Chapter 353: The Four Elements and the Two High Priests
The wheels began to turn. The startled horses, having been soothed, pulled the carriage forward again.
Rumble—hiss—
The wheels made a slight friction sound against the ground.
The blonde youth, however, found the tiny sound he hadn't noticed before somewhat grating. He looked at the other two people in the carriage with fear and tension in his eyes.
"It's too big here, I accidentally got lost just now, Tang." "Black" Pabel sat up straight, his way of speaking a little formal.
It was as if he were explaining to Tang Zheng and the blonde youth.
Lost?
He managed to find this carriage precisely and stopped it. How was that like being lost at all!
The blonde youth's cheek twitched. If this were before, he would have surely reprimanded him, but thinking of the other party's terrifying and dangerous eyes, he pursed his lips.
Just one look could startle well-trained horses, making them afraid to move, and even give him, a Third Tier faith-based caster, a suffocating sense of death.
This was definitely not the look and aura that ordinary Warriors could cultivate!
"Is that so?"
Tang Zheng looked surprised: "Then just follow me for now, Pabel."
When the blonde youth heard this, his expression changed. He could no longer sit by and do nothing, and could only speak: "Um, Your Excellency Tang."
"I am here on the High Priest's orders to invite you for an important discussion. This Mr. Pabel is not among the invited."
"Black" Pabel's mask covered most of his face, revealing no emotion: "So there are important matters. I wonder if you could help me find our Holy Kingdom's team."
"Allow me to refuse. This kind of thing..."
The blonde youth met those narrow, sharp eyes, and with a stiff upper lip, put on a tough demeanor.
His priority task now was to lead Tang Zheng to the location of the discussion meeting. How could he have time to help the other party find the Holy Kingdom's team!
"Then Pabel can just wait in the carriage."
Tang Zheng smiled and spoke to the blonde youth, then looked at Pabel: "How about it?"
"Alright." "Black" Pabel nodded.
"After the Hills incident last time, you left in a hurry. Your wife's matter?"
Tang Zheng sighed lightly and spoke comfortingly.
"To be able to sacrifice herself in the fight against the Undead, as a Holy Knight, this was her destiny and her pride." "Black" Pabel shook his head, a trace 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 blonde youth opened his mouth, and finally fell silent.
In the process of communicating with Pabel, Tang Zheng had basically confirmed the Holy Kingdom's intentions.
Are they trying to test my thoughts?
Tang Zheng understood in his heart.
Intercepting the carriage was probably also a last resort.
On the Slane Theocracy's territory, the Holy Kingdom didn't have many methods they could use.
"Black" Pabel was familiar with him. The purpose of sending him was nothing more than to further confirm his attitude, and whether or not to invite Pabel into the carriage was the answer.
The moving carriage finally stopped at a Church.
The blonde youth lifted the curtain and respectfully led Tang Zheng down from the carriage, while "Black" Pabel remained in the carriage.
This was a large Church and Temple.
The first thing that came into view were two flights of towering steps, each with eleven steps. On either side of the steps were placed ears of grain and flowers, with prominent tea-colored rhombus-shaped patterns primarily consisting of stripes.
This proved that it was the Temple of the Earth God, one of the Six Great Gods!
"Your Excellency Tang, my task is to bring you here. I am not qualified to enter."
The blonde youth bowed respectfully and said softly: "Next, they will guide you."
Just then.
Two Shrine Priests wearing Shrine Priest robes with tea-colored divine seals hanging on their chests were already waiting at the bottom of the steps.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Tang Zheng spoke gently, looking at the solemn and sacred Church and Temple before him, and smiled almost imperceptibly.
Given the achievements of the Six Great Gods, the humans of this Different World should indeed be eternally grateful, especially the Slane Theocracy, which inherited the legacy of the Six Great Gods.
"Your Excellency Tang."
"Our High Priest is already waiting inside." One of the two Shrine Priests spoke first. Although his voice was calm, it subtly revealed a hint of dissatisfaction.
Just a mere Adventurer, and he actually made their High Priest wait in advance.
