Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest

After completing the "mad piety" transformation of Asves, Luo Xiu and his "Apostles" of the Holy Abyss withdrew from the base before "Knight of the Throne" Frosa broke through the illusion.

After all, the main purpose of this operation has been achieved. "Death Priest" Asves has been transformed into a "mad believer", so there is little point in delaying.

After leaving the base, Luo Xiu, Intis, Buzer and the Undertaker went to another hidden alley in Rust Street, activated the key of "Lost Royal Court", and teleported back to the Lost Royal Court together.

The moment "Knight of the Throne" Frosa appeared, Luo Xiu was ready for all exits of Rust Street to be blocked by the side court. They will then go deep into Rust Street for a carpet search, and in this situation, teleporting back to the Lost Royal Court for temporary shelter is the safest option.

This time will not last too long. Luo Xiu estimated that it would take about half a day. After half a day, he would come out of the Lost Royal Court and return to the church in his true body.

…

In the hall of the Lost Royal Court of Isol.

At this time, Luo Xiu was sitting on the throne, looking down at his apostles.

Intis, Buzel and the Undertaker were crawling on both sides of the hall, waiting for Luo Xiu to comment on the action they participated in.

"Well done, Intis, Buzel, and the Undertaker."

Luo Xiu nodded and praised in an approving tone: "You successfully resisted those undead spirits and didn't let them hinder me. You did a good job."

"I will give the meritorious people the rewards they deserve, and you can be grateful."

As he said that, Luo Xiu took out the divine object "Spiritual Spring" from his storage bracelet.

Recently, Luo Xiu, who did not have much experience value demand for the time being, continued to feed a lot of experience to the Spiritual Spring.

The experience value stored in the spring pool has reached 60,000 points at this time, and the resonance level between the "Spiritual Spring" and Luo Xiu himself has also reached level II.

[Divine Item: Spiritual Spring]

[Current Experience Value Storage: 62382/5000000]

[Current Resonance Level: Level II]

[Level II Resonance Level: When taking out the stored experience value, the effective conversion is 60%]

[Has reached the level II resonance level, "Spiritual Spring" can condense natural spirituality]

[Condensing Natural Spirituality Efficiency: 7/min]

[……]

The Spiritual Spring of Level II resonance increases the effective experience conversion rate by 10%, and also unlocks the effect of "condensing natural spirituality", which means that the "Spiritual Spring" can generate experience points by itself, and the growth rate of 7 experience points per minute can accumulate more than 10,000 experience points per day.

After Luo Xiu took out the "Spiritual Spring", he held the handle of the cup and shook it gently, and the azure liquid in the cup swayed with layers of luster, emitting mottled fluorescence like the starry sky.

Then, Luo Xiu put his finger into the cup, dipped the liquid and flicked it towards the three people in front of the hall.

The azure liquid carrying spirituality then turned into three silk-like spiritualities, floating towards the three people. Intis, who had received the same "reward", was no longer afraid at this time, but waited calmly for the spiritual silk to touch her body.

Soon, the three spiritualities "hit" their respective targets. Intis, Buzer and the Undertaker felt at the same time that the comfortable, immaterial and surging spirituality flowed into their bodies in an instant, merged into their spirituality, and became part of their strength.

The number of "experience points" Luo Xiu gave them was just enough for them to level up. Therefore, they could quickly feel the increase in strength, and showed strong excitement for the "reward" they received.

"Thank you for your gift, Lord."

Intis, Buzzer and the Undertaker then prostrated themselves before Luo Xiu and thanked him:

"Thank you for the power you have given us. We swear to follow you forever and become the sharp blade that carries out your will."

...

Half a day passed.

Luo Xiu and Intis were then teleported back to the real world from the Lost Royal Court, while Buzzer and the Undertaker remained in the Royal Court, supervising the construction of the Royal Court that had not yet been completed.

