Compared to the excited Herman, the other Mechanical Sages were already accustomed to this.
In fact, the Mechanicus initially only had the School of Mechanics and the School of Weaponry.
The later School of Lifeblood and School of Foundation were only established after they had been promoted to Priests and Sages.
The original intention behind establishing these schools was to allow believers to complete their level promotions more easily through research and study.
Therefore, the birth of the School of Souls was not unexpected; its appearance was precisely to better serve the Mechanicus itself.
However, if anyone thought that attaining the status of Chief Master allowed them to bark orders and act bossy toward other Mechanical Sages,
then the other Mechanical Sages would quickly remind Herman that he was only one step away from a beating.
In the Mechanicus, the power of the fist was where true authority lay.
Positions were merely names; the Chief Master actually possessed very little power and instead carried a heavy burden of responsibility.
If one was unable to fulfill the duties of the position, someone would soon take their place.
The previous Chief Masters of the schools had all been more or less out of touch with reality when they first took office,
but they became well-behaved after suffering several harsh beatings from reality.
There were even many Mechanical Sages intending to study the School of Souls deeply who showed eager expressions,
clearly waiting for Herman to make a mistake so they would have an excuse to thrash him and take his place.
"Master Herman, this is the initial funding for the establishment of the school. Every school has one Chief and two Deputies. You may recruit the two Deputies yourself from among the Mechanical Sages."
After the academic discussion ended, Lana kept Herman behind and transferred a sum of up to 300 million eurodollars to his account, instructing him accordingly.
"Uh~ Two more Deputies? I thought I would be by myself..."
Lana's words were like a bucket of cold water, dousing Herman's enthusiasm.
He had originally thought that as the Chief Master, the entire school would be his personal domain, not expecting two Deputies to share his power.
"In physics, 3 is the beginning of all things; in mathematics, 3 is the starting point of infinite cycles; in geometry, 3 is the most stable shape.
The God of All Machines, the Omnissiah, and the Original Power are likewise a trinity.
Therefore, 3 has always been the Holy Number of the God of All Machines; it is the truth of the universe,
and also the reason why every operational mode of the entire Mechanicus must be related to 3."
Lana cleared Herman's doubts, telling him the sacred meaning represented by 3.
"Fine, I understand. Within the Holy See, if something can reach 3, it must reach 3, right?"
Herman sighed helplessly.
Although he had been in the Mechanicus for some time, he still disliked these seemingly bizarre regulations.
But he also understood that since this was the tradition of the Mechanicus, he could only accept it.
After all, now that he had become the Chief Master of this school, he had to respect the cult's rules and beliefs.
"When you encounter true difficulties, you will discover the real meaning represented by the Holy Number '3.' It is not only sacred but a symbol of greatness!"
Lana smiled slightly and did not continue to argue with Herman about the Holy Number.
One must know that the existence of the Holy Number was by no means her own fabrication, but an absolute truth born out of countless miracles.
Anything associated with the God of All Machines could not escape the constraints of the Holy Number's laws.
Even the God of All Machines Himself could not violate this law.
Because this was the very foundation that constituted the God of All Machines; to abandon the law was equivalent to discarding one's own existence.
And this point was something that perhaps even the Holy Son himself had not yet realized.
At this moment, Lana couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride, chuckling inwardly.
In this world, no one understood the God of All Machines better than she did.
"Thank you very much for your correction. I will certainly work hard to explore the laws of the Holy Number."
Herman quickly accepted Lana's viewpoint.
After all, God truly existed and could be clearly perceived by people.
Since something like the Holy Number truly existed, it must have miraculous effects.
There was no need for the Pope to deliberately create a mysterious atmosphere around such things; after all, the Mechanicus was not an ordinary religious faith, but a convert to the truth.
"May your gears never rust!"
Lana showed a satisfied smile and then slowly walked away with elegant steps.
"May your gears never rust!"
...
At the same time, Xiao gradually began to receive news from the outside world.
For the past entire month, the whole of Night City had been shrouded in an eerie tranquility.
Because of the Mechanicus's comprehensive encirclement and suppression campaign against the Scavengers, the citizens had to cancel all outdoor activities for fear of being caught in the crossfire.
Fortunately, the video recordings were posted on major news websites by the propaganda department on the second day of the Holy War, letting the public understand that the Mechanicus wasn't going crazy, but was clearing out social trash.
As a result, the entire gray industry chain of Night City suffered a devastating blow.
After all, without the assistance of the Scavengers, many of the city's gray industries simply could not operate.
This situation naturally caused the major corporations of Night City to suffer massive losses, but they chose to remain silent and did not voice any opinions.
They couldn't interject in this matter, and they wouldn't even admit that those associated with the Scavengers were their people; they could only nurse this grudge in secret.
Only the New United States government, representing Militech, expressed strong condemnation toward the Mechanicus—though not regarding the Scavenger incident.
Rather, it was because the armed forces of the Mechanicus were too powerful; their military strength had already surpassed the red line set by NUSA.
This put immense military pressure on Militech, forcing them to strengthen their garrison forces in the border regions.
Although Night City appeared completely independent of NUSA on the surface, everyone knew
it was actually located within an encirclement inside NUSA's territory.
If it weren't for Arasaka's Japanese forces stationed in America, NUSA could conquer it at any time.
But even entities as powerful as the Arasaka Group and the European Economic Community dared not easily let war machines land in Night City, lest they touch the red line set by Militech.
Although the Mechanicus was not equipped with various war machines, the powerful individual combat strength they possessed was even more ferocious than war machines.
Militech's technical analysts even suspected that a single Mechanical Sage could easily defeat ten Chimeras.
Not only that, the Mechanicus also wantonly abused EMP (electromagnetic pulse) technology, which was one of the most critical pieces of evidence used by NUSA to attack the cult.
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSim