Magic Industrial Age.

Chapter 440, Section 438: The Church Visitors (Bonus Chapter 7)

The Church of the Sun God still has some sense of shame!

As the vanguard of the opposition to the Seven Gods and the Magic Energy Machinery, if they came under the guise of inspecting and researching Magic Energy Machinery, they would have no way to explain themselves to outsiders or to their own people.

Therefore, their excuse was to teach sacred combat techniques.

Loy wanted the Holy-type Cataclysmic Battle Techniques, and the Church of the Sun God was forced to agree, so let's give them to him!

Not only should we give, but we should give openly and honestly!

Therefore, the Church of the Sun God sent a larger number of people this time, a total of two hundred.

Nearly half of them were mechanical sorcerers recruited by the church.

The Church of the Sun God is that generous; if they wanted to, recruiting a group of mechanical mages would be an easy task.

Among these hundreds of mechanical mages, the leader was even a fourth-tier mechanical calamity, Gendal Herik.

In terms of knowledge reserves and deep accumulation, that's absolutely true.

This is also the only fourth-tier mechanical mage among all the members of the inspection team.

This alone demonstrates the strength of the Church of the Sun God, which is far superior to that of the three great empires.

Their arrival required even Roy to be on guard; in addition to Lord Hick Cruz, Roy himself personally came forward.

He could even sense that the other party was not so much observing as recording, evaluating, and planning something.

Luo Yi disliked this feeling and even reduced the originally planned inspection items again and again, trying to show them as little useful information as possible.

As for the remaining hundred people, they were priests, clergy, and bishops of various ranks.

They were clearly divided into three factions, the largest having nearly fifty members and the smallest having twenty.

Attitudes toward magical machines vary; some are clearly disgusted, some are fearful yet curious, and others are intrigued.

However, while touring the factory, they actually spent most of their time among the crowd, spreading the word with the flowers.

Or rather, proselytizing was secondary; they were more interested in examining the faith of the Flower Leader's followers.

Luo Yi guessed that they most likely wanted to find fault with him and frame him for betraying the sun god and siding with the Church of the Seven Gods.

Unfortunately, Roy has always been cautious about matters of faith.

Besides, this is the parish of the sun god, the place where the red dragon Virgil shepherds.

Because Virgil the Red Dragon was not a harsh person to begin with, he even delegated the right to collect taxes to the Raymond family.

Therefore, the people here did not feel oppression from the Church of the Sun God, nor did the Church of the Seven Gods come to preach their faith.

Therefore, most of them are traditional believers in the light and are very devout.

These priests of the sun god were initially aggressive and seemed intent on causing trouble.

But after some investigation, they were all dumbfounded, and even they themselves were confused.

The most classic Q&A is basically like this.

The priest asked, "Why are you, a devout believer in the Lord, still working in a mechanical field?"

The believer retorted, "Just because I work here, does that mean I can't have faith in the Lord?"

The priest asked again, "Is that alright?"

The believer continued to ask, "Isn't it possible?"

It was a very simple difference in understanding, but it happened more than once. The believers' frank and devout questions left the priests dumbfounded.

May I?
is it not OK?

It seems, perhaps, maybe, it's not impossible?
It's worth mentioning that many people came, but they did not reside in the Temple of the Sun God.

Instead, they booked two large hotels in the city and paid a substantial fee.

Of course, if it were only this, it could be explained by the fact that the temple was not large enough to house so many people.

However, afterwards, the members of the inspection team had no contact with the local church at all; it felt as if the other party did not exist.

Clearly, the church's higher-ups knew Virgil's true identity.
But what can you expect them to do when an ancient red dragon insists on becoming a regional bishop, and even rises through the ranks step by step?
Legends are like nuclear bombs, a deterrent force, so of course we have to find ways to contain them.

Finally, the head of this expedition, one of the twelve cardinals, His Holiness Saint John Stuart.

This is the youngest cardinal to date, and also the youngest legend in the Church.

He had no clear inclinations and rarely got involved in any of the three major factions within the church.

However, there are rumors that he is in charge of the Inquisition within the church, and is the shadow judge feared by countless people in the underworld.

But this is just a rumor, and even within the church, few people can confirm the identity of the chief judge.

The reason he led the team was probably because of his affiliation with no faction. Of course, if someone without a faction can rise to a high position, it means he has a stronger backing.

Stuart is also the surname of the current pope.

Therefore, in a sense, he is the embodiment of the Pope's will.

Of course, being called the youngest cardinal doesn't mean he's actually young; as a legend, he's already three hundred years old this year.

Hmm, a three-hundred-year-old young man!
October 26, 314 of the New Divine Calendar, the ruins of Lion Castle.

A fit and strong man who looked to be only in his thirties stood there.

