Chapter 151 : If You Can’t Drink, Then Go Sit at the Children’s Table!
Chapter 151: If You Can’t Drink, Then Go Sit at the Children’s Table!
When the convoy reached the church gate, dense depressurizing sounds rang out. The rear compartment of the heavy truck was opened, and several black Mechanical Bodies about 5 meters tall jumped down from the vehicle, stepping with steady weight as they encircled the surrounding guests toward the center.
Seeing the tall figures around them—Mechanical Soldiers whose appearance was entirely different from anything they had seen before—representatives of various countries all revealed faces full of astonishment and confusion.
Their surprise was not an act, because the shared design used for everyone’s Mechanical Bodies was usually similar in appearance, at most distinguished by outer decorations and flags to tell friend from foe.
Yet the Seris Alliance’s design could be said to be a completely different species. Gone was the protruding semi-cockpit section; the overall frame was sleeker and closer-fitting, looking far more humanoid.
In other words, if the Mechanical Body stood a little farther away, it would not look much different from an oversized version of a Federal Machine-gun Soldier.
But its oppressive aura was extremely heavy. Aside from the psychological pressure caused by their humanoid posture, all representatives with magical cultivation could feel the sense of danger emanating from the large firearms in their hands.
It felt like sitting on a giant tree branch suspended in midair, accompanied by an intense sense of unease.
This was also the design philosophy Mitia had set for the mecha—no need for flashy magic or close-combat techniques; all power should be pushed to the extreme and concentrated into the weapon.
For example: armor-piercing rounds, anti-magic rounds, explosive rounds. With ultra-high firing speed and sustained firepower, almost no carbon-based creature could withstand such damage.
If Mitia used a magic shield to defend, she would still have to flash away before taking the third shot; under continuous fire even her magic crystal body could not withstand the piercing and detonating force.
If one didn’t wish to rely on fire suppression, then by using the integrated infrared optics on the machine gun and the large magical-detection scope, one could easily use the gun as a sniper cannon.
Oh, actually this caliber was no longer that of an ordinary machine gun. More accurately, it was an anti-materiel heavy machine gun.
Of course, more specialized bolt-action heavy sniper cannons were also under development. Once deployed, naturally some Mecha Soldiers would be equipped with them. That thing was such overkill that using it to shoot a captain-class Mechanical Body felt like a waste of ammunition.
And if an enemy could resist attacks from these mecha, then switching to any other Alliance equipment basically wouldn’t help. Unless one landed a precise hit with a tank cannon or naval gun… but the hit rate… truly, one might as well rely on the mecha instead~
Two Mecha Soldiers stood by the small car. The driver and the female bodyguard got out and pulled open the double doors to welcome Mitia, dressed in a white gown with golden edges, as she stepped out. On the other side, Miwei got out of the vehicle.
Wearing high heels, Mitia steadied herself where she stood before lifting her head to smile at the crowd, mentally thinking that she only had to endure wearing this for a few minutes… she could put up with it…
There were only two squads plus one captain here—15 Mecha Soldiers in total. Though small in number, in terms of combat strength, unless the Goddess of Light came down and struck them with lightning again, any number of enemy forces would be nothing more than a minor interruption.
The remaining five squads—35 people—had been dispersed throughout the capital in areas with heavy foot traffic. The restricted zone of the Holy Light Cathedral would automatically lift once they entered its interior.
Mitia walked forward, nodding and greeting passing representatives. When she saw that the representative sent by the Dmitria Church was a Red-robed Archbishop, her smile gained a subtle change of meaning.
At first, the Archbishop had managed to maintain basic decorum upon seeing Miwei, but upon seeing Miwei in full ceremonial attire, his face inevitably darkened.
The deepest conflict between the Dmitria Church and the Seris Alliance lay right in Miwei.
Elemental Messengers were universally acknowledged as the purest Saint Spirits. Any church that possessed one naturally ranked higher in status than others.
But when ordinary believers defected, they were simply traitors; when a Saint Spirit defected, people would instead believe the problem must have come from within the church—otherwise the Saint Spirit would not have been unable to bear staying.
In other words, as long as Miwei continued to thrive in the world under another banner, the Light Church—as her former affiliation—would forever carry a suspicious stain that could never be erased. This was the reverse effect caused by public perception.
Seeing the emblem on the middle-aged man’s chest, Miwei—who had been smiling as warmly as spring—could not help wrinkling her nose. She gave a light snort and ignored him.
‘Your Majesty the Empress…’
Seeing a familiar face, Mitia paused in surprise. “Bratt? Welcome back.”
‘It is my honor that Your Majesty still remembers me.’
“You’re too polite.”
While exchanging greetings, they arrived at the church entrance. Members of the Light Church looked up at the tall, domed roof and could not help curling their lips as they muttered quietly, “No matter how much you try to distance yourselves, it doesn’t change the fact that you are traitors…”
With the help of two Mecha Soldiers, the heavy church doors were slowly pushed open. Inside, the first thing visible were rows of solid-wood long tables and benches—usually used for masses.
But everyone only glanced at them briefly. When they saw the massive man-made structure at the center, every person’s eyes widened in shock.
The Holy Light Church did have divine statues, though these were statues of the Magic Goddess and did not occupy the main position.
At the center was only a symbolic pattern representing the elements, positioned beneath the emblem of the Seris Alliance.
There was a statue—of the first Pontiff, Mitia~
Below the emblem was a performance chamber fitted with numerous stops and a three-layer keyboard console.
Directly in front of it stood dense ranks of pipe-like structures, so large and extending so far that they nearly filled the entire wall.
Around them, exclamations and gasps rose one after another.
‘Oh oh!!!!’
‘Goddess above……’
‘Empress bless us…’
Mitia: “?”
There was no curfew in the Seris night. On the contrary, the arrival of night made everything livelier, as countless fireworks shot into the sky, bursting into bright colors and drawing cheers from the citizens.
Merchants selling alcoholic drinks also went all out today, placing large amounts of their brands’ beverages at their storefronts for passersby to freely take and taste. As long as one didn’t waste it, one could take as much as one could drink.
Those fond of alcohol suspected they had arrived in paradise, passionately praising the Magic Goddess and thanking Her for the blessings, pulling two or three drinking buddies to sit right on the street and begin drinking.
Many alcohol-loving dwarves even wandered along the streets hugging barrels filled with wine, offering blessings to anyone they saw and inviting them to drink. They even handed cups to children:
“Hic~ Have a sip. In our tribe, if you don’t drink, you’re sent to sit at the kids’ table!”
The child who had been handed a cup stared at the swaying, bearded uncle before him, face full of question marks: “Huh?”
While they celebrated, large and small image-projection arrays around the streets activated one after another, showing the interior of the Holy Light Cathedral.
Wearing the Pontiff’s divine robe and the crown symbolizing sacred authority, Mitia delivered holiday blessings to all citizens of the Alliance in the name of the Pontiff of the Holy Light Church:
【The stars across the sky shine with auspicious light. The warm lamps glow with halos of happiness.】
【Colorful fireworks bloom with beautiful hues. The bells of peace announce the beginning of a new era.】
【Freshly cooked dumplings release a fragrant aroma, and sincere blessings convey boundless affection.】
I won’t act anymore. I will also give you a six-pointed snowflake—one point carrying joy, one carrying happiness, one carrying delight, one carrying romance, one carrying sweetness, and one carrying blessings. I wish you a happy New Year’s Eve!