The first thing Luo Xiu did after returning to the real world was to recall the "Mist Shadows" that the "Shadow Raven" Wu Ye had inserted nearby.

Although the outside world and the atmosphere could not be sensed in the Lost Royal Court, using the "Mist Shadows" created by Wu Ye as the "medium" connecting the two places could largely avoid such problems.

According to the vision sharing of the "Mist Shadow" set up by Luo Xiu in advance, the Royal Guards of the Border Court had just searched this street an hour ago.

The Rusty Street where they were at this time had just been thoroughly searched by the Royal Guards. They didn't find any suspicious people, so they took advantage of the situation and seized another small base of a pagan organization, and returned to the border court to report to the "Grand Inquisitor".

The blockade of the Royal Guards was lifted, so Luo Xiu and Intis were able to leave Rust Street safely, and they didn't meet any Royal Guards on the way.

When they returned to the main street of Red Maple City, Luo Xiu gave Intis another task, and Intis then left Red Maple City and went to Songyuan Main City; while Luo Xiu went directly from the small road to the church and returned to his high priest's residence silently.

After returning, he removed the "real phantom" that the "Shadow Raven" had reproduced in his appearance. During this half day, his "phantom" handled some affairs on his behalf, and no clergyman noticed anything.

...

The next day, the messenger from the "Border Court" suddenly came to the church and claimed to the guiding clergy that he wanted to meet the "chief priest" Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu met the "messenger" and learned from him some follow-up news about the "death priest" Asvis incident.

"Grand Inquisitor" Baines received feedback from "throne knight" Frosa shortly afterwards. According to the messenger, the second leader of their Border Court, "Frosa", carried out a mission to clear the pagan strongholds in Rust Street the day before. And from this clearing mission, he obtained information about the distribution of all the strongholds of the "secret prayer of death" in Hongfeng City.

The messenger sent by Baines came to share this information with the church. But they still concealed the location of several strongholds, and one of them was the hiding place of "death priest" Asvis after the transfer.

It seems that the "Border Court" still chose to continue to protect Asvis... Luo Xiu thought. Having transformed Asves into a "crazy believer", he naturally also obtained the distribution locations of all the "Death Secret Prayers" strongholds, and even more comprehensive information than the Border Court, but there was no need to let the Border Court's "envoys" know these things.

"It's just that the "clearing" mission we carried out was not completed perfectly."

The envoy continued to tell Luo Xiu this, saying that an unknown [Lost] fourth or fifth level fate pagan appeared at the scene, and that unknown pagan was practicing the way of "death", and he even contracted with the "god"... The envoy said that the "Great Inquisitor" Baines from the Border Court shared this matter with the church out of goodwill, hoping that the church would pay more attention and precautions.

But when Luo Xiu heard this, he felt inexplicably happy in his heart.

A [Lost] pagan who practiced the way of "death"? He also contracted with the "god"... Luo Xiu knew as soon as he heard it that the so-called "unknown pagan" was himself.

At that time, Amber, the "illusion guardian", successfully analyzed the death curse released by Asvis with the "illusion dissociation", and the power he possessed was temporarily transformed into death, which caused Frosa's misunderstanding...

Luo Xiu thought that the reason why he did not take action personally was that he wanted to hide his identity and avoid direct contact with Frosa as much as possible. Now it seems that Frosa's misunderstanding is a good thing, so there is no need for Luo Xiu to hide anything.

Afterwards, the envoy also implicitly expressed to Luo Xiu that their "Bianting" had recently conducted an internal investigation. It is said that it was proposed by Frosa to Baines that every supreme being of "Bianting" must verify loyalty in order to eliminate internal concerns before the war really comes.

Although it is not known why Bianting chose to catch the inner ghost at this time...but "Bianting" did not seem to catch any suspicious termites from this self-examination. This is equivalent to finally confirming the loyalty of their own members. Except for making some people in "Bianting" panic for a while, it did not cause any loss to them.

