Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 631 The End of the Trial (5k8, please vote!)
—The apostles of [Balance] are everywhere!

Just as Emperor Augustusville unleashed a chaotic and violent surge of spiritual energy, Luo Xiu saw the rows of silver-white figures appearing at the edge of his vision.

Those were apostles who had dedicated themselves to the "Ring of Revelation," the path of [Balance]. Luo Xiu still clearly remembered that they had appeared once before when he and the other saints went to suppress the "Devouring Dragon."

Its reappearance now means that, in the eyes of the "Ring of Revelation," the intensity of the current war has exceeded the threshold that He can tolerate.

And this is exactly what Emperor Augustusville desired—the apostles of "balance" are precisely the necessary link for Emperor Augustusville to stabilize his own spirituality!
—Buzz!!!!

The spiritual energy emanating from the countless Apostles of Balance across the mountains and plains erupted in a resonant hum—a new, silvery-white torrent that continuously compressed the outer perimeter of Emperor Augustusville's spiritual energy, isolating most of the battlefield from its influence.

Simultaneously.

Pale spirituality—a pale rain that solidified into substance—poured down from the head of Emperor Augustusville.

The spiritual rain extinguished the raging fire burning within Augustusville, and the power of balance stabilized the chaos within him!

That wasn't the balance helping him, but rather the balance preventing a visible catastrophe—

To prevent a catastrophe even greater and more terrifying than the fall of a single "demigod"!

"..."

Under Luo Xiu's gaze.

He did see it; the blazing flames on Augustusville's body were gradually extinguishing and receding inward.

The balance was effective, and Augustus the Great seemed to be gradually regaining his clarity of mind.

He raised his head, his hands still gripping the supreme sword tightly, his gaze piercing through the flames, fixed on the distant, emerging silver-white figures.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a deep, secretive smile gradually appeared on Emperor Augustusville's face.

Just as a long-planned scheme was finally realized in a single day, he slowly raised the Supreme Sword, which was bursting with deep red light. The intense spirituality had completely attached itself to the blade, and it was completely under Augustusville's control, bursting out with a more blazing and dazzling light than ever before!

--boom!!!!!!!

The intense crimson light suddenly shot into the sky—it rose straight up to the heavens, pierced through the firmament, and then spread into a deep crimson curtain of the sky!

On the path of the [Supreme]—

The divine powers of "Order" and "Order Killing" have been fully grasped by Emperor Augustusville!

……

Luo Xiu has witnessed the entire process of this unified scene accomplished by the Supreme Being.

This is not much different from the previous life—indeed, from then on, in the entire "Apocalypse World," there was only one "demigod" with the [Supreme] destiny: Emperor Augustusville.

He had completely monopolized his destiny. Because of this, he was able to pursue even greater ambitions.

At this moment, Luo Xiuzheng stared at Emperor Augustusville's back, thinking about these things.

He also has many more memories of this "Augusvelt the Great"—

After the outbreak of the 2.0 version "Crimson Tide" in the previous life, when the "Crimson King" Azagus truly set foot on the land of Fanor, only Emperor Augustusville was able to contend with him.

Although in a duel, Emperor Augustus would ultimately be defeated by Azagus, he would at least be able to fight him for a full three days.

For Azagus the Crimson King, three days was enough for him to miss a great deal. Therefore, it can be said that Emperor Augustus was the most crucial force in the fight against the Crimson Surge, without exception.

But that's a matter for later; for now—

As Luo Xiu watched, Emperor Augustusville was also watching him from the opposite side.

Gazing at the silvery-white Apostles of Balance, they surged forward like a silver tide, engulfing each other.

Those bodies, solidified like mercury, began to merge and reconstruct themselves amidst the surging motion. Until finally, standing before Emperor Augustusville, only one figure remained—

A figure that has been reshaped into the "Black Grand Duke"!

"..."

"Augusville..."

"..."

The "Black Grand Duke," transformed from the apostles of [Balance], uttered the same deep voice as the original owner of this appearance—

“You’ve crossed the line…Augusville…”

"You shouldn't...take what you shouldn't have taken..."

"..."

When the "Black Grand Duke" uttered such a deep voice, Emperor Augustusville merely watched it with cold eyes.

Only when it ceased to make any further noise did Augustus slam his sword down heavily, causing a resounding clang to erupt from the ground.

"So what?"

"..."

—Buzz!!!!

