Chapter 344: The Four Elements, The Two Chief Priests

The wheels began to turn; the startled horses, once calmed, pulled the carriage forward again.

Rumble—creak—

A faint friction sound arose from the contact between the wheels and the ground.

Yet the blond young man felt these tiny sounds he had never noticed before were somewhat grating, and he looked at the other two people sitting in the carriage with fear and nervousness.

"This place is too big; I got lost by accident just now, Tang." "Black" Pabel sat bolt upright, speaking in a somewhat formulaic manner.

It was as if he were explaining to Tang Zheng and the blond young man.

Lost?

Being able to accurately find this carriage and intercept it—in what way did that look like being lost!

The blond young man’s cheek twitched; if this were before, he would surely have spoken up to reprimand him, but at the thought of that terrifying, dangerous gaze, he pressed his lips together.

A single look could make well-trained horses tremble in fear, unable to move, and even leave him, a believer and chanter capable of using the third tier, with a suffocating sense of impending death.

This was definitely not a gaze or aura that could be trained by an ordinary warrior!

"Is that so."

Tang Zheng looked surprised: "Then just come along with me for now, Pabel."

Hearing this, the blond young man’s expression changed, and he could no longer sit by and watch, so he had to speak: "Um, Lord Tang."

"I am acting under the orders of the Chief Priest to invite you over to discuss important matters; this Mr. Pabel is not among those 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; such a thing..."

The blond young man met that pair of narrow, sharp eyes, biting the bullet and putting on a tough front.

His priority mission now was to lead Tang Zheng to the meeting place; how could he have time to help the other party find the Holy Kingdom’s team!

"Then let Pabel wait in the carriage."

Tang Zheng smiled at the blond young man, then looked at Pabel: "How about it?"

"That works." "Black" Pabel nodded.

"After the hill incident ended last time, you left in such a hurry. What about your wife?"

Tang Zheng sighed softly and spoke in consolation.

"To be able to sacrifice oneself in the fight against the undead—as a Holy Knight, this is her destiny, and also her pride." "Black" Pabel shook his head, a trace of sorrow flashing deep in his eyes.

Watching them decide on their own, leaving him completely unable to interject, and still chatting about the great feat of that hill incident.

The blond young man opened his mouth, but ultimately fell silent.

In the process of communicating with Pabel, Tang Zheng also basically confirmed the Holy Kingdom’s intentions.

"Testing my thoughts, are they."

Tang Zheng understood in his heart.

The act of intercepting the carriage was likely a last resort.

On the territory of the Silianjiaoguosuo, there were not many methods the Holy Kingdom could employ.

"Black" Pabel was familiar with him, and the purpose of sending him here was nothing more than to further confirm his attitude; whether or not to invite Pabel onto the carriage was the answer.

The moving carriage finally stopped at a church.

The blond young man lifted the carriage curtain and respectfully led Tang Zheng down, while "Black" Pabel remained in the carriage.

This was a massive church temple.

The first things to catch the eye were two towering flights of stairs, each with eleven steps; on both sides of the stairs were placed ears of rice and flowers, with a conspicuous tea-colored diamond-shaped pattern dominated by stripes.

This proved it was the temple of the Earth God, one of the Six Great Gods!

"Lord Tang, my mission is to deliver you here; I do not have the qualifications to enter."

The blond young man bowed respectfully and spoke softly: "From here on, they will guide you."

Just then.

Two priests wearing priestly robes, with tea-colored divine seals hanging on their chests, were already standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting.

"Sorry for the trouble."

Tang Zheng spoke gently, looking at the solemn and sacred church temple before him, and smiled imperceptibly.

Given the achievements of the Six Great Gods, the humans of this different world should indeed be grateful for a long time, especially the Silianjiaoguosuo, which inherited the legacy of the Six Great Gods.

"Lord Tang."

"Our Chief Priest is already waiting inside." One of the two priests spoke first; although the voice was calm, it faintly revealed a sense of dissatisfaction.

A mere adventurer, actually making their Chief Priest wait in advance.

Tang Zheng’s smiling expression did not change: "Then let’s go, you two."

They climbed the stairs and entered the temple.

Along the way.

Tang Zheng observed that there were many patterns of shields, swords, and wheat ears in this temple; he had also been cramming "knowledge" about the Six Great Gods during this time.

