The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 318 - 226 Good Days

Chapter 318: Chapter 226 Good Days

Rod scratched his head, feeling an ominous premonition for no apparent reason.

"I... will, please trust me, Mr. Jinworth."

The knife-like creases on Jinworth’s face eased, revealing a hint of a smile.

"It’s not about me trusting you, but about making everyone trust you, making the entire population of Trolian, a billion people, believe in you."

"If you can achieve this, your name will live on in the annals of human history, and when people mention you centuries from now, they will know there was a ’black rice bucket’ who brought hope to everyone."

Rod’s face darkened, thinking it might have been better not to know this at all.

Jinworth took out a commission and a medal from the desk.

"You have become the Mayor of Star Town as a Defender, and since it is currently mired in darkness with monsters running rampant, the Royal City will not issue you any regional salaries."

"You also have the command of a battle group as a Third Level Commander, and you are authorized to establish your own Battle Group, but for everyone else, you need to pay all salaries out of pocket."

Rod felt a pang in his heart.

Maintaining Molly alone costs 8,000 silver coins, and his weekly wage is only 10,300 silver coins, which leaves him with a mere 2,300 silver coins after paying her.

"Furthermore, all expenses of warfare are your responsibility, the Royal City can only offer you a portion of material support."

"As it is a pioneering trial to develop Star Town, you must also bear the expenses yourself, but correspondingly, you can sell your spoils freely to the Royal City."

Rod’s eyes widened, this seemed somewhat unreasonable?

Just maintaining Molly made him broke, how much would it cost to develop an entire town? Could he handle it?

Horus coughed and said, "There’s no helping it; the four-month-long Dark Tide has caused us great losses. The Royal City has significant gaps in all areas, and the Elder Council is unwilling to allocate any more funds to the expansion efforts they oppose."

"Besides, the King’s new laws have been postponed entirely, leaving us indeed short of funds."

Jinworth produced a contract and said, "Considering your situation, we have contacted the Mahara conglomerate for you; they can provide you with a loan at a lower interest rate."

Rod’s eyes widened, "What is a conglomerate? If you’re short on money, why don’t you just bleed them dry?"

Horus looked sternly at Rod.

"I find some of your thoughts quite dangerous, even more radical than Jon’s. Mahara conglomerate are legitimate merchants who strictly abide by the laws of the Royal City, engaging in normal trade and production activities, providing us with substantial tax revenues and stable order."

Rod frowned and said, "What do we do in the face of life and death?"

Horus spoke righteously, "It is the duty of every citizen to dedicate everything to Trolian."

Rod glanced at him speechlessly, thinking they were not foolish at all.

Molly leaned over and pushed the contract towards Rod.

"This is a loan guaranteed by the Military War Department for you, 300,000 silver coins, at an interest rate of fifty percent, to be repaid within one year."

Rod was shocked.

"Fifty percent interest rate? Isn’t that daylight robbery?"

Molly pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses and said coolly, "If it were not for Mr. Jinworth’s guarantee, they would not have been willing to provide a loan for such a high-risk project."

"The conglomerates consider it a junk wage slip that will not recover its cost, only serving to create a huge amount of bad debt. It is only because of their relationship with Mr. Jinworth that they agreed to lend."

"Furthermore, the head of the conglomerate, Mahara, has bluntly stated that he sees no hope of success in you, and is willing to forgo the interest if you can repay within three months."

Rod’s fist clenched instantly.

"Fine! I’ll borrow it!"

"Sign here."

"Pay attention to this fine print, the one-year term identified here is the shortest year of 330 days; if you dispute this item, it will be calculated according to the Royal City’s longest year of 515 days."

"The same goes here, the shortest month being 22 days, and the longest being 63 days; the difference is substantial."

"Do not agree to this term as it will turn your loan into a compound interest model calculated weekly, and you’ll end up paying much more."

"Damn it! Are these merchants devils?"

With Molly’s guidance to avoid several pitfalls, Rod finally signed all the documents.

And he finally understood why there were only weekly wages and no monthly or yearly salaries.

Only the span of a week is fixed.

Molly collected the contract.

"You will receive this sum within three days, and as per duty, I will manage this money, but you are responsible for the repayment."

