The church is a large steeple house located deep in the town. When Sandora and I were observing the situation from the air, we found this house with a completely different architectural style from the surrounding ones. It’s just that we didn’t expect that the religions in this world would be so strange. : It only focuses on "storage technology" from the beginning to the end. All religious activities revolve around this goal, and ancient relics do not appear every day, so most of the time the church is idle.
There are no daily prayers, no rituals that are performed at a fixed time, and believers do not need to listen to the teachings of the gods frequently—as long as nothing related to ancient knowledge happens, the Lost God Religion is as if it does not exist.
This is the first time we have seen a religion with such a clear purpose that even its own propagation is not very important. If ordinary sects do this and there is no real god behind them, it may be over long ago, but the Lost Sect is still there. I really don't worry about this: they have ancient technology at hand, the clergy are armed like space warriors one by one, and they practice elitism from top to bottom, the power gap between them and ordinary people is close to that of gods and mortals, so this church has No signs of fading.
Celine is the only clergyman in the town, and naturally she is also the manager of the small church. She confessed to me that the church has not been opened for more than half a year, because the ancient ruins next to the town have never been opened before, and few adventurers will come There is business here, and the daily life of ordinary people will not be exposed to "forbidden knowledge", so there is no need for the church to be open. The opening half a year ago was because the higher-level diocese wanted to come here to find some information—the weird style of the Lost God Cult is evident.
However, although it is not open to the public, there are still dedicated volunteers responsible for cleaning the church every day, and Celine herself will come here to take care of it, so the facilities in the church are always available, and there is no sign of mess in the venue. The adventurers quickly gathered in the church, and I squeezed in the crowd with the Sandora ball to watch the excitement.
The internal structure of this country church is very simple. Eighty percent of the usable area in the building is a very spacious rectangular hall, but it is different from ordinary churches. There are no seats in this hall, only a few cushions near the wall for people to rest. The rectangular hall has a very high dome, and the roof is hung with intricate metal chains and decorations, which may have some symbolic meaning, while the two sides of the hall are lined with large stained glass windows. The long hall is not too dim.
At the end of the hall is the place where the pulpit is theoretically used, where Celine "works" - the word "theoretically" is used because I really don't think it is an altar...in fact, it is an alloy workbench.
This workbench is more than two meters long and about 1.5 meters wide, and is silver-white throughout. The surface is as clean as new, and it is obviously the most well-maintained part of the church. Considering its special nature, it should be taken care of by Celine herself. On one side of the workbench you can see many scrolls and cards in hardwood boxes, perhaps reference materials for Celine's "work", while on the other side you can see many neat gadgets, and... some The thing that I can't even understand may be the equipment left by the ancients, and of course it is more likely that the Lost God Cult made it based on the data.
Celine stood behind the workbench. She has already put on a solemn black robe, her tired and slack expression remains the same, but her attitude towards work is still very serious. A dozen adventurers were reporting to her the surrounding situation of the ruins "Ancient Tower", and Celine nodded slightly as she listened. Occasionally, I will ask some detailed questions aloud. This scene looks like a report meeting returned by the geological exploration team. It doesn't remind me of the sanctity of "religion" at all, but it is indeed a religious ceremony. And it is also the "Forbidden Knowledge Inquiry Ceremony" appointed by the God of Science and Technology...
"It's far worse than the religious scene that Lilina tossed up," Sandora lay down comfortably in my arms, muttering in a voice that no one else could hear. "Even Bingtis's jumping prayer ceremony can't compare to it. It seems that the previous popes of the Lost God Sect are not really studying religion. They just want to seal up the knowledge. As long as the ancient technology is still in their hands, even The authority of the church can be maintained without cumbersome rituals. However, grassroots priests like Celine seem to believe in the existence of the God of Technology."
Sandora is not invisible at the moment. After confirming that even a "professional" like Celine will be fooled by the ancient curse, Her Majesty the Queen is no longer willing to hide. Although I still think it's weird to hold a big ball of light everywhere I go, but Sandora doesn't seem to think so. Her golden appearance can attract a lot of attention no matter where she is. We are on the way to the church It almost attracted half a strengthened company of onlookers... Sandora didn't care, Her Majesty, she took it for granted that the idlers were the people's congratulations, but it made me embarrassed all the way. Fortunately, after arriving at the church, everyone focused on the business, and a strange luminous body did not make them lose their etiquette in the hall of the "God of Technology".
"The interior space of the ancient tower should be very large, and there are many outbuildings around it. Some look like old warehouses, but most of them are empty inside," said a bearded adventurer who seemed to be the most experienced One, he was reporting the situation as a representative, "No trace of unauthorized opening was found, so the warehouse should be empty from the beginning. The tower was built on a rocky platform..."
