Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest

Sina City, Triumph Square.

In a hidden factory ruin, Anthony, Luo Xiu, Connor and Pamier were sneaking along the shadow of the eaves.

This was the first base that Anthony decided to conduct reconnaissance.

Luo Xiu followed behind Anthony, his heart was calm, and his soul was connected to the "Fog Night" at the same time. The fog shadow of the raven was monitoring in front to prevent any possible accidents and dangers.

Anthony and his team were not aware of the existence of the "Fog Shadow". They only felt that this reconnaissance went very smoothly and encountered almost no extra obstacles.

Before coming to this base, Anthony had also completed the detection of the other three bases.

In Anthony's original plan, only the last two bases were left.

...

At the same time, Luo Xiu was also observing his teammates.

Since Luo Xiu was promoted to the "Great Judge of Sin" of the triple destiny, his teammates' attitude towards him has also changed slightly.

For example, when Anthony wanted Luo Xiu to do something, the original "command" tone as the captain has now changed to "discussion"; and although Pamier is still as cold as ever, his attitude towards Luo Xiu has also changed from indifference to respect; as for Connor... he is the one who has changed the least, and his attitude towards Luo Xiu has always been more like a close "friend".

At this time, Connor is still immersed in the sadness brought by the breakup. Although this sadness will not affect his mission, anyone can feel the strong and sad atmosphere emanating from Connor.

In the past, Connor was always the most active and talkative person when he was on a mission. But now Connor is quite taciturn. When he saw Luo Xiu coming before, Connor just greeted him lightly and then didn't say anything.

Luo Xiu saw it all, but didn't say anything.

...

The group quickly sneaked to the high platform next to the base.

This is a blind spot that overlooks the suspected "stronghold". If you sneak in from the side path, you can peek into the situation inside.

So, led by Anthony, he opened his perception, avoided all abnormal spiritual surges, and bypassed all patrolling blood followers and blood slaves to climb the platform.

The other holy judges followed Anthony closely. When everyone climbed to the top of the platform silently, everyone looked down.

Just below the field of vision, there was a place similar to the concave altar.

And in the center of this altar, there was a huge meat mountain like a fortress. That was the "body destroyer" of [Red Lotus], the leader of this medium-sized "Blood of Thorns" stronghold.

The scene in front of him reminded Luo Xiu of a "Blood of Thorns" stronghold that he had cleared when he first came to Sina City.

The first [Red Lotus] triple destiny transcendent he killed was the "Body Destroyer" Samuel of the "Blood of Thorns". The flesh mountain in front of him was very similar to the monster features of the "Body Destroyer" Samuel.

And around the "Body Destroyer" leader, there were many blood slaves and blood followers crawling in gray, black or red cloaks. In front of them were piles of scarlet flowing meat, which exuded a smell of corruption.

"...It seems that this is indeed a medium-sized stronghold of 'Blood of Thorns'."

Anthony whispered: "Including this stronghold, we have confirmed the locations of four 'Blood of Thorns' strongholds."

"Then, there is only one left." Luo Xiu added at the right time, "The locations of the four strongholds are confirmed, which should be enough to prove the authenticity of the map information..."

"Yeah."

Anthony nodded and said: "This is a randomly selected location. Even if the enemy wants to set a trap on the map, it is impossible to devote so much manpower..."

This caution is correct, Luo Xiu nodded. Although the captain did not know that the map was actually drawn by him, caution can always avoid mistakes in some life-and-death decisions.

"We have been able to confirm the authenticity of the information about this stronghold."

Anthony ordered: "Then, everyone retreat. We are now heading to the next and last 'Blood of Thorns' stronghold."

Following the shadows and darkness, the Holy Judges walked down the platform and slowly left the edge of the stronghold.

The pagans in this "Blood of Thorns" stronghold have not yet realized that the sword of Damocles is hanging over their heads. The death knell is about to ring for them.

...

Sina City, slums.

In the deep and dilapidated abandoned alleys, the air is filled with stench. The Holy Inquisitors walked in the middle of the gravel road and could see a starving corpse from time to time.

These corpses have already rotted, and countless mosquitoes and flies are hovering around them, which is the source of the stench. The surface of the corpses is also incomplete, and they have been eaten by maggots and scavengers.

However, these corpses are left on both sides of the road, and no one comes to deal with them. For the residents of the slums, they can tolerate and have even become accustomed to such an environment. But asking them to move, bury or burn the bodies of other poor people is quite meaningless to them.

"This is the 'Shadow of Sina City'..."

Anthony endured the stench, frowned deeply, and the expression on his face revealed his extreme disgust for this kind of place.

"This is the prosperity advocated by those [Supreme] people... All the things that hinder the appearance of "prosperity" are hidden by them, but this is just a false illusion after all."

Anthony sighed and said:

"But isn't this an outcome of the elimination of the inferior... The poor, most of them are born poor. The Law Office can give them a narrow piece of land, which is the greatest mercy. The Empire can hardly give them more, and they shouldn't ask for more."

"..."

