Fool's Library

The Iron Cross Patriarch glanced at the other party, his words tinged with fear, even horror: "Not only limbs, but even core parts like the heart are subjected to flesh and blood modifications."

Previously, in order to verify the other party's identity, he had visited the so-called "Mechanical Flesh Cult" under Ophelia's guidance—those cyborgs were all madmen who wished they could transform their entire bodies into iron.

As a follower of the Iron Cross, whose creed was based on the sadism, destruction, and trampling of other living beings, he thought his faith was twisted enough... even among cults, it could be considered the most perverted.

However, compared to the madman before him who had replaced his entire flesh and blood with machinery, the Patriarch of the Iron Cross found himself to be somewhat insignificant.

Faced with this hard, solid lump of iron... he didn't even have the mood to open his heart, which he usually loved most.

After all, who knows whether what will be removed will be a fresh heart or a miniature nuclear fusion reactor that could explode at any moment?

……

Inside a quiet yet heavily guarded courtyard in the capital city.

A deep blue screen stretched out on the table, using the astral plane as a medium and wide area network communication to project the scene seen by the mechanical doll in real time.

At the table sat a young girl with medium-length brown hair, wearing a Western-style dress, and with a face as delicate as a porcelain doll... She watched the screen while adjusting her mental energy according to the real-time images, making subtle adjustments to the movements of the bionic mechanical doll to make it look more agile and more like a living human being.

To control a metal puppet to such a lifelike degree that it rivals a real person requires immense mental strength from the operator.

Therefore, this was something only the genius mechanic Ophelia could do, and it also placed a considerable burden on her.

But this involves a conspiracy targeting her own sister, and the boy that Ophelia secretly admires... Ophelia has no choice but to force herself to stay alert and continue playing the role of the "leader of the mechanical flesh and blood cult" in order to gather more information.

However, Ophelia's intelligence investigation also encountered a bottleneck here.

"Although I successfully obtained the position of leader of a small religious order."

"But ultimately, they were too low-ranking in those cults to participate in the meetings led by the tomb keepers, and they had no way of knowing the specific details of those people's plans?"

Ophelia sighed softly.

She picked up a cup of coffee from the table, took a small sip... and felt the bitter taste of the coffee spreading on her tongue, taking over her entire taste buds.

"I said, why do you sigh all day long at such a young age?"

"If you keep sighing like this, your soul, which you've finally managed to purify, will become impure again. What will happen to my meal ticket then?"

On the girl's shoulder, a huge ferret yawned and patted Ophelia's shoulder with its fluffy tail.

"The investigation by the undercover agents has encountered some problems and has temporarily stalled... I only know that those cults are preparing to launch an operation against the capital, but I know nothing about the specific details."

Ophelia glanced at the Silver Dean on her shoulder.

Perhaps it was because on that day at the joint hospital between Star University and the Empire, next to the sleeping boy's ward, the two of them had cooperated to contact Rust.

Since visiting Rust in the hospital last time, Dean Yin has abandoned his original meal ticket, Akshia, and chosen to stay by Ophelia's side.

In Dean Yin's own words, this is because of the friendship and bond that arose from the fact that the two of them kept a shared secret.

But Ophelia thought it was just that the gossipy ferret had gotten restless and had come over to her for some fun.

"Is it simply because the investigation encountered difficulties?"

Dean Yin perched on Ophelia's shoulder, his ruby-like beast eyes narrowing slightly: "When you used to manipulate those nobles in the capital, no matter how difficult the situation was, you always seemed full of fighting spirit and confident of victory."

"You're already sighing and complaining over such a small obstacle?"

A wise glint flashed in the ferret's eyes: "Could it be that you're still thinking about that 'Amys' thing I told you about a few days ago?"

"I feel that the bond between the other party and Rast is too deep... I can't find even the slightest angle to defeat that Emmy?"

"If you ask me, your thinking is still too shallow and too naive." Dean Yin wagged his fluffy tail as if he wanted to stir up trouble: "Since you can't win on the emotional front, then go for the physical conquest."

"It just so happens that little Last is currently lying in a hospital bed, in a vegetative state."

"Just find a time to sneak into the ward, get under the covers and do it to him. Make it a fait accompli, and that'll be the end of it."

"You can overtake them on the spot and take a big lead over your sister and Amys."

"The ferret, as Brother Last once said, has a proverb: 'Disaster comes from the mouth.'"

