Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 673 The Hidden Anomaly (4k, First Update)
"—Huff...huff, ha...!!"

"Aha……"

"..."

In an instant, Luo Xiu lost connection with the "Mist Shadow" that had entered the invisible barrier. His vision went dark, his breathing became labored, and he felt as if he were suffocating. His brain also began to throb.

His spiritual flow was also momentarily blocked, and uneven golden lines appeared on his body as if being eroded, with a burning pain that quickly faded, forming a hidden pain under the skin.

Luo Xiu knew very well that this was the reaction of "backlash"—

At that time, he was spiritually connected with hundreds of "Mist Shadows". When "Crimson War Chief" Haturag drew his battle sword for the last time, the crimson eruption, like a volcanic eruption, swept across a considerable area. All the "Mist Shadows" were drawn into it, and almost at the same time, they all lost their connection.

At that time, Luo Xiu was unable to sever his spiritual connection with all the "Mist Shadows" at once. When those "Mist Shadows" that were affected dissipated, the scarlet shock also affected Luo Xiu.

When it affected Luo Xiu, who was in a real-time spiritual connection with it, it was a very obvious "erosion" reaction. However, this discomfort was quickly relieved and recovered due to Luo Xiu's extremely high "resistance" attribute, and Luo Xiu's thoughts quickly regained clarity.

Luo Xiu's gaze remained fixed on the location of "Crimson Warrior" Hatulag.

Although the view from high above appears as a picturesque landscape of mountains and clear waters, only Luo Xiu knows what kind of hell lies hidden beneath this veil of illusion...

Right now, Luo Xiu is only thinking about one thing—

The massive amount of Abyss spiritual energy that Franya, Monine, and the others captured from the "Holy Crown Tablet" did not belong to Finlake, nor to the "Primal Demon" Acciples!
Finlake and the "Primal Demon" have other hiding places, but that's not the point. The point is—from now on, the terrifying enemy they will face will be joined by another "Crimson Warhead" Haturag!

—An enemy of the Sevenfold Fate of the Abyss… Although he doesn’t seem to have a harmonious relationship with the “Primal Demon” Achilles… that doesn’t mean “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” In any case, Haturag is a huge problem.

Luo Xiu's mind raced.

In fact, Luo Xiu didn't know what the "cooperation" that "Primal Demon" Accpellus had been talking about with "Crimson War Chief" Hatula was, but Accpellus must have had a purpose for bringing Hatula here that the Crimson War Chief was unaware of.

Yes, it was Akpiles who "brought" Hatulrag, the "Crimson Warrior," here!

Luo Xiu knew that a giant like Hatula, the war chief, could not possibly have bypassed the Empire's sight and trekked all the way here after landing on the edge of the Fanor continent. Hatula was far too conspicuous as a single target; someone must have assisted him in arriving here.

The most likely candidate for such a being is Accipiles—and without Accipiles' help, Haturag War Chief cannot leave this rocky ravine south of Argus City on his own and must remain here temporarily.

...Acpilus, he wanted to cooperate with Hathurag, the war chief, but also planned to use him as a target to draw attention away from himself and Finlaek...?
Luo Xiu thought to himself.

This is quite possible—even Luo Xiu suspects that the "Primordial Demon" Accipiles and Finlake left no trace of destroying the first three hideouts and instead left clues leading to this fourth hideout, with the intention of causing the investigating saints to encounter Haturag's warrior chief and then erupt into a fierce battle.

Finlake must have known about the "Cemetery of the Crown" in Flanya's possession, and if Finlake knew this, there was no reason why Accipiles wouldn't know as well. This was a blatant trap.

Fortunately, Frania and Monine didn't choose to approach rashly... Luo Xiu thought to himself. If they had actually encountered Haturag the War Chief and engaged in a fierce battle with him, and then Finlake and the "Primal Demon" Achilles suddenly appeared and attacked them, they would be seriously injured by now.

Thinking of this, Luo Xiu adjusted his spiritual state, summoned the "Golden Pegasus," and rode back towards the city of Argus.

Now, it's time to tell Frania and Monine this news.

This is a very important and very dangerous discovery—in fact, neither the First Cardinal Finlake nor the Primal Demon Acciples are south of Argus. We must be on guard—we must be on guard that their real hiding place is actually in Argus, right next to everyone!

wow——

A violent shockwave swept around Luo Xiu. His mind was racing, and soon, the golden figure hidden high in the sky had returned to the city of Agus.

……

The next day, noon.

Argus City.

At the temporary residence where Luo Xiu, Franya, and Monine were staying, the three saints had reunited as scheduled.

"What did you say, Luo Xiu..."

At this moment, Frania and Monigne were filled with shock!
Luo Xiu just told them that the intense surge of Abyss spiritual energy south of Agus City did not come from Finlake, nor from the demons of the Abyss, but from a true Abyss Seventh-Level Saint, an unheard-of "Crimson Warhead"!
"Are you sure, Luo Xiu?" Monine asked, her voice trembling slightly. "Franya and I weren't able to get close to that area at the time. We only sensed an extremely strong, profound spiritual energy in that location from the 'Holy Crown Slab'... And you're saying that it actually came from... from a true Saint from the Abyss!"

“…Yes.” Luo Xiu nodded solemnly.

"'First Cardinal' Finlake and the demon behind him were not there. With the blessing of an 'Ancient Legacy' that I possessed, my contracted sacred beast was able to sneak into that barrier without being detected, and through it, I did indeed see the image of the 'Crimson Warhead'."

