The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 201 - 146: The Truth Behind the Invasion

Chapter 201: Chapter 146: The Truth Behind the Invasion

During the day, theoretical knowledge classes.

Unlike the soft, superficial knowledge they had studied at the academy before, the burly man Chucher and the black-robed woman Priscilla took turns infusing them with incredibly hardcore truths about the world, fire, and the soul.

Only now did Rod realize how much effort and sacrifice the humans of Trolian had made in their pursuit of knowledge and truth related to survival.

They desperately sought the truth of history, trying to find the answer to survival and to avoid the causes of destruction.

They frantically sought any possible means of truth that might help them continue to survive, no matter how slim the hope.

It was for this reason that, in such an extraordinary environment, research into physics, mathematics, and conventional weapons still had a place.

It was for this reason that there were so many schools in the Royal City, with everyone seeking the path and truth that could save the world.

Although there was only one academy for the Fire Holders, academies for knowledge were blooming everywhere.

At night, combat classes.

The instructor Soron, although appearing clean-cut and refined, was actually very irascible.

He trained everyone like mad dogs.

Especially Rod.

Now, his daily routine consisted of either running laps, doing frog jumps, or being wildly beaten by spinning wooden posts.

Of course, this was not corporal punishment, but training in the basics of physical combat—activating Spiritual Energy and enhancing Spiritual Energy.

The physical strength of monsters was very high, and the pervasive Spiritual Energy was always in a state of defense and offense. To engage in close combat with monsters, one needed equally strong power and defensive capabilities.

Therefore, enhancing oneself with turbulent Spiritual Energy to gain super high speed and strength, and activating the static state of Spiritual Energy for defense against heavy strikes, were essential skills.

And in Soron’s eyes, aside from using Spiritual Energy to score one point when escaping, Rod’s other abilities were all zero.

Not much different from a beginner.

This greatly dissatisfied Soron, who was renowned for his monster fighting and close combat skills, and he almost daily roared in the training ground, nearly turning into the Roaring Emperor.

"I’ve said it a hundred times! The fluctuations of the Spiritual Energy should be as natural as breathing. Does your Spiritual Energy have asthma?"

"Summon Spiritual Energy at the instant the effort begins! What are you using Spiritual Energy for before you exert any effort?"

"You only start enhancing the Spiritual Energy halfway through the effort? Are you trying to tickle the monster?"

"Don’t keep activating Spiritual Defense! Are you a target that can only take hits?"

When Soron said this, it was the most painful time for Rod.

Because the spinning post would occasionally extend a wooden stick, and he had to activate Spiritual Defense in the instant before the stick hit him to block the attack.

If Rod was half a second too slow in his response, he would be harshly struck by the stick on the head, arm, or thigh.

These were real heavy strikes.

Although healers who treated external injuries were on standby nearby, mental pain cannot be healed.

Moreover, as Rod’s mistakes increased, Soron would not only not slow down the spinning of the posts, he would speed them up.

Rod could only cover his entire body with Spiritual Energy, opening Spiritual Defense.

But whenever he did this, Soron would stop him, saying the only consequence of such actions would be to become a useless target, shifting the risk to teammates at the back.

Thus.

After each session, Rod would take at least hundreds of hits, and although his body ached all over, there wasn’t a single scar.

After the combat class was over, the other students could rest.

But Rod couldn’t, he had a language class to attend.

The teacher for the language class was unexpectedly Professor Bins, who had once explored the sewers with him.

Thanks to the map of the sewers he had given, Rod’s subsequent sewer journeys went very smoothly.

Although Rod no longer went to the sewers, he was still very grateful to him.

Professor Bins also had a very good impression of Rod, greatly appreciating his dedication to languages and his research into the obscure Ancient Language.

Their discussions were very enjoyable, and it could even be said they were kindred spirits.

Although Professor Bins was a scholar who studied history, his research into languages was very profound.

Here, without understanding languages, one could not study history, and historians were not just old academics who searched through piles of ancient documents. In addition to directly studying literature and artifacts, many scholars even had to personally follow expedition teams into ruins to investigate.

With his help, Rod’s understanding and mastery of language systems increased rapidly.

Soon, Rod realized that whether it was the common tongue or various ancient languages, they all belonged to the same language family.

As long as one traced along the lines upward, the connections between many languages and their variants could be clarified, and the Dream Realm language was no exception.

This was simply fantastic!

Rod felt that in a few days, he would be able to unlock the secrets within the Dream Realm.

In the midst of a busy schedule, time always flies by quickly.

The special training was very tough, but the rewards were numerous. After so long, Rod finally found himself on the right express lane, speeding towards the future.

About ten days later, Rod’s language skills finally broke through a barrier, reaching a new state of understanding.

He finally understood why he had always been unable to comprehend the more complex Dream Realm language – not only could their complex grammatical structures be layered upon each other, but their written character structures could also have different meanings.

Rod could guess simple words and sentences correctly because it was difficult for them to have other meanings.

But a complex sentence could have thousands of possible meanings.

Rod’s talent for language earned him the admiration of Professor Bins, who told Rod that the monsters found in the Royal City Ruins in the middle layer of the sewers had been cleared out, and the excavation work on the ruins was proceeding in an orderly fashion. If Rod was interested, he could join the Ash Excavators School and participate in the work.

