Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest

Songyuan City, Bank of El Dorado.

In the bank building, outside the door of "President" Qiao Dewen's room on the top floor, four waiters stood guard on two sides.

Because President Qiao Devin was having an "important conversation" with an "important guest," the waiters had already received an order from Vice President Gonzalo and would not allow anyone to pass through here for the time being, so as not to disturb President Qiao Devin and his guests. "guest".

And behind the waiters, inside the door they were guarding.

Mr. Qiao Dewen, the "President" of the "Golden Country Bank" in Songyuan City, no longer disguised himself as a waiter as usual, but put on formal clothes - it was a round-neck dress, with a large number of inlays on the skirt and cuffs. A brooch made of pure gold with gold thread, symbolizing the status of "President" of the Bank of El Dorado, is pinned on Qiao Devin's right chest. Under the illumination of the wall lamp, it is shining with a dazzling light.

His right hand was shaking a high-end glass wine glass, which was filled with a quarter of purple-red wine, exuding some kind of refreshing floral and fruity aroma.

On Qiao Devin's meticulously shaved face, his dark red eyes stared at the "guest" opposite -

It was a young lady.

She wore a black silk Gothic dress with exquisite lace on the neck and cuffs, and the pleated skirt was like a rose in the dark night; she had long silver-gray hair like a waterfall, covered by a black The ribbon was tied lightly behind her head, and a few stray strands of hair brushed her pale and delicate cheeks.

She wore a small-brimmed hat with a hanging sarong on her head, and a pair of smart pupils flashed under the sarong, emitting a fluorescent green light. She looked across the way with a smile, looking at the person from the "Bank of El Dorado" President Qiao Devin.

——That is Ms. Index Carlos, the president of the "Iris Chamber of Commerce".

"Iris Chamber of Commerce" is a new chamber of commerce that has just been established in Songyuan City. It was born out of the previous agreement signed by Luo Xiu, Gonzalo, and Qiao Dewen.

The affairs of the Iris Chamber of Commerce are mainly handled by Intis, who is stationed in Songyuan City and is in charge of the "Holy Abyss" affairs of Songyuan Territory. According to Luo Xiu's arrangements and instructions to her, she receives the funds shipped from the Bank of Gold on a monthly basis. With cash ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of imperial gold coins, a large part of which was used for the industrial expansion and operation of the Chamber of Commerce. With the endorsement and support of the Golden State Bank, it has basically established a firm foothold in Songyuan City.

But now, only a small part of what Intis and Qiao Devin are talking about is about the "Iris Chamber of Commerce".

"As you can see, Mr. Jodwin."

With a smile on his lips, Intis said to President Qiao Dewen in front of him:

"'The Crow of Despair' Asterais is dead."

"..."

"……well."

Qiao Devin let out a long sigh, his eyes a little lonely.

…

before.

Right in front of Qiao Devin, Ms. Index Carlos came to him with a member of the 'Mourning Mask' who was instigated to rebel, and she also brought him a copy of another one. Initial Mask's intelligence.

"Crow of Despair" Astrais, like Qiao Devin, is one of the original founders of "Mourning Song Mask", and he is an acquaintance of Qiao Devin.

But later - Qiao Devin withdrew from the "Museong Mask", but Astrais remained in it, and gradually took over a large part of the power in the "Museong Mask".

Asterais later defected to the Dark Principality and became one of the "executors". The "Mourning Mask" became the secret weapon of the Principality dormant within the empire.

In fact, among the "Mourning Masks", there are also other "original masks" - except for Asterais, some of the other initial masks who remained in the organization still stayed alone, while others joined " Holy Tower Theocracy", but these do not conflict with the purpose of "Mourning Mask" itself.

Instead, the "Mourning Mask" became the distribution center for communication between the Principality and the Theocracy.

But when facing the common and terrifying enemy of the "Nolan Empire", the two forces did not mind sharing the convenience brought by the "Mourning Mask" and using it as their common holding, A blade that can penetrate deeply into the heart of the empire.

