When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1163 The Holy Mechanized Court, The City of Never-Ending Clockwork (Part 2)
On the platform square, which was blocked by the circular colonnade, vendors' carts, and horse-drawn carriages, Angrjok descended the steps and looked around.

The morning sunlight pierced through the thin veil of cooking smoke and gently fell on the mottled ground.

The sound of pedestrians' clothes rubbing together.

The clattering sound of a horse-drawn carriage rolling over the ground.

The young mother screamed and yelled at her child to get away from the traffic.

Double-decker cargo wagons were crowded together, their drivers dressed neatly and wearing felt hats, whipping their whips high, making a loud cracking sound in the air.

It flows slowly along the circular road, with a green lawn in the center.

In the center of the lawn, there is a stone beaver fountain, and Saint Catherine with one arm raised.

The water flowed like a transparent vampire, supporting a stone ball the size of a fist.

At the edge of the lawn, you can still see the workers before they start work, sitting on the lawn with carpets spread out, cutting open bread and adding eggs and sausages as usual.

"As a city, it is relatively clean compared to Changge City, but as a palace city for the Pope, it is too plain and lacks aesthetic appeal."

Without saying it out loud, Angerok made his own assessment of it in his mind.

A city with aesthetic appeal must have aesthetically pleasing architecture.

The houses in the Holy Alliance are too uniform and monotonous, which makes them lose the asymmetrical and complex beauty.

Despite the long journey, Angrok had visited the Holy Alliance once, though he only went to Jiliu City. However, his attitude towards the Holy Alliance was no longer as flattering and praising as it had been in the magazine "Art Forest".

He held the Holy Alliance in high regard, but he also knew that the Holy Alliance had only risen to prominence ten years ago, and it would take at least fifty years for it to truly take off.

This is all assuming there are no other three kingdoms causing trouble; it would be too early for Alexei to bet on this now.

The gaze shifted to Alexei, who was currently with a tall young man who was over six feet tall.

He was wearing a dark blue officer's uniform with a leather belt around his waist. He was clean-shaven but carried a military knife at his waist.

This man was of North Mountain origin and missed the major battles of the First and Second Wars of the Thousand Rivers, but he performed exceptionally well in the subsequent smaller battles.

Not long after, he was recommended from the Shattered Stone Plains Military District and entered the St. Tangier Military Academy, eventually graduating in the same class as Alexei.

Compared to the refined and easygoing senior officers and the crude and uncouth junior officers in France, this officer named Baleri was clearly very strange.

He possessed the refined demeanor of a high-ranking military officer, yet he also slapped Alexei hard in a rude manner and made vulgar jokes.

How could Alexei's cousin have taken a liking to someone like this? Is this the military officer who will be working with him in the future?

Why is he so close to his cousin?

It was a bit ridiculous; the thought flashed through Angrjok's mind and then quickly dissipated.

"I'm too tired from the journey, so I'll go to the hotel to rest." After handing his luggage to the young man accompanying him, Angerok put his hands behind his head and headed to the hotel.

As he turned his head, he heard Alexei, who had been laughing and joking, suddenly turn around and say, "Stop! Who gave you permission to leave?"

"What's wrong? I didn't cause any trouble," Angrok said with a grin, raising his hands.

"Look at you! I brought you here to broaden your horizons and gain experience, not for you to sleep all day!"

“Yes.” Baleri smiled and patted Angrok on the head. “Little brother, if you’re too short, you need to get more sun so you can grow taller.”

"What the hell..."

“Angerzok!” Alexei glared at Angerzok.

"Did I say something wrong?" Baleri asked, looking surprised.

Alexei stepped forward and whispered a few words to him, after which Baleri said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I made a mistake. You're actually the same age as us. You look too young."

Angrok didn't reply, he just gritted his teeth.

“But Alexei is right, this exposition will truly broaden your horizons.” Baleri warmly put his arm around his shoulder. “How about this, I’ll treat you to lunch as an apology?”

