Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 464: The Target of the "Blood Witch" (6k8, combined chapter~ more chapters are finished, please vote~)

Isol was left in the royal court, in the royal hall of "Holy Abyss".

When color returned to Luo Xiu's vision, he was already sitting on the golden throne in the royal palace.

Below him, in the center of the Royal Court Hall, stood the Faceless Man Intis, the Shadow Strategist Koros, and the Alienated Demon Bakad who had just become an Apostle of the Holy Abyss.

Barkkad has woken up.

After he was rescued by Hoffman, the "Hidden Sage", Hoffman took him to a base forty miles away from Fafnir City. That was a base where the taboo sorcerers of the "Hidden Omniscient" hid, and Hoffman asked Baccard to recover there first.

Through the "mist shadow" implanted on Baccard, Luo Xiu did "see" this scene.

When the "Lord of the Holy Abyss" and "Shura" Luo Xiu came to the royal court of the Holy Abyss and sat on the golden throne, only the "Faceless" Intis still stood with his hands hanging down, while Koros and Bakad knelt down on the throne.

"Lord."

They paid respectful greetings to Luo Xiu with piety and respect.

Luo Xiu's gaze swept over them at the same time. There was no obvious expression on his face. He just looked at his subjects quietly. At the same time, his left hand rubbed the surface of the bracelet on his right wrist and took out the black-patterned puppet mask that symbolized his identity.

When he put on the black-patterned puppet mask, black mist also emanated from the surface of his bishop's robe, weaving into a pitch-black robe like a cloak, covering up the aura that originally belonged to [Glory].

The restraint of one's own aura is completed in an instant.

That was not to hide his identity in front of the "Apostles of the Holy Abyss", it was more of a sense of ritual, a symbol of the identity of "Lord of the Holy Abyss".

And Luo Xiu's eyes also looked around at Index, Kolos and Baccard at the same time, and his sight finally stopped on Baccard.

In Luo Xiu's perception, the condition of the "alienated demon" Bakad Frederick is indeed much better than when he just underwent the transformation.

While watching and observing Baccard, Luo Xiu also performed panel detection on him.

As a saint with the destiny of [Red Lotus], he does possess very powerful healing abilities.

It had been less than four hours since he was transformed into an Apostle of the Holy Abyss, and his health had gradually recovered from being on the verge of death at the beginning to about two-thirds of his maximum health.

The obvious wounds on his body had almost healed, but he still looked weak. However, if Baccard encountered any danger that required immediate response, he could directly join the battle.

"Barcade."

Looking at Baccard, Luo Xiu slowly said:
"You have carried out the orders I gave you very well. Did the 'Hidden Sage', Hoffman Lotfi, who took you away from that battlefield, realize anything?"

"..."

"No."

Baccard shook his head and said in a voice trembling with enthusiasm and excitement:

"Hoffman didn't find anything. He just told me that he saved me to fulfill the agreement he made with Fafnir. When my former superior, Fafnir the Dragon of Destruction, comes back, Hoffman will hand me back to him."

"Yeah." Luo Xiu nodded.

The "Hidden Sage" Hoffman, he and the "Chief Executioner" Fafnir are indeed allies.

He would rush into the battlefield to save Baccard when he was on the verge of death, most likely to report to Fafnir, which was in line with Luo Xiu's expectations.

"So, Barcade."

Luo Xiu then said to Baccard:
"In that case, you should continue to stay under Hoffman's command. Later, I will ask Koros to find you as well. And, uh, there is also the witch of the Void, the 'Nightmare Witch' Samanthaya."

"I will obey your will, my lord." Baccard responded devoutly and respectfully.

……

While Luo Xiu and Bakade were talking briefly about this, another "executioner", Koros, was listening respectfully at the side.

In fact, he had already received orders from his "Lord" Luo Xiu earlier to go and pick up his "comrades" who had just become Apostles of the Holy Abyss.

But Koros didn't expect it to be Baccard at first, which was beyond Koros's expectations.

Before Baccard was converted, Koros had already regarded all the "Executioners" as enemies equally. But now - he also needed some time to accept the new decision made by his "Lord".

