Farina unexpectedly discovered that the straw was still there.

Despite being only a few feet away, it still hadn't pressed down.

The story background of the Magic Shadow was similar to the "history" told by the ancient witches of Taqila, but it didn't completely deny the Church. When she saw the troupe members taking on such a heavy burden to save the situation and fight against the enemies of hell, she even felt a surge of heat in her body that she hadn't felt in a long time.

So much so that when most of the mortal high-level members of the Magic Shadow Hermes suddenly rebelled, she clenched her fists tightly, wishing she could knock them all to the ground one by one.

It was these people who caused the Church to forget its original intention, turning from being needed into a behemoth that turned against the people.

The most hateful thing was that those in high positions who knew the inside story kept silent about the existence of demons on the one hand, and cultivated believers with the idea of saving the world on the other hand—this caused countless warriors like Lord Tack. Tortol to die with lofty beliefs, but without realizing that they were just serving as tools for them to control power.

The Hermes she was loyal to shouldn't be like this.

The problem was, why did the King of Graycastle reveal this side of the Church... Did he really not intend to take this opportunity to completely plunge the Church into the abyss?

Or was it that he simply didn't care about these things?

While Farina's emotions were fluctuating, the pursuers sent by Hermes caught her attention.

Even a few moments earlier, she wouldn't have reacted at all—for those in despair, no matter what changes happened around them, it was no longer related to her. But now, her heart had a ripple, and the power of the past seemed to have returned a little.

Farina herself was an elite of the Judgment Army, and this small change was enough for her to notice the abnormality.

The ground trembled slightly.

This was the sound of the Judgment Army galloping on horseback.

She had stayed in Hermes for five or six years and was already extremely familiar with such movements. Even without her eyes, she could judge the number of people and the distance.

Sixteen riders, two squads—exactly the same as the number of pursuers in front of her.

If the tactile sensation had existed from the beginning, she might have ignored it. But the Magic Shadow was just a fictional illusion. No matter how realistic it was, it couldn't replace reality, like not being able to see her body when she looked down, and the touch still depended on the surrounding environment, etc... Because of this, the suddenly added feeling was particularly obvious.

She realized that something—had changed!

As this thought emerged, Farina saw her body.

What exactly is... going on?

But even more incredible things were yet to come.

The surrounding viewers also appeared in front of her one by one.

Qiao was no exception.

"Farina, what is this..." He turned his head with a blank look.

A very ominous feeling surged into her heart. Farina suddenly grabbed backwards, but touched nothing—the chair she had been sitting on was gone.

"Please help us, please!" The Guardians and witches seemed to have discovered their existence as well, running towards the crowd in desperation.

"The defectors are there, take them down!"

"All resisters will be regarded as accomplices and killed without mercy!"

Arrows flew, shooting down several people in the front row.

Most of the viewers were council members of the Chamber of Commerce and aristocratic dignitaries, and had almost no experience in personal combat. Faced with such a sudden change, they were all stunned in place.

"Damn it!" Farina cursed in a low voice. What on earth were those witches doing? Was this still an illusion? If it had been before, she would have shouted "This is a wicked trap set by the witches, everyone follow me!" to stabilize the people. Resisting the subconscious impulse, she pushed Qiao away and quickly rushed to the front of the crowd, "Stop! I am Farina, the captain of the vanguard camp of the Judgment Army, who are you!"

This unexpected loud shout made the pursuers rein in their horses. "Vanguard camp? I've never heard of this team."

"Hey, who is your commander?"

"The Grand High Priest of the Privy Council, Lord Teflun." Farina fabricated, while simultaneously, she put her hand behind her back and made a gesture to the defecting Guardians to "give me a weapon."

"Wh...at?" The warrior leading the team revealed a hesitant expression upon hearing this answer.

Sure enough, the close guards who were the masterminds of the rebellion had heard of the Privy Council. Anyone who could be involved in the core secrets of the Church should have considerable influence in the Church, but she also knew that this could only make the other party hesitate for a moment, but it could not change their minds—the rebellion had now succeeded, and even if the Grand High Priest was powerful, he was only crowning the new Pope.

She had to seize the initiative and strike first!

Unfortunately, the Guardians didn't fully understand her gesture, and just cautiously drew their swords and stood next to her.

"Why aren't you wearing the armor of the Judgment Army?" Probably having made a decision, the leader of the pursuers dismounted and slowly surrounded them with his men.

"Because I'm on a special mission," Farina replied calmly.

"I'm sorry, because the defectors are too important, I must take him back to Hermes, this is Your Majesty's order. In addition, your people had better come with me as well—that Lord Teflun will definitely understand Your Majesty's will."

"Must it be this way?"

