The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 128 - 94 Bait

Chapter 128: Chapter 94 Bait

Royal City.

Deep underground.

Huge black flames burned fiercely, their dark light flickering uncertainly as the flames swayed.

Upon three thrones forged from black iron, black shadows flowed and stretched like liquid.

On the altar of black marble, a worn old book lay in a luxe case of black velvet.

"Sarimi."

The shadow on the first throne spoke.

"This is your third failure. Not only has the Savior Plan been thwarted, but the Eclipse Plan has also been interfered with. A permanent stronghold has been eradicated, countless sacrifices have been destroyed, and all key connections with the High Court District have been unearthed. The organization’s losses are severe."

Kneeling beneath the black fire was a person shrouded in a black robe, with their head deeply bowed, almost prostrating on the ground.

"Lord Asa, I’m deeply sorry. It’s my fault. At the crucial moment, the greyhounds of the Judgement Court stood in my way, otherwise that traitor would be dead for sure!"

"Most importantly,"

the shadow on the second throne joined in.

"The tainted Sun Stone is missing. If they have become aware of the Eclipse Plan, even extracting your soul won’t compensate for our losses."

Sarimi said with certainty, "Rest assured, Lord Ak, my Pollution is undetectable by anyone, be it the hearts of men or heart of stone."

"Sarimi, you should know."

The shadow on the third throne began to speak.

"You are, in our history, the one whose soul has resonated most strongly with the nest of contamination. You shouldn’t have failed like this."

Sarimi clenched her teeth, hatred almost seeping through them, "It’s all because of that traitor! I am certain, he stole the power that belongs to us! He was just a piece of trash with a Spiritual Energy of 5, yet he suddenly became so strong! Our ritual of the Red Spirit Realm didn’t fail, it was just stolen by him! Honored Chiefs, please support me. I must kill him and take back our power!"

However, the shadows on the thrones did not respond to her words.

The first shadow said, "Sarimi, you must not act any further. The Black Tide is upon us, and the Eclipse Plan is about to be carried out. The organization is accumulating strength,"

The second shadow said, "The Savior Plan is postponed for now. Everything must make way for the Eclipse Plan."

The third shadow said, "Cut off any loose ends, go into hiding, do not stir any trouble during this period, and especially avoid provoking the Internal Affairs Court."

The chiefs’ orders were unchallengeable. Despite her great unwillingness, Sarimi could only lower her head and say with a heavy voice, "Sarimi obeys the chief’s orders."

"Go, darkness will eventually engulf all. In the torrents of this era, only the forerunners shall occupy the high ground."

A black curtain rose before her eyes, and Sarimi knew it was time to leave.

She turned around and glanced northward, in the direction of Jinworth Academy.

You little bastard, your life is spared for now. Once the Eclipse Plan is completed, I will dismantle your flesh, tear apart your soul, and make you regret being born into this world.

——

——

After bidding farewell to Aunt Youse, the sister nurses, and Reslin, Rod left Youse’s Medical Institute and returned to the academy.

Jinworth Academy had not changed at all from the time he left, filled with a sense of joy and goodness. Like a greenhouse, brightly colored flowers competed to bloom, and the occasional whiff of wind and rain only added more color to the scene.

Teachers, instructors, deans, and heads of various levels were like gardeners tending to them, fearful of any harm befalling them while also wanting them to experience storms.

Of course, among them, a few flowers were not quite the same. These peculiar specimens were collectively referred to as "special students" and were generally considered stronger, quicker to grow, and able to withstand the storms earlier than others.

Therefore, special students had a very unique status in the academy. No matter how extraordinary the events that occurred to them, they would never surprise anyone.

Even Rod taking a nine-day leave and disappearing from the academy surprised no one. The teachers even considerately assigned him the course credits.

When Rod returned to the academy, everyone was just happy to see him back. Kashan dumped a bunch of notes on him, urging him to catch up on the lessons he had missed, and Wayne and Zales kept pestering him about what special training for special students was like.

That must have been the excuse Lord Theodore had given for his leave.

Rod casually made up his experience in the sewers, and both of them listened with their eyes nearly popping out.

"Wow... The sewers are that nasty!"

"Monsters can actually nest! Do they have the ability to reproduce?"

"Idiot! Monsters are the product of the Black Fog gathering certain characteristics. When they gather, it’s only to attract more dark forces to surge here, making them stronger and birthing more of their kind."

