Chapter 334: Four Archbishops, The Secret of the Lords Manor. (5200)

Chapter 334: Four Archbishops, The Secret of the Lords Manor. (5200)

Their bodies were tall, their limbs slender and powerful, holding crystal-ice swords, and covered in pale frost from head to toe!

These were all Ice Ghouls!

Cao Xing was inwardly surprised, "Good grief, so these Ice Ghouls were all hidden inside the Lords Manor. No wonder I couldn't find them."

"That is seriously fucking insidious!"

If an unsuspecting person were to suddenly come and attack the Lords Manor,

after finally dealing with the outside guards and coming inside only to find so many Ice Ghouls within, they would be in for a huge surprise!

At this moment, all of these Ice Ghouls were in a targetless wandering state.

However, their perception of auras was extremely sensitive.

Seeming to notice Cao Xing standing behind the door, pair after pair of cold, evil gazes turned around to look at him.

Among them, Cao Xing even sensed a few gazes that brought him a strong sense of crisis!

But he did not dodge; instead, he let these Ice Ghouls' gazes stare at him while preparing to burst into action at any moment.

However, after that group of Ice Ghouls merely glanced at him, they resumed their targetless wandering state.

Cao Xing also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Very good, the Commander-grade Disguise skill is still as powerful as ever."

"Just as I thought, this group of Ice Ghouls shouldn't attack that group of cultists."

Taking this opportunity, Cao Xing quickly glanced at the stats of these Ice Ghouls.

This kind of cursed evil creature—people only knew they were extremely powerful and terrifying,

but just how strong they were specifically remained unknown.

Now, he was finally able to unveil their true faces.

[Ice Ghoul]

[Race: Unknown]

[Level: 45 (Tier 5 Chieftain-grade Creature)]

[HP: 341,723 / 341,723 (Legion Bonus)]

[Attack Power: 5,125 ~ 5,373 (Legion Bonus)]

[Armor: 983 ~ 1012 (Magic Ice Armor Extra +500)]

[Skills: Ice-Rot Claw (Attacks enemies with venomous claws, each attack applies 1 stack of Rot Poison effect, draining 745 HP per second per stack)]

Rot-Ice Sword (Upon hitting a target, causes them to enter a frozen state, including plants, buildings, etc.)

Magic Ice Armor (Armor +500, and reduces self-received damage by 20%.)

Frost Shock (Raises the longsword and releases a powerful shockwave forward, dealing 189% high frost damage to enemies within a linear range and slowing them for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds)]

[Legion Skill: Corpse Explosion (After HP drops to zero, explodes in place, dealing 176% ice explosion damage to enemies within a surrounding 20 to 50 meters, and forming a rot-ice domain where all passing enemies will receive 1 stack of Rot-Ice status)]

[Talent: Evil Body (Increases freeze resistance by 50%)]

[Bonds — Ice Ghoul Legion (10,000 members activated, Attack Power increased by 50%, Movement Speed increased by 50%, HP increased by 50%, additionally activates the skill 'Corpse Explosion')]

(Description: They are wicked ghosts from the Ice Prison, harboring extremely strong resentment.)

…

[Ice Ghoul Chieftain]

[Race: Unknown]

[Level: 56 (Tier 6 Boss-grade Creature)]

[HP: 3,218,920 / 3,218,920 (Legion Bonus)]

[Attack Power: 12,254 ~ 12,339 (Legion Bonus)]

[Armor: 1,363 ~ 1,374 (Extra +1,000)]

[Skills: Ice-Rot Claw, Rot-Ice Sword, Myriad Ice Armor, Frost Shock (Stats same as above)]

Terrifying Gaze (The Ice Ghoul Chieftain gazes coldly at the enemy, trapping them in an immobile state and reducing ice attribute resistance by 30%. Duration: 10 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

[Legion Skill: Corpse Explosion]

[Talent: Evil Body (Increases freeze resistance by 50%)]

[Bonds — Ice Ghoul Legion (10,000 members activated)]

…

After reading through the long stats of these Ice Ghouls, Cao Xing's pupils instantly constricted slightly.

"So these are the skills of the Ice Ghouls. They truly are terrifying!"

"Not only do they have so many powerful skills, but there is also a ten-thousand-man legion bond."

"If monsters of this level were to all charge together, it would simply be invincible!"

Previously, Cao Xing felt that relying on the forces within his territory,

under the condition of a full-scale mobilization, he should be able to assault a twenty-thousand-strong Ice Ghoul legion.

But now, after seeing their specific stats, he felt a bit doubtful.

Moreover, these were all Tier 4 to Tier 6 Ice Ghouls, with Tier 5 Ice Ghouls being the most numerous, taking up more than half!

