Church of the Machine God

"Are those damned knights here to raid again?"

"Looks like we'll have to move our base again."

Inside the dark and damp cave, the dim candlelight flickered, Spark looked solemn.

After several days of pursuit and interception by the army of the Carter Duchy, the slave laborers he brought out of the Valier Mine suffered heavy casualties, with hundreds already remaining there forever.

"They are too powerful."

Nick lowered his head, his expression somber.

His friend in the mine died in the battle. The army sent by the Duchy was incredibly terrifying. Nearly a hundred slave laborers who stayed behind to cover the retreat were all slaughtered by the heavily armored knight known as "Carter's Eagle." The bloody scene is still unforgettable to him.

"They are professionals."

"We can't go on like this. The gap between us and these guys with superhuman powers is just too big."

Spark spread out the parchment map and said this.

After several days of fierce fighting, he had become a first-class Fighter, but he was unequipped and no match for the heavily armored knights sent by the Carter Duchy.

"Etc--"

Spark crossed her arms and rested her chin on them, seemingly deep in thought.

"Perhaps we can rely on external forces."

Nick gave a bitter smile, "The countries of the the North have all issued ultimatums. They wish they could tear us to pieces. Although these countries have their own internal conflicts, they are united in their hatred of us runaway serfs."

"The 'external forces' I'm referring to are not the countries of the the North."

Nick asked in astonishment, "You mean..."

Spark grinned and smiled meaningfully, "Since they slander us as devils and beasts, then we have no choice but to cooperate with another group of devils."

As a well-known player who enjoys exploring the storyline, Spark has the contact information of many Internal Beta, which has now become his network for finding a way out for "Kindling".

He opened the panel and looked at "Steel Frenzy" in the list, the famous leader of the [Church of the Machine God].

North Wind Fortress, headquarters of the Church of the Machine God, the "Mars" Temple.

The door is decorated with a futuristic gear emblem.

The base is inscribed with the words: "In the name of the Holy Binary, praise be to Omnissiah! Glory to the God of All Machines!"

The Artificer players of the "Church of the Machine God" have taken cosplay to the extreme.

Meanwhile, Steel Frenzy was busy reviewing documents in the hall, his head spinning. Several Ogre guards stood beside him—ostensibly to protect Steel Frenzy's safety, but in reality, they were supervising his work.

Since he misappropriated public funds to build the mecha last time, Lang Pu has sent several close associates to keep a close watch on him to prevent a similar situation from happening again. Even large-scale fund transfers must be reported to higher authorities.

Steel Frenzy was devastated. In his own words, "I'm not a chairman, I'm just a laborer."

Recently, the Church of the Machine God has recruited many truly valuable and highly qualified individuals, assigning them senior technical positions. They are rapidly advancing their technology, combining real-world technology with magical capabilities, and have already created semi-automatic firearms, grenade launchers, and even designed magically powered tanks.

It is foreseeable that a new round of weapon upgrades is about to begin in the kingdom.

Steel Frenzy flipped through the next document.

Project No. 127: Early Internet Architecture Based on Weave - Remote Magic Terminal Connection

He couldn't help but swallow hard. Being the guild leader of this guild full of hidden talents always made him feel ashamed of himself.

"Holy crap, where did this big shot come from? Is he making such a fast pace? Now we're really going to start the Holy Binary."

Suddenly, a message popped up on the Steel Frenzy system panel, which made him temporarily put down the documents he was working on.

Spark: Kuang Chao Ge, are you there? Spark: Interested in sponsoring a batch of weapons?

Steel Frenzy:? Steel Frenzy had also heard of the "Kindling" organization established by Spark.

After all, the "Valier Riot" was published in a special section of the 《Kingdom Daily News》, becoming a major event that was widely discussed in the country, and even received high praise from the Kingdom's officials, who called it the "Mine Revolt".

Steel Frenzy: Trying to get something for nothing, huh?

Spark: How can you say that? This is an investment in the future! Steel Frenzy: I don't have that authority right now. I was fined last time I built a mech.

Spark: Then you should report this to your superiors. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I believe the kingdom's higher-ups would be happy to help us.

Steel Frenzy: Fine.

Steel Frenzy suddenly realized that this was a good opportunity to scam funding, and that he could get extra money that might allow him to build another set of mechs.

As for the firearms as aid, why not just pack up those obsolete junk and send them over? With that thought, he closed the chat interface and patted the somewhat sleepy Ogre next to him.

"Fat Skin?"

"What are you doing?"

"Don't try any tricks or try to get close to me. I studied accounting in Lord Lang Pu's class, and you still owe the kingdom a sum of money."

The Ogre, known as "Fat Skin," finally opened his eyes, waved his hand, and said impatiently.

"I have something important to report to Mr. Lang Pu."

"Oh."

Fat Skin muttered something, took out a crystal from his backpack, and skillfully activated it.

Soon, Lang Pu's ugly and frightening face appeared in the Magic Image.

"What's up?"

In order to pay off his debts as soon as possible and to escape the Ogre's surveillance, Steel Frenzy immediately put on a fawning smile.

"Lord Lang Pu, the leader of the ' Kindling ' organization in the Carter Duchy has contacted me."

"Oh?"

Lang Pu's voice was calm.

He had long suspected that the rebellions were caused by the Starfallers, and he was pleased with the outcome.

Steel Frenzy continued, "They hope to obtain a batch of weapons and some supplies from the kingdom to help them fight off the pursuit of the the North countries. I wonder if you could approve another grant?"

Lang Pu said casually, "There's no need to specifically allocate a sum of money."

"A few years ago, the army retired a batch of smoothbore muskets, which have been sitting in the warehouse. This time, we can send them all over. Once the production line is upgraded to semi-automatic rifles and the army's equipment is fully upgraded, those outdated and obsolete firearms can be sold to them at a low price."

Lang Pu paused, a warning glint in his eyes.

"Furthermore, the Kingdom's government will naturally support these actions, so you, the Church of the Machine God, don't need to worry about it."

"Okay, okay, don't worry, I'll go talk to him right away."

Seeing that Lang Pu had seen through his little scheme to scam funding, Steel Frenzy immediately put on a fawning smile and echoed his sentiments.

Once the Magic Image ended, he slumped wearily into a chair.

"It's one thing to be crushed by the big shots in the guild."

"How can I be intellectually outmatched by NPCs in a game?!"

The Steel Frenzy wailed silently in its heart.

Write down some player reactions to enrich the content of player-indigenous interactions; the main storyline will begin in two chapters.