The wheels began to turn. The frightened horses, after being soothed, pulled the carriage once more.
Grrr—sizzle—
The wheels made a subtle friction sound as they contacted the ground.
The golden-haired youth, however, found the tiny sounds he hadn't noticed before somewhat grating. He looked at the other two people in the carriage with fear and tension.
"It's too big here; I accidentally got lost just now, Minori." Pabel sat ramrod straight, his manner of speaking a bit formal.
It was as if he was explaining to Minori and the golden-haired youth.
Lost?
He accurately found this carriage and stopped it; how was that like being lost!
The golden-haired youth's cheek twitched. If it had been before, he would have reprimanded him, but thinking of the other party's terrifyingly dangerous gaze, he pursed his lips.
A single glance could frighten well-trained horses, making them afraid to move, and even caused him, a third-tier Faith System spellcaster, to feel a suffocating sense of death.
This was absolutely not the kind of gaze and aura that an ordinary Warrior could cultivate!
"Is that so."
Minori feigned surprise: "Then come with me for now, Pabel."
Upon hearing this, the golden-haired youth's expression changed. He could no longer sit idly by and had to speak: "Um, Mr. Minori."
"I am here by the Cleric's orders to invite you to discuss important matters. Mr. Pabel is not among those invited."
Pabel's mask covered most of his face, showing no emotion: "So there are important matters. I wonder if you could help me find our Holy Kingdom's team."
"I must refuse. Such a matter…"
The golden-haired youth met the pair of narrow, sharp eyes, stiffened his resolve, and put on a tough facade.
His priority now was to lead Minori to the meeting location. How could he have time to help the other party find the Holy Kingdom's team!
"Then Pabel can just wait in the carriage."
Minori smiled at the golden-haired youth, then looked at Pabel: "How about it?"
"Alright." Pabel nodded.
"After the Hills incident last time, you left in a hurry. What about your wife?"
Minori sighed lightly and spoke comfortingly.
"To be able to sacrifice herself in the fight against the Undead, as a Paladin, that was her destiny and her pride." Pabel shook his head, a hint of sadness flashing deep in his eyes.
Watching them make decisions on their own, leaving him completely unable to interject, and what they were discussing was the great feat of the Hills incident.
The golden-haired youth opened his mouth, then finally fell silent.
During his conversation with Pabel, Minori also largely confirmed the Holy Kingdom's intentions.
"Are they trying to probe my thoughts?"
Minori understood in his heart.
Intercepting the carriage was likely an act of desperation.
Within the Slane Theocracy's territory, the Holy Kingdom had limited means at its disposal.
Pabel was familiar with him, and the purpose of sending him was undoubtedly to further ascertain his attitude, with whether or not to invite Pabel into the carriage being the answer.
The moving carriage finally stopped at a church.
The golden-haired youth lifted the curtain, respectfully leading Minori out of the carriage, while Pabel remained inside the carriage.
This was a grand church temple.
The first thing that came into view was two towering flights of stairs, each with eleven steps. On either side of the stairs were placed rice stalks and flowers, and conspicuous tea-colored diamond-shaped patterns, primarily stripes.
This proved it was the temple of the earth god, one of the Six Great Gods!
"Mr. Minori, my task is to bring you here. I am not authorized to enter."
The golden-haired youth bowed respectfully and spoke softly: "Next, they will guide you."
Just then.
Two Clerics, wearing Cleric robes with tea-colored divine seals on their chests, were already waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Minori spoke gently, looking at the solemn and sacred church temple before him, smiling almost imperceptibly.
Given the achievements of the Six Great Gods, the Humans of the Otherworld should indeed be eternally grateful, especially the Slane Theocracy, which inherited the legacy of the Six Great Gods.
"Mr. Minori."
"Our Cleric is already waiting inside." One of the two Clerics spoke first, his voice calm but subtly tinged with dissatisfaction.
A mere adventurer had actually made their Cleric wait in advance.
Minori's smiling expression remained unchanged: "Then let's go, both of you."
