Chapter 136 Connor: I’m so sad (5k)
When he heard Priest Leonard's voice, Luo Xiu pushed the door open and entered.
As usual, this diligent old priest is still immersed in processing the piles of various files.
After hearing subtle footsteps, Leonard raised his head and glanced at the visitor.
When Priest Leonard saw that the person who came was the new "deacon" and the newly promoted "Holy Inquisitor" Rossio Carlos, the corners of Leonard's eyes twitched slightly.
"You...ahem again. You're here, Luo Xiu."
Leonard said, he stopped what he was doing at the same time, leaned over to open the drawer on the inside of the long table, and took out two scrolls with gold patterns on the edges.
"Previously, the [Holy Confinement] and [Holy Judgment] skill scrolls you applied to the Holy Court were approved."
"I'm about to ask Connor and the others to find you and tell you about this."
"..."
"Holy Court" approved it so quickly? Luo Xiu was slightly surprised, so he bowed to Priest Leonard and said thanks:
"Thank you, Master Priest. This is really timely..."
"Come and sit, Luo Xiu." Leonard waved.
Hearing this, Luo Xiu locked the door, then came to the chair opposite Priest Leonard and sat down.
Leonard then pushed the scrolls of [Holy Imprisonment] and [Holy Judgment] to Luo Xiu.
Later, Leonard took out another letter from the drawer and pushed it in front of Luo Xiu.
"This is the reply from your teacher, the priest Ivan Dimel of Morningside Town."
Leonard said, "I'll pass it on to you for him."
"..."
"The teacher's reply to me?"
Luo Xiu was slightly startled.
Luo Xiu quickly recalled that he had indeed written a letter to Priest Yi Wen before, after the "City Lord Lodiv" of Red Maple City was executed, telling him everything about Red Maple City.
For Luo Xiu, this was just an ordinary day, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
He thought that Priest Ivan would write him a reply. I just didn't expect that Ivan's reply would be sent to Priest Leonard...
Seeing the confused expression on Luo Xiu's face, Leonard smiled and said:
"Your teacher, he doesn't know your specific address in Sina City."
"So, he sent the letter directly to the church's 'Holy Judgment', hoping to entrust other holy judges to forward it to you..."
"It was Pamier who received the letter and sent it to me."
"So that's it..." Luo Xiu suddenly realized.
He didn't say anything more, he just put the scroll and letter in front of him into his storage bracelet.
"[Intellectual] little things always bring freshness."
Seeing Luo Xiu tinkering with the rune bracelet, Priest Leonard smiled.
But this kind smile did not last long, and Priest Leonard quickly turned to a serious expression.
He looked at Luo Xiu and finally said seriously:
"Okay, that's it for the pleasantries."
"Why did you come here this time?"
"..."
This is the Priest Leonard I am familiar with in "working state"... Luo Xiu complained inwardly. Feeling the strong aura naturally exuding from Leonard, Luo Xiu nodded and said to Priest Leonard:
"That's right."
"Yesterday, I tried to destroy a large Blood of Thorns stronghold."
"This took some help from outside forces and some 'luck' elements. However... I still succeeded in destroying this stronghold."
"And among the strongholds of this group of cultists, I learned about their hiding places in almost all medium-sized and above strongholds distributed throughout the Songyuan Territory."
——Crack.
Priest Leonard, the pen in his hand fell to the table again.
Leonard might be surprised that Luo Xiu destroyed a large pagan stronghold, but he would never be shocked.
What he cared more about was the second half of Luo Xiu's words.
"You said you knew the hiding locations of all the 'Blood of Thorns' distributed in Songyuan Territory and their medium-sized or above strongholds?!"
"Yes, Master Priest."
Luo Xiu looked solemn and said to Leonard, "In the large stronghold of 'Blood of Thorns', I found a map with detailed markings. There are records in it."
With that said, Luo Xiu took out a simple brown sheepskin scroll from his storage bracelet.
