09:10A

Gray Harbor Town·Old Town (North East)

The old city is about seven kilometers away from the port area (north). In this ancient area eroded by time, the old city of Gray Harbor Town is immersed in fog.

Ruins and dilapidated buildings stand all around like decaying bones.

Many houses here have long been swallowed up by the fog, with mottled brick walls and incomplete tiles.

There is a damp, musty smell and a subtle smell of corruption in the air.

Gray Harbor Cathedral, this lonely giant among the ruins, stands proudly in the center of the old city, witnessing hundreds of years of historical changes here.

The cathedral is the oldest building in this town. It covers an area of ​​about one square kilometer and occupies the core of the entire old city.

The towering spiers pierce the fog, and the remaining carvings and reliefs tell the story of its glorious past.

On the stone walls of the church, you can still see the remains of ancient runes and sacred totems engraved on them, but now, they have long lost their past holiness.

Once upon a time, Gray Harbor Cathedral was an important relic in the secularization process of the Kingdom of Heaven and a symbol of the name of [Yahweh].

Although today's cathedral is no longer endowed with glory by heaven and only a few believers come here to pray, the priests here still pass on the teachings of Yahweh and guard this ancient and dilapidated land.

Ellis Gray, the only priest in the cathedral, is as old and tough as the church itself.

He is tall, and although the years have left heavy traces on his shoulders, he still stands in the center of the church. He is the only remaining defender in the ruins.

The intertwined gray and white hair is like an ancient flag, marking the long years he has experienced in this land.

Father Gray was once a member of the famous [Knights of St. Jacob Perret] in the Kingdom of Heaven, and belonged to the Thirteen Heroes of the Kingdom of Heaven.

His background was extraordinary. He was a "good man" when he was young. He served in the famous [Medical Knights of Rhode Island] for three years and was promoted to a knight under the Ninth Heroic Order due to his outstanding performance.

During his career as a knight, he not only underwent nineteen transformation surgeries to become a regular knight, but also experienced countless battles.

Until...

A fatal injury completely changed his fate.

That was the battle where the Kingdom of Heaven sent the Knights to the Antarctic Land of Terra to suppress the Chaos Rift. That war summoned a great demon projection with a Chaos Crown and countless Chaos armies.

Father Gray participated in this battle with the Ninth Hero. During the battle, he faced off against the Chaos Warriors of the Third Order of Chaos. He was stabbed through the abdomen with a sharp blade, and his nineteen modified organs were irreversibly contaminated.

Although his body was suffering unbearable pain, he still fought hard against the demons. He almost died among the demons. Fortunately, the ninth hero, Saint James, rushed into the demons and rescued him from the brink of death.

However, after that battle, Gray's body suffered irreversible trauma. The once tall and mighty knight, who was just over two meters tall, was now forced to undergo [angel degeneration] due to organ failure and removal, and he became much thinner.

, the heroic appearance of the past is no longer there.

Although he is taller than ordinary people today, he can no longer dominate the battlefield like he did back then.

The atmosphere in Gray Harbor Cathedral today is particularly unusual.

Father Gray stood in front of the seating area composed of benches, with his hands clasped and deep guilt written on his face.

His eyes were lowered, not daring to look directly at the young man in front of him. That was the distinguished figure he had to face today - the fourth sword-bearer in heaven, Hugh Abraham, also a [Toronus/

Angel].

At this time in the past, Father Gray would usually be wiping the prayer altar - a device that was once connected to the church's think tank - or performing routine maintenance work in the chapel, baptistery and sacristy.

However, today he did not carry out these ritualized daily tasks, and he seemed to have deeper worries and pressure in his heart.

At this moment, he stood respectfully in this ancient church, feeling ashamed in his heart.

In front of his sight, sat a young man who looked like someone from a myth.

The golden hair reflected dazzling light in the soft light of the church, and the radiance of the sun condensed in his hair.

He was wearing a black dress, well-tailored, elegant and solemn.

He was holding a list without saying a word, scanning the information above. Next to him was a blue virtual projection screen, displaying various data. Detailed information scrolled on the screen, as if conveying something.

A sense of urgency.

There is a silver cane placed on the table, and next to the cane is a neatly placed black top hat.

The atmosphere in the church was heavy and depressing, with only the data scrolling on the virtual projection screen making a slight "buzzing" sound.

Father Gray bowed his head deeply again and saluted this noble man from heaven, his tone full of guilt and awe:

"Dear Tronus (angel), Lord Abraham... I am very sorry that I was unable to provide you with useful information.

I feel very sorry about the missing administration officers. They are all good children.

Some time ago, they also replenished explosives and potions in the sacristy storage room, but they didn't expect..."