Although Cao Xing currently only saw a portion of the Ice Ghouls inside the Lords Manor,

he still felt that the quantity seemed even greater than what he saw during the last live stream.

A rough estimate put it at over thirty thousand Ice Ghouls!

"I never expected that the Church of Light would have accumulated such a terrifying force."

"That being the case, it feels like the king's army might not necessarily win for sure…"

Cao Xing began to seriously consider the current situation once again.

"The Lords Manor is definitely an important place for the Church of Light."

"Not only are there a large number of cultists patrolling outside, but there is also an army of Ice Ghouls inside."

"More importantly, those three red-robed archbishops are probably inside as well."

"Should I disguise myself as an Ice Ghoul and venture deep inside to take a look?"

Cao Xing was startled by his own crazy idea!

After all, just the forces described above were already quite terrifying!

Even if the king's army launched a massive attack right now, they wouldn't be able to take it down in a short time.

Therefore, this was a true dragon's pool and tiger's den!

If he broke in and got discovered, Cao Xing would fall into an unprecedented major crisis.

However, his inner curiosity drove him to want to go inside and find out what was really going on!

Cao Xing secretly gritted his teeth.

"Damn it! Let's go in and take a look!"

"If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch the tiger cubs!"

"I'd like to see what the Church of Light is doing inside the Lords Manor."

"At worst, I'll summon the Dragon Speaker over and wipe all these guys out. If I can't beat them, I can at least run away."

Thinking of this, Cao Xing quickly changed his body shape.

As the Disguise skill activated,

his body rapidly grew taller, a layer of pale white armor gradually covered his body, and a transparent cold ice sword appeared in his hand.

An Ice Ghoul, completely indistinguishable from the creatures inside, abruptly appeared!

Cao Xing stumbled with his footsteps and cautiously walked out.

He gradually came behind an Ice Ghoul.

The closer he got, the more he could feel the evil, chilly aura emanating from the other party!

"Heh… Heh…"

Cold frost was emitted from the mouths of these Ice Ghouls.

One of the Ice Ghouls turned its head to look at Cao Xing.

After lingering on him for a moment, it looked ahead again with a dull gaze.

A trace of joy welled up in Cao Xing's heart.

He boldly moved among the Ice Ghouls.

Just at this moment, a Tier 6 Boss-grade Ice Ghoul suddenly cast its gaze over!

This Ice Ghoul Chieftain was even taller in stature.

The most crucial part was that the pupils of the other Ice Ghouls were pale white, whereas its eyes were pitch black.

Cao Xing remembered that the Ice Ghoul Chieftain had a skill called [Terrifying Gaze].

At this moment, being stared at by this guy gave him a creepy feeling all over.

"Heh…"

After exhaling a puff of cold air from its mouth, the Ice Ghoul Chieftain seemed to be confirming something.

Cao Xing acted as if he didn't see it and moved forward on his own.

After staring at Cao Xing for a while and finding nothing abnormal, the Ice Ghoul Chieftain shifted its gaze back to other directions.

"Very good, even the Ice Ghoul Chieftain didn't see through my identity!"

Thinking of this, Cao Xing moved around even more boldly and freely.

He passed by one Ice Ghoul after another, the distance between their shoulders being less than a centimeter!

His current position was right in the middle of the massive horde of Ice Ghouls.

Once exposed, he would face storm-like attacks.

This required extremely strong psychological qualities!

Fortunately,

after a few minutes, Cao Xing safely crossed through the Ice Ghoul army without any mishaps.

He arrived inside the Lords Manor.

Once here, the number of Ice Ghouls suddenly dropped significantly.

Compared to the outer perimeter which was almost completely surrounded by the Ice Ghoul army,

there were only sporadic wandering Ice Ghouls inside.

In addition, many buildings appeared before Cao Xing's eyes.

There were barracks, mess halls, kitchens, and so on…

"Now I can be considered to have officially sneaked in."

"Next up is to find a suitable target to strike, and by the way, investigate the secrets of these guys."

The Ice Ghoul disguised by Cao Xing wandered aimlessly within the Lords Manor.

Since Ice Ghouls were in a wandering state and didn't stay fixed in one place, moving back and forth constantly,

his wandering around the Lords Manor didn't appear abrupt at all.

"Crack! Crack!"

Astonishing coldness emanated from the Ice Ghoul's body; every step it took was like a mass of ice moving.

Since Cao Xing's disguise was a 100% simulation, even the footsteps were completely identical.

Walking and walking, Cao Xing seemed to have arrived at the central area of the Lords Manor.

Ahead, there was a tall, single-story building.

From time to time, a burst of divine light erupted from inside.

Inside, Cao Xing also sensed several powerful auras, one of which he was relatively familiar with.