They ascended the stairs and entered the temple.
Along the way.
Minori observed that there were many patterns related to shields, swords, and wheat ears in the temple. He had also recently caught up on the "knowledge" about the Six Great Gods.
The earth god worshipped in this temple, according to the Slane Theocracy's doctrines, held powers such as "guarding," "forging," and "harvest."
This information itself held little significance for Minori, but through these so-called "authorities," he could indirectly analyze the power system of the Six Great Gods.
For example, the "earth god" Player, one of the Six Great Gods.
Minori speculated that the other party likely had a "tank" type of class build, or perhaps a forging-related class.
The air inside the church temple was filled with a special incense scent similar to beeswax, a sacred aura that had never ceased since the temple's construction!
The incense diffused into the air, combining with the sunlight from the windows to become a hazy amber color!
The two Clerics led the way, passing through the church's main hall, entering a straight, spacious corridor, and then stopping before a heavy wooden door.
The two Clerics stood silently on either side of the wooden door.
"So, your Cleric is inside."
Minori scrutinized the elaborately patterned wooden door, as if he could see the scene inside through it, a strange glint in his eyes.
There were three people's auras.
—And a very familiar Holy Light energy fluctuation!
Angels?
The intensity of this energy fluctuation was at least Level 40 or above!
Ever since Minori obtained the Dragon Race Transcender class, his perception abilities seemed to have gained some enhancement from the Dragon King.
Even with a wooden door obstructing him, he could still faintly hear breathing from inside, and a dense Holy Light energy.
One of them was walking towards the door.
If combined with Ninjutsu · Detection, he could obtain more precise magic detection information. However, in the current situation, he couldn't rashly use detection methods.
Getting closer!
Click—creak—
The heavy, patterned wooden door, appearing to be three meters tall, was easily pulled open, revealing a wide crack.
What appeared before him was a pale-faced middle-aged man, wrapped in a coarse black robe, completely out of place with the temple's atmosphere.
A loose black hood covered his forehead. After expressionlessly sizing up Minori, he said: "Please come in."
Hero Domain?
The dense magical energy fluctuations that assailed him immediately allowed him to ascertain the other party's strength.
Not only that.
The invisible magical energy emanating from the middle-aged man was filled with the power of the four conventional elements; the other party must be proficient in elemental magic.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be such strong four-element energy!
Minori possessed two classes that provided bonuses to elemental magic, giving him a natural sensitivity to elemental energy.
Hero Domain!
Proficient in four-element magic!
The Slane Theocracy had the strongest overall strength, but the number of powerhouses who had entered the "Hero Domain" was limited. It wasn't difficult to deduce who met this condition.
This middle-aged man before him was likely the third seat of the Black Scripture, codenamed "Four Elements"!
Minori entered the hall, still reeling from the deduction that "Four Elements," a member of the Sacred Scripture, was here.
He then saw an Angels, over four meters tall, massive in size, constantly emitting Holy Light.
"Dominion Authority?"
Minori's heart was calm, but he feigned a stunned expression.
He had already sensed a strong Holy Light energy fluctuation, so seeing this Dominion Authority now was not entirely unexpected.
However.
As he entered the hall, two gazes had already turned towards him, and "Four Elements," who had opened the door, had also been staring at him.
"May the light of God illuminate all. Welcome, Leader Minori."
An old and benevolent voice came.
Minori withdrew his gaze from the Dominion Authority and looked towards a round table in the center of the hall, where two figures wearing tall hats were seated.
"I didn't expect to meet two Clerics."
Minori continued to feign surprise, quickly speaking: "It's my honor."
"There may have been some misunderstandings during the process of inviting Leader Minori."
"We deeply apologize, but due to some significant reasons, we had no choice but to invite Leader Minori here."
The elderly Cleric who had spoken continued: "Leader Minori, please be seated."
"Alright, I'm quite curious as well." Minori shrugged and walked towards the central round table.
As Minori took his seat.
