The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 235 - 171: Giant Stone Lighthouse

Chapter 235: Chapter 171: Giant Stone Lighthouse

The Thunderbird shuttled through the Black Fog at an extraordinary speed, with the students buried in its thick feathers.

Only the bird-rider stood on the bird’s head.

Within less than a clock hour, they had arrived above Byron Old City.

There were a total of nineteen secretive branches responsible for assistance, and Byron Old City was the most central of them, with over a hundred people destined for this location.

An instructor stood up and shouted, "We’ve arrived at Byron Old City, those whose destination is here, stand up."

Teresa waved to Rod next to her, "I’m off, good luck, little Rod."

A hundred people over the giant bird’s back stood up in succession.

The bird-rider did not let the Thunderbird land, and the hundred people jumped straight off.

Rod was startled, Are you all not even wearing parachutes?

Several tens of seconds later, the Thunderbird arrived at another stronghold, and seven more people jumped off under the teacher’s arrangement.

And so, the number of people on the Thunderbird dwindled.

Until the end, the instructor responsible for arranging the personnel also jumped off.

Before leaving, he said, "Rod, the next stronghold is where you’ll jump. Remember to spread out your Spiritual Defense when you jump, protect your whole body, 4 thousand ’cuts’ of Spiritual Defense might be straining, but you shouldn’t get hurt."

Having said that, he took a leap into the vast darkness below.

By then, only Rod was left on the giant bird.

Half a clock hour later, the bird-rider standing on the bird’s head shouted, "Giant Stone Lighthouse, we’ve arrived."

Rod had no choice but to stand up; the gale that hit his face instantly scattered his hair, and the Black Fog nearly drowned the faint light emitted by the lantern at his waist.

If it wasn’t for the training over this period, he would probably have been blown off by now.

But now, he could only barely stand, and it was difficult to move even an inch.

"What are you dallying for?" the bird-rider shouted, "The Thunderbird’s outing time is limited, it must hurry back to the Silver Oath, otherwise it will go out of control."

Rod gritted his teeth, took a leap, and the gale instantly blew him into the dark abyss below.

With a flap of its wings, the Thunderbird vanished in a flash.

Rod fell rapidly in the endless darkness, curling into a ball, struggling to spread out his Spiritual Energy.

Seconds later, with a muffled sound, a huge trembling of Spiritual Energy came from his back, the intense pain shot through his chest, almost making him cry out in agony.

A whole clock hour passed before Rod managed to climb up from the ground, feeling pain in every part of his body, and the ground where he had landed was now a small pit.

Damn.

That’s way too violent—jumping without even a parachute given.

With a complaint in his heart, Rod looked up and saw the Lighthouse on a nearby mountain.

It was a very large Lighthouse, but its light was quite weak, only illuminating the top of the mountain.

If it wasn’t for his Eye of the Soul, he may not have been able to detect the Lighthouse.

Rod felt a bit tricked; he was the only one sent to assist the Lighthouse, and his landing was in the wilderness. If he had fallen into a monster crowd, that would’ve been the end... Well, maybe my parachuting skills are just a bit lacking.

He moved his spine, quickly running towards the Lighthouse up the mountain.

Under the vision of the Eye of the Soul, there didn’t seem to be any threats nearby.

Only when he got closer did he realize that the Lighthouse was even bigger than he thought, with a sturdy steel-stone structure at the bottom, like an upside-down iron bucket, and the more delicate Lighthouse above. At the top of the tower were several large parabolic Reflectors, and fierce flames burned in a basin, but it was clearly not the Guardian Fire, as a pale Black Fog surrounded the Lighthouse, the light unable to fully Dispel it.

Soon after Rod arrived, people at the Lighthouse noticed him and, after a simple identity check, threw down a rope from the top of the tower to pull him up.

This method... really is quite primitive.

Rod began to worry a bit. There didn’t seem to be any danger at this location, nor could he see any monsters.

Here, the chances of encountering a special monster with a [Source] seemed quite low.

Rod’s worries soon became reality.