After sharing this with Luo Xiu, the envoy of "Bianting" prepared to say goodbye and leave. He also had to report the same information to the Fangbeiyuan of "Tower of Sages" in Hongfeng City, so the schedule was quite tight.

The guiding clergy then sent the envoy out of the church, and Luo Xiu lived in the church residence for a period of time, handling church affairs while waiting for Intis to complete an important "diplomatic" task.

...

Half a month later.

Hongfeng City Church, church inner courtyard, Holy Office Hall.

In the morning, Luo Xiu had just finished his work, and the spiritual conduction of the "Family Emblem" conveyed a warm breath to him.

Luo Xiu, who had noticed something, left the "Bishops' Room" and the Holy Office Hall, and went straight back to his high priest residence and opened a golden barrier.

He then went up to the second floor of his residence and returned to his bedroom, and sure enough, he saw a white two-tailed cat, lying lazily on the windowsill.

Intis is back. She has completed the task that Luo Xiu had assigned her before. She sneaked back to the church and reported the completion to the "Lord" Luo Xiu in person.

"Intis..." Luo Xiu sighed and said, "I should have said, don't come in casually."

"... Forget it."

"What was the result of your trip to Songyuan City this time?"

"..."

Luo Xiu's eyes were immediately filled with green mist, and the white double-tailed cat jumped off the ground lightly and transformed into a graceful human form.

At this time, Intis was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and the gauze on the edge just covered half of Intis's face; she was also wearing an elegant and exquisite pleated dress, revealing a light and noble temperament.

This was exactly the style of dress that Intis wore most often when she and Luo Xiu went to Songyuan City. And the task that Luo Xiu asked Intis to go to Songyuan City to perform before was to go to the "Gold Country Bank" and deal with the follow-up matters of the "Gambling Agreement"!

It was the end of October, and the "Gambling Agreement" signed by Luo Xiu and Gonzalo Manston, the vice president of the "Gold Country Bank" in Songyuan City, had now reached its final deadline.

——At that time, he borrowed 2.3 million commercial bonds from the bank, and the collateral for the loan was the three assets he had invested in at the beginning. Only if the total amount of these assets doubled within a month, Luo Xiu would be considered to have "won the bet" and continue to be a distinguished customer of the bank.

Whether he would become rich overnight or lose money overnight, it all depended on the result of Intis's trip to Songyuan City this time... Although Luo Xiu, who had the memory of his previous life, was very confident about this bet, he was also worried about what might happen.

Intis now came back with the results, so Luo Xiu immediately returned to his residence to see her, waiting for her report.

After Luo Xiu asked Intis, Intis got down on one knee, nodded and replied:

"——We won the bet, Lord."

"..."

"……call."

When he heard Intis give a positive result, Luo Xiu let out a long sigh of relief.

By this time, the impact of the "October Famine" had become increasingly severe. According to Luo Xiu's estimation of the situation, the current total value of his assets should have met the gambling conditions stipulated in the terms of the agreement.

Intis's words confirmed these estimates. Luo Xiu then listened to Intis and continued: "Your three investments in the Bank of Golden Kingdom have total assets of 5.12 million commercial securities. They have increased by two times compared to when you signed the "Gambling Agreement". More than twice as much, this has satisfied the terms and conditions of the Gambling Agreement.”

"According to the agreement, Vice President Gonzalo has carried out the subsequent operations. Half of your three investment assets have been returned to the 'El Dorado Bank', and the other half remains in your name. Vice President Gonzalo He has used his authority to waive all interest on this loan for you.”

"The vice president's original words were as follows: 'The bank has obtained sufficient benefits through this "Betting Agreement." As for the profits generated by it, it is completely incomparable to the benefits we have obtained.' Now, the remaining half of the investment assets, with a total value of 2.56 million commercial securities, are now normal investment assets and are no longer used as collateral for any loans.”

"Very good." Luo Xiu nodded, "I understand."

This is really good news before the "trial war" officially begins.

