Embers of Embers

Chapter 332 Assumptions
Under the dark night, a few raindrops fell, and then the majestic heavy rain fell, dragging the entire old Dunling into the hazy world again, and in this hazy night, the iron snake moved forward rapidly, passing through Behind countless buildings and guards, it slowly stopped.
"So what's Arthur calling us for?"
The kestrel was the first to step off the iron snake, taking up his umbrella, followed by the robin and the shrike.
"Defense," the Shrike answered shortly.
Although they are both high-ranking knights, Shrike has far more power than Kestrel and others.
The robin turned back and looked at the thunderous clouds. With the flashing white, the war airship left black silhouettes in the night sky one after another, like the giant whale swimming in the sky.
This kind of bad weather has a great impact on war airships, and they may fall if they are not careful. Therefore, when the rainy season comes, war airships should be parked in the airport for maintenance. But now they appear in batches. In order to reduce the risk, they all fly at low altitudes. With.
"Defense? Defense for what." Kestrel asked.
This is the old Dunling, and now they are located in the Black Mountain Hospital. Although Kestrel hates this place, as a scientific research institution for the purification agency, it is safe enough. He doesn't know what to defend against.
"If something happens, you will know how to defend yourself. What you need now is to assign work and stand guard."
Shrike said while motioning for several people to follow.
He didn't plan to say anything more, but the damp evening wind brought a chilling chill, as if something was coming, breaking the rain curtain.
The kestrel looked back at the night sky. As the thunder passed by, one after another ferocious armors were hung in the air. They landed from the war airship and disappeared into the darkness below.
For a moment, Kestrel couldn't help but feel a little suffocated. There were so many armors. It seemed that all the armors from the purification agency had been transferred here. He couldn't imagine what they would face next.
Shrike moved forward without looking back. He knew more information than Kestrel, and he also understood how quickly the third generation of armor could be produced with the support of industrial technology.
In the never-sleeping furnace of the Mechanical Institute, they created an army of steel.
"Is everyone in place?"
In the darkness, Gawain walked out, followed by Percival with a smile on his face. This woman seemed to have a neurological problem and never knew what the so-called seriousness and fear were.
"In place."
Shrike reported to him that in this short period of time, the Black Mountain Hospital had been built into an extremely strong fortress. In the shadows, the steam engine was running at low power, and the hot steam gushes out along the gaps in the armor. They are as calm as The sculpture is ordinary, but as a dead sculpture, it can come to life at any time and swing the heavy sword at the enemy.
"What are we guarding against? Lorenzo Holmes?"
Shrike asked suddenly. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer Kestrel. In fact, Shrike himself didn't know this. A few hours ago, he was still dealing with the issue of weapon fighting in the lower city. In the blink of an eye, he was transferred here, and he also came with him. There are elite forces within the old Dunling.
"The new order," Gawain said.
Shrike looked a little surprised. He thought that the New Order and the Purification Agency were already in a cooperative relationship, but the situation in front of him seemed to be about to start a war.
"The New Order has lost the Book of Revelation. In this case, they do not have the ability to recreate the secret blood, which means that their demon hunters are limited. If I were the new Pope, no matter what the cost, we We also need to regain the ability to recreate the secret blood, or another power that can replace the secret blood." Gao Wen said.
"False Holy Grail." The Shrike couldn't help but feel a chill.
"Yes, that's it. The New Order's current behavior is very strange. He helped us take in Lorenzo Holmes, but he didn't ask for anything in terms of research. Do you think it's possible for them to give up this pseudo-Holy Grail? Impossible, and our purification agency will not allow the false Holy Grail to return to the Evangelical Church.
The best outcome is negotiation, the worst outcome is that the new Order takes back the False Holy Grail by force. "
"But this is the old Dunling." Shrike couldn't believe that the new religious group would really be so crazy that they would start a war with the purification agency in the old Dunling.
"But the opponent is a new sect. They are all demon hunters, demon hunters similar to Lorenzo." Gawain's voice seemed a little cold.
"Before, our interests were the same, and we were all trying to contain Lorenzo, an unstable existence. But now that Lorenzo has been contained, we will never reach an agreement on the distribution of his interests, so the only solution is to use force. I really hope Arthur's guess is wrong. Starting a war in Old Dunling will only lead to bloody tragedy."
Gawain sighed, it was already late at night, and the knights of the purification mechanism silently took over the entire Black Mountain Hospital. The sound of steel friction could be vaguely heard. Large Geiger counters were transported by iron snakes and placed in every corner. , strengthening monitoring.
"Black Mountain Hospital has many defense facilities, but most of them are used to ward off ordinary people... In fact, Shrike, you have also noticed that your impression of Black Mountain Hospital is very strange. You know its existence, but you can't remember it. Specific location." Gawain said.
Shrike nodded. Every time he came here, he was transported here by iron snakes, as if there was an unknowable fog here, and the only way to not get lost was to follow the rails under your feet.
