Chapter 660 Guests Enter
Zoe and Gaia stepped into the banquet hall side by side.
Although the two walked together, their clothes were completely different. Zoe wore a long dress and dressed more like an aristocratic girl - in fact, when it comes to aristocratic temperament, even Zeus couldn't compare to her.
Zeus was just a time traveler. When Zoe was a maid in the Duke's Palace, she had really come into contact with many noble ladies.
In addition, she was obsessed with novels all day long and had practiced a lot in front of the mirror.
Gaia next to her was much simpler, she was wearing the priestess uniform of the Empire of Truth.
Zoe is Castel's civil servant stationed in Blood Harbor, while Gaia is a technical priest of the Imperial Truth. They are not from the same system.
Castel's priest uniform looks unremarkable and lacks many decorations, but it has one feature: it is bulletproof.
After all, Castel's technical priests are inseparable from dangerous experiments all day long, not to mention the war priests who came from the Skitarii, they need to go to the front line.
In fact, Gaia's priest uniform also comes with a protective helmet and gas mask, but she didn't wear them this time.
Several mechanical priests with mechanical prosthetic limbs led the two to the banquet hall.
It is called a banquet hall, but in fact it is a tall church of the Mechanical Temple, with densely packed pipes and mechanical structures covering the entire wall.
Gaia just glanced at it and didn't look at it any further. The operation of these machines in the Mechanical Temple was often too bizarre, and there was not much point in spending time exploring them.
Zoe glanced at the mechanical priest. They had seen many of these mechanical priests in the Rhine. These people would replace part of their bodies with machines. Generally speaking, the more replacements they had, the stronger they would be.
These mechanical priests that appeared in the banquet hall could no longer be distinguished as to which parts were still flesh and blood. At a glance, they were all densely packed steel parts.
Zoe suddenly had an absurd idea. Steel can replace limbs and flesh and blood, so can the head and brain also be replaced with steel?
If the entire body does not have any original human part, then is this "person" a human or a machine?
At this time, the banquet had not yet begun, and His Holiness the Pope had not shown up. The Minister of All Affairs, Ms. Hela, was greeting people at the long table.
"Look, Hela is over there too. Although there's no flesh and blood on her body, she is the one who looks the most like a human." Gaia whispered in Zoe's ear.
Zoe adjusted her hair. Her hair was a bit long and was blown into her ears by Gaia, making her feel itchy.
Indeed, these mechanical priests are usually very rigid, and sometimes even speak like emotionless machines.
Zoe thought Gaia would be accustomed to dealing with such people. After all, she was a technical person and had been working on the production line for many years.
But Gaia said that machines are more humane than these mechanical priests.
Especially for steam engines, sometimes people are too humane, and the younger boiler operators can only shrink their necks and be scolded.
“Welcome, distinguished guests.” Hela nodded slightly. The two of them stepped forward to greet each other and started chatting.
"Lady Hela, long time no see."
As the Grand Master of All Machinery, Hela held a high position in the Mechanical Temple. Her personal greeting that day was a gesture of friendship, something they could not see on a daily basis.
"It wasn't too long ago. Her Holiness missed you very much and had originally promised an audience. Unfortunately, her health hasn't been good, so it was delayed until today."
Hela's eyes suddenly turned from under her veil and fixed on the two of them.
"This time, she plans to personally present the technical information to you. There will be a ceremony at the banquet later."
The two nodded quickly.
Things like transactions naturally cannot be discussed openly. Giving gifts is acceptable for a Pope of his status, but exchanging technology for things is too cheap, especially since this Pope's status is not ordinary.
The Ruoan family has always had the support of the royal family, and family members have joined both the Candlelight Society and the Mechanical Temple.
For example, the former Mr. Yule was named John, and he was from the Mechanical Temple. Beatrice also joined the Candlelight Society as per convention.
Therefore, she actually carries three identities: Pope of the Candlelight Society, Emperor of the Empire, and Pope of the Mechanical Temple.
Both churches recognized her as the supreme leader, and in name, the Mechanical Temple and the Candlelight Society were equal.
Therefore, as long as Beatrice attends this banquet, the top leaders of the Candlelight Society and the Mechanical Temple must also be present.