Luo Xiu's savings were almost exhausted, and he had to rely on the church's stipend to survive. The news brought back by Intis made Luo Xiu's funds abundant again, allowing him to consider doing more things.

After Intis finished reporting what she had said before, she also took out a large and exquisite money box from her bracelet.

She handed the cash box to her Lord and said:

"According to your previous instructions, I withdrew ten percent of your total assets."

"Twenty-five thousand commercial coupons, equivalent to two hundred and fifty platinum coins, are all here. Please accept them."

After Luo Xiu took over the heavy money box, Intis finally said:

"Also, one last thing."

"The Vice-President of the Bank of El Dorado, Mr. Gonzalo Manston."

"He said he looked forward to cooperating with you next time and entrusted me to say hello to you on his behalf."

"I understand." Luo Xiu nodded and said with a smile:

"I'll consider it."

…

In the two months after the "Betting Agreement" was confirmed, Luo Xiu stayed in Red Maple City, developing the "Church" openly while secretly expanding the scale of his "Holy Abyss".

At the same time, he launched "just sanctions" against the pagan strongholds in Red Maple City at least once a week to maintain the prestige of himself and the church in Red Maple City.

Outside Red Maple City, in the wider Nolan Empire, the chaos of the war gradually surfaced.

In early November 767 of the Apocalypse Calendar, a shocking and major assassination occurred in the imperial capital. Dozens of Imperial Court officials were assassinated overnight, and the murderer even left a black knife at the scene and wrote twisted words of "revenge" in the blood of the deceased.

——This incident later became known as the "Black Knife Revenge" incident.

In late November 767 of the Apocalypse Calendar, a riot broke out in the "Kuma Territory" located on the border of the empire and adjacent to the Songyuan Territory. As the origin of the outbreak of the "September Plague" and the hardest-hit area by the "October Famine", the lords united with the "executors" who infiltrated the local area to overthrow the lord's rule, and officially declared independence. Claiming to use "bloody" means to avenge the empire and claim back the lives of those who have died.

——This incident later became known as the "Bloody Declaration" independence movement.

The next month, in mid-December 767 of the Apocalypse Calendar, a terrorist sacrifice took place in the important mining city "Rolling Stone City" located in the Imperial Territory. Half of the citizens exploded and died overnight, and their souls were captured by an unknown group of saints, and they disappeared after that.

The entire city fell into a huge panic for a while, and the imperial transcendents who were busy responding to various emergencies had no time to spare their sixth or seventh level of life and above to investigate the matter. This horrific sacrifice also became an important point of disagreement between the people of the empire and the imperial family, activating the contradiction between the empire's rulers and the ruled classes. A large number of civilians moved their families from the Imperial Territory to the Theocracy and the Golden Kingdom.

——This incident later became known as the "Rolling Stone City Sacrifice" tragedy.

In addition, there were more human tragedies that broke out in the empire in just two months. This made the empire's situation become more and more dangerous, and the imperial family's rule became more and more shaky.

And at the end of December, that is, the intersection between 767 and 768 years of the Apocalypse Calendar.

In the capital of the Nolan Empire, a duke, three marquises, and a dozen earls were "robbed of their hearts and souls" overnight, and they were wailing all day long.

Two days later, they were found dead suddenly in their own residence, in miserable conditions.

The "Great Sage" of the Empire's Sage Tower examined the cause of death for these imperial descendants and finally confirmed that it was the "Easy of Peace" of the Seventh Fate of [Nothingness], which belonged to the Dark Principality. This completely intensified the contradiction between the Empire and the Dark Principality and became the fuse for the outbreak of war.

Just when the Empire was ready to declare war and began to fully mobilize the army and prepare to march to the border.

The cavalry of the Dark Principality took the lead in invading the territory of the Empire.

——The "War of Revenge" against the Empire and the "War of Judgment" against the Principality, the horn of war has truly sounded.

…