When Augustusville uttered these words, an unprecedented surge of intense spirituality erupted from him!

That intensely fiery spiritual aura even caused the "Black Grand Duke's" newly formed form to begin dissolving from its outline.

The black form transformed back into a molten silver-white, revealing the true essence of the Apostles of Balance—and the silver flesh had even begun to burn under Augustusville's spiritual pressure, hissing and steaming from its metallic silver surface.

The "Dark Grand Duke" seemed to want to resist, but several times when it was about to condense a silver-white weapon in its hand, it was melted away by the more intense spirituality of the "Supreme" just before it was about to complete its formation!

Augustusville—Emperor Augustusville, who had now fully grasped the two paths of "order" and "killing order," had completely surpassed his previous power, and was above all the "Apostles of Apocalypse" attracted by the commotion he had caused!
The "Black Grand Duke," into which the apostles of the Revelation had transformed, eventually ceased to solidify its silver weapon, even as its face began to melt. Instead, following the spirit of Augustusville, it transformed into a completely molten silver.

That silvery essence—the silver that embodies the nature of balance—has flowed into the voids of the earth. Only around Augustusville, do their final whispers linger—

"You will...pay the price..."

"cost……"

"Augusville..."

"We will... forever... watch over you..."

"forever……"

"..."

Despite the surrounding sounds of "balance," Emperor Augustus remained unmoved.

His expression remained dignified and somber, and his posture—leaning on his sword with both hands and standing firmly on the ground—never changed.

His deep, fiery gaze watched as the silvery-white tide of spirituality receded, retreating to the edge of his vision, until it had completely vanished.

……

The apostles of [Balance] have departed.

Luo Xiu witnessed the entire scene unfold—Emperor Augustusville, single-handedly, forced back the Balance!
Because he has gained a power greater than the Balance he achieved upon arriving here. But the words left behind by the Apocalypse's apostles were not empty threats—Emperor Augustus will indeed pay a "price"!
He has been anchored by equilibrium.

The apostles of Apocalypse were forced to "reconcile" Augustus in order to prevent a greater catastrophe, but the "Ring of Apocalypse" will do far more than that. When His apostles are ready, they will return to "reclaim" the Supreme Godhood.

The divine essence of all the "demigods" on a single path is concentrated in one demigod, which completely contradicts the principle of balance. Emperor Augustusville was clearly aware of this, but he didn't care.

And now.

Luo Xiu saw that Emperor Augustusville—his hands were already firmly gripping the hilt of the "Supreme Sword," pulling it from the earth and raising it high once more.

The intense crimson spiritual energy emanated once more, and the oppressive aura of the "Supreme" descended, rapidly spreading across the entire battlefield!

—Boom! B ...

A tremor erupted from the earth's core, and once again, Luo Xiu felt the immense pressure of the [Supreme]'s domination from head to toe!

"Kneel down before me!"

That was the awe-inspiring roar of Emperor Augustus the Great!

—Buzz!!!!

A piercing, tearing buzzing sound reached Luo Xiu's ears. He did indeed feel a surge of desire from the bottom of his heart to kneel before Emperor Augustusville and submit to him. Fortunately, the desire was not deep, and he did not allow it to deepen or spread.

However, on the battlefield that Luo Xiu saw—whether it was the Black Army or the vast majority of soldiers of the Expeditionary Force, or even the lower-level superhumans and saints, they all knelt down one after another like a tide towards Emperor Augustusville!
The sounds of thud, thud, thud, and bang, bang, bang, continued incessantly. Under the shroud of that intense, deep red spiritual energy, only a dozen or so people were still able to stand on the battlefield!

—Those were all Saints from the Imperial camp, those who had entered the "Sevenfold Fate"!

On the entire battlefield, not a single "Pillar of Darkness" remained. Then, with the spiritual "permission" of Emperor Augustusville, the Empire's "Supreme" rose from their knees, picked up their swords, and walked toward the surrounding Black Army, who were no longer able to move.

Click, click, click!
Swords flashed and shadows danced, splattering crimson blood.

Wherever the Supreme Knights, Royal Knights, and Throne Knights went, Black Fang and the Fang-headed all lost their heads.

The corpse convulsed and collapsed, rolling into a huge pool of blood. Dozens, hundreds, even thousands of Black Fangs and Fang-headed warriors had fallen under the swords of the High Knights.

This is a one-sided "massacre".

