……

Walking quietly through a long hallway, led by a member of the Order, Matthew passed a side hall and was told to wait there when he reached the intersection ahead.

The exterior of the building looks quite old, but the inside has been renovated.

Also waiting here are several other professionals dressed in different attire.

These people all seem to have some strength, and they are silent to each other, looking extremely defensive.

Matthew swept the audience with an unscrupulous gaze, then snorted coldly and swaggered down the chair next to him.

Peggy and Bing stepped up behind him.

Immediately, some malicious eyes were shocked.

There is an open room in front of the intersection.

From time to time, there was a low sound of conversation.

There is probably a sound filter at the door of the room.

This leaves people on the outside hearing the conversation going on inside, but not knowing what they're saying.

It gives people a feeling of itching in the heart.

Matthew froze and looked back at the side hall he had just passed, and there was still a picture in his mind that he had accidentally glimpsed-

It was a veteran of the Scourge Order, preaching to a group of new Lay Christians.

The veteran claimed.

The great Lord of the Void, Yucruz, is about to take over the land, and all living beings on the continent of Aiindor will be deprived of the right to exist.

Terrible disasters will befall frequently with the appearance of behemoths.

Ordinary people without faith will be reduced to the rations of the beast in the first place.

Even if they barely survived.

There is no hope of survival.

And want to avoid it all.

Only by believing in the great Lord of the Void can we do it.

From this day onwards, serve Ucluz, always be on the lookout, pray daily, repent regularly, and worship sincerely.

That's the only way.

When Yucruz descends on the earth, believers will have the opportunity to be promoted to the realm of the void and become immortal void beings.

In the Void Realm, Eucruz has arranged for 99 beautiful women for male believers who are obedient to you;

69 strong, strong, considerate men were arranged for female believers;

If you're tired of love.

You will have the opportunity to be promoted to a more powerful "High Dimensional Overlooker".

You will be free from the shackles of time and space.

Become a starlight by the side of Ucruz.

Until this universe collapses.

None of them will die.

You will enjoy true eternal life and happiness.

The veteran was quite proficient in the above set of arguments, and it was obviously not the first time he had preached the scriptures.

Matthew couldn't help but shake his head as he recalled the fanatical expressions on the faces of those believers.

One thing is for sure.

The Scourge Order is conducting a massive open recruitment of members in Oversee Heights.

And the newly recruited members can be divided into three types -

The first type is the common people.

The group of people Matthew had seen in the side hall before was typical of this.

Ordinary believers only need to pay the most basic entry fee, and after joining the Order, they will be covered with food and lodging.

What needs to be paid is that there is little personal freedom, and you must act as a group at all times, and you must follow orders.

But this part has the largest number of new members.

When Matthew walked into the building, he often saw a veteran leading dozens of new members to empty rooms or side halls, and then sat down on the spot and began to preach.

Most of the new members are homeless people in the Watchman Heights, or people at the bottom who can't make ends meet.

These people were originally dependent on the help of the Druid Order.

But ever since the Blighters attacked the Holy Oak District.

They lost the druids to their rescue.

Naturally, there is no choice but to find another way out.

This part of the population is very large, and if they all join the Scourge Cult or other cults, the enemy's power will become unprecedentedly large.

This weighed Matthew's heart.

In fact, as soon as he arrived in Cross City, he found that the population density here was much higher than that of other cities in the south.

This is clearly due to the Dadi Society.

The druids were still helping as many of the homeless and hungry as they could.

But the side effects are.

As the reputation of Overwatch Heights grew, it became almost a concentration of homeless people in the south.

Even many homeless people, after tasting the sweetness, had no intention of reclaiming the land at all, and just waited for the Druid Order to distribute food.

In time.

Cross City not only has a huge population, but also many hidden dangers.

After all, once these well-fed people are hungry, they may cause trouble.

For these people, it is certainly more comfortable to lie down and receive the aid of the druids, but if there is really no food to eat, then joining a cult is not a difficult problem to think about.

The scene before Matthew's eyes confirmed this.

The second type of new member is called "Devoutite" by veterans within the Scourge Order.

