Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest

Luo Xiu smoothed out his clothes and walked into the Holy Inquisition.

When the Holy Inquisitors on duty saw the "bishop" of the church arriving, they all bowed to him and performed the sacraments, while Luo Xiu nodded in response to them.

Entering the Holy Inquisition, Luo Xiu saw that the "priest" of the Holy Inquisition, the "Patriarch of Purification" Howard, was already waiting in the outer court.

He is making a final check with the church's Holy Inquisitors on the list of clergymen who were seriously injured or killed in the previous guard battle.

When he heard footsteps coming from the direction outside the door, Howard turned his head and saw the figure of Luo Xiu, the "bishop" of the church.

He and the other Holy Inquisitors immediately stopped what they were doing, bowed slightly to "Bishop" Luo Xiu, and performed the sacrament——

"Greetings, Bishop."

Howard first greeted "Bishop" Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu raised his arm slightly and waved, indicating that they did not need to perform complicated etiquette. A calm and solemn expression appeared on his face, and then he said to Howard:

"I've heard Column say so."

"You have compiled lists of martyrs in previous wars - tell me your final results."

"..."

"I report to you, Bishop."

A sad look appeared on Howard's face, and he said in a low voice:

"We—a total of sixty-three comrades lost their lives and truly followed the Great Sun."

"..."

Sixty-three priests...

This number was somewhat beyond Luo Xiu's expectations.

His expression became more solemn.

Since the establishment of the "Red Maple City Church" - this is the largest number of clergymen killed in battle.

However, the joint attack by the three "executors" of the Dark Army was the biggest crisis that Red Maple City has ever encountered, even when Luo Xiu and Albert stabilized the battle situation - the sacrifice of the church Still not optimistic.

As for the situation of the other two major destinations - "Bianting" and "Fangbeiyuan", the situation will not be much better...

"Four 'Holy Judges' and thirty-two 'Holy Judges' died on the battlefield, and the comrades who went to the front and originally belonged to the 'Preaching Place' and the 'Secret Place' also Two 'deacons' and twenty-five priests died unfortunately."

"In addition to this, the number of injured comrades is twice as many as the number of sacrifices - nearly half of the comrades in the Holy Inquisition have suffered minor or serious injuries, but fortunately - at least most of them The lives of my colleagues are not in danger.”

After saying these and the heaviest report, Howard raised his head and glanced at his "bishop".

The composure and solemnity on Luo Xiu's face deepened. His eyes met Howard for an instant, and he spoke at the same time, saying to Howard:

"Keep talking, Howard."

"…Okay, Bishop."

Howard then went on to say:

"After that, I will report to you - about the matter we just agreed on, the payment of pensions to the sacrificed and injured comrades."

"For colleagues who have lost their lives for the holy cause - for those who hold the priesthood of 'deacons', a one-year stipend and a pension of three thousand imperial gold coins will be distributed to their families; for those who are full-time priests, Distribute one year's stipend and a pension of one thousand imperial gold coins; distribute three years' stipend to the novice priests..."

"As for those who were injured in the holy cause of the church - for those who were slightly injured, two months' stipend was given as a pension; while for those who were seriously injured, half a year's stipend was given and they were allowed to receive the best. Treatment until the injury is completely healed before returning to work.”

"I have reached an agreement with the 'priest' of the mission, Her Excellency Graisa. The pension to be distributed to the sacrificed and injured priests is roughly 150,000 gold coins. I have asked the mission's staff for the specific details. The clergy will conduct calculations and statistics, and they should be sent to the bishop's room in your 'Holy Office' in the afternoon. Please make final verification and approval."

"..."

This is what Howard, the "Priest" of the Holy Inquisition, reported to Luo Xiu.

When Howard said this, Luo Xiu listened carefully. Until Howard finished speaking, Luo Xiu nodded solemnly and said:

"I already know, Howard."

"It's just that there are some places where I want to make some changes——"

In front of Howard, the "bishop" of the Red Maple City Church, Rossiu Carlos, solemnly said:

“As for the compensation for the sacrificed comrades and the injured comrades, I hope that the proposed amount will be doubled again... The missionary’s treasury should have enough savings. After deducting the necessary expenses, if If there is insufficient money, it will be allocated from my personal salary.”