It was precisely that red-robed archbishop he had just met at the tavern.

Cao Xing sensed carefully for a moment.

The look of doubt in his eyes grew even denser.

Logically speaking, powerhouses like them, under non-combat conditions, wouldn't casually leak their auras.

But the people inside didn't know what they were doing; it was as if they were fighting over something, and powerful energy was continuously leaking out.

And more crucially, besides the three red-robed archbishops, Cao Xing also sensed two even more terrifying and extremely powerful existences!

His heart instantly gave a jolt.

"Good grief, according to previous intelligence, weren't there only three red-robed archbishops in Lake Doron City?"

"How come there are two more powerhouses inside?"

"Could the Church of Light have transferred more people over?"

Cao Xing vaguely felt that this might be the biggest secret hidden by the Church of Light within the Lords Manor!

Although he knew that approaching would carry a high probability of the risk of exposure

But he was really too curious right now.

Cao Xing was also bold and daring, immediately taking large strides as he approached.

Then, he went directly outside this huge single-story building.

Cao Xing maintained his vigilance.

As long as the people inside made any abnormal movements, he would run away immediately.

However, these five presences inside seemed to be in a strange state.

They hadn't noticed Cao Xing's approach.

Or rather, even if they had noticed, they couldn't afford to get distracted.

He let out a sigh of relief.

Then he cautiously arrived before the main door.

Of course, he definitely wouldn't push open the door and go in directly; that was practically courting death.

Instead, he observed the scene inside through a small gap in the doorway.

At this moment, a spacious hall appeared in Cao Xing's field of vision.

Among them were impressively five powerful figures!

Four bishops wearing robes of the Church of Light were stationed at the four corners,

surrounding one upper-body-nude powerhouse in the middle!

The aura emanating from this powerhouse was as fierce as a sleeping-eyed wild lion, and his bulging muscles undulated with every deep breath he took.

Above his head, a glowing book was also floating.

"Rustle, rustle…"

This book was turning pages rapidly, continuously dropping wisps of sacred and vast light auras onto the head of the powerhouse in the middle.

As for the other four bishops, at this moment they seemed to be exhausting all their strength, pouring all their power into that book.

"Hmm? Who is this person?"

"Are these four bishops dealing with him right now?"

Cao Xing's gaze quickly lingered on these five powerhouses.

Wanting to use the system's function to determine the opponent's identity.

He first looked at the bishop wearing yellow robes.

[Archbishop: ? ? ?]

[Level: ? ? ?]

[Attributes: ? ? ?]

[Skills: ? ? ?]

[Talent: ? ? ?]

…

"Holy shit! A bunch of question marks!"

"In other words, this person's level is at least level 60 or above, which means a Tier 7 creature."

Cao Xing's pupils suddenly constricted, and a sense of crisis arose in his heart!

Although he had previously suspected that there might be a Tier 7 presence in Lake Doron City,

seeing it with his own eyes now still felt shocking.

The most crucial thing was that his [Disguise] could only fool presences whose levels were not higher than his own by 20 levels.

That is to say, as long as the other party discovered Cao Xing, there was a high probability they would see through his identity.

Cao Xing even took out the [Dragon Spirit Totem] from his backpack, getting ready to call for people!

However, he also noticed that this archbishop's state seemed a bit wrong.

It was as if he had concentrated all his power on the glowing book above his head, turning a deaf ear to the external situation.

Including the other three bishops, it was the exact same for them.

Cao Xing glanced again at the attributes of these three red-robed bishops.

Finding that their levels were all between level 55 and 60.

He relaxed slightly in his heart.

"Fortunately, at least these three guys are Tier 6 powerhouses."

Finally, his gaze lingered on that presence surrounded by them in the central area, shirtless, whose aura was terrifyingly powerful!

[Lord of Lake Doron City: ? ?]

[Level: ? ? ?]

[Attributes: ? ? ?]

[Skills: ? ? ?]

[Talent: ? ? ?]

…

Cao Xing's pupils constricted once more.

Yet another bunch of question marks, and this person was actually the Lord of Lake Doron City!

"Holy crap! The Lord of Lake Doron City didn't die after all, he was actually captured alive by the Church of Light!"

"Are these three bishops and the archbishop suppressing him? Or what are they trying to do?"

Cao Xing observed for a bit.

He found that a half-sun mark was gradually emerging on the back of the Lord of Lake Doron City.

As the four bishops continuously injected power into that book, the glowing book overhead flipped pages rapidly.

Wisps of power resembling the light of dawn fell into the city lord's body.

Also making the sun symbol on his back increasingly clear.

A look of realization appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

He more or less understood what these four bishops were doing here.

