When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

Horn thought about this as the carriage slowly passed by Hilov’s small park.

The sea of chrysanthemums flashed by as the carriage went through the checkpoint, ascended the hill, and arrived at the gate of the Mechanical Palace.

"Your Holiness."

As Horn got out of the carriage, the two guards at the entrance immediately bowed in salute.

Smiling, he nodded to them as His Holiness the Pope briskly walked towards the Mechanical Palace.

Although Hilov mentioned giving him a surprise, Cheka had already spilled the beans to Horn.

It’s progress with the Libra Crown, and its capabilities were enough to make Horn’s heart race with excitement.

At the entrance, two painted copper roosters stared blankly at the visitors, a commemoration of the tilted-head rooster from the past.

Through the garden courtyard lined with bare branches and leaves and past the spinning little Angel, there lay the Ethereal Tower and experiment square.

The Mechanical Palace had recently undergone expansion, even the experiment square had grown larger.

Red, blue, and white bricks paved the ground, the seams filled with mortar, complemented by sandpits, lawns, pools, and large experimental machinery.

This was Hilov’s recent area of activity.

Seeing Horn, Loden at the gate immediately approached.

"Where’s the stuff?" Horn asked directly without wasting words.

"Follow me."

Following Loden around a hedgerow wall, Horn found Hilov and Leonardo, among others.

They gathered around with engineers and inventors, gazing at something in the center.

Protected by guards, it was roughly the height of a person, entirely made of brass, filled with finely complex gears and mechanical elements.

At the center, secured by four iron claws, was the Libra Crown.

Since the day it was activated by the dragon’s soul, its surface had a pearl-like shimmer.

"How’s it going?" Horn asked first, "Any findings from the research?"

"Yes." Hilov stood up from the wheelchair, giving Horn a hug, "We can basically confirm that this Libra Crown is actually a small ether pump."

Horn gave Hilov a quick kiss, attempting to touch her tail, but she deftly dodged.

Awkwardly hugging Hilov’s slender waist, Horn felt an inner calm.

Some things done often enough lose their novelty and even become rather dull.

Now, his focus was on practical matters.

"So does a small ether pump mean this crown can pump ether like the Ethereal Tower?" Horn asked skeptically.

Knowing how complex the process of guiding ether from the Ethereal Tower was, Horn found it hard to believe such a small item could encapsulate such a large device.

"Indeed." Leonardo replied confidently.

"Show me a demonstration."

Assured there was no danger, Horn was invited to step aside.

Hilov placed her hand on the crown, and Leonardo pulled a lever nearby.

About half a second later, amidst increasing resonant sounds, a fingernail-sized astral rift appeared roughly half a meter above the center of the Libra Crown.

Soon, familiar starlight descended like threads, falling into the basin below.

"It really is. Ayer Technology..." Horn stepped forward, scratching his chin, eyes wide, circling around the device.

"Does it need calculation for weak astral points?"

"No need." Hilov replied, her tail spinning like a windmill, "As long as mana is infused, with a small ether pump guiding the process, it can be utilized."

"Do you know what the principle behind it is?"

"No idea." Hilov shook her head.

"The internal structure?"

"Also don’t know." Leonardo scratched his neck in frustration, "According to our tests, it’s just an ordinary Gold Crown, even solid inside."

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Horn couldn’t imagine that such a large Ethereal Tower could be condensed into something so small.

Moreover, the smartest individuals of the Holy Alliance couldn’t even remotely understand or fabricate this.

By the time this miracle could be self-produced by the Royal Court Barracks, it might be reaching the cosmic era.

Even given Horn’s lifespan, he probably wouldn’t witness it.

Wait a minute, Horn’s contemplative expression suddenly froze on his face, and he rarely found his voice trembling.

Doesn’t this mean—

"It’s essentially a mobile small ether tower?"

"Yes." Hilov’s tail produced a swooshing sound as it swept through the air.

"So doesn’t it—"

"Indeed." Leonardo couldn’t hold back his laughter, "We’ve already begun designing it, preparing to create a small ether clock.

Thus, although the crown’s ether field might be small, within it, the effects akin to those within the Royal Court Barracks could still be felt.

My Divine Titan battle vehicle could finally take to the battlefield."

"Impossible." Hilov immediately interrupted, "A ten thousand-pound battle vehicle, how many battles can it fight? How do you calculate depreciation costs? What about lunar mercury?"

"Uh—"

"Wait, wait, wait, so you’re saying, within this mobile ether clock, those strange and curious miracles in the Royal Court Barracks can work as normal?"

"Indeed." Hilov elegantly raised her chin, proudly hummed.

"Nice, you’ve done well." Horn picked Hilov up and spun her twice in mid-air.

Yet, compared to the Wolf Woman of the past, the current Wolf Woman’s expression was much more indifferent, having been desensitized.

They had played through much more difficult moves before.

If this worked, battlefield performance alone would be explosive.

As long as its coverage exceeded a radius of three kilometers, it could essentially cover a battlefield for engagements involving fifty to a hundred thousand soldiers.

On such a battlefield, all sorts of strange and miraculous Spring Mechanisms only usable within the Royal Court Barracks could be used against the enemy.

However, having calmed down, Horn realized he was being overly optimistic.

Many inventions of the Royal Court Barracks, while spectacular, were seldom applicable for real battlefield use.

Even though the Holy Alliance now possessed the technical ability to manufacture and operate early motor vehicles, it didn’t mean they could immediately develop tanks and airplanes.

Even from the invention of motor vehicles to machine guns, there are decades of gap.

Unfortunately, there was only one, and Horn couldn’t help but click his tongue.

Carefully thinking, Serafe surprisingly had four of them.

Following this reasoning, Horn roughly guessed that these were the sources of the giant infantry battles.

If the Royal Court had long had this technology, they would’ve launched attacks long ago.

Surely, it was only after Serafe rose to power, having been marked by her identity as Lilith’s divine choice, and her acquisition of the Triadic Crown and Blood Holy Grail.

The Triadic Crown composed of the White Sun Crown, Eternal Fire Crown, and Plow and Sword Crown.

According to the Sorrido Clan, the Blood Holy Grail corresponds to the Red Moth Crown.

The Empire’s three crowns, Falan’s Golden Ears Crown, Leia’s Libra Crown, Norn’s Thorn Crown.

It’s a pity that for Norn and Falan, their crowns symbolize national law and heritage.

Unless they are defeated or captured, they would never relinquish them.

"Damn it."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing." Horn shook his head in denial, reaching out to Leonardo, "Is there a blueprint or diagram for the small ether clock? Let me see."

Leonardo deftly extracted a roll of paper from its case and handed it to Horn.

Picking up the paper, Horn couldn’t quite understand the diagram, but he had knowledge from his past life to "guide" him.

Besides, didn’t he deserve a bit of "looking at a plum to quench his thirst?"

But as he continued to look, Horn felt something was off.

"Is it my imagination, or have you designed it into a brass throne?"