Luo Xiu said it very seriously, and he really thought so——

His own salary under the "Holy Court" system is one thousand gold coins per week, plus the rewards he received from the main church for various merits, his current savings in the "Holy Court" should have reached more than 40,000. gold coin.

This is only an open account, and Luo Xiu has never withdrawn from them. He has always spent the profits generated from the deposits of the "Golden Country Bank".

Priests who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of the church - as a "bishop", he will never be stingy, nor will he care about or dwell on these matters.

"You said...double?"

A surprised expression appeared on Howard's face.

His warrior-like face with scars was a little stunned, and he tentatively said to Luo Xiu for confirmation:

"...In that case, it will be three hundred thousand...I will have to confirm this with the missionary, but there should be no problem."

"No matter what - thank you, Bishop Luo Xiu, I thank you on behalf of my colleagues who died for the holy cause."

"..."

When Howard thanked Luo Xiu, Luo Xiu just nodded slightly in response.

He said nothing more and just continued walking into the Holy Inquisition. Howard, Pamier and other senior clergymen of the Holy Inquisition followed closely beside or behind Luo Xiu.

Stepping into the exhibition hall of the Holy Inquisition from the outer court, the rich smell of incense hits your face.

The bodies of the sacrificed priests were placed on cold white stone slabs, and a white cloth with a golden sun pattern on one side was gently covered on them.

The air was filled with sad and sacred silence. No one spoke, they just looked at their former colleagues who were covered with white cloths.

After standing there for a long time, Luo Xiu said to "Priest" Howard, who had been waiting quietly beside him, "The soul sending ceremony for them will be held in one day."

"Before this, please inform all the clergy of the church that tomorrow is the day of the memorial ceremony. Stop all the work you are doing and come here to pay your last respects to your martyred comrades."

"..."

"I obey your instructions, Bishop."

Howard nodded and responded:

“I will tell this to every priest in the church as you have told me.”

"Yes." Luo Xiu nodded lightly.

He immediately looked into the Chen Hall, looking at the corpses of priests covered with white cloth on the ground, and uncontrollable sadness showed on his face.

His right hand was lightly placed on his chest, and as a "bishop", he offered the most noble sacrament to the victims in front of him:

"May your souls... go to the eternal kingdom of heaven."

He lowered his eyes and congratulated in a low but clear voice.

…

After delivering a farewell speech to the victims and finally agreeing with Howard, the "priest" of the Holy Inquisition, on the time for the "soul-sending ceremony" to be held, Luo Xiu, accompanied by Howard, Pamier and other high-ranking officials, went to Walk to the inner court of the Holy Inquisition.

In the middle of the journey, "Guide Priest" Colen came to the Holy Inquisition and told Luo Xiu that the messenger from the "Bianting" had come to the Holy Inquisition and was waiting for the news.

He was in the reception room of the inner courtyard of the Holy Inquisition. Luo Xiu asked Column to accompany him there first, while he took the "Priest" Howard and "Holy Inquisitor" Pamier of the Holy Inquisition to meet him.

As for the Chen Hall where the corpses of the victims were kept, Luo Xiu asked Howard to dispatch ten Holy Judges to guard it day and night, and no unrelated persons were allowed to enter during this period.

…

Five minutes later.

The "Bishop" of Songyuan City Church, Luo Xiu, took the "Priest" Howard of the Holy Inquisition and the "Holy Inquisitor" Pamier of the Holy Inquisition to the door of the living room where the envoys of the side court were.

Colen had been waiting at the door for a long time, and when he saw "Bishop" Luo Xiu finally arriving, he first offered the sacrament to Luo Xiu, and then opened the slightly closed door of the living room for his bishop.

Creak - the slight sound of the door shaft turning was heard, and the door of the living room slowly opened, and three figures sat on the seats on the other side of the living room.

Luo Xiu looked around and quickly recognized them——

Those are all old acquaintances.

——The envoys sent by the “Side Court” are ‘Grand Inquisitor’ Baines, ‘Knight of the Throne’ Frosa, and ‘Lord of Red Maple City’ Nelson!

