"Today is your forty-second day in this Shadow World."

"The Huoning Empire has not only successfully occupied the neighboring Kingdom of Bliss, but the Kingdoms of F克洛 (Fu Ke Luo) and 伊迪斯 (Yi Di Si) on the east and west sides have also been infiltrated. The Polant Empire is retreating steadily on the main battlefield. In this campaign, our army has suffered 30,000 casualties and lost nearly a thousand magic導炮 (dao pao, magic cannons). The ports on the northern mainland strait have also fallen into the hands of the Blood Clan. It is a foregone conclusion that the Huoning Empire will launch a new offensive against our country or neighboring countries."

"Worse, the council's trust in you has fallen to an all-time low. You will be impeached in tomorrow's no-confidence vote."

"This afternoon's speech is your last chance."

"Success or failure hinges on this. Your fate is tied to Loren."

The Cat Boss stood on Lance's desk, fiddling with his nixie tube timer, and broadcasting to him.

In the Prime Minister's office in Hellsalem, it was noon.

With the curtains drawn, the room was dimly lit, and the nixie tube timer emitted a saturated orange-red glow, like magma illuminating the final countdown.

Lance sat alone behind an old-fashioned wooden desk, surrounded by dense piles of documents and file bags.

"It's indeed time for me to go to the Lower House to give a speech."

Lance's face was obliquely illuminated by the nixie tube on the desk. No one knew what he was thinking, his gaze seeming to penetrate the direction of the Capitol.

After returning to the capital, Hellsalem, from Perkinhe County on the northern border, two days had passed, and Lance had completed all the docking work with the double and arranged the final agenda.

The wartime cabinet's support for the resistance movement no longer existed, and a peace agreement was being drafted, even adopting the power of postponement, temporarily failing to pass the alliance with the demons.

Lance stood up, walked around the long table, and took off his coat from the coat rack.

Before picking up the Cat Boss, he took a magic-conducting box covered in restrictions from the cabinet on the side of the room.

After opening it, there was only a small communication device inside, with a button on top formed by three intertwined holy纹 (wen, patterns).

"Cat Cat, can you press this button?"

Lance stroked the Cat Boss's head and said to it.

The faint buzzing of the timer echoed in the quiet room, reminding them of the passage of precious time.

"What is this, meow!"

The Cat Boss curiously circled the communication device a few times.

"Pressing this button will make your Shadow World contribution soar. You might even get an epic reward that matches your rank."

Lance said with a smile.

"Meow meow?!"

The Cat Boss rolled around happily.

It thought Lance was just saying he'd help it farm contribution points to make it happy. It didn't expect Lance to keep it in mind all the time. It liked him so much!

"Really? If I press it, will I have a chance to get an epic reward?"

After rolling around on the table, the Cat Boss confirmed again.

It always felt that the legendary high-level epic card was too easy to get. After all, it never dared to dream of getting an epic item before!

"Yes, press it, and many people will be happy."

Lance nodded and opened a copy of the *Holy Ritual Gospel* on the table, stating with certainty.

The concept of the Trinity represents the communion between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that is, the communion of love.

It reveals that love is the essence of God, and God's love is unconditional, perfect, and eternal.

Holy Ritual followers are encouraged to imitate God's love and strive to embody love and harmony.

The concept of the Trinity is also related to the Holy Ritual Church's concept of salvation.

The Father sent the Son to save mankind, and the work of the Holy Spirit in individuals and the church helps to realize this plan of salvation.

Salvation is the joint action of all persons of God, aimed at saving the world.

And this button is the final step in achieving great love.

"Meow!"

The Cat Boss didn't hesitate to raise its paw and press the button.

"Then what? What will change after pressing it?"

The Cat Boss asked nervously, looking around.

It felt like nothing happened after pressing this button.

Clearly, judging from Lance's mysterious tone, something should have changed after pressing this button.

"Somewhere in the Huoning Empire, ten thousand suns will rise."

Lance picked up the Cat Boss and said to it kindly.

"Meow?"

The Cat Boss opened its bright cat eyes.

