Hyper-Dimensional Player-Chapter 403 - 30: Mechanical Court of Judgment

Nest City, Upper Level, Data Temple.

From this towering Data Tower, the earth could be viewed with the clouds beneath one’s feet. This scarred land bore countless potholes, its agricultural areas shielded by ceramic glass barriers being exceptions; other regions were covered with toxic industrial waste and residential garbage. The surface had deep and endless crevices, remnants of mining operations that reached the earth’s core, exacerbated by a catastrophic earthquake that caused severe leaks in all mines.

At this moment, a silhouette donned in a silvery-grey mechanical cultivator robe entered the Data Temple respectfully.

His outline appeared somewhat gaunt, though he stood nearly two meters and forty centimeters tall. Data interfaces dragged the ground from the long robe’s hem, articulating auxiliary limbs akin to crawling creatures, with mechanical arms protruding from the vertebrae resembling spider legs. When a mechanical nerve bundle extended to link with the port of the heavy rune door, it slowly opened.

"Identity Confirmed!"

"Puls Sage, welcome back."

Behind the heavy door was a baby-like mechanical angel, with short wings and a gravity engine installed on its lower body. Early on, the Mechanical Divine Sect had no concept of reproduction, as severe mechanical modification prevented offspring, until roughly a thousand years ago when these Holy Infant Angels were created, holding special significance within the Mechanical Sect.

They busily flew through the Data Temple, which had seven layers of thick data processors emitting a dim mechanical glow.

On both sides of the passage stood the resting temple guards. Although they retained human contours, all internal biomass was replaced with mechanical structures. Their consciousness was uploaded to the database, and with regular maintenance using holy oil, they could last several hundred years.

Puls Sage proceeded to the rear of the temple, within a hall designed for prayer among densely packed data processors. At the front was a flight of twenty-seven steps leading to a long chair fashioned from magic steel. On either side were numerous data interfaces, and seated there was a hunched figure cloaked in a red-rust mechanical magic robe.

Opposite the prayer hall was a floor-to-ceiling window.

The silhouette resembled a silent king overlooking the vast Nest City, where cumbersome manned aircraft busily operated between various areas, akin to industrious worker ants transporting goods and people incessantly.

Compared to the dark and narrow confines of the lower Nest City, the middle and upper levels were barely habitable besides their severe industrial pollution.

"Prometheus Great Sage."

He knelt respectfully on one knee, bowing toward the hunched figure on the long chair: "The Judgement Court detected rebels infiltrating Area F46."

"They did not follow the plan to steal Holy Relic fragments."

On the long chair.

The entity referred to as the Great Sage slowly looked up. He was barely human, with nearly no human structure except for a skull, which was hollowed out and replaced with an artificial mechanical brain. His left eye socket was an empty abyss with a faint blue glow, while the right contained a sophisticated mechanical eye, linked directly to the artificial brain through a bionic nerve bundle.

Below his spine of fine gold, densely packed data ports connected with the temple’s processors. Upon standing, the numerous nerve bundles attached to his spine tightened, prompting nearby Holy Infant Angels to quickly stabilize the connections to the processors.

Prometheus Great Sage was the true ruler of this colossal Nest City, capable of sustaining its entire data operation.

He governed an area with approximately 160 million people.

As this fully mechanized Data Great Sage rose, his voice was devoid of emotion, akin to a cold machine, speaking slowly: "And what of those cultists?"

The Technical Sage below the temple responded respectfully: "They’ve commenced their actions."

"But there’s no collaboration with the rebels."

"These cultists alone pose minimal threat; local archbishops and steel-forged guardians can suppress them."

"Moreover, their aim isn’t the Holy Relic fragments."

"Even if successful, the cultists would only incite extensive chaos in the lower Nest City attempting to summon a Void Evil God."

Hum.

Surrounding data processors began operating, the Great Sage slowly turned. As he raised his silvery mechanical palm, countless images flashed in the projectors ahead, comprising surveillance footage across Nest City and incoming data streams from various sectors uploaded to the Data Temple.

In one fleeting frame, even the silhouette of Number Three Human Form was visible.

The data terminals around the hall operated frantically, over a dozen Holy Infant Angels labored to pacify the Machine Spirit. They chanted Mechanical Sacred Words as the enormous computational power often left the Machine Spirit feeling fatigued and disgruntled, risking refusal to operate without appeasement.

Puls Sage, his expression reverent, humbly lowered his head, awaiting new directives from the Great Sage.