He raised his arms, and nearby, a black-robed bishop busied himself removing his red robes—a symbol of luxury and power—folding them neatly, and placing them on the carriage beside him.

Then there was the crown on her head, made of gold and adorned with gemstones, and the various rings and accessories on her body.

In the end, he was dressed in a loose white robe, holding a long sword, and strode forward.

From this perspective, he seems no different from an ordinary person, and doesn't even have much of the aura that a strong person should have. Instead, he has the composure of a scholar and the unruliness of a wandering knight.

He twirled his longsword and looked at Luo Yi, saying, "If you want a divine combat technique, of course you can."

However, not just anyone can learn sacred combat techniques; you must prove your worth.

"Don't worry, I won't use the competition to kill you, and the old dragon behind you won't be happy about it either."

I won't use any superhuman holy power, but you, if you have the guts to fight me and show your strength, I'll give you everything you want.

Luo Yi stood against the wind, her expression serious: "So, you want to back out?"

"No, no, no, if you can't satisfy me, I'll give you whatever you want."

"What if I don't want to fight?"

"I will give it to you, but believe me, you'll regret it!"

Saint John Stuart still wore a warm smile: "Over the years, the Church has accumulated combat skills beyond your imagination."

But combat skills—what belongs to others will always remain theirs; only your own talents will help you reach the pinnacle.

"So, show me what you've got. Let me see what makes you think you're qualified to covet the church's secrets?"

"Alright, let's have a fight!"

Luo Yi understood that some things are unavoidable, and he had no intention of avoiding them.

After all this time, he really wanted to see how far he was from becoming a legendary figure after reaching the fourth rank!

As the fighting spirit filled the air and an invisible aura swept across the entire castle ruins, the onlookers all paled and silently retreated.

The two men walked closer and closer, each carrying a sword. Their steps were slow, but they gave the impression of two enormous figures rapidly pressing in and closing in on each other.

No one expected that Saint John Stuart would be the first to strike in this battle.

His longsword emitted a hazy, milky-white holy light. With a single slash, three blades of fighting spirit danced and crisscrossed, clearing a path for him.

He took a step and quickly followed, like a gust of wind.

Luo Yi's body exploded with golden-red battle aura. She slashed out with her sword, the battle aura cutting a hundred meters away, seemingly about to cut her opponent in half.

The two sides clashed with their fighting spirit, producing a series of clanging sounds, followed by an even more intense clash of metal.

At this moment, the two sides seemed like swordsmen, engaging in a sword fight.

Upon closer inspection, their swordsmanship styles are also completely different.

His Majesty Saint John Stuart used some kind of secret swordsmanship, with a complete lineage.

Its characteristics are that it is gorgeous, dazzling, and radiant, yet extremely dangerous.

It feels like dancing a waltz, with almost no gaps between the movements.

Once you fall into the opponent's rhythm, you're like an insect caught in a spider's web; the more you struggle, the faster you die.

Unfortunately, Luo Yi was not an insect, but a man-eating beast.

He had learned many sword techniques, and many of these techniques had been calculated and refined by Deep Blue, thus becoming integrated into his style.

Ultimately, it has only one characteristic: practicality!

He can be flamboyant, swift, mysterious, and ruthless—these are his styles, yet they are not his styles.

He wanted only one result: to kill the enemy with the fastest speed, the simplest method, and the least amount of effort.

Therefore, although his swordsmanship may not appear fluid, each strike forces his enemies to find a way to save themselves.

He even pulled out the flame gun in his left hand after Saint-John Stuart increased his battle aura output.

With a pistol in his left hand and a sword in his right, his swordsmanship is ever-changing. His pistol is like a venomous snake. Even a legendary figure as powerful as him can only fight to a draw in terms of swordsmanship.

But at this moment, His Holiness Saint John Stuart finally lost his patience.

He let out a low shout, and milky white battle aura suddenly surged up, while icy blue frost spread, as if everything around him had been frozen.

Then, he kicked Luo Yi.

At this moment, Luo Yi also unleashed her battle aura, and golden-red holy flames exploded, transforming into raging flames, thus dispelling the frost's slowing power.

But that kick was a solid, hard one.

Then, he flew out and crashed directly into a pile of ruins, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"If this is all the fighting power you have, then I'm overestimating you."

These were the words of Saint John Stuart, and his eyes seemed to hold a hint of disappointment.

But the next second, a heartbeat like a drumbeat came out, and inexplicable ripples spread out.

Then countless fragments of rock exploded, and amidst the golden-red sacred flames, Luo Yi leaped into the air.

With a powerful slash of his longsword, a battle qi slash at least a thousand meters long shot out, seemingly about to split the heavens and earth in two.

　First update today!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)