It didn't understand.

But it was okay, as long as it could get the reward.

...

Three hours later.

The Real World.

Old Briar Courthouse, a building steeped in history, along the city walls of Ickerythe, in the heart of the Kingdom of Hutton, was gently brushed by an indistinct, dawn-like, cyan-grey light in the pitch-black hours before daybreak.

At this moment, the world had not fully awakened, but the Old Briar Courthouse stood silently on the edge of time, ready to welcome the emergency hearing to be held on this new day.

The time zone of the seventh-tier Shadow World Dark Eclipse 魔境 (Mo Jing, Devil Realm) differs from the real world by about twelve hours. If it is five or six in the morning in the real world, then it is five or six in the evening in the Shadow World.

Less than seventy-two hours remained in the Shadow World, and basically everything was set.

Inside the courthouse, traditional wooden paneling and heavy red curtains towered high, and a statue of the God of Light and Law stood at the end of the hall, as if her gaze was also watching the upcoming hearing.

In this solemn morning, Loren stood alone in the center of the courthouse long ago.

He was now a regular on the defendant's bench, his tired and weathered face with rare stubble adding a bit of worldly air to his past gentle and handsome appearance.

As an eighth-tier High Priest, he was walking on thin ice.

"This seventh-tier Shadow World is basically hopeless. Not to mention one percent, even zero point one percent is out of reach."

"Judging from the images opened by Loren's student last time, it's completely a farce."

Almost no natural light entered from the courthouse windows, and the sound of discussions from the jury echoed, as if ghostly whispers lingered in the ears.

"Today may be the last hearing. Loren, are you ready?"

The presiding judge's gavel struck, and those discussions ceased abruptly, with a deathly silence enveloping every corner.

Duke Akarese, the presiding judge, gestured gently, and the crystal ball-shaped magical device on one side of the courthouse lit up at the same moment, projecting the last scene of the Shadow World.

In the thick mist, the outline of Hellsalem, the capital of Polant, was faintly visible.

The bells of Hellsalem Clock Tower rang in the quiet and tense air, reminding the people of Polant that the darkest hour had arrived.

Then, the picture turned to the Polant Capitol, where the tense atmosphere was almost palpable.

Politicians were no longer engaged in fierce arguments, and their faces looked particularly serious in the dim light.

In the air, dark clouds loomed, and occasionally Huoning Empire's flying dragon riders could be seen passing over the sky. The streets were already filled with trenches.

This was the Shadow World information left by Loren's student when he last opened the live broadcast—

[Mission Objective 1: Find the key to defeating the Blood Clan, completed.]

[Mission Objective 2: At the end of the Shadow World, increase the human side's chances of winning against the Blood Clan to over 1%, current win rate 0.0007%.]

[Mission Objective 3: All challengers survive until the 45-day time limit expires, currently 3/3 alive.]

Among them, Mission Objective 1 had been completed.

However, the most core Mission 2 not only had no progress, but had regressed.

[Current situation of the Polant Empire]

[Public Morale: 586→705/1000 (Public support and cohesion)]

[Parliament: 175→32/1000 (Support rate of the high-level officials within the Polant Empire)]

[Military Strength: 199/1000 (Referenced against the Huoning Empire)]

[Finance: 325→337/1000 (Current productivity of the Polant Empire)]

[Diplomacy: 232/1000 (Diplomatic relations with the Demon World and neighboring countries that have not yet surrendered)]

[Overall Chances of Winning: 0.0007%]

After Lance returned to the Polant Empire, [Public Morale] was still steadily increasing, but it was of no use.

[Military Strength], [Finance], and [Diplomacy] basically remained in place.

Most fatally, the [Parliament] item directly fell below the warning line of one hundred, which meant that the Shadow World had entered an uncontrollable runaway mode.

The chances of winning fell from 0.0074% back to 0.0007%.

Not surprisingly, Loren's student, who was isolated and helpless, would soon be impeached, and then this seventh-tier Shadow World would come to an end!

And an terrifying natural disaster would descend somewhere in the real world.

"I... I know what's going on."