Under the influence of "mad piety", Koros thought about these subconsciously.

While he was still thinking, he heard his "Lord" turning his gaze towards him and calling him -

"Cross."

"..."

"Please show me, my lord."

Koros stopped thinking. He was now half-kneeling in front of the "Lord" on the golden throne, with his head lowered even lower.

……

"Regarding the bottom of the blood cave - did you find anything special from the remains of the 'Lord of Blood Sacrifice'?"

Luo Xiu asked Koros.

At that time, he had left Koros at the bottom of the blood cave to plunder. At that time, Luo Xiu did not have time to do it himself. After leaving Koros behind, he left the bottom of the blood cave directly and returned to the main battlefield.

Luo Xiu didn't think too much about it at that time - but he always felt that he might have missed something.

It was not until the expeditionary army actually captured Fafnir that Luo Xiu recalled another non-urgent but important matter -

That's about another "Red Crowned Prince" of the Empire - about "Harkswell Nolan"!
This is the name that came from the mouth of "Villino Bakar", the illegitimate son of Marquis Vizia Bakar, who was the highest-ranking "Order Killer" in the empire.

Luo Xiu knew that before he discovered it, the "Blood of Thorns" had already been connected to the "Order Killers" in the empire.

But now, apart from knowing only the name "Hakaswell Nolan", Luo Xiu knew very little about the other "Order Killers" hidden in the [Supreme], especially those with the fifth or even sixth destiny.

There might be information about these things at the bottom of the Blood Cave, and Koros should have already looted all these valuable things in advance.

While thinking about this, Luo Xiu's deep gaze under the mask was also staring at Kolos, waiting for his answer.

Koros responded to his "lord" quickly with a humble attitude and voice:
"Yes, my lord."

"I did find a lot of...um, corpses. That is indeed the most common thing at the bottom of that blood cave."

"There are also many equipment, weapons or materials engraved with the [Red Lotus]. I brought out a 'legendary', six 'epic' quality weapons and equipment, and dozens of materials of the same quality;"

"There are also many forbidden books that record the knowledge of Red Lotus's destiny, skills and techniques. I can sense the obvious spirituality attached to them. I brought them all out and placed them in the great library of the Holy Abyss."

"..."

"But these are hardly 'special' findings."

After a pause, Koros's face showed an even more fanatical expression, and he said:
"Inside a secret cave, I found more than thirty 'magic crystal balls' with residual spirituality."

"It seems to be pointing to something, and it needs to be infused with new spirituality to be activated."

"Before I followed you and served the Holy Abyss, I used a similar tool to get in touch with the Lord of Blood Sacrifice. It seemed to be something that could directly connect with one or more people, but I'm not sure who I would be able to connect with after infusing these magic crystal balls with spirituality."

"I am not sure what will happen after activation, but I have taken all the magic crystal balls from the secret cave and carefully placed them on the Holy Abyss, my Lord."

"..."

“…Yeah.” Luo Xiu nodded.

The "magic crystal ball" of the Lord of Blood Sacrifice, Luo Xiu had also seen this kind of thing.

Before he was promoted to the "Fifth Destiny" and became a bishop, he went to clear out several "Blood of Thorns" strongholds. In the room at the deepest part of the stronghold, there was such a thing.

By infusing spirituality into it, one can see the vague image of the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice" on the surface of the crystal ball and get in touch with the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice".

Those are the "Blood of Thorns" strongholds scattered throughout Songyuan Territory and even the empire. They are the fastest way to directly contact their "Lord" - the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice".

Those magic crystal balls stored in the secret cave might be communication devices that have not yet been distributed to other bases of "Blood of Thorns". However, they might also be props used by the Lord of Blood Sacrifice to contact other people.

Find time to try to infuse enough spirituality into those "magic crystal balls". Maybe the one who is "connected" is a certain Order Killer, or other heavyweights who have had secret connections with the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice".

Luo Xiu decided that after completing the transformation of the "Nightmare Witch" Samanthaya, he would try to "connect" a few magic crystal balls.

"..."

"Yes, Koros."

While thinking about it, Luo Xiu looked at Kolos, nodded lightly, and said in an affirmative tone:

"You did very well."