Luo Xiu listened to Anthony's words. He seemed to be just expressing some things that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time in the current environment, so he didn't say much.

Luo Xiu knew that Anthony's thinking had considerable limitations. What Anthony obviously didn't know was that in the upcoming "Judgment War", these poor people would take over the weapons from the enemy and stand on the side of the hostility to the empire, becoming a huge hidden danger within the empire.

After Anthony finished speaking, he said nothing more. He just walked silently in the shadows, heading towards the target location silently.

...

When the Holy Judges came to the vicinity of the "Blood of Thorns" base that they were about to scout, Anthony was about to go to the scheduled observation point.

Luo Xiu's pupils suddenly shrank!

Through the perspective of "Mist Shadow", he actually saw a very terrifying person in the enemy's base at the same time!

In the vision of Mist Shadow, Luo Xiu glimpsed in advance that not only "Shadow of Killing" Setis, but also two "Five-fold Fate" extraordinary people existed!

The fear from the spiritual level made Luo Xiu tremble all over, and cold sweat had already emerged from his back.

This was Luo Xiu's unexpected development!

Luo Xiu knew one of the two "Five-fold Fate" extraordinary people.

——That was the strongest person of the "Original Sect" in Sina City, the "Ancestor Spirit Bishop"!

As for the other one, although Luo Xiu had never seen him, he could recognize his identity from his clothes.

——That was one of the reasons why the "Dark Principality" was so terrifying! Luo Xiu saw a real "Executioner"!

Only those who were above the "Fifth Fate" and stepped into the realm of "Saints" could become one of the "Executioners" of the Dark Principality. Under each executioner, there was a special secret force or army in charge, and their activities could often be seen in the many terrorist incidents in the light and dark.

There were many people who witnessed the "Executioner" with their own eyes. But there were very few people who could survive after witnessing them.

Therefore, the "Executioner" was notorious among all the forces in the Fanol Continent. Especially in the Nolan Empire, which was completely hostile to the Dark Principality, rumors and stories about the cruelty and tyranny of the "Executioner" were circulated almost everywhere.

It is for this reason that the existence of the "Executioners" reveals ominousness, weirdness and mystery everywhere.

The Nolan Empire has very little information about the "Executioners". In the eyes of the empire, these "Executioners" are like deadly hidden blades hidden in the thick black fog.

At this time, the distance between the "Fog Shadow" connected to Luo Xiu's field of vision and the "Shadow of Killing", "Ancestral Bishop" and the "Executioners" in the center of this stronghold is not close. Under Luo Xiu's instructions, the "Fog Shadow" maintains a distance as undetectable as possible.

Therefore, through the vision of the "Fog Shadow", Luo Xiu can only see their body outlines and general movements, but cannot know the real reason why they gathered here.

However, according to Luo Xiu's intuitive guess, they seem to be talking and plotting something.

"Shadow of Killing" Setis, he did not speak. In front of him, there is a small table half a person's height, and on the table is a scarlet magic crystal ball.

In the magic crystal ball, strange light was constantly flickering, and a human figure was faintly flowing from it. It was the projection of the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice".

In other words, this should actually be a conspiracy scene from three secret forces led by the Dark Principality - the Executioner!

Luo Xiu has already keenly realized that their plan should be related to the "Judgment War".

The "Original Sect" represents the power of the Holy Tower Church, while the "Blood of Thorns" represents the Dark Principality. The "Executioner" conveys the will of the Dark Principality to them at the same time.

The same conspiracy should have been carried out on different occasions by the "Oracle Envoy" sent by the "Holy Tower Church".

What they are conspiring may be of great importance. Luo Xiu is eager to know what they are conspiring.

If he misses this opportunity, Luo Xiu is worried that the development of the situation may be out of his control. For him, the more information about the enemy he can grasp at the moment, the better.

For Luo Xiu, he only knew that major events such as the "September Plague" and the "October Famine" were the fuse of the "Judgment War". But he didn't know what happened in this period of his previous life.

At that time, the players, as "adventers", had not really descended on this land. For Luo Xiu at this time, these real events were just background boards for the players.

...

Luo Xiu then looked at Captain Anthony in front of him.

Among the "Holy Judges" present, Anthony, as the "Sin-Purifying Priest", has the highest "Perception" attribute. According to Luo Xiu's estimation, it should be feasible to let Anthony serve as his "mouthpiece" and convey the contents of the enemy's plot to him from a specific eavesdropping position.

However, this requires Anthony to go to another location that is relatively close, hidden and safe. The number of people participating in this operation must be as small as possible, so as to reduce the risk of exposure as much as possible.

Luo Xiu quickly conceived several action plans and risk plans in his mind. After confirming that he had a safe escape route if he was exposed and the enemy attacked him, Luo Xiu finally made a secret decision.

At this time, Anthony was still unaware of these possible dangers.

Luo Xiu then quickly stepped forward, caught up with the captain, and grabbed Anthony's arm.

Anthony turned around in surprise, and saw a hint of nervousness on Luo Xiu's face.

"……team leader."

Luo Xiu whispered: "I feel... something isn't right."