The Giant Stone Lighthouse was garrisoned by only twenty combatants, with an average Combat Level of eight. Their main tasks were to guide the way, illuminate the three roads leading to Laisuo City and Byron Old City, clear any threats on the roads, and ensure the safety of any transport teams passing through.

The Lighthouse was situated towards the back of the defense circle, with Byron Old City ahead and Laisuo City to the side, a position that was extremely advantageous.

Even the Guard Captain of the Lighthouse admitted that although the Iron Armor Fortress had been breached, they hadn’t been affected, and he didn’t know why they were sent someone for support.

Rod’s heart chilled at once, Soron had arranged for him to be here because he plainly didn’t trust him.

Damn it, believe it or not, I’ll make a hundred copies of your little movie and scatter them everywhere.

But he immediately dismissed that thought after only a brief consideration. Without saying anything else, Rod could easily figure out the consequences of spreading an influential person’s little movie everywhere.

Forget it.

If the mountain won’t come to me, then shouldn’t I go to the mountain?

It could be perfectly normal for me to accidentally get lost while on duty, right? And it could also be perfectly normal if I accidentally end up in Byron Old City or Laisuo City as well, right?

If I happen to be there, it shouldn’t be a problem to join in a fight, should it?

At worst, I might get punished, but could that be more serious than being executed on the spot for the crime of killing the Chief Judge?

I do have backers, after all. Miss Qingyu is still looking out for me, and Teacher Soron will protect me too.

There’s also His Excellency Dean Theodore, Inspector Lauren, and Mr. Black Bear the Great Judge. Even the King should be supportive of me.

Ha-ha, thinking about it this way, my backers really are numerous. What’s there to be afraid of?

Rod’s heart settled down, and he decided to stay at the Lighthouse for a few days. After getting a clear picture of the nearby situation, he would set off for a more dangerous outpost.

Although the Lighthouse didn’t need any more people, the warriors stationed there welcomed Rod warmly. They entertained him enthusiastically, bringing out their treasured liquor and delicious food to celebrate the new member’s arrival.

The Guard Captain himself cooked, and though it was just canned food, the dishes he made were still incredibly delicious thanks to his superb culinary skills.

Rod, who was used to fine dining, couldn’t stop praising the food. Especially a dish called "Butter Sandworm Grilled Mushrooms", which was heavenly—the sweetness of the butter mixed with the savory taste of the sandworm, coupled with the umami of the mushrooms, could easily be considered a top-tier delicacy.

The ingredients were just three cans, and all the cookware needed was a pot and a Warm Stone that could adjust temperature with an input of Spiritual Energy.

Such cooking skills made Rod a bit envious. Cooking delicious food was absolutely a pleasure, and besides, what would a good life in the future be without fine cuisine?

Of course, now wasn’t the time to learn.

Rod believed that as long as he ignited the [Divine Sense] star, he would learn anything at a rapid pace.

Delicious food always brings joy to the heart, and the conversation flowed. After lunch, Rod chatted with the warriors and soon learned that they were all graduates of Jinworth Academy, following the normal process.

Their entire college life had followed the curriculum smoothly and without much excitement, passing from one term to the next, with exams, graduation, joining the City Defense Legion, becoming City Defense Soldiers, and gradually maturing in battle, with progress but limited.

Most of them were down-to-earth, without any earth-shattering aspirations, longing only to do their jobs quietly and have a stable family. Retiring peacefully and watching the Royal City develop bit by bit, and Trolian grow stronger was their greatest hope.

They were very envious of Rod’s special student status and believed that the future of the Royal City lay with people like him.

The Guard Captain even quietly told them that there was a special type of student marked as [Strong], destined to be the rising stars of the future, becoming the powerful combatants who would shelter them.

The crowd buzzed with speculation about what kind of students these [Strong] marked ones might be, letting their imaginations run wild, attributing to them many characteristics that humans had never possessed.

Rod refrained from admitting that he was one of them, as in their narrative, he was supposed to be ten meters tall, wide, and long.

Just when Rod thought he might spend the next few days in such a calm atmosphere, an astonishing piece of news came back.

Laisuo City had been breached, the Guardian Fire extinguished, and the entire City Defense Legion wiped out.