, walking toward the dim streetlights. Behind them stood the imposing bell tower, growing increasingly distant in the twilight, its solemn grandeur even more pronounced in the darkness."Lance, when I...Chapter 261: Rance's Theoretical Examination

Three days later. {What You still don't know|. Read, no wrong chapters reading| Hurry up and google it}.

In late February, the wind whipped through the towering structures of Herlohm, the imperial capital. On a frigid winter morning, the imposing edifice of the Silent Knights stood tall, an embodiment of solemnity and grandeur.

This building's towering spire pierces the clouds, its surface etched with ancient legends of battles against demons. A thin layer of frost covers the snow-white stone walls, adding to their mystique.

Near the gate, two knights clad in dark gray armor and wielding long spears stood guard. On the towering gate, several meters high, a metal design was inlaid, which was precisely the holy emblem of the Annihilation Branch – a cold-gray totem with a hollow eye in its center. Though lacking pupils, it emitted a faint glow, as if it were the last glimmer of hope devoured by it. Along the edges twisted and interwoven chains of vines wrapped around the eye, these vines bore sharp thorns that held the eye firmly within them.

Once a forbidden branch of the North Continent, the Annihilation faction now has an office in the Imperial City of Helrom. Its name was finally settled as the Annihilation Knight Temple.

And the priests working here primarily responsible for coordinating with the Imperial City of Helrom, which is in charge of other provincial branches, and logistics. They have also recently been screening new priests who want to join the Obliterative Branch.

After the Resurrection Church received safety permits from the Protoss Empire, all three branches under the three bishops who aimed for the position of Speaker expanded rapidly within the Empire. Many individuals who were already operating in a gray area now had a direct channel to join the Resurrection Church's growing ranks.

Yesterday, here took place the first test of a new acolyte.

The complete assessment content is divided into the first test, the second test, and the final assessment.

The current content completed for the first test is a conceptual written exam.

The Extinction Branch will notify yesterday's exam qualified candidates this morning.

And the retest and final assessment will be conducted simultaneously in the afternoon.

Although the schedule may appear tight, a high level of execution is also a fundamental principle of their annihilation branch.

When the doors of the Silent Knight's Temple slowly opened, a vast hall emerged, its outline illuminated by enormous chandeliers hanging from the lofty ceiling. They cast a white glow, while the surrounding walls were adorned with oil paintings depicting the deeds of the Church of Resurrection during the Holy War in the Northern Continent.

The arched doorways on either side lead to the various rooms inside. Walking down the corridor to the deepest part leads you to the council chamber.

The Main Hall is the most solemn place in the Order of the Silent Knights. Its imposing doors are made of sturdy oak, and behind them lies a spacious circular hall. The high windows allow plenty of light to flood in, with sunlight streaming through the glass and casting dazzling colors onto the table and walls.

Even at this early hour, several austere monks of the Desolation Branch were already gathered around a table. Their faces were grim, and the purple holy seals hanging from their chests pulsed with an ethereal light, marking their high standing.

On the table lay several stacks of neatly categorized papers and folders, detailing the personal information and test scores of the Protos Empire citizens who had participated in yesterday's preliminary round.

In the center of the hall, a middle-aged man in a deep gray robe carefully examined something. He wore a ring made of bone on his hand, occasionally touching the pages lightly.

He occasionally raised his head to inquire about the opinions of the two other high priests beside him, while a young knight in dark grey armor wrote down the conversation of several high priests with a pen. The other two high priests each held several documents and discussed the grades of certain students from time to time.

The atmosphere in the room was solemn. Every cleric knew that this assessment was part of the Silent Branch's expansion within the Empire, and whether they could select talent capable of adapting to the Empire's new policies would greatly influence their chances of victory in the Bishop election in two months' time.

Under the current circumstances and policies of the Protoss Empire, they need more individuals skilled in planning or strategy than those adept at direct combat.

In the council chamber, the man in charge of this matter, Kaeus, the high priest in his middle years, was at the heart of the decision. Everyone else waited for his final word.

The objective and subjective questions in a written exam can, to a certain extent, not only assess a candidate's intelligence, learning ability, and foundational knowledge but also analyze their character, personality, and work style.

"I didn't expect him to pass the exam. It seems like he studied for it."

High Inquisitor Kaius pulled out a sheet of parchment, comparing it to a matching resume. "Hmm," he muttered,

Every candidate has a dedicated intelligence officer from the church to investigate their resume.

The document in Caeus the High Priest's hands showed "Cerial, Iron Fist," in the name column. The photo next to it was of a powerful-looking, dark-skinned half-demon with a single horn on his head and a heavy black gold bracelet on his wrist.

The information states that he was once a famous gladiator, banned from competition for his brutal killings in the arena. It can be seen that he has an almost insane love for combat, but he also disdainfully refuses to fight the weak, such as children and women, and has been to prison several times.

"He's a man on the run in this country, but our church of Resurrection doesn't mind half-demons."

The high priest sitting beside Kaeus took the paper. It scored 65, just 5 points above passing. He gave a slight smile.

"If the Batian branch were also recruiting new members, he would be more likely to go there."

Another high priest commented.

Generally speaking, the Batian branch would engage in open and covert conflicts with others, especially since they are now in a clear relationship of competing interests. However, this time is unusual because the Batian branch did not start recruiting new disciples in the Imperial Capital.

That bunch of fools must be afraid that our people will sneak in again, they're being extra careful this time.

But also be careful of the Overlord branch messing things up.

Caius said calmly, sifting out several failing papers and picked up another one with a score just above the passing line.

Both the Original Annihilation Branch and the Overlord Branch were wanted targets of the Empire, so there was nothing to fear. They could directly kill each other.

Now, both parties cannot directly use force openly within the empire's borders. Instead, the Batian branch is repeatedly put on the defensive, being ambushed and assassinated by the Jemeit branch's priests.

Priests of the Hegemon branch are not unintelligent, but their doctrines and personalities lead them to prefer open strategies, while the Annihilation branch excels in covert plots.

The Catholic Church is not a personality that would tolerate.

It may seem like nothing is happening now, but as soon as an opportunity arises, it will hold the Annihilator Bishop accountable.

On the next resume that Kaeus picked up, there was a young man named [Fire Tongue] Redor. He had red hair and wore a black priestly robe.

It is written that he is considered a dangerous fire mage, who once burned down an entire village for no apparent reason. He is said to have a quick temper and acts impulsively.

"It's obvious he's an imitation of the Destructive Bishop Ivannos, even his hair seems dyed to look more like him."

Keu's voice was unusually resigned.

Although this examinee seems to have some mental issues, their score is quite good, a full 76 points.

It can be seen that he possesses the qualities of a villain and extreme chaos.

"If this guy were in the Southern Continent, he'd probably follow the Annihilation Branch."

Unfortunately, given the personality of Archmage Ivanos, if he were to see someone imitating him, he would probably incinerate them or execute them in the most brutal way imaginable.

However, the heavyweight class should still be in the back, these two can only be said to have their own characteristics.

The other two high priests also laughed and joked.

(The End)

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