Chapter 319

Chapter 319

Jun Li rushed into the nearly half-destroyed second floor of the Protein City Tribunal Zone One.

"Chief Justice!" he shouted, but failed to see the person who should have been here.

Instead, a Dover Birdman with snow-white hair and pink eyes was surrounded by a crowd, directing operations in an orderly manner.

"Each city has an earthquake contingency plan; specific questions shouldn't be asked here."

"The river pipeline has ruptured, and river water is entering the city. Has the Church of the Mother of Blood received the message? If so, it can be handed over to them for handling. The evacuation of citizens from flooded floors will be managed by the Gluesmith Church. The Tribunal's role is to ensure the safety of the brothers and sisters of both churches while they work, preventing attacks by heretics and fiends... This needs to be emphasized every time there is a disturbance. Remember, you can offer help, but only after ensuring your own observation of the surroundings and readiness for combat."

"I know the Radiant Dragon Church and the Golden Hammer Church believe all energy reserves should be activated because sixty percent of the cities have reported disconnection from geothermal power stations. However, now is not the time to activate all backup energy sources. From today, we must prepare for long-term energy shortages... Why? I have other intelligence channels. In cities experiencing power outages, the local Golden Hammer Church will decide autonomously whether to activate Level 4 or Level 3 energy reserves, but Level 2 and Level 1 reserves should remain untouched."

"Oxygen production will be handled by the fungal forests, and coastal cities also have blue algae zones."

"All cities along the Ruby Lake Belt will be locked down, and residents living below the tenth floor will be relocated upwards."

Through the gaps in the crowd and the occasional sand and gravel falling due to the earthquake, Jun Li could see Hui Cui's calm face. This young man's appearance was actually quite different from Solomon's, and his tone of command was also distinct, low and easily overshadowed.

But even so, no voice truly drowned out his orders.

Jun Li remembered the young and inexperienced apostle who came to the Tribunal Headquarters for training. Compared to back then, his changes were minimal, yet he now firmly held the reins of the current Tribunal Headquarters, order emerging from his words and spreading to other chaotic cities.

Very good, very fitting, he seemed born for this position.

But...

Jun Li grabbed a colleague and asked anxiously, "Where is the Chief Justice?"

He had just been brought back here by a colleague who received a signal, unable to find his superior amidst the chaos at headquarters to report his mission, so he followed the old habit of the Tribunal Headquarters and came directly to the Chief Justice.

He had considered the possibility that the Chief Justice might not be in the office, but he hadn't thought about the possibility that someone else would be in charge of the Chief Justice's "office."

"Yeah," another voice behind him asked, "Where is Solomon Lane?"

This time, many people turned around, as the voice was accompanied by a very obvious aura of pollution.

A new apostle of the Black Sun, a reptilian lizardman, boldly stepped onto the territory of the judges, his pitch-black eyes scanning the area before settling on Hui Cui's face behind the crowd.

He did nothing, but many judges reacted instinctively, their hands resting on their weapons.

However, Hui Cui remained unmoved, the snow-haired Dover Birdman looking past the new apostle of the Black Sun.

Foming appeared with a puzzled look, his eyes lighting up when he saw Hui Cui.

But before the newly ascended Celestial Shaper could say anything, the new apostle of the Black Sun spoke: "It seems I'm not mistaken... There isn't a single Radiant Dragon practitioner here."

This statement caused even more judges to grip their weapons.

Those who didn't move showed a faint smile to maintain their composure, but they knew that facing a Shadowblade without a Radiant Dragon practitioner present was highly disadvantageous.

But the Tribunal couldn't produce a single Radiant Dragon practitioner at the moment, especially after those who were Radiant Dragon practitioners began to emit polluted magic power.

"Foming Blui." Hui Cui finally spoke.

Foming, who had tried to blend into the background and observe, was taken aback and raised a finger to point at himself, "...Are you calling me?"

"The Bishop of the Mirror's Pupil Church in the western coastal region requires all Mirror's Pupil practitioners to gather in Oil Lamp Village. Find a teleporter to take you there," Hui Cui said.

"Oh, oh." Foming lowered his hand and turned to find a teleporter, taking a few steps before turning back to look, curious why Hui Cui was conveying this order from the Mirror's Pupil Church.

At this moment, Hui Cui finally addressed the new apostle of the Black Sun, who had been waiting for a long time: "You should know that the Black Sun is dead, right?"

"..." The new apostle of the Black Sun certainly knew.

If the magic core where practitioners store their magic power is called a reservoir, then every practitioner can feel that their reservoir is constantly replenished with new water.

However, this is not the case for practitioners whose deities have died. Just as the new apostle of the Black Sun teleported into the Protein City Tribunal with the shapeshifter, he felt that the reservoir, which had been expanding since he became an apostle, suddenly lost its source of magic power, the water level stopping at that point.

The new apostle of the Black Sun was abruptly awakened.

Ah, this wasn't to say that he no longer believed in the grudge between his deity and the Radiant Dragon. He believed these things, but coming to face Solomon Lane wasn't to continue the grudge, but to make a gesture to the Black Sun.

