The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 153 - 112: Big Brother is Awesome

Chapter 153: Chapter 112: Big Brother is Awesome

The instructor handed over command of the team back to Beowood and Reslin, reducing himself to the status of an ordinary team member.

Both Beowood and Reslin were experienced captains who had carried out missions outside the Royal City, and they quickly assigned tactical positions:

The lantern bearers were in the middle of the team, researchers and scouts in the second layer, long-range firepower, and controllers in the third layer, with close-combat fighters occupying the outermost layer.

Once all the affairs had been arranged, they set forth without delay.

Sword Pass was six hundred miles from the Royal City; they planned to arrive there by the evening of the following day after spending one night resting in the Old City.

This meant they had to cover six hundred miles within two daylight spans.

And they were to do so on foot.

No one expressed surprise. Beowood used a crystal with complex engravings to confirm their bearings and direction, then the march began.

Spiritual Energy resonated within everyone’s bodies, quickening their steps, while Reslin moved back and forth through the team, adjusting their pace to ensure everyone’s steps were synchronized.

Long-distance travel was not about explosive sprinting, but about the crucial use of Spiritual Energy and physical endurance.

To Beowood and Reslin’s surprise, Rod, who had scored the lowest in the speed test, demonstrated extraordinary stamina and endurance. His pace did not falter throughout the entire day. Many of the initially energetic students were worn out later on. Even Beowood, renowned for his speed and stamina, was somewhat strained, while this lowest-scoring student strolled along as if he were walking in a leisurely garden.

Instructor Dark Leaf complimented, "Steady pace, plenty of endurance. Didn’t expect your Spiritual Energy to be this lasting."

Old blind Mo’er cracked a smile, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, "Not bad, much stronger than some."

Knight Bach didn’t speak, but his eyes also showed admiration.

Beowood glanced at the crystal in his hand and said, "The Star Disk shows we are still seventy miles from the Old City; we are much slower than planned."

Reslin said, "Another clock hour till evening; everyone, let’s put in more effort. Egger, those who are exhausted will be your responsibility."

"No problem."

Egger snapped his fingers, and two streaks of white smoke shot from his body, lifting the utterly exhausted Dodo and Karamon into the air.

They quickened their pace and finally reached the Old City before evening.

Upon seeing the glowing light atop the old, mottled city wall, the students couldn’t help but cheer.

For most of them, it was their first time traveling outside the Royal City; they were not only physically worn but also mentally stifled.

Traveling outside the Royal City was like reliving a recurring nightmare. There was nothing but the rolling, dense Black Fog around them.

They saw neither the sun nor the moon and could not see the distance or the sky. The Black Fog, like an unchanging theme song, shrouded all other sounds, leaving only this patch of the world illuminated by the firelight.

Countless terrors seemed to lurk in the thick fog, with the only consolation being the presence of teammates nearby.

The repetitive landscape and weariness were mentally oppressive, and finally seeing the light of civilization allowed their repressed feelings to surge out like a flood. Many students had moist eyes, feeling like they had finally come home.

Both Beowood and Reslin also breathed a sigh of relief. This being their first mission as team leaders, they had been somewhat tense.

Overall, the journey was quite smooth. They didn’t encounter any danger; the sparse monsters that approached within the range of the firelight quickly burst into flames. Most burned to ash in one or two seconds, and the few that did not still couldn’t reach the outermost layer of the team.

The path was very flat in the Red Soil Plain, so no unmanageable straggling occurred. If they had been forced to camp outside, the danger would have been much greater.

The Guardians of the Old City opened the City Gate and welcomed them in.

Beowood asserted their identity and purpose to the Guard Captain, and they soon received proper arrangements. The team members could finally enjoy piping hot food and hot water, and many who had held back along the way could finally relieve themselves.

If you were forced to relieve yourself in the wilds, the captain wouldn’t let you go alone to a secluded spot. At most, the team members would form a circle to provide some privacy.

It was not only embarrassing but could also disrupt the marching rhythm.

After resting for the night, everyone set off promptly at morning.

Time was crucial here. Although they couldn’t see the sun, its influence was still present. After evening, when the sun set, the firelight dimmed and the monsters became more active, continuing until sunrise restored everything to normal at morning.

Thus, it was generally not allowed to travel during the evening and night outside the Royal City. One had to find a human stronghold or stay put.

Beowood specifically requested everyone to synchronize their pocket watches, not allowing even a second’s variance.

After leaving the Old City, they plunged back into the endless darkness.

This stretch of the journey was much harder than the day before.

Departing the Old City meant leaving the relatively safe Red Soil Plain; the road became rugged, and monsters became numerous. It wasn’t long before monsters could charge through the flames right to the forefront of the team.

Even though they were swiftly exterminated, they disrupted the marching rhythm and depleted the power of the Guardian Fire.

If they accidentally plowed into a horde of monsters, it would not only mean they’d face a fierce battle but would also consume a vast amount of the Guardian Fire’s power.

If the power of the Guardian Fire was exhausted, the fire would go out.

This meant not only that they’d be in great danger — rekindling the Guardian Fire would also consume a lot of precious resources.

If the fire went out during a mission, it was a serious dereliction of duty. They could be held accountable by the Royal City, even possibly investigated by the Internal Affairs Court.

But fortunately, Rod was in the team.

The Eye of the Soul could see up to two thousand yards away in the Black Fog, the view stretching out in a cone of light. Rod could spot the Soul Waveforms of all monsters within his field of vision at a glance.