Unlike ordinary believers, who only have to pay a low entry fee, each devout believer must pay more than 1,000 gold coins as soon as he joins the church.

This fee is known as the "Charismatic Fundraising."

After paying the fee.

Scourge followers will receive a Charismatic Token, and depending on the amount of the fee, the level of the Divine Grace Order will vary.

And according to the level of the Divine Grace Order.

These devout followers are also given certain positions and titles.

Although most of them are empty positions with little power.

But their salaries are also much higher than those of ordinary believers.

The most important thing is that you can come and go freely, and you will not be forced to carry out the tasks of the Order.

Furthermore.

According to the news that Peggy has just inquired about.

That charismatic fundraiser was not theoretically in vain, and the Scourge made a public promise to the devout believers—

No matter how much you donate, you will always return the full principal after one year, with 20% interest.

That's it.

The more you donate, the more interest you will receive.

It's also a good investment in theory.

In fact.

The new recruits to the Order and become devout are all merchants from the Cross City.

And most of them only paid the minimum standard of 1,000 gold coins.

Obviously.

These followers may have been more religious about gold coins.

Matthew can understand that.

The merchants joined the Scourge Order purely to protect themselves, and at most they were two-headed bets-

After all, the current pattern of the Cross City is very complicated.

The Druid Order retreated to the Holy Oak District, and did not advise on the rest of the Order;

And the witherers attacked all living beings as if they were mad;

In comparison, the newly emerged Scourge Cult at least had no intention of attacking or looting ordinary people.

Therefore, the right to 1,000 gold coins should be the protection fee.

The Scourge didn't expect the Scourge Order to return their principal plus interest after a year.

According to Matthew and Peggy's observations.

The number of devout believers is about 1/15 of that of ordinary believers.

It's not a huge number.

But these people all have a lot of influence in the Cross City.

And with the passage of time.

This part of the population will expand more and more.

When the time comes, the entire Cross City will be a member of the Scourge Order.

In comparison, the third type of member is the least numerous, and that is the new professional.

This group is known to veterans as "tentacles".

It means "tentacles of Eucruz".

The tentacles are treated the best, not only do they not need to pay the entrance fee, but they also have food and lodging, unlimited freedom, and a salary to get!

can be corresponding.

The tentacles that become the Scourge Order need to be subjected to strict scrutiny.

Matthew has successfully passed the first two levels of investigation by virtue of his identity as a necromancer.

It is currently awaiting the final boss's review.

About ten minutes passed.

The figures in front of the queue came in and out one after another, and finally it was Matthew's turn.

When passing by the door.

One of the guards stopped him stiffly:

"See the Patriarch, and no one else is allowed to take with him."

Matthew smiled maliciously at him:

"Do you want to be a zombie or a skeleton?"

The guard looked angry:

"Are you threatening me? Necromancer!? ”

"I don't want to eat your ......"

However, a faint voice came from the room:

"Let him in."

The guard snorted coldly and moved away.

Matthew gave him a middle finger.

Bing and Peggy did the same when they passed by.

The angry guard trembled, but didn't dare to do anything.

The room was empty.

Only in the very center are two chairs, one of which sits a woman.

She looked about twenty-seven or eighteen, with long, wavy blond hair, and beneath the large waves of her shawl were even more dizzying white waves.

Her figure is a bit excessive, and it is not too much to say that it is a small branch.

"You may be seated."

The blonde woman spoke in a gentle tone.

Matthew sat down, staring intently at her waist and chest.

His gaze was rather naked, and there was no intention of hiding it.

The blonde woman was not angry, but smiled lightly:

"Is it pretty?"

Matthew swallowed:

"Beautiful."

The blonde woman smiled even more charmingly:

"Really? In vain, I had to find someone to remove two ribs. ”

"Do you have anything to say to me, handsome little man?"

Matthew licked his lips:

"I can smoke better."

The blonde woman was slightly stunned.

Matthew explains:

"I'm a professional at pumping ribs."

"If you want to smoke two more next time, be sure to come to me, I will definitely enjoy you to the extreme."

The woman's eyes became a little subtle.

She glanced at the simple information next to her, and let out a provocative snort in her nose:

"Necromancer?"

Matthew nodded.