Tang Zheng's smiling expression remained unchanged: "Then let's go, both of you."
He ascended the steps and entered the temple.
Along the way.
Tang Zheng observed that the temple had many patterns related to shields, swords, wheat stalks, and the like. He had been cramming "knowledge" about the Six Great Gods during this time.
The Earth God, enshrined in the temple before him, was said to possess a series of authorities within the power domains proclaimed by the Slane Theocracy, including "Protection," "Forging," and "Harvest."
This information itself wasn't of great significance to Tang Zheng, 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.
Tang Zheng speculated that the opponent likely had a "Tank" type class build, or perhaps even a forging-related class.
The air within the church temple was filled with a special incense scent similar to beeswax, a sacred aura that had never ceased since the temple was built!
The incense permeated the air, combining with the sunlight from the windows to create an ethereal amber glow!
The two Shrine Priests led the way, passing through the church's Great Hall and entering a straight, wide corridor before stopping before a heavy wooden door.
The two Shrine Priests stood silently on either side of the wooden door.
"So, Your High Priest is inside."
Tang Zheng examined the patterned wooden door, as if he could see the scene inside through it, a flicker of something unusual in his eyes.
There were three people's presences.
—And a very familiar holy energy fluctuation!
An Angel?
The intensity of this energy fluctuation was at least 40Lv!
Since obtaining the [Dragon Race Transcender] class, Tang Zheng's perception ability seemed to have received a partial boost from the Dragon Lord.
Even with a wooden door blocking the way, he could still faintly hear the sounds of breathing from inside, as well as a dense holy 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!
Creak—crack—
The heavy, patterned wooden door, which appeared to be three meters tall, was easily pulled open, revealing a wide gap.
Appearing in front of him.
Was a pale-faced middle-aged man, wrapped in a rough black robe, completely out of place with the temple's atmosphere.
The loose black hood covering his head concealed his forehead. After expressionlessly glancing at Tang Zheng, he said, "Please come in."
Hero Domain?
The dense Mana fluctuation that rushed towards him allowed him to immediately confirm the opponent's strength.
Not only that.
The invisible Mana emanating from the middle-aged man was filled with the power of the Four Elements. The opponent must be proficient in elemental Magic.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be such intense Four Elements energy!
Tang Zheng possessed two classes that provided a bonus 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 power, but the number of experts who had stepped into the "Hero Domain" was also limited. It wasn't difficult to deduce who fit this description.
This middle-aged man before him was likely the Midnight Scripture Third Seat, codenamed "Four Elements"!
Tang Zheng walked into the Great Hall, still reeling from the speculation that "Four Elements," a member of the Scripture, was here.
Then he saw a four-meter-tall, massive Angel constantly radiating Holy Light.
"Dominion Authority Angel?"
Tang Zheng remained calm internally, while feigning surprise on his face.
He had already sensed a dense holy energy fluctuation, so seeing this Dominion Authority Angel now wasn't unexpected.
However.
As he entered the Great Hall, two pairs of eyes had already looked over, and "Four Elements," who had opened the door, had also been staring at him.
"May the radiance of God illuminate all. Welcome, Team Leader Tang."
An old and peaceful voice came.
Tang Zheng withdrew his gaze from the Dominion Authority Angel and looked towards a round table in the center of the Great Hall, where two figures wearing tall hats were seated.
"I didn't expect to meet the Two High Priests."
Tang Zheng continued to feign surprise and quickly said, "It is my honor."
"There may have been some misunderstandings during the process of inviting Team Leader Tang."
"We deeply apologize, but due to some significant reasons, we had no choice but to invite Team Leader Tang here."
The elderly Shrine Priest who had spoken continued, "Team Leader Tang, please have a seat."
"Alright, I'm quite curious myself," Tang Zheng shrugged, then walked towards the round table in the center.
As Tang Zheng took his seat, the atmosphere in the entire great hall became solemn. The wall on the right side of the hall was a massive window, and bright sunlight streamed through, landing precisely on the round table where everyone was seated.
The Four Elements stood silently behind the two High Priests, and further back was the tall Dominion Authority Angel hovering in mid-air.
