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Chapter 532: Shadow World - The Dark Eclipse of Shadows
Chapter 532: Shadow World - The Dark Eclipse of Shadows
At Eckert Academy, on Gerald Memorial Square, a giant outdoor screen that had been playing the news suddenly turned pitch black before displaying scenes from a brand-new Shadow World.
This immediately caught the attention of a few passing students.
As they didn't know the level of this Shadow World, most students just glanced at it and walked on, as the end of the term was a busy time and they didn't have the leisure to focus on others' Shadow World records.
Only a handful of students paused to give the giant screen more than a passing glance.
The opening scene revealed a city shrouded in war clouds.
At the bottom of the screen, a text overlay provided context for this Shadow World: it was the capital city of Helsarem, belonging to the northern Polant Empire, and currently, the entire continent was under the shadow of the Honing Empire, ruled by the Blood Tribe.
The sky was dark and gloomy, with heavy clouds hanging low, as if foretelling an impending storm.
On the streets, citizens hurried along, their faces tense and anxious, their dark clothing blending with the somber surroundings.
The camera panned slowly, moving through the bustling streets of Helsarem, capturing the latest war reports on newspaper stands.
The headlines proclaimed good news, but the smaller print below betrayed a deep sense of unease and fear.
The background music from the shops on the street was low and rhythmic, intertwining eerily with the occasional distant air raid siren.
The scene shifted to the Parliament House, the political center of the Polant Empire—a majestic building that appeared even more solemn and unyielding under the somber sky.
Inside, the lighting was dim, and the long corridors and ancient oil paintings lent an air of creepiness to the place.
In these corridors, politicians whispered gravely about the fate of the nation, their faces etched with worry and the weight of responsibility.
The scene then changed to a closed office.
It was a small, cramped, and cluttered room filled with books, documents, and smoke. A little black cat on the desk looked around in confusion.
A figure sat behind the desk, seemingly having just arrived and contemplating the challenges ahead.
His gaze was deep, as if scrutinizing the past and the future, and he held an unlit cigar in his hand, twirling it gently.
His expression was neutral, but his identity was soon revealed by the signature on a letter on the desk—
[New Prime Minister of the Polant Empire: Lanchi Willford]
For a moment, there was an exclamation from one of the students at the edge of Gerald Memorial Square.
"It's Lan!"
Hearing this, more and more people turned to look at the giant outdoor screen.
Many teachers and students at Eckert Academy were familiar with the name Lanchi. During the academic exchange with the Kingdom of Yarloran last semester, nearly half of their group had encountered trouble because of Lanchi.
Fortunately, he had spared their most prized member, the Gold-level card maker, Senior Sister Karen.
For half a year, there had been no news of Lanchi, and the buzz surrounding him had died down considerably.
Now, seeing his sudden and dramatic return, and his immediate entry into a Shadow World, the students began to excitedly spread the word.
The end-of-term exams were forgotten as they rushed to witness Lanchi's Shadow World record after his half-year absence.
"By the way, what level is his Shadow World this time... It seems to be a completely open-type Shadow World."
The students who had immediately sat down on the steps in front of the giant screen began discussing it animatedly.
Most lower-level Shadow Worlds tended to be closed environments.
For example, the closed-off demon academy, [Purgatory Corridor Academy], where one had to confront the Holy Maiden of Destruction in the [Banquet of Evil Saints], offered limited time and resources, making it difficult to venture beyond the confined areas designated for challengers.
However, the current Shadow World seemed to offer immense freedom of movement and endless possibilities.
It was almost akin to the real world.
Shadow Worlds with such vastness were unlikely to be low-level.
...
In the mysterious Shadow World...
Lanchi leaned back in his office chair, surveying the room.
He had just experienced a moment of chaotic darkness, and now, like the first ray of dawn piercing through layers of darkness, his vision gradually returned to normal, revealing his surroundings.
Only Cat Boss was by his side.
Hyberrian, however, was nowhere to be seen.
Lanchi's gaze slowly moved around the office, taking in every detail.
The oil painting hanging on the wall seemed to reflect the Polant Empire's once glorious era.
The bookshelves were stacked with books and documents, reflecting his dual identity as a politician and scholar.
The room was filled with the smell of tobacco, and a pipe and matches lay on the desk.
He picked up the pipe and examined it; he didn't smoke, but it seemed that the persona he was assuming in this Shadow World did when they were alone.
"Meow, Lanchi, where are we?"
Cat Boss had no idea what era they had been transported to, nor could it gauge if it was dangerous or safe.
However, it had heard that most Shadow Worlds started in a relatively safe environment and wouldn't immediately throw challengers into a hopeless, inescapable situation.
"Probably tens of thousands of years ago."
Lanchi put down his pipe and gazed at the wartime map on the wall as he replied.
