Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 610 Promotion Mission: [The Crown of the Great Sun]

"The Blind Shadow" Archirad smelled a burnt aroma.

The scent came from his ally, who was not far away and had secretly formed a cooperative alliance with the Dark Duchy—from the "Lich King," the "Brown King" Bridget.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

Out of the corner of Archelaad's eye, he saw Bridget convulsing in a frenzied manner, desperately searching for a less scorching spot amidst the terrifying dragonfire—but he found none. His tentacles, like giant octopus claws, had burned and curled at the tips, their sticky surfaces charred and emitting a fragrant aroma.

...an enticing aroma.

For some reason, Archibald felt a surge of desire deep within him to truly "taste" the flavor of his allies.

But Archelaad suppressed such thoughts. He himself was also being burned by the terrifying dragon flames, but fortunately, it was not his main body that was being burned, but the "shadow" connected to it. If it were not truly sealed by spirituality, his main body would not have been fatally injured.

This is Archirad's ability as "The Blind Shadow".

Just as something encased in water that does not evaporate cannot be ignited by a raging fire in the outside world—that “shadow” was the water that enveloped Archelad.

Archibald looked up at the colossal dragon that had suddenly appeared above him, blotting out the sky—

According to the intelligence we have obtained, none of the "Sevenfold Fate" Saints in the Empire are raising such a dragon.

Dragons above the "Cataclysmic Annihilation" rank—the "God's Throne" rank—are even higher than this rank!
Even if that dragon is not just a simple magical beast, but some kind of unknown "deity"—it might even be a deity that surpasses the "celestial spirit" level!

Archibald thought so.

The only information that might be related to that ancient dragon comes from an "archbishop" at the Imperial War—Roshu Carlos, known as the "Ancient Dragon Bishop," who is said to possess an ancient dragon.

Archelaad possessed some necessary intelligence about the ancient dragon that had been kept by the "Chief Executor" Fafnir, even though communication among the Chief Executors was not very smooth.

...That's at most an ancient dragon of the "Cataclysmic Annihilation" rank.

Rumor has it that although the ancient dragon, together with the archbishop, killed many executioners and breached many fortresses and cities... the strength of that ancient dragon in the rumors should not be as terrifying as the one above my head.

That's almost equivalent to a Saint at the peak of the "Seventh Fate Path," and even quite close to the level of a "Demigod." What exactly is that...?

"..."

Archibald was thinking about these things.

The thunder was still reverberating in his ears, and the intense dragon flames distorted the air, burning everything Archirad could see into a blur.

But he still saw it—beside the ancient dragon that blotted out the sky above his head, the figure of a young "archbishop" was floating...

"..."

"Could it be that……"

Archelaad had just dismissed the idea, but when he saw the archbishop's figure, a dangerous suspicion surfaced in his mind—

"What are you standing there for, Archibald!"

Until Archira heard a low, angry roar in his ears, from his colleague, another "Black Pillar," "Blood Crowned Venerable" Bogula.

Around Polgara, crimson blood had formed a thick sphere, protecting him from the scorching dragon flames.

The blood on the inner side was rapidly congealing into a black crystalline wall, while the blood on the outer side was constantly melting and evaporating into a scarlet, misty blood vapor, thus resisting the intense burning of the dragon flames.

"It's time to retreat, Archirad."

Polgara's deep voice was filled with anger—

"An unexpected situation has arisen. We can't kill that Eternal Knight; we should retreat—"

--boom!!!!!!!

As Bogula was saying this, countless golden flames surged forth from the dragon flames that were engulfing them!
That did not originate from the ancient dragon in the sky, but from the power of another "Sevenfold Destiny" Saint.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

Bridget, the Brown Demon King, cried out even more mournfully.

Archibald's gaze pierced through the flames.

His pupils suddenly contracted.

He did see it—right next to Monigne, the "Sword of the Holy One," another figure appeared.

—That is the Third Cardinal of the Holy Court, the Radiant Holy Cardinal Efra!

……

“...You should be more careful, Monigne.”

In Evra's hand, the crimson scepter he gripped tightly unleashed an even more dazzling and intense surge of holy flames into the raging dragonfire before him.

