Caroline looked towards the stairs, and after a mont, she could only sigh.
"Father William, Sister Bettis, you two should know that there have been frequent personnel changes in the Church recently, right?"
The two looked at each other, then nodded.
This matter had been ongoing for a long ti, resulting in a shortage of manpower in the Church. For this reason, William had been used as free labor several tis.
"This is because... most people have been sent to the Land of the Holy War," Caroline said. William raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
"A thousand years ago, the Church fought a war against the evil descending upon the world. It's said the scale of that war was massive, and even the true bodies of multiple Demon Gods appeared. And on the Church's side, angels also descended..."
"Ultimately, powerful Source Power fluctuations destroyed the surrounding space, splitting that battlefield from the human world and causing it to plunge into the infinite void."
"Along with that land, many powerful Holy Clergy mbers also disappeared. In the thousand years since, they never returned, leaving only scattered words written in ancient texts."
William narrowed his eyes: "From what you're saying... these people have returned?"
Caroline nodded, then shook her head again.
"They have indeed returned, but only their bones remain. To be precise... that lost land has been found."
"Roughly not long ago, the Exorcism Departnt, one of the two factions of the Church, handed in an item. It was an arm covered in runes, nad the Hand of the Apostle."
Bettis raised an eyebrow: "I've heard of this."
"It's said this holy relic originated from the Pioneer Spirit Barnabas, who was a disciple of the Son of God! But later, this holy relic was lost."
Caroline nodded: "Archbishop Jose gos of Los Angeles recovered this holy relic and used it to find the location of the Land of the Holy War."
William looked thoughtful: "So it was this item..."
This Hand of the Apostle was exactly the item he had recovered in the "Answer " commission.
At that ti, he was acting on Archbishop Jose's invitation, working alongside Faya, a teacher from the Dei Seminary.
Caroline continued: "After opening that space, Archbishop Jolan was imdiately sent there."
"According to that lord's report, he found many holy artifacts and remains inside. Judging by the residual traces, that place is undoubtedly the Land of the Holy War."
"Afterward, the higher-ups mobilized many Holy Clergy mbers to go there. After all, the Church paid a heavy price in that war, and many precious holy relics were lost as a result, including quite a few hundred-year vintage holy artifacts."
As soon as her voice fell, William's eyes lit up.
Previously, he had been troubled by his inability to find holy artifacts of this caliber.
The only one he managed to get his hands on was because he helped that female manager at the Exorcism Guild.
"So this Priest Order selection is actually to find those holy relics?" he inquired.
"At first, Lord Jolan did intend to arrange it that way." Caroline shook her head.
"But as a large number of Holy Clergy mbers were sent to the Land of the Holy War, we also discovered an anomaly."
She revealed a look of recollection.
"Archbishop Jolan said in his letter that there seems to be an evil spirit with an extrely powerful evil intent entrenched there. It has already mastered part of the spatial rules of that land."
"All Holy Clergy mbers who enter there will lose their Holy Power."
Bettis frowned: "What does that an?"
"It ans they cannot use Holy Power. Whether it's branding manifestation, holy artifacts, or Holy Arts, they all beco ineffective there," Caroline said.
William and Bettis looked at each other, both seeing the surprise in the other's eyes.
"Even Jolan is the sa?"
Caroline nodded.
"However, Archbishop Jolan figured out part of the rules, which is why he was able to bring this intelligence back. But the other Holy Clergy mbers weren't so lucky..."
"The Archbishop's last letter stated that most of the Holy Clergy mbers who entered previously have already died."
Her eyes grew dim.
"And those still alive are trapped there."
"The Holy Society, the Exorcism Departnt, and those ancient families in the Vatican... so individuals of noble status among them also entered inside."
"Therefore, during this period, various factions within the Church have been pressuring the Pope."
William rubbed his chin. He didn't expect a single holy relic to cause such a huge ripple.
"So the Church gathering us foreigner Holy Clergy mbers is planning to send us to the Land of the Holy War to rescue the trapped?"
Caroline nodded: "In two days, the Church will hold a participant assembly in the Holy Land, and this news will be announced then."
Subsequently, she changed the topic.
"But this task is only the objective for ordinary participants. For those with ancient family backgrounds, we need to accomplish another thing."
William and Bettis both waited for her to continue.
"Find the second 'Ten Commandnts' stele in the Land of the Holy War," Caroline said.
"Ten Commandnts stele?" Bettis was sowhat puzzled.
"The covenant carved by God with His finger on Mount Sinai, which is also the core content of the Old Testant, practically the source of the entire Church's faith."
