Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 598 Inspection
After the players had reported a dozen or so potentially valuable pieces of information to Luo Xiu, listening to what the players had to say afterward became less meaningful.

Luo Xiu listened patiently to the peripheral intelligence that gradually evolved into something with negligible impact on the battle situation, while simultaneously opening the panel and writing tasks into it.

When the last player finished narrating, Xiang Luoxiu...

Luo Xiu had finished writing the task, so he smiled and said to them:
"very good."

"I understand completely."

"Then, we hope you will continue your investigation and bring us back more useful intelligence. Every piece of valuable intelligence will lay a better foundation for our victory and allow us to return in triumph bathed in sacred glory."

After saying that, he distributed the prepared tasks to the players simultaneously.

[Triggering the quest: The Bishop's Reward (Normal Difficulty)]

【…】

[Completed Quest: The Bishop's Reward (Normal Difficulty)]

[You have brought back crucial intelligence for "Archbishop" Rosius Carlos. The Archbishop praises and rewards you, and you will receive the rewards you deserve.]

[The task is being settled...]

[Completion Rewards: Base Experience +200000, Free Attribute Points +20]

【…】

"..."

"——!!!"

When new content appeared on the panel, indicating that the quest was now "completeable," the players' faces lit up with excitement.

—Following the bishop really does bring benefits! .jpg
Two hundred thousand experience points and twenty free attribute points—that's the reward players would normally get after completing three or four commissioned tasks.

Thomas, the big fish, and other players then happily settled the score.

Having confirmed that the experience points and free attribute points had been added to the panel, they then looked at the bishop on the main seat and said:
"We will continue our investigation and bring you valuable intelligence."

"Go ahead." Luo Xiu smiled and nodded.

The players bowed to Luo Xiu one last time before leaving the tent in turn.

They couldn't wait to conduct the next investigation—and coincidentally, "General Thunder" Albert Perez had already assigned them a new investigative task.

……

Watching the players' departing figures.

Luo Xiu, sitting in the main seat, let out a long sigh of relief. Having been a player himself, he knew what players needed most at this stage.

The rewards from the tasks they receive also serve as their motivation. The experience points they gain will be returned to the "Spiritual Fountain" above the "Sacred Abyss"—as he is about to advance to the seventh level of destiny, he also needs to nurture these players to expand his experience field.

And the news of Thomas and his friends' return after the "Mirror of Radiance" players left will gradually spread among the players.

At that time, many players, like Thomas and his group, will come to his camp to provide him with this information, and he will give them equal rewards. This is also a way to encourage and strengthen the players before the final battle.

"..."

Luo Xiu was thinking about these things.

Shortly after the players left, the tent flap was lifted again.

This time, it was "Guiding Priest" Koren, who had previously followed the expeditionary force and had now returned to Luo Xiu's side, and "Preacher" Glaisa, who was going to the [Supreme] headquarters to report.

They have arrived with Lord Gawain and Stuart the "Knight of the Sky".

Luo Xiu looked at them.

After a few days apart, Gao Wen's face seemed to have aged a bit.

The "Knight of the Sky" also looked rather old, with several worn and damaged patches on his armor, which he did not repair.

Starting from Val Fortress, they "explored" their way to the edge of the Dark Capital. Along the way, they conquered several more fortresses and important cities. According to the intelligence Luo Xiu received from the front lines, the Heavenly Knight had beheaded several more executioners, and even beheaded a "Chief Executioner" in a fierce battle.

Since Matsubara embarked on his long expedition, under the leadership of Gawain, Stuart, and himself, the Matsubara Expeditionary Force has achieved considerable success.

The Matsubara Expeditionary Force was a force to be reckoned with, even among all the Empire's expeditionary forces. Lord Gawain and Stuart might even receive medals and promotions after the war ends and they return to the Empire.

Marquis Bakal, who is based in Songyuan City, may also be promoted to duke—becoming one of the few dukes outside the imperial family.

