Chapter 229 The Prelude to the War (5k)
After completing the "Crazy Piety" transformation of Asvis, Luo Xiu and his "Apostles" of the Holy Abyss withdrew from the stronghold before "Knight of the Throne" Frosa broke through the illusion.
After all, the main purpose of this operation has been achieved, and the "Priest of Death" Asvis has been transformed into a "crazy believer", so there is not much point in further delay.
After exiting the stronghold, Luo Xiu, Intis, Boozer and Undertaker went to another hidden alley in Rust Street, activated the key to the "Forgotten Royal Court", and teleported back to the Forgotten Royal Court together.
The moment "Throne Knight" Frosa appeared, Luo Xiu was prepared for all exits of Rust Street to be blocked by the side courtyard. They will then go deep into Rust Street to conduct a blanket search, and in this situation, teleporting back to the Forgotten Royal Court for temporary refuge is the safest option.
This time will not last long. Luo Xiu estimated that it would take about half a day. When half a day passed, he would come out of the Forsaken Royal Court and return to the church in person.
…
Isol was left in the royal court, in the main hall.
At this time, Luo Xiu was sitting on the throne, looking down at his apostles.
Intis, Boozer and Undertaker were currently kneeling on both sides of the hall, waiting for Luo Xiu to comment on their actions.
"Well done, Intis, Boozer, and The Undertaker."
Luo Xiu nodded and praised in an approving tone: "You successfully resisted those undead spirits and did not let them hinder me. You did a good job."
"I will give those who have meritorious service the rewards they deserve. You can feel grateful."
With that said, Luo Xiu took out the divine item "Spring of Spirituality" from his storage bracelet.
In recent times, Luo Xiu, who does not have much need for experience points, has continued to feed the spiritual fountain with a lot of experience.
The experience value savings in the spring pool have now reached 60,000 points, and the resonance level of the "Spring of Spirituality" and Luo Xiu himself has also reached level II.
[Father: Spring of Spirituality]
[Current experience value storage: 62382/5000000]
[Current resonance level: Level II]
[Level II resonance level: When taking out the stored experience value, it is effectively converted to 60%]
[It has reached Level II resonance level, and the "spring of spirituality" can condense natural spirituality]
[Efficiency of condensing natural spirituality: 7/min]
【……】
The second-level resonance spiritual spring increases the effective experience conversion rate by 10%, and also unlocks the effect of "condensing natural spirituality", which means that the "spiritual spring" can generate experience points by itself, and 7 points per minute With the growth rate of experience points, over 10,000 experience points can be accumulated every day.
After Luo Xiu took out the "Spring of Spirituality", he held the handle of the cup and shook it gently. The azure blue liquid in the cup swayed with layers of luster, emitting mottled fluorescence like a starry sky.
Then, Luo Xiu put his finger into the cup, dipped it in the liquid and flicked it towards the three people in front of the hall.
The azure liquid carrying spirituality turned into three strands of silk-like spirituality and flew toward the three of them. Intis, who had received the same "reward", no longer showed fear at this time, but calmly waited for the spiritual silk to touch her body.
Soon, the three spirits all "hit" their respective targets. Intis, Boozer and Undertaker felt at the same time that the comfortable, qualityless and surging spirituality poured into their bodies in an instant, merged into their inner spirituality, and became their The power part.
The amount of "experience points" Luo Xiu gave them was just enough for them to level up. As a result, they could quickly feel the increase in strength, and showed strong excitement for the "reward" they received.
"Thank you for your gift, Lord."
Intis, Boozer and the Undertaker then knelt down and thanked Luo Xiu together:
"Thank you for the power you have given me. We vow to follow you forever and become the blade to carry out your will."
…
Half a day passed.
Luo Xiu and Intis then teleported back to the real world from the Forgotten Royal Court, while Boozer and Undertaker still stayed in the Royal Court, supervising the unfinished construction of the Royal Court.