Luo Xiu's expression was serious as he addressed Franya and Monine:

“I even saw the avatar of the demon that appeared in the ‘Divine Prophecy’ there—and the name ‘Crimson Warhead’ was also obtained from the mouth of that demon avatar. I think that it should be of the same rank and level as the ‘Black Pillars’ under the command of the Black Grand Duke…”

"That demon wanted to make some kind of cooperation with the Crimson Warhead of the Abyss, but it seems it didn't succeed. And from their brief conversation, I also heard words like 'Crimson King' and 'Great Khan'."

"That demon seems to have been waiting for the arrival of 'Crimson.' I don't know what that is, but I think it's something... It's a disaster, perhaps even greater than the 'Judgment War'... a much greater disaster, and it should be closely related to the loosening of the Great Seal of the Abyss."

"..."

"……Um."

Frania and Monine both nodded solemnly.

They had already realized the urgency and importance of the situation. This operation in Argus City had developed into a rather serious situation, far beyond simply controlling the "First Cardinal" Finlake.

This has long since transcended the simple matter of a cardinal's "abdication." "And what have you discovered during this time?"

Luo Xiu looked at Franya and Monine, and asked them as they tried to accept and digest these things.

"...His Highness and I, by virtue of our identities as members of the Florence family of the 'Golden Kingdom,' came into contact with several nobles and officials in this city."

After a moment's thought, Monigne said:

“We have also received information that there have been several serious disappearances in the city of Agus recently. In just the past two weeks to a month, hundreds of people have been reported missing—and this is only the number that has been reported; there are many more that have not been reported.”

"And, just before the 'Judgment War' ended, a large number of people left the city of Agus and disappeared without a trace. Luo Xiu... you said you saw a considerable number of corpses in the rocky ravine south of Agus City, I think..."

“That should be it.” Luo Xiu nodded thoughtfully.

“I also heard it. The demon said something like, ‘I bring you such abundant blood, I bring you nourishment.’ But I couldn’t get any related information from the common people or from saints of low rank. This information must have been blocked.”

Because during the period when the "disappearances" occurred, the "Judgment War" was still ongoing, information blockade was routine, and missing persons were commonplace. In fact, even now, the impact of the "Judgment War" has not completely disappeared, and the people of the Empire have not yet fully emerged from the shadow of the war.

“That’s right…” Monigne nodded in agreement.

Beside them, the "Saintess" Franya pondered for a moment and then said:
"I've also... found out some information."

"In the past half month, apart from the disappearance in Agus City, no other serious incidents have occurred. An official working in the Agus City Lord's Mansion provided me with information that no trace of any heretical activities has been found in the past half month, not even once."

"All the heretics and cultists around were unusually calm. Or rather... if the corpses we found in Finlake... in what is suspected to be Finlake's stronghold were the heretics who were originally lurking around the city of Agus, then they had most likely been abducted by Finlake and the demons behind him."

“I will continue to investigate this matter. As for Luo Xiu, I will make good use of his identity as 'France Florence'.”

"..."

"Mm," Luo Xiu nodded in response.

On one hand, there are the disappearances of people, and on the other hand, there is the silence of the heretics—these two events, combined with Finlake and the primordial demon, have indeed created a clear connection among some clues, and some truths are gradually emerging.

"Then, let's continue the investigation."

Luo Xiu concluded by saying:
“My only worry now is that Finlake and the ‘Primal Demon’ behind him are hiding somewhere in the city of Argus… The ‘Cemetery’ that His Highness possesses cannot pinpoint his location, but similarly, they haven’t discovered us yet. In short, be careful in everything you do, and absolutely—absolutely do not do anything you are not confident about.”

“We know, Rosh.” Monigne nodded in response.

"Be careful too."

……

Afterwards, Luo Xiu, Franya, and Monine separated again and went to the city of Agus to conduct a new round of investigations.

By evening, the sun, which had been as large as a cartwheel, had sunk behind the mountains, and the pale blue moon had risen from a corner of the city wall, gradually rising to its highest point in the sky.

After Frania and Monigne left the mansion, Luo Xiu remained in his room, sorting through all the clues he had gathered and also pondering another possibility—

Since Finlake was not found in the cave south of Agus City, it means he is hiding somewhere else, most likely in Agus City. So, where is he hiding, and what is he planning to do?
Luo Xiu pondered.

In fact, Luo Xiu had already realized that he seemed to have been overlooking an important scene that had already been shown to him in the "Divine Revelation"—

If he, Franya, and Monine do nothing and let Agus City slide into the abyss of calamity, then in the end, the completely corrupted Finlayk will rise above Agus City and turn the entire city into a dead city.

His starting point for his ascent was right in the very center of the city of Agus.

And the very heart of the city of Agus is the location of the Church of Agus!
Wherever Finlake and the "Primal Demon" behind him are hiding now, the Church of Argus is a place he will definitely go to. It will be the final step in his "Ascension" ritual with that demon.

"..."

Luo Xiu's thoughts wandered.

Perhaps we should also visit the church. Even if we don't find any trace of Finlake, it would be good to observe the condition of the bishop, Cardinal Donovan Saint-Léon.

He planned it this way, and prepared to set off to infiltrate the church—

But when he stepped out of his room and into the manor courtyard, he saw in the distance a lavishly decorated "golden carriage" heading towards the manor.

That was the carriage of the Gold Country Bank. The carriage canopy was embroidered with the Gold Country Bank's and the "Florenta Family's" emblem in gold thread. Luo Xiu watched as the carriage drove up to the manor and stopped. Then, servants poured out of the carriage and helped a richly dressed person down from the carriage.

That's President Jolis.

As soon as President Jolis stepped off the carriage, he saw Luo Xiu and strode towards him.

"Lord Luo Xiu."

Bank President Jolis lowered his voice and said to Luo Xiu:

"The investigation you requested... the investigation into the financial flows of the 'Saint-Langen' family, has yielded some results."

……

(End of this chapter)