That was when Intis brought "Dream Stealer" Piol to Qiao Devin to check the information.

From Qiao Devin's mouth, Intis has heard from Qiao Devin himself that the "Crow of Despair" Asterais has indeed looked for him——

At that time, Astles had become the "Executioner".

His purpose of finding Qiao Devin was also very clear - he sent an invitation to Qiao Devin, inviting Qiao Devin to return to the "Mourning Song Mask" and go to the principality with him to meet the "Dark Duke".

Asterais once wanted Jodevon to join the Principality and become an "Executioner", but Jodevon rejected him at the time.

It is said that Asterais was dissatisfied with Qiao Devin's rejection. After that, Songyuan City's "Golden State Bank" was targeted and attacked overtly and covertly. In order to settle these issues, Qiao Devin spent a lot of money.

But Qiao Dewen was very vague about the "cost" part, and Intis did not ask further questions.

All we know is that there is indeed some rift between Qiao Devin and "Crow of Despair" Astrais - and after the arrival of Intis, who represents the "Bishop" Luo Xiu of the Red Maple City Church, she also brought Qiao Devin information about Information about "Crow of Despair" Asterais escaping into the spiritual sea.

"Dream Thief" Pior had already received instructions from Luo Xiu and secretly approached Astras, so he could get the news of where he would flee to. What Intis asked Jodwin to do was just to use his connections in the "Funeral Mask" to confirm the authenticity of this matter.

For Jodwin, this was not difficult to do.

In front of Intis, "Delusion Mask" Jodwin walked to a white wall as new, reached out and touched a certain position, opened the sealed secret door, and pulled out a drawer as thin as a hand.

There lay a "joyful" mask and three crumpled paper balls quietly.

Taking out a paper ball and pressing it on the table to stretch it out, Jodwin then walked to a miniature "golden window" in his office and entered a short password into it.

After that, only two minutes later, the door of Qiao Dewen's office was knocked gently, and a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance, like a loader in a factory, walked in.

His eyes swept across Intis and the "dream stealer" Pior behind Intis, and walked straight to Qiao Dewen, and took the newly unfolded note from Qiao Dewen's hand, as well as the information about the escape of "Desperate Crow" Astralis given to him by Intis and Pior.

The "worker" then left, and only about five minutes later, he came back and walked straight to Qiao Dewen again, still keeping silent, just nodded silently.

After that, the "worker" left again and never came back.

"Dream Thief" Pior also left the room at Intis's signal. Qiao Dewen gave Intis a somewhat bitter smile and said:

"Please don't mind, he is just my informant."

"As a qualified businessman, 'connections' are always necessary. I have learned that the information about the escape of 'Crow of Despair' Astralis is true."

This is the process of confirming the information.

Afterwards, Qiao Dewen focused on the "Golden Window" - there was a picture of the mountains outside the Red Maple City.

Not long after, he saw the air on the mountains trembling and tearing apart, and "Crow of Despair" Astralis emerged from a huge crack.

That was indeed the place where Astralis would escape as pointed out by the information.

Then, a gray fog rolled, and Astralis was shrouded in it and disappeared.

Qiao Dewen didn't know what happened there - he only knew one thing. Astralis should have been attacked, but he didn't know who attacked him.

The gray fog that surged up was definitely not [Glory]. Although he knew that all this was arranged by the "Bishop", it still made Qiao Dewen feel a little frightened.

Behind the scenes - Qiao Dewen couldn't imagine how many saints who were not [Glory] were won over by the "Bishop" just like he won over himself.

And the sister of the "Bishop" - "Index Carlos" who was just opposite Qiao Dewen, she also revealed a faint dangerous aura, which made Qiao Dewen always feel daunted, but he couldn't see what the true fate of "Index" was.

However, Qiao Dewen was not prepared to dig deeper into these.

From assisting Luo Xiu in killing the [Supreme] Order Killer and killing the illegitimate son of Marquis Bakar, "Villino Bakar", he and the "Bishop" had long been tied to the same boat, with complete interests.