"Wait a minute, is this strange effect also one of defense?" Shrike realized it at this time.
"Yes, this technology was brought by Jiuxia together with the armor technology, but our research on it is very slow, so slow that it can only be used to restrict ordinary people."
Gawain and Shrike said while walking, while Percival still had the same idiotic smile on his face, as if these things had nothing to do with her.
"This kind of thing is called antimeme. It was brought by the Nine Xia people. They believe that the erosion of demons is a kind of memetic pollution that can be transmitted between any media. Antimeme is the way to reverse the memetic pollution. Strength, unfortunately Jiuxia is too far away from Yin Erweg. It is said that each voyage to reach here takes several years, and it is difficult for us to communicate efficiently in this regard."
"Is Black Mountain Hospital an antimeme?" Shrike asked.
"To be precise, it is an experiment on antimemetics, but this technology is currently in charge of the scavengers. The information related to Black Mountain Hospital is the information of this specific antimemetic. It will eliminate human beings' understanding of Black Mountain Hospital, just like You are the same, you probably know that there is such a thing, but you don’t know anything more deeply." Gawain said.
"How did you do it...heavy rain." Shrike wanted to ask how the scavengers exerted this antimemetic power on everyone, but thinking of the way those people dealt with demons, Shrike seemed guessed.
"After being refined through alchemy, the antimemetic potion was injected into the furnace pillar. As the steam spread to the clouds, it then descended, baptizing everyone."
Gawain couldn't help but feel shocked when he thought of this. After so many years of hard work, Old Dunling was a fortress in a practical sense, blocking madness from the wall of reason.
"I shouldn't have the authority to know this, especially about antimemes." Shrike was alert.
"It doesn't matter. Our research on antimemes is far less advanced than that of the Original Sin Armor. So far it cannot be weaponized, but why are I telling you this..."
Gawain suddenly stopped and stood looking at Shrike.
"The current situation is very critical. We and the New Order both know each other's thoughts. Regarding the False Holy Grail, we all want to hold it firmly in our hands. Disputes about it are destined to break out, but we don't know how it will break out.
The short-term cooperation between the purification agency and the new religious order has ended, and the war may start next... Each of us may die. After all, we are only mortal bodies. Compared with demon hunters, we are too weak. Vulnerable. "
"What do you want to do?" Shrike felt a little pressure.
"Demon hunters have extremely strong individual combat capabilities. According to our discussion, it is very likely that the New Order will fully utilize this ability and carry out beheading operations. If Arthur dies, I will be responsible for commanding the battle. If I die, Now, command will pass to you, Shrike."
Gawain's eyes were cold and emotionless, and in a daze, Shrike suddenly remembered Joey's evaluation of him at that time.
Gawain is a pure soldier, executing the orders of steel. For this, he turned himself into a machine. Under orders, he showed no mercy to anyone, just like those he killed in front of Joey. Like a child, Gawain is still so ruthless even when facing himself.
"Go and prepare, Shrike. Merlin has arrived at Black Mountain Hospital. The formal research on the False Holy Grail will begin tomorrow. If I were a new cult, that would be the most suitable time to launch an attack."
Gawain said goodbye to Shrike, and he and Percival continued to move forward. The actions tonight could not be hidden from the sight of the new order. Of course, they did not think of hiding the movements of the Original Sin Armor. It was more like a threat.
However, although the number of the third-generation armor is sufficient, it is still inferior to the first-generation armor in combat. Gawain and Percival, who can drive the first-generation armor, are currently the highest combat power here.
"Why, I thought you were going to hand over command to me," said Percival.
"You? If you could be more serious, I would do the same, but you are not reliable at all, Percival."
Gawain never considered his partner at all. After getting along with him for so long, he knew very well what kind of guy his partner was.
Percival smiled. The air was filled with the smell of rust, as if there was a blade corroded by blood leaning in the corner, but the woman didn't care. She seemed to have no fear.
The war airship passed over the Black Mountain Hospital at low altitude, and cables hung from the darkness one after another. The dark thing fell to the ground, causing a slight vibration.
Arthur stood by the window and looked at the Original Sin Armors that had arrived. Thick steam overflowed from the darkness with the rotation of the engine. The rising steam connected with the rain curtain and engulfed the entire Black Mountain Hospital.
"It feels really bad, like war is coming."
Merlin sat and flipped through the information. He did not look at the things outside the window, but from the weak vibrations that kept coming from the ground, he knew very well what had arrived here.
"Yeah, the intrigue between adults is really embarrassing. We clearly know that the New Religion is at the embassy and planning something, but we can't blow it up directly. After all, we are still cooperating with the New Religion on the surface. Once it starts, When conflict arises, it rises to the national level," Arthur said.
"So this is politics?"
Merlin read the contents of the Rangers plan and spoke to Arthur at the same time.
