Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 629 Military Control
Less than half a month after leaving Grace, I returned to find the place completely transformed.

Ismail thought he was prepared to face any shock, but when he actually passed through the broken and collapsed city gates and entered the holy city, he was still speechless from the shock of what he saw.

The sky was completely shrouded in leaden-gray clouds, and the air was filled with a pungent, acrid smell... It was the unique smell of the dragon flame powder burning intensely, mixed with the stench of rust, probably the black liquid and blood left behind by the fallen alien warriors.

The entire city can no longer be described as ruins; not a single intact building remains. The houses and streets look as if they have been neatly and evenly raked by a giant plow, with only waist-high walls and foundations still intact.

Giant circular craters, several meters in diameter, were visible everywhere on the ground... These were the distinctive marks left by the explosions of the alchemical weapons of the Saint Valens. Just by looking at the charred remains and fragments of corpses that had not yet been cleared from the craters, one could roughly imagine how terrifying the power of these weapons was.

Captain Farrell and the intelligence officer nicknamed Beetle met them again at the city gate... This time they brought with them the detailed contents of the "Gatekeeper Agreement" and a group of civilian officials surrounded by soldiers.

"Your Excellencies, after the agreement is signed, we will register all church personnel residing in Goris in accordance with its contents, so as to facilitate the distribution of relief supplies and daily security management."

Ismail clenched his fists, which were hidden in his robe sleeves, and after a moment, he muttered to himself with a self-deprecating tone, "They're not going to put us in shackles and force us into labor, are they?"

The intelligence officer, "Beetle," chuckled and muttered, "Making church personnel, who have never engaged in production, do the work? That would be a waste of time and effort... You can neither operate alchemical machinery nor use modern tools, so you probably won't be assigned any work."

The other person's tone was clearly laced with undisguised sarcasm, but everything they said was true. Ismail and Rivera stood there awkwardly, heads bowed and silent.

Upon hearing this, the knights of the Inquisition who were attending the bishop gripped their swords tightly at their waists, looking as if they were barely suppressing their anger... but under the intimidation of the silver magic spears in the hands of those black-clad soldiers, none of them dared to easily draw their swords.

"Considering that there may still be lizardmen who have managed to escape the bombing and are hiding in the ruins... the Church's armed forces are temporarily allowed to remain. You can discuss and decide on your own how to gradually clear out the remaining alien races in various areas of the Holy City. We will be responsible for guarding the north and south gates to ensure that no enemy escapes."

It sounds no different from putting dogs in cages to fight... This is probably the main purpose of the Saint Valen people: to keep the remaining forces of the church in the ruins of the holy city and fight against the scattered enemies roaming the city. While the two sides wear each other down, it can also serve as a gatekeeper and sentry, replacing the garrison to keep an eye on the movements deep in the Saint's Gap and prevent the Demon Lizardmen from breaking through the blockade and making a comeback.

"You don't need to worry about the winged beings roaming around the area. The reconnaissance airships of the Kingdom's western war zone will patrol regularly, and the entire area around the Holy City will be under air traffic control surveillance."

The deeper meaning of these words is also quite clear—the airships are not only for monitoring alien races. Once they discover any unusual activity from the remnants of the church in the Holy City, those terrifying alchemical weapons will likely not hesitate to launch another artillery barrage against the ruins of Goris.

Ismail closed his eyes, took out a small gold seal from his pocket, and without even looking at the detailed terms of the agreement, directly stamped the cardinal's seal on the signature.

“We need food, regular medicine... and firewood for heating. There are many young infants among the believers. Could we... could we trade the horses of the Judgement Knights for some dairy cattle and sheep?”

Farrell nodded and smiled, "Completely reasonable request. We will also provide some extra tents for your temporary use. The city should have no shortage of building materials for constructing houses. If you have any additional requests... just send someone to the city gate checkpoints to inform our sentries." According to the agreement, the Northern Army would not enter the Holy City. Although the number of sentries guarding the north and south city gates was small, their job was clearly more like that of "jailers."

Ismail was unwilling to say anything more. After bowing slightly and touching his chest in greeting, he led the Inquisition Knights into the city first. The believers and civilians who followed closely behind, under the command of the Northern Army soldiers, formed a long line of people and slowly made their way into the city with a panicked expression.

……

After passing through the dilapidated main streets of the city, we soon arrived at the edge of the ruins of the Church of Divine Grace, which had collapsed into a deep pit.

Ismail walked heavily to the pile of rubble, raised his hand and touched a fragment of a bronze bell the size of a door... This was the morning bell that used to hang high on the church spire, ringing precisely at sunrise every day.

Looking around, the square in front of the Cathedral of Divine Grace is full of potholes, and the cracks in the broken stone slabs still show traces of blood. Not long ago, the Divine Punishment Faction must have relied on the cathedral to gather a large number of soldiers and believers to defend this place.

They did indeed keep their promise and were prepared to sacrifice themselves to defend the Holy City to the death...

"In accordance with His Holiness the Pope's final instructions, our primary task now is to re-elect a third cardinal and appoint the Knight Commander of the Radiant Knights as the new Chief Inquisitor to lead the remaining forces to maintain order and ensure the safety of the believers."

Ismail took a deep breath, seemingly regaining his composure, unaffected by the humiliating imprisonment agreement he had been forced to sign. "Now we can only rely on ourselves to fight against the remnants of the alien race that are still rampaging in the city, and to gradually purify the holy city that has been defiled by the alien race... Although Goris was destroyed in the war, the Cathedral of Divine Grace, which represents our devout faith and indomitable will, will never collapse in our hearts."

He paused, looking at Rivera, whose expression was equally complex, and said, "This must be the final test that God has given us. I hope that you will all hold fast to your faith and continue the last flame of the Holy See with me."

The high-ranking knights surrounding him all knelt on one knee, swore allegiance to the cardinal who was temporarily assuming the papacy, and then closed their eyes, bowed their heads, and prayed loudly.

Ismail and Rivera exchanged a glance, but did not choose to join them in praying to the gods.

A low hum could be heard from the sky in the distance from time to time; it was the sound of the Saint Valen people's magic airships patrolling and scouting overhead.

As always, the ethereal deity has never answered the prayers of believers…

From now on, they will have to rely on themselves.

(End of this chapter)