"That's right." The other party's hand rested on the sword hilt.

"Alright, then I'll go with you," Farina sighed, "As for Lord Teflun, he..."

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's already dead—" While speaking, she drew the spare short sword from the Guardian's waist with lightning speed and inserted it into the leader's helmet gap, "—three hundred years later."

Blood immediately sprayed on her face.

"Cap, Captain!"

"Kill them!"

Farina seized the leader's weapon and fought with the pursuers. At this time, the Guardians also joined the battle, wielding their swords as if waking up from a dream.

"This woman—so, so strong!"

"Damn it, where's the crossbow? Cock it quickly!"

"Don't let the witches run away!"

The scene was chaotic, with people falling down with muffled groans from time to time, while the rest of the audience were in a daze, all standing in place, afraid to move.

For Farina, this was a battle with no chance of winning. Being armored against no armor meant that even if she could knock down the opponent, it would be difficult to inflict fatal damage. Coupled with the numerical disadvantage of sixteen against two, it was only a matter of time before she was cut down by random swords.

After several rounds of fighting, her body was already injured in many places, but the burning pain did not slow down her movements, but instead made her fighting spirit higher and higher.

Farina felt a long-lost sense of satisfaction.

"You dare to be an enemy of the Church!" The pursuing guards roared.

"The Church? No... you don't deserve to mention that name!" She glared at them, "It shouldn't be like this, you destroyed it with your own hands! You have disappointed too many people's expectations!"

That's right, she would soon die in battle here, but Farina found that this was the most suitable ending for her. Even if it was just for a brief moment, she had finally become the kind of person she wanted to be.

But death did not arrive as expected.

The rapid gunfire broke the sound of swords clashing. She turned her head and realized that the black-clothed men who had been guarding outside the courtyard had appeared in the Magic Shadow at some point. Their reinforcements reversed the situation—the enemies seemed to be scared out of their wits by these suddenly appearing reinforcements. They dropped their companions' bodies, turned and fled on horseback, and quickly disappeared into the mountains.

"Thank you..." The Guardians, covered in wounds, walked up to Farina with the support of the witches. "I thought the Church was completely controlled by my father, I didn't expect to meet an upright warrior like you."

"I thought there was no hope, but it seems that the gods have not given up on us." The witches still had tears on their faces, but now they smiled through tears, "You have saved more than just us—all of humanity owes you a debt."

"I..." Farina opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

"We are going to Graycastle next to tell the King about the changes in the Hermes Plateau, hoping it's not too late." The Guardians said solemnly, "You should leave quickly too, don't go back to the Holy City again. If one day the Church can get back on the right track, I think we will see each other again. Take care, my friend."

After watching the two slowly leave, the vision darkened.

When the light returned to normal, she found herself still sitting in the viewing room, the chair behind her still sturdy.

Even the injuries she had sustained in the battle had disappeared.

So... what she had just seen was just an illusion?

"Oh my god... this is too great!" At this moment, the audience finally came back to their senses, and the viewing room burst into deafening exclamations of praise.

"By the three gods, I feel like I'm changing history..."

"As expected of a master of drama, it's worth a hundred gold dragons to see such a Magic Shadow, let alone fifty!"

"You scared me to death when you rushed out, fortunately it was just a false alarm," Qiao patted his chest and said, "It's unbelievable to be able to come up with such a scene and make the troupe members so lifelike..."

Farina didn't respond, she noticed that the black-clothed men looked tense, looking around with guns, which didn't seem like a pre-arranged performance at all. Two theater staff members even rushed into the backstage, looking panicked and surprised.

This didn't seem like the reaction after a successful performance.

As she held her breath and further captured those details, she suddenly heard a faint explosion, as if it was coming from a very far away place. At the same time, people's screams, cries, and curses also rang out intermittently, but they seemed insignificant in the face of the endless discussions and praises in the room.

This is not right—

Farina realized that something was wrong.

She suddenly stood up and, ignoring Qiao's surprised gaze, ran over the heads of the audience in the back row and out of the viewing room.

"Stop! You... wait!" The black-clothed man who noticed this scene wanted to stop her, but it was obviously too late.

Farina crossed the hall, ran out of the courtyard, and then stood stunned on the adjacent road.

Winterless City had fallen into chaos, with people running and shouting everywhere. Several places in the residential area were billowing with thick smoke, as if there had been a fire. And in the direction of the industrial area, there were constant explosions, as if the entire city had lost control.

And the most terrifying thing of all came from above.

The bright sky now seemed dim and gloomy, and the sun had disappeared without a trace, replaced by a huge red moon, which hung high in the sky, occupying most of Farina's field of vision, like a huge eye opened by the sky.