He looked at the constantly changing gray fog in the "Golden Window" and was shocked, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief in his heart.

Until the rolling gray fog gradually dissipated.

Qiao Dewen saw that Astralis, who had just emerged from the "Sea of ​​Spirituality" intact, was now a corpse - he was embedded in the cracks of the rock with blood and broken limbs.

After that, the picture in the "Golden Window" disappeared, and nothing was shown.

...

"As you can see, Mr. Qiao Dewen."

Qiao Dewen heard Ms. "Index Carlos" on the opposite side, she said with a smile:

"'Desperate Crow' Astralis is dead."

"On behalf of my brother, I thank you for your help and congratulate you - so far, the threat and influence of the 'Funeral Mask' on you have been reduced."

"..."

"...Alas."

Qiao Dewen sighed for a long time, and said in a lonely voice:

"'Funeral Mask' has fallen to this point...that was not our original pursuit."

"Now, Astralis is dead. Killing an 'Executioner' is a great loss to your brother, the 'Lord of Red Maple City'. For the church, it is a merit of punishing evil, but for me... I just feel a little sad. "

"You don't have to worry too much about this, Mr. Qiao Dewen."

Intis comforted her gently, and she continued:

"Then, about another thing-"

The smile on Intis's face faded, turned into a serious expression, and said in a clear voice:

"My brother hopes that the 'Golden Country Federation' can end its 'neutral' wait-and-see attitude and intervene in this war locally."

"You have also seen that there are countless termites like 'Desperate Crow' Astralis who are still dormant in the empire. Not only is the empire threatened by them, but the Golden Country's industries in the empire have also been destroyed and attacked by them again and again."

"This is not what we, nor you, want to see. You can also expect it - if you continue to let it go like this, you will only continue to be plundered and cannibalized by this group of silverfish, because you have enough resources for them to continue to fight against the empire. for the resources that are being consumed.”

"If you still remain silent and maintain a wait-and-see attitude of doing nothing - it is foreseeable that the empire's attitude towards you will become more negative. The people of [Supreme] have always waited and watched towards the Golden Kingdom Federation, and have always viewed the disaster of war If you are dissatisfied with China's behavior of grabbing greater interests, if this continues, the empire should impose sanctions on you. "

"So - my brother has given a plan. End your insistence on 'neutrality' and the church welcomes you to truly intervene in this war and become the empire, at least the Matsubara Territory, and the church's truly solid backing. It will only be good for you."

"..."

"I understand what you mean, Ms. Index."

Qiao Devin smiled bitterly, with a helpless expression on his face, and said:

"Even if we stand on the same front, the position of the 'El Dorado Federation' will not change as my will changes. I hope you understand my difficulties."

"As you know, the attitude of 'neutrality' has always been the basis of federal diplomacy. In other words, with only these bargaining chips, it is not enough, far from it."

"If I want to follow what you said, Ms. Index, if I hope that the Golden Kingdom Federation can give up its 'neutral' stance, partially intervene in the war, and form an offensive and defensive alliance with the Empire - something else is needed."

"I know that." Intis smiled and nodded, "Of course I understand."

"What the federation needs - or in other words, what the federation has to pay attention to is whether you can get more benefits from it, or whether your existing interests will be further infringed."

"For this reason, my brother specially asked me to share something with you."

As he spoke, Intis turned slightly and took out a sealed document bag stamped with the church's sun gold seal from the soft bag on the side.

She held the document lightly with both hands and handed it to Qiao Devin, and the bank manager in front of her stretched out his hand to take it.

When Qiao Devin got the document bag, he weighed it a little and felt that it was a bit heavy.

He looked at Index, and after Ms. Index nodded, he took the silver paper knife on the side and gently cut open the lacquer seal.

His hand immediately reached into the bag and pulled out a thick stack of yellowed pages.

Just after a quick glance, Qiao Devin's expression froze, and his fingers gripping the edge suddenly tightened.