Looking at Dean Yin, who was spouting terrible ideas in her ear, Ophelia's lips curled into a dangerous smile.

They didn't realize it when they weren't so familiar with each other, or even when there was a subtle mutual aversion.

But the more familiar she became with Dean Yin, the more she realized that this gossipy and talkative ferret really needed to be disciplined.

However, Ophelia's gaze shifted slightly very quickly.

On the screen displaying live video, the Iron Cross Patriarch spoke again, as if letting out a sigh of relief.

"Although the Lord has not answered my call for several years, we, as His most devout believers, must not give up."

“I am preparing to pray to the Lord again, hoping that the Lord will grant me divine revelation and answer my prayers.”

"This covert war launched against the Empire may very well determine the future world order... If the Iron Cross is excluded, then there will never be a place for us in the Western Continent."

Even so, the Iron Cross Patriarch's voice remained somewhat subdued, as if he had given up hope.

Ophelia could completely understand this.

According to the intelligence she gathered, this cult calling itself the Iron Cross has a long history... and the deity they worship seems to be the Deep Blue Harbor God who performed a divine descent in the Sixth Epoch and caused the Iron Cross Plague.

Of course, in the Seventh Era, where the Order faction now dominates, these followers of the Deep Blue Harbor evil god have also evolved with the times. Although their doctrines are still bloodthirsty and brutal, they are now able to restrain their nature when necessary, instead of indiscriminately killing and inflicting cruelty like the Iron Cross in the Sixth Era.

However, two or three years ago... that evil god of Deep Blue Harbor seemed to have been stimulated by something inexplicable, and directly severed the connection with the Western Continent of the present world at the Threshold of Blazing Heaven, no longer responding to the prayers of his believers.

Having lost the divine revelation of the Lord they believed in, and also the ability to perform miracles... the Iron Cross Order plummeted in the past two years, becoming a roadside cult on par with emerging small groups like the "Mechanical Flesh Cult".

Even many Iron Cross cult members have wavered and even abandoned their faith, leaving only a few of the most devout believers struggling to hold on.

The Iron Cross Patriarch took a sculpture from his bosom, and then skillfully produced ritual items including a spider web, lead blocks, a black iron cross, and an iron statue.

Then, he silently lowered his head and offered a simple prayer.

"The Creator of all things, the God of all gods who is all-knowing and all-powerful, the source of all greatness."

"You are one, and also ten thousand; you are the beginning, and also the end."

"You are more sublime than the starry sky, more enduring than the sun; you are a moment, and you are eternity."

"You have transcended the concepts of 'galaxy,' 'star cluster,' 'supercluster,' 'observable universe,' 'small chiliocosm,' 'medium chiliocosm,' and 'great chiliocosm.' The 'Boundless Land,' encompassing countless great chiliocosms like the sands of the Metropolis River, was created by you."

While praying fervently, the Iron Cross Patriarch suddenly slashed his wrist.

Blood splattered from his wrist, dripping onto the evil god sculpture, where wisps of white smoke rose.

“You transcend all matter, all meaning, all concepts, all spirit and language; you are the cause of all effects and the effect of all causes.”

"You are the end of the infinite box, the end of the index tower."

"You encompass all possibilities in the world, encompassing the past, present, and future, encompassing the beginning and the end... You are omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent; anything that contradicts itself logically and causally can simultaneously be true in you."

"You are beyond observation and immeasurable... There is no way to observe you, nor can you describe you. To speak of you is to err, to think of you is to fall into error. What I am describing now is merely a tiny aspect that you project after infinite dimensional reduction."

"Now, please bless your most devout believers and grant us revelation about a bright future."

……

Listening to the cult leader's devout prayers, Ophelia was momentarily dazed and stunned.

As the head of the Imperial Military's secret department and the de facto controller of the Empire's largest intelligence agency, Ophelia had also collected, and even secretly listened to, the prayers of many other cults.

However, there really isn't any other cult whose prayers are styled like those of the Iron Cross.

When other cults refer to their own evil gods, they might at most boast about something like "the ruler of the silver moon," "the incarnation of the sun," "the king of the sky, the emperor of the sea, the tyrant of natural disasters," or "the mother of the earth," and that's it.

But the things described in the prayer of this Deep Blue Harbor evil god have completely risen to another dimension—scientific terms such as galaxies, star clusters, superclusters, and the observable universe have been used.

