Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 767: Section 521: The Choice of Man (Part 1)_2

Chapter 767: Section 521: The Choice of Man (Part 1)_2

Not many people knew that a child from the Outer Domain had once come to this world, nor that he had once sought to mend the colossal breach in the sky.

Speaking of which, his stories seemed to be true—because if it really was this child, then everything he did seemed to make sense and was genuinely believable.

With this thought, the old woman walked toward the doors of the side hall, where the guard responsible for opening the doors did so for her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Phil, what brings you here today?" asked the young guard, who had also once been an apprentice, smiling.

"To keep an eye on the kids who are preparing to go out for tasks," said the old woman with a smile, slowly stepping into the side hall. The senior apprentices were organizing various tools and props. Observing their activities, the old woman did not disturb them but turned her head to look at the main hall.

Within the slowly closing gap of the big door, the child who was talking with the Assistant Priest turned his head toward this direction. Perhaps feeling the gaze upon him, he smiled and nodded in acknowledgment when he saw it was an old woman.

The old woman smiled too... To be honest, Lulu seemed to pair quite well with Malin.

His Majesty from the Manheim clan, as well as that old man from the Hagelberry family, both had an eye for talent.

......

Malin watched the old lady, who smiled at him, until the door closed, severing their gaze.

"Lord Malin, what seems to be the matter?" asked the Assistant Priest beside him.

"Nothing, I was just thinking that there might be too many people tomorrow. I heard you’ve gathered almost forty people; honestly, if everyone is together, it will be too conspicuous," Malin said as he turned to face the Assistant Priest.

"You see, every Church has countless youths who wish to join. We’ve selected only the most elite among them, just as in the past," the Assistant Priest reasoned convincingly.

"So, you mean this has always been done before?" Malin inquired further.

"Yes," the Assistant Priest nodded affirmatively.

Malin thought it over and decided that since it was a routine matter, there was no need for him to challenge it.

Therefore, he accepted the Assistant Priest’s invitation to go down to the underground range to see the young people—perhaps he could pick a few boys who were naturally meant to be Sharpshooters.

Speaking of Sharpshooters, when he returned with the people from Waldin Town, he had seen Sudel and his cousin Rhodes hunting. Their marksmanship was good; in the snowstorm, they could even hit targets over a hundred yards away with their muzzleloaders.

Hmm... Perhaps these two lads should be recruited into the team. Malin believed that with the help of new Firearm technology, they would become the most reliable Sharpshooters.

With this in mind, Malin called a halt, then turned to converse with the messenger following him, instructing him to pull Sudel and Rhodes out of the isolation area.

Malin was confident they would be fine. Besides, if there was a problem, even if they turned into completely different people, Malin would be able to Purify them.

Thinking this, Malin, free of worries, walked past the side hall on his way to the underground level, where some apprentices were pushing a cart and opened the hall door, giving Malin another opportunity to notice the old woman: "Right, that lady is..." He pointed to the old woman who was checking the potions one by one.

"Miss Phil, the oldest living Matriarch of our National Church. She has raised one Bishop, sixteen High Priests, forty-seven Assistants Priests, three hundred and fifty-one Assistant Priests, as well as countless Proxies and Punishers, including myself," said the Assistant Priest proudly, gesturing with his hand invitingly, "My lord, please follow me."

"She is indeed a Matriarch who deserves respect," Malin nodded, then followed the Assistant Priest toward the stairs leading to the underground level.

......

"Why can that big shot leave while we have to live in the same cage as that damn wild boar?" Rhodes wiped his plate clean with a half piece of bread while eyeing the enormous legendary boar lying on the other side of the quarantine zone. He felt a profound sense of envy and jealousy towards the quantity and quality of the beast’s recent meal, "I just took a glance, and it was eating fresh corn. My God, it’s eating better than us humans."

The young man said this as though grief welled up within him, managing to squeeze out a few tears that would eventually disappear into the snow and wind.

"If you were legendary, you too could eat fresh corn and beef," his cousin Sudel remarked without any complaint, drinking down the last of the hot soup and letting out a satisfied belch as the young acting town chief, "If I were you, I would commit today’s meal to memory."

"Why remember it?" his cousin seemed to have no understanding of this, leaning over the table and feeling the seemingly endless gap between eating well and eating one’s fill.

"Simple, in the coming days, we may find it hard to have both bread and steaming hot meat stew in the same lunch again. Please, there was even salt in it," Sudel said, using the last piece of his bread to mop up the bowl of soup before tossing it into his mouth and swallowing, smacking his lips in satisfaction.

"...I feel like there’s a deep chasm between us, cousin," his cousin looked at him, his face full of helplessness.

"Facing the Chaos troops, we are nothing but sheep with human heads, what chasm? You’ve eaten a few years of Church lunches in Copenhagen, and look how proud you are," Sudel said, standing up to take their plates to a table near the door—the only connection between the quarantine zone and the outside.

When he turned and sat back down in his chair, both he and his cousin noticed the door of the quarantine zone open, with a man in a military uniform standing there.

"Is our quarantine over?" Sudel asked cautiously.

"No, it’s not. But a message came from Sir Malin, saying you brothers are good shots?"

"Of course, I’m the best sharpshooting apprentice of the National Church!" Rhodes exclaimed loudly.

The man ’oh’ed, then looked toward Sudel, "And you, kid?"

"I’m Old Hawk’s kid," Sudel said.

"Old Hawk? Hawk Walden of Walden Town?" the soldier asked.

Sudel nodded, "Yes, my father served in the Sydney Union army, he taught me how to shoot."

"Alright, it looks like Sir Malin does have an eye for your talents. Come with me," the soldier said, making way for them to pass.

Rhodes ran out of the yard quickly, spreading his arms with joy now that he was free again: "I have never felt as happy as I do today, cousin. See, it’s so joyful to be free from the shackles."

"Sir, we haven’t finished our quarantine yet. Is it okay for us to leave now? We are not legendary like Sir Malin," Sudel followed the soldier, asking curiously as they walked.

"I’m not worried about that. Sir Malin wants you two to join tomorrow’s scouting mission. He’s impressed with your marksmanship," the soldier replied.

"Eh, what if we mutate during the mission?" Rhodes, who was following, asked.

"Don’t worry, Mr. Malin will perform your last rites," the soldier said, laughing without looking back.

Cousin noticed his cousin’s silence, raising an eyebrow, "Rhodes, what are you thinking about?"

"Thinking about the taste of the meat stew I just had," his cousin replied sullenly, "I think my bowl lacked salt."

"Our soup came from the same pot, so that’s just your taste being too heavy, you fool," Sudel responded angrily.

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