[October 12, 767 Apocalypse Calendar, reported by the Holy Inquisition - 'Sina City' El Dorado Bank branch, Lucas Bell, Yanal Mendez, and Blair Graham identified it as' "The savage head" has been eliminated;]

【……】

[On November 15, 767 of the Apocalypse Calendar, the mission reported that the Red Maple City Church, in conjunction with the Side Courtyard and the Fangbei Courtyard, exterminated a total of 32 members of the 'Fire of Remodeling' cult, and recovered 4,600 money and materials. The remaining imperial gold coins and more than 238,700 gold national commercial securities have been confiscated;]

【……】

[On December 28, 767 in the Apocalypse Calendar, the secret center reported that at the east gate of Red Maple City, the ‘El Dorado-Dikas Caravan’ brought six members of the original sect and tried to sneak into the city. Among them, 2 were "priests" and 4 were "favorites". Six original sect members were killed on the spot by four throne knights patrolling the 'side court', three Golden Kingdom businessmen, and fourteen caravan guards. Already imprisoned at the same time. 】

【……】

[On December 29, 767 of the Apocalypse Calendar, the secret office reported that on this day, the interrogation of the imprisoned members of the ‘El Dorado-Dikas Caravan’ had begun. According to the confessions of the Golden Kingdom businessmen Snodia Dickas, Harkanan Dickas, and Phillo Dickas, they did not know the true identity of the members of the "Primitive Sect" and only expressed the following: "Those are the guests of the family. The elders of the clan requested that they must be escorted well.";]

【……】

This is all "evidence" that Luo Xiu has been collecting since he joined the Church of Sina City and became the Holy Inquisitor, about the fact that the Golden Kingdom has been deeply penetrated by the Theocracy and the Principality of Darkness.

Intis didn't know why her "Lord" was so obsessed with these things, and she was not curious. She just followed Luo Xiu's prior instructions and gave these things to Qiao Devin to see.

Just when Qiao Dewen, the "President" of the Bank of El Dorado, was carefully looking at the unprecedented information in his hand, word by word.

Intis is also observing the changes in the expression on his face——

Qiao Devin's face first showed an expression of shock and astonishment, and then it turned into panic and panic. Fine beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.

——He was scared.

The words on the pages in front of him seemed to have begun to flow in Qiao Devin's eyes, gradually squirming and transforming into something that Qiao Devin didn't recognize and didn't want to recognize.

Looking at the lines of text in his hand, Qiao Dewen also understood one thing——

The "Bank of El Dorado" has long been riddled with holes by the "Dark Principality" and the "Holy Tower Theocracy"!

It was as if there was a wolf lying next to the bed ready to gnaw at his own flesh and blood, but he didn't realize it... At this time, Qiao Devin only felt a wave of terror.

This work is compiled and uploaded by Liujiu Book Bar~~

The "Bishop" of Red Maple City, "Roseux Carlos" asked his sister "Index Carlos" to transfer this information to him, which Qiao Devin had no idea about before.

Even though he is the president of the "Golden Country Bank", he is also the elder of the "Florence Family" at the core of the Golden Country Federation. He has never fully known this through any means.

There were even a few things in it that were directly related to Chaudwin himself - he turned to a page in the document and it was directly written that one of his former 'waiters' was actually a cultist of the 'Museong Mask'!

That should be the later 'Mourning Mask', the eyeliner specially inserted next to him...

But some time ago, the waiter suddenly disappeared and never appeared again.

Qiao Devin originally thought that he just chose to leave without saying goodbye because he couldn't bear the job of a waiter... At that time, Qiao Devin just asked Vice President Gonzalo to publicly fire him according to the bank's prescribed procedures, and also gave him a salary He settled his wages during his employment and sent them back to his hometown.

But now I think about it - the money sent to him back to his hometown has become stolen money!

Qiao Devin only felt a chill, and his vision became increasingly blurry and dim.

Holding back the sudden discomfort, Qiao Devin still bit the bullet and read through the intelligence file in his hand page by page.

Then, he rolled up the stack of love newspapers, stuffed it back into the portfolio, and handed the portfolio back to Intis with both hands.