All the "Black Fangs" and "Fangs"—the backbone of the Dark Duchy—are on the verge of extinction thanks to the decapitations of the [Supreme] Knights.

The executioners above the "Saint" level, including the chief executioner, are respectively dominated and controlled by the Divine Seal Knights and the Heavenly Proclamation Knights.

Only after annihilating the true extraordinary power of all these Dark Armies could the declaration finally be made—

The war of "trial" has now come to its true "end".

... June 6, 768th year of the Tianqi calendar.

The decisive battle lasted a full day—after which the Imperial Expeditionary Force breached the walls of the dark capital, and the army surged into the city to begin the purge of the remaining resistance forces.

From the Acropolis to the outskirts of the Dark Capital and its core urban area, when the Emperor's Heavenly Pillar Knights finally opened the gates of the Dark Palace, the Emperor truly sat on the throne that originally belonged to the "Duke of Darkness".

The following day, in the early morning of June 7th, 768 in the Tianqi calendar, Emperor Augustus the Great announced to the entire army—

The "War of Judgment" was a complete victory for the Empire over the Principality of Darkness!

This was a glorious moment; the entire expeditionary force was bathed in the joy and glory of victory.

Under the meticulous arrangements of the imperial military officials, the takeover and inventory of the dark capital city has quickly begun.

Meanwhile, officials have begun to tally the casualties of this decisive battle and have started to count the detailed number of Black Army soldiers killed or captured.

In this battle, a total of more than four million members of the Black Army were eliminated.

Among them, the number of "Black Fang" and "Fang Shou" eliminated has exceeded 10,000, and the number of "Executioners" and "Chief Executioners" killed has reached 150.

A total of sixteen "executioners" were captured, including three "chief executioners".

As for the "Pillars of Darkness" under the "Grand Duke of Darkness" who are the true pillars of the Dark Duchy, ten of them were killed in this battle, and one of them—the "Skull Incarnation" Batel, one of the strongest "Pillars of Darkness"—has become a prisoner of the Imperial Expeditionary Force!
These are all inspiring achievements.

As for the missing executioners, chief executioner, and even the Black Pillars within the Dark Army, the officials of the [Supreme] are still investigating, and results should be available soon.

But these were not the empire's greatest achievements—

What made the expeditionary force feel most honored was that Emperor Augustusville finally "slayed" that tyrannical ruler who had plundered the order!

—The “Duke of Darkness,” the true culprit of this Dark Duchy, will cease to exist from this day forward!
This symbolizes the true end of the Dark Duchy's rule. The Empire has now completely eradicated this malignant tumor rooted in the west of the Fanor continent, thoroughly eliminating the greatest threat to its borders!

From this point on, the empire's center of gravity—whether economic or political—could gradually shift westward.

The Dark Principality has now turned to dust in history, but the vast land it left behind still holds immense wealth, all of which awaits the Empire's development and exploration.

For a long time after the "war of trials" ended.

The empire will experience great and significant development under the rule of the supreme Emperor Augustusville.

The people will no longer fear foreign enemies, and the weapons in the hands of the warriors can be forged into plowshares, enjoying the protection of peace.

A thriving scene is slowly unfolding before the people of the empire.

At least for now, everyone thinks this way and expects this.

……

The dark capital, the inner city.

In a palace specifically assigned to the "Holy Court"—Rossi Carlos, the archbishop who serves as the sole acting cardinal of the "Holy Court," is working at his desk in the administration hall.

Because of the fall of Pope Lawrence, none of the Sevenfold Destiny Saints who participated in this expedition and decisive battle were in the mood to go to the capital and handle church affairs.

Cardinal Azrael, the "Second Cardinal," was to keep vigil for Pope Lorient, while Cardinal Efra, the "Third Cardinal," was still seriously injured and unconscious. Indeed, only Rothschild was most suitable to take on the sacred duty.

With the addition of the commissions from "Second Cardinal" Yazler and "Red Butler" Hardy, Rosh had no choice but to take on the responsibility of "Acting Cardinal".

Even though Luo Xiu has not yet received the coronation ceremony as a "cardinal," it is no longer important.

Luo Xiu is now the most powerful person in the "Dark Capital" who represents the "Holy Court," and he has been stationed in this palace for half a day.

Previously, he had already received a report from the Supreme Being, who had sent someone to give him the report.

Luo Xiu had already read the detailed report on this decisive battle—in fact, the officials of the [Supreme] had compiled these statistics in some places even more meticulously than the data panel.