Now that we have talked about the location and structure of the ancient tower, Celine continued to listen while nodding. I saw that she was about to fall asleep in about ten minutes, and then...
The unexpected happened at last.
A piercing sound suddenly came from the forest in the northwest direction. It sounded like some kind of alarm sounded through the sky. , Everyone at the scene suddenly felt a strange feeling of numbness... The whole church was in an uproar!
"It's a taboo curse! The curse of ancient civilization has been leaked!" An unknown adventurer suddenly yelled, and the situation on the scene suddenly became out of control. All the adventurers grabbed the weapons on hand, and some of them While grabbing the weapon, they were still scratching their naked skin vigorously. The static sound of "crackling" came from the gaps in the clothes of many people, and some female adventurers even screamed: "Resonance! It's resonance!" ! That tower is the roaring tower, and it is attracting disaster!"
"It's a strong electromagnetic wave environment, and it's mixed with very powerful weird clutter." In the chaos, Sandora and I were the only two who remained absolutely calm. Her Majesty's current form did not affect her perception. Sandora quickly knew what happened, "It seems that a giant antenna has been activated... There may be some fault, the power of the antenna is out of control, and it is irradiating the direction of the town."
At this moment, there is more and more static electricity in the air, and some special metal parts in the church are slowly heating up. Uncontrollable electromagnetic waves are washing this place. Needless to say, I also know that some ancient tower has a problem!
But just when Sandora and I were about to make a move. Celine suddenly patted the workbench in front of her hard, and she, who always spoke softly, yelled for the first time: "Quiet! Keep calm! There are protective devices here!"
As Celine's voice fell, the static electricity in the surrounding air did not worsen, and Sandora and I felt that there seemed to be a barrier appearing above the town, which could withstand the electromagnetic wave radiation from the direction of the forest: look The Church of Appearance knows the situation of the ruins next to this town, so there are emergency protective measures here. Presumably there's an electromagnetic shield device hidden under the church
"It's the ancient tower that was activated, it's an emergency," Celine breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the church's protective measures had been activated normally. Then, while putting away the newly handed-in excavations on the workbench, he quickly ordered, "Part of the adventurers present... just a few of you, go and tell the civilians not to leave the house, and not to touch them until the sky turns blue." Metal items in the house. Keep an eye out for fires and abnormal smoke, and most importantly... Never leave the town’s walls! The rest of you should inform the adventurers on standby to go to the ancient tower!”
Adventurers are worthy of being a well-trained group, even though the unexpected situation made them panic. Under Celine's command, everyone took action immediately. At the same time, Celine turned to look at me: "Mr. Scholar, please wait in the town first, you are not fighting..."
"I'll follow." I shrugged, "Actually, I have quite a lot of experience in dealing with ruins."
"It's not for this reason," Celine said with a slightly troubled expression, "It's the situation this time... We may have to enter the core of the ancient tower, and may even touch some forbidden places in the ruins. You are not an adventurer, and you cannot touch higher-level taboos. Knowledge."
I'll go, what about this restriction? Only adventurers can touch the core of the ruins
The guise of "scholar" has been very smooth before. I thought there was a loophole in the sect's management of the relics in this regard. As long as people who call themselves scholars can access forbidden knowledge at will, I didn't expect that there is still a gap between "scholars" and "adventurers". There is such a difference: only the latter is an officially recognized professional, and the former is actually a private scientist who can only watch the fun from the sidelines, regardless of his name? What about the good luck buff that the protagonist can hit the bull's-eye as long as he fools around? I have been an enthusiastic audience for two days in a state of embarrassment!
I thought about it, and decided to follow along: "Actually, I also have the qualifications to be an adventurer..."
Celine was surprised immediately, and then asked a very realistic question: "Then why didn't you say it earlier, do you have the exploration license with you?"
My first thought was: What is an exploration license? Then he realized in an instant: Sure enough, when it comes to the core areas of ancient knowledge, sect management is so strict, it turns out that adventurers still need certificates!
So the authority of the "scholar" that I have been using to fool people can only explore around the ruins? I was really lucky that I didn't reveal my secrets before, but how to solve the problem of exploration certificate now
Sandora ball arched in my arms, and muttered lazily: "I knew that Ah Jun's words alone would not be enough... Celine, look into my eyes... Forget it, look at me, we don't know Exploration certificate is required, understand?"
"...Okay, now I'm ready to go to the ruins." Celine was slightly confused by the light released by the Sandora ball for a moment, and then murmured to herself, while the surrounding adventurers actively ignored this side in a daze. abnormal situation.