Under his guidance, the team avoided almost all large groups of monsters.

The scarcity of encountered monsters and the precision of their avoidance, to the point of "move two yards to the left, three steps to the right," not only garnered the admiration of all the students but also utterly astounded the two instructors and a teacher.

Unlike the less experienced students, the instructors and teacher had extensive experience and had carried out countless missions outside the Royal City.

They were well aware that, after passing the old city, even the last traces of the Holy Fire’s influence had vanished; this was now a realm of complete darkness. Monsters spawned from the Black Fog at any moment, either to devour or be devoured, or to fall into a slumber.

Traversing this area meant encountering groups of monsters was common fare. They had anticipated that the Guardian Fire’s range would have to be halved at least, for the team to reach Sword Pass unscathed.

But now, at the edge of the light, it had only shrunken by about half a yard.

Mo’er hadn’t even added any Fuel Element yet.

All three sets of eyes were fixed on Rod, who was barking orders loud and clear, "Ten steps to the left! Stop! Ten steps forward! Which dumbass... oh, sorry Teacher Mo’er, could you please quicken your pace? The light just accidentally brushed against a roaming monster, so we might have lost a bit of firepower."

What amazed the teachers and instructors the most was that this overly young kid could sense the presence of dormant monsters within a three-hundred-yard range.

Once a monster falls into slumber, it enters a silent state where all its Spiritual Energy ceases to function, and its Soul enters a void, reawakening only upon sustaining damage or when a warm, living being approaches it.

This was nearly unavoidable, and few Spiritual Visionaries could detect a monster that had entered such a dormant state from a distance.

Yet under his command, they hadn’t come across a single disturbed, dormant monster.

Dark Leaf and Mo’er turned to look at Bach and asked in a low voice, "Is a complete Spiritual Visionary in the Knight Order like this?"

Bach shook his head, "We generally don’t travel on the ground, but I think that even the complete Spiritual Visionaries in the Order can’t do what he’s doing."

Dark Leaf and Mo’er exchanged glances, both shocked at what they saw in the other’s eyes.

Mo’er even accidentally popped out his glass eye.

"What a treasure."

With one sentence, he expressed their current state of mind.

Then, to Rod’s chagrin, he discovered that despite his efforts to put on a show, everyone in the team became even more cautious around him. The most absurd part was that even Mina did the same, always being the one to twist open his canned food.

Come on, don’t you know that girls with too much strength aren’t popular?

What everyone didn’t know was that Rod’s heart was bleeding.

With so many monsters, if he had encountered them in the sewers, he would have been grinning ear to ear.

But at this moment, he had to direct everyone to avoid them painstakingly.

And yet, this bunch of ingrates couldn’t even muster a word of admiration, couldn’t you just call out with a voice full of worship, "Big bro, you’re awesome! Big bro, keep it up!" Wouldn’t that be nice?

That way, everyone would be happy, and even leading the way would become more enjoyable.

Instead of the imagined scene, it was Anna who let out a long sigh beside him, "Junior is really too strong, I always thought I was a strong Spiritual Visionary, but entering the Black Fog, I can’t see anything beyond thirty yards, just like a Stone Wood Core, when the younger generation is so powerful, what should the elders do?"

Rod laughed dryly, "Senior sister, you’re too modest; your test score is a hundred times higher than mine."

Anna gave him a glance and said, "How about dating me then? I can protect you as your senior sister."

Rod’s face darkened instantly, cheeky girl, what are you talking about?

Before he could figure out how to respond, it was Mina on the side who started cursing, "Old hag, do you have the face to say that? Have you even looked at how old you are?"

Anna angrily retorted, "Mina, you dare to speak? Are you that young? Don’t think I don’t know, you were in the class of ’20, a year older than me!"

"Heh, what of it? My age shows on my figure, yours fed the monsters."

"You!"

"What’s all this noise?" Beowood and Reslin instantly appeared in the middle of the group, the two men using their height, that towered over everyone by half, to separate the two women.

"Save it for after the mission, don’t mix in personal affairs during the task."

Both women huffed and stopped talking.

Beowood gave Rod a once-over and said, "Don’t cause trouble either, don’t flirt with the ladies during the mission, especially not with female teammates, I’ll introduce you to a lead girl from Red Workshop Street later."

Rod was startled, "I thought you despised soliciting... that sort of thing?"

"I was joking," said Beowood, turning back to the front of the group, but his reddening ears suggested that he might not have been joking just now.

Damn hypocrite, Rod thought.

Reslin said, half-smiling, "Rod, focus on leading the way; otherwise, some people might explode from jealousy."

Karamon immediately became angry, "I’m not exploding with jealousy, I’ve had plenty of beautiful girls begging to be my girlfriend, and I’ve heartlessly turned them all down."

Reslin shrugged, "I never said who." He too turned to rejoin the front of the group.

Rod sighed and thought, if only you cried out with admiration, calling me "big brother" a couple of times, maybe I would have agreed.

"Big brother is so impressive," the voice came from behind him, and Rod turned around in delight, only to see it was the chubby Dodo.

He clung to Rod’s hem, eyes filled with adoration.

"Thank you." Rod barely managed a smile, patted his shoulder, wondering where this timid, unremarkable kid who didn’t show up in the tests had come from among the three hundred people at the base.

Maybe I just haven’t paid enough attention.

And so, under Rod’s direction, the team smoothly reached Sword Pass.

Despite the frequent changes in direction, they arrived half a clock hour earlier than anticipated.

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