The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 293 - 210: Witness

Chapter 293: Chapter 210: Witness

Indeed, most of the Elders agreed with this statement.

The King’s Guard has always been the elite of the elite, not only tasked with protecting the Royal District but often leading teams to hunt monsters and handle threats.

It was clearly inappropriate to make a newly promoted Combatant the King’s Hand.

Even if privileges were used to achieve the goal, without the full approval of the Supreme Council, future work would be difficult to conduct.

Thus, there was only one option.

The King spoke in a deep voice, "Then let’s proceed with a combat rating."

The Combat Level rating is one of the most important assessments in Trolian, aimed at understanding the various actual capabilities of combatants to maximize the allocation of combat power.

According to the Trolian system, combatants are divided into nine levels.

Ninth Level is the weakest, and most new Jinworth Academy graduates are at this level.

First Level is the strongest, individuals directly named within the Military War Department, one person equal to a troop.

Combat Level is not only related to combat power but also directly to one’s status, salary, and benefits, and many positions also have a minimum combat requirement that low-level combatants are not qualified to hold.

However, conducting a combat rating consumes resources, increasingly so for higher levels.

Therefore, apart from the mandatory standard rating at graduation, middle and high-level combat ratings are not allowed to be conducted frequently. In addition to waiting for more than two years, one must have actual combat achievements to back it up before applying.

Being a Fifth Level Combatant is already very close to a high-rank combatant, and their rating is not an easy matter.

Archbishop Horus urged anxiously, "Your Majesty, Rod has been a Fire Holder for less than half a year, how could..."

The King smiled and said, "Let’s do it this way. This is the regulation of Royal City, and with Rod’s past record, he meets the standards to apply."

Manolo Bana said indifferently, "Your Majesty, a Fifth Level combat rating will consume a lot of resources. I think Rod’s chances of success are very slim and there’s no need for it."

An Elder also said, "We are about to enter a period of extensive refurbishment, and the peak of ratings has already arrived. The Silan military combat base is very busy, and middle to high-level rating slots are extremely tight. If our young hero is not confident, I also think there is no need to proceed. Of course, to make up for his loss, I can marry my granddaughter to him..."

"Cough cough cough." Horus interrupted him with a series of coughs.

"I think we can do it this way, if he fails, let him pay for the combat rating himself."

This proposal was agreed upon by the Elder Council. Royal City’s finances were also tight, especially since the King did not allow the printing of more silver coins. Self-funding was the word the Elder Council liked to hear the most recently.

So the matter was settled.

The Silan military combat base would take thirty days to prepare a Fifth Level combat rating for Rod.

In this rating, Rod would be allowed to use all means, including but not limited to his usual firearms, weapons, items, he may take potions approved by the Rating Committee, and he could use his own unique creations in a limited manner.

The Rating Committee would give him enough combat space, specifically capturing monsters corresponding to the challenge level for him and setting up the most professional and comprehensive tests. There would even be higher-level combatants present to ensure that he wouldn’t face life-threatening danger in the rating.

In the end, based on the rules, the Rating Committee would give a score, and as long as he exceeded the standard line, Rod would leap from a newbie Ninth Level combatant to a Fifth Level combatant, halfway to the threshold of the big leagues.

Of course, most people didn’t believe he would succeed.

The Royal City Resource and Finance Office was already eager to collect the payment.

A Fifth Level combat rating would cost at least fifty thousand silver coins.

This was no small sum, and the head of the office, struggling with the deficit, was all smiles, even considering extending this special case.

That way, he would no longer have to worry about silver coins.

——

After the discussion ended, Rod was called alone to the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground.

Archbishop Horus looked worried as he said, "Rod, it seems we can’t directly appoint you as the King’s Hand now. You must undergo the combat rating, and you may not be confident..."

Rod smiled and said, "Your Excellency Archbishop, I am quite confident."

Horus sighed lightly and said, "Rod, there’s no need to comfort us..."