When they saw Rossiu Carlos, the "bishop" of the Red Maple City Church, arriving, they all stood up from their seats.

"It turns out to be you."

Luo Xiu put a smile on his face and walked towards the three "side court" envoys. At the same time, he stretched out his right hand and greeted them:

"Long time no see, Mr. Baines, Mr. Frosa, and Mr. Nelson."

Baines also had a smile on his face - but the smile was a little bitter. He also stretched out his right hand and shook Luo Xiu's right hand gently.

"You are now the 'Bishop'. According to the etiquette of the Department of Justice, we should call you 'Your Excellency', and you, just call us by your name."

Baynes said this, while Frosa, the "Knight of the Throne" beside him, remained silent as usual, but also stretched out his hand and gently shook Luo Xiu's hand.

When it was City Lord Nelson's turn, he had an apologetic expression on his face and bowed deeply to Luo Xiu, but did not extend his hand——

As the Lord of Nelson City, he is no longer qualified to directly negotiate with Luo Xiu, who has the rank of "bishop". According to imperial law, he is naturally not qualified to shake hands with Luo Xiu.

The reason why he appears here is simply because of Albert's intention, and his current identity is Baines and Frosa's "waiter".

Luo Xiu also knew this. The hand he had just extended to Nelson immediately lifted up and patted Nelson on the shoulder.

This does not violate Nelson's identity - visible to the naked eye, Lord Nelson seemed to be relieved.

After that, Luo Xiu turned around, walked to the main seat and sat down.

When the "Bishop" took his seat, Howard and Pamier were still standing beside him, and Luo Xiu motioned to the arriving guests to take their seats first.

After Baynes and Frosa took their seats again, Luo Xiu motioned to both sides, and then Howard took a seat on the left side of Luo Xiu, while Pamier sat on the smaller seat on Luo Xiu's right side.

The only person in the living room who was not seated—Lord Nelson—was standing behind Baines and Frosa, standing with his hands down.

"Then, venerable Bishop."

"Grand Inquisitor" Baines was the first to speak. He first greeted Luo Xiu:

"General Albert asked us to express our sincere greetings to you."

"We are here this time to convey something to you from General Albert - the general said that he will not forget his agreement with you."

"..."

"...promise with me?"

Luo Xiu looked at Baines with a smile, while thinking about the "promise" in his heart. He then listened to Baines continue:

"General Albert asked us to tell you - he once promised you that after you compile all the losses suffered by the church, you will send someone to the side court to inform him; the general has promised you that he will compensate the church for all the losses suffered. loss."

"..."

Oh, this is it.

At that time, on the city wall of Red Maple City, Albert did say that he would compensate the church for all its losses.

Luo Xiu thought to himself, recalling the scene at that time.

But at that time, his attention was mainly attracted by other things Albert said - about the fallen [Authority], and Albert warned him not to use [Aesop] in front of the [Supreme] person. The matter of the authority of Er·Lock of Time.

Now that I think about it, it seems that Albert did say that he would take the initiative to "reimburse" the church, including the loss of weapons and equipment, the consumption of props and medicines, as well as the pension that he had just agreed with Howard.

"I will ask the priests to sort this out and then send someone to inform the side court."

Luo Xiu smiled and responded to Baines, "Thank you again, Mr. Albert for me."

That might cost Albert a lot of money——

"Okay, Lord Bishop."

Baines nodded slightly and immediately told Luo Xiu the second thing:

"Also, General Albert asked us to bring his gift - the general said that it was in return for your support for him on the battlefield."

"When we came, we brought with us two thousand imperial platinum coins, sixty pieces of 'rare' or above equipment, five thousand bottles of primary healing potions, two thousand bottles of intermediate healing potions, one hundred high-level purification scrolls, and 'epic' Six pieces of 'quality material, one piece of 'legendary' quality material..."

"Regarding these 'gifts', we have completed the handover with the clergy of the church's missionary station, and they are now stored in the church's holy storage hall. Please be sure to accept them."

"In addition, the materials seized during the cleaning of the battlefield are still being counted. Once the count is completed, 30% of the weapons, equipment, props and materials that can be used by the church will be transported to the church."

"..."

