In the lonely winter, the natural light of the imperial capital of Herrom is much weaker than in other seasons, and it softly cuts through the thin clouds, bringing a little warmth to the cold earth.

Ranch walked alone on the wide road.

Today is a working day.

He didn't need to go to the Royal Academy of Protos to tutor Zestila, and he lived a retirement life in a hotel not far from the school every day.

After receiving the letter in the morning that he had passed the written test, he finished his lunch and set out on his way to the Temple of the Knights of Annihilation, still in a diamond-shaped striped waistcoat and a long dark gray coat that would protect him from the cold.

His green eyes were clearer in the sun, like a verdant lake.

With his footsteps, the pedestrians of the imperial capital on the side of the road gradually decreased.

Most of them avoided the location of the Knights of Annihilation, as if it were a forbidden area on the map.

The destination of Ranch, who was walking in the opposite direction, seemed obvious, attracting the attention of some ordinary people, who looked surprised to see why this seemingly mild-mannered young man was walking that way.

"Ranch, are you sure you're really acting......"

A childish voice with a slight timidity came from the shadows.

When there are no people around who are sensitive to magic, Boss Cat's telekinetic magic can also directly transmit the sound to Lanqi's ears, but its magic control skills are very jerky, and if there is a master of the legal profession nearby, you can quickly find out that something is wrong in the shadow.

Boss Cat feels that it is already very dangerous for Ranch to socialize with the clerics of the Deceptive Branch when he is in the Southwest Province.

Unexpectedly, Lan Qi finally got the identity he wanted, got rid of those resurrection priests, and now came to the emperor to be a tutor in peace, but he actually took the initiative to join the Silent Annihilation Branch!

Boss Cat just thinks this guy is crazy!

"Don't worry, boss cat, my faith is very strong, and it's normal for the police to go undercover in the bandits' den."

Lanchi smiled and whispered, as if he was whispering to the cat boss.

“…… That's good. ”

The Cat boss is convinced that after Ranch's run in Lillom City, the original nightmare start is now back on track, and it is quite dreamy to live a comfortable life in the imperial capital of Herrom.

It thought for a moment, but remained silent.

Prepare to wait and see what Ranch will do before he meets Hugh Po.

It's settled for the status quo, but this kid still seems to have some ideas, and he doesn't plan to stop for the time being.

He should have brakes though.

That's it.

Ranch approached the Knights of Annihilation's building.

Eventually, there were few pedestrians to be seen on the street, except for the faint fluttering snowflakes.

In the distance, the majestic architecture of the Knights of Annihilation gradually appeared before his eyes.

Even though he had already been there once, Ranch still felt a little emotional when he saw the legal resurrection church temple again.

This is the Northern Continent.

Sure enough, it is very different from the Southern Continent.

It is always at this time that I realize that I am in a foreign country, very far away from the town and home I am familiar with.

Ranch shook his head and walked unhurriedly to the heavily guarded gate.

The knights in dark gray heavy armor looked him up and down, and after examining the letters, one of them nodded his head to indicate that he could enter.

Then Lanch put away the re-examination notice and walked into the bottomless building.

Ranch remembered the instructions on the letter.

He walked along the corridor on the left and soon found the examination room for the retest.

At the end of the corridor, two large metal doors were closed, and on either side of the doors, the priests were silently guarded, their eyes cold, and they were ready to fight.

"Let's go inside."

Without Ranch showing the letter any more time, the priest opened the door to the examination hall for Ranch.

Behind the heavy iron door was a spacious hall with a solemn atmosphere.

Tall chandeliers hang from the top, emitting a faint light, surrounded by carved murals that were originally left in the building, depicting the twisted and treacherous Holy War of the Northern Continent, with the faces of heroes and demons flickering in the shadows, as if they would step out of the painting and join the space.

Under the oppressive silence, the air was slightly thin, and most of the area was dim, and the faces of each candidate seemed to be swallowed up by a deep shadow, and the shadows behind them were even darker.

Compared with Lan Qi, who came relatively late, more than 20 people waiting for the re-examination had already gathered in the assessment hall.

They sat in the scattered chairs around the hall, keeping their distances from each other, some with their eyes closed, some with their heads bowed in contemplation, some of the villains bowing their heads and whispering, their lips moving rapidly in the darkness, like cursed incantations, but no sound came out.

Most of them are evil parties with dangerous temperaments, and the most conspicuous ones are the masters of this malicious concentration place, so that others are reluctant to get too close.

Ranchi glanced down the hall, and soon, the door behind him slammed shut.

The huge pendulum clock above the door, each of its gears rattling, announces the impending test of fate.

Once here, there's no turning back.

Ranchi's appearance has attracted a lot of attention in a short moment.

