Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 656 The Conferment Ceremony Begins! (5k6)

Six days passed in a flash.

Since Luo Xiu returned to Austin Manor from the "Holy Court," he has ceased all public activities. The Supreme Being's surveillance of him has become even more stringent, perhaps out of fear of Luo Xiu's previous trip to the Holy Court, but the Supreme Being has not discovered anything further.

During these six days, Luo Xiu, guided and accompanied by Hubbard and the manor's servants, toured several important sights in the imperial capital, Augustus. On several occasions, the Second Minister of Military Affairs, Lagrange, personally accompanied him, demonstrating the importance Lagrange placed on maintaining his relationship with Luo Xiu.

During the time that Luo Xiu was temporarily staying at Austin Manor, various imperial nobles and officials came to Austin Manor—Lakeside Villa, wanting to see Luo Xiu.

They came with various motives—a saint who had rendered the greatest service in the "final battle" of the trial war was someone the nobles were willing to befriend.

Even the nobles knew that whoever could better "win over" Luo Xiu would have more say among other nobles and ministers—a new cardinal from the "Holy Court" was a considerable backer, and Luo Xiu's words often carried more weight than those of a "Guardian King"!
Basically, all the nobles and officials who came to see Luo Xiu brought gifts. The value of those gifts ranged from tens of thousands of gold coins to enough to buy an entire city in the border region of the empire. However, Luo Xiu had Hubert return all of these gifts, demonstrating his clear stance towards these nobles and officials.

In fact, many nobles and officials who had long resided in the capital did not care about the war instigated by the "Duke of Darkness," because the flames of war did not actually burn down their mansions, threaten their lives, or plunder their property. However, they could indeed profit from it and seize various bargaining chips that would benefit their political struggles.

When the war of trial finally ends and the external threats are largely eliminated, a new round of struggle will erupt on the political stage within the empire—something all the nobles can foresee, and all the nobles are preparing for.

In Luo Xiu's eyes.

To put it bluntly, many of these nobles and officials—who were completely embroiled in the struggle for power and status, and who gradually abandoned their due responsibilities—were the parasites of the empire.

But purging them was the Supreme's business. Emperor Augustus tacitly approved of their actions because the real power still lay in the hands of the Supreme, but the Emperor also needed to keep these parasites around as extensions of his will to balance the power of other nobles and to govern hundreds of millions of citizens.

Luo Xiu didn't want to have much contact with these nobles and officials who came to chat, so he left the task of dealing with them to Huber. Every time Luo Xiu returned from sightseeing in the capital, he saw that Huber always looked tired, but he insisted that he wasn't tired, so Luo Xiu didn't say anything.

They simply raised Hubelt's holy stipend by one rank and temporarily brought in several more clergy to assist him. The matter of dealing with the visiting nobles and officials was considered settled. However, some other things had happened in the past six days—

First, the day after Luo Xiu left the Holy Court, he received a message from Prandell, the vice-commander of the "God Hunt" Templar Knights, informing him that Franya and Monine had secretly gone to the city of Argus.

Their journey to the city of Argus to investigate the whereabouts of "First Cardinal" Finlake was conducted entirely in secrecy. Not even any cardinals knew about it; what was announced to the Holy See was that Frania and Monigne were going to search for the relics left behind by Pope Laurent.

The Holy See continues to operate as before, entrusted to the College of Cardinals—in reality, to the "Second Cardinal," Azler. Nothing else has happened at the Holy See for the time being; the Supreme Being's desire to dominate the Holy See is still in the planning stage.

Then there were some developments in the capital city—

Duke Harkas's order to "investigate the missing messenger" caused a great stir in the city. More than a hundred nobles and officials of considerable status were arrested, their families were imprisoned or exiled, and their property was confiscated by order of Duke Harkas. The royal guards under Duke Harkas are still searching for the whereabouts of the "messenger".

Anyone could see that this was no longer a simple matter of finding a "messenger"—many of the nobles or officials arrested on Hakkas's orders were from other ducal factions that had disagreements with Duke Hakkas's faction, and Duke Hakkas was using this opportunity to eliminate dissidents.

