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Chapter 171 The Absolutely 'Rational' Believer in Machinery [Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets]

[Late at night, in the steam city of Shangcheng District]

[Gear Church, Pendulum Church]

Inside the church, a group of clergy members of the Mechanicus cult were kneeling on prayer mats, devoutly praying.

Unlike the usual hundreds of people, the number of believers in the church is now significantly smaller.

Because of the 'trial' that took place during the day.

Not only other non-church members within the Steam City began to doubt their Gear Church.

Even many people within the church have begun to waver in their faith.

They were unconcerned that Bishop Clyvi and Saint Euphemia were secretly controlling the transactions in the lower city.

Because 'money' is an important tool for accessing the 'temple of knowledge', as explained in the doctrines of the Mechanicus.

What they really cared about was how these two treated the Silver Knight Vivian.

That holy one who was blessed before the mechanical altar, and who was more devout than these 'dull ones'.

Instead of dying in the sacred pursuit of 'knowledge,' we will die in the tedious and corrupt power struggles.

This is undoubtedly a great humiliation and defilement for believers in the mechanical religion who revere knowledge, believe in machines and reason.

Ironically, the ones who did all this were Bishop Krivie and Saint Euphemia, whose souls were closest to the 'God of Machines' in the current branch of the Cult of Machines, the Gear Church.

Even they were corrupted by the desires of reality, their 'reason' was tainted.

So what exactly did the 'reason' they prayed for day and night and painstakingly sought become?
Because of this, even though only half a day had passed...

However, the Gear Church has now split into three factions.

One faction was the powerful faction led by Bishop Clementi and Euphemia.

One faction was the 'purification faction,' which was spontaneously organized and felt that the two had violated the doctrine.

As for the last faction, it was the 'neutral faction' led by the Golden Knight Fisher, who neither supported nor opposed it.

The people praying inside the Great Bell Church today are the 'Purificationists'.

The one with the highest status and the strongest power was none other than the Silver Knight Per, who had been sent by Bishop Clevy to the Steam Branch not long ago to ask the Heavenly Dao for Vivian.

After completing all his prayers, Per stood up and silently walked to the mechanical bell in the center of the church.

He gazed at the mechanical clock, made up of thousands of meshing gears, and pulled hard on the pendulum connected by an alloy chain.

Boom, boom, boom!

After three chimes.

The clergy on the prayer mats all stood up.

The nun pulled off her hood and picked up a dagger.

The priest unholstered the gun and pulled out the steam pistol.

Each of them had a flame burning in their eyes, a sacred flame determined to burn away the impurity.

Tonight, they will uphold their faith and purify the unclean things in their own way.

But before they could even leave the church with the large pendulum clock...

A series of dull, metallic footsteps came from outside the church.

The believers turned their heads in unison, and what came into view was a tall figure wearing golden armor.

"Commander Fischer"

Upon recognizing the newcomer, Silver Knight Per and the other mechanical believers in the church bowed in respect.

Some believers looked at Fischer with boundless fervor.

Because among the three highest authorities of the current Gear Church, Fischer is not only the only one who has not betrayed his own beliefs.

At the same time, he was the only saint among all those present who had been to the 'Cult of the Machine God' and stepped into the 'Realm of God'.

Looking at the group of people, Fisher said nothing, but calmly walked towards Per.

Amidst the fervent gazes of the crowd, Fischer walked up to Per and calmly said, "Per, you've crossed the line."

"Out of bounds?"

Per looked up abruptly, the visor of his silver armor snapping open to reveal his face, flushed with excitement. "The Knights are here to protect the faith, not to be watchdogs in power struggles!"

"That's their business."

Fisher coldly interrupted Per without giving him a chance to continue.

"The Knights are tools of the central authority, and tools do not need to have their own thoughts."

"Therefore, no one has the right to take action against a bishop or saint before the central command issues an order."

Even if their actions blaspheme the doctrine?

"You have no right to define doctrine."

Upon hearing this, Per opened his mouth, wanting to refute several times.

But when he met Fisher's cold and rational eyes, he swallowed his words and knelt down.

"Yes, esteemed Commander Fischer, I understand."

Seeing that Per had understood and corrected his mistake in time.

Fisher immediately turned around, intending to get the other believers around him to stop this obviously erroneous behavior that was 'against established procedures'.

But just then, a whooshing sound came from behind him.

That's the distinctive, piercing hiss of a steam saw blade when it's activated!
Without turning his head, Fisher's left hand shot out like lightning, precisely grasping the teeth of the saw blade behind him.

The sharp serrations cut relentlessly across his golden glove, sparks flying onto his armor only to be repelled mercilessly.

Fisher turned around, his face calmly bathed in the flying sparks, and said, "Perl, you have fallen."

"Fallen?"

Upon hearing this, Per burst into laughter as if he had heard a joke.

"The ones who have fallen are those two parasites who used 'power' to taint 'faith,' and you, a foolish believer who watched the doctrine being trampled on and remained unmoved!"

"Purification! Whether it's you or those two, they all must be purified!"

"Purification?"

Fisher tilted his head slightly, and a cold glint of light shone through the gap in his helmet.

"With your soul now devoid of 'reason' and filled with rage?"

"Listen, Fisher, listen to the roar of the machine spirit within me! It is conveying its fury to you traitors!"

Per screamed hysterically, the steam engine in his chest roaring under overload.

Having said that, Per increased the pressure in his hand, trying to break Fischer's palm and let divine purification descend upon this incorrigible believer.

However, his so-called "mecha-spirit roar" could not bridge the huge gap in strength between him and Fisher.

boom!
Without any fancy moves, Fisher simply raised his fist and slammed it into Per's visor.

Click!

Per's silver helmet exploded like an eggshell, and a large amount of dark red blood mixed with brain matter splattered all around the church, staining the mural depicting the creation of the world by the mechanical god not far away.

Moments later, Per's headless body fell to the ground with a thud.

The steam saw blade in his hand continued to operate until the last bit of steam was released before it finally stopped.

Fisher shook the blood off his fist, and the bloodstains on his golden armor were washed away with steam at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After doing all this, he looked at Per's corpse, his tone completely calm.

“A fallen person like you, whose soul is devoured by ‘sensibility,’ cannot hear the voice of the machine soul.”

After saying that, Fischer turned back to look at the others in the church.

He had assumed that without Per as their leader, the remaining people would quickly regain their 'rationality'.

However, he underestimated the group's 'faith' and even more so the extent to which they had become corrupted by 'sentiment'.

Not only were these people not afraid of him, they slowly stood up.

"It seems there are even more people who need purification now."

(End of this chapter)