The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 174 - 128: Justice Must Be Executed

Chapter 174: Chapter 128: Justice Must Be Executed

Dawn Fortress.

Central Fortress Hall.

The Guardian of the Seventh Defense Zone, King Candidate, and first in line as Fire Transmitter, Jon, sat behind the long table reading the reports from commanders and battalion leaders.

His complexion was extremely pale, his greasy black hair trembled alongside his cheeks, and his narrow eyes were filled with a gloomy expression.

As the core of the inner defense circle, the current situation of the Dawn Fortress was very bad, with the pressure of the Monster Tide far exceeding expectations.

Among the three King Candidates, his performance was far below anticipated.

The fall of Linfeng City, the destruction of Dragon Pass, and the annihilation of the Seventh Battle Group had all but stamped him with the mark of failure.

If nothing changed, once the Monster Tide ended, the order of the Fire Transmitters would have to be changed.

At that moment, another Sentry presented two new pieces of intelligence.

"Your Excellency Jon, this is the astrological forecast from the White Tower Observatory; all of the next seven days will be Fog Days."

"This is the report from the Investigation Legion, a higher intensity Monster Tide will arrive in one day."

Below the long table, a giant wearing a robe with the scales of balance spoke with an anxious tone, "Your Excellency Jon, we can’t hold on any longer! The losses of the Dawn Fortress’ defensive forces have been great already, and 36% of the components of the Dawn Cannon have malfunctioned, they cannot be used anymore! We need to divert westward at once!"

Jon furrowed his brows, hesitant, he said, "Gregor, the people from places like Linfeng City are migrating near the Death Mountain Range, if we divert westward, the most likely outcome is that the Monster Tide will strike Sword Pass, and the people will be in great danger."

Gregor anxiously said, "Your Excellency Jon, you must understand, the sin of letting them strike Sword Pass is much lesser than the loss of Dawn Fortress. If this place falls, it means the central section of the entire inner defense circle will collapse, and then all is lost. It’s understandable to divert the Monster Tide to protect the Dawn Fortress!"

Jon’s face shifted between hope and despair, staring at each dire report laid out before him, silent.

At the other side of the table, a black-haired young man with a stern expression spoke, "Chief Judge Gregor, Your proposal is very unwise. Although the defensive forces have suffered heavy losses, the overall combat strength of the Dawn Fortress is still relatively intact, it is not yet at the point of collapse."

Gregor gave the black-haired young man a glance and said indifferently, "Velas, the Dawn Fortress is already very weary, if we continue fighting like this, it’s very likely to happen. We need to rest and recover, lowering the intensity of battle, allowing some of the Monster Tide to leave will enable more warriors to recover. With just three to five days, the Dawn Fortress can be revitalized."

The black-haired woman beside Velas said calmly, "I think we can adjust our combat deployment, certain battles are quite strange..."

Gregor interrupted her sharply, "Is there even time for adjustment before the battle?"

"Enough!"

Jon shouted.

The hall fell silent.

Outside the hall, sounds of clamor, booming, horn blasts, and bell tolls faintly came through,

indicating the fortress’s troops were in motion. As the core of a defensive line, the Dawn Fortress couldn’t only fight a defensive battle within its walls, the warriors had to face the Monster Tide on the vast sides of the fortress; otherwise, the core of the defense line would strategically be considered "disabled," since it failed to intercept and weaken the monsters.

But now, the situation was too grim, this major stronghold couldn’t protect the smaller ones behind it anymore.

They had to contract their defensive line, letting some monsters go, to give the warriors more breathing room.

The western line was the only option.

Just then, Gregor said, "Your Excellency Jon, behind the western line there are the Old City, Dragon Tooth Castle, Wolf Castle. The disaster won’t spread endlessly, leading to unpredictable consequences."

Jon was silent.

But what about the people evacuating from places like Linfeng City?

Gregor loudly said, "Your Excellency Jon, if Dawn Fortress falls, you will never be able to ascend to the King’s throne!"

Bang.

Jon snapped his charcoal pencil and rose to his feet, a cold and decisive look reappeared on his face.

"Velas, order the corresponding Battle Groups to return to the city for repairs, suspend the use of the Dawn Cannon and have the Mechanical Research Institute repair the damaged parts as quickly as possible, order the First Battle Group to allow the Monster Tide to divert at the western line."

Gregor exclaimed with joy, "This is you! Only a you who is colder and crueler than the monsters can save Trolian!"

Jon showed a cold smile, "Chief Judge Gregor, please gather a large squad, bring the transportation talismans, and reinforce Sword Pass."

Gregor’s voice was suddenly choked off.

"But, Your Excellency Jon, I am a major combatant of the Dawn Fortress, and the transportation talismans are our last safeguard, how can we take them to Sword Pass?"