Tang Zheng sat directly opposite the Slane Theocracy's side, giving off a strong sense of pressure at a glance.
"My name is Sinedin, and I serve as the Water Shrine Priest Chief."
This was an old man like dry firewood, with an earthy complexion as if one foot were already in the grave. A faint glimmer of wisdom flickered in his eyes, which were narrowed into slits.
"This is Raymond, the Earth Shrine Priest Chief. This area is his domain, hehe."
Water Cardinal Schedding spoke in a joking tone, breaking the serious atmosphere in the air.
Earth Shrine Priest Chief Raymond calmly nodded in response.
The two High Priests before him didn't have particularly strong auras.
Water Cardinal Schedding should be a Fourth Tier Faith-based Magic Caster, while Earth Shrine Priest Chief Raymond, Tang Zheng observed, had a somewhat sturdy physique hidden beneath his loose robe.
He was likely a Warrior-type character, and Earth Shrine Priest Chief Raymond's aura was even stronger.
"It's a pleasure to meet both Your Excellencies, High Priests."
Tang Zheng responded, his gaze subtly sweeping over Earth Shrine Priest Chief Raymond's fingers.
There were obvious calluses on his thumbs, but they appeared much smoother now, clearly indicating he hadn't held a weapon in a long time.
Among these two High Priests, although Earth Shrine Priest Chief Raymond's aura was stronger, the truly threatening one was the amiable Water Cardinal Schedding.
Also!
The Four Elements standing behind them were clearly acting as guards and sentinels.
"Although this might sound rude," Tang Zheng didn't intend to let them control the conversation and spoke first, "Could you directly tell me the purpose of inviting me to the Theocracy?"
Water Cardinal Schedding smiled gently upon hearing this.
"Very well."
"Tang, would you mind if I, as an older man, address you simply as Tang?" Water Cardinal Schedding asked with a smile.
"Of course," Tang Zheng didn't mind the address.
"Tang, I presume you already understand the reason we invited you to the Theocracy is because of the Integration Potion you refined."
Water Cardinal Schedding spoke very naturally, without any awkwardness about the Integration Potion being seized from people of the Holy Kingdom.
"We discovered that the effect of the Integration Potion has the potential to greatly enhance the power of the Theocracy... no, the power of humanity."
Water Cardinal Schedding's voice gradually became serious.
"Cough."
Earth Shrine Priest Chief Raymond lightly coughed, leaned forward, and stared at Tang Zheng, saying,
"This Dominion Authority Angel behind us, I believe Team Leader Tang has already seen it during the Undead uprising in the Abelion Hills."
"You've even personally experienced this power, so you should understand how powerful this Angel is."
"Naturally."
Tang Zheng's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as he glanced at the Dominion Authority Angel behind them.
He suddenly noticed a problem.
The Dominion Authority Angel's state was somewhat strange, though he couldn't immediately pinpoint what was odd about it.
"Team Leader Tang can summon Twin Angels, so you should be very clear about the tier levels of Angels. The 'Dominion Authority Angel' is not a power that humans can summon through normal means."
"Even with the capabilities of our Theocracy, it requires mobilizing the entire nation and employing special methods to summon the highest-tier Angel with the power of the Demon Gods."
A hint of excitement unconsciously crept into Earth Shrine Priest Chief Raymond's voice.
"Tang, how long do you think this powerful Dominion Authority Angel has existed?" Water Cardinal Schedding asked with a light chuckle, taking over the conversation.
Without waiting for Tang Zheng to respond, Water Cardinal Schedding answered, "It has been half a month since it was summoned."
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became quiet.
Even the Four Elements, who had remained aloof, subconsciously gave Tang Zheng a deep look.
No matter how powerful an Angel was, it would eventually disappear after being summoned. Summoning them at the cost of vast resources was essentially a waste of resources.
Half a month?
Tang Zheng was somewhat taken aback. This time, he was genuinely surprised, not faking it.
He had experimented with the effects of the Integration Potion many times and knew that even in the integrated state, there was a time limit.
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