Gospel of Blood

The days of waiting were long and agonizing.

Amid anxiety, tension, and anticipation, days passed by slowly, until the High Priest finally welcomed the arrival of the Church Evaluation Team from the Crescent Diocese.

After days of preparation, he had taken care of everything meticulously. Even the various anomalies in Borde had been suppressed one by one through the tacit cooperation between him and the old Duke.

Speaking of which, he also had to thank God Nyx, who was evidently hostile to the Blood Demon Cult, for resolving the troubles caused by the Blood Demon Cult and allowing him to cleverly take credit for it.

He had truly made a lot of preparations.

For safety's sake, he had even temporarily set aside that little beauty from the Castell family.

Next, as long as the High Priest himself could pass the church's evaluation test, he would be able to completely rid himself of this crisis.

What happened in Borde would definitely not escape the Legendary's investigation, but if he wanted to deceive a Blazing Sun Priest... with the covert help of the God, the High Priest still had a certain degree of confidence.

Of course, he had also prepared for the worst.

He had already deactivated the protection of the Church's holy symbol in advance, and he had also brought along the advanced magic scroll for long-distance teleportation. If he sensed anything amiss, he would promptly escape.

That was the worst-case scenario, one that the High Priest hoped would never come to pass.

But in case it did, he would have no choice but to completely rely on that mysterious God Nyx.

These days, he had been praying to God Nyx frequently, not only hoping to gain the other's protection during the evaluation but also preparing for the worst-case scenario.

The melodious sound of the bells rang out from the bell tower of the cathedral, accompanied by rising dust, as the grand procession appeared outside Borde City.

It was the Evaluation Team composed of Judgment Knights and Church Priests.

The entire team comprised over a hundred people, marching in grandeur towards Borde City, while the High Priest Leonard, accompanied by the Borde's priests, personally welcomed them at the city gate.

The leader of the Evaluation Team was named Gast, a senior clergy of commoner origin, deeply favored by divine grace, his strength only a step away from Legendary. He was also one of the three ducal-level lord clergies of the Crescent Kingdom, ruling over the Landis Ecclesiastical Duchy in the central part of the Crescent Kingdom, also known as the Landis Archbishop.

At first glance, the High Priest saw the Landis Archbishop surrounded by priests.

As a senior clergy of the Holy Court, he had been able to obtain a lot of intelligence on high-level church movements in advance. He knew that the Landis Archbishop had long been valued by the Sacred College and would soon be summoned back to the ecclesiastical state to undergo the divine grace test.

Once he passed the test, he would formally ascend to the rank of a Cardinal with Legendary power, relinquishing his position as the Landis Lord and joining the Sacred College of Cardinals.

The position of the Archbishop that High Priest Leonard dreamed of was actually that of the Landis Lord!

Thinking of this, the High Priest took a deep breath, put on a friendly and dignified smile, and approached the Landis Archbishop warmly, saying:

"Praise the Divine! Your Excellency Gast, welcome to Borde!"

The Landis Archbishop was a tall, white-haired old man with a stern face.

Despite the High Priest's goodwill, he showed no reaction, only giving the other a cold glance, and then led the members of the Evaluation Team towards the direction of the cathedral.

The High Priest's smile froze on his face instantly.

Although the Landis Archbishop was a vassal lord of the ecclesiastical state ruling the divine authority, in terms of rank, he was actually on par with High Priest Leonard.

Both of them belonged to the ducal level, with the only difference being that the Landis Archbishop's position as a clergy lord was half a rank higher than his, somewhat similar to the difference between nobles with court positions and feudal nobles.

For two priests of almost the same rank, such a cold and indifferent attitude upon meeting was abnormal, even for a senior evaluation officer like him.

The High Priest faintly felt that the Landis Archbishop's attitude seemed a bit off, but he couldn't figure out where he might have offended the other.

However, regardless, as the evaluation officer evaluating for the qualification of the High Priest, he had to manage the relationship well.

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Maintaining a stiff smile, the High Priest turned and followed the procession of the Evaluation Team.

He approached the Landis Archbishop, enthusiastically introducing the customs and church situation of Borde.

But the Landis Archbishop remained expressionless, unmoved, which made the High Priest quite embarrassed.

If it weren't for the other two vice evaluation officers who followed up with some conversation topics, the High Priest felt that he might not be able to withstand this serious, awkward, and cold atmosphere for long.

This was not normal!

Definitely not normal!

Even if the church prohibited too much interaction between the evaluation officer and the evaluated clergy, the attitude of the Landis Archbishop was still too abnormal!

The High Priest felt increasingly restless.

The Evaluation Team hadn't even begun to investigate the situation in Borde, yet such an attitude appeared. Could it be... the diocese had discovered something?

The High Priest's heart sank slightly.

But upon careful consideration, he felt that he had already covered all his tracks, leaving no loopholes behind. Even if there were any, it would be due to the oversight of the Evil God's resurrection.

Yet he had the merit of rooting out the Blood Demon Cult and the achievement of turning Castell into ecclesiastical territory in the future.

These were his advantages.

Not to mention, he also had the covert protection of God Nyx.

The High Priest suppressed the unease in his heart, continuing to smile and chat with the members of the Evaluation Team until they reached the cathedral of Borde.

As the evaluation officer, the Landis Archbishop entered the cathedral first and naturally stood on the high platform in the hall.

The Judgment Knights who came with the Evaluation Team also lined up on both sides, solemn in their demeanor.

The High Priest was also somewhat nervous.

He knew that according to the convention, the Evaluation Team would soon read out the church's evaluation documents and related procedures.

As if verifying his judgment, after the Landis Archbishop took his position, a priest respectfully handed him a parchment scroll.

However, when the High Priest saw the parchment scroll, he suddenly froze.

The color of the parchment scroll's cover... was not the usual gold used by the church for issuing ordinary documents. Instead, it was an ominous black.

Black documents were only used within the Holy Court for suspension, investigation, disciplinary action, or arrest.

The sound of creaking came from behind, and the High Priest noticed that the Judgment Knights had directly closed and locked the main door of the cathedral from the inside.

As for the other two vice evaluation officers, who also possessed the Third Tier Blazing Sun power, they had already stood on either side of him, seemingly prepared to act at any moment.

This was bad!

The expression of the High Priest changed slightly.

At the same time, on the high platform, the Landis Archbishop opened the black parchment scroll and solemnly recited.

"Based on a genuine report, High Priest Leonard of the Borde's Holy Court branch had conspired with the Blood Demon Cult to harm civilians, with conclusive evidence..."

After finishing, he put down the parchment scroll and looked coldly at the High Priest.

"Leonard, you are under arrest."

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