Chapter 208: Arrival to “host the grand ceremony” (5k2)
Nolan Empire, Songyuan Territory, Red Maple City.
A carriage with a sun pattern on its curtains drove into the street where the Glorious Church was located.
The first "Grand Master" of the church during the war was in this carriage.
All the clergymen of the "Wartime Church" then stood still under the leadership of Anthony, placed their right hands lightly on their left chests, and paid attention to the carriage carrying the "officiant of the high ceremony".
When the crisp sound of horse's hooves "ta, da da" came closer, the priest who was driving the horse pulled the reins and stopped the stagecoach.
The carriage stopped in front of the church, and the clergyman sitting in the driving position also got off the car from one side and walked towards the other clergymen waiting at the entrance of the church.
Anthony had already recognized that the clergyman driving the car was the other "deacon" Maiyev who was originally with him in the church in Sina City.
Maiyev first said hello to Antony, and then said to all the clergy:
“The ‘big sacrifice’ of the wartime church has arrived, please join me in worshiping the sacrament!”
Saying that, Maiyev stood in the same row as Anthony. His right hand was also lightly placed on his left chest. At the same time, his left arm was raised to the side and his body was slightly bowed downward.
This is the standard "sacrament" that lower-level priests in the "holy court" should perform to higher-level priests.
Other clergymen also raised their arms and bent their bodies in response to Mayev's movements to show their respect and worship for the big man in the carriage.
Step, step, the sound of footsteps came from inside the carriage, and the outline of the carriage also swayed slightly.
Then, the door curtain of the carriage was opened, and a high-ranking priest wearing a priest's robe slowly walked out of the carriage.
"...Everyone, please get up. This is an extraordinary time, no need to be polite."
"Hosting the Grand Ceremony," he said in a calm and gentle voice.
Anthony was half-lowering his head at this time. His sight could only see the neck of the new "Master of Ceremony", but he had not yet seen the appearance of the Master of the Ceremony.
He was wearing a robe that symbolized the "priest" of the Holy Court Church, and he came to the Glory Church of Red Maple City at this time. His identity must be to "preside over the high ceremony"... But, the voice of this "high priest"... Why is it so familiar?
Anthony thought about this in his mind. And when the "presiding of the high ceremony" made it unnecessary for them to salute, Anthony and other clergymen ended their salutes and returned to standing at attention.
When Anthony's eyes glanced at the face of the "host of the ceremony", a wave of turmoil suddenly arose in his heart!
This newly arrived "host of the festival"...
——It turned out to be Luo Xiu! It's Rossio Carlos!
"You...how did you..."
Anthony was speechless for a moment, his mood was a little complicated, and this complexity was reflected in the expression on his face.
Anthony murmured somewhat incoherently: "You... presided over the grand ceremony... Luo Xiu... 伱..."
Anthony thought, maybe Luo Xiu only came to the wartime church as an "acolyte", just like Anthony himself and Pamier... But this is not enough to explain why Luo Xiu wore the robe of the church's "priest" ...or is it that he was instructed by Priest Leonard to take over the priesthood of "presiding over the high priest" on his behalf...
The latter is more likely, Anthony analyzed the situation and truth behind what he saw.
The only thing he hadn't thought about was that Luo Xiu had been promoted to the "fourth level of destiny" and became a priest of the church, and he didn't dare to make such a conjecture.
"..."
"Long time no see, Captain Anthony."
Luo Xiu waved his hand to Anthony and said with a smile: "As you can see, I am the first 'Master of Ceremony' of the Wartime Church in Red Maple City. After that, I will formulate the development plan and work of the Wartime Church, and preside over it." Other wartime church matters."
"These are extraordinary times, and I don't like to preach at length with you. I hope you will give me full trust, and I will also rely on your strength to let the Red Maple City Church find a new and bright way out in the turmoil. ”
After saying that, Luo Xiu walked towards the crowd of church clergy during the war.
