When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 987 Ether Vibration Experiment
Originally, the Northern Pope, the Southern Pope, and the Holy Alliance Pope were in the sky for three days, maintaining a three-way balance of power.

However, after the destruction of the Holy Throne City, everyone was shocked and also discovered that the situation within the empire had undergone tremendous changes.

With the loss of the Northern Pope as the biggest target, the stable structure of the three popes has become unbalanced.

Regardless of what Grandiva thinks, he has to challenge the Holy Alliance to prove his legitimacy.

In fact, regarding Grandiva's self-proclaimed title of Pope and his use of the title in diplomatic documents, as well as his address of Horn as Patriarch of the Thousand Rivers Valley.

Horn's attitude has always been, "What can I say? I have no opinion."

But Grandiva went too far, demanding that Horn also be called Patriarch within the Holy Alliance and that the title of Pope be abolished.

Even if Horn were willing, the Holy Alliance would not be.

This is a legal issue.

If Fran can arbitrarily change the legal doctrines of the Holy Alliance, then the Holy Alliance is no different from Fran's vassal state.

Legal principles are also part of sovereignty, and Horne will never allow that.

As for Grandiva's actions, if he took a moment to think about it, he would know that Charles VIII and Lorenzo were definitely behind it.

Ultimately, their actions stemmed from the fact that the Battle of Windmill Lands was over, and Fran did not want to actually go to war with the Royal Court.

In order to control the empire, the next step for the Franco would inevitably be to relocate the Papacy to the Franco Kingdom.

To the French, this was a foregone conclusion.

Opposition to the pope is not uncommon in the history of the empire.

However, there are generally two options: if one party dies, the other party inherits the inheritance; or if one party dies, a new election is held.

The only difference is that this time there are three opposing popes.

Although the former Pope Priano left a will, the will's holder, Celi, disappeared.

The Holy Alliance Pope is a joke. Priano beat the Holy Alliance Pope to a pulp in the Thousand River Valley. Would he really pass it on to him?
As for the papacy, all the cardinals in the north were swept away in Cancun, the Holy See!
Wouldn't that just mean the French still seize the papacy?
That's absolutely right. Despite the fact that it's a bit unethical, many Franzians still secretly gave the Flesh and Blood Kingdom a thumbs up.

With the Council of El in Windmill Land under their control, and the Papacy under their control, Charles VIII could naturally wear the imperial crown.

The only problem is that the triple crown has been lost, which makes the title of Pope of the South somewhat ambiguous.

At this point, Pope Horn became rather conspicuous.

Just then, their troops withdrew from Windmill Country, and if Horn did not express his opinion or object, they would deploy the army to exert maximum pressure.

Whether the Holy Alliance fights or backs down, it will be extremely advantageous for Fran.

Horn was still at a loss when it came to the discussion about this matter.

Given the current strength and resources of the Holy Alliance, he is not afraid to fight the Francans.

But what about trade if we go to war with the French?

The United Nations' thriving national power and a series of development plans are bound to be affected.

After much deliberation, Horn issued four orders:

First, politically, contact shareholders associated with the spice and sugar companies to create momentum within France to obstruct the project.

Secondly, economically, we should open up sea routes to the frontier and Norn as soon as possible, and try to establish trade routes with the Flesh and Blood Kingdom.

Third, in diplomacy, they allied with the Norn and courted the El people to jointly target the Farrons.

Fourth, militarily, garrison units will be deployed to the front lines and border areas to prevent a potential military conflict.

Anyway, there's still some time before things escalate, and Fran is quite hesitant to act against the Holy Alliance, so he still has time to plan and strategize.

Of course, it would be best to carry out a small-scale, low-intensity "special sergeant operation" on the border.

This will let the Franco people know that the Holy Alliance is not Leia.

As for the current priority, it is still to visit Black Snake Bay and try to unravel the mystery of the Star-Forged Gear.

At this moment, the wolf girl had overcome her psychological barrier and was able to go out.

Ottila assured Horn that Cynthia would not harm the wolf girl, and only then did Horn prepare to go see her.