"Interesting, do they want to tame the city lord into a member of the Church of Light?"

After all, the city lord's strength was still quite terrifying.

At least a Tier 7 level presence.

Far exceeding the three red-robed bishops, and only that archbishop could contend with him.

Such a powerful force—if it could be grasped in one's hands, even Cao Xing wouldn't easily give it up.

"It seems this is also the reason why that Tacide outside wanted to stall for time."

"On one hand, it was to buy time for the four bishops to tame this city lord."

"On the other hand, it was to transfer the supplies inside the city."

Another piece of good news was that these four bishops were currently fully suppressing the city lord, so none of them noticed Cao Xing's approach.

This also made him gradually heave a sigh of relief.

Cao Xing didn't make a fuss, instead silently retreating.

Returning to the rear area of the Lords Manor, he began to think quietly.

Clearly, he already knew all the secrets of the Church of Light.

But knowing these, what should he do next?

If the army attacked now, they might still be able to save this city lord.

Cooperatiing with the city lord's formidable strength, there was a high probability they could heavily damage the Church of Light.

However, over on the army's side, this group of cultists was stalling for time.

Therefore, from the current perspective, the advantage was completely on the side of the Church of Light.

While thinking, Cao Xing wandered around the Lords Manor.

Walking and walking, he seemed to have walked deeper into the Lords Manor.

The number of aberrant ghosts here was much less.

Beside it were courtyard and back garden areas, and ahead were a few strange buildings.

And right at this moment, Cao Xing saw a group of cultists walking past him.

And everyone had a large sack slung over their shoulder.

Those large sacks were stuffed full of various resources.

crowns, food, and some rare ores…

Then, they placed all these sacks onto several carriages nearby.

The various supplies on the carriage beds were almost piled to the brim!

At this moment, Cao Xing's eyes lit up instantly.

He seemed to understand what these people were doing.

"These guys are transferring the supplies inside the Lords Manor overnight?"

"Where are they going to transfer them to?"

Cao Xing saw them enter an unassuming-looking room nearby.

Those supplies had been moved out from inside.

At this time, after finishing moving a trip, one of the cultists leaned against the carriage panting.

"God of Light above, I'm exhausted to death…"

"Yeah… We've been working continuously for a whole day, and I feel like my whole body is about to fall apart…"

"No way, when can we rest for a bit?"

Complaints rang out one after another.

A black-robed priest in charge of supervision nearby glanced at them, then said:

"Alright, stop complaining everyone."

"I know you've worked hard, but you all also know that the church is currently short-handed."

"The Seed of Light is transferring people over from various places to assist us, and someone will come to take over as soon as dawn breaks."

"Everyone push harder, after finishing this trip we can rest."

Hearing this, smiles also appeared on the faces of the other cultists.

"Great!"

"Thank you, Lord Priest!"

"Brothers, work harder, strive to finish this trip earlier!"

For a time, this group of tired cultists instantly became full of drive again.

And Cao Xing watched from the side, seeing that group of cultists continuously entering and leaving the room, carrying bags of goods onto the carriages.

Until seven or eight carriages were completely filled.

Only then did that black-robed priest nod with satisfaction.

"Alright, this trip has enough loaded, we're setting off now."

Hearing this, Cao Xing also perked up!

Clearly, these cultists were next going to transfer this batch of supplies away.

Leaving the city openly was definitely not going to work.

Therefore, the place they were going to go next——

should be the channel connecting to the outside world that Cao Xing had previously deduced!

Cao Xing narrowed his eyes.

This trip to the Lords Manor was indeed the right choice!

(PS: Tomorrow's plot in Lake Doron City will welcome a crucial turning point!!!)

Thanks to: Book Friend 141208222230296 for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Star Fallen for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Carefree Wind-Chasing, Wind Striking Bright for 4 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Yes Ah Tang for 4 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Book Friend 20200225171923994 for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Standard Belly for 6 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Boat-Riding Scholar for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Blue Moon Chen for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Hai Li for 6 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Book Friend 20170907182838198 for 6 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Book Friend 20170919015931639 for 4 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Unaffordable Meat Floss for 4 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Xiao Xiao Lei for 4 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Book Friend 20200729183940975 for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Open Source for 4 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Douding Wang for 4 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Book Friend 202305301154162242 for 6 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Drunk Hao Ri for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Book Friend 20180804231031702 for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: My Proud Smile for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Wind and Rain's Time for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Book Friend 150426012001319 for 4 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Book Friend 20200325145651999 for 4 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Qi Nande for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Xiao Er.eA for 2 monthly tickets, Thanks to: Infinite Qi Refining for 20 monthly tickets!!!

Thanks to the book friends for their recommendation tickets and subscriptions!!!