Chapter 195: Holy Lady

On the outskirts of the Black Stone Mountain Range, the Supervision Bureau set up a temporary search camp.

Tension and anxiety hung in the air as a patrol squad, having just finished another fruitless search, gathered to analyze the current situation.

There was no alternative: they were supposed to be using a special detector for Gloomy Fluorescent Stone to search the sand island for smuggled goods hidden here, and Min Tianyou followed along partly to pad his experience and partly because his prophetic ability can sometimes work wonders in locating things.

This place isn't far from Tianmian City, so they all thought the worst that could happen was to run into a few Aberrant Species.

Who could have imagined that their most important prophet could also be lost?

At the time they ventured into an underground tunnel, a sudden collapse occurred; Min Tianyou, who was at the rear of the team, got separated, and those new-type Exotics that resembled animated stones suddenly appeared.

After the chaos, they dealt with those stone beings, but Min Tianyou was lost again.

After expending great effort to clear the surrounding rubble, they only found fragments of a damaged communicator, and could only guess that Min Tianyou, while evading those stone beings, accidentally broke his communicator.

The few were at a loss; not only had they failed to locate the hidden Gloomy Fluorescent Stone, they also lost the valuable prophet.

At that moment, the communicator in their captain's hand suddenly lit up, as if the bewildered had finally found a lighthouse.

"It's Min Tianyou's signal!"

The captain's spirits lifted, and he immediately opened it—it was the emergency message Min Tianyou had just sent.

But when he saw keywords like "Co-Absorption," "Air Train design draft," "Shepherd, Dark Raven, Flame City Cannon," his face instantly turned extremely grim.

"Contact headquarters immediately; Min Tianyou and his group are being pursued by those affected by Co-Absorption!"

The subordinates immediately took out their communicators, entered a long block of text according to the captain's detailed account, and concluded with a request for assistance.

"Boom.......!!"

The message just sent, a violent tremor surged from beneath their feet; at first it merely tingled, but in an instant the shaking turned savage.

"What's happening? An earthquake?!"

"No! Look over there!"

A sharp‑eyed squad member pointed toward the main peak of the Black Stone Mountain Range not far away, his voice twisted by overwhelming fear.

The black‑gray peak, silent for countless years, was now shaking violently.

Countless massive cracks spread across the mountain's surface at a visible speed, and after a low, rumbling roar, a section of the side wall tore open from within.

An enormous silhouette forced a passage through the mountain's belly and squeezed out.

Its height nearly matched the neighboring hill; it bore a humanoid outline, though vague, looking more like a haphazard collage of the range's rocks.

Dark‑red energy veins coursed over its body like blood, and a scarlet glow lit where its eyes should be, precisely locking onto the Supervision Bureau search squad's location.

"Roar——!!!"

The sound wave seemed to solidify into a shockwave, hurling surrounding debris like missiles.

The rock giant took a step, covering hundreds of meters in a single stride; the ground beneath its feet crumbled like a biscuit, trembling with each footfall.

"Retreat! All units fall back! Maximum emergency status!"

The search captain shouted hoarsely, his voice sounding feeble amid the constant alarms from surrounding scanners.

Fortunately, they had already relayed the message; concerning Co-Absorption, the only one stationed at the Supervision Bureau who could reach here now was Captain Yue Chengzhang!

If the captain arrives in time, he will surely be able to deal with that monster!

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The Supervision Bureau headquarters, which had gone on high alert the moment Min Tianyou's emergency message arrived, was now shrouded in even greater chaos.

On the massive central screen, the area representing the Black Stone Mountain Range flickered wildly with blinding red light and disaster warning symbols.

Sweat already dotted the deputy's forehead; he immediately ordered his subordinates to ready themselves for departure, yet he did not see the familiar figure who usually stood at the front of the crowd.

"Where's Captain Yue? He shouldn't be on field duty today!"

A young liaison officer ran over, pale‑faced:

"Deputy, Captain Yue… he's still in the VIP reception room; the people we sent to find him were stopped at the door!"

"Don't mind those aristocrats with their endless affairs; this is a top‑level emergency, let those nobles stay wherever they're comfortable!"

The deputy said bluntly, noting that normally they might give the nobles some face and not drive them out, but now it was a special situation.

"But… but that's Qi Junyi of the Heresy Tribunal; he said… the captain is meeting the Holy Lady, and no one may disturb him."

The young officer's voice trembled; he dared to act despite the deputy's words because those nobles were present, but she was the Holy Lady!

"Holy… Holy Lady?!"

The deputy was also stunned on the spot when he heard that.

The legendary Holy Lady, who almost never leaves the Pale Throne Cathedral, wielding spatial powers, had personally come to the Supervision Bureau headquarters?

And she was meeting privately with Yue Chengzhang at a time like this?

While everyone was bewildered, unsure whether to report immediately or wait, the main doors suddenly opened.

A figure slowly walked in from outside.

She wore a simple white long dress, and her blue hair, cascading like a waterfall, seemed to ripple with an undercurrent under the Data Stream illumination inside.

A thin white veil covered her face, revealing only a pair of ice‑blue eyes; the deputy felt those eyes looked familiar.

But until now, he should never have seen this Holy Lady before.

Her arrival was unaccompanied by grand fanfare, yet the noisy command center fell silent instantly, everyone involuntarily bowing their heads in awe.

She was the Holy Lady of the present Church, one of the Divine Oracles of space and time.

She was also the idol of countless young women present, and it was her vigorous promotion of new policies within the Church that broke precedents forbidding women from many activities.

Because of her appearance, they finally had a fair chance to compete with others.

Her gaze calmly swept over the wrecked command center, finally resting on the young officer who had once rushed in to report, now frozen in place.

An ethereal and authoritative voice rang out, instantly soothing the anxiety in everyone's hearts.

"Captain Yue Chengzhang is now aware of the sudden situation here; I have employed my spatial ability to send him directly to the front lines of the Black Stone Mountain Range."

"You must immediately form two squads, equip Rune weapons, and rush to the rendezvous, ensuring a solid defense so that Aberrant Species do not threaten civilians near the Slum; the rest await further orders from Captain Yue."