6896 Priestly Order The offer from the Enforcement Department intrigued Ves a lot. Compared to the powerful soldiers offered by the Phase Lord Department, the Enforcement Department mainly offered support personnel. Compared to human phase lords, support cultivators such as formation masters and gardeners did not sound as powerful. Yet their work could have an amazing effect on the Premier Fleet. They worked as force multipliers. They added value by amplifying the strengths of existing soldiers. The question now was whether the force multipliers provided by the Enforcement Department were strong enough to exceed the benefits of having 12 human phase lords on the battlefield. Ves was not entirely certain about it yet. He needed to know more about the eclectic mix of cultivators the Enforcement Department had managed to include in its proposal. He gazed closely at Eliza Mo Ragadan. She had done an excellent job at maintaining her impartiality. She had not shown any obvious bias towards either of the two offers. The two might not have spent much time in the same location, but they had spoken enough times over the comm that they had developed a tacit understanding with each other. Her primary loyalty was in the Red Collective. She was a consummate careerist who had always made it clear that she served the Office of the Chief Councilor of the Upper Council rather than Ves Larkinson directly. This was an important distinction. While Eliza would take reasonable measures to uphold his interests within the halls of the Astral Octagon, she possessed clear bottom lines that should never be crossed. This made it hard for Ves to fully trust Eliza or pull her into his inner circle. On the other hand, Ves also trusted her to faithfully fulfill her duties so long as they maintained a cordial relationship. There was no need for him to worry about whether she had any ulterior motives. "What are the most notable groups of cultivators in the package offered by the Enforcement Department?" Ves asked his chief of staff. "Describe whatever cultivators you think deserve additional clarification so that I can make an informed choice." "Hm. Aside from the formation masters that I have already introduced, there are three other groups of cultivators that deserve special attention. This is especially the case if you have chosen to accept the Enforcement Department's offer." Eliza activated a new projection that showed a cathedral of sorts. Hundreds of figures wearing a variety of robes stood in the center hall. Each of them wore very different outfits that each bore different symbols, cuts and colors. Yet despite their differences, they were all men and women of faith. It did not matter what sort of gods they worshiped or doctrines they abided by in their respective religious organizations. So long as they dedicated their lives to a greater existence, they were all individuals who promoted the spread of faith across human civilization. Ves' eyes grew sharp. "This is the Priestly Order, right? I read a memo about its founding. The Coalition of Faiths pushed hard for its existence. A bunch of priests from many different religious organizations sought to create a formal organization that systematically trains and supervises priests who have engaged in contract cultivation with their respective gods. The supporters even managed to persuade the Red Collective to set up the Faith Department to organize all of this stuff." "You are right. What you are seeing is one of the earlier gatherings of the Priestly Order. It has taken months for this organization to publish its first documentation. The texts describe the need to regulate the training and activities of cultivators that hold some form of religious office." "I take it that the Priestly Order's take on cultivation has produced individuals that have gained special capabilities that are relevant to this discussion." Eliza nodded. "The priests that have become a part of this order are starting to become known for their ability to apply blessings to people. They are constantly developing new methods on how to channel the power of a higher source in the form of beneficial effects." "How effective are these so-called blessings?" Ves skeptically asked. "The differences are not that obvious for the time being. The magnitude of effects are largely dependent on the blessing techniques, the strength of cultivation of a priest, the compatibility of the recipients and the strength of the deity being called upon. Under the most optimistic circumstances, our examinations have shown that the priests have been able to amplify the strength of general cultivator soldiers by 9 percent and human phase lords by 3 percent." "..." Ves did not look impressed. That did not mean he dismissed this development. A boost of 9 percent for infantry soldiers and 3 percent for human phase lords might sound negligible, but it could mean the difference between life and death during crucial moments! It took a disproportionate amount of time or funding to increase the performance of a group of soldiers by the same margins. If all it took to gain these advantages was to allow a priest to swing an incense burner while murmuring strange words, then Ves had no problem with making use of this new force multiplier! He just had to make sure that the recipients had the option to accept the blessing or opt out from it. Perhaps their own personal beliefs or philosophy prohibited them from receiving blessings from specific faiths. "As I have mentioned earlier, the priests have only scratched the surface of what they can do with blessings." Eliza Mo Ragadan continued to explain. "The Priestly Order has become the foremost institution that seeks to innovate in this religious field. Its existence benefits every religious organization as it collectivizes research and development in this shared field." That was a clever decision on the part of the Coalition of Faiths. Ves should have been more aware of this, but he had neglected his duties as the hierarch of an organization that he had founded. To be honest, he had shoved most of his responsibilities to his deputies within the Coalition of Faiths. He had already formed a plan to resign from his post as hierarch and make room for a more dedicated leader. It would formalize the actual situation. The reason why Ves no longer valued the Office of Hierarch was because he no longer needed it anymore. He had already reached a level of power and influence that no longer made him so dependent on allies and business partners. The ongoing developments of the Red War gradually put less emphasis on