Unfolding the scroll, it was revealed to be a simple map of "Songyuan Territory", with many black and red punctuation points on it, which was the approximate location of the "Blood of Thorns" stronghold.
Leonard turned the sheepskin map around, held his hands on both sides, and looked at it for a long time.
The light in his eyes gradually brightened, and his face was filled with excitement.
"This... such a detailed map, if the location marked on it is correct, then the 'Blood of Thorns' will definitely suffer disaster..."
Looking at Leonard's high-spirited look, Luo Xiu's mouth faintly outlined a subtle arc.
Of course Priest Leonard didn't know that this "map" was not actually obtained from the Blood of Thorns stronghold.
——That was a punctuated map drawn by Luo Xiu based on his past life memories!
From the first day Luo Xiu came to "Sina City", he had been drawing this map in secret. The purpose is to find a suitable opportunity to expose the "Blood of Thorns" to the sight of the "Holy Court" on a large scale!
If you want to push the progress of the [Dusk Ends Night] mission as much as possible in a short period of time, the "Holy Court" is an indispensable and important combat force.
However, if this information is reported to the church too early, it will only make the church suspicious and cause unnecessary trouble for itself.
However, the situation is different now. He is already the "deacon" of the church, and his position in the "Holy Inquisition" is already the "Holy Inquisitor", and he just destroyed a "Blood of Thorns" site the day before. "A large stronghold - with such a dual combination of identity and events, producing this level of intelligence will not arouse suspicion.
Even Luo Xiu only revealed the location of the "Blood of Thorns" strongholds within the "Songyuan Territory". He has not yet revealed the complete location of all the "Blood of Thorns" strongholds within the empire!
Every "Blood of Thorns" stronghold is a small copy to Luo Xiu. He was already deeply impressed by these "copies", and as he became a transcendent, he had an extremely strong memory.
And if the "Holy Court" can really use its own intelligence to completely eliminate the "Blood of Thorns" forces in the empire, then it will also gain considerable achievements from it!
At that time, I can apply for more resources from the "Holy Court", and even apply for a part of the authority of [Glory].
As for Priest Leonard...
Luo Xiu is already a "Triple Destiny" extraordinary person, and with the spiritual barrier of crushing the "Scarlet Magic Crystal", Leonard can no longer detect whether what Luo Xiu said is the truth or a lie.
From Leonard's perspective, after more than a month of getting along, he has become more inclined to believe that Luo Xiu is telling the truth!
…
"I need to confirm... Luo Xiu. You know, this is a big thing."
Priest Leonard said slowly: "I need to confirm the authenticity of this map..."
"Luo Xiu, go find Anthony and tell him about this map."
"Then, follow the markings above and randomly explore the Blood of Thorns strongholds in Sina City to see if their locations are true."
"Remember, don't alert the enemy. And don't get entangled with the enemy unless absolutely necessary."
"You must be vigilant at all times. This map may be a trap for the enemy..."
"..."
Leonard's words retained his usual caution, but the excited light in his eyes did not dim.
"Okay." Luo Xiu nodded in response.
Afterwards, Luo Xiu stood up and said goodbye to Priest Leonard and left the room.
The information has been conveyed. The rest is just waiting to be brewed.
The moment the "Holy Court" confirms the authenticity of this information, the countdown to the death of all "Blood of Thorns" cultists in the empire will officially begin.
…
…
Shortly after Luo Xiu left, Priest Leonard grabbed the map on the table and began to look at it carefully.
"The blood of thorns... the blood of thorns..."
Leonard murmured, and his eyes began to become deeper and deeper.
"If this map is true, then perhaps those monsters can be completely eliminated."
"And if we can truly eradicate all the 'Blood of Thorns' heretics entrenched in the Songyuan Territory, it will be a great achievement for the 'Sina City Church'..."
"Perhaps the 'Holy Court' will open up more permissions to us as a result, so that we no longer have to endure the constraints from the [Supreme] person..."
