Enforcer Manual
Chapter 772 - 770: The Princess and the Knight_1

Chapter 772: Chapter 770: The Princess and the Knight_1

Diago continued speaking until the late night, telling the townspeople about the existence of Silvermoon Harbor and the second Merchant-Church War that occurred not long ago on that land, as well as the prosperous scene after the war ended.

The Deity is real, but He would never treat His Believers as consumables for sacrificial Ceremonies. The lord of the tides who had ruled over the town for a millennium using the fear of the people was nothing but a monster acting under the guise of the Deity. He also mentioned the notes of the Paladin, which recorded the kingdom that had once existed on this land, their ancestral home.

And the Paladin was probably the only person in town who could read.

However, instilling hope in people was no easy task. The lord of the tides still overshadowed the locals like a Shadow, making them dare not challenge him.

Maintaining the status of sacrificial offerings could possibly allow more people to survive.

Furthermore, even in the stories Diago recounted, their ancestors had failed once a thousand years ago—the commander and his fleet had perished, and they had been cursed generation after generation to live humbly as offerings.

Before dawn arrived, the people in the square had already dispersed.

"It’s useless."

The Paladin approached Diago, who had been amidst the crowd, listening carefully to the other’s narrative about the Father God, "I understand their concerns. A change of thought doesn’t happen overnight."

But to his surprise, the "Father God" Diago spoke of was not the leader of the Mechanical Army.

"I have another question. How do we become Believers of the ’Father God’?"

He felt that perhaps the "Father God" Diago mentioned was a better outcome than being assimilated into machinery. Now the only problem was, the child had not told everyone the steps to become a Believer.

As far as he knew, the Tidal Church had a strict screening system, one of which was to prohibit these people from becoming members of the Church. Therefore, they mainly recruited new Believers from some coastal cities, periodically taking the new Believers back to the Misty Archipelago. These newcomers not only expanded the Church’s numbers but also brought many technologies from outside the islands.

This was indeed a good question.

Even Diago was at a loss to answer it.

Thinking back, he encountered the messenger of the Father God during a dream. At that time, he and other orphans were offerings of the Tidal Church. The messenger taught them the means to pray to the Father God and those enigmatic incantations.

They did, indeed, escape from the fishing boat because of this.

"First, you need to gain the approval of the Father God’s messenger."

Diago was also somewhat uncertain. At least, the messenger had never introduced the process of becoming a Believer. He didn’t even know the name of the Church.

Looking back now, it seemed their faith was indeed somewhat unofficial.

"So, how do we gain the approval of the messenger?"

The Paladin urged.

"Sleep... Meditate."

Diago quickly corrected himself mid-sentence, realizing that if he told the Paladin that they usually saw the messenger in their sleep with such unorthodox standards for recruiting Believers, they might be treated as a fraudulent group.

"Meditate?"

Diago tried to make it sound more sophisticated, "It is a method to concentrate spiritual power. The Father God perceives each of His Believers through spiritual power."

"I understand."

Fortunately, the Paladin did not continue to probe. "It seems this is not a step that can be completed quickly."

And there were more important matters waiting for them to accomplish.

After much thought, he decided to reveal a secret to the two individuals before him. "Actually, I concealed something from you earlier. I know the way to the Tidal Church."

He had not mentioned these things earlier partly because he could not fully trust the two, and also because he knew that describing the endeavor as a nine deaths, one life situation would not be an exaggeration.

On this island, perhaps no one understood the terror of the lord of the tides better than he did.

The people of the time had exhausted the strength of an entire nation and still could not truly touch His presence. His power was beyond the comprehension of men; even through those broken inscriptions, he could feel the profound sense of powerlessness they experienced back then.

"This method was told to me by the person who taught me to read."

At this point, Paladin seemed to recall those beautiful memories, the companionship that had helped him through the loneliest and most difficult days of his life. "I am very certain her blood was of royal lineage..."

The Paladin suddenly paused.

This was also the reason he called himself Paladin; he hoped to become a Knight who guarded the Kingdom Princess like the heroes of the old kingdom.

"Where is she now?"

The Emperor asked, after a night passed, eager to hear news that could lead to substantive progress for them.

"She has left, returned to where she belongs."

The stories of Princesses and Knights don’t always end happily.

Paladin collected his thoughts and took out an old Octave Box. He opened the box, and the melodious music echoed around them, "All the secrets are hidden inside this box."

The Emperor patiently waited for the music to finish, only to be disappointed.

Because according to the analysis of his artificial eye, it was just an ordinary music box that had been around for some years.

