The Mech Touch novel Chapter 6932

6932 Ritualists

Before Ves ended his briefing session with Formation Master Andrea Vos, he finally touched upon the most problematic group of cultivators in the Moloch Squadron.

"Tell me about the so-called priests." He commanded in a serious tone. "In general, our clan possesses a tolerant outlook towards religion, but that does not mean we are willing to let different faiths mess around. What sort of people are these priests and will you be able to keep them in line?"

The Farseer maintained her composure, but it was clear that she was not as eager to speak about this group of subordinates.

"The Coalition of Faiths have become an important faction within the Red Collective, as you should know. The return of more openly supernatural elements has instituted a large-scale revival of faith and dare I say superstition. That has also led to the return and intensification of religious strife. The aformentioned coalition is only united in name. In reality, organizations such as the Diocese of New Rome and the Neo-Crescent Faith are spending an absurd amount of energy to marginalize and discredit their competition."

"Even when the Red War is pressing us back more than ever?"

"That has only enflamed their conflict." Andrea Vos shook her head and replied. "They believe that their faith possesses the capacity to save red humanity. They also believe that the souls of all of the people that are dying at the hands of the native aliens risk damnation or annihilation if they are not 'saved'. I shall not be wading into their doctrines. All you should be aware of is that religious organizations are most active during a time of crisis. Many of the priests tend to be… strident."

Ves frowned. "Will they stir up any trouble?"

"We have tried our best to limit such behavior, sir. The Moloch Squadron has selected priests who hail from the Pantheon of Modern Gods. Since they proclaim to worship god pilots who are 100 percent proven to be alive and real, they tend to be more restrained lest they annoy their 'gods' and offend a large number of people who worship them just as much."

While Ves was glad to hear he did not have to entertain the presence of priests of all sorts of different religions and denominations, he knew that people that prayed to god pilots were not that much better.

"So what can they do?" He asked. "Are they even useful?"

"They are most definitely useful." The farseer assured him. "If you are able to look past their faith, you will find that they are remarkably good ritualists. These priests have not only studied how to conduct rituals and ceremonies, but have also explored the way forward and created new means of shaping power into useful outcomes. I like to view them as free-form formation masters. Instead of relying on carefully researched and calculated qi formations, they instead manipulate E energy radiation through the systematic shaping of belief."

That sounded rather complicated, but Ves understood what they was trying to convey.

"You are saying that priests are essentially exploiting the superstition that comes from conducting fancy rituals."

The farseer nodded. "Formation masters rely on formation anchors to activate carefully designed spell arrays. Ritualists rely on symbolic trinkets and pageantry to temporarily transform a group of people into formation anchors. While the effects of the latter are generally weaker, inconsistent and unstable, the error rate is much lower. These priests can therefore produce a greater variety of extraordinary effects without needing to possess thorough understanding of science. They have already proven their ability to 'bless' soldiers with greater luck, lower fatality rate and more resilient armor."

Ves grew more intrigued after hearing that. He understood now why these priests or ritualists became a part of the Moloch Squadron. Their consistency and reliability may be questionable, but their versatility was far greater than formation masters.

Under the right circumstances, they could assist the troops of the Premier Fleet in all sorts of useful ways!

"Since there are priests of the PMG in the Moloch Squadron, can they draw upon the power of god pilots?"

Andrea Vos nodded. "Yes, but only a handful have proven the capacity to do so. Every temple is a separate institution, and every god pilot of the Red Ocean harbors a different attitude towards the practice of worship. No one dares to question the god pilots directly about their stances, and none of them have published any official statements. I believe that this is for the best as their own flock might not be able to accept the truth. For now, I can tell you that the Huntsman and the Destroyer of Worlds respond most actively to rituals that call upon their blessings."

That made sense. The Huntsman had been a step ahead of the rest and quickly raised the Hunting Association to prominence.

Although the powerful sect possessed a lot of secular responsibilities, it undoubtedly turned every Hunter into a lackey and a worshiper of the Huntsman.

The mythical Hunter's Code had become the holy bible of all Hunters.

Each time they sacrificed a part of their spoils through a ritual, the Huntsman devoured the organic remains of defeated prey and rewarded the Hunters with controlled infusions of strength.

Ves actually admired the Huntsman for taking such a professional and systematic approach to his own deification. The god pilot eschewed the typical trappings of ego stroking and make-up superstition and turned the act of worshiping him into transactional relationships.

It was precisely because the Huntsman accepted their sacrifices and showered them with permanent life-changing blessings that their faith had become unshakeable!

14:10

Of course, that did not stop the Hunters from literally worshiping him as their god and savior!

It was precisely because the Huntsman accepted their sacrifices and showered them with permanent life-changing blessings that their faith had become unshakeable!

The Temple of Destruction was not as prominent and high-profile as the Hunting Association.

"I will leave that decision up to her. She doesn't need her father to tell her what she must become. From what I have seen so far, she has developed a penchant for taming cats. Perhaps she can learn how to tame wild exobeasts in the future."

Andrea Vos frowned at that. "The Moloch Squadron does not have a cultivator that specializes in beast taming. The Hunting Association may have conducted research in this, but I do not imagine that this is a priority to the Hunters."

"I see. Well, I am sure we can figure it out ourselves." Ves shrugged.

"Is that all, sir?"

"Yes. Wait. I almost forgot to inquire about this matter. Since the Red Collective has made so many strides in reviving systematic cultivation, what about the native aliens? Has the Red Cabal or other alien institutions begun to teach aliens how to draw power from E energy radiation?"

The Farseer's expression hardened. "That is a good question, sir. The native aliens are not blind. They know about the Red Collective and have a basic understanding of what we have accomplished. The Cosmopolitan Movement has suffered major setbacks in human space, but it still has enough eyes and ears in our society to take our work seriously. It is almost certain that the cosmopolitans are attempting to adapt systematic cultivation to the major races of the Red Ocean."

"Are the aliens receptive to their teachings?"

"I do not have enough information. The Secred Department may know more, but you should inquire this yourself. The native aliens may initially be repellent towards the foreign teachings, but once they become aware of the potential of harnessing the power of E energy radiation, they will not be able to stop themselves. Even if the native aliens cannot directly practice our human-specific cultivation methods, they can take inspiration from the source material and develop their own framework. This is bound to take several years, but once they have completed it, I predict we shall encounter serious alien cultivators in greater numbers. The worst case scenario is if their phase leaders have actively embraced qi cultivation."

That would be a nightmare scenario!

Phase lords and phase whales were already ridiculously strong in body. If it was possible for them to practice qi cultivation, they would definitely become a lot smarter and more cunning!

This meant that they would become a lot harder to defeat in the future!

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