Divine Command Imprint

Luo Qi got off the carriage and looked at the dark and dilapidated village in front of him, his eyes filled with gloom.

"What the hell is this place?" Luo Qi cursed. "What the hell does 'Contract Land' mean? I came here for a meeting, but I haven't seen a single one of them yet. They've been going around in circles in the carriage all day. These guys are fucking idiots."

The Little Priest who was with Luo Qi knew that the Bishop was very angry. He originally thought that he had just come to the Contract Land to hold a meeting and post a wanted poster, and that he would be able to finish it quickly and go home.

But the truth is that they haven't seen anyone from the Contract Land yet, and have been circling around a certain area. This naturally makes Luo Qi, who has always been second only to the king, very unhappy.

"Uh, Your Bishop, according to the Contract Land, they haven't finished preparing for the gathering yet." The Little Priest stammered, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "Should I... or should I go and urge them again? At least get them to give us an exact location... I'm sorry, I was being nosy."

Before he could finish speaking, the Little Priest was silenced by Luo Qi's murderous glare.

In fact, Luo Qi was just complaining; he didn't dare to cause trouble for the Contract Land at all, because he knew why the Contract Land was doing this.

The Contract Land is both a location and an organization. It is situated in the world's largest No Man's Land, but its exact location is unknown. Although the Eight Great Churches send a batch of "Guardians" to the Contract Land every twenty years, these Guardians are not allowed to return; they must die there.

Over the millennia, the guardians have only returned in very rare cases, such as the Holy Sound Disaster a few months ago. However, the Holy Sound Player returned were also bound by a contract, which forbade them from revealing the location of the Contract Land, even in death. This ironclad rule even supersedes the doctrines of the major churches.

This gathering of the Eight Great Churches (actually six) was unprecedented in the Contract Land. They clearly didn't intend to bring the delegations directly into the Contract Land, as they couldn't possibly plant the God's Contract in every member of their delegations. However, they also couldn't allow so many outsiders to know their location. Therefore, they planned to build a new meeting place in this No Man's Land.

However, the location of this gathering was also a top secret, and even Luo Qi, as a bishop, did not know it, so he could only wait here.

"I really have no idea what's sealed up in there," Luo Qi cursed. "It's been sealed up so tightly for a thousand years, and they don't even have a decent attitude. They're supposed to be being cared for by us, yet they give us attitude. It's fucking ridiculous."

Seeing Luo Qi constantly spewing profanities, the Little Priest beside him lowered his head and dared not speak.

As the Archbishop's personal Little Priest, his relationship with Luo Qi was practically nonexistent, so he naturally knew why Luo Qi harbored such resentment towards offerings.

As mentioned before, the Contract Land is detached from worldly affairs and has always been supported by the Eight Great Churches. For thousands of years, the Eight Great Churches have provided the Contract Land with money, manpower, and resources, maintaining a sufficiently stable balance.

However, this balance has been disrupted in the last six months.

In the past six months, Lyra has been half-crippled, Holy Sound is practically dead, and Senluo (Wildfire) has even lost its name.

The original eight offerings were suddenly reduced to six offerings to one, and the pressure was bound to explode. For Bishop Luo Qi, every time he saw that unspeakable expense growing larger and larger, he wanted to roar to the sky, "My money!" and then overturn the bill and not give a single penny.

Unfortunately, the God's Contract supersedes all rules, so no matter how dissatisfied he was, he could only grit his teeth and give in.

"Your Bishop." Just as Luo Qi was in a fit of impotent rage, the Knight accompanying him hurried out of the village and came to him, whispering, "There is another church delegation in the village."

A representative from another church?

Upon hearing this, Luo Qi immediately suppressed his negative emotions and became solemn.

He still had to maintain a certain image in front of other churches, after all, he was the next Pope of the Rhine.

"Oh?" he asked casually, "Which church? Lyra or Star Remnant?"

"Eternal Nightmare".

Luo Qi's brows furrowed immediately.