Therefore, Lord Gawain and "Knight of the Sky" Stuart were able to do their best throughout the entire expedition. When they received the message from Glaisa that "Archbishop" Roth had arrived, they immediately put aside all their affairs and went to the bishop's tent to see him.

"Greetings, Lord. And greetings to you, Sir Stuart."

Upon seeing Lord Gawain and Stuart arrive, Roth rose from his seat and greeted them with a smile:

“It feels like we haven’t seen each other for ages.”

He greeted Gawain and Stuart in this way, and smiles appeared on the faces of the two "Supreme" lords and generals.

"You've finally arrived, Lord Luo Xiu."

Gao Wen said with a smile.

When Gawain returned Luo Xiu's greeting, he looked around as if searching for something in the tent.

But it was indeed only Luo Xiu, so Gao Wen casually asked Luo Xiu:
"Where's your dragon?"

"..."

He still can't forget the dragon.

“It’s resting,” Luo Xiu replied with a smile.

“…Hmm.” Gawain nodded, saying nothing more, only a polite smile on his face.

Gawain's attitude towards Rosh has now become humble and polite. He knows that the "Archbishop" Rosh Carlos in front of him is no longer the original "High Priest" with only four destinies.

Luo Xiu is now a rising star in the Holy Court. Gawain knows that even his uncle, Count Faron Bakal, who is based in Sina City, would be friendly when he first meets him.

He had already tested and investigated Luo Xiu several times, but since he hadn't obtained any useful results, there was no need—in fact, he had no right to conduct such investigations on Luo Xiu again. "I've heard about it, Lord Luo Xiu," Stuart, standing beside Gawain, said to Luo Xiu.

"You, along with that saintess and several Templar Knights from the 'Godhunter' Knights, worked together to successfully slay the 'Devouring Dragon' Fafnir."

"We didn't expect that 'Destruction Dragon' Fafnir would actually be resurrected in that way... However, it's good that the danger he might have brought us has been successfully resolved."

"I hope so," Luo Xiu nodded.

He knew that the "Devouring Dragon" had not truly been destroyed—after all, the "Primordial Demon" was still immortal as long as it retained its true name. And after the "Dragonblood Knight Commander" Demosth disintegrated, sealed, and took it away, no one knew what would happen next.

It can only be said that the dangers and threats that the "Devouring Dragon" may bring will not affect him, at least not until the final battle of the Judgment War ends.

He thought to himself, then asked Stuart:
“I have just arrived, and Lord Daveld, along with the paladins of the ‘Godhunter’ Templar Order, will arrive in a few days.”

"We have agreed to fight alongside you in the final battle. To that end, I would like to first understand the current situation of the war and the preparations we have made."

"..."

“Then come with me, Lord Rosh,” Stuart said.
“A few days ago, we joined up with the Kumar Expeditionary Force and the Winston Expeditionary Force. Now, we are all stationed here and share a common base.”

“I’ll show you around and, by the way, introduce you to the commanders of the Kumar Expeditionary Force and the Winston Expeditionary Force.”

……

They left the bishop's tent.

Accompanied by Lord Gawain and Stuart, Roth began his first formal inspection of the expeditionary force's encampment.

A thin veil of white mist clung to the tents, and the first rays of the sun shone through the thin fog, casting a hazy orange-red glow.

Luo Xiu looked at the rows of neat tents, the passageways between the tents were clean and tidy, and the soldiers were moving back and forth at the tent entrances, carrying out their respective tasks. Everything was in good order.

The soldiers standing guard in front of the tent stood like steel, their eyes bright and their upright postures as unwavering as sculptures.

Meanwhile, on the open ground of the drill ground, soldiers were practicing diligently, sweating profusely. The clanging of swords echoed powerfully in the increasingly sweltering air.

Lord Gawain and Stuart would stop from time to time to carefully inspect the soldiers' equipment, ask them about their condition, and offer them guidance.

Under Luo Xiu's gaze, he could indeed feel the barely suppressed activity and restlessness emanating from the soldiers in front of the military tents.

