Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 717: Dark Lord Turmoil II
09:10AM.
Huigang Town, Old Town (North East)

The old town is about seven kilometers away from the port area (north). In this ancient area eroded by time, the old town of Gray Harbor Town is immersed in fog.

Ruins and dilapidated buildings stood all around like rotten skeletons.

Many of the houses here have long been swallowed by the fog, with mottled brick walls and broken tiles.

The air was filled with a damp, musty, and barely perceptible smell of corruption.

Gray Harbor Cathedral, a lonely giant among the ruins, stands proudly in the heart of the old city, witnessing hundreds of years of historical changes here.

The cathedral is the oldest building in the town, covering a vast area of ​​about one square kilometer and occupying the core of the entire old town.

The towering spires pierce the mist, and the remaining carvings and reliefs tell of its once glorious past.

On the stone walls of the church, you can still see the remains of ancient runes and sacred totems, but now they have long lost their former sacredness.

Once upon a time, the Grey Harbor Cathedral was an important relic of the secularization process of the Kingdom of Heaven and a symbol of the name of Yahweh.

Although the cathedral is no longer honored by heaven and only a handful of believers come here to pray, the priests here still pass on the teachings of Yahweh and guard this ancient and dilapidated land.

Ellis Gray, the only priest in the cathedral, is as old and tough as the cathedral itself.

He is tall, and although the years have left heavy marks on his shoulders, he still stands in the center of the church. He is the only remaining guardian in the ruins.

The interweaving of gray and white hair was like an ancient flag, marking the long years he had spent on this land.

Father Gray was once a member of the famous [Knights of St. James Pere] in Heaven, belonging to the Thirteen Heroes of Heaven.

His background was not ordinary. He was a "good family boy" when he was young, and served in the famous [Hospital Knights of Rhode Island] for three years. Due to his outstanding performance, he was promoted to a knight under the Ninth Hero.

During his knightly career, he not only underwent nineteen transformation operations to become a regular knight, but also experienced countless battles.

until...

A fatal injury completely changed his fate.

That was a battle in which the Kingdom of Heaven sent the Knights to the southern pole of Terra to suppress the Chaos Rift. That war summoned a projection of a great demon wearing a Chaos Crown and countless Chaos armies.

Father Grey participated in the battle with the Ninth Hero. During the battle, he had a head-on confrontation with the Chaos Warriors of the Third Order of Chaos. His abdomen was pierced by a sharp blade, and his nineteen modified organs were irreversibly contaminated.

Although his body was in unbearable pain, he still fought hard against the demons. He almost died among the demons. Fortunately, the ninth hero, Saint Jacob, rushed into the demons and rescued him from the brink of death.

However, after that battle, Gray's body suffered irreversible trauma. The once tall and mighty knight, who was over two meters tall, was now forced to undergo [Angel Degeneration] due to organ failure and removal. He became much thinner and no longer had the heroic spirit of the past.

Although he is now taller than ordinary people, he can no longer dominate the battlefield like he did in the past.

The atmosphere in Gray Harbor Cathedral today is particularly unusual.

Father Gray stood in front of the seating area made up of benches, his hands clasped together and a look of deep guilt on his face.

He lowered his eyes, not daring to look directly at the young man in front of him, who was the honorable man he had to face today - the fourth sword-bearer of heaven, Hugh Abraham, also a [Thronus/Throne Angel].

At this time of year, Father Gray would usually be wiping the prayer altar - the device that once connected to the church's think tank - or performing routine maintenance work in places such as the chapel, baptismal font and sacristy.

However, today he did not carry out these ritualized daily tasks, and seemed to have deeper worries and pressures in his heart.

At this moment, he stood respectfully in this ancient church, feeling ashamed.

In front of his sight sat a young man who looked like he had walked out of a myth.

The golden hair reflected a dazzling light under the soft light in the church, and the sun's rays were concentrated in his hair.

He was wearing a black suit that was well-cut, elegant and solemn.

He was holding a list in silence, his eyes scanning the information on it. Next to him was a blue virtual projection screen floating, displaying various data. Detailed information scrolled on the screen, as if conveying a sense of urgency.

There was a silver cane on the table, and next to the cane was a neatly placed black top hat.

The atmosphere in the church was heavy and depressing, with only a slight "buzzing" sound from the scrolling data on the virtual projection screen.