Of course, there were also those nobles or officials who were corrupt to the core, so greedy that they didn't know what the world was like, and who had amassed enormous wealth. They were directly "slaughtered" by Duke Harkas during this opportunity, and their riches were then used as Harkas's own assets.

Harkas's drastic move has clearly provoked considerable discontent among many ministers and nobles.

Among those who opposed the Duke of Harcas, the loudest voice was that of another red-crowned prince—the Duke of Kentville, Norland!
Like the Duke of Harcasville, the Duke of Kentville possesses the supreme and noble lineage and status of an imperial prince. As the "Red Crown Prince," the Duke of Kentville is also a saint who has entered the seventh level of the [Supreme] Destiny.

However, the Duke of Kentville's true identity is not that of a "killer of order"—he is a legitimate "Supreme" Duke, completely loyal to Emperor Augustusville. In fact, within the palace and in the imperial court, the Duke of Kentville has even greater support than the Duke of Harcasville.

The Duke of Kentville began by condemning the Duke of Harcas—for abusing the power granted by the Supreme Lord to arrest large numbers of innocent, loyal nobles and officials for his own political ends.

The Duke of Kentville demanded that the Duke of Harcas immediately release all arrested nobles and officials, return all property confiscated from their residences, and personally explain the situation to all the "Red Crown Princes." If necessary, all the Red Crown Princes should jointly supervise the process, and Harcas should "relinquish" all his powers.

In his condemnation, the Duke of Kentville stated that, in the name of the ancient and sacred bloodline of Nolan, the Duke of Harcas must repent for the many crimes he has committed and confess his crimes to Emperor Augustusville in the Imperial Court so that the Emperor may deliver the judgment he deserves.

Another intriguing point is that the Duke of Kentville also stated that if the Duke of Hakkas refused to respond, according to the highest laws of the Empire, the Red Crown Princes had the right to use force to stop the Duke of Hakkas's atrocities. If the Duke of Hakkas also used force to resist, he would be considered a "traitor"!
The Duke of Kentville's condemnation and statement were echoed by two other princes with red crowns—the situation has now escalated to the point where three princes with red crowns are standing against the Duke of Harcas.

However, there were also two princes who sided with the Duke of Harcas, including the Duke of Auston, the owner of Auston Manor. He and another duke were political allies of the Duke of Harcas, and they were happy to take advantage of the chaos to plunder their political enemy, the Duke of Kentville.

That's how political struggles are—

Duke Harkas made no response, and the chaos he had instigated continued. The "Supreme Emperor" Augustusville in the palace also remained silent, as if he hadn't seen anything.

Perhaps Emperor Augustusville also needed such chaos to weaken the power and authority of his Red Crown Princes. Who knows... Or perhaps Emperor Augustusville was busy with more important matters and had no time to attend to this.

Luo Xiu was speculating about these things.

In fact, he knew that the reason why Duke Harkas had risked so much to create such a large-scale chaos was because of the disappearance of Count Hayek. Of course, no one knew that Count Hayek was actually on the "Sacred Abyss," and now that Hayek was about to complete the transformation of [authoritarianism], Luo Xiu could not release him.

However, in any case, these are all disturbances belonging to the "Supreme," and Luo Xiu does not intend to get involved unless they affect him personally.

……

The sixth day since Luo Xiu left the Holy Court and returned to Austin Manor.

Around seven o'clock that morning, as Luo Xiu woke up from his bed, got up, put on his "cardinal" robes and crown, and walked out of his room, he saw a squad of royal guard knights in majestic crimson armor, along with several ministers who had come from the palace.

The ministers, dressed in magnificent ceremonial robes, appeared both solemn and festive. Leading them was Lagrand, the Second Minister of Military Affairs. When he saw Rosh emerge from the room and enter the courtyard, a respectful and somewhat obsequious smile appeared on Lagrand's face.