The clergymen made way for Luo Xiu. With complex emotions such as admiration, reverence, surprise, and suspicion in their eyes, they watched Luo Xiu, the new "host of the ceremony", walk into the church.
Later, the clergy also followed Luo Xiu's footsteps and entered the church. The last clergy finally closed the door of the church and locked it. After today, no unrelated persons will be allowed to enter.
Anthony followed Luo Xiu, the expression on his face becoming more complicated.
Luo Xiu... He did not come on behalf of Priest Leonard, but he really became the "presiding priest" of the church during the war...
Why? Why can he become the host of the great ceremony? Could it be that he has been promoted to the fourth level of destiny and passed the assessment from the senior deacon of the diocese... Anthony thought with some anxiety in his heart. The growing gap between him and Luo Xiu made Anthony feel depressed for no reason.
His mood at this time was similar to Leonard's, but more serious.
At least Luo Xiu hasn't really surpassed Leonard on the extraordinary level yet, but he has absolutely crushed Anthony on the level, and the current "host of the festival" was once an ordinary subordinate under him. The Holy Judge... Anthony thought about this with emotion. The image of Luo Xiu in his heart became increasingly blurred, and it was already difficult to see his back clearly.
The person who had the same idea as Anthony was a "Paladin" standing behind him, Pamier Skadia.
At this time, Pamier was not wearing a heavy paladin armor, but was wearing a white clerical robe, standing in the same row as Anthony and other triple-destined clergymen.
Pamier walked behind Anthony, her opal-like golden-green eyes occasionally looking at the back of Luo Xiu in the front, her eyes full of confusion and yearning.
Previously, based on the promotion experience "shared" by Luo Xiu, Pamiai successfully completed the promotion from the second-level destiny to the third-level destiny and became the "Crime Rider". She thought she had recovered the relationship between her and Luo Xiu. the gap between.
But Pamier didn't expect that after just one month without seeing Luo Xiu, he would create a big gap... This shocked Pamier, but it also brought her new and more intense feelings. desire to become stronger.
She is still too weak... Pamier thought like this - "Threefold destiny" is by no means the end of her extraordinary career, and her goals should never end.
…
When Luo Xiu came to the newly expanded inner courtyard of the Glory Church and stood in front of a cast sun altar, he turned around, leaned against the statue of Xuyu, faced the wartime church clergy and said loudly:
"Under the witness of a moment, I, Luo Xiu Carlos, officially took office as the 'host of the ceremony' of the Red Maple City Church. I hope that all the glorious colleagues will entrust their strength to me. I will also live up to your trust and lead you on the journey. The right path."
"Now, I hope you will explain to me the current situation of the Red Maple City Church."
"..."
After a period of silence, Anthony spoke first and said to Luo Xiu: "The 'Wartime Church' in Red Maple City has completed the expansion of the Glorious Church and has reached the standards of a 'church'. All the people selected to be transferred to Red Maple City have The clergy of Maple City's "Wartime Church" have also arrived. The church now has four "three-fold destiny" and thirty-six "two-fold destiny" clergy. After Mayev's arrival, the church The number of ‘deacons’ of the third level of destiny will reach five.”
"Currently, Pamier and I serve as the chief adjutants of the 'Holy Inquisition' of the church, while the other two deacons of the church are in charge of the 'Preaching Place' and the 'Secret Place' respectively. According to the rules above the diocese According to the arrangement, Maiyev will serve as the adjutant of the 'secret place', and the other priests will perform their respective duties, and each will have their own holy place."
"..."
"I understand, thank you for your explanation, Anthony."
Luo Xiu nodded. He roughly understood the current internal status of the church.
The Red Maple City Wartime Church has three sanctuaries inside, which is also the most standard and lowest church configuration.