"Why join the Scourge Order?"

She asked suddenly.

Matthew replied without hesitation:

"Lack of money."

The blonde woman bowed slightly, and there was a look of satisfaction in her eyes.

Obviously.

Matthew's prepared answer is very much in line with other people's stereotypes of necromancers.

"Is there any other reason?"

She asked again.

Matthew rubbed his hands:

"Lack of materials, I mean, I hope to get a stable source of corpses."

The blonde woman didn't act surprised.

She put one gray thigh on top of the other, hugged her knees with both hands, and her upper body couldn't help but lean forward, the white and full waves hitting Matthew's vision fiercely.

"There are already some necromancers within our Order, but if you're strong enough, I can give you a portion of the corpse on a regular basis, but only if you prove that you're worthy of the treatment."

The blonde woman said.

Matthew appeared confident:

"Except for White Rock City, in the south, my necromancy attainment is the most brilliant!"

The blonde woman was noncommittal.

She glanced at Matthew's profile again:

"It says that you were active near Zeshui City before, why did you come to the Warden Heights?"

Matthew hesitated for a moment, then replied briefly:

"Revenge."

The blonde woman came in interest:

"Tell me about it."

Matthew was silent for a moment before he said slowly:

"I have a personal vendetta with the druids here."

"In the Earth Society, there is a guy named the Ancient Tiger who robbed my wife."

"I love her so much, but she betrayed me and found a wild man who is not a! This is unacceptable to me. ”

There was a slight sympathy on the woman's face, but it soon turned into a thick fire of gossip:

"I've heard that the druids are very playful, and they may be very good at seducing people, so it's not necessarily your wife's fault, she may just make the same mistake that ordinary women make."

"I take the liberty of asking, for what reason did your wife get pried away by the ancient tiger?"

Matthew suddenly became furious when he heard this:

"What did you say?"

The woman spread her hands:

"Okay, okay, just when I lost my words, what about later? Did you succeed in your revenge? ”

Matthew nodded, then shook his head again.

"Half the battle."

"My wife came back to me and I made her pay a little price," he said. ”

"But the guy called the Ancient Tiger, I couldn't catch him, I'm still looking around for his traces."

When he said this.

Matthew also hugged Peggy by his side, and his eyes looked particularly fierce and vicious.

The woman looked surprised.

Her gaze swirled back and forth over Matthew and Peggy, and her voice was filled with irrepressible excitement:

"You made your wife into a skeleton?"

Matthew did not deny:

"So that she will never betray me."

The woman's body trembled slightly, and her voice became a little strange:

"Very good, very manly, our Order needs a ruthless character like you."

"If I helped you find that Elder Tiger, what would you do to him?"

Matthew suddenly showed a grim expression:

"Oh, I'll make him unforgettable."

The woman is happy with it.

She greeted the guard:

"I think I've heard the name Elder Tiger somewhere, do you have any impressions?"

The guard quickly replied:

"In previous battles, our people have fought against the Elder Tiger, and it's a difficult character to deal with."

"But then I heard that he was taken away by Queen House of the Whaler."

When Matthew heard this, he immediately said loudly:

"You have a clue about him? Tell me where he is!? ”

The woman smiled and soothed his emotions:

"Don't get excited, the Order will definitely achieve your long-cherished wish, but before that, you must prove your strength to me."

"You've got to show me a hand."

said.

She led Matthew out through the other side door and into a courtyard.

There are many movable dummies and movable targets.

"I've seen your summons, and both of them look pretty good."

"So all you have to do is show me what you're capable of."

The woman said.

However, Matthew frowned when he looked at the targets:

"I've never done anything to a pile of broken metal."

The woman asked with interest:

"And what kind of casting target do you hope to find?"

Between words.

There was a roaring sound on the street at the other end of the courtyard.

Matthew heard this and opened an arbitrary door.

The next second.

He appears at the head of the wall.

But suddenly a group of withered cultists poured out of the street, and these believers gathered together like a flood to storm the buildings on the street.

Seeing this, Matthew began to chant without saying a word.

Three seconds later.

A strange force field with dark scars appeared on the street, imprisoning the blighters.

Followed by.

