will take over from him and draw a rough defense map of the Caffrey Fortress."

"Then, take him to the army's storage and let him choose a weapon or equipment from the Master. This is a gift for his meritorious service."

"And the other 'Saint Guardians' who act together with him will also be able to receive a gift from the 'Master'."

"I will follow your instructions, Bishop." Gracia bowed slightly and nodded in response.

——Equipment of "Master" quality!

The big crocodile was stunned by the sudden "big prize" and felt a little dizzy for a moment.

Just by bringing back the name "Zanskar" and the names of other triple and quadruple-destined extraordinary people from the Kaveri Fortress, one can receive such a generous gift!

His excited eyes turned to the "Bishop" and to that "Rosius Carlos".

But he had already stood up and walked out of the tent.

The two priests made way for him, and the crocodile took two steps back, then watched the bishop leave the tent.

The direction he was heading to was exactly the direction of the tent of "Thunder General" Albert.

……

(End of this chapter)