Loren looked at the cold image, took a deep breath, and tried to calm the waves in his heart.

"Loren, your student has now completely collapsed this Shadow World. Do you admit that he was taught by you, and that you have an unshirkable responsibility for the rash entry into this Shadow World and his failure?"

Duke Akarese, the Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Hutton, looked serious.

"...Yes."

Loren choked a little.

Actually, Lance wasn't really taught by him, but at this time, he couldn't push the responsibility to the student, because Lance couldn't bear this responsibility. He didn't want to ruin Lance's future.

"It was all at my direction."

Loren lowered his head and said.

His words seemed to be arguing with reality, each word weighing a thousand pounds.

"Okay, Loren, since you say so, I won't ask you any more questions or state too much about the cause, process, and results. The joint investigation team composed of the South Continent Kingdom Joint Council, the Shadow World Management Association, the South Continent Disaster Prevention Agency, and the Hutton Kingdom Security Bureau has a very detailed investigation report."

Presiding Judge Duke Akarese continued.

The conclusions were like heavy hammers, striking the hearts of everyone in the courthouse again and again.

The judgment bells of the Old Briar Courthouse rang, and the thin light intertwined with the heavy air.

People's eyes were focused on Loren, as if they were pressing the weight of this hearing on him.

The entire Kingdom of Hutton was also holding its breath at this moment, even starting to broadcast the crucial hearing early in the morning.

Even in the jury and audience, there were still a few eyes full of concern for him, but these were just a drop in the bucket and could not reverse the tide of public opinion.

On the jury, the Paladin Captain of the Church of the Goddess of Fate, who had come from the Kingdom of Canberra, clenched her hands tightly.

At this moment, she was not wearing her usual heavy armor, but a light dress. Loren simply didn't recognize her.

"Dearest friend..."

The Paladin Captain still believed that her dearest friend was a mature and stable person and would not make such a mistake. Although she now wanted to stand up and say a few words for Loren, she was shouldering the important task of the Kingdom Joint Council to investigate the mysterious Cardinal and had come to the Kingdom of Hutton. She couldn't be biased towards her own people in this moment, dragging the entire Church of the Goddess of Fate down with her.

She turned her head away with great inner struggle, no longer looking at Loren.

At this moment, she only felt that everything was over and was sitting on pins and needles.

The hearing was nearing its end before the first ray of sunlight of the morning had arrived, and everything returned to silence.

Just when people thought that a generation of noble High Priest was about to be ruined here.

The outdoor giant screen in the Kingdom of Hutton, which had been playing morning news, turned pitch black and began to show an emergency Shadow World scene.

It immediately attracted a few eyes.

The Shadow World that could be inserted at this time must not be a trivial matter.

Hearing the sound, more and more people in the courthouse looked at the projected image.

Sure enough, it was Lance who had once again started the Shadow World live broadcast!

"This should be the last Shadow World live broadcast."

"I think Loren's student should also mean this."

"With a 0.0007% chance of winning, is there any need to struggle?"

The hearing was temporarily suspended, and whispers gradually spread throughout the jury and audience.

In the picture, the sun was gradually setting in the west, and the afterglow sprinkled on the Hellsalem River, with golden light and sparkling waves on the river surface. The spire of the Capitol, next to it, was still shrouded in a layer of uneasy shadows under the setting sun.

The sound of air raid sirens came from time to time, bringing a bit of horror and uncertainty to this peaceful evening.

The bustling scene of the Capitol was no more, replaced by heavy soldiers and sparse figures of reporters.

They either stopped and stared at the afterglow of the setting sun on the Hellsalem River, or silently looked up at the Capitol, praying for the empire in their hearts.

This afternoon, in the Hellsalem Lower House, there would be a speech by Prime Minister Wilford, which would be broadcast nationally.

In the three days before the speech, various media began to report enthusiastically, and people from all walks of life were eagerly awaiting its arrival.

The people of the Polant Empire all knew about the Prime Minister's situation in the wartime cabinet.

This speech.

Was also called by the media as possibly the Prime Minister's—

Last speech.