Two large 20-meter-long scissors cut symmetrically.

But listen to a click.

The hundreds of blighters were cut in two.

Some of them are still shouting slogans like "weeds" and "pests" in their mouths.

But shouting and shouting.

The mouth came into contact with the mud.

Soon.

Their bodies also turned into bloody mud and melted into the earth.

The scene shocked many people on both sides of the street.

The guards at the door also rushed out.

His expression became dumbfounded.

Matthew looked at him with a haughty face:

"How?"

"Do you need me to show another hand?"

The guard swallowed:

"No need, your spells are impressive."

"But just now those people ...... They count as our allies. ”

Matthew suddenly looked embarrassed:

"Huh? Why didn't you say it earlier! ”

Can be a second.

A warm, soft touch came from his arm.

The blonde woman also walked through any door and stood side by side with him.

She took Matthew's arm very passionately, and the soft orb stimulated his nerves one by one.

"It's okay."

"Dead allies don't qualify as allies."

"Welcome to the Scourge Order!"

Matthew didn't refuse her embrace, but pretended to grab it:

"So, I'm a tentacle?"

"Is there a task I need to do?"

The blonde woman's eyes narrowed into a line, and her voice was numb in Matthew's ear:

"First mission, tonight, come to my room."

Matthew was ostensibly ecstatic.

Secretly, I was snorting in my heart.

It's broken.

Overacted!

"My name is Mary Joy, code name Camellia, and I am the temporary patriarch of the Central Order, and we will be partners from now on."

"There can't be too many secrets between partners, I must conduct a check on you tonight, you must be carefully prepared!"

Mary Joya pinched the flesh around Matthew's waist with a silky look before leaving satisfied.

Matthew was left alone at the head of the wall.

Silently think about what to do at night.

OK.

Matthew is known for his quick wit.

This night, he chose to calmly face Mary Joya's examination, but at the critical moment, he told the other party that his body was seriously attacked by negative energy.

Some of the tissues have become necrotic and unusable.

Mary Joya was naturally unwilling.

She carefully checked it.

But with Matthew's control over negative energy, it is not a problem to temporarily freeze out the lower half of his body with negative energy.

Mary Joya tinkered back and forth a few times before letting Matthew leave with a disappointed expression.

And on the way back to the day in the room assigned to Matthew by the Order.

Peggy gloated:

"It's a good thing she doesn't have any quirks, otherwise you might not be able to fool yourself by doing this."

Matthew was also a little scared when he heard this.

OK.

The people of the Scourge Order are not as perverted as the mages of the Alliance.

At least superficially necrotic tissues and organs, they have no thought of repurposing.

Think so.

Matthew couldn't help but quicken the pace of his departure.

"Why are you walking so fast?"

Peggy wondered.

Matthew was silent.

It wasn't until he returned to the room, expelled all the negative energy that occupied the lower plate with his life energy, and felt the rebirth of the necrotic tissue again, that he breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile.

A strange sensation welled up from his groin.

……

"Hint: You have completed a critical transition between negative energy and life energy in your body.

+10 for your conversion element (Equilibrium Field)

Your negative energy transformation has a new effect: you can perform negative energy transformation on a part of your body or organs, as long as the negative energy is removed within three hours and replaced with life energy, then the modified organs and tissues will be intact and may even reap additional boosts."

……

"Critical conversion? Meaning a reward for taking risks? ”

Matthew's eyes lit up.

The ascension of negative energy transformation meant that his body could directly switch back and forth between the living and the undead to a greater extent.

This will not only facilitate him in battle.

There are also many applications in daily life.

Matthew began to think quickly.

The next few days.

Matthew patiently circled around Mary Joy.

After the Scourge moved into the Cross City, they showed considerable restraint, and did not harass or loot the common people, except for going door-to-door to promote the teachings of Eucruz.

This is in stark contrast to the completely irrational blighters.

So in the minds of many people.

The image of the Scourge Order is relatively positive.

The number of people joining the church is also increasing day by day.

But on the professional side.

Mary Joy's gatekeeping is quite strict.

In the past few days, in addition to Matthew, only one human ranger named "White Helmets" has successfully joined.

"White Helmets" is obviously just a code name.

