A Mechanical Priest leading a squad of fully armed soldiers could face several times their number in Transcendents head-on.
Or they could maintain large-scale equipment. Steam Tanks could still be controlled by [Investigators], but War Fortresses had to be operated personally by Mechanical Priests. These war machines could change the course of an entire battlefield.
This actually suited Theus's way of thinking better—a Transcendent should use supernatural power to assist soldiers in battle, rather than charging into the fray themselves.
Well, [Buriers] might be an exception. They really couldn't die.
Since the Steel Gospel Society's factory was not operating, Lynn merely led them and several mechanical apprentices on a brief tour.
But Little Gwen examined everything with great care, even asking for paper and pen to scribble calculations.
"What are you doing?" Lina asked curiously.
Gwen did not hide anything. Lina could see whatever she wrote on the paper, but seeing it did not mean understanding it. The jumble of symbols made Lina feel as if she were looking at some kind of supernatural runes.
This time, she truly felt illiterate.
"I'm calculating this factory's production capacity." Little Gwen did not even look up.
"You can calculate that?"
"Of course. Machines have limits to their efficiency, while people—people are merely a burden in a factory. You need to apply a weighted reduction from the theoretical limit of machine operation. Considering that Mechanical Priests are good at maintaining equipment, that reduction can be a little smaller..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Lina rubbed her forehead. The technical jargon was giving her a headache. "Where did you learn all this?"
"At Blood Port's schools. The literacy classes are free, and they provide meals. Advanced classes are also tuition-free; you only need to buy your own textbooks. If you want to save money, you can