94: eternal life!

The Knight of the Church Guard cut off the Tax Official's head. Seemingly not satisfied, he then plunged his longsword into the Tax Official's abdomen and stirred it around.

Blood mixed with filth flowed everywhere, the gruesome scene and the strong stench made it impossible for those eating the holy communion to swallow any longer.

Some with weaker constitutions had already started vomiting profusely.

This scene was far more bloody and terrifying than a hanging or a normal beheading. The surrounding crowd watched with pounding hearts, their eyes filled with fear.

Some even secretly wondered if they should report it to the authorities.

But seeing the peacekeeper sitting leisurely in the crowd, slowly sipping the "holy water," they dismissed the idea.

After confirming that the Tax Official was completely dead, the Knight of the Church Guard walked down the high platform with the dripping longsword.

The people hurriedly retreated, afraid that a single misstep would bring about their demise.

At this moment, the Archbishop slowly ascended the platform. With a light wave of his hands, an illusory magic circle appeared beneath the corpse.

In an instant, all the bloodstains, filth, and the corpse vanished without a trace.

Then the Archbishop began to chant mysterious sacrificial words, his low voice echoing throughout the church.

As he chanted, a rotating halo gradually condensed, transforming into a dazzling gate of light.

A moment later, the Tax Official walked out of the gate of light, completely unharmed. This unbelievable scene left everyone dumbfounded.

Although they had heard the Archbishop say he had granted him eternal life, seeing it with their own eyes was another matter entirely.

At this, the nobles could no longer sit still. They all stood up and gathered around the Tax Official.

"Henry, is that really you?"

Someone familiar with the Tax Official asked with a hint of doubt.

"Oh, my dear Paul... who else could it be but me?"

The Tax Official replied to his friend's question with a strange tone.

"Then do you still remember Jed?"

"Oh heavens, don't mention that damned groundhog to me. How dare he provoke the girl I love? If I ever run into him, I'll definitely kick his ass hard!"

The Tax Official said fiercely.

And his friend, the minor noble named Paul, finally felt relieved.

Jed was Henry's love rival, who had captured the heart of his goddess with his handsome appearance.

The two had a few months of fun, and then Jed left Hua Lai City on the pretext of traveling the world, leaving the goddess heartbroken.

This matter had always been a source of shame for Henry. Paul only learned of it when Henry was drunk.

It seemed that Henry was still the same Henry.

Through this exchange, the other nobles also confirmed that the Tax Official was not an imposter, which drove them completely mad.

As the upper noble class of this country, they desired eternal life even more than ordinary people.

Now, the path to eternal life was right before their eyes.

And... it seemed quite cheap?

So, many nobles immediately swore before the Archbishop to join the Abyss Church and become the most loyal followers of the Lord of the Abyss.

Seeing the nobles scrambling to join, the already moved people also flocked to the monks to apply for entry into the church.

After all, joining a church that could drive nobles mad certainly wouldn't be a loss.

Although the Archbishop accepted all of them, he did not hold a blessing ceremony for them, citing insufficient contribution.

After all, they hadn't made any contributions, so they couldn't be granted eternal life and extraordinary power too easily.

As for those wealthy individuals who had spent lavishly, their faith was naturally devout, and they could be embraced by the Abyss.

Just like that, after the seven-day celebration ended, more than half of the nobles in Hua Lai City had converted to the Abyss Church.

And the number of ordinary people was countless.

The Abyss Church instantly became the largest religious force in Hua Lai City.

This action completely enraged the other churches, especially the small and medium-sized sects, whose followers were almost completely lost.

Except for the Church of Nature and the Church of Wealth which remained neutral, the remaining sects quickly united, plotting to destroy the Abyss Church and even planning to assassinate its high-ranking officials.

As a leader in the field of assassination, the Night Shadow Church was also invited to join.

This time, they had certainly found the right people. The most devout Abyss Church members brazenly arrived at the conspiracy against their own church.

After the Night Shadow Church investigated the information about the Archbishop and the high-ranking officials of the Abyss Church, they began to act.

That night, each sect handed over their most elite extraordinary individuals to the Night Shadow Church to lead, preparing for a surprise attack.

Led by the Night Shadow elites, they successfully entered the Night Shadow Church building. Immediately after, they crept towards the Archbishop's residence.

It wasn't until they reached the residential area that they realized something was wrong. It was too smooth!

There wasn't a single night patrol member along the way.

At this moment, the sound of dense wings flapping came from the darkness.

Immediately after, screams were heard from within the group.

Blood Bats and Shadow Assassins attacked simultaneously.

By the time these extraordinary individuals realized something was wrong and tried to fight back, something even more terrifying happened.

The Shadow Assassins in the group suddenly turned on them, their daggers accurately piercing the throats of their companions.

And in the darkness, teams of Knights of the Church Guard stepped out, surrounding them layer by layer.

The face of one person in the group changed drastically, and he exclaimed:

"Not good! We've fallen into a trap!"

Not only was their plan exposed, but the leader of the assassination team had also defected. This was a significant blow to them.

Soon, this group of severely demoralized "assassins" all surrendered. After being transformed into Demons, they each led teams back to hunt down the villains.

Who were the villains? Of course, they were their own high-ranking officials.

After this night, the small and medium-sized sects in Hua Lai City all disappeared, leaving only the Abyss Church, the Church of Nature, and the Church of Wealth to divide the faith of Hua Lai City.

The other two major sects were naturally aware of the joint assassination attempt.

Seeing the former high-ranking officials of various sects who had hated the Abyss Church so much they gnashed their teeth, now devoutly singing hymns in the Abyss Church, their apprehension towards the Abyss Church deepened.

The Archbishop temporarily had no plans to act against the other two major sects.

After all, they were churches that spanned across various countries on the continent, and their power was incomparable to these local churches.

The gods they worshipped were demigods preparing to ignite the divine fire and ascend to godhood.

If they were angered and summoned their demigod boss, the trouble would be significant.

So, the current situation of the three major sects standing strong was already the most perfect.

The Archbishop did not plan to stay any longer and decided to conquer other towns.

Hua Lai City was just the beginning; there were many more towns waiting for them to conquer.

Of course, the Abyss Church did not send out its entire force, but left behind two hundred Knights of the Church Guard, one hundred monks, and one hundred Blood Bats.

All matters in the church were handed over to one of the missionary monks. If someone had made enough contribution, their soul would be bound to the Soul Returning Tower in the Abyss, enjoying eternal life...

Afterward, the Archbishop led the mighty army and continued towards other towns.