As for the nobles of the empire, maybe there are some, but no one cares about them anymore.
Beatrice became queen only because the nobles who were higher in the line of succession died unexpectedly in time. It is hard to say how many are left now.
After a brief conversation with Hela, the two of them began to stroll around the banquet venue casually.
Hela would occasionally introduce them to several high-ranking church officials, and Zoe would step forward to accept their requests, while Gaia would look around inconspicuously.
After finally finding a chance, Zoe rubbed her cheeks, which were a little sore from maintaining a smile, and looked at Gaia inquiringly.
Gaia shook her head. "I can't see any arrangements, but this is the Mechanical Temple's territory. Who knows if there might be some special structures there, or if they might be hiding their manpower."
Zoe looked around the church and nodded slowly.
The church here is very spacious, and even if there are more than a hundred people participating in the banquet, it is still very spacious.
Moreover, the whole church is square, giving it a somewhat mechanical sense of regularity.
As for the ambush, the two of them observed for a long time but really didn't find it. Gaia even began to study the carpet, wondering if there was explosives underneath.
Bang!
Suddenly, a dull sound came from below. Zoe and Gaia were startled, thinking that the Mechanical Temple had taken action. After looking around, they realized that it seemed to be a misjudgment.
Several mechanical priests discussed for a few words, walked to the pipes on the wall, extended mechanical arms from their bodies and began to inspect them.
Gaia finally felt relieved. She was almost ready to use her extraordinary abilities.
"Look, the real boss is here!" Zoe suddenly grabbed the corner of Gaia's clothes.
At the main entrance of the church, a group of Candlelight Priests in their clerical robes were walking in in an orderly manner. The two men did not recognize most of their faces, but the emblems on their robes could not be faked.
"The Cardinal, wow, and even the Cardinal's Staff! The top leaders of the Candlelight Society are really here!"
"Look at that! What is that!" Zoe suddenly opened her eyes wide.
Gaia followed her gaze and also took a breath.
The man was wearing a thick windbreaker, long boots with iron plates, and delicate gloves on his hands.
But his face seemed to be wearing a long mask, covering his entire face. The whole face bulged forward and finally converged into a pointed mouth like a bird's beak.
Two round pieces of glass were inlaid in the areas corresponding to the eyes, but they were filled with fog, making it impossible to see what was inside.
Others would just think it was a weird mask, but Gaia and Zoe were both extraordinary beings, and at this distance they could clearly see every detail—the leather mask was not worn on the face, but was sewn onto the skin with fine stitches.
as if--
The entire face skin was peeled off and the mask was sewed back on.
The hideous stitches surrounded the entire head from the back, leaving no gaps. A thin leather tube came out from the mask and connected to the man's windbreaker, and it was unknown where it led to.
Gaia and Zoe only felt a chill spreading from the soles of their feet upwards. This man's appearance was too distorted.
"That's the Skin-Covered One, also known as the Son of the Unsleeping. He's from the Temple of the Unending in the Southern Continent, one of the Four Great Churches, and one of the guests at this banquet."
A faint voice sounded from the side, startling both of them.
"Thank you for your understanding, Ms. Hela." Gaia responded quickly.
"This banquet was originally intended for the Candlelight Society to entertain guests from all sides and formally declare its control over the empire. Unfortunately, we can't contact the people from the Silent Temple, otherwise, all the people from the four major churches would have gathered."
Hela's eyes turned to Gaia, the shutter at her pupils twitched, and she asked softly, "Is there anything else you want to know?"
Gaia pondered for a moment, then spoke hesitantly, "His Holiness the Pope hasn't come yet. I still want to see her. I heard she's about my age."
"I'm sorry, but you probably won't get to see it."
Gaia looked up in surprise, but only saw Hela's back. The Grand Master of the Mechanical Temple did not talk to her anymore, but walked straight to the center of the hall.
Gaia's eyes suddenly darkened. She subconsciously reached out to grab it, but when she looked down, she saw it was a piece of black gauze.
She recognized it; it was the black veil that Hela had always covered her face with.
Bang!
There was a loud bang, and everyone turned around to look, only to find that the church door was closed.
(End of this chapter)
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