Soon the adventurers who were on standby all over the town were also summoned, and under Celine's command, they went to the town's entrance to form a mighty team, while Celine herself returned home, waiting for her to appear among the crowd again. When in front of...
Already armed, she looks like a future female warrior who is going to fight for aliens.
"It's the Holy Clothes of the Church!" The experienced adventurer exclaimed when he saw Celine appearing with a particle rifle, "The situation is already this serious?!"
Celine is still wearing that solemn black cloth robe now. It seems that she is not worried that such clothes will make it difficult to move in the forest. At the same time, what is exposed under the cloth robe is an armed belt with a lot of strange small equipment and spare energy blocks. She is carrying a meter-long weapon on her shoulder Particle rifle, with a small alloy knife in his left hand, a small metal box that should be a power backpack on his back, and a Bible hanging on his waist—if you throw it in Hollywood, you can basically appear in it except that you can’t make cartoons Is it in any movie of any kind
Sandora couldn't help sighing: "...the weird phenomenon caused by the dynasties of civilization..."
"Is Ailu okay at home?" When all the adventurers were busy checking their equipment and preparing to fight nervously, I couldn't help but approach Celine and ask about the little girl.
"She hasn't experienced anything like this... but I'm sure the kid will take care of herself," Celine clicked on the rifle safety. Then he looked up at the sky, "The church has set up this kind of barrier in the settlements around each ruin, as long as it doesn't leave the town, it's fine."
The sky is now showing a weird pink color, which is the result of the fierce conflict between the electromagnetic shield covering the entire town and the microwave environment in the air. Sandora just probed carefully and found that there is indeed a set of shields under the church in the town. The electromagnetic shield generator, because it is quite concealed and has been closed, has not been discovered by us. But it's normal to think about it, even if the Lost God Cult seals up all ancient technologies. This kind of protective equipment must also be prepared in every human town. After all, there must be a high-intensity radiation environment in the world after a high-tech war. If survivors want to survive in the post-apocalyptic world, they must have protection against radiation. device.
The Lost God Cult only needs to ensure that these devices will not be directly exposed to civilians.
Celine fumbled some kind of detection device from her waist. Testing the electromagnetic environment outside the town, then pointing forward: "Let's go!"
The single mother with a hard life turned into an imposing high-tech combat nun, and she could vaguely see what she and her husband looked like when they were out on adventures.
From the town, cross a wide wooden bridge over the river. Walking a few tens of meters further, we can enter the big forest, but our route is not straight, but around a big arc. Something is clearly evading in the middle: deadly electromagnetic waves.
The ultra-high-power antenna system itself can also be used as a thermal weapon. As long as there is a suitable frequency, the cost of being irradiated by a microwave antenna is almost equivalent to being locked in a microwave oven. The ancient tower in the forest, apparently some kind of communication facility, is now emitting intense microwave radiation as well as several other frequencies of harmful electromagnetic waves, of which microwaves cause heating of bodies of water, and other frequencies of electromagnetic waves that cause electrification of metals and abnormalities in the air The town is protected by a barrier, so it is temporarily unobstructed, but strange and terrifying scenes can be seen in many places outside the town: the river next to the town is steaming, and dead fish are floating on the river with their white bellies , a large number of birds were startled from the forest, they screamed in terror, circling crazily around the forest like headless flies, but they couldn't leave this area at all, there were unlucky birds that accidentally entered the invisible space in the sky The dead zone, and then falling stiffly to the ground, the birds had their brains cooked before they hit the ground.
In the other direction deep in the forest, thick smoke can already be seen rising. I hope the scale of the next forest fire will not be too large... But now is the season of abundant rainfall, and the water content of the trees is very high, so it probably won't happen Such a catastrophe happens.
These weird sights are nothing to Sandora and me. At most, they let us curiously guess how many sets of antennas in the ancient tower were out of control to produce such a complicated and chaotic electromagnetic environment, but for adventurers But it was different. Under the leadership of Celine, people avoided the dangerous area directly irradiated by the antenna, but everyone could still feel the tingling feeling of static electricity, and people silently chanted the name of the god of technology. , Holding their weapons tightly, some adventurers were even chanting spell-like syllables: they firmly believed that the evil knowledge in the ancient ruins was leaking out, and many adventurers probably followed Celine with the mentality of dying in honor.
But after all, no one is left behind: although the adventurers are inferior to the clergy in terms of knowledge and determination, they are still one of the best elite forces in the world. Just get cold feet.
The team quickly entered the depths of the forest. Celine was fiddling with some small equipment, trying to find a safe direction to approach the ancient tower. At this moment, we heard a faint cry for help from not far away. Come: "Help... help!"
"Over there!" A sharp-eyed adventurer immediately spotted the black figure lying down under the bushes in the distance. (To be continued..) RT