There are so many... Listening to Baines announcing these "gifts" like naming dishes, even Luo Xiu couldn't help but be a little stunned.

Just the two thousand imperial platinum coins given by Albert - which is equivalent to two hundred thousand imperial gold coins, can already directly cover the previous 'double' pension, and there is still some surplus.

In this way, the funds used for the expansion of the church have become a lot more abundant, which can attract some more qualified believers to become "priests", and can also provide better benefits to attract those who have not yet joined the church. Players.

However, what I have to say is...

[Supreme] He is so fucking rich!

In Luo Xiu's memory, not only Albert, but also Baynes and even Lord Nelson came to the church several times to "visit", and the gifts they brought to the church basically started in five figures.

It was as if the money was blown by the strong wind. If it weren't for the fact that he still had many private properties in the "Bank of El Dorado", he would probably be overwhelmed by these large gifts!

The original article can be found in Liu#9@书/吧!

While thinking about this, Luo Xiu had already heard the guest "Grand Inquisitor" Baines talk about the third thing——

"In addition, the guard knights of the side court have chased and annihilated sixty-seven out of ten of the escaping dark remnants. This red maple city defense battle is indeed a rare and great event on the frontier of Songyuan Territory. victory."

"Do you still remember, Lord Bishop? When you were the 'host of the high ceremony' of the Red Maple City Church, you once told me about the idea of ​​'counterattacking the Dark Principality'——"

Baynes's eyes were bright and he was full of energy when he said this to Luo Xiu. He continued:

"At that time, I had already discussed this matter with Frosa, and after Lord Albert, the 'Thunder General', officially arrived in Red Maple City and took over the 'Bianting', Frosa and I would also discuss it with Yabert. General Burt mentioned this."

"General Albert also agreed with your proposal, but at that time, the empire's focus was still on solving the rebellion of the Kuma Territory's 'Bloody Declaration'. As an important frontier on the Songyuan Territory's border, we must cooperate with the empire's overall military strategy— —It is to stick to this place, to hold on to the 'Red Maple City Fortress', to prevent the forces of the Dark Army and the Holy Tower Theocracy from tearing open the gap from us, and not allowing even a small group of the Dark Army to penetrate into the belly of the empire. "

"And now - the rebellion of the 'Bloody Declaration' has been suppressed and pacified by the Emperor's Divine Seal Knights. The empire's military strategy will also be adjusted from now on. Emperor Augustwell has shown us a new direction - now , the time has indeed come for a 'big counterattack'."

"..."

The light in Baines' eyes became more and more blazing. As he spoke, the armor of the "Knight of the Throne" Frosa beside him trembled slightly, revealing his equally blazing and excited heart.

While Baines spoke, Luo Xiu also felt equally excited and excited in his heart -

He had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and he had been "guarding" Red Maple City for too long!

He longed for a counterattack, and he also urgently needed to plunder more or save more through a "counterattack".

"So, what do you mean?"

Looking directly into Baines's eyes, which were shining with fiery pupils, Luo Xiu asked him, "Sir Albert, what decision will be made?"

"General Albert has received a direct order from Marquis Vizia - the 'Border Court' will complete the recruitment and preparation within half a month, and in mid-March, in conjunction with the main force of Songyuan, formally launch a counterattack against the Dark Principality."

Bains looked at the "Bishop" Luo Xiu and responded to him:

"For this reason, General Albert asked us to come to the church to invite you."

"In three days, the 'Border Court' will be The 'Bianting' will hold a dinner to celebrate the victory. General Albert invites you to the Border Court, and by then, the two presidents and vice presidents of the 'Fangbei Court' will also go together. "

"General Albert, I want to discuss matters related to the 'Judgment Expedition' with you."

"Here is an invitation, please accept it."

As he spoke, Baines reached into his arms and took out an exquisite invitation made of ochre red and gold-stamped. He stood up from his seat, came to Luo Xiu's seat, and handed the invitation with both hands-

With this invitation, this is a "formal invitation".

At the beginning, Albert asked Luo Xiu to go to the Border Court several times, but he only asked the envoy to "verbally convey" it, and did not hand over the invitation. The purpose was just to establish authority.

