Chapter 407: Chapter 34: Blood Sacrifice to the Demon God With the assistance of the witch demon Konggs, the corpse demon Bert had undergone a drastic change in appearance.
Duncan equipped him with various mechanical prosthetics stripped from mechanical cultivators and the defender army, then draped him in the rust-colored battle robe of the defender army. As long as he kept his hood up and wore a gas mask, he looked exactly like a combat mechanical servant controlled by a mechanical cultivator.
By the time they left the collapsing underground ruins, the entire team had undergone a tremendous transformation.
Duncan donned the gray magic robe of the mechanical priest from the Insight Sect, while Tassia, after a disguise, appeared as an apprentice priest. Now, the two of them were followed by a semi-mechanical servant. Although not flawless, their three-person team could deceive most people.
A formal mechanical cultivator, an apprentice following his mentor, a semi-mechanical servant, and a witch demon disguised as a servo skull.
Such a team, unless encountering an Archbishop-level entity, could hold its own even if their identities were exposed.
F46 Zone, Platform Layer.
Returning to the platform layer of the gathering point via the underground passage, Duncan immediately noticed something amiss.
Because in the industrial area of the gathering point, a large number of units with red marks appeared, and simultaneously in the residential area, commercial zone, and divine hall area, many units with ’Neutral’ marks appeared in disguise.
"Something must have happened."
Duncan signaled Tassia beside him, who immediately loaded her weapon, while the group bypassed the abnormal crowd ahead. Tassia headed to the residential area, while Duncan entered the divine hall area of the Mechanical Divine Sect alone, not daring to bring others along.
Outside the square in the divine hall area, Duncan saw the hurried Ian and grabbed the church deacon, saying solemnly, "What happened?"
Ian also appeared anxious, but relaxed slightly upon seeing Duncan, cautiously saying, "The governor is dead!"
"Chaos has erupted in many lower zones."
"Kosov, the foreman in the industrial sector, is leading other workers on strike, the city hall can’t suppress it, and is requesting the church to send the defender army to quell it."
"Lord Duncan?"
"Where have you been during this time? Master Qiao was looking for you several times."
What?
The governor is dead?
Duncan’s expression showed slight surprise; although this world had a theocratic political system, many Nest Cities still appointed administrative governors for secular matters, wielding power similar to colonial governors during the colonial era, ruling over billions nominally, akin to an independent king.
However, in reality, the church’s Great Sage wielded greater power, as governors changed frequently, but Great Sages rarely changed even in hundreds of years.
After saying a few words, Ian hurriedly left. If the industrial sector’s strike wasn’t quickly addressed, it would soon trigger a wider unrest.
At this moment, Duncan didn’t hesitate, heading directly to the logistics warehouse in the divine hall area. After using the cultivator’s emblem to open the door, he immediately picked up a light exoskeleton armor, connecting its interface to his mechanical nerve bundle, before grabbing a heat gun and rummaging through the place, taking out all the high-tier weapons stored there.
"Priest Duncan?"
"What are you doing? This is against protocol! You must apply for permission!"
A fifty-something female deacon rushed over, attempting to stop Duncan, but in the next second, an electromagnetic rifle was pointed at her forehead.
This firearm used steel needle ammunition, one magazine capable of firing two hundred rounds.
"Move aside!"
Duncan ordered expressionlessly, saying solemnly, "There are cultists in the industrial area."
Upon hearing this, the female deacon hesitated slightly but still refused to budge, saying, "To request the use of mechanical marvels, the bishop’s order is necessary."
Thunk!
Duncan couldn’t be bothered with her, directly knocking her out with the butt of the gun.
After picking up thirty magazines with a total of six thousand rounds, Duncan reached for a tunable sixteen-times scope on a nearby shelf, adjusting it to a four-times lens using a gear, before hoisting a very heavy, silver-gray sniper rifle.
——Adjudicator T130 (High-tier Marvel)(Mechanical Firearms)(Explosive Bomb)(Armor-Piercing)(Precision)(Steel Enchantment).
Compared to other firearms, its design was somewhat retro, resembling WWII-era sniper rifles, even featuring a wooden stock. Yet, upon touching it, Duncan felt an ancient mechanical soul far surpassing other firearms in spirituality.
This thing had seen several owners, with its mechanical soul attempting to resist before being suppressed by Duncan’s will.
"Behave! Listen!"
Sparks flew from the drill on the external mechanical arm behind Duncan, and with his gentle reassurance, the mechanical soul inside obediently complied.
"Your Majesty."
At this moment, the voice of the witch demon Konggs emerged, and slowly said, "I sensed the aura of a chaotic ceremony."
"I’m afraid a riot is imminent here."
Duncan confirmed that something was about to happen through the red marks, while the witch demon Konggs, proficient in ritual magic, referred to a chaotic ceremony, a large-scale magic affecting people’s minds, which if ordinary people couldn’t resist with willpower, would turn them into aggressive mobsters.
In the Mythical Era, this was a dark ceremony often used by demons, and even in the Mysterious Era, some madmen liked using it in crowded places to achieve unspeakable aims.
However, the ceremony now was initiated by hidden cultists.
Upon returning, Duncan saw at least hundreds of marked units of cultists, with some already evidently turned into red enemy marks.
"Here!"
Duncan tossed the electromagnetic rifles to Tassia and Bert, giving each ten magazines, totaling two thousand rounds.
"Follow me closely, do not get separated!"
The moment he finished speaking.
Boom!