CHAPTER 627: Deep In The Desert

The Angela Empire, in the north-western plains of the vast Tukla Desert.

Yellowish sand littered the land, piling up to the edge of the horizon and back again. The bald eagles, who survived by feeding on carcasses, had not had anything to eat for a long time. They were skinny and bone. Their eyes glowed with mad hunger as they circled the sky.

A sandstorm whizzed by like a yellow mist, shrouding much of the region in fine dust.

As numerous as the sand grains around them were the massive clumps of ants. They moved in great numbers, devouring every living thing in their path. Some of the magical beasts that roamed the deserts couldn't escape these ants and were stripped to the bone.

Throughout the journey, strange and rare skeletons of ferocious beasts could be seen everywhere. Unknown dangers lurked everywhere.

It was the rule of the Church of Calamity that every member and visitor had to walk through the desert. As a friendly visitor, Han Shuo obeyed the church's rule. He followed Wolf and Burt Zili, who chose to walk rather than fly, deep into the desert.

There were starving bald eagles circling above their heads. On several occasions during their journey, some bald eagles, unable to bear their hunger any longer, would dive towards them, only to be reduced to ashes by a flash of light.

However, the remaining starving bald eagles did not disperse. They must have been desperately hungry because they continued to follow the three closely.

"These bald eagles are really annoying. You two have killed seven of them so far. And yet they still haven't learned to be tactful," Han Shuo said indifferently as he raised his head to look at the sky.

"For your lordship's information, in the Tukla Desert, the main source of food for these bald eagles is the corpses of merchants. However, as the environment in the Tukla Desert has deteriorated in recent years, with too many dangers, even the greediest merchants dare not cross the Tukla Desert. As a result, these bald eagles have had nothing to eat for a long time and are starving to death. It's very difficult to find another living soul in this place. It'd be a miracle if they left us alone," Burt Zili smiled and explained to Han Shuo in a fawning manner.

"I really never expected your Calamity Church headquarters to be in the depths of this desolate Tukla Desert. Haha, no wonder so many powerhouses on the continent have been unable to locate you," Han Shuo lamented. Ever since he first set foot in the Tukla Desert, he had been subjected to constant attacks of all kinds. By now, of course, he had realised how treacherous the desert was. He felt that the Church of Calamity had indeed chosen an excellent strategic location.

"The Tukla Desert has undoubtedly always been a mysterious place, but never has it been so fraught with danger as it is now. With our Church headquartered here, we don't want any critters with ulterior motives to find out where it is. Of those man-eating ants, blood-sucking bees and mutated poisonous desert scorpions your lordship saw on the way, the vast majority were deliberately created by us after we settled in the desert.

With so many dangers lurking around every corner, even the greediest band of merchants wouldn't dare to come here. Even if some countries were to learn of our location, the hostile environment would prevent them from gathering armies to surround and destroy us. The Tukla Desert is simply too vast. If armies were to enter the desert, they would not be able to get enough supplies to sustain themselves. Besides, with so many terrifying animals and plants in the desert, many of them would simply give up on the idea," Wolf explained with a smile.

Han Shuo nodded in understanding after listening to his words. As the Master of the Skeleton Staff, Han Shuo was aware of a certain point in history from several hundred years ago. He knew that the Church of Calamity had done a certain mad thing and become the public enemy of the entire Profound Continent. At that time, every country on the continent joined forces to destroy the Calamity Church once and for all. The Church had no choice but to change its mode of operation from open to secret.

As the public enemy of the entire Profound Continent, if the Calamity Church's headquarters were discovered, they would likely face the combined armies of all the countries on the Profound Continent. Their very careful choice of building their headquarters deep in the Tukla Desert, and their efforts to make the desert more dangerous, were necessary measures. Otherwise, they would probably have been wiped out long ago.

"But the situation on the continent is different now. During these years, some of the countries have become inseparable from us. Even if the location of the headquarters of the Church of Calamity were to be revealed, there wouldn't be too many countries that would join the crusade against us, except for countries that profess faith in the God of Light and are secretly supported by the Church of Light," Wolf said proudly.

"The Church of Light must know your location, right?" asked Han Shuo. The two religious organisations were mortal enemies. Given the influence the Church of Light had on the Profound Continent, there was no way they wouldn't know where the headquarters of the Church of Calamity was.

"That's right. The Church of Light does know that we are in the Tukla Desert. But just as we have not dared to attack the Sacred Mountain of the Church of Light, they have never dared to launch any major offensive into the Tukla Desert. This stalemate has been going on for several hundred years," replied Burt Zili. Wolf continued, "We have managed the Tukla Desert for many years and filled it with countless dangers of all kinds. If they attacked on a large scale, they would only be hurting themselves. But if only a few experts attacked, we wouldn't be afraid, given the strength of our Church.

