My Abyss Survival Diary

Chapter 18 Iron Wing Confession Room

Beneath the large tree, a dark red robe trailed on the soft, damp ground, its hem stained with mud and fallen leaves.

Faldor pulled back his hood, revealing a sharply defined face.

He bent down to examine the carcasses of the game that had been left in the camp.

Unfortunately, the prey was dismembered into pieces, and even the precious flesh from the back of its head, the evidence of its crime, was dug out.

The losses were enormous. For the Cult of the Mother of Abundance, the flesh of the hunted beasts, which served as evidence of their sins, was also very valuable. Even if the hunted beast died, they could use the flesh from the back of its head to cultivate a new hunted beast.

His brows were furrowed. They had finally managed to track the bloodstains to this camp, only to witness a bloody battle between sinners. To prevent more people from seeing it, he could only stand at a distance from the camp, waiting for the battle to end before reaping the benefits.

Unexpectedly, a gliding monster descended from the sky, driving the surviving sinners away from the camp and causing him to lose the opportunity to kill the sinner who had been spying on them.

The shrieks of monsters echoed from afar, and they could not keep up with the pace of the sinners.

"We're too late." His voice was low and strained, filled with suppressed anger. "That curly-haired sinner got away again!"

"Not too late! We've arrived just in time!" The girl skipped and hopped through the camp, showing no fear of the corpses scattered everywhere; instead, her face was filled with joy. "I saw a great show! It was amazing! Fighting and tearing at each other like wild beasts with broken weapons just to survive—it was so much fun!"

A chaotic and wicked smile bloomed on the girl's face, like a bewitching evil flower.

Faldor took a deep breath, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Miss Brienne, I don't have time to fool around with you... If that sinner tells the priest about seeing us, he will immediately activate the emergency plan and have the Impure Doctor cleanse the entire first level."

"No, that would mean we wouldn't be able to see the Abyss's offspring!"

The girl named Brienne then stopped smiling.

"So that's what you care about more..." Faldo sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Originally, this pilgrimage trip only required one person, but Brienne insisted on accompanying him, saying that she wanted to devoutly witness the moment when the Abyss's offspring gained freedom. Faldor wanted to refuse, but unfortunately Brienne's status was far higher than his, so he had no choice but to take her along.

The short month-long trip left Fador exhausted, both physically and mentally, and Brienne's love of amusement brought him countless troubles.

For example, in this case, if Brienne had simply pointed out the location of the sinner from the beginning, Faldor could have ended the trouble with a single strike...

But Brienne did not do that. She deliberately waited for the sinner to finish listening to their conversation before pointing out his location. Faldo had no choice but to send his hounds to hunt down the sinner. As a result, he not only lost a hound but also failed to kill the sinner, allowing the rat to escape.

"Poor little thing, you must have been in a lot of pain before you died." Brienne stroked the hound's mangled body on the muddy ground, putting on a sorrowful expression.

The bone spurs trembled incessantly in his arm, and Faldor desperately suppressed the urge to kill, lest he behead the troublesome man before him!

"I'm going to keep chasing that guy. If you can't keep up with me, stay here with the team," Faldor said curtly.

"Chase him? Forget it." With a smile, Brienne shook her head. "That little mouse is very wary. He won't let you assassinate him easily. Besides, he has friends. Unless you can kill them all in an instant, more people will see your presence."

Faldo felt a splitting headache. Brienne was right; the sinner was no longer alone. To kill him, they would have to kill all his accomplices.

"Then what do you suggest I do?" he retorted irritably.

Brenner's smile grew increasingly sinister, even Faldo couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

"Let them be part of the ritual."

……

Warm sunlight streamed down through the gap overhead, refracting through the abyss and bathing everyone in its glow.

According to Klein, the entire first floor was divided into four areas, like a circle cut into four pieces by two horizontal and two vertical lines.

The center of this "circle" is a huge hole, which is also the only passage to the second level. A complete set of lifting equipment and rock climbing equipment are needed to successfully reach the second level. Therefore, Simon needs a lot of indulgences, which is why he cooperates with Klein.

After a long journey, they came across a large wreck of rusted steel, or more accurately, the remains of a large hot air balloon.

The Blazing Sun Empire once attempted to descend to the second level using an airship to establish a base there. However, during the descent, they were attacked by unknown creatures. Although they successfully killed them, the airship crashed during its ascent for rest.

"This is a landmark building; we've moved from the northwest half to the northeast half," Klein remarked simply.

The "Demon's Lips" stronghold, also the Empire's largest stronghold, is located directly north of the Great Hollow. Simon happened to arrive in the northwest half of the region after being driven away by the Reanimated Physician.

"Are we going to the old priest's place to exchange supplies?" he asked Klein.

"No, we need to go to another base... Getting into that old bastard's base involves a series of checks, which is too time-consuming."

After walking for another two hours, it was noon. Simon, Klein, and the injured Badar rested in the shade and drank water to stave off hunger.

They only took a small portion of the medicine from the supplies that Anthony risked his life for, and now they can't even get a biscuit.

"The place for the transaction is called Ironwing Confession Room. I have a few words to say in advance..." Klein instructed beforehand, "Don't offend that priest. If we can appease him, we might be able to get more supplies, but if we anger him... we'll have made a wasted trip."

Simon nodded. Hearing him say that, it seemed that the priests stationed in the confessional had a high degree of autonomy.

After walking for a few minutes, the bushes ahead suddenly broke off, revealing a clearing.

The open space had been cleared by people, and the ground was covered with a layer of gravel that made a rustling sound when stepped on.

What appeared before me was a building resembling a bunker, with an imperial-style design. Thick gray steel plates were used to reinforce its weak points, making it virtually indestructible.

Klein approached the bunker with his hands raised and cautiously knocked on the iron window of the Ironwing Confession Chamber.

The window panel opens from the inside...

A face appeared behind the window.

The young man had long, dark brown hair that cascaded down his shoulders, the strands shimmering with a warm brown sheen in the sunlight. He was handsome, exuding an aura of quiet authority, with high brow bones and a straight nose, looking as if he had stepped out of an imperial propaganda poster.

"Good afternoon, Father Andrei." Klein bowed slightly, showing great respect.

"Your name is Klein, right?" He said, pronouncing Klein's name.

"That's right." Klein nodded.

The priest named Andrei looked somewhat pleased.

"Come in! You are Mr. Bell's friends, so I will give you a little special treatment."