253: The alarm is on full blast, rush back for help at full speed!

Facing the hundreds of Holy Light energy constructs before her, Bai Lingyue's delicate brows furrowed slightly.

Though these guards were not individually strong, their sheer numbers and connection to the entire tower's Formation Qi made them an endless fight, only serving to drain strength.

"Your Excellency, leave this to me. I can use a Formation to trap them, and we can…"

"No need," Mo Yan interrupted her. "That's too slow."

"Gun Gun."

"Gulu?" Gun Gun lifted its fluffy head, its eyes full of inquiry.

Mo Yan pointed at the dense Holy Light guards ahead: "Clear a path."

"Okay!"

Gun Gun's spirits immediately lifted upon hearing it could fight again, and it charged proactively into the group of guards.

"Don't block Mo Yan's path!"

Qingyang Bamboo Shadow Skill!

In an instant, Gun Gun's figure pulled out dozens of azure afterimages, dazzling the eyes and making it impossible to distinguish which was real and which was fake.

The Holy Light guards' programming was clearly unable to handle this level of speed and movement, their actions became sluggish as they constantly tried to lock onto their target.

Immediately after, one of the phantoms suddenly solidified. Gun Gun's body leaped high, striking the top of a Holy Light guard's head with the force of a mountain-splitting blow.

That guard, like a light bulb struck by a hammer, instantly burst and dissipated into the air.

With one successful strike, Gun Gun's figure did not stop, weaving through the group of guards. A Holy Light spear, just as it coalesced, was shattered into a sky full of light specks by its bamboo staff;

A guard raised a light sword to strike, but Gun Gun appeared behind it with even greater speed, thrusting upwards from below, causing the Holy Light construct body to instantly crumble.

Those Holy Light guards, powerful in the eyes of ordinary people, were as easily dealt with as whack-a-mole in front of Gun Gun, one hit per target.

In less than a few minutes.

Hundreds of Holy Light guards were completely cleared out.

Gun Gun, carrying its emerald bamboo, scampered back to Mo Yan's feet.

Mo Yan smiled and gave it a few Yuan Stones to replenish its Qi.

"Well done."

"Let's go." He glanced at Bai Lingyue behind him, then led the way up the stairs, continuing higher.

The higher they went, the heavier the pressure from beneath their feet became, requiring them to use more Qi to resist.

...

At the same time, deep within the church, in a secret room responsible for monitoring the alert Formations.

An elderly priest in a gray divine official's robe was nervously staring at a crystal mirror in front of him.

On the mirror's surface, the runes representing the Confessional's alert Formation had dimmed at some point.

And on another mirror, the hundreds of light dots representing the Holy God Tower's lower-level defense system also extinguished one after another within a mere minute.

"How can this be... How is this possible?!" The old priest's cloudy eyes were filled with shock and panic. His withered fingers trembled as he pressed the alarm Formation disc beside him.

A sharp alarm blared throughout the entire church.

A knight commander, who received the alarm, rushed over with a team of men.

"What happened, Father Gry?"

"Intruders! There are intruders!" The old priest pointed at the crystal mirror, his voice hoarse, "They... they broke through the Confessional's defense line."

"They have now entered the Holy God Tower! The Holy Light guards on the lower levels of the tower... are all annihilated!"

The knight commander's face changed, and he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.

The Holy God Tower led directly to the top floor's Holy Sanctuary, the place where His Excellency the Archbishop performed rituals, and absolutely could not be compromised!

"Damn it! How did they get in?!"

He immediately reported to His Excellency Hiram, the Vice Archbishop, who was in charge of the church's command, via the communication crystal.

"Vice Archbishop, intruders detected! Number unknown, strength unknown! They have infiltrated the Holy God Tower and are moving towards the top floor! Requesting instructions!"

From the other end of the crystal came the steady voice of Vice Archbishop Hiram.

"Why are you panicking?! Just a few small rats, are they worth such a fuss from you?"

At this moment, Hiram was standing on the observation deck next to the church, overlooking the earth-shattering battle on the plaza outside.

Thousands of Empire remnants, forming a revenge legion, charged fearlessly at the Knight Order's defense line, as if insane, led by the newly appointed Empress.

Explosions, battle cries, and the clang of weapons were deafening.

Especially that woman holding the sun scepter; every time she waved the scepter, the golden light rain she scattered could make the exhausted rebels become full of Dragon and Phoenix vitality again.