The Earth God worshipped in this temple before him possessed a series of authorities among the powers promoted by the Silianjiaoguosuo, including "protection," "forging," and "harvest."

This information was not of much significance to Tang Zheng himself, but through these so-called "authorities," one could indirectly analyze the power system of the Six Great Gods.

For example, the "Earth God," one of the Six Great Gods, was a player.

Tang Zheng speculated that the other party likely had a "meat tank" type character build, or perhaps a forging-type class.

The air inside the church temple was filled with a special incense scent similar to beeswax; it was a sacred aura that had never ceased since the temple was built!

The incense dispersed in the air, combining with the sunlight from the windows to turn into an illusory amber color!

The two priests led the way, passing through the church hall and entering a straight, wide corridor, then stopping before a thick wooden door.

The two priests stood on either side of the wooden door, silent.

"So, your Chief Priest is inside."

Tang Zheng examined the wooden door covered in patterns, as if he could see the scene inside through it, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

There were the auras of three people.

—And a very familiar sacred energy fluctuation!

An angel?

The intensity of this energy fluctuation was at least level 40!

Ever since Tang Zheng obtained the [Dragon Transcendentalist] class, his perception ability seemed to have received a partial bonus from the Dragon King.

Even with a wooden door blocking the way, he could still faintly hear the breathing coming from inside, as well as a dense sacred energy.

One of them was walking toward the door.

If combined with "Ninjutsu: Detection," he could obtain more precise magical detection information, but in the current situation, he could not rashly use detection methods.

Getting closer!

Click—clack—

The thick wooden door, which appeared to be three meters high and covered in patterns, was easily pulled open, revealing a wide gap.

Appearing before him.

Was a middle-aged man with a gray-white complexion, wrapped in a rough black robe that was completely out of place with the atmosphere of the temple.

The loose black hood covering his head hid his forehead; after expressionlessly sizing up Tang Zheng, he said: "Please enter."

Heroic Realm?

The dense magical power fluctuation rushing toward him allowed him to determine the other party's strength immediately.

Not only that.

The magical power invisibly radiating 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 would not be such intense four-element energy!

Tang Zheng possessed two classes that provided bonuses to elemental magic, and he had a natural sensitivity to elemental energy.

Heroic Realm!

Skilled in four-element magic!

The Silianjiaoguosuo had the strongest overall strength, but the number of powerhouses who had stepped into the "Heroic Realm" was limited; it was not difficult to speculate based on these conditions.

This middle-aged man before him was likely the Third Seat of the [Black Scripture], codenamed "Four Elements"!

Tang Zheng walked into the hall, not yet recovered from the speculation that this member of the Scripture, "Four Elements," had appeared here.

He then saw an angel over four meters tall, with a massive physique, constantly radiating sacred light.

"Dominion Authority?"

Tang Zheng was calm inside, pretending to be stunned on the surface.

He had long since sensed a dense sacred energy fluctuation, so seeing this Dominion Authority now was not unexpected.

However.

As he entered the hall, two gazes were already fixed on him, and "Four Elements," who had opened the door beside him, was also staring at him.

"May the radiance of the gods shine upon all; welcome, Team Leader Tang."

An aged and peaceful voice came.

Tang Zheng withdrew his gaze from the Dominion Authority and looked toward a round table in the center of the hall, where two figures wearing tall hats were seated.

"I did not expect to be able to meet two Chief Priests."

Tang Zheng continued to pretend to be surprised, quickly speaking: "My honor."

"In the process of inviting Team Leader Tang, I fear some misunderstandings occurred."

"We express our deepest apologies, but due to some major reasons, we had to invite Team Leader Tang to come here."

The elderly Pontiff who had spoken continued, "Team Leader Tang, please sit."

"Very well, I am also quite curious myself." Tang Zheng shrugged his shoulders and lifted his feet to walk toward the round table in the center.

As Tang Zheng took his seat.

The atmosphere in the entire hall turned solemn; the wall on the right side of the hall was a massive sheet of glass, and the bright sunlight streaming through the glass canopy fell exactly upon the round table where everyone was gathered.

The "Four Elements" stood silently behind the two Pontiffs, and further back was that tall Dominion Authority angel hovering in mid-air.