Jon smiled and said, "If Dawn Fortress falls, I would have no need to flee either."

"But, but..." Gregor’s voice lowered significantly, "The Old City, the area around Dragon Tooth Castle, that’s all under Qingyu’s jurisdiction. As long as we have just cause, the rest is her problem."

Jon calmly said, "If we can stop the diverted Monster Tide before Sword Pass, it would further prove my strategic capability."

"But in doing so, aren’t we simply dispersing our forces?"

"Exactly."

Jon’s thoughts were very clear now.

"The Dawn Fortress has too broad an area to defend, and the advantage of the warriors battling the monsters in the wasteland, relying on the fortress, isn’t obvious enough. But Sword Pass has treacherous terrain and a high fortress strength, the Royal City’s reinforcement squad even brought them the Guardian Fire."

"By letting some of the Monster Tide go and sending part of the combat forces to Sword Pass, am I not transforming an outdoor campaign into a defensive battle within the range of the Guardian Fire? It’s a good tactical adjustment."

After a few seconds of silence, Gregor bent his tall figure, "As you wish, my liege."

"Set off, Chief Judge, I will commend your duty to the Royal City especially for this assignment."

In the Royal City, except for the King himself, all combatants were to go to the frontline, and the mere ten Chief Judges were no exception.

"Praise be to you, great Jon, I am departing."

"Go, I will notify the Linfeng City migration team, coordinate the combatant clusters for escort, and if Sword Pass cannot hold, use the teleportation beacon to take them away."

"As you wish, my lord."

Gregor turned and left.

To prepare for the adjustment of tactical deployment, the hall once again busied itself with work.

Jon went to the window.

The powerful Guardian Fire lit up the fortress known as "Dawn Light."

It had once been the gateway to the Kingdom, regarded as a symbol of hope.

It was still so now.

Jon clenched his fists.

My path is the correct one; I am the only one who can save Trolian.

I shall not fail.

——

——

When Rod woke up, two days had passed, and there was still a faint ache in his spirit.

The aftereffects of the massive consumption of Spiritual Energy and using "Awakening" had not completely subsided.

Karamon, who had been by his side all along, suddenly jumped up and, calling out loudly, ran out.

Soon, countless footsteps sounded outside the door.

Steel Hand and the others all crowded in at once.

After a series of checks, everyone finally declared that Rod had returned to normal.

Rod then detailed to them the events that had transpired.

The mood turned somber, and everyone seemed deeply saddened.

Dark Leaf sighed softly, "Bach was hopeful of becoming a High Rank Knight, he was about to become a fifth-rank combatant."

Egger held his head, overcome with self-reproach, muttering, "Why is my Spirit Resistance so low! If it were higher, how could Mr. Bach have died?"

Steel Hand said loudly, "Holding Sword Pass is the best tribute to the deceased!"

He turned his head and informed Rod of the events that had occurred in the past two days.

Only then did Rod learn that during the two days of his unconsciousness, they had uncovered a traitor—

A logistics personnel, who had taken bribes from the Doomsday believers, placed the sealed Corrosive Material at a designated spot, thus attracting the Evil Spirit.

At the time of the incident, he had used a talisman to escape.

Steel Hand surmised from this that the whole affair was premeditated, and the High Rank Evil Spirits might have been awakened in advance by the Doomsday believers.

It was unclear why they were targeting Sword Pass specifically.

In the current scheme, Sword Pass was not a very important checkpoint; with Dawn Fortress in front, the old city and Dragon Tooth Castle behind, the Royal City’s reinforcements could easily reactivate these former bastions of war.

Nobody could fathom the reason, only assuming it might be the Doomsday believers’ madness and self-destructive tendencies that instinctively made them choose the easiest target to disrupt, simply to vent frustration and create panic.

Everyone was extremely angry about this and felt even more grateful to Bach for foiling their plot.

They had decided that as soon as the Monster Tide was over, they would return to the Royal City, request the Supreme Council to investigate thoroughly to identify the Doomsday believers behind the sabotage at Sword Pass, and eradicate them all.

As they spoke of this, their faces lit up with joy; they told Rod that the Dawn Fortress was about to dispatch a large force to reinforce them.

As long as they held out until the reinforcements arrived, there would be no more issues at Sword Pass, and no more lives would be lost.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

However, for some reason, Rod had a bad premonition, feeling that things might not be as simple as they seemed.

No, I must quickly enhance my "Justice Execution" even further, ideally to the "Eternal Fire" level.

Should any formidable foe appear before the reinforcements arrive, I will then stand a better chance of vanquishing it.

The fact that a "Spiritual Energy Quartet" did not kill the High Rank Evil Spirit gave Rod a strong sense of panic, as if he had developed a fear of insufficient firepower.

The hitherto infallible "Justice Execution" suddenly wasn’t executing anymore.

Is that still justice?