"Luo Xiu, Luo Xiu...our "Sina City" church is really lucky to have you."
"Well, after Anthony and the others have confirmed it and brought back accurate information, I will report this map to the Holy Court."
"It's just that before that, I need to go to Bishop Fabian and ask him to confirm something..."
"Well, if Bishop Fabian's health could be better..."
"..." Following the murmur, Priest Leonard stood up.
He rolled up the parchment map on the table and put it in his arms.
Leonard began to move. He left the pile of files, left his desk, and walked to the door of the room.
Then, Leonard turned the handle and opened the door.
Leonard left the "Holy Judgment" and walked deeper into the inner courtyard of the church.
He was going to meet with the current bishop of the Sina City Church, Bishop "Fabiang".
Bishop Fabian's Holy See is located in the deepest part of the inner courtyard.
…
…
After Luo Xiu left Priest Leonard's room, he walked to the other side of the inner courtyard of the church.
His destination was the "Priest's Residence" built in a deep garden. That is the residence of all the clergy of the church in the church.
If Anthony, Connor, and Pamier have nothing else to do, they usually stay in the "Priest's Residence", waiting for tasks or arrangements from Priest Leonard.
…
Luo Xiu soon arrived at the "Priest's Residence" deep in the inner courtyard.
What caught Luo Xiu's eyes was a neatly planned ocher-red building with an obvious church style.
In front of the door of every building, there stands a gilded statue of Xu Yu. The golden glow surrounds the statue, filling it with a sacred and solemn atmosphere.
Many "priests" belonging to different offices passed by Luo Xiu.
After greeting each other with the "priests" with different functions, Luo Xiu went straight to the innermost side of the residence.
This is a courtyard assigned to the "Holy Judges", and Anthony and his companions live here.
Anthony is not the only team of Holy Judges in Sina City, but other Holy Judges usually do not move with Anthony's team, nor do they live in the same courtyard.
Therefore, in the nearly one month since he came to Sina City, Luo Xiu saw almost no other "Holy Judges".
As he entered the courtyard, Luo Xiu quickly noticed a familiar slender figure with long gray hair.
"Holy Knight" Pamier, she was holding a black broadwood sword in both hands, swinging towards a wooden stake tied with sandbags in the courtyard.
--Bang! Bang! A dull thumping sound kept coming from the surface of the sandbag.
Pamier swung his sword with great force. And every time she swung her sword, there would be a violent earthquake from the wooden stakes tied with sandbags.
When he saw Luo Xiu approaching, Pamier stopped swinging his sword.
Pamier put away the wooden sword, and she turned to look at Luo Xiu, a trace of surprise flashed in her golden-green eyes.
"Good morning, Luo Xiu..."
Pamier greeted, "I remember, this is your first time here."
"Nice to meet you, Pamier."
Luo Xiu responded with a smile, "You look pretty good. It seems that you have recovered from that battle."
"……fine."
Palmier's tone paused. The look in her eyes when she looked at Luo Xiu suddenly became a little complicated.
"...I heard that you have been promoted to become a transcendent of the 'triple destiny'."
Palmier's tone was a little dazed.
"Although I feel... I should be promoted to the third level soon. However, I still can't figure it out. I can't find the inspiration for promotion."
Pamier asked Luo Xiu: "So, Luo Xiu, how did you do it?"
"..."
"Actually, it's nothing..."
Luo Xiu said softly according to the answer he had planned in advance:
"I just followed my heart and did what I thought I should do."
"..."
"Follow your heart?" Pamier was stunned.
Seeing that Pamier seemed to be confused again, Luo Xiu could only shake his head and said nothing more.
You can't tell Pamier directly that you actually opened it...?
Furthermore, according to the experience I shared with other NPCs in my previous life - "Follow your heart", this is indeed an important reference when trying to get promoted.
After all, the aborigines of Apocalypse World do not have player panels like Luo Xiu.
