Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 648 The Invitation from "Sacred Abyss"

The creaking of the wheels came from both sides of Hayek's luxurious carriage.

The sound was hoarse and noisy, which made Hayek somewhat impatient.

To be honest, even though this carriage was made of luxurious and extravagant materials compared to most ordinary carriages, Hayek still couldn't get used to sitting in it.

That was significantly different from the carriage he usually rode in. When he rode in his own carriage, the sound of the wheels turning was as melodious as the playing of a stringed instrument.

However, due to the urgency of leaving the capital, Hayek was unable to prepare much in advance.

This carriage was the one that Duke Harkas would only use for private visits. Now, in order to conceal Hayek's identity and avoid alerting others, Hayek could only use this carriage.

However, having been traveling by carriage for some time, Hayek's ears had gradually become accustomed to the muffled, noisy sound.

"..."

at this time.

Hayek gently swirled the wine glass in his hand. Moonlight shone through the blood-red liquid, illuminating Hayek's cheek and giving it an almost inhuman flush.

Three beautiful young women sat before and beside him, one resting her head on Hayek's shoulder, another on his lap. A woman near the window on the other side sat demurely, promptly refilling Hayek's cup and pouring him fresh wine.

Hayek gently swirled his wine glass, his dark red eyes fixed on the view outside the carriage, admiring the scenery of the gardens on both sides with great interest.

In the Imperial Gardens, under the care of a dedicated forestry team, the trees lining the paths grow straight, robust, and lush. Under the moonlight, the foliage shimmers with dappled silver light, like ripples on water hanging from the treetops—a truly beautiful sight.

By this time, the carriage had entered the royal garden and was already more than halfway through its depths.

Looking back now, the outline of the imperial city of Augustus is no longer visible. Only the rare and precious plants carefully cultivated on both sides, and the trees that provide shade like a rosy cloud, and the shy wild beasts that appear from time to time and then quickly hide again.

And Hayek could sometimes see those brown-green figures moving through the woods—hunters dressed in leather armor, wearing dark green robes and cloaks, carrying long hunting bows, and patrolling on horseback; they were the forest rangers.

"Forest Rangers" are a group of hunters specially hired by the Empire for patrolling, exploring, and guarding and protecting protected hunting areas.

What makes them special is that the "Forest Rangers" are the only [Bitter Tea] superhuman organization in the empire with a formal and legal identity. They are directly led by several dukes of the empire, and their training is conducted by [Supreme] to ensure their absolute loyalty and absolute efficiency.

All the "Forest Rangers" patrolling the Imperial Royal Gardens have at least three destinies, and are led by three Ranger leaders with six destinies, each carrying out different protection tasks for different areas of the gardens.

"..."

Hayek rarely interacted with these wandering knights.

However, he knew about these Rangers—even though he had never seen them, Austin Manor actually employed several Rangers as security for the manor.

Hayek's uncle, the Duke of Harkas, as the "Red-Crowned Prince," trained several bands of rangers. Hayek had heard that these rangers seemed to perform some rather "special" tasks for the Duke of Harkas, but Hayek was well aware of this and didn't inquire further.

……

Gaa ...

The carriage continued to move forward smoothly.

Suddenly—Hayek felt a violent jolting in his seat, the horses pulling the carriage neighed in fright, their necks thrashing, and the driver shouted in alarm, as if he had seen something utterly terrifying—

"what!!!!!"

The shout sounded like a heart-wrenching scream, and Hayek felt a tightness in his chest. He looked out of the carriage and towards the side front of the carriage.

Then he saw—

Just in front of the carriage, on the wide road, a long, slender, gray-white shadow stood in the way the carriage would have to pass.

The figure appeared slender and tall, with an oval face and a body that was both real and ethereal; it was clearly not human, but rather a "deity"—

Six deep eyes opened on His face, with ancient runes containing terrifying power faintly visible in the pupils; His three pairs of bloodless hands were clasped together, one facing upwards, one embracing, and the other downwards, in a strange sacrificial posture.

His lower half was completely ethereal, shrouded in a dark mist, within which black particles rose and fell continuously, carrying the spirituality of "death" back and forth.

A surging wave of death energy was gushing outwards like a flood – Hayek could feel that the surroundings were now enveloped in an extremely dense "aura," turning the area into a "dead zone" for all living beings.

"what is that……"

Hayek's pupils trembled as he stared at the figure of the "god" he saw—

By the highest heavens, Hayek had never seen such a deity—he didn't even know which destiny's deity it belonged to. It was most like the Lost, but it exuded an aura far more profound, darker, and filled with an extreme, bone-chilling malice than the Lost deity!
And there is more than one such "deity"—

On either side of the carriage, a "knight" dressed in shattered obsidian armor, like an ancient vengeful spirit, strode heavily towards the carriage, dragging a huge cleavage sword.

A solid, black spiritual energy, as thick as ink, surged from the cracks in the obsidian armor, allowing Hayek to clearly sense that the "knight" was emanating a rather dangerous aura!
Besides the slender and elongated "death" deity and the undead knight-like deity, the garden on the right was also indistinct. A black mist shrouded the area, containing countless intertwined and twisted "eyes," which seemed to be the source of the surrounding deep realm. Those "eyes" were gradually dominating the surrounding aura!
That was clearly another "deity," and one that shared the same origin as the two deities Hayek had already encountered.

Although their appearances differ greatly from one another, they also share some very obvious commonalities: their spirituality is equally profound, and they all have twisted, dangerously pulsating horns on their bodies!
But Hayek knew none of them—never before he had seen them, and never even heard of them!