Upon noticing the commotion, Evra, who was nearby, immediately rushed over and encountered two "Black Pillars" and a "Lich King" preparing to retreat.

He raised his hand and activated the authority of [Radiance]—the Level III authority [Judgment Flame]. Dozens of flame pillars rose from the ground from bottom to top within the dragon flames, which was the power of this authority.

That nearly doubled the power of the dragon flames that exploded from top to bottom—the three enemies with "sevenfold destiny" caught in the flames were gradually unable to withstand the intense heat.

Desperate to escape, they sped up their escape towards the edge of the dragon flames.

So, how are your injuries?

The Third Cardinal, Efra, did not turn back, continuing to control the Holy Flame in pursuit of the enemy, while asking Monigne a question.

Monigne moved her left arm, and she regained sensation.

After using the authority of the [Divine Announcement Seal] on himself, the curse poison he had been afflicted by Archirad's sneak attack was completely purified. Monigne could feel the return of his power and immediately gripped the holy sword once more.

"Fortunately."

Monigne nodded slightly.

She turned around and looked at Franya—the "saintess" was still standing unharmed behind her, though her face was somewhat pale.

Even though she was advised not to reveal her "sevenfold destiny" power too early, Monigne was unable to do so given the dangerous situation she was in at the time.

She still used some of these methods—such as diluting the sacred relic [the remains of the ancient saint], providing protection for Monine, and quickly performing several sacred spells to offer Monine the necessary assistance.

Her main ability to advance to the seventh level of destiny, "Celestial Crown," has not yet been revealed. Monine was relieved to see that Franya was unharmed. She then looked up at the high heavens.

That was undoubtedly Quesanx, the "Dragon of Justice," and Rosh, who wielded Him.

But in Monigne's intuition, "Quisanx" seemed... to have changed.

Previously, Monine thought it was just a powerful ancient dragon, but now... it has become so powerful that even Monine has a faint fear of it.

"So, what is that, Monigne?"

While continuing the pursuit of the three "Sevenfold Fate" enemies before him, the "Third Cardinal" Evra still had the energy to speak, asking Monigne a question.

"That archbishop from Sina. I heard you've been working with him for a while, Monine. That ancient dragon... why does it possess the power of a 'demon god,' Monine?"

"..." "Luo Xiu is our comrade-in-arms, Lord Evra."

Instead of answering Evra's question, Monigne spoke directly to him—

“You can trust him as you trust me and Princess Franya. Now is not the time to have doubts. Any concerns can wait until after the final battle.”

"..."

"Humph."

Evra snorted, his orange-red beard curling up like burning flames.

He was clearly not satisfied with Monigne's answer. But she was right—now was not the time to question these things.

“If he does anything out of line or detrimental to the Holy Court, I will hold you accountable, Monigne.”

“Third Cardinal,” Evra said in a low voice.

"..."

Monigne stopped responding to him and focused all her attention on the three enemies ahead who were preparing to flee.

Then, he raised the holy sword once more.

……

Quesanx's [Destructive Surge], which he unleashed upon the earth, indeed had a strong suppressive effect on enemies with the "Sevenfold Fate".

High in the sky, Luo Xiu still looked down at the battle below, thinking about these things.

Since Quesanx ascended to the rank of "Demon God"—his power has become infinitely close to that of a true "demigod." This was unexpected by everyone, and Luo Xiu was satisfied with this result.

He doesn't need to personally confront the opponents of the "Seven Fates".

That allows him to always be in a "disengaged" state.

This is the state Luo Xiu needs right now—Quisanx is enough to replace him, and he will stay by Quisanx's side for the time being, providing him with protection, and keeping an eye on the growth of experience points on the panel.

Quesanx's [Surge of Destruction] not only suppressed the Black Pillars of the Seven Fates and the Lich King, but also obliterated many Black Legion, Black Fang, and Fang Leaders on the periphery. On Luo Xiu's interface, the rate of experience point gain accelerated, until now, only a few thousand points remained.

The last thousand points—

One hundred points

—Experience points are full!
"..."

"……call."