The atmosphere in the entire hall became solemn. The wall on the right side of the hall had a huge glass window, and bright sunlight streamed through it, falling directly onto the round table where everyone was seated.
"Four Elements" stood silently behind the two Clerics, and further behind them was the tall Dominion Authority floating in mid-air.
Minori sat directly opposite the Slane Theocracy's side, and at a glance, it created a strong sense of oppression.
"This old man's name is Shineidine, and I serve as the Water Priest."
This was an old man like dry wood, his complexion sallow, as if one foot was already in the coffin. In his eyes, narrowed to slits, there was a faint glimmer of wisdom.
"He is Raymond, the earth god Cleric. This territory belongs to him, hehe."
Water Priest Sineding spoke in a jocular tone, breaking the serious atmosphere in the air.
Earth god Cleric Raymond nodded calmly in response.
The two Clerics before him.
Their auras were not particularly strong.
Water Priest Sineding should be a fourth-tier Faith System magic caster, while for earth god Cleric Raymond, Minori observed his somewhat strong body hidden beneath his loose robe.
He was likely a Warrior type character, and earth god Cleric Raymond's aura was even stronger.
"It's a pleasure to meet both Clerics."
Minori replied, his gaze subtly sweeping over earth god Cleric Raymond's fingers.
There were obvious calluses on his thumbs, but now, these calluses appeared much smoother, clearly indicating he hadn't held a weapon in a long time.
Of these two Clerics, though earth god Cleric Raymond's aura was stronger, the truly threatening one was this amiable Water Priest Sineding.
Furthermore!
"Four Elements," standing behind the two, clearly served as a guard.
"Though it might be impolite to say so."
Minori did not intend to let the other party control the conversation, so he spoke first: "Could you directly tell me the purpose of inviting me to the Theocracy?"
Water Priest Sineding smiled gently upon hearing this.
"Alright."
"Minori, would you mind if this old man, presuming on his age, simply calls you Minori?" Water Priest Sineding said with a smile.
"Of course." Minori didn't mind the address.
"Minori, I presume you already know the reason we invited you to the Theocracy: it's because of the Fusion Potion you concocted."
Water Priest Sineding spoke very naturally, without any awkwardness about the Fusion Potion having been seized from the Holy Kingdom.
"We discovered that the Fusion Potion has the potential to significantly enhance the Theocracy's… no, Humanity's strength."
Water Priest Sineding's voice gradually became serious.
"Cough."
earth god Cleric Raymond coughed softly, leaning forward and staring at Minori: "Leader Minori must have already seen this Dominion Authority behind us during the Undead uprising in the Abelion Hills."
"You've even personally experienced this power, so you should understand the Angels' strength."
"Naturally."
Minori's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as he glanced at the Dominion Authority behind him.
He suddenly noticed a problem.
That is, the state of this Dominion Authority was somewhat strange, yet he couldn't quite pinpoint what was strange about it.
"Leader Minori can summon dual Angels, so you should be very clear about the Angels' rank and Level. The Dominion Authority is not a power that Humans can summon through normal means."
"Even with our Theocracy's capabilities, it requires the combined strength of the entire nation and special methods to summon the highest-tier Angels with the power of Gods."
A hint of excitement unconsciously crept into earth god Cleric Raymond's voice.
"Minori, how long do you think this powerful Dominion Authority has existed?" Water Priest Sineding chuckled, taking over the conversation.
Without waiting for Minori's response, Water Priest Sineding already answered: "It's been half a month since it was summoned."
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly fell silent.
Even "Four Elements," who had always appeared indifferent, subconsciously gave Minori a deep look.
No matter how strong an Angels was, it would eventually disappear after being summoned, and summoning it by consuming a large amount of resources was actually a waste of resources.
Half a month?
Minori was somewhat taken aback. This time, he was genuinely surprised, not feigning it.
He had experimented with the Fusion Potion's effects many times and knew that even in the integrated state, there was a time limit.
[TL: I am letting you know that i have caught up to the book and now it seems the author is posting one chapter a day. this is just an FYI]