Eternal Nightmare, one of the four major Esoteric Sect. Luo Qi didn't know much about them, only that they were a group of extremists who advocated abandoning reality and being forever trapped in dreams.

Surprisingly, they encountered this Esoteric Sect first.

To be honest, Luo Qi didn't really want to deal with them. After all, the orthodox and Esoteric Sect were nominally in opposition. If he weren't here, he should have led his team in and wiped these guys out right now.

But...

"Your Bishop," said the Rhine Knight who had spoken earlier, "They seem to have something they wish to discuss with you."

Is there something you want to discuss with me?

Luo Qi's brow furrowed even deeper.

Rhine and Eternal Nightmare are not adjacent and have no connection with each other. What could these cultists possibly want to discuss with him?

However, since they had already extended an invitation, Luo Qi couldn't possibly refuse. Otherwise, it would seem like he was afraid of them, especially since he was the next Pope of the Rhine!

Thinking of this, Luo Qi cleared his throat and then asked the Knight to lead the way. The Knight immediately took the lead and led Luo Qi toward the house in the center of the village.

During this time, Luo Qi was also observing the deserted village.

As mentioned before, they are currently in No Man's Land area of the continent. The reason it is No Man's Land is naturally to conceal the existence of the Contract Land. Therefore, the major churches do not allow their believers to go here. Of course, simply issuing a formal prohibition is not enough. So, a thousand years ago, the Eight Great Churches also made certain modifications to this area, such as injecting certain toxins into the air. Without an antidote, one cannot stay here for long.

The antidote is naturally in the hands of the Contract Land.

But Luo Qi also knew that the No Man's No Man's Land was not completely uninhabited. Under the operation of the Contract Land, there were more than a hundred villages of various sizes in the No Man's Land, which served both to provide cover for the real Contract Land and to provide supplies to the Contract Land to a certain extent.

In order to hold this gathering, the Contract Land is selecting a venue outside, and in order to keep it secret, the people in the selected venue in the No Man's Land must be eliminated.

So the people in this village must have been wiped out in this way.

Luo Qi caught a faint smell of blood in the air, which made him click his tongue involuntarily.

At this moment, the Knight led him to a house. "They are inside, Your Bishop."

Luo Qi nodded, and the Knight pushed open the door.

A foul stench hit us, instantly overpowering the previous smell of blood.

Luo Qi's brow furrowed even deeper, but before he could speak, a deep male voice came from the inner room. "Ah... Bishop Luo Qi, welcome."

Luo Qi clicked his tongue softly again, then stepped inside and saw the "Eternal Nightmare" delegation in the room.

This was a group of men, dressed in tattered clothes, pale-faced, and thin. At first glance, they didn't look like church representatives at all, but rather like the beggars you could see anywhere on the streets of the Rhine. But unlike the beggars who looked weak and tired, their eyes seemed to gleam with a certain light, making them appear quite spirited.

This creates a stark contrast, as if you're so tired you can't move your body, but your brain is as active as if you've just woken up.

"Oh, Bishop Luo Qi." One of the leaders extended his hand to Luo Qi, grinning, "My name is Fenris, and I am the representative of Eternal Nightmare."

The representative of Eternal Nightmare. Judging from his position, he should be about the same as himself in Eternal Nightmare, but Luo Qi really didn't want to be compared to this beggar.

But there was no other way; they were partners now, so he reluctantly extended his hand and shook hands with Fenris.

The feeling upon touching it... was like dried boogers, giving Luo Qi goosebumps all over and making him want to vomit.

You should know that the Rhine people are known for their fastidiousness!

"Alright, Fenris." Luo Qi, pulling his hand back, suppressed the urge to wash it immediately. "What do you want from me?"

"Hehe, it's nothing serious," Fenris said with a smile. "It's just that our goals are the same."

"The same goal as ours?" Luo Qi said. "You might as well put it more clearly."

"What I mean is, it's the same purpose your church has for convening this gathering," Fenris said leisurely. "We also have a troublesome fellow who has run away, but we're not sure if this will attract the attention of the Contract Land."

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Luo Qi finally understood what Fenris meant.