Intis took it, put the file bag back into her soft bag, and looked at Qiao Devin with a smile:

"Your face seems a little bad."

"……hehe."

Qiao Devin laughed twice. At this time, he really had no intention of joking.

"I think I already understand what your brother means..."

Qiao Devin's eyes rose, and he met the expectant gaze of Intis across from him, and said slowly:

"I know, the 'El Dorado' has been thoroughly penetrated...in every sense of the word."

"We are indeed profit-seeking businessmen."

"But the reason why we band together as a whole is not only to obtain greater benefits, but also to avoid a greater disaster - a 'disaster' that no individual can escape when it really comes."

"I am all of my 'personality', I am also a pillar of the 'family', and I am part of the 'federal' - no one can be alone. This is the foundation of our existence."

"But there are always people who want to be like moths and sell the harbor that can be sheltered from the wind in a very funny way and at a very ridiculous price, to people who may become our enemies."

"..."

"so what?"

Intis still maintained an indifferent smile on his face and asked President Qiao Dewen softly:

"I want to know, Mr. Jordan. What is your attitude?"

"..."

"Of course I hope that the Golden Kingdom can carry out a thorough 'purge' from top to bottom."

"This is very difficult, but there is value in doing it and there is a need to implement it."

"I understand, Mr. Jordan."

Intis nodded lightly.

"...In that case, Ms. Index."

This time, it was Qiao Devin who asked Intis:

"If - well, I do agree with you and your brother's ideas. The 'purge' within the Golden Kingdom should indeed start from changing the 'neutral' stance. But, you...or Mr. Luo Xiu, want to How to do it?”

"Just re-explain what you just saw to the other elders of your 'Florence Family'."

Intis said clearly and calmly:

"There is also the 'Manston Family'. With the influence of you and the Manston family, it will not be difficult to leverage the positions of other core families in the Federation."

"For this reason, my brother also specifically told me to tell you another thing——"

"My brother said this: 'In half a month, the Imperial Army from Red Maple City and several fortresses around Red Maple City will officially launch a counterattack against the principality.

Our target is [Fafnir City], and during the counterattack, we will conquer at least six fortresses and three important towns.

If the Golden Kingdom can send out troops to entangle the psyker army displayed by the Holy Tower Theocracy in the Songyuan Territory during our 'expedition', perhaps we can transfer some of it from the 'Judgment' expedition launched against the Dark Principality. interests. ’”

"My brother also said: 'If Mr. Jordan agrees with this and is consistent with our position, Index, I hope you will tell him——

Tell him not to worry about the name of getting involved in the war, it can be 'peacekeeping', it can be looking for 'lost businessmen', or it can be anything else. ’”

"This is what my brother wants to tell you."

Looking directly into Qiao Devin's wine-red eyes, Index paused and finally said:

"If you still have any concerns, you can tell us. You can trust me, trust my brother, and we can help you solve it."

"..."

"You said so..."

Qiao Devin sighed and said:

"Okay. I will tell this to the Florence family and the other elders of the Manston family as you said."

"I can probably convince them. But I can't guarantee whether I can convince the elders of other families in the future."

"That's enough, Mr. Jodevon."

Intis smiled, stood up from the velvet seat, lightly lifted the pleated skirt, and bowed deeply to Qiao Devin.

"Thank you again, Mr. Qiao Devin, for understanding and accepting our opinions and taking the time to talk to me for such a long time."

"Then - I'll leave the rest to you, Mr. Qiao Devin."

"If there is any progress, I hope you will contact me in time. I will be waiting for you at the Chamber of Commerce."

…

Red Maple City, the Holy See of the Bishop.

"'Golden State Bank', President Qiao Dewen has agreed. He is willing to try and try to get the Golden State to change its neutral position."

On the bed in the bishop's bedroom, Luo Xiu, who had been covered with a velvet quilt, heard such a somewhat illusory but clear sound in his ears.

His "familiar", Intis, has reported back to him the latest progress of the "negotiation" through the spiritual transmission of the "familiar crest".