The intensity of the battle far exceeded their expectations.

"I'm dealing with over four thousand rabid wild dogs here! All forces that can be mobilized have already been sent to the plaza for support!"

"Can't you even handle a few petty thieves?" Hiram roared into the crystal.

In his view, the enemy had already committed all their forces to the plaza.

The intruders in the church were, at most, a few small fries trying to take advantage of the chaos, not worth worrying about at all.

"But Your Excellency..." The knight commander still wanted to explain.

"No 'buts'! Guard your own defensive zone! If even a fly disturbs His Excellency the Archbishop's ritual, I'll take your head!"

The communication was abruptly cut off.

The knight commander gripped the cold crystal, his face ashen.

He dared not disobey Vice Archbishop Hiram's command.

But the unease in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

Meanwhile, on the observation deck, Vice Archbishop Hiram, who had just lost his temper, frowned deeply.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Although the offensive outside was fierce, it was... too fierce.

It was as if they were pouring everything in, leaving no retreat.

Empress Idora, leading the charge herself, wasn't she afraid of the Bloodline of the royal family being severed?

"No... The Deins royal family, those cowards, value their lives the most. How could they let their last Bloodline take such a risk?"

He muttered to himself, then thought of the recent alarm. Two seemingly unrelated pieces of information crashed together in his mind!

"Unless... her life isn't the most important thing! Feint!"

"The general attack on the plaza is a feint! Their true target... is His Excellency the Archbishop!"

Hiram's face instantly turned pale.

He spun around abruptly and roared at the herald beside him: "Deliver my order! All reserve teams, the Second and Third Knight Orders, immediately abandon the plaza defense line and return to the church at full speed!"

"Stop the intruders at all costs!"

"What?" The herald was stunned. "But Vice Archbishop, the plaza..."

"Execute the order!" Hiram grabbed his collar, his eyes bloodshot. "Quick! It'll be too late otherwise!"

The climbing stairs seemed endless.

The pressure inside the Holy God Tower grew more terrifying; by the mid-section, each step upwards required resisting a thousand pounds of force.

More troublesome still, the golden runes inscribed on the walls actively emitted a repulsive force, constantly piercing the trio's Qi shields.

"These runes are integrated with the entire grand Formation. Unless the core is destroyed, they cannot be eradicated."

Bai Lingyue maintained her own shield while quickly analyzing.

"Moreover, they are recording our Qi and transmitting our location in real-time to the control center."

Mo Yan's steps did not falter in the slightest. He did not expend extra energy to strengthen his shield, relying solely on the abundant Qi from his Qi Refining tenth-layer to block all pressure and attacks outside his body.

Just then, his eyes moved slightly, and he looked down.

In his Qi perception, dozens of powerful Qi were rapidly approaching from the bottom of the tower.

One of them was particularly formidable, its energy fluctuation nearing the LV7 level.

"They've reacted," Mo Yan's tone remained calm. "A bit faster than I expected."

"Your Excellency, should we speed up?" Bai Lingyue asked.

"No." Mo Yan shook his head. He looked at the winding stairs behind him and the complex rune environment around them.

He stopped, turned, and looked at Bai Lingyue.

"The pursuers are coming. Spiritual Moon, you prepare a grand gift for them to enjoy."

Bai Lingyue immediately understood. A glint of cunning and excitement flashed in her narrow Phoenix eyes.

She loved this kind of technical work the most.

"Your subordinate obeys," she licked her red lips. "I'll make sure they... linger."

Mo Yan nodded, then continued upwards with Gun Gun, leaving the battlefield to Bai Lingyue.

He trusted her ability.

Bai Lingyue stood still, extending her slender jade hand to feel the flowing Holy Light energy around her.

"Using Holy Light as the base, the power of the undead as the lead, and then mixing in mental suggestion... What a crude and malicious Formation," she commented disdainfully.

She chose not to set up her most Good at ice or water element Formations, because here, they would be severely suppressed by the Holy Light power.

The most brilliant Formation Master utilizes the environment, rather than fighting against it.

Her fingertips danced, Qi shot from her fingertips, probing into the runes on the surrounding walls.

She didn't destroy these runes, but rather, like the most brilliant hacker, she was tampering with their underlying code, replacing them with her own Formation.

This required considerable mental effort to operate.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, but the smile on her face grew even more enchanting.

"Let me see, what do you devout believers hide deep within your hearts?"