The "Holy Judgment Place" is the holy place responsible for judging heretics, and it is also the place where Luo Xiu once held the priesthood;
The "missionary office" is responsible for coordinating the internal and external affairs of the church. The clergy in this office assume the specific responsibilities of each church. The clergy responsible for "guiding", "guarding", "watching" and other responsibilities come from this place. They are also responsible for promoting the glory and gathering believers; the "secret place" is more secretive, and the clergy of this office are more isolated from the sacred affairs of the church. They are responsible for the relationship between the church and the church. [Supreme], [Intellect] and other extraordinary people in the empire have secret contacts, and more often act as messengers of the church. The clergy of this office do not often appear in the church. Instead, they hide in cities or other secret organizations. They only appear when necessary to convey important information to the church or carry out some secrets sent by the church. Task.
Although the number of clergymen in today's "Wartime Church" in Red Maple City is not large, it has all three basic sanctuaries. It can be regarded as "a small sparrow with all the internal organs"... Luo Xiu thought to himself .
"So, what about the external situation?" Luo Xiu then asked Anthony.
Anthony paused, organized his words, and then said to Luo Xiu: "Outside of the church, we have detected that many foreign forces have poured into this city. Some of them are secret sects or organizations that spontaneously combine and operate independently, and some are secret cults or organizations that spontaneously combine and operate independently. Some of them are from the Dark Principality or the Holy Tower Theocracy. Our Holy Inquisitors are still investigating their backgrounds, and we should get some conclusions after a while."
"Well, although the situation outside is not good now, the enemies are currently dormant in the dark and have not yet launched hostile actions against our church." Anthony added.
Luo Xiu nodded. From Anthony's words, he roughly understood the situation the Red Maple City Church was in.
In the strategic location of Red Maple City, all forces want to gain a foothold here before the war actually comes.
Today's Red Maple City is in a troubled time, but it is also in such a turbulent environment that no force is willing to take action easily to avoid exposing its important details.
Therefore, while all parties were still in the stage of inquiring and confronting each other, a strange balance was formed at this time, and Red Maple City maintained such strange silence and peace.
"Okay, I understand, Anthony, thank you again."
Luo Xiu smiled and nodded, thanking Anthony again. Anthony nodded slightly in response.
"I have a general understanding of the situation in the church now. Today is my first day as the 'host of the high ceremony'. Everyone should return to their respective duties first."
"After that, I will point out the future direction of the church for you and formulate new tasks and arrangements for you." Luo Xiu finally said.
"..."
"Yes. We comply with your wishes."
Anthony, Pamier and another "deacon" of the church led other clergymen to perform a sacrament to Luo. Afterwards, the clergymen disbanded and returned to their respective posts.
Anthony and Pamier, as well as Connor and Coren, who were among the "second destiny" priests, stayed behind. They looked at Luo Xiu with complicated eyes, waiting for the other priests to disband. , Luo Xiu personally told them the real reason why he could serve as the "host of the grand ceremony" for the wartime church in Red Maple City.
After all the other clergymen left, Luo Xiu, Anthony and Pamier went to the church's new 'Holy Inquisition' and took a seat at the top of an ancient square table in the main hall of the Holy Inquisition. He sat down in front of him and said to Anthony and Pamier:
"...You are right. I was promoted to the 'Fourth Deacon' and passed the assessment of the 'High Deacon' Hubert above the diocese, and became the 'Grand Priest' of the wartime church in Red Maple City. "
"This is the whole process. Captain Anthony, as well as Pamier and Connor, you all know me. I will not and have no need to hide anything from you." Luo Xiu spread his hands with a smile on his face.
After saying this, Anthony, Pamier and other old friends suddenly felt a strong spiritual surge from Luo Xiu.
The spiritual tide was surging but restrained. It only exuded a trace of spirituality within a small area, which made Anthony and the others feel extremely strong oppression - it was the crushing at the extraordinary level. This made Anthony, Pamier and the others truly understood that Luo Xiu had indeed been promoted to a transcendent person with the "fourth level of destiny".
"..." When Anthony felt the real "fourth destiny" aura emanating from Luo Xiu, his expression became complicated again.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with what Luo Xiu said before, and the spiritual aura exuded by Luo Xiu truly proves his extraordinary level. Anthony is simply unable to accept, or at least unable to understand, such a result.
"...then...then...congratulations, Luo Xiu."