alliances and more emphasis on self-sufficiency. Besides, it got extremely tiring for Ves to keep up with all of the politicking. He felt it was beneath him to schmooze with the representatives of different faiths. Most of them were too inconsequential to be of any use to a leader of his station. His increasing disconnect from the Coalition of Faiths evidently caused him to overlook this emerging development. The priest profession held a lot of promise. The initial blessings showered by the initial batch of cultivator priests may be weak, but as long as they strengthened their methods and cultivation strength, their effects may strengthen over time. "As far as I am aware of, every priest is able to call down a weak blessing with minimal preparations and requirements." Eliza answered. "However, a proper blessing ritual can produce more noticeable effects. This is where the priest invests his time and resources into preparing one. A good blessing ritual not only takes a notable amount of time to perform, but it will also consume expensive materials or objects that are valued by certain deities. Priests and other researchers are constantly working to discover new blessing rituals while improving the existing ones. Their effects can vary depending on the rituals being used. Some can fortify the bodies of the blessed. Others can guide their attacks so that they can become more accurate." 11:25 Once these blessings were able to amplify the performance of a mech or human phase lord by 20 percent or higher, the priests would definitely hold a position of great respect in society! Perhaps people may value them higher than mech designers or even mech pilots! After all, whom among them would refuse a 20 percent performance boost that practically came for free? "Tell me more about these blessings." Ves said. "Do these priests have to pay anything in order to make it work? Are the effects all the same, or are they different depending on multiple factors?" "As far as I am aware of, every priest is able to call down a weak blessing with minimal preparations and requirements." Eliza answered. "However, a proper blessing ritual can produce more noticeable effects. This is where the priest invests his time and resources into preparing one. A good blessing ritual not only takes a notable amount of time to perform, but it will also consume expensive materials or objects that are valued by certain deities. Priests and other researchers are constantly working to discover new blessing rituals while improving the existing ones. Their effects can vary depending on the rituals being used. Some can fortify the bodies of the blessed. Others can guide their attacks so that they can become more accurate." It did not sound as if the priests would be able to achieve any breakthroughs anytime soon. They were all pioneers to a field that red humanity scarcely explored. However, the priests were currently in a position of weakness at this time. If Ves received a batch of them at this time, they should be more open to cooperation. It should also be easy for him to assert his authority over the relatively weak cultivators. "Okay." He ultimately said. "These priests sound interesting. Perhaps they may not be particularly useful in the short term, but they should definitely come into their power in the mid to late term." That was one of the big flaws to accepting them. The Larkinson Clan and the rest of red humanity needed instant benefits in order to hold back the invading aliens. There was little point in planning to earn a big payout several years or decades from now if human civilization in the Red Ocean had already perished! This was why Ves did not immediately commit to the offer extended by the Enforcement Department. "Aside from priests, are there other notable cultivators that can be of use to my clan in the coming days?" Eliza changed the projection to show a group of mysterious-looking figures clad in dark and ominous robes. "Curse masters have shown tentative promise. As their names suggest, these are qi cultivators that have chosen to specialize in the art of casting debilitating curses onto other individuals. This is currently a highly regulated profession due to its sheer propensity for abuse. The curse masters that have been brought up by the Enforcement Department are constantly monitored to ensure that they do not make use of their accumulated knowledge to conduct any untowards rituals that target the wrong individuals." These curse masters did not give off a homely vibe. The ones in the projected image looked as if they had already stained their souls. It reminded Ves of the demons that he had worked with during his Demonforging attempts. The difference was that curse masters still retained their humanity, while demons had completely degenerated into negativity. That said, the curse masters exuded such an ominous vibe that no normal individual would like to stay in their presence. "How do their curses work?" "The curse masters can set up a ritual that is designed to impart a curse onto a targeted individual." Eliza explained. "The more expensive and elaborate the curse ritual, the better the results. This ritual can impart a harmful affliction to the target depending on the steps being followed and the ingredients being used. Distance is not a great hindrance." "Is everyone susceptible to curses?" Ves asked in concern. "Curses can be dispelled once they are identified, but it may be difficult to completely cut them off after they have reached an important threshold. Those with greater attainments in cultivation are able to detect and resist them to a greater degree. Most rituals related to curses tend to be more effective if they include samples of the target's organic body or a prized possession. It is still recommended that individuals contact the right experts from the Red Collective if they are affected. High-ranking mech pilots have proven completely immune to all of the curses that are known to us. Stronger ones may be developed in the future, but we do not think they can overcome the stubborn defenses of expert pilots or ace pilots." This told Ves that the development of curses still remained at an early stage. He grew concerned whether he was susceptible to curses as well. Thank you for reading my work. If you wish to support The Mech Touch, please vote with your golden tickets! Purchase Privilege for The Mech Touch! Read a varying amount of chapters ahead of regular readers while enjoying a 99% discount on unlocking new chapters! Join The Mech Touch's unofficial Discord server: https://discord.gg/APB5KCU Exlor