Council of the Gods

Although there is no evidence, Kronos strongly suspects that this is the result of the Evernight Goddess's influence.

Even if there were evidence, so what?

Can we really just throw this discreet veil away and not use it?

That's definitely not possible, because the Council of the Gods is coming up very soon.

So there's no other way; since the environment can't adapt to you, you have to adapt to the environment yourself.

Since the Concealment Scarf has already been upgraded, Kronos no longer needs to worry too much about being exposed.

He wrote to Pope Ivan that very day, indicating that he was ready.

Therefore, under the Pope's auspices, the Council of the Gods began on the second day.

This Council of the Gods also demonstrates the strength of the Church of Steam and Machinery.

Besides Pope Ivan, the Church of Steam and Machinery also has an Angel named Greenton, who is the Monastery Director of the Enlightenment Monastery within the church, holding a position similar to that of Arianna.

The Sequence Two of the Paragon Pathway is called the Knowledge Mentor. Just from this name, one can roughly determine the role Rules of this Pathway.

Each member of the Church of Steam and Machinery who attained the status of Angel had two choices.

One option is to go to the "Perfect Land," the Divine Kingdom of the God of Steam and Machinery, so that one can always serve the god.

Alternatively, one could choose to stay in this world and become an Grounded Angel.

Generally speaking, those who choose the second option become the Monastery Director of the Enlightenment Monastery.

The primary responsibility of this position is to assist the Pope in managing the entire Church, while also teaching some outstanding members of Sequence 5 4.

Not only can it cultivate outstanding talents for the church, but it can also help digest its own Potion.

Apart from the two Angel, the other attendees at the Council of the Gods were all Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore.

Some of these Sequence 3 individuals are located within the Cathedral of Machinery, so they participate in the meeting in their true forms.

Those who are not in the Cathedral of Machinery communicate through Beyonder Item.

After the meeting officially began, the Triangular Sacred Emblem symbolizing the God of Steam and Machinery lit up, signifying the arrival of the God of Steam and Machinery, who was watching over the meeting.

There was nothing particularly new at this meeting; it was just a few dispatched Scholar of Yore reporting on their recent progress, followed by the Pope outlining the direction for future developments.

The most important of these was, of course, the Backlund incident.

A major event would certainly affect the development strategy of the Church of Steam and Machinery.

When it was Kronos's turn to speak, he felt a little nervous, since everyone's attention was focused on him, including the God of Steam and Machinery.

If any problem arises, he will definitely run away.

This is because he can attend the meeting in Backlund through Beyonder Item; if he were asked to go to the Cathedral of Machinery, he certainly wouldn't go.

After taking a deep breath, Kronos began his statement.

This whole affair had nothing to do with him; he was merely fueling the flames, so Kronos had absolutely no intention of covering it up for him.

He then recounted the events as they happened.

Upon hearing speculation that the Loen Royal Family, the Aurora Order, and the Demoness Sect might be involved, Kronos clearly saw Pope Ivan and Greenton exchange glances.

This tiny movement was enough for Kronos to believe that they might know about it.

Kronos searched through the Puppet 'Jacques memories but found no trace of Horamick's knowledge of the matter. Either the Church of Steam and Machinery was completely unaware of it, or the only person who knew was someone at a higher level.

However, in Kronos's speculation, the Church of Steam and Machinery was the most likely to "collude" with these forces.

The True God didn't care much, because even if George III became a god, it wouldn't conflict with their Pathway, and they would gain another ally.

However, they have no intention of helping George III, and some, like the Church of Storms and the Church of Evernight, might even try to stop him.

After all, the Church of Storms is the largest church in Loen, and like the Church of Evernight, it only preaches within the Loen Kingdom.

Once George III becomes a god, one can easily imagine the enormous impact this would have on the believers of both churches.

But the Church of Steam and Machinery was quite different.

Because its power is small, its influence is also small. Moreover, the Church of Steam and Machinery not only preaches in the Loen Kingdom, but its roots are more in the Republic of Intis.