"I will give you enough rewards, Koros - you have done a good job in carrying out what I asked you to do."

As he spoke, Luo Xiu had already connected his spirituality to the "Spring of Spirituality" and opened the panel corresponding to this divine object. He allocated 200,000 experience points from it and distributed them to Koros.

The intangible spirit condensed into a ball of light at Luo Xiu's fingertips, and as Luo Xiu's finger pointed in the direction of Koros, it floated towards Koros.

The ball of light touched and merged into Koros' body. Koros felt a burning sensation all over his body, and his spirituality suddenly became extremely full.

He could clearly feel that his strength had gradually and significantly increased the moment the ball of light merged into his body.

This made Koros excited and happy, and there was a bit more fanaticism in his eyes when he looked at the "Lord" on the golden throne.

Baccard was also watching this scene, and he felt admiration from the bottom of his heart. The reward that Kolos was receiving from the "Lord" was exactly what he was willing to give up everything to pursue.

……

Until Koros digested all the "spirituality" given to him by Luo Xiu and transformed it into his own power.

Luo Xiucai said to Koros and Baccard:

"You should leave first, Koros and Barcade."

"Go to the dungeon and meet your former 'colleague' for me, the executioner of Nothingness, Samanthaya."

"Before I go over, you guys keep watch over her for me."

"..."

"I will obey your will, my lord."

Koros and Bakad knelt on the ground and paid their respects to the "Lord" on the throne. Then they stood up, put on the puppet masks given to them by the "Lord", and walked out of the palace.

According to Luo Xiu's instructions, they will go to the "dungeon" of the "Holy Abyss" -

All captured seedlings waiting to be transformed into new "Apostles of the Holy Abyss" will be detained there first, and Fenrir is already waiting in the deepest prison, where he and the "Nightmare Witch" Samanthaya, whom he captured, are both.

……

Luo Xiu watched the backs of Koros and Baccard disappear from his sight.

He turned his gaze towards Index and said in a softer tone:

"I have killed the 'Lord of Blood Sacrifice', Intis."

"The blood of thorns - that no longer exists. Your hatred has been severed, and you no longer have these chains or fetters on your body."

"I will give you everything Koros brought back from the bottom of the Blood Cave - all the weapons, equipment, props and materials, as well as the forbidden books that record the knowledge of the Red Lotus' skills and techniques." "You are my only dependent, Intis, I allow you to have these."

"..."

"Thank you... Lord."

Index's voice was noticeably trembling.

The light in her eyes kept changing, revealing her boiling, excited heart.

When Luo Xiu was talking to Koros and Baccard, Index remained silent.

And now - when she really learned from Luo Xiu that the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice" had been killed, she finally couldn't control herself.

Luo Xiu looked at Index, who had taken off the mask he was wearing and a faint smile appeared on his face.

In the earliest days, Index "defected" from the Blood of Thorns.

She has a deep hatred for the Lord of Blood Sacrifice - it was the Lord of Blood Sacrifice who killed her family, and controlled her mind with the means of [Red Lotus], training her as a "blood disciple", making her serve the Blood of Thorns in ignorance.

Although the "inscription" on Index's body was suddenly broken later, she regained her free consciousness and finally found an opportunity to steal the "sacred object" of the Lord of Blood Sacrifice, the two-faced doll, and escaped. However, after escaping from the Blood of Thorns, she was afraid of being retaliated by the Lord of Blood Sacrifice.

Later, she met the new "Lord" - Luo Xiu. With the help of Intis, she witnessed the "Lord" establish the Holy Abyss and became the first apostle of the "Holy Abyss".

Although the "Holy Abyss" can give Index a considerable sense of security, she still feels fear and anxiety at times.

Only when the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice" is truly dead, will she feel relieved and truly safe——

Luo Xiu knew all this.

Killing the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice" is the best "gift" that Rossu gave to Index.

And this can truly gain her full loyalty - let her not only pursue the power of the "Holy Abyss" or the shackles of the "Family", but truly and willingly show her full loyalty to herself.

