Chapter 54: Rank Promotion

"High Priestess?"

Mike remembered the woman he had seen in the assembly hall, who was said to be the highest-ranking person in all of Avalon City, even outranking the lord who belonged to the sacred family.

"Don't look around, hurry and pay your respects."

Lisa made the sign of the cross on her chest, urging, "Quickly."

The officers and soldiers also reverently made the sign of the holy cross on their chests and recited, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom comes, you will be done."

As for the captive Remnants of the Departed, they had never seen such a sight in their lives - a massive pillar of light descended from the parting clouds upon their heads, but caused no harm.

It was as if the gates of heaven had opened.

Mike reluctantly muttered, "Our Father..."

He made the sign of the cross, feeling as if the towering pillar of light had distorted the fabric of space and time, and the snowy scenery was violently changing, spinning.

There was a thunderous sound.

When the massive pillar of light dissipated, they were shocked to find themselves having traversed through time and space, from the cold, snowy exterior to the warm hall, seeing the dignitaries seated before them.

"Ah."

Mike was astounded. What a heaven-defying technique this was!

He had thought the Evolved in Ember had already mastered an impressive level of metaphysical powers, but in the face of this miraculous time travel, they were truly small fry.

This was the power of the High Priestess.

The power of the gods!

Except for Lisa, the rest of this investigative team had never experienced such a miraculous event, and were dumbfounded, as if in a dream, unable to believe it.

As for the captive Remnants of the Departed, they had already fallen to their knees in terror.

The bound Thorn Demon was immediately dragged away by the researchers in white coats.

Such abhorrent, deformed creatures were not allowed in the Sanctuary.

Amid the synchronized footsteps, the inspectors from the Law Enforcement Bureau and the inquisitors from the Heresy Tribunal came rushing in from the left and right, prepared to take the Remnants of the Departed back for interrogation, but a conflict arose in the process of seizing them, with both parties exchanging dark looks, locked in a standoff.

If they were not in the Sanctuary, they would have already drawn their weapons.

"Williams, what is the meaning of this?"

Charles said coldly.

Williams, puffing on a cigarette, replied indifferently, "My meaning is, you're meddling where you don't belong. This matter involves a life-threatening disaster, and should be handled by the Heresy Tribunal."

Charles responded, "But it also jeopardizes the safety within the city."

Williams sighed heavily, "I'm being lenient with you, but if you insist on the truth, this matter cannot possibly be entrusted to you. The simple reason is... because you won't be able to crack it. So there's no need to waste time, and let me clean up your mess again, otherwise, you'll not only lose face but also make me annoyed."

Charles was furious, "What did you say!"

The Sanctuary suddenly grew cold.

The High Priestess glanced at them, "This matter will be handled by the Heresy Tribunal."

The dispute between the two was thus settled.

Whoever dared to continue arguing would be courting death.

The High Priestess turned her gaze to the investigative team.

They were all pleasantly surprised, hurriedly bowing in respect.

Only Mike stared back at her without a care.

It had to be said, that the High Priestess' eyes were quite beautiful.

They seemed to reflect the starry sky.

The priests standing on both sides of the hall kept coughing to remind him, but it was completely ineffective.

Goodness, how dare you gaze directly at the High Priestess!

It wasn't until much later that the High Priestess couldn't discern anything particularly special about this child of the old world, other than his impressive talent, and gave up.

She closed her eyes and softly hummed.

An experienced priest quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, "The High Priestess means that you have performed exceptionally well on this mission, even exceeding our expectations. Your contribution to the safety of this city has been immense, and the gods will bestow honors upon you."

Mike had a unique sense of déjà vu.

It was as if he was seeing the Queen and her grand eunuch.

Lisa looked up and said seriously, "The main credit for this mission goes to the new soldier beside me. If it weren't for his constructive suggestions, we might not have escaped the Aberrant Tide's attack safely. Especially his fearless, heroic performance in the critical moment... Even I might have perished in the belly of the Thorn Demon."

She paused for a moment, "I request to allocate half of my merits to this outstanding soldier."

Mike was taken aback, this was not just idle talk.

Although he was the main commander of this operation, he could not take all the credit.

However, Lisa glanced at him, her bright eyes blinking with a hint of a smile, letting him catch a whiff of the scent of being a "soft rice bowl".

Ah, this is the benefit of being a lieutenant.

She gave the merits to him.

The others didn't have much opinion, only Jack changed his expression.

But he didn't dare say anything in the Sanctuary Hall.

Semin slapped the table, "Good! This is the magnanimity that an excellent leader should have!"

The old secretary was overjoyed.

Not bad, their young lady is finally learning to rally people.

The old folks certainly knew that Lisa was talking nonsense.

But they were willing to give her this favor.

Deputy Director Mo and his secretary exchanged a glance and said indifferently, "But I recall that he was just an ordinary private on the Western Front, why not transfer him under my command, and let him assist with the logistics distribution? The supply depot is just short of a senior officer."

They had already started openly competing for the person.

The two directors, one in charge of combat, the other in charge of logistics.

They had been in a covert struggle for power for many years, mutually encroaching on each other's authority, and everyone was used to it.

Today they slammed the table and glared at each other again, the atmosphere tense.

Seeing that the High Priestess was impatient, the old priest hurriedly said, "Silence!"