"Greetings, Your Excellency Cardinal Rosh Carlos! You look so well today; it seems you had a wonderful dream last night!"

Lagrand greeted Luo Xiu, and the somewhat overweight Minister of Military Affairs then jogged towards Luo Xiu, gave him a respectful military salute, and said:

"The Imperial Military Affairs Ministry, Lagrange, and the Minister of State Affairs, Kolovich, have come to welcome you on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor, on the orders conveyed by Lord Asrell!"

Today is the day that Emperor Augustusville will hold his investiture ceremony!

Seven days have passed since the Imperial expeditionary force returned victorious from the front lines of the Judgment War. The investiture ceremony will proceed as scheduled, and Emperor Augustusville will bestow Imperial honors and generous rewards upon all the Imperial warriors who have rendered immortal service.

Many ministers and officials in the imperial court worked at almost full capacity for these seven days, all for this day.

Luo Xiu was also prepared. He looked at Lagrand and the other Minister of State beside him, nodded, and said:
"it is good."

“I am ready, please, Your Excellency Lagrange.”

Upon receiving Luo Xiu's reply, Lagrange's face broke into an even brighter smile.

He hurried to Luo Xiu's side and, together with another minister, led him to a luxurious carriage decorated primarily in gold and pure white outside the Lakeside Villa. Lagrange helped Luo Xiu into the carriage. Lagrange himself drove the carriage, while another minister of state stood on the platform holding a shimmering silk document.

Six royal guards escorted the carriage, one in front and six behind, along with many more officials and guards. In total, over a hundred people were escorting the luxurious carriage, which began to creak and groan as it slowly made its way towards the palace.

……

It took about an hour to leave Austin Estate and head to Imperial Palace.

Midway, the luxurious carriage carrying Luo Xiu passed through several bustling streets of the imperial capital, Augustus City. Pedestrians stopped to watch, and countless citizens leaned out of windows and doors, their admiring and envious gazes falling on the carriage like raindrops.

Standing atop the carriage platform beside Lagrand, the Minister of State, Kolovich, held a shimmering, pearl-embellished silk document, his face beaming with pride. Whenever the carriage passed through the busiest and most vibrant part of the street, Lagrand would shout to the onlookers—

"A great man who has achieved outstanding feats in the war of judgment, defeated countless powerful enemies, and is adorned with countless honors! Our noble and holy 'Cardinal' Rosh Carlos has been invited to participate in the Imperial Ceremony to receive the most glorious conferment of titles from His Majesty the Supreme Emperor!"

"..."

Minister of State Affairs Kolovich was loudly proclaiming these words to the people of the empire. Yes, such a high-level escort was to show the people the glory of the empire, and even more so to show that the empire possessed a glorious and sacred person like "Rossi Carlos"!
From the moment Luo Xiu boarded the carriage, he became an important symbol of the empire, and one of the most important and representative "symbols" of the empire.

For the people of the empire, such a symbol carried far more weight than the actual rulers, the nobles and princes whom they rarely saw.

People will believe that a new, holy, great man, Cardinal Roshu Carlos, will continue to protect them, and together with the great emperor, continue to safeguard the entire empire.

This is the significance of this "parade".

Meanwhile, Luo Xiu, along with Lagrange and Kolovich, had arrived at the Imperial Palace.

……

In the imperial city of Augustus, within the palace walls, at the Augustus Square—

This is the largest and most magnificent square in the capital, named after Emperor Augustusville—however, it has a more familiar name: "Imperial Square".

As early as the founding of the Nolan Empire, the first emperor built this magnificent square. And its name has been "August Square" from the beginning—the name "Augustville" has been passed down to all the emperors of the Nolan Empire since the beginning of the empire.

The current Emperor Augustusville was not originally called "Augusville," but had a unique name. However, he ascended to the status of a [Supreme] demigod and took over the reins of the empire from the previous emperor over a century ago, and he had long forgotten his own name.