"There’s no need, Your Excellency Archbishop, I am truly confident. Please believe me."

Horus looked at him doubtfully, then glanced at the composed King, and hesitantly said, "Really?"

Rod nodded vigorously, "Really."

Horus’s heart was filled with doubt.

It wasn’t unprecedented for a Ninth Level combatant to jump directly to Fifth Level, but those were individuals marked with "exceptional" and "absolute," who had already possessed extraordinary Spiritual Energy and similar combat achievements. Before the tests, the Royal City had already anticipated the results.

Yet when Rod had entered the academy, he was nothing remarkable. Although his performance later shone brightly, his combat abilities were not considered too strong, and his Spiritual Energy was particularly weak.

According to Trolian standards, a Fifth Level combatant’s Spiritual Power Strength generally hovers around 160,000 units, while Rod had less than a fifth of that, making success almost impossible.

Nevertheless, he had earned the absolute trust and ultimate entrustment of Lord Theodore.

The wisdom of Lord Theodore is beyond my measure.

Horus thought that perhaps he had seen a future that I had not.

With that thought, all the doubts in Horus’s heart dissipated.

Rod, too, was brimming with confidence.

After hearing the detailed rules of the combat rating, he knew he would definitely not score as abysmally low as he had during the tests at the hidden base.

With no restrictions on methods, even the Ancient God Heragotos from the River of Eternal Death fled before me, so how could passing a rating not be a piece of cake?

Especially after seeing the items on the Stone Platform, Rod’s confidence grew even stronger.

His trump card acquired in the Third Battle Zone had not yet been used until now.

Apart from powerful items such as "Flesh Puppet," "Flesh Armor," and "Soul Defense," there were also finishers like "Kales’ Same Temperature Cannon" and "Pioneer of Destruction."

At that time, there was simply no time to spare with one event following closely after another. He had no opportunity to create them.

However, he may not need to use these destructive items at all; maybe just one "Sixth Layer Melody" or one "Soul Blast" would end the rating.

Of course, to avoid any chance of failure, all items must be prepared.

He must face the challenge with full readiness.

The King obviously shared the same sentiment and said gently, "Little Rod, you should return to the hidden branch for now. Your combat skills are still weak and require further training, Soron will arrange everything for you."

Rod asked in surprise, "I need to go back to the hidden branch?"

"Of course, even if you become the King’s Hand, you will not lose your status as a member of the hidden branch. You are still one of us."

Rod scratched his head, "Why? Is it necessary?"

The King said gently, "It is, Little Rod. Taking charge of Star Town is far more challenging than you imagine. The Supreme Council disapproves of my further expansion plans, and there is much opposition. They have reluctantly agreed only because of my past prestige and the position as the King."

"But they won’t actively implement them and there will be many hindrances."

"Thus, when you encounter difficulties in Star Town, the help you receive won’t be much. You will have to rely on yourself."

"You need to find more allies. These thirty days are not just for you to adjust and prepare, but also for you to expand your network and build a team. Retaining your identity as a member of the hidden branch will aid in this. Do you understand what I mean?"

As someone whose experiences far exceeded his age, Rod grasped the King’s words instantly and answered earnestly, "I understand."

"That’s good to hear."

The King smiled faintly as the Holy Fire behind him burned, casting a golden hue over his smile.

"Little Rod, do you know?"

"Not only does the First Elder Amendo, but even I, Horus, and no one internally believes you can pass the rating. It’s only because of Theodore’s soul’s trust that you have reached this point."

"So, I truly hope that you can surpass our expectations, with irrefutable facts, and fiercely prove us wrong — hit the faces of all who didn’t believe in you, doubted you, and denied you."

For a moment, Rod felt his blood rush to his head.

He spoke with resolute conviction, "I will, please believe in me."

"It’s a promise."

The King extended his hand.

"It’s a promise."

Rod extended his hand as well.

And so, against the backdrop of the towering Holy Fire, with Archbishop Horus as witness, their hands firmly clasped together.

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