The first thing Luo Xiu did when he returned to the real world was to recall the "Shadow Shadows" who had been planted nearby on a foggy night.
Although the outside world and atmosphere cannot be sensed within the Forgotten Royal Court, such problems can be avoided to a large extent by using the "fog shadow" created by the foggy night as the "media" connecting the two places.
According to Luo Xiu's vision sharing of the "fog shadow" set up here in advance, the guard knights in the side court had just searched this street and alley an hour ago.
The deep alleys of Rusty Street where they were at this time had just been searched by the knights of the Imperial Guard. Not finding anyone suspicious, they found a small stronghold where another pagan organization had gathered, and used it to return to the side court and report to the "Grand Inquisitor".
The blockade of the guard knights was lifted, and Luo Xiu and Intis were able to leave Rust Street safely without meeting any guard knights on the way.
When they returned to the main street of Red Maple City, Luo Xiu handed over a task to Intis. Intis then left Red Maple City and headed to the main city of Songyuan; while Luo Xiu returned silently from the alley. Church, return to your high priestly abode.
After returning, he lifted the "real phantom" created by the "Shadow Raven" according to his own appearance. During this half-day, his "phantom" handled some affairs on his behalf, and no cleric saw any clues.
…
The next day, the messenger from the "Bianting" suddenly came to the church and claimed to the leader of the priesthood that he wanted to meet Luo Xiu, the "presiding priest".
Luo Xiu received this "messenger" and learned from him some follow-up news about the "Priest of Death" Asvis incident.
"Grand Inquisitor" Baines received feedback from "Knight of the Throne" Frosa shortly afterwards. According to what the envoy said, the second leader of their side court, Mr. "Frosa", carried out a mission to clear out the pagan stronghold on Rust Street the day before. And from this clearing mission, we obtained information about the distribution of all the "Secret Prayer of Death" strongholds in Red Maple City.
The envoy sent by Baines came to share this information with the church. But they still concealed the location of several strongholds, and one of them was the moved hideout of "Priest of Death" Asvis.
It seems that the "side court" still chooses to continue to protect Aswes... Luo Xiu thought to himself. Having transformed Asvis into a "Crazy Devotee", he naturally also obtained the distribution locations of all the "Death Secret Prayer" strongholds, and even had more comprehensive information than the side court, but there was no need to let these things go. The "messenger" in the side court knew.
"It's just that the 'clearance' mission we carried out was not completed perfectly."
The messenger continued to talk to Luo Xiu. He said that an unknown [Lost] fourth-level or fifth-level heretic appeared at the scene, and the unknown heretic practiced the way of "death". He even made a contract The messenger said that the "Grand Inquisitor" Baynes in the side court shared the matter with the church out of goodwill, and hoped that the church would pay more attention and take precautions.
But when Luo Xiu heard this, he felt inexplicably happy in his heart.
[Lost] pagans who practice the way of "death"? He also made a contract with a "god"... Luo Xiu knew as soon as he heard this that the so-called "unknown heretic" was him.
Amber, the "Guardian of Illusion" at that time, successfully analyzed the death curse released by Asvis with the help of "Illusion Dissociation". The power he possessed was temporarily transformed into death, which caused Frosa's misunderstanding...
Luo Xiu thought to himself that the reason why he did not take action personally was because he wanted to hide his identity and avoid direct contact with Frosa as much as possible. Now it seems that Frosa's misunderstanding is a good thing, and Luo Xiu doesn't need to hide anything anymore.
After that, the envoy vaguely expressed to Luo Xiu that their "side court" had recently conducted an internal investigation. It is said that Frosa proposed to Baines that every supreme person in the "side court" must verify their loyalty in order to eliminate internal worries before the war actually comes.
Although I don’t know why Bianting chose to arrest the mole at this time... But it seems that "Bianting" did not catch any suspicious bugs from this self-examination operation. This is equivalent to finally confirming the loyalty of one's own members. Apart from causing some panic in the "side court" for a while, it does not cause any loss to them.
