Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 113 The Last Day of Autumn

Nostradamus, physician, honorary bishop, friend of the former pope, prophet.

This is the well-known identity of this 400-year-old living legend.

Generally speaking, even if one were to live a long and healthy life in Florence, with all sorts of magical treatments and maintenance, the maximum lifespan of a person would not exceed two hundred years, so he was definitely an exception.

Legend has it that he was once a destitute wanderer who died by the roadside, but soon resurrected, claiming that he had seen God and received prophecies about the future.

He prophesied that frost and cold would descend upon the East, followed by a terrifying lash sweeping across the West, helping the Church prepare in advance to deal with nomadic tribes. Furthermore, thanks to his accurate war prophecies, the Church won the most crucial war of the late Middle Ages, the War of Heaven.

Growing up as a child, Innocent VII was fascinated by the stories of the War of Heaven and the power of the Church. He also revered Nostradamus and, after becoming Pope, bestowed upon him a high position and great respect.

This is the version of the story that Siron knows. He has never met this living legend, but has only heard rumors about him in Florence and heard his name mentioned when studying "Ancient Church History".

It happened to be Sunday, and people gathered together for dinner. Siron casually mentioned the matter at the table so that people could discuss it.

An extra seat was added at the end of the table, and Arthur sat there. It was his first time attending a Sunday dinner, and he was a little reserved, saying very little and just sitting there eating intently.

“I’ve met him once.” Aldridge wiped his mouth. “He was there when King Innocent VII conferred the knighthood upon me. He looked like an old-fashioned priest who had stepped out of an oil painting. Although he was old, he was in good spirits and seemed like he could live for hundreds more years.”

"Anything else?" Xilun asked.

Aldridge shook his head: "He simply offered his blessing and chatted with me for a bit. There was nothing strange about it—or rather, if there was anything strange about it, the old folks in the church would have noticed it."

After a moment of silence, Xiren regretfully admitted that Aldridge was right.

The cardinals are all incredibly perceptive; what they can't see, others can hardly see either.

“Therefore, we can only continue our deduction by assuming the premise that ‘Nostradamus is actually one of the frost giants.’” Siron rested his chin on his hands.

Green raised his hand: "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? After all, it was just a fortune teller's nonsense..."

Xi Lun didn't say anything.

"Sooner or later, you will see a great upheaval taking place, the horrors of blood and freezing, and then revenge." This has been confirmed, referring to the arrival of the frost giants.

The reason for their "revenge" is unclear; it may be their reason for invasion, or it may be something else. However, Xiren did sense the burning hatred emanating from Himir.

The following sentence, "The moon was thus guided by the angels, and the sky drew near to Libra," likely refers to the icy blue moon, or perhaps elements of mystery and femininity. "Libra" generally represents judgment and fairness, so it can be interpreted as "the day of judgment is approaching."

The image of the "angel" was once very unclear, but according to Cynthia, it may not be an angel of the church, but a messenger of the frost giants, or Nostradamus using it as a metaphor for himself, or perhaps it refers to that cult.
But if this statement means "the Ice Blue Moon will be guided by the messengers of the Frost Giants, and the day of judgment is approaching," then it has already happened—the Ice Moon descended, and the extreme cold indiscriminately annihilated all life.

But since Cynthia emphasized this point, it means that it has not yet been fulfilled, or is about to be fulfilled.

The others had obviously thought of these things as well. Arthur said seriously, "If we're talking about trials, those arrested believers did shout things like 'You will all be judged,' 'Unbelievers will die,' and 'The end times are coming' every day."

"Did you ask what it specifically refers to?" Xilun asked.

“The interrogation is still ongoing, but given the precedent of the one who was ‘silenced’ by ice spikes, we dare not push too hard.” Xiren nodded: “Those prisoners are very important leads; just continue the interrogation… By the way!”

He suddenly remembered something and looked at Aldridge: "I remember we have sacramental revolvers?"

That was the church's standard revolver, with a six-round magazine, a very commonly used close-combat weapon.

"Yes, fifty guns were salvaged from the train at the time. They have all been thawed and maintained, and the matching bullets are also being made."

"Give Arthur thirty," Siron ordered. "Since the situation over there is related to the Frost Giants, we have to be careful."

Aldridge nodded: "Here, this one's yours."

As he spoke, he handed his sidearm to Arthur—the same type of weapon he himself carried.

Before semi-automatic pistols became available, revolvers were the best close-quarters self-defense weapon, especially since semi-automatic pistols haven't even been invented yet.

“Go back and strengthen security there,” Xiren emphasized again. “This is not a simple cult incident.”

Arthur nodded solemnly: "I understand."

At dinner that followed, people discussed it for a while, but ultimately no answer was reached.

Xiren could only instruct Aldridge to produce more Red Mercury weapons as soon as possible, and to expand the production capacity of the Silent Walker mechs. In any case, it was better to be prepared than not, and they had to be ready to face war.

After dinner, Siron saw them to the door and then patted Mathilde on the shoulder alone.

Her face was somewhat pale, and she hadn't said much just now, but not because of the cult or the frost giants, but because of the blood donation—the Mercury Blood Divine Art had turned all her blood into red mercury, so she had 0.7 ounces of blood drawn every day.

It could even be said that one-third of the mercury consumed daily by Boiler No. 2 was Mathilde's blood.

"Don't overwork yourself," he said softly.

“You too,” Mathilde laughed. “I haven’t seen you rest in a long time. Don’t overuse Holy Healing.”

Xilun was silent for a moment, then murmured, "A time of great turmoil."

The phrase means "a busy autumn" in Albion, and Mathilde nodded in agreement: "Yes, this is my busiest Brumaire, and... winter is just around the corner."

According to the Gregorian calendar, September is the month of the Moon of the Vultures, October is the month of the Fog, and November is the month of the Frost. Today is the last day of the month of the Fog, which is also the last day of autumn.

“Yes…winter is coming,” Xiren murmured to himself.

The outdoor temperature of nearly minus forty degrees Celsius made him completely forget that it was not yet winter. People seemed to have gradually lost their sense of the four seasons. After enduring a long and harsh winter, they realized that winter had not actually begun.

On the last day of autumn, it wasn't snowing outside the window; the world was a pristine white.

(End of this chapter)