When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1170 Brass Discipline Bureau
Astral realm.

Although the elder of the Soridor clan was pointing towards the Ethereal Spire, Horn still understood that he was actually pointing to the Astral Plane.

According to this Phicius, necromancy, as its name suggests, uses magic to awaken the dead.

Essentially, it involves taking a recently deceased, still relatively alive body and transforming it into a "flesh and blood machine" similar to a clockwork mechanism.

Then, the undead are summoned and driven into the bodies of these skeleton zombies.

As for where the undead come from, like the monsters, they all come from the astral plane.

Interestingly, according to this elder of the Soridor clan, there are records of the astral realm and the spirit realm dating back to the time of the El Empire.

Horn also read descriptions of the astral and spiritual realms in The Emerald Book.

The myriad worlds float on the river's surface, like bubbles created by the turbulent water.

The astral realm is above the water, while the spirit realm is below the water.

According to many El scholars or mystics, Heaven is in the Astral Plane, while Hell is in the Spirit Realm.

Normally, the spirits or evil spirits that vampires control should come from the spirit world.

But for some reason, these evil spirits still manage to enter from the astral plane, just like that monster Lightning Slime back then.

The Els believed that the astral realm and the spirit realm were two separate entities, but later alchemists and scholars believed that the astral realm and the spirit realm were one.

Regardless of the circumstances, evil spirits from the spirit world will come to this world through the weak points of the astral plane, and when they possess animals, they become monsters.

So this actually gave Horn a hint: wherever monsters appear, there is a possibility that there are weak points in the astral plane.

This means that when searching for weak points in the astral plane or building new ethereal spires in the future, we won't have to rely on random luck anymore.

But soon, Horn thought of a new problem.

Following this logic, could evil spirits possess people? Could people possessed by evil spirits be witches?

Phicius, however, gave a negative answer.

The Soridor clan has always been exceptionally interested in magic related to souls and puppets, and are experts in this field.

According to the Soridor clan's research on necromancy, the human soul is too stable, and so far no evil spirits have been found to possess a human.

Except for witches.

But witches aren't possessed by evil spirits and turned into monsters; rather, they are born witches, but they simply cannot be detected.

His condition was similar to Horn's early state; he had magical power but no spells.

They were able to possess magic only because they accidentally devoured evil spirits; this process is known as witch awakening.

This is why witches cannot be detected before they awaken, because they haven't yet devoured evil spirits.

Of course, even though the elders of the Soridor clan swore to Horn that this was the truth.

But Horn also understood that this was actually just the reasoning of the Soridor clan, and its reliability and validity were both insufficient.

Although he understood the origins of necromancy, it didn't offer much help in solving his current problem of mechanical enchantment.

However, by using the so-called "evil spirit" theory as a reference, it is possible to deduce how they corrupted the clockwork machines.

Evil spirits can possess any "creature" that can move easily, but the chances are very small.

Although Horn didn't consider clockwork mechanisms to be living beings, to the evil spirits, they appeared to be living things and could sustain movement for a long time—

They thought, "This is what life is."

However, this provides Horn with a way to prevent mechanical corruption.

In the future, it is best to avoid mechanical forms that are too anthropomorphic or animal-like.

Furthermore, all subsequent demonized machines must be sprinkled with holy water before leaving the factory to prevent them from becoming demonized again. Ideally, a new group of monks should be gathered, more monasteries built, and a divine police force used to suppress these demonized machines.

Especially now that Ethereum spires are being charged more and more frequently.

We might even need to set up a new agency later, let's call it the "Bronze Discipline Bureau," specifically to suppress and control the demonized machines.

Then someone will have to take charge of this newly established department, which is troublesome.

It's not just a problem with this new organization; there might be another new project coming up.

After listening to Soridor's explanation, a technical priest immediately raised the question: "What would happen if vampires used necromancy on a clockwork mechanical doll?"

If it can't work out, then forget it.

If it works... wouldn't that mean Horn could completely steal the vampire technology tree and apply it to clockwork machines?

As the magical resources accumulated locally were developed, the Holy Alliance's research speed was already slowing down.

Unlike before, when you could easily find new materials by digging through ancient books.

Now, if we can transplant the vampires' technology for fully automated zombie skeletons, then scientific research will surely experience another boom.

Upon hearing this news, he immediately decided to establish the Brass Discipline Bureau, whose first task was to test the effects of necromancy on clockwork mechanisms.

If Horn could truly control the clockwork puppets using demonized machinery and vampire magic, the resulting massive increase in productivity would be something he dared not even imagine.

Although similar to vampires, they are unable to perform complex tasks, they are capable of completing simple ones.

However, this will inevitably lead to protests from workers and farmers.

What was once an advanced system has become a hindrance in the face of even more advanced productive forces.

"Brother, brother? Brother Horn!"

"Huh?" Horn looked up abruptly, only to find Jeanne sitting across the table, glaring at him with a huff.

Before him, on a checkered tablecloth, lay silver candlesticks, which were piled high with plates and dishes.

Delicious roasted chicken, cheese pudding, and cream of mushroom soup are all things Jeanne loves to eat.

"Brother, you asked me out to dinner yourself, what do you mean by not saying a word?" Jeanne wrinkled her chin, her fingers gripping her fork tightly.

Horn suddenly awoke. It was already evening, and he was in the most expensive restaurant in the Holy Alliance – Beretta Restaurant.

The twinkling lights outside the window cast dappled shadows on the wallpaper.

Horn's monthly salary was far less than that of the wealthiest people who paid the highest taxes, but it was still quite high compared to ordinary people.

This kind of restaurant is more than enough to eat at once a week, if not as a regular cafeteria.

Looking across the table, sitting amidst the pile of dishes, Jeanne's long, black hair was braided and hung down from her shoulders.

The room was dark, lit by candlelight, yet it clearly illuminated Jeanne's face.

She wore a light green dress, silver earrings adorned with transparent gemstones, and her face was lightly powdered and blushed.

Half of her body was hidden in the darkness, her brows furrowed, pretending to be angry but unable to actually be angry.

Compared to the naive young girl she once was, although her appearance hasn't changed much, she now exudes a more mature charm.

Horn then remembered that tonight was the day he had arranged to meet Na for dinner, but his thoughts were still lingering on the Brass Discipline Bureau.

"Brother, why are you spacing out again?" Jeanne put down her fork, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "If you're too tired, let's do it another day..."

“No, it’s nothing.” Reaching across the table, Horn pressed down on Jeanne’s hand. “Sorry, you look so beautiful tonight, I was mesmerized.”

(End of this chapter)