"So that's the case. It seems that your Church of Calamity is indeed powerful. Perhaps the only power in the entire Profound Continent that could cause the Church of Light to be afraid is your Church," Han Shuo nodded in praise.

"Ha ha, my lord, you have misspoken. You mean 'our' Church of Calamity. Ever since the Skeleton Staff reappeared with you, the Calamity Church has considered your lordship as one of our own. It doesn't matter whether you acknowledge it or not, but Your Lordship is always one of us. Even the Church of Light considers you as such," Burt Zili laughed and said to Han Shuo in a cunning manner. He seemed very proud of himself.

Han Shuo smiled and made no comment on Burt Zili's words.

Since most of the dangers in the Tukla Desert had been placed there by the Church of Calamity, they had the means to disarm them. Some of the most terrifying creatures they encountered, such as man-eating ants and blood-sucking bees, were repelled by Wolf and Burt Zili using some sort of exotic incense. Meanwhile, magical beasts that suddenly appeared out of the sand dunes - a nightmare for merchants - were easily dealt with by Wolf.

Despite the many dangers they faced on their journey, the trio was unhindered. With the scorching sun beating down on their heads and the searing sand beneath their feet, they walked step by step into the depths of the Tukla Desert.

Although the three were walking, their speed was faster than that of an ordinary sprinter. As they walked, they would appreciate the desolate yet majestic scenery of the desert, or perhaps discuss certain insider matters of the Calamity Church. At a time when the cold night wind was blowing wildly, Burt Zili and Wolf suddenly stopped at a huge field of uneven sand dunes.

"Why are we stopping?" Han Shuo asked confusedly as Wolf and Burt stopped in their tracks. There were only large and small uneven sand dunes all around him, with no man-made features in sight.

"We've arrived," Wolf smiled and explained.

Han Shuo raised his eyebrows. Han Shuo, who had been taking in the beautiful scenery, suddenly unfolded his consciousness. He suddenly began to giggle. He nodded and said, "So it's underground. Oh, I felt numerous presences of life underground. The facility underneath seems to be massive."

"Your Lordship is indeed extraordinary to be able to sense the situation underground through all these barriers around the headquarters!" Burt Zili exclaimed in admiration. He was aware of how many concealment boundaries lay between the sand dune and the Calamity Church headquarters. Although the Church of Light knew that the headquarters of the Calamity Church was in the desert, they obviously hadn't thought to dig any deeper. There had been experts who had secretly scouted the desert, but they simply couldn't find anything. Surprisingly, Han Shuo was able to see the situation under the metres of sand and barriers the moment he arrived. Burt Zili found this most admirable.

Han Shuo smiled and closed his eyes to carefully sense for a while. He was shocked and blurted out, "There are several thousand people living down there! It takes up such a huge space! No wonder the Church of Calamity has been able to resist the Church of Light for so long!"

"Your Lordship is impressive!" Wolf was also very surprised that Han Shuo could tell the number of people down there when he was still separated by layers upon layers of barriers.

"Oh? A few people are coming up. They have quite a bit of strength," Han Shuo's consciousness sensed a group of people coming up from several hundred metres underground. The group included a powerful basegod and a demigod. He knew that the Church of Calamity must have some unique method of monitoring the scene on the surface from below.

"It must be one of the cardinals who came to greet us. Haha, the deeds your lordship has done these years have been simply too sensational. Although Your Lordship has never visited our headquarters, many young people here look up to Your Lordship as an idol. You have no idea how much they adore you!" Burt Zili exclaimed in sincere admiration. From his appearance, it was as if he was one of Han Shuo's fans.

As Burt Zili cooed, a rumbling sound came from the sand the three of them stepped on. Some kind of energy spread out from underground, and a sand dune suddenly flowed out in front of the three of them. It didn't take long for the sand dune to disappear, revealing an elevator with a capacity of ten people rising to the surface. A large fat man with an extremely sturdy build took up more than half of the space in the lift. His small eyes swelled and sparkled as he drooled at Han Shuo and the group, beaming from ear to ear.

Han Shuo could sense a powerful destructive energy emanating from this big fat man's body. With just one look, Han Shuo was certain that this big fat guy was a powerful basegod who was cultivating in the Edict of Destruction. Standing behind the Fatty was a skinny, almost ghoulish old man. His body carried an intense element of darkness. Han Shuo knew that he was the demigod his consciousness had picked up.

"Your Holiness!" Before Han Shuo could move a muscle, Wolf and Burt Zili suddenly knelt down and saluted respectfully.

Han Shuo was stunned. He had not expected the Pope of the Calamity Church to welcome him personally. It seemed that the Calamity Church definitely took him very seriously.