If the Augustus Family were to choose a partner, they would definitely choose the Church of Steam and Machinery.

But even someone of Horamick's caliber didn't know about it, which shows how secretive this matter was.

After Kronos finished recounting the Aurora Order and the Demoness Sect, he then emphasized the church's personnel being stationed in the army and its cooperation with the Negan.

According to Kronos, the Negan harbored extreme resentment towards the Church of Storms because of the death of Old Negan, which is why they devised this method of revenge.

He used a lot of persuasion to convince the Negan to switch their partnership from the Church of Evernight to the Church of Steam and Machinery.

As long as the accounts of Kronos and the Negan are consistent, then this Lie is the truth.

The Pope seemed very pleased with Horamick's approach.

Because of Emperor Roselle, the Church of Steam and Machinery, under the suppression of the Eternal Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, gained a foothold in the Republic of Intis.

However, with the falling out between the Church of Steam and Machinery and Emperor Roselle, and the death of Emperor Roselle, the influence of the Church of Steam and Machinery also declined.

The fact that the Church of Steam has been able to restart its operations in the Loen Kingdom is a historic turning point for the Church of Steam and Machinery.

After Kronos finished speaking, the Council of the Gods came to a close.

Pope Ivan concluded with some standard remarks, expressing his encouragement to everyone and his loyalty to God.

After that, the Council of the Gods came to an end.

However, Kronos was kept after school.

This action immediately made Kronos nervous.

Although I felt I hadn't given anything away, I wasn't entirely sure and didn't know what had gone wrong.

This time, the detention was a one-on-one duel between Kronos and Ivan, and even the Angel Greenton voluntarily left.

After everyone had left, Ivan said amiably, "Horamick, you did a great job this time, thwarting the conspiracy of the Aurora Order and the Demoness Sect in one fell swoop, but don't do it again in the future."

Kronos had already guessed that the Pope probably knew something, so he wasn't too surprised by the statement.

But while Kronos might not be shocked, Horamick must be.

So Horamick looked up at Ivan with a shocked expression, and said in a tone of doubt and disbelief, "Pope, what do you mean by this?"

Ivan sensed that Horamick was unusually emotional today, but he didn't suspect anything and simply explained:

"We have a cooperative relationship with the Augustus Family, all for the better development of our church."

"Although the Augustus Family also has collaborations with the Aurora Order and the Demoness Sect, this matter is outside our scope of concern."

"I'm not asking you to help them, but if you encounter a similar situation in the future, you can just pretend you didn't see it."

Judging from the course of events and Horamick's account, this whole affair was completely messed up by Horamick alone, which is why Ivan is saying what he is saying now.

In Ivan's memory, Horamick wasn't exactly lazy, but he wasn't particularly diligent either, so he didn't know why he was so proactive this time.

Kronos feigned some disappointment and said, "What if we encounter the Aurora Order or the Demoness Sect again? I've discovered that the Saint Tenebrous of the Aurora Order seems to be in Backlund, and I'm preparing to capture him."

The second half of the sentence was obviously made up by Kronos.

Through the original work, Kronos learned that after Mr. A disappeared, the Saint Tenebrous was the one in charge of things in Backlund.

So Kronos intended to use this incident to force out Ivan's true thoughts.

Ivan was taken aback by Horamick's unexpected speed.

Then he quickly said, "Let's not take action for now. After all, the Augustus Family is our ally. We shouldn't interfere too much with their plans."

Upon hearing this, Kronos nodded, roughly understanding the Church of Steam and Machinery's intentions.

It was about facilitating all the arrangements for George III's Apotheosis Ritual, but whether George III ultimately became a god was irrelevant.

Therefore, when Klein disrupted the Apotheosis Ritual, the Church of Steam and Machinery Member had no intention of intervening.

Seeing that "Horamick" nodded, Ivan said reassuringly, "Horamick, you've done a great job this time. The Church will definitely give you a satisfactory reward. Tell me what you want?"