No, are we that close?
Angrok's lips twitched, and he looked at Baleri with a forced smile: "Honestly, I'm really not interested." "Don't say that." Baleri, who was of North Mountain origin, patted Angrok's thin back vigorously. "The exhibition is very interesting and can broaden your knowledge and learning."

This time, Angrok was genuinely slightly angry.

Who is he? A renowned child prodigy in France, he graduated with a bachelor's degree at 15 and a master's degree at 18.

He studied under three masters, who made outstanding achievements in history, natural history, and law, respectively.

What hasn't he seen? Does he need something from a mountain villager like you to broaden his knowledge?
Isn't it just a clockwork mechanism? Isn't it just an orogen energy storage device caused by the orogen explosion resulting from the alchemists' wealth?

He and his teachers had studied these things countless times.

Although he couldn't determine the design and construction, he knew the operating mechanism perfectly well.

Does Baleri really think of Angrjok as some Norn barbarian?
However, out of respect for Alexei, he still managed to remain polite: "Really, it's not necessary."

As a native of North Mountain, Baleri's stubbornness kicked in, and he grabbed Angrjok's arm: "Here, take a look, I guarantee you've never seen anything like it before."

Angrok laughed in anger.

Once you've read a thousand books, you'll find that there's nothing truly bizarre in this world.

He had witnessed ten years of strange tales and grand celebrations in Fran, and his heart was as cold as the snow-capped mountains of Cape Storm.

His heart was ice-cold.

"Fine," Angrok laughed angrily, "Then let's go take a look."

Wherever he went, no matter what amazing machines or products the Holy Alliance officer boasted about, he would thoroughly expose the underlying mechanisms behind them.

He wanted to show the Holy Alliance that the Norn weren't all drunken idiots like Groyev!
“Great.” Baleri immediately led the way forward, while Alexei turned and winked at Angrzok.

Angrzok walked forward as if he hadn't seen anything, only halfway there did he make a face at Alexei.

"Because the main exhibition area is very small, we have divided it into two areas, an inner and an outer one," Baleri explained as they walked. "The outer exhibition area is mainly for popular science, that is, to teach the general public about theological techniques."

The inner exhibition area is where technical priests, engineers, and inventors showcase their inventions to investors.

Let's start by exploring the outdoor exhibition area..."

“No need, I already know that knowledge in Fran.” Henrök smiled and shook his head. “Let’s go straight to the inner exhibition area.”

“Oh, okay.” Baleri was taken aback at first, but wasn’t angry. “Then I’ll take you to see the indoor exhibition area.”

After turning several busy street corners, the three of them finally arrived at their designated exhibition area.

The exhibition area is located between two rows of high-rise apartments. It was originally built as a commercial pedestrian street, but now it has been taken over as an exhibition area.

At the entrance stand two life-sized bronze lion statues, their claws gripping the ground.

The gears on its back turn gently in the wind, producing a pleasant musical sound.

A long line of people formed, and someone would always pass by and fiddle with the gears, making a continuous, crisp musical sound.

“Hehe, I have a military officer’s ID, just enough to bring two foreign guests through the fast track.” Baleri flashed his ID. “…Fellow believer Angrjok, what’s wrong?”

"No, it's nothing, let's go inside."

Angrok turned his gaze away from the glass dome between the two rows of apartments, but his palms were sweating.

Damn it, the Holy Alliance is too risky! They actually built a transparent roof between two rows of buildings using glass!

Others may not know the properties of glass, but surely Angrjok, as a naturalist, knows them?

If the wind picks up even slightly or the rain gets even slightly heavier, the entire pane of glass will fall down, and it could really kill someone if it happens to fall on them!

This Holy Alliance is so disregarding human life, aren't they afraid of affecting their international image?

Seeing his cousin and Nabalelli still striding inside, he didn't want to lose face, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow behind.

(End of this chapter)