Qiao Devin agreed, which was a good start——

Regardless of whether the higher-ups of the Golden Kingdom will be more likely to make "neutral" decisions because of this, the seeds have always been planted, and it will have some or beneficial influence on their own side.

Luo Xiu, who has memories of his past life, clearly knows that this is the first step to change.

In the previous life - when the Kuma Territory's "Bloody Declaration" had just been terminated by the empire, and the empire's heavy troops were about to be driven into the territory of the Dark Principality, ready to take advantage of this perfect opportunity to inflict heavy damage to the principality, the "Holy Tower Theocracy" Stabbing the Empire in the back, several psyker legions invaded the Empire's borders and occupied almost half of the territory of the four territories.

This is not the end, just the beginning——

The empire, which was surrounded by enemies from both sides, suddenly fell into a dilemma. The Dark Principality also began to recruit troops aggressively when the Theocracy was delaying the empire, and blocked the imperial army that counterattacked into the hinterland of the principality.

In this way, the empire only lost a large amount of frontier territory and lost millions of expedition warriors. Even though the overall strength was still the strongest in the Fanor continent, it was difficult to organize another expedition of the same scale as the previous one.

And when the Theocracy snatched a large piece of cake from the empire through "backstabbing", the Theocracy's peace envoy quickly came to the imperial capital, met with Emperor Augustville, and conveyed to him the "Pope's" message. will.

It is not known what the envoy said to Emperor Augustwell. All Luo Xiu could remember was that shortly after the envoy from the Theocracy left the imperial capital, the emperor issued a new decree-the [Lost], [Ku Tu] 】Established as the legitimate destiny of the empire.

After that, the Theocracy re-signed a peace agreement with the Empire, and the Theocracy returned the empire's territory occupied by the [Psyker Legion] - although nearly half of it was scorched earth, and more than half of the civilians died of some secret Sacrifice - but the Theocracy does not recognize these, and the Empire will no longer pursue them.

In fact, from a player's perspective, this is not a bad thing.

It was also at that time that Luo Xiu, who mainly worked within the empire, also practiced two alt accounts of [Lost] and [Ku Tu], and played with the Master and the Big Warrior for a while.

However, for Luo Xiu, who is now the "Bishop of Red Maple City" - maintaining the sole legitimacy of [Glory] has greater interests and benefits for him.

He also had no intention of surrendering the "faith" firmly held by the "Holy Court" in the empire to the Theocracy.

The intervention of the "Golden Country Federation" in this war is necessary and must be done sooner or later.

And now, President Qiao Dewen of the "Golden Country Bank" in Songyuan City has nodded in agreement.

All Luo Xiu had to do was to wait and keep waiting - waiting for new reactions from the Golden Kingdom before he could decide what to do next.

He has even planned that if the "El Dorado" ultimately vetoes changing its "neutral" stance, he will take more extreme measures to force them to agree.

——For example, let the "Holy Abyss" disguise itself as the "Executor", "The Head" and "The Black Fang" of the Dark Principality, and launch attacks on the banks, industries, caravans of the Golden Kingdom, etc. This is an effective way to quickly attract the attention of the Golden Kingdom, but it is not to the extent that it is necessary.

"..."

While thinking about this, Luo Xiu reached out to the bedside table and covered it with a lamp that emitted bright yellow light.

At the same time, he let go of these complicated thoughts in his mind, allowing his thoughts to return to a state as clear and clear as when he was meditating. Then, some drowsiness emerged from his mind.

He was indeed tired again - he had been through so much in one day.

Luo Xiu then slipped into bed, finally opened the panel, looked at what the players who were still online were doing in the [Player Forum] and [Chat Channel], and closed the panel.

He originally just wanted to take a nap, but he couldn't stand it anymore.

If the priests need him for something later, they should... wake him up...

…

After that, Luo Xiu's consciousness gradually became one with his quilt, his pillow, and his bed.

Just before the morning sun was about to shine through the cracks in the window, a few rays of warm light came in.

He finally fell asleep and sailed towards the distant dreamland.

…