If it weren't for the fact that being a mechanic also requires studying science and mastering the internal operating principles of many mechanical weapons... and that Ophelia herself has a high level of expertise in many disciplines, she might not even be able to understand these terms.

When did cult prayers start to look like this?

Compared to the prayers of other cults, this is like driving a Tiger tank to crush primitive people with spears and bows.

Moreover, this shameless boasting style...

For some reason, the image of a black-haired boy inexplicably appeared in Ophelia's mind.

It feels like only that person could say such absurd things with such a straight face.

Beside Ophelia, Dean Yin, who was also watching the live video screen, couldn't help but widen his eyes.

At first, I didn't feel anything, but now the more I listen, the more something seems off.

Isn't this the same kind of box-stacking rhetoric that Rast used to fool those cultists in the game instance of "The Poem of the Shorekeeper" in the Echoes of History of the Sixth Era?

That evil god of Deep Blue Harbor is shameless enough. He was clearly tricked by that kid, and now he actually stole those prayers and used them.

The thought had barely arisen...

The next moment, on the live screen.

The evil god sculpture in the hands of the Iron Cross Patriarch suddenly emitted an incomparably dazzling white light.

What followed was the ecstatic shout of the Iron Cross Patriarch.

His emotions were on the verge of spiraling out of control, and in the distorted light and shadow caused by the concealment effect of his supernatural abilities, the patriarch appeared to be in tears.

Three years! Three years!

"Lord, you have finally answered your most faithful believer... I have finally received your divine revelation again!"

Chapter 261 Patriarch: I feel a chill on my neck

As he spoke these words, the Patriarch of the Iron Cross was almost moved to tears.

So many years have passed.

Since the Lord stopped answering the prayers of believers, the Iron Cross Order has nearly fallen apart.

Within the organization, members continued to abandon their faith and leave, taking their talents to other religious groups.

They also faced immense external pressure, and could only eke out a living under the oppression of human nations such as the Granville Empire, hiding like rats in the sewers, and spending most of their time near the border, crossing over to the other side to avoid trouble whenever things got tense.

And now, his perseverance has finally paid off, and the Lord has once again answered the call of His most devout believer.

Goodbye, cage!

……

"That evil god who descended upon Deep Blue Harbor in the Sixth Epoch and caused the Iron Cross Plague has now been resurrected once again..."

"And are you preparing to intervene in the present world?"

Inside the capital, watching the scene on the live screen, Ophelia's expression grew serious, and she put away her earlier jokes with Dean Yin.

Although it belonged to the age of mythical creatures, it had already faded away six ages ago; now it is the age of humankind.

But it cannot be denied that even a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.

Those ancient gods who fled to the Throne of the Seraphim after the decline of the Age of Gods, barely clinging to life... in terms of rank, each one was an ancient being among angels and mythical creatures.

If one were to intervene in the mortal world without regard to the cost and complete a divine descent, it would inevitably trigger a catastrophe.

The destructive power of divine intervention can be seen by simply looking at the Iron Cross Plague of the Sixth Era, which swept across most of the western continent and dragged human civilization from a golden age of rapid development into a dark age.

Of course, Ophelia wouldn't show it at all on the surface.

She nodded in agreement as she manipulated the mechanical doll: "Congratulations, Your Excellency."

"Rest assured, now that the Lord has once again responded to our faith, the Iron Cross Order will surely rise again."

"At that time, your Mechanical Flesh Cult will be our Iron Cross Order's best ally."

"And those outdated heretics should be swept into the dustbin of history."

It seems that their prayers were answered, and they rediscovered their faith and support.

The Iron Cross patriarch's back was no longer hunched, his posture was straight, and even his tone of voice had become much more forceful.

Although both are cults suppressed by the Order faction on the Western Continent and forced to hide in the shadows, these cults, which worship different evil gods, are not entirely monolithic.

After all, the power of faith originating from cultists is limited in total. If one cult receives more, another cult will receive less.

Therefore, different cults also have a competitive relationship, and many are even irreconcilable enemies due to the contradictions and conflicts of position between their leaders.

Previously, when the Deep Blue Harbor cult stopped responding to its followers, and the Iron Cross Order was at its lowest point, it was precisely when other cults kicked it while it was down that they were most ruthless—as fellow heretics, they knew all too well when to strike a dog when it was down.

But now, everything is completely different.

One day, I will be bathed in the glory of the Lord and lead the Iron Cross to reclaim everything that has been lost.

"However, before that, we still need to maintain a superficial relationship with the other religious orders for a while..."