Father Gray bowed his head deeply again and saluted this noble figure from heaven, his tone full of guilt and awe:
"Dear Thoronus (Angel), Mr. Abraham... I am very sorry that I was unable to provide you with any useful information.

I feel very sorry about the missing Administration officers, they were all good kids.

Some time ago, they replenished explosive bombs and potions in the holy storage room, but they didn’t expect…”

Father Gray's voice gradually became lower. The disappearance of those operators was not only a blow to the church, but also a personal guilt.

As one of the products of the second secularization of the Kingdom of Heaven, the first thing the Honkai Administration has to do is to take over the various church legacies left over from the failure of the first secularization. After all, some churches and sanctuaries still serve as armament replenishment sites, shelters, emergency facilities, and bases for angels in the world...

In fact, some old forces and elderly people are still accustomed to calling the Kingdom of Heaven "the Holy Church." They all maintain a strange insensitivity to the sacred separation between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Church—they are separated, but not completely separated.

At this moment, Xia Xiu slowly folded up the list in his hand, his expression still gentle. A kind smile appeared on his lips, making people feel like spring breeze, but his golden eyes flashed with a cold light.

This smile formed a sharp contrast with his eyes, making it difficult to fathom his true inner feelings.

He picked up his black hat, stood up, saluted Father Grey, and said in a low and calm voice:
"You don't have to feel guilty."

Xia Xiu continued, his golden eyes scanning the church's solemn ceiling and the ancient murals on the surrounding walls.

"The various branch bases of the Administration originally inherited the various legacies and functions of the Church."

Father Gray still maintained his respectful posture, with his hands folded over his chest and his eyes downcast.

Xia Xiu's eyes slowly swept through the church, recalling the glory of the church in the past with a sigh:
"In the past, the Kingdom of Heaven was too ritualistic about the sacred functions assigned to the Church - baptisms, communions, weddings, funerals, sermons, utopian exegesis, human supremacist reinforcement, spiritual counseling, healing and blessing, holy wars, prophecy, cleansing chaos..."

"All of the above have led to redundant functions of the church,"

There was no emotion in the voice of the fourth sword-wielder of Heaven, but it revealed a power that could not be ignored.

"Redundant ritual functions, ultimately - to forge the authority of the pope and shape the cult of saints."

"The entanglement of church authority with secular power, the sale of holy offices, the abuse of indulgences... these phenomena gradually eroded the foundations of the church."

"The secularization and politicization of the church, the dogmatism of church doctrine, the extravagant life of the clergy, the abuse of doctrine, the commercialization of the believers' faith, and the corruption of the Four Monarchs all led the church to its first secular failure."

His voice was like a slow and sharp knife, cutting through every inch of the truth.

"The Kingdom of Heaven should bear a large part of the responsibility for the church's loss of control."

Xia Xiu placed his hat firmly on his head. His golden eyes once again stared at Father Gray. His voice was still gentle, but with a certain unquestionable authority:
"Secularization must ultimately be carried out under the leadership of heaven and under the guidance of angels." His voice was gentle but firm, and his words revealed an irrefutable power.

“We must adhere to the utopian program proposed by heaven and must insist on being under the leadership of angels.”

Xia Xiu paused for a moment, narrowed his golden eyes slightly, and swept his gaze across the dome of the church, as if through this ruined building, he saw the wave of secularization that was about to come in the future.

He looked at Father Gray again, his tone still as gentle as a spring breeze, but it contained great coldness:
“I came here only to spread the great process of the second secularization of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

His voice was still gentle, but the content of his words hit the silent air of the church like a hammer.

Xia Xiu still had a smile on his face, and his tone was like a spring breeze, gentle and without a trace of ripples, but the coldness behind the smile was everywhere.

He lowered his eyes and smiled slightly, the gentleness in his tone made it almost feel like there was no threat, but then his words were like a sharp blade, mercilessly cutting through the silent air.

"But I didn't expect that as soon as I arrived, someone responded to my arrival - an entire team of Administration officers who were supposed to assist the church disappeared."

"Not long after I arrived, you collected the predictions of my coming from the people of the Hundred Worlds."

Xia Xiu smiled gently, his tone still calm, but with a hint of sarcasm.

"But I just don't understand..."

"They predicted my coming, why are they still touching my bottom line?"

He raised his eyebrows slightly, his tone cold with teasing and sarcasm.

"Why, do they want to fulfill their own prophecy?"

