dognovel Chapter 258 Knights and Machines
Chapter 258 Knights and Machines
"Sister Tails, welcome back. May the goddess bless you."
A nun pressed the button on the maintenance device, and the sound of machinery running filled the air. A face with platinum blonde hair opened its eyes, and pale pink pupils met the dazzling light. Then, it blinked reflexively.
Beneath the sacred cathedral lies the "Treasury of the Goddess," the church's current hope. Since last month, when an inconspicuous entrance to the cathedral was opened, this vast space has been discovered. The machines, dusty with age, have begun to function again under the holy light, and the most striking feature is these towering machines.
Initial research on these machines indicated that, apart from the ancient "divine race," existing humans were unable to open and use such magnificent machines. No matter how much the bishops and priests prayed or how many ancient rituals they performed, the machines only flashed red light and displayed yellow triangular symbols.
It wasn't until the Church's most prestigious theologians found clues in ancient texts that the Vatican was able to obtain and discover the ancient technique—which they called "divine inlay."
By using the creations of an ancient divine race to modify people, thereby altering the bloodline of the subjects, and in turn, enabling these ancient sacred instruments to function.
Tails, the Holy Knight Commander of the Cross Rose Knights, is one of them. She was able to transform into her current form using an ancient bloodline modifier. Her platinum blonde hair and pink pupils are her signature features.
"Angel Armor"—these are the names of these enormous war machines. Theologians have learned from surviving records that the ancient gods named these massive machines after "angels," and the wings and halos painted on these powerful machines further prove this point.
Tails believed that this was the powerful armor worn by the angels under the command of the ancient goddess when they descended to earth to fight. The ancient battle angels wore such armor, which made the goddess's enemies tremble with fear.
(It appears to be a security mech belonging to the security forces of the Earth United Nations Amelansi IV colony) "Mechs are not very effective on land."
"Slow down, Paladin Commander, you are very weak."
Even after the divine inlay ritual, piloting these angelic armors still comes at a great cost; to date, only three paladins in the church have been able to pilot such behemoths.
"Hoo... Hoo... Respected and supreme Goddess, you guide the way of all living beings, you protect your believers, your light, you... Hoo... We praise your name, we bathe in your light, we ascend into your holy kingdom... May your light protect us."
Tails knelt on the ground, clutching the cross pendant to her chest with both hands, and prayed weakly. Everyone who saw this was deeply moved.
"Sister Tails, you need to... take a rest."
Sister Sakari, standing nearby, looked at Tails with concern. The two had known each other since childhood, sharing the same tragic fate, and both experienced a turning point in their lives after joining the Knights.
“But the enemies of the church will not rest… I am a sinner; I failed to protect the goddess from the devil’s advance…”
The three sets of angelic armor, despite having destroyed numerous demon tanks and armored vehicles and eliminated many demon soldiers, still could not stop the battle line. People watched as that line advanced step by step towards the Holy City, getting closer and closer.
“Father, Tars is a sinner. Tars... failed to completely stop the enemy.”
Tails looked at the priest beside her, who simply nodded and said, "May the goddess forgive your sins; she has given you..."
A chance for redemption—the location of the demon leader has been revealed, thanks to intelligence brought back at the risk of our brave and devout warriors. Killing that demon leader will throw the demon army into chaos, and reconquest will be within reach.
"Florence... my homeland... how dare the demons lay their hands on it...!"
Tails gritted her teeth and said, but there was nothing she could do. After Bologna fell, Florence was wide open and almost unstoppable.
“It’s alright, Tails. You are the most devout and greatest paladin of the goddess. The goddess told the bishops in a dream that you are the key to everything and the turning point of the war.”
Upon hearing this, Tails beamed with delight: "Really?"
"Yes, but now, go and rest."
The priest smiled, and Tails nodded, taking the nun's hand and walking towards the lounge.
"how?"
"It's hard to say, and... putting aside the outside world, the atmosphere in the Holy City is getting more and more strange."
"Is it the legacy of that 'saint'?"
The priest nodded, while the bishop beside him seemed thoughtful. The industrial zone along the southern coast of the holy city was stirring with activity; it was the place that had received the most foreign ideas.
"The pressure is immense, not to mention that the Holy Army is practically invisible."
The black-haired priest sighed. As one of the few pragmatists in the church, he lamented, "The church had three chances to save itself, but unfortunately, it was all wasted. Your Excellency, unless there is some more powerful weapon down there that can wipe out the entire demon kingdom, I have no hope."
"Three chances?"
"I have read about the deeds of the former heroes, the latter heroes, and the saints. Without a doubt, they all followed the path of other countries today. The former heroes brought land to people in vast rural areas and towns, and fair taxes to people in cities. The latter heroes started the first manufacturing revolution and established the municipal system that is still in function today. The saints connected the church to the world trade routes."
In the end, however, they all "betrayed" each other for various reasons.
The bishop looked at the underground facility and the enormous machinery. The two men might be using it, but even with their best imaginations, they could not depict the former glory of this facility.
This facility was not only used for combat; the mechanical skeletons scattered throughout the warehouses permanently altered the structure of the planet.
However, the bishop could hardly comprehend such a facility. The obscure and incomprehensible texts floated in mid-air, moving and pulsating like divine pronouncements in legends. The radiant lines were only the tip of the iceberg that they could perceive.
They held religious views, defining everything here through God, and they did their utmost to understand it. Through rituals and prayers, they inscribed crosses and prayers on the walls and placed icons on metal tables.
But they didn't know that this was once the place where materialists recognized and created.