Rod politely indicated that he was undergoing special training in a hidden branch.

Professor Bins didn’t mind and merely stated that if Rod was interested, he could come to him at any time.

After finishing the last class of the day, Rod returned to his dormitory, re-entered the Dream Realm, took out the Book of Knowledge, and got to work.

This time, it felt as though years of constipation had suddenly been relieved at once.

The texts that once seemed as rigid as ancient excrement suddenly flowed away in an instant.

Rod was incredibly excited, wishing he could bury his head in the Book of Knowledge and work relentlessly.

About three clock hours later, Rod finally finished translating all the text related to invasion, but the smile had vanished from his face.

The translated text was written on a piece of white paper beside him, which Rod checked twice, making sure there were no significant ambiguities.

On the white paper was written:

Dream Invasion:

As the new master of the Dream Realm arrived, the invasion began—this was an instinct of the Source.

The severity of the invasion greatly varied according to both the time and environment within the Spirit Realm.

It drastically fluctuated depending on the state of Soul corruption.

With the Dream Realm influencing the Spirit Realm, it grew stronger.

And as the world plunged further into darkness, its strength increased.

——

The original text was much longer; this was the core content Rod had distilled.

It clearly indicated that Rod’s pleasant dream had shattered, and his crisis was far from over.

Especially that last line, which reminded him of something Professor Chucher had said on the first day of class—

"The world is accelerating towards a dark abyss."

Didn’t that suggest the monsters he would encounter in the future would be increasingly powerful?

The Obelisk had fallen silent for so many days; could it not be that the invasion hadn’t been interrupted, but rather that a more potent invader was on its way?

Feeling a strong chill climbing up his spine, Rod couldn’t help but shiver.

In the days that followed.

Rod had hoped that it was his insufficient translation skills at fault, leading to errors.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he studied, he couldn’t find any fatal translation mistakes.

He even dissected the original text and gave it to Professor Bins to translate separately, and the overall gist remained unchanged.

Professor Bins developed a significant interest in this type of writing and eagerly inquired where Rod had found it, suggesting that if he could verify its source, it might be a notable addition to the history books.

Rod expended considerable effort to sidestep the issue.

On the fifteenth day, the worst happened.

The invasion face of the Obelisk was no longer empty.

Blood-red text once again covered the stone surface, shimmering faintly as if signaling some ominous and terrifying harbinger.

Warning!

Warning!

Warning!

The catastrophe of the River of Eternal Death has awakened.

The invasion will come after forty-four sunset cycles.

——

Rod’s heart plummeted into icy water.

He vividly remembered the last invasion; hunting a Red Spirit had almost depleted all his luck before he finally managed to strike it down by a fluke.

Without a doubt, the disaster of the River of Eternal Death would be far more formidable than the Red Spirit hunt.

This won’t do.

I’ve been stagnant at this stage for too long, "Justice Execution" is still not full, and I need to hurry and hunt monsters.

I must also quickly prepare items like "Resurrection Stone" and "Wood Puppet".

If I continue to train at this sluggish pace, I’m finished.

With this in mind, Rod grew anxious.

During the special training period, it wasn’t without tasks. The covert branch was established primarily for combat, with special training designed to help them better digest the gains from battle.

Among them, Rod’s combat abilities ranked last by a considerable margin; he was so far behind everyone else that Instructor Soron never sent him out.

As expected.

The next day, Rod’s request was rejected.

Soron said with Rod’s current physical combat skills, he couldn’t even beat his grandmother who was bedridden.

Although Rod repeatedly stated his abilities were potent, Soron refused adamantly, unless he could beat any one of the other students.

If it were a battle to the death, with Rod summoning all his creatures and using every tactic, his odds of losing wouldn’t be certain.

But on the training field, with just ten yards between the two and a limited area, Rod simply couldn’t fight.

His opponents disarmed him in a second, leaving him with no moves to make.

Lately, Rod thought of a plan.

He approached the red-haired girl in golden armor.

She was the only one among all the Top Class members he could somewhat talk to.

"I’ll give you a hundred silver coins; could you pretend to lose to me in a bit?"

The Valkyrie laughed and slapped his hand, "No, a Valkyrie never admits defeat."

"One thousand silver coins."

"Deal."

While money once again demonstrated its magic.

Without delivering a killing blow, Rod was simply too weak. The Valkyrie struggled to let him win, tanking hits like stepping aside for the Pacific Ocean before losing the match.

Because it was too obviously staged, Soron declared the match invalid, infuriating Rod to no end.

The girl brandished the silver note in her hand, "The money is non-refundable, but if you need anything, find me."

Rod was disheartened.

"Justice Execution" requires a strong soul.

And monsters with such souls are not allowed within the "Safe Zone".

Should any appear, the Military War Department would immediately organize a Hunting Squad for eradication.

Were he to go alone, let alone the immense dark where to search, encountering one without intelligence and logistical support would also be highly dangerous.

Several days passed without a change in his circumstances.

Just as Rod was growing as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, a group of people suddenly arrived at the secret branch base, offering him a glimmer of hope.

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