Upon hearing this, Kronos asked with eager anticipation, "Does the Church have any methods to facilitate the digestion of Potion? I feel like I'm only one step away from completely digesting Potion."

Kronos's request perfectly matched Horamick's situation, and after hearing it, Ivan understood why Horamick had suddenly become so enthusiastic.

When life is nearing its end, people naturally try all sorts of ways to extend it a little further.

Upon hearing Horamick's request, Ivan pondered for a moment, then said, "I wonder if you would be willing to go to God's Divine Kingdom and serve God wholeheartedly?"

The so-called wholehearted service to God is actually the baptism of the God of Steam and Machinery, allowing oneself to accept God's will with all one's heart and soul.

After such baptism, the baptized person will be completely aligned with God's Pathway, and their subsequent development will be rapid.

However, there was a problem: the mortality rate was very high. For example, Botu, the "restorer" of the Argel Family, died in this way.

Even the original Horamick couldn't accept such a method, let alone the current Kronos.

Seeing that Kronos refused, Ivan didn't say anything more, after all, he himself wasn't very comfortable with this approach.

Since there was no effective method, Kronos generously stated that he had no need for anything, and that serving the church was his duty without expecting anything in return.

Although Kronos hadn't used these workplace clichés for a while, he was still quite adept at them.

Even if Kronos made that statement, Ivan couldn't possibly refuse to give him a reward; that would obviously be inappropriate.

So Ivan spoke up, saying, "I know you've already collected Potion for the Knowledge Mentor, so there's nothing the Church can do to help you in this regard."

"Alright then, you really like 1-17, right? From today onwards, ownership of this Sealed Artifact will be transferred to you."

"As for the missing Sealed Artifact in Saint Hilleran Cathedral, I will choose another Sealed Artifact to replace it for you."

There are strict regulations regarding the number of Sealed Artifact on the Saint Hilleran Cathedral.

The regulations were not issued by the Church of Steam and Machinery, but rather were an agreement reached between the Loen Royal Family and the Three Great Churches.

Angel cannot appear in Backlund at will, Three Great Churches can only store one Grade 0 Sealed Artifact and five Grade 1 Sealed Artifact in Backlund.

Therefore, there is one Grade 0 Sealed Artifact and five Grade 1 Sealed Artifact in the Saint Hilleran Cathedral.

The Grade 0 Sealed Artifact was firmly sealed, and because of its severe negative effects, even Kronos did not intend to possess it.

Now that the Rules Peeper numbered 1-17 have become Kronos's personal property, the Church of Steam and Machinery can naturally add another Grade 1 Sealed Artifact.

This is definitely a good thing for Kronos.

With the Rules Peeper privatized, the newly added Grade 1 Sealed Artifact will most likely also be under the control of this Archbishop, thus significantly boosting his strength.

After thanking the Pope for the reward, Kronos's Consciousness returned to the Saint Hilleran Cathedral in Backlund.

Meanwhile, Old Fan was looking at Kronos with envy.

He was once a staunch member of the Church of Steam and Machinery, rising through the ranks to become Demigod and then Archbishop.

However, because he was only at Sequence 4, he was ineligible for the Council of the Gods.

Unexpectedly, this guy Kronos infiltrated the Council of the Gods, making Van Aisting incredibly envious.

After regaining his senses, the first thing Kronos did was to pass on the Information he had gathered that day to Arianna.

It wasn't that Kronos was particularly dedicated; it was mainly because he was currently under the protection of the Church of Evernight, and he needed to demonstrate his value.

Putting aside the fact that the Church of Steam and Machinery was cooperating with the Augustus Family, even the reports from the other Scholar of Yore were quite valuable to the Church of Evernight.

Therefore, Kronos's value is now evident, and the Church of Evernight will be able to provide more support.

Kronos didn't ask for anything else, he just hoped that the Evernight Goddess would lend him a hand and save his life when he was in danger.