After sharing this with Luo Xiu, the envoy from the "Bianting" prepared to say goodbye and leave. He also had to report the same information to the Fangbeiyuan of the "Tower of Sage" in Red Maple City. The schedule was quite tight.
The clergyman then sent the envoy out of the church, and Luo Xiu lived in the church residence for a while, handling church affairs while waiting for Intis to complete an important "diplomatic" task.
…
Half a month later. Red Maple City Church, inner courtyard of the church, sacred office.
In the morning, Luo Xiu had just finished the work at hand when the spiritual transmission of the "Family Crest" sent him a burst of warm breath.
Luo Xiu, who was aware of it, left the "bishop's room", left the Holy Office, went straight back to his high priest's residence, and opened the golden barrier.
He immediately walked up to the second floor of his residence and returned to his living room. Sure enough, he saw a white two-tailed cat lying lazily on the window sill.
Intis is back. She has completed the task assigned to her by Luo Xiu before, sneaked back into the church, and reported the completed situation to "Lord" Luo Xiu personally.
"Intis..." Luo Xiu sighed and said, "I should have told you not to break in casually."
"……never mind."
"What was the result of your trip to Songyuan City this time?"
"..."
Luo Xiu's eyes immediately filled with green mist, and the white two-tailed cat jumped down from the ground lightly, transforming into a graceful human form.
At this time, Intis was wearing a large-brimmed top hat, and the gauze along the edge just covered half of Intis's face; she was also wearing an elegant and exquisite layered pleated dress, exuding an elegant aristocratic temperament.
This is the style of dress that Intis wears most often when she and Luo Xiu go to Songyuan City. The task Luo Xiu asked Intis to go to Songyuan City to perform was to go to the "Bank of Gold" to deal with the follow-up matters of the "Gambling Agreement"!
It was already the end of October, and the "Gambling Agreement" that Luo Xiu had signed with Gonzalo Manston, the vice president of the "Golden Country Bank" in Songyuan City, had now reached its final deadline.
——He borrowed 2.3 million commercial securities from the bank at that time, and the mortgages for the loan were the three assets in which he first invested. Only if the total amount of these assets doubles within one month, Luo Xiu will be considered a "winner" and qualified to continue to be a distinguished customer of the bank.
Whether he will get rich overnight or lose money overnight depends on the outcome of Intis's trip to Songyuan City... Although Luo Xiu, who has memories of his past life, is very confident in this bet, he is also worried about what might happen. Condition.
Intis now came back with the results, so Luo Xiu immediately returned to his residence to see her, waiting for her report.
After Luo Xiu asked Intis, Intis got down on one knee, nodded and replied: "——We won the bet, Lord."
"..."
"……call."
When he heard Intis give a positive result, Luo Xiu let out a long sigh of relief.
By this time, the impact of the "October Famine" had become increasingly severe. According to Luo Xiu's estimation of the situation, the current total value of his assets should have met the gambling conditions stipulated in the terms of the agreement.
Intis's words confirmed these estimates. Luo Xiu then listened to Intis and continued: "The total assets of your three investments in the Bank of Gold have reached 5.12 million commercial securities. They have increased by two times compared to when you signed the "Gambling Agreement". More than twice as much, this has satisfied the terms and conditions of the Gambling Agreement.”
"According to the agreement, Vice President Gonzalo has carried out the subsequent operations. Half of your three investment assets have been returned to the 'El Dorado Bank', and the other half remains in your name. Vice President Gonzalo He has used his authority to waive all interest on this loan for you.”
"The vice president's original words were as follows: 'The bank has obtained sufficient benefits through this "Betting Agreement." As for the profits generated by it, it is completely incomparable to the benefits we have obtained.' Now, the remaining half of the investment assets, with a total value of 2.56 million commercial securities, are now normal investment assets and are no longer used as collateral for any loans.”
"Very good." Luo Xiu nodded, "I understand."
This is really good news before the "trial war" officially begins.