Looking at the experience bar on the panel, its border now lit up with gold, the accumulated experience points had reached the level required to upgrade to lv.80.

Even while out of combat, Luo Xiu was still able to operate his control panel—he let out a long sigh of relief and murmured:
"Hopefully, the 'promotion quest' that pops up won't be too difficult..."

"..."

Invest your experience points and make the final upgrade!

【…】

[Current main class "Holy Winged Envoy" has invested 112632622 experience points]

[My current main class, "Holy Winged Envoy," has been upgraded to level 80!]

[Gain 50 free attribute points!]

【…】

[Current Destiny Level Limit Reached... Promotion Requirements Met...]

[Promotion quest being generated...]

[Triggering the Promotion Quest: The Crown of the Great Sun (Cataclysm Difficulty)]

[Recommended level: lv.80+, Sixfold Destiny or above]

[Task Type: Promotion Task]

[Mission Description: You are a Holy Winged Messenger—a mortal descendant of angels, an agent of fleeting moments. Now, you have once again arrived at a crucial juncture for spiritual ascension.]

To achieve the path of ascension, to reach the pinnacle of destiny, and to receive the crown bestowed by the Pillar God—

You should complete at least four "divine revelations," and at least two of them should be completed perfectly, in order to receive a moment of divine blessing;
You should wield sufficient and high-ranking [glorious] authority;
You should master the sacred art [Exalted Punishment] and gain all its buffs;

You should possess a sufficiently high level of "divinity";
The angel you contract with should reach the divine status of a "four-winged angel" or a "chaotic spirit";

You must accept the final trial—defeat an enemy of the "Sevenfold Fate" or its equivalent, or survive a fierce battle with it for more than three hours.

Complete these steps to prove you are qualified to continue ascending, open the 'Gate of Stars,' and advance through the 'Sevenfold Destiny.'

[Mission Objective 1 (Completed): Complete at least four "Divine Revelations," and successfully complete two of them (Current number of "Divine Revelations" completed: 5/4, Number successfully completed: 2/2)]

【任务目标二（已完成）：获得1项【光辉】Ⅲ级权柄，3项【光辉】Ⅱ级权柄，5项【光辉】Ⅰ级权柄（Ⅲ级权柄：1/1，Ⅱ级权柄：4/3，Ⅰ级权柄：7/5）】

[Quest Objective 3 (Completed): Master the sacred art [Sublime Punishment] and gain all its buffs (Mastered the art [Sublime Punishment], gained all its buffs)]

[Mission Objective 4 (Completed): Possess over 7000 points of "Divinity" attribute value (Current "Divinity" attribute: 9891)]

[Mission Objective 5 (Completed): Contracted Angel reaches the rank of "Four-Winged Angel" and "Chaos Spirit" (Contracted with "Four-Winged Angel")]

[Mission Objective Six: The Final Trial - Defeat an enemy of "Sevenfold Fate" or equivalent, or survive for more than three hours in fierce battle (This is a special objective; perfectly completing this mission objective will unlock a special promotion path)]

[Complete all task objectives to proceed with the settlement.]

[Completion Rewards: Audience with the 'Gate of Stars', Base Experience +50000000, Skill Slots +30, Skill Points +30, Free Attribute Points +500]

【…】

— Promotion Quest: [The Crown of the Great Sun]!
The "Cataclysmic Annihilation" difficulty advancement quest was the first time Luo Xiu had ever seen a reward of 50 million experience points in a single quest.

"……call."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

A total of six mission objectives were updated—he had been consciously working towards achieving the possible mission objectives beforehand, and this had been effective.

Based on past experience, given my current strength, as long as I obtain the [Key of the Stars], there's a high probability I can complete the advancement quest directly after triggering it. And the result of actually triggering the advancement quest was pretty much what I expected, except for the addition of a special objective.

—【Mission Objective Six: The Final Trial—Defeat a "Sevenfold Fate" heretic or an enemy of equal strength, or survive for more than three hours in fierce combat】!
"..."

Luo Xiu turned his gaze to the two "Black Pillars" and the "Lich King" still engulfed in Quesanx's dragonfire.
Then, he also raised the Dragon Breath Scepter.

……

(End of this chapter)