When reaching the upper limit of the current destiny level, Luo Xiu could see his "promotion mission", but the aborigines could not.
But being invisible doesn't mean it doesn't exist - "Completing an important event" is still one of the prerequisites that all extraordinary people who have reached the current bottleneck must meet when trying to advance.
And when this event is completed, normal extraordinary beings will feel an extremely strong and joyful surge of their own spirituality.
This is a precursor to spiritual sublimation. This feeling is like a blessing to the soul and makes people feel comfortable physically and mentally.
And this also marks an opportunity for promotion.
Therefore, there is nothing wrong with Luo Xiu telling Pamier the prepared answer of "follow your heart".
Rather, what extraordinary people really "want to do" is more likely to be their promotion mission, the resonance or intuition they trigger.
At this time, after many events, as well as Pamiai's own unremitting and rainy training, Pamiai's character level has reached lv.20.
Palmier's promotion should be approaching. Soon, the "Anthony Team" of the Sina City Church and the Holy Inquisition will usher in the third Holy Inquisitor with a "triple destiny".
"That's right." Pamiai came back from the thought of "following one's heart" and asked Luo Xiu:
"I haven't asked you yet. Who did you come to the Priest's Residence to see, or what did you want to do?"
"I'm here to see Captain Anthony."
Luo Xiu then replied seriously: "Master Priest, he has something important that I need to tell him."
"You have something important to ask Anthony?"
"...Well, I understand."
Palmier nodded and said:
"Vanilla Orchid Market, you can go there to find him. He should be with Connor now."
"In the past two days, Connor always seems to be discussing something with Anthony. I don't know much about it, and I'm not interested."
"Vanilla Orchid Market?" Luo Xiu said with some doubts in his tone.
Although he didn't know what Captain Anthony was doing at the Vanilla Orchid Market, Luo Xiu still nodded and thanked Pamier.
Afterwards, Luo Xiu turned around and left the courtyard. He walked out of the church and soon came to the "Vanilla Orchid Market".
…
Sina City, Vanilla Orchid Market.
Through "Mist Shadow"'s extensive search, Luo Xiu finally found Anthony in front of a jewelry stall.
At this time, Connor was beside Anthony. Next to Connor, there was another petite figure.
That was little Marilyn Bambers, the daughter of Priest Leonard and the alchemist of [Intellectual] destiny.
This was the first time Luo Xiu saw these three people traveling together. It looked like they were shopping or outing.
Suddenly, an extremely strong curiosity emerged deep in Luo Xiu's heart.
He then quietly followed them and paid close attention to their movements.
Anthony, Connor and Marilyn gradually walked out of the noisy crowd and came to the relatively secluded bank of the river.
Compared with the main street of Vanilla Orchid Market, the number of pedestrians passing by here is much sparser. At this time, layers of sparkling waves are appearing on the river, and the cherry blossom trees on the bank are swaying in the wind. The scenery here is pleasant and it is more conducive to relaxing.
At some very natural point, Anthony excuses himself and leaves, leaving Connor and little Marilyn alone.
Then, shortly after Anthony left.
Under a cherry tree covered with pale pink flowers, Connor Rune suddenly knelt down on one knee to little Marilyn and took out a delicate silver jewelry box from behind.
Connor held the silver box with his left hand, and opened the lid with a pop of his right hand.
Just inside the silver box, a platinum ring with exquisite workmanship and sparkling light in the sun was revealed.
Then, Connor seemed to say something loudly to little Marilyn.
And little Marilyn's face instantly turned red.
Little Marilyn seemed to be shaking her head firmly and gave Connor a somewhat wincing reply. Then, she trotted away in the opposite direction to Connor.
Luo Xiu saw that the expression on Connor's face seemed to express intense sadness, disappointment, pain and confusion at that moment.
"--hiss……"
Luo Xiu, who was eating melon on the side, suddenly felt a strong sense of guilt deep in his heart.
(End of chapter)