The annihilation of over four million members of the Black Army, the killing or capture of 169 executioners and chief executioners, and the killing or capture of 11 "Pillars of Black"—by any measure, this is a remarkable achievement.

However, there were still some things that bothered Luo Xiu—such as the fact that the total number of "Pillars of Darkness" on the panel should be fourteen, which meant that there were still three "Pillars of Darkness" who survived that decisive battle and were not under the control of the Empire.

Previously, when "Chaos Crown" Mastert was pursued by Quesanx, he failed to catch him. As for the other two surviving "Pillars of Darkness", Luo Xiu had no clue.

As he listened to the report given to him by the [Supreme] official in front of him, he pondered new matters in his mind.

Until the officials finished reporting all of this to Luo Xiu.

"……Um."

Luo Xiu nodded slightly, his right hand moving from gently supporting his chin to lightly resting on the file he was reviewing. He raised his head, his piercing gaze fixed on the official, and said:

"I already understand that."

"So, do you have a rough estimate of the casualties of the expeditionary force?"

"..."

When asked about these things, the official, who had been excitedly reporting to the "Acting Cardinal" Rosius Carlos on the main seat, became dejected.

"A total of 1.32 million expeditionary soldiers gloriously sacrificed their lives on the battlefield."

The official said:

"Among them, one 'Knight of the Heavenly Pillar,' Lord Lowell, died for his country. One great sage from the 'Tower of Sages,' Lord Icanthes, also died for his cause. And..."

"..."

This "supreme" official explained these things to Luo Xiu as clearly as possible.

Luo Xiu didn't deal with his own affairs at the same time; he just listened quietly.

From the official's mouth, he heard the official then say the name "Pope Laurent".

When the official uttered the Pope's name, his expression seemed to shift with fear. He glanced at Cardinal Rothschild, the acting cardinal seated above him, and only after confirming that Rothschild meant no offense did he dare to continue—

"...We pay our highest respects to all the great warriors who gave their lives for the Empire. Their sacrifice was glorious and sacred, and we will remember them forever."

"..."

“I have received what you reported to us.”

Luo Xiu nodded slightly and said to the official in a reassuring tone:

"Alright, you may go back now. Please inform His Majesty the Emperor that the 'Holy Court' is aware of this, and also, please convey our greetings to His Majesty."

"..."

"I will obey your decree, Lord Roshchuh."

The official bowed respectfully to Luo Xiu, and then left the palace after Luo Xiu nodded in response.

Now, only Luo Xiu remains.

The other clergy who accompanied the entourage to the capital waited in a side hall further out. Meanwhile, Luo Xiu's mind was still replaying the report from the [Supreme] official—

The Imperial Expeditionary Force suffered a total loss of over 1.3 million lives, including one "demigod," two "seventh-level destiny" saints, eleven "sixth-level destiny" saints, forty-two "fiveth-level destiny" saints, and thousands of "triple-level" and "quad-level" destiny extraordinary beings...

Compared to the death toll of the Dark Principality, the ratio was approximately one to three.

The number of seriously injured is even higher.

Such a horrific number of casualties is undeniably tragic.

These sacrifices were tacitly approved in the face of the glorious victory that led to the complete annihilation of the Dark Duchy, and were considered worthwhile in the eyes of the [Supreme].

"..."

Luo Xiu remained silent.

His gaze lingered in one particular direction—the direction in which the previous [Supreme] official had departed. Staring at the now empty courtyard, Luo Xiu's gaze deepened.

He gradually felt that the burden on his shoulders was becoming heavier and heavier.

Still unaware of what the future held for him... Luo Xiu then leaned back heavily, his back pressed tightly against the back of the main seat.

He opened the panel.

In the mailbox panel—are the four rewards for defeating the "Sevenfold Fate" enemy, waiting to be claimed;

On the task panel—waiting for the outcome of [Judgment Day of the Dark Omen].

Before that unknown future truly arrives...

The only thing I can truly do, or rather, the only thing I can do and rely on, is to become stronger.

Only by becoming stronger—whether it's the "Crimson Tide" or Emperor Augustus, as long as one is strong enough to withstand all kinds of storms...

"..."

"...Let's settle the accounts."

Luo Xiu murmured to himself as he stared at the panel.

He gave the panel the instruction to "Settle"—

……

(P.S. Settlement will be made tomorrow!)

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(End of this chapter)