Chapter 645: First Visit to the Rhine
The airship's flight altitude was not very high, and the entire Rhine City was in full view.
Several people had heard about the Rhine and knew that it was famous for its industry on the continent and was also a symbol of the empire's strength.
In their imagination, even if the Rhine was not as prosperous as Castel, it should still be a small blood port.
But when they looked down at the Rhine at this moment, they saw a completely different scene.
The entire Rhine City is dotted with sharp spires - that is the characteristic of the Candlelight Church. Unlike the arc-shaped vault of the Silent Church, the Candlelight Church prefers sharp roofs, which look like sharp knives stuck in the earth when viewed from the sky.
These churches are built very high, straight up and down, like slender giants.
There are also countless suspended corridors, which at first glance appear intricate and overlapping.
If the city of the Temple of Silence is vast but thin, then the Rhine is a higher dimension. It is no longer just on the ground. Like a building, the entire city is stacked layer by layer.
"Is this why Rhine is different from the description?"
Just looking at the foundation of this city, it does have a somewhat industrial feel. The entire city is extremely neat and clean, just like in the legend, with priests wearing robes walking on corridors in the air.
Countless statues and landmarks stand in the city, all of them are tall and slender. The tallest ones are two hooded figures. They face each other, as if bowing their heads in prayer, and their hands together hold up a long corridor that runs through the entire city.
The two statues were extremely tall, their bodies extending all the way down, through layer after layer of the city, until they reached a place below that was completely invisible.
"I remember from the records that the Rhine wasn't this high? Or rather, it didn't have this many layers."
Rhineland has always been an industrial city, with numerous factories filling the entire city. They can accept the billowing smoke, flowing sewage, and roaring steam engines.
But the Rhine in front of us is quiet, peaceful and tidy. It is indeed a beautiful city, but why can't we see any factories?
You can't see the towering chimneys, but only the spires of the churches.
Gaia pulled her hair, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable.
"No wonder the map sent by the Alliance of Ashes is divided into Upper Rhine and Lower Rhine. So that's what's going on." Erwin frowned and looked down.
The priests in Rhine City had already discovered the airship and gathered some of them.
The airship was already decorated with the Hughes family crest, the holy emblem of the Imperial Truth, and the flame emblem representing Castel - this was actually more like a trademark, and would be engraved on all Castel's industrial products.
As a formally established church, the Imperial Truth had long been reported to the Empire. There were at least 800 such churches founded by lords themselves, most of which were established to avoid the church's tithes. This was the first time a church had officially visited the Rhine.
The priests were confused for a while and then quieted down. Soon, several fully armed teams came to the city wall, waving flags to signal the airship to lower its altitude.
"What should we do? Should we land?" The helmsman of the airship turned around and asked several people.
"Go down and follow their instructions. Boiler operator, increase the speed of the steam engine. If there is any situation later, increase it quickly." Erwin said in a deep voice.
"clear!"
The airship began to gradually lower its altitude under the operation of the Crusaders. The soldiers on the wall waved flags and led them towards the center of Rhine City.
In the center of the entire city, where countless open corridors converge, there is a circular central platform.
The platform was quite large, enough for an airship to dock. Erwin measured the size and suspected that it could even accommodate the Sky Veil Behemoth.
It is really a luxury to build such a huge platform square in the city. Not only does it occupy a large area of land, but it also blocks the sunlight shining on the lower floors. Moreover, looking at the huge candlelight holy emblem made of stone on the square, the construction cost and maintenance cost are definitely not low.
"When the airship stops, our delegation will get off first. The airship will then ascend and remain suspended in the air. Do not allow anyone from the Candlelight Society to board the airship. Do you understand?"
"But sir, if we encounter danger like that, how will you get up?"
"Gaia and Zoe are both transcendents, what are they afraid of? Besides, this is Rhine City, the headquarters of the Candlelight Society. If a conflict really starts, you'll be lucky to escape. Don't even think about saving us." Erwin waved his hand. "Descend and open the hatch!"
The steam engine drove the propeller to turn, and the entire airship slowly descended. When it was about to touch the ground, the sailors on the airship threw down the cable.
A soldier caught it and tied it to the place where the cable was fixed.
"Their platform seems to serve as an airport. Judging from their appearance, they don't seem to have never seen an airship before." Gaia said with narrowed eyes.
"Remember that information about the Fire Moth? The Mechanics Society has a steam-powered airship that can fly, but it's more like a hot air balloon. It's far inferior to our airship in size, load capacity, and reliability. At least with that meager payload, it's basically impossible to use it for bombing."
"I see. But now it's the age of the Mechanical Templar. There might not be many steam-powered airships left. It's even possible that the Mechanical Templar has lost the technology."
The cable was slowly pulled down by the winch, and the airship stopped steadily on the ground. Erwin nodded to the mechanic next to the door, and as he pulled the lever, the door of the airship slowly opened.
"We'll talk about it later. First, let's go meet our colleagues. Don't forget, we are also a church, the Imperial Shinrikyo."
Gaia and Zoe swallowed, suppressed their anxiety, and walked out of the hatch.
A light flashed in the field of vision.
The sunlight shone on the square, shining with golden light. Only then did a few people notice that the floor tiles of the platform were inlaid with gold edges.
Two rows of soldiers with long swords hanging from their waists were standing neatly on both sides of the airship, holding long spears in their hands, with distinctive clothes and armor, separating a path.
Further behind were low-ranking monks of the Candlelight Order wearing long robes. Their faces were hidden in their hoods, and their expressions could not be seen. They were silent and quiet, like eternally burning candles.
Several believers were kneeling on the ground, crawling and spreading a soft bright red carpet on the ground. When Castel's envoys walked down the cabin door, the carpet was just in front of their feet.
The believers hunched their bodies and retreated backwards. Before they could react, the soldiers slammed their spears on the ground.
Bang!
The entire platform seemed to tremble, and the sunlight that fell to the ground reflected on the floor tiles inlaid with gold edges, creating a dazzling golden light that dazzled several people's eyes.
After they got used to it, they suddenly found that there was another person in front of them.
(End of this chapter)
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