As the clock struck midnight in 1454, nearly twenty witches were drunk inside the Mechanical Palace.

As before, fueled by alcohol, the four saints began their usual routine, forcing Horn to sleep in the Holy See Building. The next day's Pravda, of course, didn't report Horn's predicament; instead, it reported that Grandiva demanded Horn relinquish his papacy.

The news quickly spread through the taverns and bars of the streets.

Some defeatists lamented, "When was the Holy Alliance ever a match for the French?"

Despite their repeated victories in war, people were not very confident when facing a large country like France.

The 120,000-strong standing army of the Guanglan people is more than three times that of the Holy Alliance. At its peak, the Holy Alliance's military strength never exceeded 60,000.

Moreover, after the fall of the Holy See, Charles VIII, through the name of King Gigi, recruited seven or eight decrees to join the Franco-François.

In politics, economics, and military affairs, the Holy Alliance is no match for them.

As for those who advocate winning at mahjong, they say, "His Majesty the Holy Grandson wins every day, every time, so why can't he win this time?"

Regardless of what people say, Horn simply does his own thing.

Soon it was February 1454. The ice and snow melted, leaving only half-white and half-black remnants of snow on the streets and grass.

Horn found the wolf girl Sylph three days before departure, as scheduled.

However, as soon as he arrived, he saw that Shilov had dug two pools in the yard and built sheds over them.

When Horn approached, he saw that there were two star-forged gears of the same size floating in the pool.

Sitting in her wheelchair, Shilov held a form and continued gesturing to the researchers.

"What is this?" Horn leaned close to Sylph's ear, looking at the data on it.

Shilov's ears perked up before she slowly replied, "Didn't I say before that clocks run slow? This question might be more difficult than I thought."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because the clock's error is not due to mechanical movement, but most likely due to etheric vibrations..."

"vibration?"

“Yes, it’s vibration.” Seeing that Horn still looked confused, the wolf girl pulled out a piece of paper and explained to him.

Whether it's the clock slowing down, peat extraction, or hollow soil extraction, besides conditions such as temperature, pressure, and catalysts, the fundamental factor that triggers the alchemical reaction is alchemy.

So how does alchemy affect peat or hollow soil from a distance?

After the appearance of the Ether Spire, although it could not be completely confirmed, alchemists and wizards could generally confirm that it was Ether.

In this respect, the school of legal mechanics wins hands down.

But soon, they faced a new problem—how does ether transmit magic? Is it magic or ether that affects alchemical substances?

Most importantly, how do we observe it?
This problem has also troubled the Legalist school for centuries.

But coincidentally, the Holy Mechanism actually has something that can store ether and convert it into mechanical motion—the Starforged Gear.

"So I designed an experiment, fixing the fully charged star-forged gear in a pool of water, and then having the alchemist visualize it and use various alchemical spells on it."

Simultaneously, an uncharged star-forged gear was placed in another pool, also using the alchemical formula.

Then, we sprinkled small particles coated with fluorescent developer onto the water surface and observed the ripple morphology and propagation distance of the particles.

If the ether can vibrate, the alchemical formula will stimulate its resonance, causing concentric ripples to appear on the water surface, and the ripples will travel a significantly longer distance than the control group…

"Does this mean..." Horn's look of surprise had just appeared on his face when he was interrupted by the wolf girl.

"It cannot be definitively explained, and the current experiments have no results. Either the ether cannot vibrate, or the current alchemical formula cannot resonate with the star-forged gear."

Horn's face fell: "Can you please stop saying only half of what you mean every time?"

Shilov rolled her eyes at him: "Don't be so impatient, okay? We definitely need to try it slowly."

"How long will it take?" Horn tried to rub Sylph's ears, but she headbutted him in the stomach.

After straightening her clothes, Shilov proudly raised her head, her cheeks flushed: "By the time we get back, the experiment should have results."

If there's still no result by then, I'll have the dreamless ones undergo divination to speed things up. Hopefully, this trip to Black Serpent Bay won't be a waste.

Moreover, Shilov added in her mind, this was the first time the two of them had traveled alone together.

(End of this chapter)