The vast majority of the expeditionary force soldiers were filled with excitement and anticipation for the upcoming decisive battle. For them, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to distinguish themselves and achieve great deeds.

Even if they died on this foreign battlefield, it would not be a disgrace to them.

The Imperial Glory Monument will be inscribed with the names of all the warriors who died for the Empire, and will provide their parents and children with a pension sufficient to feed their families, education for their underage children, and employment for their adult children.

On this point, Luo Xiu acknowledged the Empire's power—in fact, on the continent of Fanor, only the Empire could achieve this. This was a manifestation of the Empire's strength and a crucial source of its survival and development.

And besides these.

Luo Xiu's attention was also focused more on extraordinary power—

At the edge of the outskirts, the Descendant Legion's base, and the Warlock Legion led by the "Sage of Mystery" Dukler, were also encamped.

Dukler had staked almost all of his wealth on this battlefield. Luo Xiu had long since spotted from afar the dozens of "giant golems," each tens of meters tall, hunching over as if waiting in ambush, their rock-like bodies adorned with various runic siege weapons.

Those were all "Catastrophe+" tier puppets—and these were puppets that Dukler had already mass-produced. Dukler also possessed many other "Catastrophe" and "Madness" tier puppets, a considerable number of which were undergoing training and optimization. At this moment, the factory he had temporarily built was still producing puppets in a steady stream.

The essence of Dukler's "Sorcerer Legion" is actually his puppet army.

The sorcerers he trained were the units that controlled his puppets. If Dukler could control all the puppets at the same time, he could almost single-handedly form an army.

Alchemists with "six destinies" are indeed terrifyingly powerful when given a massive investment of resources.

Luo Xiu could already hear the rumbling sounds surging into his ears. The closer he got to Dukler's base, the more he felt the earthquake beneath his feet.

He looked up and saw a dozen "rune airships" hovering in the air—creations combining golems and rune techniques, equipped with a large number of rune cannons that had a powerful air-to-ground suppressive force and could also carry troops to cross obstacles from the air.

The humming sound of steam emanated from the air tanks and engine pumps of the dozen or so rune airships in mid-air, and steam also spewed out from the pipes on both sides, leaving a trail like dense clouds in the air.

“Our ally, the ‘Sage of Mystery’ Dukler, these are all his creations.”

Stuart, standing to the side, said to Luo Xiu:

“You’ve met him. But he’s not at the base right now. He was summoned from the ‘Tower of Sages’ and has gone to the central base to meet the Grand Sage of the ‘Tower of Sages’ along with other sages and great sages.”

“I know him. Lord Dukler is a powerful alchemist,” Luo Xiu nodded.

As he spoke, he realized what Stuart had just said, so he looked at Stuart and asked him:
"Chief Thorin?"

“Yes, the Great Sage has arrived.” Stuart nodded.

"Together with our Emperor, the Supreme Emperor Augustusville—the Great Sage Chief and Emperor Augustusville arrived at the front a few days ago."

"The day before, the Emperor had already convened a meeting of all of us who had entered the Saintly Realm at the Sixth Destiny Level and above. Today's meeting is for those with [Intelligence], and the content should be roughly the same."

"Um……"

At this point, Stuart glanced at Luo Xiu and said:

"Lord Luo Xiu, it's just that the Holy Crowned Pope of the 'Holy Court' has not yet arrived."

"According to the notification I received, the Pope was supposed to arrive yesterday."

"His Holiness the Pope may have been delayed by something," Luo Xiu said after thinking for a moment.

Pope Lawrence hadn't arrived yet—the Holy See had many matters to attend to recently, and even the Pope was stretched thin. It was normal for him to arrive a day later than scheduled, and Luo Xiu didn't dwell on it further.

As he thought this, he, Lord Gawain, and Stuart left the premises of the Institute of Knowledge.

They had arrived at the border between the Kumar Expeditionary Force and the Winston Expeditionary Force, and could see two figures, one strong and one thin, approaching from afar.

Those were the commanders of two expeditionary forces, and like Stuart, they were two "Knights of the Sky".

……

(End of this chapter)