Father Gray's voice gradually became lower. The disappearance of those operators was not only a blow to the church, but also a personal guilt.

As one of the products of the second secularization of the Kingdom of Heaven, the first thing the Honkai Authority needs to do is to take over the various church legacies left behind by the failure of the first secularization. After all, some churches and sanctuaries still serve as armaments for angels in this world.

Supplementary area, shelter, emergency facility, base...

Some old forces and old people are actually still used to calling the Kingdom of Heaven "the Holy Church." They all maintain a strange insensitivity to the sacred separation between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Church - they are separated, but not completely separated.

At this time, Xia Xiu slowly folded the list in his hand, his expression still gentle. A kind smile appeared on his lips, which made people feel like spring breeze, but his golden eyes shone with a cold light.

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! This smile is in sharp contrast with his eyes, making it difficult to understand his true inner emotions.

He picked up the black top hat, stood up, and saluted Father Gray in a low and calm voice:

"You don't have to feel guilty."

Xia Xiu continued, his golden eyes scanning the solemn ceiling of the church and the ancient murals on the surrounding walls.

"Each branch of the Authority is basically to inherit the various legacies and functions of the church."

Father Gray still maintained a respectful posture, with his hands folded on his chest and his eyes lowered.

Xia Xiu's eyes slowly swept across the church, recalling the glory of the church in the past with sighs:

"In the past, the Kingdom of Heaven was too ritualistic about the sacred functions assigned to the Church - baptism, communion, weddings, funerals, sermons, utopian exegesis, human supremacist reinforcement, spiritual counseling, healing and blessing, sacred warfare, prophecy, cleansing from chaos

…”

"All of the above have resulted in redundant functions in the church,"

There was no emotion in the voice of the fourth sword holder in the Kingdom of Heaven, but it revealed a power that could not be ignored.

"The redundant ritual functions ultimately forge the authority of the pope and shape the worship of saints."

"The entanglement between church authority and secular power, the sale of priesthood, the abuse of indulgences... these phenomena have gradually corroded the foundation of the church."

“The secularization and politicization of the church, the arbitrary nature of church doctrine, the extravagant life of clergy, the abuse of doctrine, the commercialization of believers’ beliefs, and the corruption of the four monarchs all led the church to its first

The failure of secularization.”

His voice is like a slow and sharp knife, cutting through every inch of the truth.

“For the church’s loss of control, the Kingdom of God should bear a considerable part of the responsibility.”

Xia Xiu placed the top hat firmly on his head, his golden eyes stared at Father Gray again, his voice was still gentle, but with some unquestionable authority:

"Secularization must ultimately be carried out under the leadership of the Kingdom of Heaven and the guidance of angels."

His voice was gentle but firm, and his words revealed irrefutable power.

"We must adhere to the utopian program proposed by the Kingdom of Heaven and we must adhere to the leadership of angels."

Xia Xiu paused for a moment, narrowed his golden eyes slightly, and scanned the dome of the church, as if through this ruin-like building, he could see the coming wave of secularization in the future.

He looked at Father Gray again, his tone was still like the spring breeze blowing on his face, but it contained great coldness:

"I am here just to spread the word about the great process of the second secularization of the Kingdom of Heaven."

His voice was still gentle, but the content of his words struck the silent air of the church like a heavy hammer.

Xia Xiu's smile still hung on his face, and his tone was like a spring breeze, gentle without any ripples, but the coldness behind the smile was everywhere.

He lowered his eyes and smiled slightly. The gentleness in his tone made it almost impossible to feel any threat, but then, his words were like sharp blades, mercilessly cutting through the silent air.

"I just didn't expect that as soon as I arrived, someone would respond to my arrival - an entire team of administration officers who originally assisted the church have disappeared."

"Not long after I arrived, you collected the predictions about my arrival from people in the Hundred Worlds."

Xia Xiu smiled softly, his tone still indifferent, but there was a bit of sarcasm in it.

"But, I just don't understand..."

"They predicted my arrival, why would they touch my bottom line?"

He raised his brows slightly, with a hint of teasing and sarcasm in his tone.

"What, do they want to fulfill the prophecy?"

"Want to use the blood of Gray Harbor Town Administration officers to test whether the Dark Lord is me?"

Father Gray stood there, feeling cold sweat slowly seeping out from his back, and the temperature in the church dropped suddenly.

Although Xia Xiu's tone was gentle and even contained a relaxing smile, the chill and vague threat in it cut through the air like a blade.

The power behind that smile made Father Gray feel an irresistible sense of oppression, as if a huge invisible hand was holding his throat, making it difficult to breathe.

Even though he knew that this pressure was not directed at him, he still felt that the hairs on his hair stood on end and all the nerves in his body were tightly stretched, making it difficult to relax.
To be continued...