By now, Ma Huainan had borrowed every bit of money he could to preserve his last remaining believers.
But... it still wasn't enough.
Even though his believers hadn't taken part in the war directly, they had begun dying in droves in the polluted, plague-ridden environment of his Divine Kingdom.
Every day, countless believers perished from disease, starvation, poisoning, and deteriorating conditions.
Ma Huainan kept scrolling through his contacts.
Finally, he stopped at the very top.
[Dad]
Ma Huainan stared at that name in silence for a long time.
In the end, he didn't start a video call. He only dialed the number.
"Ring—"
"Ring—"
A few seconds later, the call connected.
"Huainan, what's been going on lately?"
"Have you hit a bottleneck in your development? Are you short on resources?"
A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end, full of concern.
"Those few hundred million Faith Points your wife Yurao transferred to us when you got married—your mom and I haven't touched them."
"We've been saving them all for you."
"If you really need money, just tell me. I'll transfer it right over."
Hearing his father's familiar voice, Ma Huainan's eyes instantly reddened.
Then a woman's voice came from the other end of the call.
"Huainan, you haven't called us in so long."
"Why didn't you turn on the video? Mom wants to see you."
At those words, Ma Huainan drew a deep breath, struggling to keep his voice steady.
"Dad, Mom."
"I'm fine."
"I'm not short on anything. Your son has an SS-Rank Divine Kingdom Talent, remember?"
"And I married the Sima Family's proud daughter. Life's great right now."
"I..."
His voice suddenly stopped there, as though something had lodged in his throat.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the rest out.
He wanted to