In 1706, in an underground church in London, the large chapel resembled a palace, and the burning candles lit the church, and many people dressed in black friars' robes silently watched the elderly scholar who had stepped up to the stage according to the ritual.

No one would have expected this scene today, but now, with their curiosity and hard work, the middle-aged scholars of the past have finally gained the approval of the entire hermitage and have been able to become the master of the hermitage.

At this moment, there were more than 30 members of the hermit from all over Europe, except for those who had come from the Middle East, Asia, and the newly discovered New World of America, half of the hermitage members gathered here, each of them with an ancient mission, poor, rich, young, old, belonging to different cultures and countries, but all of them vowed to dedicate their lives to the hermitage.

And when the scholar put on the black monk's uniform embroidered with special symbols, the many members of the monastic looked at the "master" and bowed their heads humbly, singing in an ancient language.

Different genders, different accents, only the low, loud voice echoed in the underground church.

"The gods rejoice, the gods rejoice...... Thou art the one who knows the destiny of heaven, thou art the one who glimpses the secrets, who inherits the ancient bloodline, and who keeps the eternal loyalty. Remember, that thou shalt not speak unspeakable, that thou shalt not hear unheard, that thou shalt not see the unseen......

......

London, 1725, the residence of the famous scholar Newton.

Everyone knew that this unprecedented scholar was in his laboratory, but few people had seen him in person, and there were all kinds of speculations about him, but most of them were absurd ideas that did not stand up to scrutiny.

In the study, an elderly scholar was writing something, and beside him was a young apprentice, who waited quietly for the scholar's command, though the earnest scholar often had no time to care for the apprentice.

After a while, the pen stopped.

Newton rubbed his forehead with his hand to ease his exhaustion. He is already eighty-three years old, and he can still maintain his vitality thanks to the various secret techniques of the hermitage, but there are no living beings in this world who can be immortal, even those blood clans need a long sleep to ensure their energy, not to mention that he is only a human being.

After reviewing the words written in front of him, the scholar nodded in satisfaction.

"Lorenzo, leave this to the Order. ”

He instructed the apprentice beside him, and the young apprentice beside him respectfully accepted the thick text, and then walked out of the study, and outside, a series of Italian questions and answers between the apprentice and a woman rang out.

After a while, the apprentice entered the study again, bowed and said.

"Mentor, it has been handed over to Peter. ”

As a secret organization that has lasted for thousands of years, the structure of the Xunshan Hermitage has long become extremely complex. The original Xunshan Hermit Church was just composed of a group of hermitted monks, and later it gradually refined many forces, the real Xunshan Hermit Monk members were only a hundred at its peak, but the number of various affiliated forces was more than a thousand people, and without these subsidiary forces, the hermit would not be able to fight against those blood clans and the like.

Peter's Hand is one of the subordinate forces of the Xunshan Hermitage Order, Peter is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, known for his steadfastness as a stone, and is the cornerstone of the great cause of Christianity. Its members are mostly determined warriors, and they have played a significant role in the confrontation between the Insurgency and other monsters. Although Lorenzo was only an apprentice to a scholar, he was also a full member of the monastic and one of the leaders of Peter's Hand, so he could naturally call Peter's Hand.

The scholar nodded, not asking any more questions, and then he said in silence for a long time.

"Lorenzo, remember Galileo's letter. ”

"Yes. ”

The voice of the apprentice was in his ears, and the scholar closed his eyes.

More than 30 years ago, he was asked by the monastic to help decipher Galileo's letters, because Galileo had said that they had helped those who came after him, but later scholars carefully examined the letter for a long time and finally determined that there was no help or secret in it, much to the disappointment of the monastic order at that time.

But as the scholar grew older and learned more and more, he seemed to have a different idea.

"Galileo, that guy...... Obviously, he was so hesitant and uneasy in the letter, saying that he could no longer resist the force, full of chagrin and fear, but in fact...... Hehe, that guy really deserves to be Galileo, a pioneer worthy of my admiration. ”

Raising his glasses, the scholar chuckled, then looked at the apprentice beside him and asked again.

"Lorenzo, why do you think Galileo is regarded as the founder of modern science?"

"This ......"

The apprentice hesitated, he was more of an apprentice to serve the master as a hermit than an apprentice to science, and he was more concerned with occult technology than science.

The scholar shook his head.

Because Galileo was the first person to think that the idea of scientific practice, the scholars before him, including Aristotle in ancient Greece, believed that speculation can explain everything in the world, but he was different, he believed that the door to truth was based on experimental facts, and he admired human reason, opposed the mystical speculation of scholasticism, so he was the founder of modern science. ”

As he spoke, he paused, then continued.

"Truth be told, he was my spiritual mentor, and when I read that letter, I was more shocked than you can imagine, for I can't imagine that such a rational man would choose to obey that statue out of fear. ”

"In other words, it is on his shoulders that you have created all this, Master?"