He couldn't tell Anthony the truth directly, but it was relatively simple to stop Anthony's next move at this critical moment.

"..."

When Luo Xiu said this, the expression on Anthony's face immediately became serious.

This is the "intuition" from another triple destiny extraordinary person.

In Anthony's impression, Luo Xiu's intuition has always been very accurate.

The last time Luo Xiu felt "something was wrong", it was in Red Maple City, the hiding place provided by the Lord of Lodiv.

Later, the facts proved that Luo Xiu's intuition was quite correct. If Anthony insisted on going deep into the stronghold of the "Ancient Hermitage" at that time, the consequences would be disastrous.

Anthony's brows frowned tightly, his eyes suddenly became deep, and he asked Luo Xiu:

"What did you notice...?"

"Deeper, there are very powerful enemies." Luo Xiu whispered, "They are not just enemies with the third or fourth level of fate, they may have reached the fifth level, they are 'saints'..."

"Did you sense...?" Anthony looked confused, half asking, half muttering to himself, "Why didn't I sense anything..."

"...Captain, you know me."

Luo Xiu said in a low tone, "That was my 'holy beast' warning me. It told me that there are terrifying things deeper, but it is not aimed at us."

"The scary things are not aimed at us..."

Anthony was a little confused, but he soon felt relieved and did not inquire further.

"Since it is a warning from the 'Holy Beast', I should take your opinion seriously... So, Luo Xiu, what are you going to do?"

After hearing this, Luo Xiu pondered for a while and then said:

"This is quite an abnormal situation. My intuition tells me that if we continue to go deeper, the dangers we may encounter may be beyond our control..."

“However, our mission is still to ‘seeing is believing’.”

"If it's just reconnaissance, just detecting the enemy from a distance. Captain, just the two of us can do it."

At the same time, Luo Xiu glanced at Connor and Pamier.

Palmier understood quickly. She nodded and said:

"... Connor and I will evacuate first and bring back all the information we have obtained."

Pamier knew that the enemies they would face next, Luo Xiu and Anthony, might be far more powerful than he imagined.

Pamier, who has not yet been promoted to the third level of destiny, knows very well that if she insists on staying, she will only become a burden and even increase the risk of exposure.

Although Pamier feels a little unwilling, the gap in strength is right in front of him, and Pamier will not make reckless mistakes.

"...I will also obey the arrangement." Connor said.

"..."

Anthony pondered for a while, and finally nodded heavily.

"Then, Pamier, you and Connor will go back to the church first. Luo Xiu and I will do the rest of the reconnaissance..."

…

When watching Pamier and Connor leave, and their figures gradually disappearing into the darkness, Luo Xiu whispered to Anthony:

"Captain, wait a minute, I will apply the holy spells of 'Consecration Prayer' and 'Consecration Blessing' to you. Then, we will turn through two alleys and go to the other side of the 'Blood of Thorns' stronghold."

"There, we must restrain our spirituality as much as possible to avoid being discovered by them. Then, you open your 'spiritual vision', try to spy on what they are doing, and tell me what you see or hear."

"..."

Anthony pondered for a while, then nodded in agreement.

"Okay," Anthony said. They then stopped delaying and quickly followed Luo Xiu's plan and headed to another reconnaissance point.

While moving, "Mist Shadow" also maintained long-distance surveillance of the three figures in the stronghold. Their plot seemed to have reached a stalemate, a state of stagnation.

This is the best situation for Luo Xiu. When their conspiracy resumes smoothly, the result of the conspiracy is the most important information.

A few minutes later, Anthony and Luo Xiu arrived at another observation point.

Here is a ruins destroyed by fire. In the eyes of senior officials in Sina City, the buildings in the slums do not have the value of repair or reconstruction. Therefore, this ruin has been abandoned here.

This ruins has half-ruined houses, broken walls layer by layer, and a complicated but clear path behind it. This is the best location for reconnaissance or ambush.

The distance between here and the projection of the "Executor" from the Dark Principality, the "Ancestral Bishop" of the original sect, and the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice" of the Blood of Thorns is already very close.

There were many obstacles, and both Anthony and Luo Xiu had restrained their spirituality as much as possible. This made the "executors" and pagan leaders who were focused on plotting certain things not aware that the walls had ears.

Anthony then followed Luo Xiu's guidance and tried to gradually let go of his perception.

In Anthony's perception, he could only hear the sound of wind and rustling grass, but gradually he could hear the slight breathing of the enemy.

Anthony continued to try to diffuse his perception until he could hear the enemy's voice at the lowest level.

Finally, in Anthony's ears, a voice as subtle as the chirping of mosquitoes came.

It was an old and vague voice that sounded like it came from an old man.

"...Everyone, I think...we don't have..."

"...War...Revenge..."

"This is...the Dark Duke's..."

"...sacrifice...fabi...vessel..."

"Restart...'Twilight' ritual..."

The voice was choppy, and Anthony could only make out fragments of words.

But even the contents of the fragments made Anthony feel chills standing on end.

Unknowingly, the cold sweat had completely soaked the clothes on Anthony's back.