When he saw the words "Honing Empire," he knew it was the era of the Blood Moon Calamity once more.
But unlike the previous Saintly Evil Banquet, the Honing Empire, located at the southernmost tip of the continent, was now vastly different. It had nearly annexed the entire central nations, becoming the largest power on the world map.
And now, the Polant Empire, where Lanchi currently resided, was a human empire located in the northern part of the continent, neighboring the Realm of Mortality's Trial. It was one of the few nations still resisting the Honing Empire and the Blood Tribe.
Judging from the map, the northern region of the Polant Empire was covered in snowfields, beyond which lay a land of perpetual night and extreme cold, with scarcely any daytime. After traversing this desolate landscape, one would enter the domain of the Demon Tribe.
"Just looking at the geographical environment, the Polant Empire and the Protoss Empire have quite a resemblance. And now, the Honing Empire almost encompasses the entire southern continent, and there's no sea separating the two."
Lanchi mused, also explaining to Cat Boss.
Before Cat Boss could respond, information about the Shadow World appeared before them.
[Shadow World: Dark Day Eclipse of Shadows]
[Level: Seven]
[Total Number of Challengers: 3]
[Sixteen years ago, after that banquet, you were pursued by the Blood Tribe and scattered across the land.]
[You fled northward from the border of the Honing Empire, changing your identity along the way. After escaping from Lichten Castle, you made your way to the northern continent, and over these sixteen years, you rose through the ranks to become a high-ranking politician in the Polant Empire, the last line of defense against the Blood Tribe and the Honing Empire.]
"The story backdrop of that Shadow World took place during deep autumn. Twelve guests, including yourself, were invited by Priest Caligula to an ancient castle called Lichten, perched on a cliff. We all seemed to have different social identities, but in truth, we were all secret church members aiming to overthrow the bloody rule of the Blood Tribe. However, during that night, the High Priest Caligula was brutally murdered, and there was a traitor among us twelve guests who sided with the Blood Tribe."
Lanchi saw the confused expression on Cat Boss' face, so he began to explain the premise to him.
It was during that Shadow World, at the Saintly Evil Banquet, that he and Fred had worked together to expose the traitor, forcing the Holy Maiden of Destruction to her knees with their basic etiquette. They had also captured Palocas, the Count, and Augustine, the Viscount, and turned them into the fully automatic, meritorious solar energy machine.
At this moment, this new Shadow World corresponded to a time line sixteen years after the Saintly Evil Banquet, continuing the historical story of the Blood Moon Calamity.
However, according to the card and material rewards that Lanchi, Hyberrian, and Fred had obtained, they had also glimpsed the true history in the notes. In the true historical record, their anti-Blood Tribe church faction had not achieved a complete victory. Lanchi, playing the role of the Sun Son, barely survived, while Hyberrian's witch and Fred's werewolf characters had both perished, leaving only the Sun Son to continue the fight against the Blood Tribe.
Cat Boss nodded, standing on Lanchi's desk as they continued reading.
[The Honing Empire has now claimed the southern half of the continent, and its two million strong army is poised at the border of Polant Empire's neighboring country, ready to invade the northern nations at any moment. Due to the previous prime minister's policy of non-resistance, concession, and compromise, the Honing Empire's expansion and aggression went unchecked, causing the Polant Empire's parliament to lose faith in him. Thus, the search for a new prime minister began.]
[However, the highest-ranking candidate within the parliament, Foreign Minister Moretti, is also a conservative. He refused to take on this difficult task, citing his own inadequacies.]
[The successor must bear the responsibility of restoring peace to the northern continent and be an acceptable choice for the conservatives. And so, you seized this opportunity, stepping out from behind the scenes after more than a decade of effort, to take on the highest position in the Polant Empire.]
[But what awaits you is a trial that you are neither prepared for nor capable of handling alone...]
[Due to the altered outcome at the previous historical node, where both the werewolf and the witch survived, the projected world line has slightly diverged from the original historical development.]
[The werewolf may not necessarily aid you, at least not this time.]
[The witch's whereabouts are unknown. Perhaps she awaits you somewhere in this world.]
[This minuscule change, insignificant in the grand scheme of history, may become the catalyst to end the Blood Moon Calamity decades ahead of time...]
[Mission Objective 1: Find the key to defeating the Blood Tribe.]
[Mission Objective 2: By the end of the Shadow World, increase the humans' chance of victory against the Blood Tribe to above 1%.]
[Mission Objective 3: Ensure the survival of all challengers until the 45-day time limit ends.]
[Failure to achieve the challengers' mission objectives will result in a world-ending calamity.]
[The challengers' starting points vary depending on their roles and the story's backdrop.]
[Time remaining: 44 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes.]
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(End of Chapter)
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