Chapter 606.

Chapter 606 The Assembly
Going from the cabin to the assembly hall required walking through a long corridor, as well as a staircase that sloped downwards – this was a very large ship that could not only accommodate a large number of worshippers, but also provide a venue for various rituals and ceremonies, and for those Annihilation worshippers who followed the Profound Holy Lord, being able to ride on the ship itself was even an honor.

The majority of the congregants were not qualified to do so – they were not qualified to board the ship, or even to know of its existence, and they could only hear those hidden whispers during private gatherings with other compatriots, and hear only a few words about the ship that came from the other assembly points:

There is a ship that carries the will of the Holy Lord, that makes His glory patrol the seas, that is the symbol of the noble cause of the sect, and the key to unlocking the next glory-filled age ……

Richard, clad in black robes, walked slowly down the seemingly never-ending corridors, occasionally encountering other black-robed fellow churchmen, occasionally greeting him with the barest of responses, and then again, seafarers in burlap smocks appeared in the corridors, wearing symbolic chains around their necks and bowing respectfully and discreetly to each black-robed man they passed – These seafarers were also the Holy Lord’s men, and were also the Holy Spirit’s men. -These seafarers were also followers of the Holy Lord, but their qualifications were so mediocre that they could not yet withstand the power of the demons, and so they could only take care of mundane tasks here, serving the “magi” who had truly gained power.

The lighting in the corridor was not too dim, but the dark colors and depressing style of the décor still gave people an overall sense of dimness, with intricately patterned iron-black candlesticks placed on the off-white walls on both sides, and between these decorative candlesticks hung oil paintings with a classical style, in which large swaths of dark colors outlined landscapes that did not seem to be real-world landscapes as well as distorted and grotesque portraits, and with dark-red curtains hanging down from the roofs on both sides, concealing them from the world. dark red curtains hung down from the roof on both sides, covering the darker, more unsettling corners of the room.

The followers of the Profound believe that the darkness of Chaos is the “hue” of the Holy Lord, the “base color” of the world’s birth, and they decorate the places where they gather in this style, seeking to “draw closer” to the Profound in the real world. They used this style to decorate their meeting places in order to seek to “move closer” to the deep sea in the real world – they thought that this would please the Holy One.

The dark and depressing decorative style could not disguise the flamboyant sophistication of the décor itself, and Richard knew that a staggering amount of wealth had been spent on the construction of this ship, but there were always people to pay for this consumption – officials wishing to prolong their lives, merchants afflicted with illness, nobles seduced by the power of the offerings they made to the Holy Lord as they begged for his mercy to build this everything on board.

The Church of the Four Gods and the authorities of the city-states have created a solid set of rules for the so-called “civilized world”, rules that are like an iron wall, protecting the mediocre and dull commoners well, but even the tightest iron wall has its loopholes, and there have been in the past millennia, there are in the present, and there will be in the future.

The assembly hall has arrived.

A heavy door at the end of the corridor stood open, and behind it was an extraordinarily spacious and brightly lit hall, with a vaulted ceiling supported by thick pillars that towered over it, and ornate chandeliers with triple structures that hung down from the roof, illuminating the entire space with their light – the

For specific practical considerations, of course, this hall can not be maintained like other places too dark environment, the builders here can only through a variety of decorations and furnishings to show the worship of the profound Lord, and whether it is the huge pillars on the surface of the wrist-like reliefs, or the end of the hall on the wall of those who symbolize the profound Lord of the wall, as if the painting of the dark branches, or along the walls of the display of all kinds of strange sculptures, all together outlines the depth of the darkness of the Lord’s darkness. sculptures along the walls, all together outline this mysterious, oppressive and majestic “worship” atmosphere.

Richard stepped into the hall, walked among his compatriots, pulled down the outer edge of his hood once more, and then moved his eyes upward to the raised platform in the center of the hall.

That was where the “saints” were located.

The Saints were already there.

The awesome devotee, the closest purifier to the Lord in this suffocating earthly world, the farthest fellow traveler on the profound path, was lifting his eyes from the edge of the platform and scanning the assembled congregation in the room.

He occupies almost half of the platform, his massive body like a “crown” of thorns – an intimidating array of black skeletons piled up like a bird’s nest, and in the center of the skeletons is a slowly writhing brain, almost two meters in diameter. Nearly two meters in diameter, the skeleton outside the brain formed a cage-like structure, the nerve cords extend from the gaps in the cage, the end of the formation of an eye stalk, in the “skeleton crown of thorns” of the outer edge of the slow movement, look around, and in the “crown” of the most At the top of the “crown” was a dark chain.