He was aware the Great Sage was ’foreseeing the future,’ possessing terrifying computational power to monitor data changes throughout Nest City. After amassing vast amounts of information, the Data Great Sage could perform spells using computational strength and Source Power.

This foreknowledge ability surpassed the Prophetic Art of the Mysterious Era, relying on vast data and computational deduction to simulate a mechanical-like Law of Cause and Effect.

If your ability is strong enough, data deductions can simulate countless future possibilities and pinpoint the most probable outcome.

Not sure how much time had passed.

Even the Puls Sage felt the surrounding machine spirits were extremely weary. Finally, the Prometheus Great Sage sat down again, the light in his mechanical eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "They have discovered a dwarven ruin from the Mythical Era."

"Let the Judgement Court send people to suppress it, and return the rebels to their predetermined fate."

A stream of data was sent to the Puls Sage in front of him, containing detailed plans, including the latest movements of the heretics and the insurgent plot to steal a Holy Relic fragment.

This kind of foreknowledge based on massive data streams can only be performed by a Wise Level mechanical cultivator.

"Yes."

"Prometheus Great Sage."

The Technological Sage in front of him lowered his head respectfully and slowly exited the Data Temple.

The majority of the Nest City was under the surveillance of the Great Sage, as the most basic production materials were under his control. Although the insurgency seemed to have stolen many things, in fact, these were all ’gifts’ from the Great Sage, designed to actively create opportunities for their rebellion.

All this was just for the fragments of the Holy Relic.

The Prometheus Great Sage had already ascended to the pinnacle of mortals, and to progress further, he must rely on ancient Holy Relics.

However, such actions are not allowed by the sects of the seven Guardian Angels, as the Mechanical Divine Sect no longer permits new Guardian Angels to be born.

After the Technological Cultivator in front of him left.

The right eye of the Prometheus Great Sage projected several images, which included more than ten different figures, with the figure of the Third Human Form prominently among them. In addition, these other individuals scattered throughout the Nest City included Esoteric Practitioners, heretics, gang leaders, nobles of the upper and middle classes of Nest City, and cultivators within the Mechanical Divine Sect.

They all had one thing in common: to a greater or lesser extent, they all maintained some connection with other Divine Beings, which could be the Void Evil God or the Esoteric Gods.

The Prometheus Great Sage glanced at these people and gently soothed the machine spirit beside him.

"I’ve given you the opportunity."

"Don’t let me down!"

With that, the faint glimmer in his eye sockets gradually dimmed, and he sat on the bench of the Data Temple like a mechanical statue, his mind already immersed in the endless stream of data.

Initially, all the nests were controlled by the will of the God of Machinery.

But later, a great upheaval occurred in the Mechanical Divine Sect, and the God of Machinery no longer governed the data core of the Nest City. These great sages of the technological faction then became the terminal processors of the Nest City. This responsibility also trapped them inside the Data Temple; if he unplugged all the data interfaces on him, at least thirty-five percent of the survival facilities in this city of over a hundred million people would be completely paralyzed.

Within this Nest City, the Prometheus Great Sage possessed nearly supreme authority, controlling the lives and deaths of over a hundred million people.

However, within the world controlled by the entire Mechanical Divine Sect, the Prometheus Great Sage was just a ’rather ordinary’ member of the Sage Council. Thousands of enormous Nest City towers stand across this land, with the smaller ones having only a population of a hundred million, while the larger ones contain several billion people.

Even for a great sage like him, advancing further within the strictly hierarchical Mechanical Divine Sect was extremely difficult.

He must search for that unstable variable within the data.

.........

Underground Ruins.

The Mechanical Divine Sect’s people arrived even quicker than expected. When Duncan saw the densely packed marks appearing above the passage, he knew that a member of the Judgement Court had already sent the information back to the Mechanical Divine Sect beforehand. Almost as soon as the insurgents arrived, the people from the Mechanical Divine Sect followed.

——Judgement Court Officer (Four-Star Silver Gray).

——Steel-Cast Guard (Three-Star Silver Gray).

——Insight Sect Data Cultivator (Three-Star).

——Mechanical Divine Sect Defender Army (One-Star to Two-Star Silver Gray).

A dense cluster of red marks appeared under the God’s Eye view, and Duncan knew with just a glance that the insurgents had long been thoroughly understood by others. Fortunately, his identity had also changed. He laundered himself through control of the Judgement Court member, becoming one of those assisting the Judgement Court in secret operations.

"Your Majesty!"

The low voice of Lich Kongers sounded, "According to your instructions, the Ritual of the Undead Scourge has been arranged."

"The Earthquake Technique can also be activated at any time."

.........