Within the Empire, no one has ever heard of, nor has anyone ever encountered, any enemy like this...

No, that's not right. Perhaps I've heard of it before. On the battlefield of the "Judgment War," several battle reports recorded that earth fissures named "Scars" were repeatedly witnessed on the battlefield, from which indescribable monsters often emerged. Could these be the ones?!

"..."

Hayek thought to himself.

at this point.

Hayek already knew—he had fallen into a trap. Although he didn't know who had planted this trap deep within the garden, targeting him, he had no time to think about it anymore!

"Hayek...Nolan..."

Right in front of the carriage, the deity of "death" in the middle, its slender gray mouth hummed, emitting a chilling sound—

"The Lord's...invitation..."

"..."

"..."

Why does He know my name? And who is the "Lord" He speaks of?

Hayek's mind raced.

At this moment, even though he was in the royal garden, he could no longer feel the presence of those "forest rangers"—Hayek felt as if he and his carriage had been completely cut off from the outside world, and an invisible domain had enveloped him. If he could not break free, he might be lost here forever.

But in any case, I am also a saint who has entered the "sixfold destiny"!
The three deities whose fates are unknown that we see now, judging from our perception, are probably the "chaotic spirits". There are also five "six-fold fate" saints: myself, my "spiritual body", and the guards that Duke Hakkas arranged to protect me.
—Wow!!

In an instant, a surge of spiritual energy emanated from the carriage.

Hayek had leaped out of the carriage, along with the three women who had accompanied him—the alluring and seductive aura they once exuded had vanished. One of them gripped a silver dagger; another began chanting an ancient incantation; and yet another's eyes flashed crimson, transforming her into a ferocious werewolf!

The shadow servants of [Bitter Tea], the witch of [Lost], and the werewolf of [Red Lotus] are the guards secretly trained by Duke Harkas. They are usually maids, but in times of crisis like this, they activate their powers and become sharp blades that Hayek can wield at will!
--boom!!!!!

The werewolf hurtled toward the armored "Death Knight" like a cannonball—and the Death Knight parried with his dark greatsword, which clashed heavily with the werewolf's crimson claws!

A violent tremor erupted in the air, and a dark and crimson mist of light surged forth. Hayek's attention was now fixed on what lay directly in front of him, on the "deity" that was still mourning and performing some kind of ritual.

"You refused...you refused..."

"They refused our invitation...they refused the Lord's invitation..."

"Hayek...Nolan..."

"..."

The deity's slender gray mouth was still buzzing, emitting sharp, thin murmurs—a sound that irritated Hayek's heart. He had a vague feeling that if the thin, gray deity continued to make that sound, his sanity might be compromised.

As he pondered these thoughts and summoned his "spiritual body," his attendants, [Bitter Tea] and [Lost], launched an attack on the gray deity!
Holding a silver dagger, the shadow servant shot towards the gray deity like an arrow—but the next moment, her figure stopped in mid-air, and countless tiny, dark tentacles surged from around her, the spirituality of "death" enveloping her like a thick cocoon.

Under Hayek's gaze, he saw that the Shadow Guard of [Bitter Tea] had become contorted and ferocious, and wrinkles were rapidly spreading from beneath his skin. She was visibly aging, and under the shroud of that spiritual "death," her life force was rapidly slipping away!

Her attack, wielding the silver dagger and aimed at the gray deity, failed to cause any damage whatsoever! The deity seemed to be entirely composed of spirit, and [Ku Tu]'s most proficient physical penetration techniques appeared to be completely immune to it!
How could there be... how could there be such a monster!

That was the first thought that came to Hayek's mind.

Meanwhile, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the werewolf's maid being forced to retreat by the death knight's greatsword. On the other side, the [Lost] witch beside him was also gradually becoming tainted by her spirituality, seemingly being corrupted by some strange power.

The three "Chaos Spirit" level deities that he encountered this time were perhaps even stronger than he had imagined!
That was no longer something that the three attendants of the "Sixfold Fate" could handle. Hayek had already drawn the crimson sword sealed within his oath, and together with his spirit body, began to retreat step by step!
He had observed that the strange domain the opponent had created had a fixed, limited range. If he could simply gather his strength and, at the moment he retreated to the edge of the domain, partially "dominate" it, he could open a gap from within and escape!

He knew that there must be forest rangers patrolling nearby in the royal gardens. If he could successfully rendezvous with them, he could use his supreme status to command them to form a squad to protect him until he safely reached the Auston Duchy!
Hayek was thinking just that.

In fact, as long as he can make contact with the outside world, he will be able to leverage even more power—he must thoroughly investigate who orchestrated this attack against him!

"..."

When Hayek was thinking about these things.

Suddenly—in a single instant—he felt his heart almost stop beating.

Someone gently stroked the back of his neck.

A cold, almost suffocating sensation shot up his spine and up his neck.

Behind him came a seductive, teasing voice—

"Little Hayek~"

"Why did you run away, Hayek, little?"

"..."

"——!!!"

When Hayek heard this voice, cold sweat uncontrollably streamed down his forehead.

The one that appeared behind him was also a "Chaos Spirit"!
Moreover, it is a Chaos Spirit that is far more powerful and dangerous than the three we have seen before!

Hayek didn't even dare to turn around and see what was behind him.

The next moment, a deep red ring appeared at his feet.

That was a teleportation to a world beyond—

A magic circle to teleport you to the "Holy Abyss"!

……

(End of this chapter)