"You want to use the blood of the Gray Harbor Town Administration staff to test whether the Dark Lord is me?"

Father Gray stood there, feeling cold sweat slowly seeping down his back, and the temperature in the church suddenly dropped.

Although Xia Xiu's tone was gentle, and even had a disarming smile, the chill and vague threat in it cut through the air like a knife.

The power behind that smile made Father Gray feel an irresistible sense of oppression, as if a huge invisible hand was grasping his throat, making it difficult to breathe.

Even though he knew that this pressure was not directed at him directly, he still felt his hair stand on end and all the nerves in his body were tense, making it difficult for him to relax.

Xia Xiu seemed to notice Father Gray's reaction, and he restrained his breath slightly.

The invisible sense of oppression receded like the tide, and the air in the church began to flow again.

Then, he slowly raised his golden eyes and glanced gently out of the floor-to-ceiling window of the church. His sight penetrated the fog of the port area and crossed a distance of several kilometers.

As a [Crown], Xia Xiu's spirituality and information perception were extremely sharp. He instantly captured certain information fluctuations about himself seven kilometers away.

He slightly released the [Crown Computing Ability] in his body, and with just a quick glance, he easily detected Camille and the Emerald Watcher beside her.

At that moment, his spirituality penetrated the space like a sharp blade and enveloped several people in the distance.

Under his nonchalant gaze, Camille and the Emerald Watchers felt an inexplicable chill for no reason, as if they were being stared at by some indescribable existence.

Although Xia Xiu only paid attention for a moment, the feeling of being watched was like a heavy shadow hanging over their hearts, causing their bodies to stiffen involuntarily, as if they were trapped in a net from which they could not escape.

Fortunately, Xia Xiu quickly withdrew his gaze, as if nothing had happened.

His expression remained calm, but he raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.

It was a surprise to run into someone you knew.

However, he was not too interested in reminiscing about the past, after all, there were more important things to deal with now.

However, after a brief pause, his gaze slightly paid attention to the existence of the Emerald Watcher.

This organization belongs to one of the robe factions in the Hundred Layer World, and perhaps it is one of the clues for him to obtain the key to enter the Hundred Layer World in the near future.

Xia Xiu chuckled and thought to himself: "According to the current panic state of the wizarding world, it is best to keep a low profile."

Now, the wizarding world of the Hundred Layer World is in a state of panic, and any disturbance may trigger an unpredictable chain reaction.

Enter the world of a hundred layers by yourself, and finally do it without anyone noticing, so that the other party can feel a greater surprise.

Moreover, if the disappearance of his operators was really related to the wizards of the Hundred Layers World, then he wouldn't mind helping the Hundred Layers World fulfill their prophecy about the Dark Lord.

His thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, and then he turned his gaze back to Father Gray and asked:

"What was the reason for my people to be dispatched last time?"

Father Gray came back to his senses, and still felt the cold sweat on his back. The tension in his heart made him dare not be negligent in the slightest.

He took a deep breath and responded in a low voice:

“It is a purification journey defined as expelling a horrible evil spirit, a disaster said to have been caused by a purple-robed wizard.

The Purple Wizard specializes in prophecy and destiny manipulation... an ability that is inherently dangerous."

There was a hint of hesitation in his tone as he recalled the situation.

Father Grey paused and continued:

“Once wizards have the power to predict the future or control fate, they often become corrupted by their desire for absolute control over the future.

In seeking to gain greater personal gain or control by altering prophecies or manipulating fate, they often forget their own limitations.”

He spoke with a deep sense of vigilance and worry.

The actions of these purple-robed wizards have long served as a terrible lesson.

"The distortion and foresight of fate often leads them to believe that they are superior to other wizards and even above the laws of nature."

Father Gray's voice grew deeper, with a hint of disgust and worry.

His eyes flickered with memories.

"In the past, the Inquisition was responsible for arresting these out-of-control robed wizards. They all hoped to transcend human existence and achieve a state of divinity or eternity through the pursuit of extraordinary power and mysterious knowledge..."

He sighed, his tone revealing helplessness and sadness:
"But mostly, they're just—crazy."

Harry Potter is back in theaters... guh! I'll find time to watch it in the cinema guh~. When I was a kid, I didn't have money guh~, and I didn't have time guh. Now I have a chance to make up for the regret of not watching Harry Potter in the cinema when I was a kid, guh guh guh.