If the Black Sun was dead, what was the point of making a gesture? Survival was the most important... He needed to determine who had inherited the shadow authority, otherwise hiding in the Shadow Realm would be like walking into a trap.

"Our deity is dead," the new apostle of the Black Sun probed, "but why does it seem like the Radiant Dragon is following in death?"

What nonsense!

Such inflammatory words made a group of judges feel as if their ears had fallen to the ground. Even Jun Li, who had heard more inflammatory words, admired Hui Cui's unperturbed demeanor as he listened: "Just the necessary turmoil of merging authorities. Only the Black Sun is dead."

Relieved, Jun Li, who had been worried about the Radiant Dragon since returning to reality, let out a sigh of relief.

Hui Cui continued: "If I were you, I would pay more attention to my words. Otherwise, wouldn't it be regrettable to end your already limited life prematurely?"

The new apostle of the Black Sun's seemingly carefree expression froze.

Foming, who had slowed down to eavesdrop, also froze, then turned and quickened his pace to find a teleporter as instructed.

The new apostle of the Black Sun's frozen expression slowly relaxed, and he made a gesture of surrender, saying, "Alright, alright, thank you for sparing my life?"

Hui Cui said nothing, and the lizardman continued: "Considering everyone is busy, if you let me leave, I will swear, on behalf of myself and other Black Sun believers, not to cause any more trouble. How about that?"

Who would believe that?

Some thought, but despite their skepticism, they couldn't help but be swayed.

If the Plague Seminar and the Shadowblade remained inactive during this disaster, the Tribunal would have many more personnel available for rescue efforts!

Anyone would hesitate here, but Hui Cui raised his gun.

"You're lying," he said with absolute certainty, as if he could hear the heart of the new apostle of the Black Sun.

The crimson revolver left a trail like flames on the retina as it moved. The new apostle of the Black Sun, surprised at how quickly Hui Cui made his decision, grinned and said, "I'm not lying."

"Then swear to the Mirror's Pupil?" Hui Cui asked.

"Swear, I will," the new apostle of the Black Sun shrugged, "I swear, I—"

Suddenly, shadows beneath their feet lunged out like spears, aiming for Hui Cui.

The new apostle of the Black Sun, who controlled the shadows, vanished entirely, hiding in some unseen shadow.

As he hid, the new apostle heard the sound of gunfire.

Take your time, the lizardman sneered, re-emerging from the shadows in a cave outside the city.

He could have run farther if he had used the Shadow Realm, but since the power over shadows now belonged to the Radiant Dragon, the Shadow Realm was no longer safe.

With no intention of alerting other followers of the Black Sun, the lizardman only planned to run as far as possible on his own. But just as he poked his head out, a bullet hit him squarely in the side of his head, piercing his brain.

It was a yellow diamond bullet.

It had just been fired from the same gun that the new apostle of the Black Sun had heard.

So easily, half of the lizardman's brain was blown away, splattering red and white matter on the ground. Hui Cui instructed one of the undertakers to retrieve the lizardman's body and then told the bewildered others, "Alright, let's continue."

The judges who had just fended off dozens of shadow spears: "...Huh?"

Thinking they were puzzled by how easily an apostle had died, Hui Cui explained, "A newly favored apostle is only slightly stronger than a high-level professional. Without adapting, entering the battlefield between apostles leads to certain death."

Not to mention, with Lin's help predicting where the new apostle of the Black Sun would reappear, dealing with this lizardman was quite simple.

But he couldn't say that.

Even the judges of the Tribunal Headquarters, accustomed to Solomon's strength, were stunned by Hui Cui's skill.

Hui Cui couldn't let them stay like this and changed the subject, "I know you're worried about the Grand Inquisitor and other colleagues who believe in the Radiant Dragon. But please don't worry too much. Both the Radiant Dragon and the Grand Inquisitor will be protected by gods and humans."

Really?

People who knew Solomon was now only fist-sized exchanged uneasy glances.

In the Radiant Dragon Church, more professionals of the Radiant Dragon were also uneasy.

Foming, who had first gone to Oil Lamp Village and then been brought to a Radiant Dragon cathedral, was even more anxious. He asked the Western Coast Bishop of the Mirror's Pupil Church, Tadansa Anse, "Although you say so, can I really do it? Helping people maintain their faith and mental stability... And everyone in this cathedral is my responsibility?"

"Believe in yourself," Tadansa said, "And there's no way we'd make you responsible for so many people."

"Is that so?" Foming breathed a sigh of relief, then asked curiously, "The Mirror's Pupil Church... I mean, we, do we have any other hands?"

"There's no way," Tadansa sighed.

While sighing, he pushed open the cathedral doors.

Inside, the professionals of the Radiant Dragon, slightly tainted, stood crowded together, making it hard to focus on anything else.

But Foming immediately saw it—the large mirror placed before the altar.

Because, the god with the "Star" crown and silver eyes was right there.