"No way, we represent an institution, a country, not an individual. If it were an individual, I would come to the door with a knife now. Of course, I may not be able to defeat those demon hunters." Arthur said something that was not funny. joke.
"Before the New Order officially attacks, we have no official reason to attack them. What's more, they are all demon hunters. It's not clear who will win."
"What a troublesome thing... In fact, I think this is what the New Order has always wanted to do, and all of this is part of their conspiracy." Merlin said.
"I just hope that all our guesses are wrong. The new sect really wants to cooperate with us, rather than eager to return to its former glory." Arthur asked, "How are you going to study the pseudo-Holy Grail? Already?"
"I have a general idea. Judging from the information Dean Abigail gave me, Lorenzo may have forgotten the information about the False Holy Grail due to his psychological defense mechanism. And the existence form of the False Holy Grail is very likely. Not a physical form, but some kind of ethereal...spiritual body."
Merlin raised his head and looked at Arthur. As an alchemist, he had many novel guesses from this information.
"Spirit, will, spiritual body, in fact these things can all be classified into one category, that thing called the soul."
"It seems like this is more than you realize?" Arthur said.
Merlin nodded and continued.
"The most popular manifestation of alchemy is on metal. The soul of metal is the 'color' and 'color', so kill the humble metal and then resurrect it into expensive sacredness. From 'death' to ' Resurrection' perfects everything in the soul, so it ascends and reaches the door of truth.
Understand and reconstruct.
The same goes for replacing it with a human soul, but you also know that alchemy has declined. The so-called alchemical soul only exists in broken pages of records. No one has really seen it in the past hundred years. "
Merlin took a sip of water, staring at his pale skin with empty pupils.
"I once tried to 'sublimate' myself, but as you can see, I turned into this person who is neither a human nor a ghost."
He sighed as he spoke, Merlin pursued the truth, for all this he didn't mind throwing himself into the furnace.
"If the False Holy Grail is really some kind of spirit body, I suspect that Lorenzo himself is the False Holy Grail."
"What did you say?" Arthur asked.
"Remember what Lorenzo said? The experiment on the False Holy Grail was in the Well of Sublimation in the Temple of Stasis. Judging from the information he gave us at the time, the secret blood was also refined through the well called the Well of Sublimation. During the night of the Holy Advent, the old church most likely carried out a sublimation of the human body, getting rid of the shackles of the material, consolidating the spirit, and constructing a spiritual body that can get rid of the material body.
But the void spirit body was no longer controllable, so they created a body that could control the spirit body... or in other words, a cage. "
"Do you think that's how the False Holy Grail was born?"
Arthur's eyes sharpened, as if he was only one step away from the truth of this mystery, but Merlin's next words extinguished his newly ignited enthusiasm.
"It's just a guess. After all, the official experiment won't start until tomorrow."
Merlin's dull, young face showed no emotion. This was the price of his experiment's failure, but fortunately, he was still alive and had the opportunity to witness all this.
"This is scientific research, Arthur. Proposing hypotheses, testing hypotheses, and then overthrowing previous accumulations to build new knowledge on the ruins."
"However, I have some objections to Abigail's hypothesis." Merlin continued.
"She said that because the impact of the Holy Night was so great on Lorenzo, even with his iron will, he couldn't help but choose to forget those things. But is it possible that this is not his fault?"
"What do you want to say?"
"Hypothesis, this is just a hypothesis. Even now, we don't know the nature of the false Holy Grail, right? All the information relies on the New Order, and we have no way to determine whether he is deceiving us... If Lorenzo is concerned about those Is the forgetfulness of things caused by the false Holy Grail?"
Merlin looked directly at Arthur, his abyss-like eyes seeming to swallow Arthur up.
"Don't you think it's strange? The fire on the night of the Holy Advent burned all the materials. Do you think fireworks can really destroy everything? Or is someone secretly destroying the information about the night of the Holy Advent? If the Protestant If Tuan hadn't lied about this, there might have been another, even weirder possibility.
Such as antimemes. "
Arthur's heart suddenly became cold. Under Merlin's guidance, he suddenly thought of many things.
"Interesting hypothesis..."
"To be precise, it is a terrifying hypothesis," Merlin said expressionlessly. "If this hypothesis is correct, then everything has a reasonable explanation. On the contrary to the [Holy Grail], the pseudo-Holy Grail has extremely powerful Antimemetic properties, under the influence of this antimeme, all information related to it has been erased...
Do you think Lorenzo Holmes, that monster-like guy, would really be brought down by tragedy?No, his memory was most likely deliberately forgotten due to the antimemetic nature. "
The muscles on Merlin's face tugged hard, and under his calm words, his expression was filled with ferocious excitement.
"But it doesn't matter, we will have the answer tomorrow."
He reached out and tapped his head with his finger.
"It's all here, all the secrets are in Lorenzo Holmes's mind, in the deepest recesses of his soul."
(End of this chapter)