"When was this Octave Box given to you by her?"

"About over seventy years ago, the time is too distant, and I already have some trouble remembering clearly. Living in such a place for long makes it hard to feel the passage of time. Every day looks pretty much the same..."

Over seventy years ago.

This answer was even more ancient than the "Emperor" had imagined. At that time, the Dark Age had just come to an end, and the Gold Rush had not yet begun. The United Government still knew very little about the "outside world."

And now, they needed an Octave Box from over seventy years ago to pass through the most dangerous region of the seascape and reach the sunken ruins of Atlantis.

To someone who believed in science, the "Emperor" felt that even a small submarine might seem more reliable.

What was more merciless was the fact that statistics showed the average lifespan of "outer world" inhabitants was just over 70 years, so seventy years later, the Kingdom Princess in the Paladin’s memory might have long been dead.

Yet, he still clung to a fantasy, "Maybe this Octave Box is the key to activating some device?"

"The Princess once said that following the melody would protect travelers, keeping them from getting lost at sea.

...

Even with his heart filled with doubts about the Octave Box, the "Emperor" still embarked on their journey.

This time, their destination lay along the edge of the inland sea, on islands. The High Priest said that the Tidal Church was located deep beneath the sea in that area. However, the journey there seemed anything but peaceful.

Signs of battle were scattered all over the islands, and they found a multitude of horribly mutilated bodies of Tidal Sect believers on this desolate land. Some were cut into several pieces by sharp objects, and others were almost turned into a paste-like substance by highly corrosive materials.

The "Emperor’s" operating system had no record of such weapons. He suspected they were the result of some unseen laser-type weaponry.

It was clear that the Mechanical Army had already taken control of the land, and the Tidal Church’s ostentatious rituals were utterly incapable of stopping its advance.

Then, an unexpected difficulty stood in their way.

The Mechanical Army’s march was much quicker than they had anticipated. By the time they arrived at the inland sea area, the enemy had already established their defenses along the coastal zone. In addition to the fully-armed Mechanical Army, there were many war fortresses that the "Emperor" had never seen before.

They had completely cut off the Tidal Church’s access to land, and from the structures in the sea, it was evident that they were attempting to infiltrate underwater.

"...Wait, aren’t you with them?"

The Paladin asked nervously.

The corpses along their path had cast a shadow over his heart against these mechanical creations. He had thought the "Emperor" would negotiate with them, but once they got close to the sea, the latter had been avoiding the peripheral patrol teams.

"I never said I was with them."

"I guess they are all equipped with radios, and they probably have anti-invisibility fields as well," the "Emperor" said.

"What are those for? I don’t know much about machinery."

"You only need to know that once we’re spotted by a patrol team, in less than ten seconds, the entire coastal fortress’s Mechanical Army will know we’re here."

If one considered the efficiency of mechanical communication, this time might be even shorter.

Clearly, the Mechanical Army didn’t want people from the Tidal Church getting out, nor did they want anyone else crossing into the Misty Archipelago’s inland sea.

"Are you sure?"

The Paladin, his face pale, couldn’t help but ask.

"Of course."

The "Emperor" gave the Paladin an odd look back, contemplating how to evade the search parties and get past their garrison to reach the inland sea.

And his judgment proved correct.

About ten seconds later, the surrounding patrol teams almost simultaneously turned their attention to them, and the distant garrison immediately flashed red warning lights.

Basic alarm sounds filled the entire coast, and one of the mechanical creatures approached them with an imposing air.

The Paladin finally gave up on his last bit of luck and raised his arm.

At first, he thought it was just the island’s mosquitoes biting him, but upon a closer look, the appearance of the bug made his heart jump to his throat, "...This, this isn’t just an ordinary insect, right?"

The mechanical creature, the size of a thumb and indeed insect-shaped, flashed a red light similar to the distant alarm after it pierced its sharp mouthpart into the Paladin’s skin.

"This is their signal emitter."

As he spoke, the Mechanical Army had them thoroughly encircled.

Starting a skirmish here was the worst choice; the barren island didn’t offer many places to take cover.

Strangely, these patrol teams only lifted the weapons in their hands and surrounded them, remaining silently on the spot, as if waiting for something.

About five minutes later, a vehicle resembling a hovercraft stopped in the clearing in front of the trio, and a figure that appeared almost identical to the other mechanical beings walked towards them.

It curiously scanned the "Emperor" with its mechanical eyes. After a moment, it suddenly spoke, "Hey, isn’t this RT6’s little pet? What are you doing here?"