Tang Zheng sat directly opposite the Silianjiaoguosuo side; at a glance, it carried a rather strong sense of oppression.

"This old man is named Xinaiding, and I serve in the position of Water Pontiff."

This was a man as withered as dry wood, with a sallow complexion, as if one foot were already in the grave; within his eyes, narrowed into slits, a glimmer of wisdom flickered faintly.

"He is Earth Pontiff Lei Meng; this territory is his domain, hehe."

Water Pontiff Xinaiding spoke in a joking tone, breaking the serious atmosphere in the air.

Earth Pontiff Lei Meng nodded calmly in response.

The two Pontiffs before him.

Their auras were not particularly strong.

Water Pontiff Xinaiding should be a fourth-tier faith-based magic caster, while for Earth Pontiff Lei Meng, Tang Zheng observed the somewhat sturdy physique hidden beneath the loose robes.

He was likely a warrior-type character, and Earth Pontiff Lei Meng's aura was actually even stronger.

"Greetings to the two Pontiff lords."

Tang Zheng spoke in response, his gaze imperceptibly sweeping over Earth Pontiff Lei Meng's fingers.

There were obvious calluses on the man's thumbs, but now, one could see these calluses had become much smoother; clearly, he had not held a weapon for a long time.

Of these two Pontiffs, although Earth Pontiff Lei Meng's aura was stronger, the one who was truly a threat was this amiable Water Pontiff Xinaiding.

Furthermore!

The "Four Elements" standing behind the two were clearly serving in the role of guards and sentries.

"Although it is somewhat rude to say this."

Tang Zheng did not intend to let the other party control the direction of the conversation and spoke first: "Could you tell me directly the purpose of inviting me to the Theocracy?"

Water Pontiff Xinaiding smiled softly upon hearing these words.

"Very well."

"Team Leader Tang, would you mind if this old man, relying on my seniority, addresses you simply as Tang?" Water Pontiff Xinaiding said with a smile.

"Of course." Tang Zheng did not care about this form of address.

"Tang, surely you must be aware that the reason we invited you to the Theocracy is because of the 'Fusion Potion' you concocted."

Water Pontiff Xinaiding did not feel embarrassed that the "Fusion Potion" had been snatched from the hands of people from the Holy Kingdom; instead, he spoke quite naturally.

"We discovered that the effects of the 'Fusion Potion' possess the possibility of significantly enhancing the power of the Theocracy... no, of humanity."

Water Pontiff Xinaiding's voice had gradually become serious.

"Ahem."

Earth Pontiff Lei Meng coughed lightly, leaned forward, and stared at Tang Zheng, saying:

"This Dominion Authority angel behind us, Team Leader Tang must have already seen it during the undead disturbance in the Abelion Hills."

"Since you have even experienced this power personally, you should understand the strength of this kind of angel."

"Naturally."

Tang Zheng's eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he glanced at the Dominion Authority angel in the back.

He suddenly discovered a problem.

That was that the state of this Dominion Authority angel was somewhat strange, yet he could not say exactly where it was strange for the moment.

"Team Leader Tang can summon dual angels, so you should be very clear about the tiers and ranks of angels; the 'Dominion Authority' is not a power that humans can summon through normal means."

"Even with the capabilities of our Theocracy, we need to mobilize the strength of the entire nation and launch special methods to be able to summon this highest-tier angel of divine power."

A trace of excitement had unknowingly crept into Earth Pontiff Lei Meng's voice.

"Tang, how long do you think this powerful Dominion Authority angel has existed?" Water Pontiff Xinaiding chuckled as he took over the conversation.

Without waiting for Tang Zheng to respond, Water Pontiff Xinaiding already replied: "From the time it was summoned until now, it has been half a month."

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly went quiet.

Even the "Four Elements," who had maintained a cold expression, subconsciously took a deep look at Tang Zheng.

No matter how strong an angel is, it will always disappear after being summoned, and consuming a large amount of resources to perform a summoning is, in reality, an act of wasting resources.

Half a month?

Tang Zheng was somewhat stunned; this time he was truly surprised, rather than feigning it.

He had experimented with the effects of the "Fusion Potion" many times and was clear that even in the fusion state, there was a time limit.

(End of chapter)