The male supporting character was actually myself.

“The money I used to start the school came from the spoils of the five major bandit gangs.” Jiang Chen thought for a moment and reminded him, “They really do have ties to the church; I have a roster here as proof. What do you think about this?”

Miwu shrugged and laughed, "What else can we watch? Just sit in the front row and wait to see the show."

I'm just a figurehead for the church, someone who fools people.

The archbishop was in charge of the execution part; that old guy was too afraid of dying and just messed around when he had nothing better to do.

Even if he manages to dismantle the church, I'm still a key figure in the rear, and no one can do anything to me; the general public has never seen my true face, so they can just move on to another place and continue eating, drinking, and having fun—it won't matter.”

"Isn't the Pope going to do anything about it?" Li Moran couldn't hold back any longer. "The Church was once a beacon of hope for all humanity during the Dark Ages, and now it's been allowed to degenerate like this?"

Miwu mumbled, "The Pope naturally has more important things to do."

I have no mortal power, so I can't care about that; the priest is just an ordinary person, good at reading books, tinkering with things or scheming, but how can he care about the archbishop?

To put it bluntly, the entire church only has four main members.

The bishop's role as the executor may seem to be the most important, but it is not actually the case.

Forming a few bandit gangs or something would at most involve robbery, murder, and plundering for money, posing no real threat to the human race as a whole. There's no time or energy to deal with them for the time being.

After all, if something happens to the remaining few people, humanity will basically be doomed. We must prioritize the greater good.

"If you want to target the bishops or overthrow the church's rule, go ahead and do it. Frankly, aside from the bishops, I don't think the three of us would have much of an opinion. As long as humanity can survive and the world remains stable, everything else is minor."

Bug's words have a hidden meaning!

Jiang Chen decided to send a message to the little white cat later, asking it to keep an eye out and see if it could discover what secret work the Pope and the priests were doing.

Since the Holy Son has expressed his readiness to watch the show, they naturally don't need to be timid or hesitant.

Jiang Chen immediately began arranging for Gerson to help revive human technology, and this part would naturally be based on the stolen money from the five major bandit groups, starting with a demonstration site in Dragonbone City to test it out.

Finally getting to the main point, Gerson, who had been temporarily conscripted, briefly introduced his situation.

As Miwu said, he was not human, but a strange lord from the abyss with SS-level strength.

In fact, according to the survival rules in the abyss, his level is not considered a big shot. He was able to dominate a region and become a lord mainly because of his talent skills.

Gerson's combat ability is average, but he possesses two very unique talent skills.

One type is the magic brew that Jiang Chen and his companions drank—similar to the healing skills in the supernatural world. It can enhance combat power by concocting magic potions to resonate with the soul. Therefore, many supernatural beings are willing to follow and pledge allegiance to him in order to gain the opportunity to advance their strength.

Another aspect is his ability to unite people and his capacity to discover talent. Despite his appearance resembling a miniature Thanos, Gerson possesses a natural charisma that resonates with those around him. He has a keen eye enhanced by his innate abilities, allowing him to discern a person's character and assess their capacity for responsibility.

With the allure of magic potions, coupled with his skillful use of his subordinates and his excellent relationships with them, Gerson was able to maintain his territory and become a powerful ruler in the Abyss thanks to his many strong subordinates.

However, just as there are a hundred kinds of strangeness, there are also countless kinds. Gerson belongs to the kind-hearted strangeness who prefers peace and enjoys a leisurely life in a secluded corner. Other brave and warlike strange lords naturally have their eyes on him, always wanting to seize his territory and get a share of the spoils.

So when the rift in the abyss opened in the human world, various lords began to invade and strengthen themselves through various means.

Gerson did not actively entice believers to offer sacrifices; nor did he immediately send troops to attack the human world to plunder energy. Having lost the initiative, he could not defeat the elite troops of other lords in subsequent conflicts.

Tired of the constant fighting, Gerson, in an effort to minimize casualties among his men, released them, disbanding his troops and abandoning his territory to wander alone. Unexpectedly, the demon lord Slor, recognizing his talent, sought to recruit him as a personal potion master. After several failed attempts to bribe him, Slor ruthlessly killed him.

Gerson fought desperately to the death, and at the critical moment when he was seriously injured and about to die, the monumental hero Li Moran sensed the battle fluctuations and rushed over, killing a group of demon generals and saving the blood-covered "human".

When Gerson woke up, he learned that because he looked very similar to a human, the Knights had mistaken him for one of their own kind and rescued him. So he stayed in the human city to recover from his injuries and opened a small tavern.