From time to time, eyes were fixed on him, assessing his every subtle movement.

The black-haired, green-eyed young man who looked too gentle and harmless at the moment was like a pure white lamb who had strayed into the pitch-black wolf pack.

Put it in the first round of the written test, maybe there are people like him who seem to be in regular order.

But those who have completed that paper know that in order to pass the written exam and get a high score, it requires not only a detailed understanding of the resurrection church and the branch of extinction, but also an extreme villainous mind.

No matter how you look at it, he's really weak and doesn't have the slightest sense of threat.

Presumably, even if this guy passed the exam, he would have answered the objective questions and conceptual questions correctly with his solid theoretical knowledge and floated over the passing line.

Ranch simply walked over to the empty seat on the side of the hall and sat down, folded his hands on his lap, and looked calmly ahead.

As time passed, the atmosphere in the hall became more and more tense.

Ranch wasn't panicked at all, but the cat boss in the shadow was already trembling with fear from this dense malice.

If I can run, I want to run, and I regret that I came with Lanchi because of curiosity.

The people who come here are all heavyweights.

A good young man with a clean resume like Ranchi is obviously not as dangerous and chaotic as other pure villains!

Hammer, hammer.

The hourly bell strikes above the metal door.

Sitting in the corner, Ranch could clearly hear the superimposed echoes, each bell sounding like a warning, reminding everyone present that the danger was increasing with each passing day.

In the hall, the faint light from the corner in front echoed the faint chandelier, and the cold air also condensed at this moment, and when the bell gradually dissipated, a slight sound like sand slid into the hall from the dark depths in the distance, like some kind of spell to make time stand still, every corner of the hall, every candidate, every carving, seemed to be frozen in this moment.

That's footsteps.

Although the sound was not loud, in this tense atmosphere, the footsteps were like a drum beating on everyone's heartbeat, directing their attention and drawing their eyes in the unknown direction.

From time to time, wind blew in through a gap in the inner side of the hall, bringing a chill, and at the same time, the faded curtain in the corner of the hall made it make a "whoosh" sound.

Ranch's gaze was like that of the other candidates, as he did through the shadows of the hall, waiting for the figure to appear.

Gradually, a faint light appeared in the depths of the main hall, reflecting a dark gray figure of the magic robe, and gradually walked out of the darkness in the main hall.

He didn't walk quickly, and his face appeared in front of everyone, it was a gloomy and cold face with the vicissitudes of time, his sunken eyes revealed an indifferent desire for control, and under his hooked nose were quite thin lips.

What frightened the candidates was the purple seal on his chest, emitting a faint glow, illuminating his robes.

None of the villains present dared to underestimate him, and being able to wear the purple holy seal showed that he was not only a great evil party, but also a well-known archpriest in the Silent Branch, a true resurrection church in a high position and a terrorist on the dark side of the Northern Continent.

In this way, the Archpriest Caius, who was in charge of the examination, walked to the front of the hall.

"I'm the chief examiner who is presiding over this re-examination and the final assessment."

Caius's figure grew even taller in the glimmer, and he slowly opened his mouth, his voice low through the hall.

"In order to prove your most basic and important loyalty to the Resurrection Church, you must complete one task, and that is the content of the re-exam."

His eyes slowly swept over each candidate, and when he didn't speak, silence enveloped the hall.

Many of the candidates in the audience slowly showed puzzled eyes, and they did not know any way to accurately test loyalty.

Even if there is really magic that can see through inner thoughts, it is at least possible for an eighth-order powerhouse who specializes in spirit and soul to do it, even if there are ancient magic props of this level, it is obvious that the scale of this retest is not enough to use it.

"Some time ago...... The Church of the Goddess of Fate prevailed in the kingdom of Ethertelan, and they gave birth to a method of detecting the resurrected priests, although not necessarily completely accurate, but it did screen out a lot of our people, and this kind of atrocity is generally 'question first, and then ask the other party to prove itself', which is called 'Wilford Doctrine' by the propagated priests. ”

Caius spoke lightly to the people in the hall,

"Now that we have reversed our positions with the Goddess of Fate Church in the Protos Empire, this 'Wilfordism' can also be used by us."

"I'll treat you all as moles of the Goddess of Fate church first, and you need to prove to me that you are not."

"The content of the retest is very simple, that is, to transform the statue of the goddess of fate."

"I will give each of you a statue of the goddess of fate, which you are free to imagine, destroy, and even defile as a proof of your devotion to the faith of the Church of the Resurrection, and then submit to me a work by which I will judge your position, your style, and the degree of compatibility with the artistry of our extinction branch."

At this point, Caius explained the topics and rules of the exam simply and clearly.

Today's four watches, there are three more chapters behind

(End of chapter)