But now it is different. This invitation will smooth out the cognitive differences in this identity, and truly put the "bishop" of the church and the "general" of the border court on the same level. This is the meaning of the "invitation" -

"I did receive it."

Luo Xiu responded gently, and at the same time stretched out his right hand to take the invitation from Baines.

He opened the invitation in front of Baines, and there were indeed dark golden words written inside for the invitation. Finally, after confirming that the "General Albert" did not use a fake invitation to deceive him, Luo Xiu closed the invitation again, took it back into his arms, and smiled at Baines and said:

"Thank you, Lord Albert, for me."

"Three days later, I will go to the border court to attend Lord Albert's celebration dinner."

"Thank you, Lord Bishop." Baines bowed to Luo Xiu, and then returned to his seat, but did not sit down.

The "Knight of the Throne" Frosa beside him stood up, and Baines saluted Luo Xiu again and said:

"So, we came to the church this time under the order of General Albert, mainly to convey these things-"

"Since General Albert's meaning has been conveyed to you, please allow us to take our leave first, respected Bishop."

"..."

After Baines said goodbye to him, Howard, the "Priest" of the Holy Tribunal next to Luo Xiu, and Pamier, the "Holy Tribunal" also stood up at the same time. After Luo Xiu nodded, they led Baines, Frosa and Nelson out of the reception room and left the "Holy Tribunal".

And Luo Xiu also left the reception room. His attendant clergyman, "Guiding Pastor" Colen, had been waiting outside the door of the reception room. After his "Bishop" Luo Xiu walked out, he walked into the reception room again, wiped and straightened the chair, and turned off the wall lamp.

...

Afterwards, accompanied by the "guiding priest" Colen, Luo Xiu went to the missionary station and the secret office in turn.

He first confirmed the acceptance of the gift from Albert, the "Thunder General" of the Border Court, at the missionary station, and then asked Gracia, the "priest" of the missionary station, to quickly calculate the losses of the church, and asked her to contact the "Secret Office" and find the "priest" of the Secret Office, Fran, after the statistics were completed, and asked him to personally report the losses to the Border Court.

Albert, the "Thunder General", seemed to dislike owing favors to others. It happened that the church was in a state of rapid development and lack of money, and it was not easy for him to take back the industry of the "Gold Country Bank" to feed back the church. Since Albert was willing to be the top brother of the church, Luo Xiu was also quite happy!

At the "Secret Office", Luo Xiu mentioned this matter again to the "priest" of the Secret Office, Fran Demier, and Fran accepted the order without asking any more questions.

Afterwards, Luo Xiu and Fran handled several cooperation applications submitted by non-governmental organizations to the church, which covered areas including but not limited to construction, publicity, collection, forging, recycling, etc. Luo Xiu approved some of them, put some into consideration, and directly rejected several cooperation applications that were obviously problematic.

When the urgent affairs of the three holy places were almost handled, Luo Xiu went to the "Holy Office" again and entered his bishop's room. Sure enough, he saw a thick stack of files on the table.

Some of them were accumulated in the past few days, but more were added today. In addition to the important matters that he had just handled directly with the priests of the three holy places, these "relatively unimportant matters" placed on the desk of his bishop's room were the source of most of Luo Xiu's heavy workload.

"..."

Looking at the thick stack on the table, Luo Xiu's expression seemed a little helpless.

He suddenly had some idea - if he specially trained an 'acting bishop' who could handle these complicated church affairs on his behalf most of the time, it might be able to liberate himself to a great extent and at least improve his sleep quality. Get some protection...

Thinking about this, a very suitable candidate emerged in his mind.

——Anthony who was personally promoted to "host the grand ceremony" by himself!

Although Anthony, who is in charge of the "priests" of the three major sanctuaries, is already quite busy, well... but compared to himself as the "bishop", there is still a lot, a lot of room for exploration!

Luo Xiu suddenly thought of this old captain.

His eyes then turned to "Guidance Pastor" Colen, who was about to close the door and go out to wait, and stopped him——

"Wait a minute, Coren."

"..."

"What are your orders, Bishop?"

Coren stopped preparing to close the door, returned to the room, bowed slightly to Luo Xiu, and then asked respectfully.