Luo Xiu's savings were almost exhausted, and he had to rely on the church's stipend to survive. The news brought back by Intis made Luo Xiu's funds abundant again, allowing him to consider doing more things.
After Intis finished reporting what she had said before, she also took out a large and exquisite money box from her bracelet.
She handed the cash box to her Lord and said:
"According to your previous instructions, I withdrew ten percent of your total assets."
"Twenty-five thousand commercial coupons, equivalent to two hundred and fifty platinum coins, are all here. Please accept them."
After Luo Xiu took the heavy money box, Intis finally said:
"In addition, there is one last thing."
"The Vice-President of the Bank of El Dorado, Mr. Gonzalo Manston."
"He said he looked forward to cooperating with you next time and entrusted me to say hello to you on his behalf."
"I understand." Luo Xiu nodded and said with a smile:
"I will consider it."
…
In the two months after the "Betting Agreement" was confirmed, Luo Xiu stayed in Red Maple City, developing the "Church" openly while secretly expanding the scale of his "Holy Abyss".
At the same time, he launched "just sanctions" against the pagan strongholds in Red Maple City at least once a week to maintain the prestige of himself and the church in Red Maple City.
Outside Red Maple City, in the wider Nolan Empire, the chaos of the war gradually surfaced.
In early November 767 of the Apocalypse Calendar, a shocking and major assassination occurred in the imperial capital. Dozens of Imperial Court officials were assassinated overnight, and the murderer even left a black knife at the scene and wrote twisted words of "revenge" in the blood of the deceased.
——This incident later became known as the "Black Knife Revenge" incident.
In late November 767 of the Apocalypse Calendar, a riot broke out in the "Kuma Territory" located on the border of the empire and adjacent to the Songyuan Territory. As the origin of the outbreak of the "September Plague" and also the hardest hit area by the "October Famine", the lords united with the "executors" who infiltrated the local area to overthrow the lord's rule, and officially declared independence. Claiming to use "bloody" means to avenge the empire and claim back the lives of those who have died.
——This incident later became known as the "Bloody Declaration" independence movement.
The next month, in mid-December 767 of the Apocalypse Calendar, a terrorist sacrifice took place in the important mining city "Rolling Stone City" located in the Imperial Territory. Half of the citizens exploded and died overnight, and their souls were captured by an unknown group of saints, and they disappeared after that.
The entire city fell into a huge panic for a while, and the Empire's extraordinary beings, who were busy responding to various emergencies, had no time to spare their sixth or seventh level of life and above to investigate the matter. This horrific sacrifice also became an important point of disagreement between the people of the empire and the imperial family, activating the contradiction between the ruling class of the empire and the ruled classes. A large number of civilians moved their families from the Imperial Territory to the Theocracy and the Golden Kingdom.
——This incident later became known as the "Rolling Stone City Sacrifice" tragedy.
In addition, there were more human tragedies that broke out in the empire in just two months. This made the empire's situation become more and more dangerous, and the imperial family's rule became more and more shaky.
And at the end of December, that is, the intersection between 767 and 768 years of the Apocalypse Calendar.
In the capital of the Nolan Empire, a duke, three marquises, and a dozen earls were "robbed of their hearts and souls" overnight, and they were wailing all day long.
Two days later, they were found dead suddenly in their own residence, in miserable conditions.
The "Great Sage" of the Empire's Sage Tower examined the cause of death of these emperors, and finally confirmed that it was the "Angel of Peace" who was affiliated with the Principality of Darkness and had the seventh level of destiny of [Void]. This completely intensified the conflict between the Empire and the Principality of Darkness. The conflict became the trigger for the outbreak of war.
And just when the Empire was ready to declare war and began to fully mobilize its troops and prepare to march to the border.
The cavalry of the Dark Principality took the lead in invading the territory of the empire.
——The "War of Revenge" against the Empire, and the "War of Judgment" against the Principality. The clarion call of war has truly sounded here.
…
(End of chapter)