"That was at the beginning of the Dark Ages, and we were trying to figure out how to deal with the strange army. There were refugees everywhere, as well as warriors who spontaneously fought." Li Moran took a sip of sake, shook his head, and sighed, "I didn't expect to misjudge him; I almost fell for his trick!"

Gerson grinned and refilled their glasses. "Actually, the most important thing is that I had been fighting and running away at that time, and my magic power was almost exhausted, so I was not easy to be discovered; in addition, my talent skill made you feel very close to me, and I was rescued by chance."

He raised his glass to Li Moran, saying, "I thank you again for saving my life and for sparing my life after learning my true identity."

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Archbishop's Deal

"Hmm, you should toast me too." Miwu smiled slightly, her violet eyes sparkling. "I noticed when this guy brought you out of the abyss and into the Holy Light Realm."

However, since you clearly meant no harm, I didn't point it out.

Otherwise, given my youthful arrogance back then, I would have activated the Holy Light Array and annihilated you long ago. How could you have enjoyed so many years of peace? And would you still have this little tavern that you thought was so well hidden away?

Gerson's face twitched upon hearing this. "You...you knew back then?"

"Otherwise what? You really think the Holy Light Array is just a giant air purifier? Forget about the rest, at least I could detect if a strange lord came in, especially since you had a very obvious lord's mark on you back then, how could I not notice?"

After drinking the wine offered by the other party, Mi Wu stood up, stretched, took out a calling magic stone, and handed it to Jiang Chen. "Add me as a friend. You can contact me anytime if you need anything. I have to go back to see the stars. There have been strong winds outside Holy Light these past two days, which has blown away the toxic smog so we can see the starry sky. It's not easy to see the stars these days. You should go and see them if you have time."

Just like when he came, Mi Wu left without a word. After the wind chimes jingled and the wooden door closed, he strolled leisurely towards the Dragonbone City Church branch with one hand in his pocket.

"The Holy Son went to Dragonbone City?" The archbishop was puzzled when he heard his subordinate's report. "What did he do there?"

The subordinate bowed slightly and said respectfully, "A group of executors was temporarily sent from Dragonbone City to follow him, but they lost him as soon as they turned a corner after leaving the church. Logically speaking, the Holy Son should be very conspicuous with the blessing of holy light, so I don't know how they lost him. Therefore... we don't know who the Holy Son met or what he did in Dragonbone City. We only know that he just returned a moment ago and should be looking up at the stars on the roof of the headquarters now."

"Ha, his holy light disguise is too perfect. No one has ever seen his true face under the holy light. It's a piece of cake for him to evade tracking. That guy is no pushover. I'm worried he'll go after Li Moran!"

Forget it, let them be for now. The most urgent task is to quell the negative impact of the executors.

Where's that priest? I need to settle accounts with him! At the very least, he deserves half the blame for Huo Mingyao's fall from grace, otherwise, once the Pope returns…”

The subordinate replied softly, "The priest should still be in the machine room; there's no report yet that he's gone out."

"The only good thing about a bookworm is that he's easy to manage."

The archbishop's eyes flickered, and he waved for his subordinates to leave.

It was already very late at night, and the bright moonlight shone in through the window. His slightly pale and thin face looked somewhat sinister under the cold moonlight.

At that moment, the fluffy dumpling had just retrieved it from his private treasure vault, which was protected by layers of restrictions and seals next door.

"Meow~ You're so old and still staying up all night, aren't you sleepy?" The little white cat yawned, then listlessly perched on the windowsill reading the message sent by its host. "Keep an eye on the Pope, the Holy Son, and the priests. It would be best to find out what they're all doing."

It scratched its ear with its hind paw, put away the summoning magic stone, and was about to hop off to explore other places when it suddenly heard the bishop mutter something under his breath.

That's a sound that no human could make!

It was like a creepy sound squeezed from the throat of a wild beast lurking in the dark, drooling over its prey, which startled the fluffy ball so much that its fur stood on end!

"Holy crap! What's going on?"

It jumped high, its eyes filled with terror, staring at the bishop who was making strange "clunking" sounds from afar. It paused for two seconds before remembering to take out its camera and start filming.

"Hiss..." The bishop trembled all over as he used his right hand, which suddenly grew long black fingernails, to untie the red uniform robe that represented his identity.

The room was dark, with only the cool moonlight shining in.

Even so, the little white cat could clearly see that the chest beneath the bishop's red uniform was rotting, revealing patches of pale white bone beneath!