"Go find Anthony and ask him to come over. Just tell him that I have something to ask him about."

"You mean Lord Daiji?"

Coren asked Luo Xiu again for confirmation.

After his "bishop" nodded slightly, indicating that this was the case, Column exited the room again and went in the direction of the "missionary" where Anthony was supposed to handle matters.

Then, eh. At that time, Anthony will be given three times the salary...

Three times the overtime! .jpg

Looking at the direction that Coren had just left, Luo Xiu thought about this and made a decision.

At the same time, he pulled the thick stack of files in front of him and divided about one-third of it and placed it on the other side. That was the workload that was to be assigned to Anthony, the "host of the festival", and he was excited to work overtime!

Afterwards, Luo Xiu devoted himself to the work of reviewing these files.

Until Anthony arrived and Anthony saw a thick pile of files on the table, Anthony looked confused. Anthony was forced to work overtime. Anthony and Luo Xiu finished processing the pile of files together——

It was almost evening.

…

Late afternoon.

Looking at Anthony, who had obvious tired spots on his face, and the two piles of completed files in front of the table, Luo Xiu had a satisfied smile on his face.

Originally - according to Luo Xiu's estimate of his work efficiency, it would take at least until night for him to handle this all by himself.

Capturing Anthony as a young man, although his experience in handling these files is still very shallow, it did save Luo Xiu a lot of time, leaving Luo Xiu free to do other things.

Patting Anthony on the shoulder, his "bishop" Luo Xiu said to him with approval:

"Thank you for your hard work, Anthony."

"As a 'host of the Grand Ceremony', learning to handle these complicated affairs is also a necessary part."

"..."

Really, really?

Anthony thought with some doubt. He really didn't expect that not long after he was promoted to "host the grand ceremony", he would have to cooperate in handling such trivial and heavy affairs.

But then he heard Luo Xiu continue to say to him:

"Your stipend for this week - I will ask the missionary to give it three times to you. You can come here again around eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

"I……"

Anthony seemed to want to say something, but when his eyes met Luo Xiu's expectant eyes, he swallowed back what he wanted to say.

Forget it... just helping the bishop handle these paperwork will get three times the stipend! On weekdays, unless you are desperately performing various "Holy Judge" tasks, how can you have such a high salary!

He's just a bit useless, in a sense, even more useless than the "Holy Judgment" mission——

Anthony was thinking about this, and he finally compromised, nodded and said:

"good."

"Then I'll come back tomorrow morning."

As soon as he finished saying this, he suddenly remembered - it seemed that the "Priest" Howard over at the Holy Inquisition had just conveyed the "Bishop's" instructions to all the clergy of the church - tomorrow is the 'Day of the Sacrifice', All priests must put down their hands and work.

But Anthony didn't ask any more questions. He knew that he might be the only "special case" at this equally special time.

While thinking about this, Anthony stood up from his seat, said goodbye to Luo Xiu again, and then walked out of the bishop's room and left the Holy Office.

Luo Xiu then called in the "guiding priest" Coren who had been standing outside the door, and asked him to seal the files that had been reviewed and wait for them to be returned to various sanctuaries the next day, and then left the bishop's house. In the meantime, he left the Holy Office.

…

When Luo Xiu walked out of the courtyard of the Holy Office.

The sun has set, leaving only a faint outline of the mountains at the end of the field of vision, dyeing the surrounding clouds a fiery orange-red color.

Luo Xiu, who finally finished today's church affairs, went to the "Forging Manor" and, as usual, purified the steel seal of ignorance for a "Gravel" dwarf.

After that, he returned to the church, returned to his bedroom in the "Bishop's Holy See", closed the golden barrier and opened the panel.

In the [Player Forum] and [Chat Panel], he watched the players happily chatting with interest, a calm smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

With nothing to worry about, he finally finished his work in the church and could finally start to "take care" of his players——

On the back of his hand, the mark of the dragon claw has already appeared, flashing a flickering dark red light.

That will happen when night falls.

Now that a wave of major events has just passed——

"Holy Abyss" has finally waited for the opportunity to appear in front of the players.

And his "Holy Abyss" apostles have been waiting for a long time in every corner of Red Maple City.

…