Chapter 115

Now that Utravsky was willing to take full responsibility for the Violent Bear's affairs, Kronos was relieved.

After leaving the Harvest Church, Kronos drove back to the Saint George District, but instead of going home, he went to the Saint Hilarion Church.

This had become a routine activity for Kronos: cultivating relationships within the Saint Hilarion Church.

Let alone ordinary Clergy, even if he encountered a member of the Machinery Hivemind, or even the Captain of the Machinery Hivemind, Ikanser Bernard, Kronos could chat with him for a long time.

Because he came so often, Kronos had become quite familiar to Archbishop Horamick Hayden, though he rarely had a chance to strike up a conversation; otherwise, Kronos have already rushed up to chat with him.

In fact, the Church of Steam and Machinery was unaware that the Argel Family had discovered the cause of their Ancestor's death, which is why they have been trying to win over the Argel Family for so many years.

Although Kronos knew the Church of Steam and Machinery had ill intentions, Kronos wasn't someone who easily acted on impulse; on the contrary, he hoped to use the Church of Steam and Machinery's power to help himself.

The purpose of this effort to improve relations was to obtain the Black Emperor Card, which was hidden inside a disguised bookmark. This bookmark was among the relics of Emperor Roselle in the Church of Steam and Machinery's collection.

However, the timing was not good. Klein's chosen one happened to be there during Emperor Roselle's exhibition. No matter how tight the museum's defenses were, there were always loopholes for Beyonder to exploit.

However, these relics are now stored in the Storeroom of Saint Hilarion Church, Church houses the most powerful Machinery Hivemind squad in the entire Backlund Diocese, and is overseen by the Saint Horamick Hayden.

Faced with this lineup, Kronos didn't even entertain the slightest wicked thought. Let alone now, even after becoming Demigod, it's hard to say whether he could steal Western Capital from this den of dragons and tigers.

So it's best to maintain a good relationship before lending it out. After all, the Church of Steam and Machinery also wants to win him over, so this approach has a much higher chance of success.

As soon as Kronos entered, he ran into Ikanser Bernard, the Captain of the Machinery Hivemind, who was sitting in the first row of the Saint Hilarion Church.

The reason this Captain was sitting here so obediently was because of the person standing at the very front of the Church — Horamick Hayden.

The head of the Backlund Diocese of the Church of Steam and Machinery, Member of the Council Before God, rarely leads worship services, so the Church was packed with people today.

The God of Steam and Machinery is indeed the weakest among the many True God, but thanks to Emperor Roselle, his development over the past one or two hundred years has been extremely rapid.

Therefore, the number of believers in the Church of Steam and Machinery is extremely large, surpassing that of the Church of Evernight and the Church of Storms.

So Kronos went to two Church this morning, but experienced two completely different states.

When Kronos arrived at the Church, the Clergy at the entrance greeted him warmly and led him to the first row, where he sat with the people of the Machinery Hivemind.

This is the advantage of having connections in the church. The entire Church was packed with people, not just sitting, but standing. Yet, when Kronos arrived, he managed to snag a seat in the front row.

"Ikanser, what brings the Archbishop here to preside over the service today?" Kronos asked Ikanser in a low voice.

Ikanser looked around, then whispered furtively to Kronos, "You don't know, do you? The Archbishop has been especially happy lately. Everyone says he's taken a step closer to becoming Angel, which is why he's in a good mood and presided over the service today."

In the original work, Horamick Hayden was only mentioned briefly, as a Saint, but his Sequence was not specified. Kronos learned from Ikanser that the Archbishop was a Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore.

Kronos exclaimed in perfect unison, "Wow, that's amazing! Does that mean the Archbishop is about to be promoted to Angel?"

"It's not that fast. The Archbishop is the most senior member of the current Council of the Gods, even more senior than the Grand Pontiff. He reached Sequence 3 decades ago and has been striving to become Angel for so many years, so every step forward makes him very happy."

This Ikanser isn't just gay, he's also a complete liar, telling Kronos everything.

Kronos also valued this point, which is why he made a point of cultivating a good relationship with Ikanser, hoping to extract more information from her.

"If the Archbishop really becomes Angel, will he go to the earthly Divine Kingdom of the God of Steam? Then the Saint Hilarion Church will have to change Archbishop."