Even in areas without decay, the pale flesh withers like crumpled paper.

"My dear host!" it shrieked, its furry tail wagging nervously. "The bishop is like this... could he be a zombie?"

The bishop was clearly aware of his condition, sighed in a strange voice, and covered his gruesome body with his uniform.

"Huff huff~" He squeezed out a slightly hurried, hoarse sound from his throat and paced anxiously around the room a few steps.

Then, as if making some important decision, the bishop staggered to the marble statue beside the desk, pulled on the water bottle in the angel's hand, and the heavy velvet curtains suddenly fell down to cover the window.

The little white cat, quick-witted and agile, leaped from the windowsill onto the chandelier, looking down from above and switching to nighttime shooting mode, wanting to see what this guy was up to.

"Whoosh! Boom!"

After a few soft sounds of the magic being used, several protective halos lit up the room.

The bishop stood in the very center, holding a small black skull with horns on its forehead and muttering incantations.

Soon, complex runes with a faint, pale green glow began to appear from beneath his feet, and a whistling wind could be heard blowing through his red robes.

A moment later, the bishop's feet had turned into a deep black hole, and the chandeliers within the barrier, which was swirling upwards from below, jingled.

The little white cat could only maintain its balance by clinging tightly to the copper main trunk, lest it fall.

"You shouldn't have summoned me at this time."

A chilling voice suddenly came from the abyss, which was about two meters in diameter. The speaker seemed to be hiding in an empty place, so the voice echoed loudly.

"I can't wait any longer!" the archbishop croaked, his voice hoarse, his body trembling slightly as he replied, "You should act even faster! Get the Pope on board and get them to agree to trade between the Church and the Demon Realm!"

I need medicine! I need a lot of medicine!

The voice from the abyss was silent for a moment, then said, "Hmm, your condition is indeed very bad. Your Excellency, you must know that you are far too old. Relying solely on potions to sustain your life force is indeed too taxing."

Did you risk contact me this time to criticize my incompetence or to buy a life-extending potion?

"For medicine, it's the usual fixed price."

"I need the potion!" the archbishop gritted his teeth. "Give it to me now, at least enough to get me through this month. My condition must not be revealed before it's done, or all our previous efforts will be in vain."

You know that very well!

"It's very simple. I'll activate the exchange array, and you can put your items in and naturally get what you want in return."

"No, I haven't received them yet!" the bishop explained urgently. "Something's delayed me. I haven't been able to ship those gold coins out of the country to exchange for a large number of magical plants. Give me some magic potions to tide me over, and I'll trade them to you as soon as I get them."

A heavy sigh echoed from the abyss. "Your Excellency, demons never do charity. A deal is a one-for-one exchange. If there are no magical plants that grow in the human world, then you'll just have to bear with it a little longer."

Chapter Twenty-Six: A Two-Way Conspiracy

“Slor, now we’re in this together.” The archbishop trembled slightly, but his words were firm. “I can’t reveal anything unusual, or your scheme will fail when I die.”

Our previous transactions went very smoothly. Wouldn't it be better to cooperate and achieve a win-win situation, where each party gets what they need?

This time, my attack happened a little too early; the magical plants hadn't arrived yet. I'll remember any concessions you might make. Otherwise, if I were to die from exposure, do you think the Pope or the Holy Son would cooperate with you?

Without the cooperation of the human world, where would you get so many magical plants to supply your subordinates?

Think of your grand plan, you are destined to become the Lord of the Abyss, Slor!

How can you be so fixated on such a small amount of profit and refuse to be flexible?

The bishop lowered his head slightly, his cloudy eyes seemingly able to see the demon lord on the other side through the endless darkness.

At this moment, Slor, whose body was dark blue-gray, with two long, curved, sharp horns on his head and two ears below the horns that looked like sharp triangles, was sitting on his throne, looking up at the communication seal connecting the two worlds in mid-air. His scarlet eyes released flames, and his thin, straight lips were slightly curved into an arc.

He shifted his position, resting his chin on his right hand, which had black, sharp claws, a playful expression on his face, but his tone was hesitant, "Hmm, if you put it that way..."

"What? After dealing with you for so long, you still don't trust me?" The archbishop continued to coax, "I'm ready. As long as you act quickly enough to win over the Pope, we can open up trade between the two worlds!"

We are partners, but more importantly, we are friends.

"My dear Slor, life in the deepest abyss must be tough, right? I can send executors to help you then."

Slor was in high spirits after his scheme succeeded.