If Index was 99% loyal to him before, then now - after killing the "Lord of Blood Sacrifice", her loyalty has finally reached perfection and has become unshakable.

"..."

"Really...thank you...your Majesty."

Under Luo Xiu's smiling gaze, Index's voice was still trembling, her chest heaving with excitement, her face flushed slightly due to the turmoil in her heart, and her voice was a little choked.

She was indeed full of gratitude towards Luo Xiu and the new "Lord".

It was the "Lord" who gave her everything she has now, and it was also the "Lord" who cut off the darkness that lingered around her.

If there had been no Luo Xiu and no "Holy Abyss", she might have died in the pursuit of the Blood of Thorns, and would never have lived to this day, and would never have witnessed the day when the "Blood of Thorns" was completely destroyed.

Index knew this, and Luo Xiu also knew what she was thinking.

And now Index seemed to need some time to calm herself down.

"Go and have a look at what Koros brought back, Intis."

While speaking to Index, Luo Xiu stood up from the throne and walked in front of Index.

His hand gently patted Index's slender shoulder and stroked her soft silver-gray hair.

"The Lord of Blood Sacrifice is dead, but I need you to continue to grow, Intis."

Stroking her hair, Luo Xiu walked to the side of Index, and his voice was clearly heard by Index:

"Accept his 'legacy', Index. I need you to become stronger, and my next mission for you is to upgrade the [Red Lotus] to the fifth level of destiny."

"Barcade, Koros. Among the 'Apostles of the Holy Abyss', there will be more and more saints. And you, Intis, as the 'Faceless One', I still need you to lead them."

"You must therefore become stronger, Intis - become a 'saint', inherit the abilities of the Lord of Blood Sacrifice, and transform from a 'Shadow of Slaughter' into a 'Witch of Blood'. You can and must do it."

"..."

At the side of Index, Luo Xiu leaned down slightly and said this to Index.

In Luo Xiu's development plan for Index, she does need to be promoted further.

Especially after he truly advanced to the "Sixth Level of Destiny" and truly entered the next level, Index, as his "dependent", was advanced to the "Fifth Level of Destiny", which was convenient and beneficial in various senses.

And the "Blood Witch" - that is one of the hidden professions that can be obtained by further advancing the "Shadow of Killing" of the fourth destiny of [Red Lotus].

Index's current occupation in [Red Lotus] is "Shadow of Slaughter", and to be promoted from "Shadow of Slaughter", the normal promotion route is to become "Lord of Blood Slaughter", and there are three hidden promotion routes, namely "Red Apostle", "Lord of Blood Sacrifice" and "Blood Witch".

Among them, the "hidden profession" that is most suitable and easiest for Index to be promoted successfully is the Blood Witch.

"If that's what you expect."

Under Luo Xiu's gaze, Index nodded to him and responded clearly and firmly:

"I will become the 'Blood Witch' - as long as that is your wish."

"I will do whatever it takes to become... whatever you want me to be."

"any."

"..."

……

Afterwards, at Luo Xiu's instruction, Intis left the hall and went to the library in the "Holy Abyss" where books and scrolls were stored.

She was going to "receive" the "legacy" left by the Lord of Blood Sacrifice, so she would start by truly learning and mastering several of his [Red Lotus] techniques or skills.

Luo Xiu put on the black-patterned puppet mask again and set off for the dungeon where the "Nightmare Witch" Samanthaya was imprisoned.

Half an hour later.

In the dungeon beneath the "Holy Abyss" royal court.

Luo Xiu had opened the secret door from the secret passage on the side of the palace, entered the corridor, and went down along the corridor to the dungeon.

This is a medium-sized prison built right below the royal palace. When Luo Xiu first obtained the Lost Royal Court of Isol, he had the first generation of Holy Abyss Apostles build this place.

For Luo Xiu, there are only two purposes for building a dungeon: to accommodate "monsters" that are worth taming, and to detain pagans who are candidates for becoming "Apostles of the Holy Abyss".

Most of the "Apostles of the Holy Abyss" are consumables and do need to be replenished at any time.