Kronos's words were clearly purposeful; he was simply trying to find out what other Demigod lived in the Church.

"I don't know. If the Archbishop really succeeds, he might be able to replace the current Pope, after all, his qualifications are there. As for the next Archbishop, that's hard to say. There are several qualified adults in Saint Hilarion Church, but if the Archbishop were to recommend someone, it would probably be Nosk."

"Nosk? Who is this lord? I've never heard of him." Kronos continued to probe.

Ikanser then "generously" continued, "Nosk can be considered Archbishop Horamick's adopted son. The Archbishop raised and taught him from a young age, nurturing him all the way to Sequence 5, where he is currently attempting to become Demigod. If he succeeds, he will very likely succeed the archbishop directly."

After Ikanser explained it this way, Kronos roughly understood.

There are still a few Demigod in this Church, and this Nosk is a rising star who is trying to become Demigod. If he succeeds, he will have a good chance of succeeding Archbishop.

Since there are several Demigod in this Church, Kronos is even more likely to behave himself Church; it's practically a den of wolves and tigers.

In any case, Kronos is definitely not as reckless as Klein, daring to break into the Church of Evernight's Saint Samuel Cathedral. If it weren't for the Evernight Goddess already "protecting" him, he would have been dead in no time.

As the two continued their conversation, the week drew to a close, culminating in a heartfelt prayer.

After it ended, the believers all walked out, but Kronos followed the members of the Machinery Hivemind into the Church with a perfectly reasonable attitude, showing no intention of leaving.

It's not a big problem, since none of the members of Machinery Hivemind have any intention of getting rid of him.

So Kronos followed these people into a meeting room in the Saint Hilarion Church.

Horamick, seated at the head of the table, glanced around and said kindly, "We have a new little friend here today."

Upon hearing Archbishop Horamick mention him, Kronos quickly pushed his way out of the crowd.

"Greetings, Archbishop. I am Kronos of the Argel Family. I was just curious, so I followed you all in. If you have important matters to discuss, I will be leaving now."

Kronos hadn't expected them to gather together to discuss business; otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have come—wouldn't that easily leave a bad impression?

However, Horamick didn't seem unhappy at all. Instead, he said kindly, "We do have some things to discuss. Kronos, if you don't mind, you can go out for a walk and come back to me for coffee. I have some pretty good coffee."

"Yes, yes, Archbishop, I'll be right there." Kronos quickly agreed, then turned and slipped out the door.

After Kronos left the conference room, he heard Goodwill laughter coming from the conference room behind him.

Kronos knew perfectly well that Archbishop Horamick's words were just a casual remark and not a sincere invitation, so he wouldn't be so tactless as to wait for the meeting to end and then go get some coffee for free.

So Kronos strolled around casually for a bit, then left and walked towards his Research Center.

As soon as I Gate into the Research Center, a group of people surrounded me.

"Professor Argel, Professor Portland sent someone with a message saying that what you hope for is possible, but you need to go to the Higher Education Committee in person to persuade those people."

"Yes, Professor Portland's assistant just said that and left. We don't know what he said. Could you tell us?"

Kronos hadn't expected Portland to resolve the matter so quickly. Judging from the explanation, they had probably secured an opportunity. Whether they could persuade those people was up to them.

Kronos needed just such an opportunity; he believed that the pie in his sky—no, the vision he envisioned—would definitely attract the members of the committee.

Kronos nodded and said, "I understand. Did Professor Portland's assistant say when to try to persuade them?"

One student chimed in, "He said you can go directly to the Higher Education Committee at 2 PM the day after tomorrow to discuss this matter."

After hearing this, Kronos stopped talking and started walking into the Research Center.

At this point, the people gathered around became a little anxious. "Professor Argel, please tell us what happened!"

Kronos paid no attention and continued walking in, saying as he went, "You will know when it's your time. If you know now but fail, then it's all for nothing."

"Besides, neither the Research Center nor the restructuring of Backlund Technical College is something you're destined to miss out on. You're graduating next year."

"As for matters that need to be discussed with the Higher Education Committee, they will be implemented after the reorganization is completed, which should be three years from now. By then, it will not only affect you, but all current students."