The apprentice couldn't help but ask.

When I was young, there was a saying that was widely circulated, "I see farther than others because I stand on the shoulders of giants", and this saying is so popular that even apprentices who are not very interested in science know it.

But in front of the apprentice, the scholar's face looked a little strange, and he coughed a few times inexplicably, and then said a little deliberately.

"This ...... It's okay, it's mainly the frivolity of youth. ”

Frivolous?

The apprentice was a little dazed, he couldn't understand why the scholar said this, but it was clear that the scholar was not very willing to explain the matter, and then continued.

"I didn't think there was any secret in that letter, and this conclusion cannot be said to be wrong, because it is really not directly mentioned in that letter, and it is necessary to combine something else to understand Galileo's words...... That's what Master Leonardo da Vinci said. ”

"I have been searching for all kinds of materials for many years, and finally I realized that Leonardo da Vinci may be far smarter than all of us think, and that all of us may not know as much about the secrets of the statue as Da Vinci combined......"

In the end, the scholar was obviously a little hesitant, and finally muttered.

"I even doubt it...... It may have succeeded in cracking the statue and opening it. ”

......

Two years later, somewhere in London, a letter sent by the scholar before his death was opened.

"Brothers and sisters of the Retreat, may God bless you. I have not dared to assert lightly, for I am not yet fully sure of the truth of everything, but on this deathbed I am compelled to tell you everything I have perceived, although there may be a certain amount of falsehood and speculation in it. ”

"It seems to me that the secret in Galileo's letter is actually related to Leonardo da Vinci, in which he said that he saw many things in his later years, and we cannot understand what those things were, but there is no doubt that it was what he saw that allowed him to know about the Xunshan Monastery, the Bloodline, and many other things. ”

"So is there such a possibility...... Did he see something about Leonardo da Vinci?"

"Of all the statuesmen, Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo were the two who had been in contact with the statue for the longest time, Leonardo da Vinci was the first to discover the statue, and Galileo was with the statue from childhood to old age, both of whom had an extraordinary knowledge of the statue. Leonardo da Vinci said, don't explore the secrets of the statue, let it sleep forever, because humans can't resist its power, but Galileo was terrified at the same time, saying that he had a guide to tell future generations......"

"Then why didn't Leonardo da Vinci say there was a secret, but Galileo said that sculpture had a secret?"

"I don't think Galileo knew more than Leonardo da Vinci, in fact, Leonardo da Vinci was probably the one who knew the most about statues. But Leonardo da Vinci did not say that there was any secret to this statue, but only asked the hermit to keep it forever, because he did not think that human beings were capable of overcoming the power in that sculpture, but Galileo was different, he fell into the same fear as Da Vinci, but he mustered up the last courage, and vaguely expressed that there was a 'secret' in this statue. ”

"What kind of secret is this? Why do the two have completely different attitudes towards this 'secret' that Da Vinci thought was useless, but Galileo thought it was a guide that would be helpful to mankind?"

"When I realized that, I remembered that the difference between the two of them was that they lived in different times......

"In Leonardo da Vinci's time, human beings were still extremely weak, and gunpowder technology was just beginning to develop, and Leonardo da Vinci understood this deeply, so he was afraid of that force, because he believed that it was invincible to human beings. But in Galileo's time, human technology had already begun to change, and he was the first to propose a 'rational scientific experiment', and he was keenly aware of it, so he was vaguely aware of it...... That force does not seem to be invincible. ”

"He was afraid of that power and could not speak of it, but he pinned his hopes on posterity......

"If I think about it from this perspective, when I look at the letter again, I can find the hidden 'guide' according to the order between the letters......"

"The sculpture was found by the hermitage not because it was looking for it, but because it was looking for the monastery, and the secret kept by the masters of the hermitage was what it was looking for......"

"All this, perhaps, is the fate of the hermitage, we are destined to face that sculpture ......"

......

France, somewhere in Paris.

Under the dark night, the manor was brightly lit, and from time to time there was the sound of indulgent laughter of the men and women of the banquet. At the head of the banquet was a pale nobleman, meticulously dressed in fifteenth-century costumes, as if he had come from the Hundred Years' War.

He looked at the many men and women in front of him, covered his head, seemed to be a little uncomfortable, and whispered something in his mouth.

“...... The Insurgent ......"

In his ears, an inexplicable whisper was urging something, and although it had always been there, it had never been so strong that it seemed to make the vague direction clear.

After a long time, he raised his head, revealing his sharp fangs......

"Ahhh......h

Spreading his arms, in the midst of many panicked screams, the nobleman's arms turned into huge bat wings, and his red pupils looked indifferently at the human in front of him. With the sudden black fog in the banquet, all the people were shrouded in it, and the screams in the black fog disappeared one by one.

It is said that that night, countless bats flew out of the manor, all heading towards the same place......