Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1718 The Power of the Three-in-One

"Lady Apollonia, it turns out you're the one who's holding us back!"

After the scepter was divided into three, one symbolized the Greek oracle, one the Roman Senate, and one the Egyptian Muses.

Now only the scepter of the Oracle remains unrecovered.

What's wrong with me?

"If you can't even manage your own family affairs, wouldn't that be dereliction of duty?"

"You all wait, I'll make one phone call, and they'll bring the scepter over. You just wait."

Apollonia made the call.

Apollonia gave a reply—

"What? No?"

Yes, that's what they said.

The oracle's answer surprised Apollonia: they said they had never heard of any scepter.

"Wait a minute." Shangluo raised his hand. "Regarding this matter, we should first confirm whether our path is correct. Faetong."

“Hmm.” Phaethon nodded. “Leave it to me. I’ll go check. Even if others don’t know, there should be at least one person who does. Are you coming back to Alexandria with me now?”

“Let’s go now,” Shangluo replied. “Perfect timing, we still need to discuss the relocation of the panoramic photography studio.”

The place where information could be obtained was naturally Helios's own palace. The correct answer should be found there.

Traveling from Thebes to Alexandria is quite convenient; all you need to do is use a telephone booth.

Everything is proceeding normally in Thebes; all that's needed now is to obtain authorization through administrative procedures—carrying out the great project in Thebes itself requires authorization, and it aligns with their current objectives.

Upon arriving in Alexandria, Phaethon immediately climbed the great lighthouse and received his father's reply:

“My father said it was correct,” Phaethon said in a deep voice. “He said our guess was right, that the Spear of Apollo was indeed his scepter—after all, he didn’t really have anything else that looked like a scepter. He didn’t know what the other two scepters were, but a scepter doesn’t necessarily look like a scepter.”

"Hmm." Shangluo nodded. "This matches our observations."

The Golden Bough certainly doesn't resemble a scepter, but its essence is a tree branch. It symbolizes Roman royal power, growing on a tree. Anyone could easily break it down and use it to assassinate the Roman king.

So, our current information is that the oracle's scepter is indeed nowhere to be found. But it should be a tree branch, or something else symbolizing power?

It's no wonder the oracles didn't know what the "scepter" they mentioned was. After all, this was a top secret in Rome, and even the oracles weren't clear about it—they might have indeed used that supreme power, but they didn't know that it was a scepter.

"So, here's the question," Shangluo thought for a moment, "What exactly is the scepter of the Oracle? Should we go to the Oracle and find its location?"

Apollonia fell silent.

As he fell silent, Phaethon also looked towards Shangluo.

"Shangluo, the answer seems obvious." "Could it be..."

Phaethon nodded: "That's what I was thinking. The sphere where Apollonia resides should be the scepter belonging to the Oracle."

"What's the basis for that?"

"The orb itself is the basis. Legend has it that Apollo had two artifacts: one was the lyre, a seven-stringed instrument symbolizing poetry, music, and art; the other was the golden orb he held in his hand, a symbol of the sun."

The statue of Zeus is usually depicted holding an orb in one hand and a scepter in the other.

“No, that’s not right,” Victoria interrupted them. “The orb is the orb, and the scepter is the scepter. They are two different things. The orb does exist, but the scepter is something else entirely. Because the scepter is a symbol of divine authority, while the orb is a symbol of secular power. The orb has a specific meaning; it cannot be the scepter.”

This also aligns with Apollonia's current situation. It is her body; it does not amplify her divine power, but rather allows her to exist in the mortal world.

[Ah!] Apollonia suddenly felt much lighter. [I thought I was going to donate my house! Great, great, there's another one.]

"Tsk." Shang Luo was somewhat disappointed.

Why are you clicking your tongue like that?

"No, I just clicked my tongue—as for the reason, I actually wanted you to take this opportunity to come out and step into reality. You've been inside the ball long enough, haven't you?"

Apollonia actually enjoyed coming out a lot for a while, popping her head out every few days. But like a toddler who's been walking for three months, she's gotten lazy and wants to be carried. After all, the novelty of walking wears off, and what follows is just tiring.

No, I'm not coming out. I'm perfectly fine inside the ball—and besides, you already have a scepter, shouldn't you get a matching orb? You already have noodles, shouldn't you have some fried sauce?

Where did you learn all these weird sayings?

[Hehehe.] In short, Apollonia was relieved.

But a new question arises—where exactly is the scepter?

“But actually,” Phaethon thought for a moment, “the answer is already clear: the oracle symbolizes the Greek world. And the scepter of the Greek world is Zeus’s scepter.”

"Then where should we go to find Zeus?" Shangluo asked.

“Tsk tsk tsk.” Phaethon shook his head. “Have you forgotten something? We are now in the ‘post-Zeusian era.’ The power of the Greek gods is not in the hands of Zeus, but in the hands of Dionysus.”

"Ah!" Apollonia understood. "I knew it! The key isn't Apollo, but the Greek monarchy. After all, the three scepters belong to Rome, Greece, and Egypt. The one we haven't yet obtained should be the Greek scepter. To be precise, it should be... the Spear of Dionysus."

“Then an even bigger problem arises,” Phaethon said helplessly. “We all know that the Spear of Dionysus does not yet exist, right?”

【Aha!】Apollonia's voice rose eight octaves, 【Mr. Shangluo, it turns out you're the one who's holding us back!】

"What does this have to do with me?" Shangluo said helplessly. "I remember you guys said this wasn't part of the main quest."

The past is the past, the present is the present. I never intended to hand over such power to you before, did I?

“Alright.” Shang Luo scratched his head. “So you want me to refine a ‘Spear of Dionysus’? How am I supposed to refine it? I don’t know where to begin.”

(End of this chapter)