Anthony said with some bitterness, "To be honest, I'm a little jealous of you, your talent, and your talent... It's only been less than three months. In less than three months... you have been promoted to the fourth level of destiny. …”
"If you weren't wearing the robe that symbolizes the priest of the church, and if Maiyev was the witness for you, I would really have difficulty believing that you were promoted to the fourth level of destiny and passed the examination of the parish deacon..."
"Luo Xiu, although you are not the youngest 'fourth-level destiny' transcendent in the history of the 'Holy Court', you are definitely the fastest promoted, no one." Anthony finally said, somewhat absentmindedly.
"..." Luo Xiu smiled awkwardly. He was just about to say something to ease Anthony's somewhat disappointed mood when he heard Pamier's voice from the side:
"There's nothing to be jealous of."
Pamier said to Anthony in a cold tone, "We have known for a long time that Luo Xiu is the 'Son of Glory'. Even if he has now become a saint of the 'Fifth Path of Destiny', it is also a very good thing for us. ‘Jealousy’ is really an emotion you shouldn’t have.”
"We are weak, and we should face up to our weakness in order to become stronger."
Pamier's tone was firm. She got rid of the strange emotions earlier than Anthony. At the same time, she looked at Luo Xiu with her golden-green eyes, and then said:
"I will target you, Luo Xiu. The 'fourth level of destiny'...I will soon reach the same level as you."
"..."
"I'm looking forward to it." Luo Xiu responded to her with a smile and a nod.
While Luo Xiu was chatting with Anthony and Pamier, Luo Xiu also noticed that Connor and Coren had not spoken a word for a long time.
The former presiding priest of the Red Maple City Church, "Pastor" Colen, actually only had one mission intersection with Luo Xiu. But that mission left a deep impression on Column, so he kept the images of Luo Xiu, Anthony and others in his heart.
As the presiding priest of the original Red Maple City Church, after the "Wartime Church" was established in Red Maple City, he was assigned to the "Preaching Office" and was responsible for all the guidance affairs of the church and guiding the newly appointed church. The "master of ceremonies" was familiar with all matters of the church during the war, which was Colum's job.
Therefore, Column stayed. It happened that he was also familiar with Anthony, Pamier and other former Holy Judges of the Sina City Church, so it was not awkward to participate in reminiscing with Luo Xiu.
Connor's face looked gloomy at this time, and his eyes seemed to have lost their highlights, as if he had just suffered a huge blow.
Seeing Connor showing his depressed will, Luo Xiu cast inquiring glances at Anthony and Pamier.
Anthony understood, but he just shook his head with a wry smile, not wanting to expose Connor's wounds any more.
But Pamier didn't seem to mind, so she patted Connor next to her on the shoulder and said to Luo Xiu:
"Don't worry about him. He just suffered some trauma before coming to Red Maple City."
"Trauma?" Luo Xiu asked in confusion, and at the same time, the correct answer vaguely emerged in his heart.
"Yes, trauma." Pamier's voice said without a trace of ripples, "Before we passed the examination of the parish deacon and prepared to go to Red Maple City, Connor said to us: 'This is the last chance. After that, he may not have the chance to meet little Marilyn'."
"Then one day later, Connor became like this. I don't know what he went through. Anthony told me that he suffered some serious 'psychological trauma'."
……grass. Luo Xiu put his hand on his forehead, he already understood everything.
Luo Xiu then looked at Anthony, wanting to get some confirmation from him, but saw that Anthony just nodded slowly and cast a meaningful look at Luo Xiu.
After receiving the secret confirmation from Anthony, Luo Xiu looked at Connor with sympathetic eyes, and at the same time a sense of uneasy conscience emerged deep in his heart.
But this uneasiness soon dissipated, because he then saw Connor suddenly raised his head, his eyes dull but firm and said: "I won't do this again... Luo Xiu. I promise you. ”
"I already understand, I understand a simple but correct truth."
"——A woman will only affect the speed of my hammer swing."
…
(End of chapter)