The black chain extends from the brain inside the skeleton cage, floats in the soot, and then returns to the thorn bush-like skeletons, forming a closed-loop structure, which is the symbol of the “saint” who has crossed the threshold of the “mortal-demon pact”. He had passed the lowly stage of the “symbiotic contract between mortal and demon”, and was now pointing his contract at himself, with very little of his human nature left, and in his awe-inspiring gesture, he was filled with the purity of a profound demon.

Richard looked up at the saint, then bowed his head in awe.

The Saint was on the verge of crossing that final step, just a minuscule bit of distance away from having his chains disappear, and he would be able to fulfill the most extreme quest of all Annihilationists – to gain complete purity, enter the Profound Deep, and be in the company of the Holy Lord.

But this great compatriot remained here, in this suffocating dimension of reality, because he was still mindful of his responsibility to lead many, many more of his compatriots who were as foolishly qualified as he was, to that eternal cause – which was, without a doubt, worthy of admiration.

“The people have gathered.”

A low, pale voice suddenly entered the minds of everyone on the scene, and the assembly hall, which had been slightly buzzing with conversation, instantly quieted down, a serious atmosphere enveloping the surroundings.

The saint on the high platform raised an eye stalk and looked towards the entrance of the hall, and the heavy door then creaked shut and locked tightly, while his voice continued to spread into every person’s mind:
“The sun is about to set, in three hours the Dream of the Nameless One will open again, before this dream opens we need to confirm known information ……”

Richard subconsciously tensed his nerves and listened attentively and seriously to the voice coming from the Saint. He had that hot, itchy feeling again – coming from his chest, as if something was writhing slightly under the skin there, with a fine fibrous structure growing clingingly and slowly spreading between flesh and bone.

He even felt like those fine fibers had spread to his lung lobes, to his heart, and continued to burrow all the way down into the depths of his body.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before he had enough cotton for himself?
The pressure coming from his shoulders somehow eased a little more, and Richard drifted off to hear a little girl’s voice giggling softly in his ear, but soon enough, the saint’s voice was ringing out of his head once more, centering his mind once more-

“…… We have conducted several explorations of the Dream of the Nameless One, including sporadic infiltrations by our compatriots scattered throughout the city-states, as well as exploratory operations organized by the higher clerics, and compatriots, you should have received word that in some of these operations …… we have suffered setbacks.”

The “Saint” on the platform said, the “Crown of Thorns” interwoven with skeletons made a slight clicking sound, and part of his black skeleton moved, while faint streams of light converged at the edges of the spines and gradually flowed into the air, forming a scene that became more and more real. forming a more and more vivid phantom.

These phantoms formed by the convergence of streams of light eventually coalesced and became clear, outlining the image of a girl wearing a black dress, with short black hair and decorative bells hanging from her neck, looking a bit thin and weak, with a slightly soft and delicate face.

The girl appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, perhaps too skinny, her appearance was perhaps a bit younger than her actual age, while one of her arms along with most of her shoulder and part of her torso took on a distinctly inhuman state, and at the end of the jagged and hideous skeletal structure, a pitch-black chain extended out, and at the other end of the chain was an all too familiar presence to the Annihilationists at the scene – -a Phantom Hound.

The worshippers in the hall stirred slightly, some discussing something in low voices, while others who knew in advance what was going on turned their gaze in the same direction.

Richard felt the gazes that fell upon him.

He pulled his hood a little awkwardly, a conflicting feeling of embarrassment for having brought back important information that he should have been proud of was nagging at his heart.

Fortunately, the Saint’s voice relieved him of his embarrassment just in time-

“…… After some loss of life, one of our compatriots has finally brought back valuable intelligence, and what you see is one of our enemies – one of our enemies.

“Do not be fooled by her appearance, believers, she is not one of our compatriots, but some sort of being more depraved and forbidden than even the heathen, who controls a powerful Phantom Hound through unknown means, but even more dangerously, she herself appears to be even more powerful than the Phantom Hound – and ruthless in her methods and bizarre in the way she moves.

“The compatriot who brought back this information is an outstanding one among us, he has rich combat experience and not weak strength, but he still suffered serious injuries under the enemy’s despicable sneak attack, and even almost got devoured by the other party’s bizarre Phantom Hound. …… You should be vigilant, because in the subsequent operations, the compatriots who enter the Dream of the Nameless One may still encounter this one again. compatriots may still encounter this dangerous blasphemer again.

“What you need to be most wary of is this heretic’s bizarre and sinister means of attacking her ……”

The saint stopped abruptly.

It seemed that even such a powerful and wise Pure One would be a bit short on vocabulary when describing the power of that female heretic.

Richard tugged at his hood again – time to do some reinforcing of the hood when he got back.

And in his mind’s eye, he heard the Saint’s voice again:

“…… She attacks by throwing the dog out.”

(End of chapter)