Of course, perhaps he still remembered, but that no longer mattered. The current Emperor Augustusville was already the perfect monarch, at least in the eyes of all the people of the empire—no Red-Crowned Prince could truly replace this emperor.

Luo Xiu, along with Lagrand and Kolovich, stopped their carriage at the edge of the Imperial Square and stepped off.

In Luo Xiu's eyes, he finally saw the most magnificent and solemn scene he had witnessed since arriving in the capital.

First and foremost, there was the enormous plaza, so vast that one could not see the other end from one edge.

A massive platform was built in the very center of the square—a magnificent reviewing stand, nearly fifty meters high, with hundreds of long steps extending from all four sides to the top. Emperor Augustusville and several of the empire's red-crowned princes were already on that platform.

At the pinnacle of the Empire's "Supreme Knights"—a total of thirteen "Sky Pillar Knights"—standing majestically atop the high platform. They are the Emperor's sword, the thirteen riders who command all the Supreme Knights, the embodiment of Emperor Augustusville's will, and the true incarnation of the "Supreme"!

The area around the high platform, within a radius of two hundred meters, was almost completely empty—except for an imperial stone tablet that stood every thirty meters, and a "Heavenly Knight" standing in front of each tablet. These Heavenly Knights, clad in magnificent armor, were symbols of the empire, jewels of the emperor adorning this grand ceremony.

Beyond that, in the more expansive Imperial Square, stood all the High Knights standing silently, along with the million-strong expeditionary force that had triumphed in glory from the outbreak of the Judgment War.

The Empire's million-strong army, returning from the trials, stood solemnly arrayed here. It was a forest of iron armor, with nine military formations gleaming in the cold light. Nine Supreme Knights of the Heavenly Order stood at the forefront of each formation, awaiting the Emperor's inspection and the glory they deserved.

At this moment, not a single soldier uttered a sound on the entire square. They stood solemnly, like bronze statues, with only the fluttering of the imperial banners echoing in the air, filling the square with a chilling atmosphere.

Luo Xiu, along with Ministers Lagrange and Kolovich, and the escorting Royal Guards and soldiers, were on the outskirts of the Imperial Square.

Luo Xiu had also seen it; more and more lavishly decorated carriages were gradually arriving at the outer perimeter of the Imperial Square. One by one, formally dressed people stepped down from the carriages—those of the "Supreme," those of the "Intelligent," and other saints of the "Radiant."

They will also receive a separate investiture from Emperor Augustusville in the upcoming ceremony.

The investiture ceremony was scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM, and it was not yet 9:00 AM, so Luo Xiu continued to look around the Imperial Square, admiring the magnificent historical building.

Around the huge square were towering statues of countless people who had made lasting contributions to the empire. Each statue was more than ten meters tall, and there were one hundred and twenty such statues in the entire square.

Although each statue was quite tall, they appeared much smaller compared to the entire Imperial Square. Luo Xiu knew that as a saint who had made the most outstanding contributions in the "Judgment War," the Empire would also erect a statue for him in the Imperial Square, but he didn't know where it would be located.

Deep red velvet carpets had been laid out between the military formations and on the wide walkways.

The red carpet then passed through the solemn and imposing ranks of the expeditionary force, extending into the depths of the square, all the way to the magnificent platform—reaching before the imperial throne where Augustus the Great was seated.

Afterwards, he and the other meritorious individuals who were about to receive their titles from Emperor Augustusville would be led by the emperor's attendants onto the red carpet leading to the emperor's platform, and finally ascend the platform to meet the emperor and receive his titles.

Luo Xiu admired the scenery of the square while thinking about these things.

In such a solemn and respectful atmosphere, time passed quickly.

Luo Xiu also noticed that more and more carriages were arriving at the perimeter of the square, and more and more people of high status were getting off the carriages.

Ten o'clock in the morning—it arrived quickly.

"——Woo!"

"—Waaaaa! ...!"

A high-pitched and melodious horn blast rang out from all around the square and from the magnificent platform where Augustus the Great stood.

—The investiture ceremony has begun!

……

(End of this chapter)