Surprisingly, one of them was like Ulu.

"You have a 'Ulu' there too?" Luo Qi's feigned composure crumbled instantly, and he was utterly shocked. "How many body parts does he have? Five of them too?!"

"Oh, no, no, no." Fenris slowly shook his head. "There are no body parts on this person, not a single one."

Upon hearing this, Luo Qi's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally relaxed, but quickly turned to anger. "What are you yelling about here without even a single piece of corpse? Don't tell me you want the Contract Land to settle your personal scores?"

"Heh, of course not," Fenris said with a laugh. "He may not have any body parts, but that doesn't mean he's not dangerous. In fact, from our perspective, he's even more dangerous than the guy you're talking about who has Five Corpse Pieces."

Luo Qi's brow furrowed even deeper.

He was already starting to regret coming to see these cultists; their mouths were practically running wild.

He is more dangerous than someone who has Five Corpse Pieces, even without any body parts.

What? Has Visas himself returned?

"Hehe, I know you don't believe me." Fenris had obviously guessed what Luo Qi was thinking, and said slowly, "But it is true, because this person is a scholar from our area."

"A mad scholar," another Eternal Nightmare Cultist added.

"Interesting, there are actually people that even you cultists would find crazy."

Luo Qi's words were undisguisedly sarcastic. If it were any other church, his words would likely have sparked a fight. But Eternal Nightmare was clearly an exception. Fenris simply waved his hand and said with a smile, "Bishop Luo Qi, I don't want to argue with you about your church's definition of cultists. I'm just stating the facts. If you knew what he was researching, you would understand why we are so worried."

"Oh, then tell me what he's researching."

"Visas".

Luo Qi wasn't surprised, and chuckled coldly, "Should I express shock now? Who in this world isn't researching Visas?"

"But he's different; he doesn't study Visas' Corpse Pieces or power."

"And what is that?"

"The birth of Visas."

Luo Qi's disdainful expression faltered for a moment. "What?"

"The birth of Visas," Fenris repeated, then said softly, "He always wanted to know how Visas came to be. In fact, even today we still don't know what Visas really is. He appeared in the age of gods, but he was neither a god nor a mortal, and he had no kind. So what was he, and why was he born?"

Although Luo Qi still tried to appear nonchalant, he realized that the problem... did seem a little scary.

"It seems you understand the gravity of this problem," Fenris said with a smile. "After all, Visas alone brought an end to the age of gods, and the remains he left behind after his annihilation still haunt us to this day. So what if another Visas were to appear? What would this world become?"

... Another Visas?

This really startled Luo Qi. He wanted to say that Fenris was talking nonsense, but since things had come to this point, he held back. "So what did he figure out?"

"Have no idea."

"... Don't know?!" Luo Qi's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?"

"Calm down, Bishop Luo Qi," Fenris said calmly. "Are you familiar with the Divine Command Imprint?"

What is that?

Fenris tapped his temple. "The mark that the gods have etched into the minds of their followers. The purpose of this mark is to prevent us from accessing a certain area of research. Heh, perhaps you already know, it's that guy's research. Everyone knows the power of Visas, but for thousands of years no one has ever investigated how Visas came to be, precisely because of the Divine Command Imprint. And once someone touches this taboo, the gods will personally bring down punishment."

Divine Command Imprint...

Luo Qi did have some recollection of this, and then he asked, "If that's the case, what about that guy? Wasn't he punished by your gods?"

"This is the key point I want to make: he hid all his research in his dreams in order to avoid the Divine Command Imprint."

"... But he still got caught, and you discovered his research?"

"No, it's not that we discovered his research, but rather... his research has already yielded results, and even dreams can't conceal it."

Luo Qi's eyes widened little by little. "You mean..."

"Yes, we have evidence that he knows everything, and it's even very likely... that he's trying to become the new Visas," Fenris said softly, "Because our Lord... personally issued the warrant."

As I write this, I suddenly realize that the structure of this volume is indeed quite large... Well, I'll try my best not to mess it up.