"Such a legendary item... actually exists?"
Caroline nodded: "I only found out recently too."
"There are a total of two Ten Commandnts steles. Originally, they should have been jointly preserved by God and the Pioneer Spirits. But God ultimately gave that one to the Pioneer Spirit Moses as well."
"After thousands of years, one of them is currently preserved in the 'Ark of the Covenant' in the Vatican."
"And the whereabouts of the other one have long been unknown."
William rubbed his chin.
He had also read this story in ancient texts. These two Ten Commandnts steles were not a "Volu 1 and Volu 2" relationship.
Each stele recorded the complete content of the "Ten Commandnts."
The reason two were made was more like a kind of witness, just like... keeping a copy each after signing a contract.
Thinking of this, William spoke again: "I wonder what use this Ten Commandnts stele has?"
"Uh... I don't know about that." Caroline smiled awkwardly.
"I'm guessing those old n were afraid we would leak it, so they didn't tell us!"
She crossed her arms as she spoke, looking annoyed.
William wasn't surprised by this.
But for this legendary holy relic to make the entire Church willing to pay any price, its use must definitely not be underestimated.
For example... summoning an angel, or even calling down God?
William shook his head slightly, tossing these thoughts aside. Now was not the ti to focus on such things.
He asked one last question.
"You keep saying the Land of the Holy War is very dangerous. Are there other monsters there? If we go in, how do we get out?"
"Archbishop Jolan only said in his letter to figure out the rules. As for the rest... hmm..." Caroline pouted.
"I rember now! He said to be careful of the Sweepers there."
"Sweepers... what are those?" Bettis asked.
"I really don't know this one; it wasn't ntioned in the letter either."
William frowned: "There is still too little information about the dangers of the Land of the Holy War. This ans we have to be even more careful."
"Oh! Right." Caroline suddenly clapped her hands.
"Regarding how to get out of there, the higher-ups will only announce it after the participant assembly begins. So don't go running around aimlessly these next few days!"
William and Bettis both nodded upon hearing this.
"Business is done! Let's go back." Caroline finished the coffee William had ordered.
"You guys can stay at my place these two days. My place is very close to the center of the Holy Land, just a few minutes' walk."
The corner of William's mouth twitched: "Is this the treatnt of the local natives? Damn it!"
After leaving a few bills, the three quickly departed.
The Holy Land.
Mount of Olives, on the east side of the Old City.
The hillside was covered with dense graves; stone sarcophagi stretched from the middle of the mountain all the way to the foot.
Legend has it that after the Son of God resurrected, He ultimately "ascended to Heaven" on this mountain.
And God had also handed down a prophecy—He will descend upon this mountain, leading His believers to find ultimate salvation.
Therefore, this was also the most important burial area in the Holy Land.
Every devout subject hoped to be buried here after death.
At this mont, at the bottom of a low slope on the Mount of Olives.
There was a cave here, pitch black inside.
Rustle... Rustle...
Before long, a rhythmic sound ca from the entrance of the cave.
A muscular man was dragging "two handfuls" of remains and walking over from afar.
The reason "handfuls" is used is because this man's hands were very large; he could grab the feet of six remains simultaneously with just one hand.
As the man stepped into the cave, a dark ripple was stirred up. It seed so kind of magic array was arranged here.
He went all the way down, and before long, the space in front of him suddenly beca spacious.
Thud!
The man threw the remains on the ground.
"I dug up over a hundred graves, and only these bones still had so muscle tissue left on the surface," his voice was sowhat muffled.
Fwish— a torch suddenly lit up, and the darkness nearby was dispelled.
Besides the man, there were three other people here.
"Is it really necessary to light a torch just to inspect corpses, Samael?" One of them, a scrawny man, pushed up his glasses.
Samael was still wearing a black robe, and the stubble on his chin was also sowhat ssy.
Hearing this, he shrugged: "A day ago, I thought the sa."
"But ever since Abaddon moved in twenty fake remains made of stone statues, I had to do this."
He approached the corpses as he spoke: "Regarding this point, I believe Beelzebub definitely has a deep understanding."
At this ti, a figure sitting deepest inside nodded.
He was also wearing a black robe, but he wore a deep purple mask, which was also painted with dense runes.
"Although my teeth are very hard, after continuously biting through twelve stone statues, there was still so wear and tear." Beelzebub's voice was sowhat thin.
"Please be sure to pay attention. I didn't bring my personal dentist this ti."
Abraham listened calmly and continued: "If I rember correctly, seven doctors have already been killed because they couldn't pull out your tooth."
