The Last King Of Darkness-Chapter 1670 - 782: Gate of Truth (First Update)
Tesrivian Calendar, Year 1326.
After Moon Day concluded in the twelfth month, the calendar turned a new page, arriving at its thirteenth month.
The grand expansion of Trolian finally came to a halt.
During this round of expansion, the Kingdom’s gains were unprecedented.
Starting from Great Dragon City to the Sea of No Light, the total length of occupied land exceeded 9,000 miles, and over 10,000 Fire Outposts were established, with various watchtowers, fortresses, mines, and warehouses beyond count.
The total output of resources surged to levels never before imagined, and it’s still rapidly increasing.
Yet at this moment, Rod has not left Saint Reel. Although the expansion has concluded, due to the excessive occupied zones, lengthy defense lines, and numerous outposts, Trolian’s defensive strength is lacking, leaving gaps aplenty.
On top of that, the massive disturbances during expansion caused monsters from all directions to continuously swarm into these newly occupied lands, with outposts everywhere frequently facing danger. The first Defense Chief, Dailin, considered it a good day if he didn’t receive 1,000 distress signals daily.
Most importantly, although these lands were conquered, Trolian has yet to fully digest them.
Construction of various kinds continues in full swing, roads are busier than ever, new Spirit Cars nearly fill every main road, transporting various resources and materials without a half-second’s delay, or someone will be cursing angrily.
In such circumstances, if attacked by monsters, the losses would be significant.
To ensure smooth construction in occupied zones, Rod remained stationed in Saint Reel.
After all, with his Spirit Boat, he is the fastest among the four True Kings of Trolian.
Facts proved this choice was exceedingly right; along the more than 4,000-mile border of Saint Reel, the monster tide has not stopped for a moment, with large-scale battles never ceasing for a single instant.
Although with Amidala’s demise, the Black Fog Symbionts no longer appeared, the battle intensity wasn’t much weaker than during the expansion period.
The Royal City is hastening to construct a defense system in the occupied areas. Their most passive situation now is having no warning, not knowing from which direction the monster tide will arrive, not knowing their size and strength until they are almost upon the face, then calling for aid.
Fortunately, Rod’s speed is swift.
No matter how far the distance, the Spirit Boat arrives in an instant.
And all this is for resources, for a stronger Trolian.
In these tense and busy battles, Rod specifically took time to return to Royal City and conveyed all the information he obtained in the Dream Realm to the King, Horus, and Kai in a manner that did not touch upon taboo.
Though Rod’s words were vague, the King, Horus, and Kai had no doubts.
They knew some things couldn’t be spoken.
"Trolian needs to become stronger still."
The King reached the same conclusion as Rod.
"The expansion must continue. We must gain more resources, and more strong figures must emerge within Trolian."
Under the Holy Fire, the King looked at Rod, his eyes seemed ablaze.
"Rod, though we don’t know why the Black Fog Symbionts vanished, the pollution from the starry sky hasn’t weakened; it still descends persistently into the Material World."
"The latest report from the White Tower states that the strength of the Black Fog is continuously rising, with many areas directly reaching the Third Derivation level, even sightings of Black Water near Trolian’s area."
Rod’s brows slightly furrowed—near the Holy Fire, theoretically, the Black Fog should be very faint and source Black Fog derivatives shouldn’t appear.
"Moreover, this year’s duration is excessively long, surpassing 500 days, exceeding over 70 star cycles, and now in the thirteenth month, the White Tower still sees no signs of the stars returning, indicating the Bright Festival is likely after this month."
Horus said gravely, "Generally speaking, the longer a year’s time, the greater the possibility of facing a crisis."
The King nodded slightly: "All these indicate that the crisis in the Source Prophecy has not passed; it’s approaching us. I have discussed with everyone; our opinion is unanimous—passive defense is meaningless. No matter how much we prepare, it’s not as useful as stronger strength. Therefore, we’ve decided to continue expanding after a brief rest."
Horus’s drywood-like face showed a slight smile.
"Under Bossivale’s adjustment, we’ve fully activated the Fire Epoch era’s system; the strength of this new cultivation system is beyond your imagination. Now thinking back, I truly can’t imagine how we managed previously...such inefficient cultivation, such weak power, how did it last for so many years?"
Kai laughed while speaking: "That’s because we were hiding in the hills, barely going beyond the Ash Mountains, mostly encountering monsters below King Level... However, while the new cultivation system is strong, it’s also a resource-devouring beast—no matter how much resources, it can swallow it all."
"But all are useful!"
Horus emphasized: "No resource is wasted! One resource can enhance one combat power. According to Bossivale’s estimate, after three years, our commander numbers may break through 100,000, and Monarch Level strong figures will also surge... Until now do I understand why during the Fire Epoch, on the true battlefield facing darkness, commanders were just one among countless warriors, while warriors below commanders could only stay within the Kingdom, unable to step beyond the fire’s range."