"That’s terrifying... I’m even scared to shit now."

"You’re really dumb, the sewers are divided into three levels, with barriers in the first two. Only the last level is where Rod walks, and it’s impossible for monsters to crawl up the pipes into your intestines unless they flip the floor up."

"Uh, we have such large sewers underground, won’t the Royal City suddenly collapse?"

"Impossible, the main body of the sewers was built by Giants. The blue stone they used was fortified with Spiritual Energy and connected to the earth; it can’t collapse, unless there really is an Abyss beneath us."

This topic was not only of interest to these two, but Kashan and the others were also very interested. Whenever Rod started telling stories, nearly the entire group would gather around him.

Rod was very eloquent; even the dull task of cleaning became an exciting tale that left everyone dazzled and yearning.

In this manner, Rod enjoyed several carefree days: attending classes during the day, patrolling in the afternoon, telling stories at night, and visiting the Academy’s residential area or the market district with Wayne and Zales during rest periods.

There was no invasion pushing him, nor any fear of suddenly being identified as a murderer and having his soul ripped apart.

Lauren had obtained so much information; the investigation must be going very smoothly, and the Iron Mask had been reported by them as well.

All that was left was to wait.

When waiting for something good, the days are always most comfortable.

Only Kashan wasn’t completely satisfied; where had the diligent studying Rod gone? Who was this lazy bum now?

But considering that he was a special student who had received a First Level medal, and had just gone through tough and dangerous combat training, it was hard to start reprimanding him.

Of course, Rod wasn’t completely immersed in enjoyment; maintaining vigilance in comfort was a tangible truth.

During this period, he often visited the library or covertly searched by various means for ways to obtain peculiar materials like "Living Dead Souls," "Puppet Wood," "Resurrection Stone," "Living Flesh."

Additionally, he had to regularly add a dose of Humanity to the yellow star every day, studying the usage of the "Spiritual Energy Trio."

He also read books in the Dream Realm to learn everything about dreams.

His studies in linguistics and Ancient Language couldn’t stop either. Dream language and Ancient Language were not entirely the same; Rod needed to grasp the evolution of languages to deduce more accurate dream language. Even with his extraordinary linguistic talent, this work was very challenging.

In short, although there was still pressure, this was indeed the most pleasant time since he had entered the Academy.

However, happy times always seem to pass quickly.

Five days later, Lauren once again came to the Academy, bringing him some not-so-good news.

Their investigation had been interrupted.

Nearly all the Polluter Sect believers had ceased their activities, abandoning some of their pawns and severing connections with the outside, retreating into deeper darkness.

Although they had achieved great victories, capturing many Polluter believers, disrupting much of their supplies, and destroying many bases.

However, the possibility to advance further was lost.

Several Judgement Masters and the Chief Judge were very worried, believing that they were gathering strength, preparing for a greater act of destruction.

The White Tower Observatory had already predicted even worse heavenly phenomena in the coming days, and the battlefields of the new war zones had reached their most intense period. The defense of the Royal City almost entirely depended on the Academy, making it the most vulnerable moment.

If something unpredictable were to happen at this time, the consequences would be unbearable.

Judgment Chief Lucian had already ordered the Internal Affairs Court to enter the highest state of alert, but facing the uncertain future, no one dared guarantee its effectiveness.

In the most recent Balance Council meeting, Lauren proposed using a bait plan, luring out the Doomsday believers to break the stalemate.

As a new student, Rod had dealt a significant blow to the Polluter Sect. According to his understanding, Rod’s enmity was extremely high, making him suitable for the bait task—Polluter would likely not be able to resist attacking him.

This proposal sparked great controversy. Rod was a highly talented special student, and his strongest Fire Spark "Black Iron Bucket" was considered to have the ability to provide complete Spiritual Vision and Sewer Walker capability, officially classified as First Level by the Mechanical Research Institute.

Using such a student as a dangerous bait was undoubtedly very difficult for people to accept.

Yet the threat of the Polluter Sect loomed over the entire Royal City, the lives of countless Jinworth Academy students, and teachers were at stake. How to weigh this pros and cons, how to decide, was a huge dilemma.

Ultimately, after intense debate, Judgment Chief Lucian made a definitive decision.

Following Rod’s personal wishes, if he agreed, the Internal Affairs Court would provide all possible convenience and support.

After listening to Lauren’s words, a bright light shone in Rod’s eyes.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.