Beelzebub nodded: "This shows their dical skills were too poor. Continuing to live would only waste dical resources."
The corner of Samael's mouth twitched.
Subsequently, the scene of Beelzebub ruining a heavy-duty tow truck while trying to pull a tooth surfaced in his mind.
"Fine." Abraham seed to accept this explanation very easily.
"In that case, why not let Samael go? Was Abaddon's failure in the 'Child Abduction' mission not enough to prove his simple-mindedness?"
"Hey, I'm right here, you know." Abaddon said in a muffled voice.
"That ti was just a mistake. Besides, I also had to deal with that Vatican Archbishop. That person is not easy to deal with. During the Anniversary operation, didn't Sariel also suffer a loss at his hands?"
Subsequently, he smashed his fist into the ground, causing even the cave to shake slightly.
"Moreover, who would have thought that these 'devout' believers would actually use stone statues to replace their own remains!"
"Hey, be careful! This is the Holy Land. Do you want to be discovered by the Church?" Samael steadied his stance.
Abraham pushed up his glasses: "I heard that so Holy Clergy mbers, in order to seize a grave, will bury a stone statue in advance, and then swap their real body in after they die."
"What's there to fight over for a broken grave? Truly a bunch of fools." Samael stood up.
"Alright, the remains are fine, it's your turn."
Hearing this, Beelzebub ca beside the corpses.
He took off his mask, and then actually grabbed a foot and started gnawing directly.
A sound of chewing echoed in the cave.
Samael frowned: "Although I've seen this many tis, I still want to say, please do not co looking for during any alti."
Beelzebub turned his head upon hearing this, so at chunks still remaining at the corner of his mouth.
"Your food is no different from excrent to . I would never serve that kind of thing on a dining table."
Hearing this, Abaddon grinned widely.
"Heh~ heh~ heh~ heh~" His laughter had a very strong cadence.
"You f*cking..." Samael clenched his fists.
"Alright, alright." Abraham blocked between the two. "Hurry up, the Priest Order selection begins in two days."
Samael took a deep breath: "Why haven't I seen the Boss and Sister Sariel?"
"Lucifer has infiltrated the Church and is investigating the hidden high-end combat power." Abraham pushed up his glasses.
"As for Sariel... she should be undergoing casting sowhere. She said her power last ti wasn't strong enough."
Hearing this, Samael narrowed his eyes, and a figure in a black robe with short hair appeared in his mind.
"I hope you ca this ti too, otherwise I will be very disappointed," he thought inwardly.
"I'm full." At this ti, Beelzebub stood up.
Abraham nodded: "Then let's begin."
After speaking, he instantly retreated backward, and Samael and Abaddon quickly followed.
Beelzebub stood in place.
His throat surged, and imdiately after, a yellowish-brown liquid spewed from his mouth.
Sizzle... Sizzle...
After the liquid ca into contact with the ground, a massive amount of white smoke instantly rose, and a foul sll appeared in the cave.
Beelzebub opened his arms.
Subsequently, many deep purple blood vessels surfaced on his body.
"Ugh... Ugh..."
He growled lowly, the blood vessels on his body flickering erratically.
In the next mont, the yellowish-brown liquid seeped into the ground.
These things quickly dispersed into countless "thin streams," spreading towards the entire Mount of Olives.
If one could see through the ground from mid-air at this mont, they would discover that those liquids were connecting with the stone sarcophagi on the mountain one by one.
After a period of ti, the liquid completely subrged into the stone sarcophagi.
Inside the cave.
Beelzebub's eyes emitted an eerie purple light.
He twitched his fingers, and subsequently, the remains in the graves on the entire mountain also twitched their fingers.
In the next mont, a lot of yellowish-brown liquid seeped from the surface of these remains, beginning to dissolve the surrounding stone sarcophagi.
"The Sin of Plague has been planted. Now we just need to wait patiently." Beelzebub said, standing up.
The three people in the distance remained motionless.
Beelzebub frowned: "What's wrong with you guys?"
"Put your mask on first." Samael covered his nose with his robe.
Two days later, early morning.
Outside the golden Do Temple in the Holy Land, many Holy Clergy mbers wearing black robes were converging towards here.
Everyone remained silent, walking orderly through the alleys.
William was also in the crowd, with Sisters Bettis and Caroline accompanying him.
"It's finally starting."
He checked his backpack again to ensure there were no omissions.
Subsequently, William looked at the temple not far away.
At this ti, the early morning sun had just peaked out.
A ray of sunlight happened to shine on the temple, and the golden do instantly blood with dazzling light.
☆☆☆
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