For some reason, Rod suddenly felt a midlife crisis looming.

The feeling was terrible, and he immediately shook it off.

"Mr. Jinworth, may I request to transfer people from the Silver Oath to my team?"

Dalin drew on his cigarette and, after thinking for a while, replied.

"Taboo creatures won’t do, but the Tabooed can."

"Is there a difference?"

"Taboo creatures are monsters that have undergone modifications. They cannot venture deeply into the darkness or they will go out of control. The Tabooed are people who are simply bound by the Silver Oath due to certain taboo issues."

Horus said expressionlessly, "In the old times, they were people who should have been executed long ago. It’s the King’s mercy that has granted them the right to live."

"I want Mephit."

Dalin frowned, silently smoking, without answering.

Horus indifferently said, "Anyone but her is fine. If what you really want is a woman, I can arrange for the prettiest Healing Nun in the Church to accompany you on your campaign."

Rod’s interest was piqued, and he asked, "Then could you arrange a Nun Group for me?"

Veins visibly throbbed on Horus’s rigid face.

"That’s impossible! The Elder Council wouldn’t allow such a move, and you would be paying all of their salaries. You don’t have that much money! I can only give you one slot!"

Rod thought for a long while, then, with a flash of insight, exclaimed, "I’ll take Auntie Yose."

Everyone’s expression turned incredibly bizarre, except for Dalin who smiled.

"Yose Tieji is not only a central Medical practitioner but has also finished all combat courses on her own. She is a strong Combatant, making her an extremely cost-effective choice."

Horus also recovered his composure and nodded his head in agreement, "Alright."

"Then I still want Mephit!"

"No!"

"Then I want Lord Alan!"

Horus burst out angrily, "Are you dreaming? How could you mobilize the Four Knights? To utilize the highest military force of the Royal City, a full Military War Department meeting must be convened. Your action is experimental in nature. It’s impossible even for High-Rank Combatants to get approval."

"Then I want Mephit!"

The rigid face of Horus looked as if it would crack open.

"Choose someone else!"

"I want her. We’ve agreed on it, and others don’t consent. It would be very troublesome to mobilize them."

This statement made Horus waver.

In the end, after Rod’s persistent wheedling and insistence, he agreed.

But he warned, "Don’t misuse Mephit’s power. If the Curse Seal shows any anomaly, the Silver Oath will automatically trigger a Soul countermeasure. At best, she will faint; at worst, she will die on the spot."

Rod took a cold breath, remembering how Mephit had fainted during their first battle.

He had thought it was due to her overusing her power, but later, when she froze a more powerful Corrupted Demon Dragon, there was no issue.

It seemed her Sealing level was controlled by the Silver Oath, loosening somewhat during intense combat but more stringent under normal circumstances.

Rod pondered for a moment and then asked, "Is there a switch to control her Sealing level? Could you give it to me?"

Horus scoffed, "Don’t even dream about it. The Silver Oath is a Taboo Armament belonging to the Royal City. Its authority is just half a rank below mine. If Mephit says the slightest ’no,’ we can’t move her, and those who oppose will interfere."

"Alright then..."

Rod gave up disappointedly and shifted the conversation to the mobilization of the secret branches.

Initially, he just wanted to mobilize a few friends, but Dalin had a better idea.

The essence of establishing the Jinworth secret branches was to select students who were more suitable for growth in combat environments and to provide them with the best possible environments for rapid development.

If Star Town could become such an area, it could receive regular support.

Considering Rod’s relationship with the secret branches, this was very likely to succeed.

With that, most matters were basically settled. Finally, Dalin informed him that Star City had been designated as part of the Twelfth Defense Zone, and by extension, Star Town theoretically belonged to the Twelfth Defense Zone as well.

If he encountered any insurmountable trouble, he could try seeking help from the Defender of the Twelfth Defense Zone, Guardian Qingyu. It could be useful.

This was good news; he had a significant history with Miss Qingyu.

Upon reflection, he acknowledged the considerable help he had gained.

Then, looking at the array of powerful items that had already been prepared in the Dream Realm,

Rod suddenly felt full of confidence.

He had a strong premonition.

The good days for him and humanity were about to come.