Accompanying the High Priestess for many years, the old priest naturally understood her intentions, and said, "As for the personnel allocation issue, you can go back and solve it yourselves, and also respect the opinion of this new soldier. The Sanctuary agrees to modify the merit distribution of the Divine Intelligence network, to give the soldier the most fair treatment."

The old priest said, "Director Duke, Deputy Director Mo since the military has already obtained live samples of Decaying Spectre and Thorn demon, you must quickly find methods to deal with them. The High Priestess is willing to give you three days, and you must resolve this problem before the High Priestess's Holy Light Barrier collapses."

Director Duke calmed his anger and said solemnly, "Understood!"

Mo, the deputy director, also realized the seriousness of the problem and nodded slightly.

"Noah's Organization will cooperate with you to research the latest weapons."

The old priest said, "This time... don't explode them."

Lionel the Archbishop rolled his eyes, too lazy to bother.

Explosions are art, these people don't understand.

If Noah's Organization's stuff doesn't explode, it's not Noah's Organization anymore.

"The Law Enforcement Bureau is requested to promptly investigate the population within the city. If the Necro Cult has already infiltrated the city, there must be traces left. As for the legends of the Holy Mountain and the secrets hidden by the remnants of the Reborn, they will be handed over to the Heresy Inquisition."

The old priest said, "Finally, I remind you all that how you compete openly or covertly in the city is your own business. The High Priestess wields divine power, but she is not a god. While she is working tirelessly for the safety of the city, please do not let her down."

The High Priestess sat in the highest place in the hall, her whole body emanating a faint glow.

Everyone then realized that the Holy Light Barrier outside the city had consumed her immense energy, otherwise, she could not have single-handedly withstood such a large number of aberrant tides and protected the safety of the city.

Today she once again performed a miracle and executed a long-distance teleportation.

For her, the burden was even greater.

With a wave of the High Priestess's hand, her figure dissipated like snow in the sunlight.

Mike, however, heard a tired sigh.

To protect the city, she's exhausted herself like this, and still didn't forget to bring us back?

Now Mike also felt a little embarrassed and followed the military officers and soldiers to make a sacred cross gesture, this time it was truly from the heart.

The high-ranking officials paid their respects one after another and then left from a side door.

"Quite capable."

Williams, sitting in a wheelchair, passed by the young man with a hint of a smile.

Mike pouted, "I also want to be low-key, but my abilities don't allow it..."

This was also from the bottom of his heart, he was afraid that these high-ranking officials would take him for an aberrant and exterminate him.

"Because of you, I've mysteriously committed another crime."

Williams grumbled, but didn't explain further, instead lowering his voice and saying, "This time you went out, did you find any new information?"

"Of course, this trip couldn't have been in vain."

Mike said in a low voice, "I'll have my daughter come pick me up, we can talk about it slowly."

"Daughter?"

Williams was taken aback, "You young people are something."

He shook his head but left with a content expression.

In the evening, a military Jeep was speeding through the night.

"Sergeant Mike, congratulations on completing your first expedition mission. Since your contributions exceeded 50%, you have been awarded 3,000 merit points. When your total merit points reach 4,200, please go to the supply depot to collect your resources."

"Since your rank has reached the level of sergeant, you have met the conditions to leave the frontline. Please go to the armory office to fill out the application and select the position you are inclined towards."

"Given your identity has been upgraded, it is recommended that you immediately replace your family..."

Mike sat in the passenger seat, pausing for a moment.

"These are the privileges of being an officer."

Lisa gripped the steering wheel, weaving through the bustling street. Oncoming vehicles yielded to them, and pedestrians watched in awe.

"So I can leave the frontline now?"

Mike frowned. "What about Eric?"

Lisa grimaced. "Don't worry about him, he's also been transferred away from the frontline. He'll probably be stationed at the military base's machine factory, not too far from you. If possible, I can have your and his dorms assigned together, so you two can continue sharing a pair of pants."

Mike's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Colonel."

"However..."

He hesitated. "Why do I need to replace my family?"

"Because your current low-tier family is no longer suitable for you," Lisa said matter-of-factly. "Of course, you can choose not to replace them."

Mike found it rather strange.

Now he knew the identity of that young girl.

The Necro Cult is still searching for her...

Somehow, the suggestion to replace his family gave him a sense of crisis.

He had considered extricating himself from this matter.

As long as he disassociated from Isabelle, it would be fine.

After all, she was just a family member assigned to him by Divine Intelligence.

They hadn't been together long, and there were no deep feelings.

Replacing her would allow him to play it safe.

But he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

The Necro Cult had messed with him, and he was determined to see this through to the end with those vile beasts.

Whoever blinks first is the loser.

At least he had become an officer now, so ordinary people wouldn't dare to touch him.

"I'll have someone come pick you up later to help you pack and move."

Lisa's expression grew more serious. "I need to go to the aberrant containment facility."

Mike was taken aback. "This late? Aren't you going to rest?"

Lisa rolled her eyes coquettishly. "The colonel is also bound by circumstances. The High Priest only gave us three days to find the aberrant's weaknesses. That damned Deputy Director Mo may still have some tricks up his sleeve to trip us up..."

But it's not like it'll do any good for you to go there.

At this moment, Mike suddenly thought of the drumbeats of the Remnants of the Afterlife.

If he could just get them to reveal the specific frequency, wouldn't that be able to help the colonel?