Thanks to the "War of Judgment" that is in full swing, there is always a shortage of talents who can be transformed into "Apostles of the Holy Abyss". The "Dark Principality", which has high-quality extraordinary people and saints such as the Executioner, Black Fang, and Fang Head, is the largest talent market for Luo Xiu.

Normally, Luo Xiu would come here two or three times a day. That was mainly when the cooldown of "Crazy Piety" was over. Luo Xiu would go down to this dark and gloomy dungeon to transform an apostle seedling.

"--Roar……"

In the darkness, bursts of low roars came from deeper in the dungeon.

Those are the magical beasts imprisoned here, some are mounts prepared for the Holy Abyss Apostles, and some are captured for research.

Nearly half of the prisoners here are "Yuan Beasts". Luo Xiu has copied the technology to control Yuan Beasts from Fangbeiyuan. The apostles of "Holy Yuan" are currently ahead of Fangbeiyuan in this aspect of research.

Ignoring the roar coming from deep in the dungeon, Luo Xiu continued walking deeper into the dungeon.

He went deeper into the dungeon for about twenty minutes before reaching the end of the corridor. At the deepest point was a tightly locked steel door.

On both sides of the steel door, there are six Holy Abyss Apostles with the "Quadruple Destiny" guarding it.

When the Holy Abyss apostles saw their "Lord" coming here, they all paid their respects to Luo Xiu, and at Luo Xiu's instruction, opened the last blocked door for their "Lord" -

Luo Xiu's vision suddenly became clear.

It was a fairly large space. Looking up, one could not see where the dome was, and looking down, one could only see the abyss.

Six interlocking heavy iron chains hung from above, lifting up a floating platform with its edge suspended in the air.

In the middle of the platform, there was a huge bird cage forged with fine steel. Outside the cage were Koros and Bakad, who had come here in response to the order of the "Lord".

Inside the cage is Fenrir, the "Wolf of Eternal Night", and his captured "prey" - Samanthaia, the "Witch of Nightmare", who is being watched over by Fenrir all the time.

The executioner of the [Nothingness], the "Nightmare Witch" Samantha, had heavy shackles on her neck, wrists and ankles. She had many dense wounds and burns on her body, which were the traces of her being seriously injured by Fenrir and Wuye during her escape.

Her spirituality had been blocked, and she was seriously injured and on the verge of death, but she still retained consciousness.

At this moment, Samantha's eyes widened, a ferocious expression of weakness and anger appeared on her face. She looked at Baccard and Koros who were indifferent in front of her, and cursed with a trembling voice:
"Damn... traitor..."

"A despicable deserter... a betrayer who deserves to be cut into pieces..."

"Kuros, Barcard... Lord Fafnir will not... will not let you go..."

"..."

The expression on her face became more and more distorted as she cursed.

And when she heard a loud "clang" and the only heavy steel door leading to this place was opened, the "Nightmare Witch" Samantha trembled all over.

The anger remained on her face, but fear also emerged at the same time - a deep fear that was filled with despair and emerged from the bottom of her heart.

She saw that figure - the figure that separated her from Hubbard and expelled her when she possessed Hubbard, the "Holy Deacon", in the city of Fafnir!

At this time, Luo Xiu had taken off his mask, and his eyes were cold. That gaze, which seemed to be without a trace of emotion, pierced Samantha's face like a knife.

"You... it's you..."

She was trembling and wailing at the same time, but the "bishop" was still approaching her step by step.

"Don't...don't come close to me..."

"Get out...all of you...get out...get out right now!"

"..."

"The Nightmare Witch" Samantha, she was screaming almost at the top of her lungs.

But Luo Xiu ignored Samantha's wailing. When he just stepped onto the platform, the cooling time of "Mad Piety" just ended.

Even in Samantha's panicked, terrified and desperate eyes, Luo Xiu had already come to her, stretched out his right hand and gently pressed it on her forehead.

His eyes gleamed with a deep light, and a bright golden light floated on the back of his hand. He began to chant:

"——This is kindness, this is mercy..."

"——You are the sin of straying, and I am the guiding light..."

"——Abandon the nothingness and follow me..."

"——Convert to the Holy Abyss and serve me as your Lord..."

……

(End of this chapter)