Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 659 The Sanctuary's Conspiracy

"Isaac was originally an Investigator, but after that incident he joined the Firemoth, while Jules was originally a Mechanic of the Mechanicus, but after that incident he joined the Candlelight Society."

"By the way, both of them are dual-path, and they are the only two dual-path in the world."

"However, that was a long time ago and has nothing to do with the present. But these past few days have been the days when the Candlelight Society's [Investigators] went to Dream City for their rotation."

"A troop rotation? Oh, I've heard there are a lot of superhumans stationed over there. Is this the second time?"

“Every three years, a new batch of investigators will be stationed there. Once they arrive, the previous investigators will go back and calculate that the new batch of investigators should be ready to depart soon.”

"You mean Isaac might have gone to investigate the Dream City? Infiltrated among the [Investigators] who were on rotation?"

"Given Mr. Isaac's cautious nature, only this matter could have made him risk his life. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any trace of him."

Erwin shrugged.

"Ah!" Gaia suddenly exclaimed, startling the two of them.

"What's wrong, Gaia?"

Zoe and Erwin looked over with some concern, but Gaia didn't react; she just stood there blankly.

After a while, she stiffly turned her head.

"You just said the investigators have already set off?"

"right"

"They'll be leaving today, and by tomorrow they should be far from Rhine. The investigators who are being relieved won't set off until they reach Dream City. In other words, there aren't many investigators left in Rhine City right now?"

"And tomorrow."

"It's the Mechanical Sanctuary, a banquet with His Holiness the Pope."

All the anomalies seemed to have an explanation: the Mechanical Sanctuary's stalling was a way to buy time and force them to attend tomorrow's banquet.

The banquet was scheduled for tomorrow because the defenses for the candlelight vigil would be at their weakest, and the Pope also needed to attend the banquet due to an agreement with the Castells delegation.

Since the Pope is attending, other high-ranking church officials are likely to show up as well. It's safe to say that most of the candlelight vigils will be present in the banquet hall tomorrow.

All three broke out in a cold sweat. They had initially thought it was just infighting between churches, but now it seemed like an armed coup.
The Mechanical Sanctuary is indeed much weaker than the Candlelight in terms of raw power, but if it's just about carrying out decapitations, they definitely have enough people.

If the Candlelight Society's top brass is wiped out, and the Investigator, who is the backbone of the organization, is absent, then the Mechanical Sanctuary could actually take over Rhineland in the chaos if they act quickly enough.

If they control the Rhine, the heart of the empire, then the Mechanicus will truly be able to rival the Candlelight Order.

Even if the investigators abandon Dream City, the superhumans alone cannot conquer it. Instead, they can mobilize military forces from other regions of the Candlelight Society, allowing the Mechanical Sanctuary to take the opportunity to absorb the entire Rhineland and restart factories and production lines.

Then, with this tall and sturdy "city of miracles," it's not impossible to defend it.
No one in the room spoke, but the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy.

"Mr. Erwin, this news..."

"It was brought by the Ash Alliance. They have spies in the Candlelight Society. The rotation of investigators is a top-secret matter, so the Mechanical Temple shouldn't know about it."

"So the Ash Alliance can get their hands on that?" Zoe asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Have you forgotten where the members of the Ash Alliance come from?" Erwin smiled wryly. "The Firemoths are skilled in infiltration and stealth, and among them, they are best at infiltrating the Candlelight Society, their old rival. It's not surprising that they were able to get information from them."

"."

"Then what should we do? Gaia, if you were from the Mechanical Sanctuary, how would you carry out the decapitation plan?" "Plant dozens of tons of explosives in the banquet hall and send the Pope, her guards, and the entire church to heaven," Gaia said without hesitation.

Zoe's eye twitched.

"However, if the Mechanical Sanctuary really gains an absolute advantage, it may be able to control the intensity of the conflict. A single volley could actually solve the problem. We tested it in Castel. The Investigator couldn't withstand the Dragon Breath Cannon, and even a volley of large-caliber muskets couldn't withstand it."

"So...we're going to expose this?"

It's a good thing that candlelight vigils are going to happen, but they don't want to go with it.

“No, this is an opportunity,” Erwin suddenly interjected. “If the Mechanicus really takes control of the Rhine Empire, it will be tantamount to another split.”

Indeed, the Empire is currently dominated by the Candlelight Church. If the Mechanicus succeeds in decapitating and controlling the Rhine, then regardless of whether the Candlelight Church can subsequently reclaim the Rhine, the entire Empire will be plunged into war and unable to take care of itself.

Castells will find it no harder to conquer the Empire than to conquer the North.

Gaia and Zoe were both somewhat tempted after hearing this.

After all, what they need is the technology of the Mechanical Sanctuary, which can be traded for with steam rifles, or the expeditionary force can be sent to obtain it.

"So our best course of action is to pretend we don't know and wait and see, but that will cause a problem."

The three of them looked at each other.

"We will be in great danger."

“No, Zoe and I are both superhumans. Even if there’s an explosion, we can escape if we prepare in advance. But you’re just a mortal. If a real battle breaks out, you’ll probably have a hard time surviving.” Gaia looked at Erwin.

Erwin smiled slightly: "That's not entirely true."

Castells and his companions readily accepted the invitation to the mechanical sanctuary's banquet.

Castells were flattered by the personal audience with Pope Joan and decided to present gifts as a gesture of goodwill.

This batch of gifts was quite substantial, with the list alone spanning several pages. Erwin personally directed the Guardians of the Faith to unload the goods from the airship, working all day long, and they were still not finished when the banquet began.

Fortunately, he was only a military officer, so his absence from the banquet was not considered impolite, while Zoe and Gaia attended in full regalia.

Looking at the lights that were lighting up in the distance, Erwin squinted.

"Keep the airship stationary on the ground. Don't shut down the steam engine. Make sure the fuel is fully replenished. Calm the machine spirit in advance. If there is an emergency, the airship must be able to lift off immediately!"

Erwin gave instructions to the stoker in a low voice.

"What should we do with these gifts?" asked the friar standing nearby.

Erwin included almost all the goods brought from the airship in the gift list. Strictly speaking, they were not slow in moving the cargo, as there was quite a lot to unload.

"Move! Unload everything. If the Mechanical Sanctuary comes to inspect, let them take it away. It'll be good for the airship's load. Prepare more sandbags for temporary ballast. If there's any situation, just jettison them for a quick ascent."

"Is there going to be something going on, Captain Erwin?"

Erwin narrowed his eyes, looking at the brightly lit square in the distance, and did not answer.

The faint sound of a musician singing could be heard.

The banquet began.

(End of this chapter)