But the ranger was very cautious, he was reluctant to reveal his name, and Mary Joya was not reluctant.

It is worth mentioning.

The guy called the White Helmet had a rather scruffy appearance, a bearded face that gave the impression of being forty or fifty years old, cloudy eyes, and an alcoholic nature.

As soon as he joined the Order, he asked Mary Joya to advance next month's salary and drank hard all night.

As a result, he was confronted with an embarrassing scene similar to Matthew's in Mary Joa's room.

Matthew observes covertly.

It didn't take long.

The White Helmet was kicked out by Mary Joa, who looked drunk and didn't understand what was happening.

But Mary Joy's resentment could be smelled through the room.

That moment.

Matthew, who was hiding in the shadows, and the swaying white helmet looked at each other unexpectedly.

There was a hint of mixed emotion in the eyes of both parties.

Five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

October 13th.

Mary Joya abruptly summoned Matthew and the White Helmets to her side.

She told the two.

Tonight, a very important shipment will depart from the Underground Sanctuary and be transported to a secret base built by the three major organizations.

As a new stronghold of the Scourge Order in Cross City.

Mary Joy and her men are not in charge of the whole process, or even need to send the goods to the secret base.

They only need to escort the convoy on a specific stretch of road.

The time was set for 10 p.m.

Mary Joya ordered the two to follow her.

Let's be honest.

When Mary Joya describes the mission, Matthew feels that something is not right.

If it's a secret escort mission, just let the people of the Dark Sanctuary complete it, why do you need a member of the Crosstown branch to intervene?

If it's understaffed, then why only need to escort a stretch of the road?

Combined with Mary Joa's nonchalant attitude.

Matthew suspects that this is a test of the Scourge Order's allegiance to him and the White Helmets.

This is normal.

Since they are unable to recruit many people, all cult organizations often trick people into first, then conduct loyalty tests in batches, and then distribute duties and powers and conduct targeted training according to the test results.

For this loyalty test.

Matthew has his own understanding.

First of all, we must not do things against water.

Secondly, you can't be too loyal.

The selfishness and see-sight that high-level evildoers should have made the rudder have to be displayed.

Otherwise, others will be suspicious.

Therefore.

While waiting for the mission to start.

Matthew had already rehearsed hundreds of contingencies in his head.

Night falls.

More than a dozen figures left the Scourge Order's stronghold in Cross City.

Under the leadership of Mary Joy.

The group arrives at an underground entrance near Cross City, which is supposed to have been created by the Scourge itself, and is not the same as what the fox of the Druid Order told Matthew.

A group of people walked into the tunnel.

It took about 10 minutes.

There was a murmuring of running water from the ground ahead.

It was an underground river.

The group lit torches and groped around the underground river for a while, and soon Mary Joy found a statue of a deer's head against the stone wall.

She waved her hand and motioned for everyone to disperse, but everyone had to look at the statue of the deerhead.

The group just stared at it for half an hour.

Suddenly.

The stag's eyes lit up!

Its eyes glowed with grayish-white brilliance.

Followed by.

The deer's head fell from the stone wall.

An uneven portal appeared behind the giant deer's head.

Mary Joya raised her hand.

Everyone lifted their spirits.

Followed by.

The portal grew larger and larger, large enough to accommodate a carriage for normal access.

Tuk-tuk.

Accompanied by the sound of horses' hooves.

A number of specially shaped underground carriages appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

The horses that pull the cart are underground ponies that are native to dark areas.

They are small but have a lot of stamina, and even have a slight ability to penetrate walls, making them ideal for carrying goods underground.

Matthew's eyes narrowed.

Through his dark vision, he saw a rusty cage on the first carriage.

Inside the cage is a twisted monster.

Its appearance at this point looks a bit like a twist.

"Lady Mary Joa, your new recruit looks quite energetic!"

"Then the rest of the journey, please."

A somewhat familiar voice rang out.

Matthew's heart trembled.

But I saw a rather handsome young man come out from behind the portal.

His gaze casually stomped around him, until he locked on Matthew, which quickly became meaningful.

……

"Warning: You have been projected by the Traveler God!"

……

(End of chapter)