The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 328 - 231 Underground City Ignition

Chapter 328: Chapter 231 Underground City Ignition

Humanity +401

Flower of Humanity +1

Golden text swept past his eyes, which cheered Rod up, compensating for his disappointment that the monsters had left no ash behind.

During the search of the large pit, he failed to find even a bit of monster ash; they seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Alas, this method still has flaws.

Rod thought with some dissatisfaction.

It was I who summoned the Void, so why doesn’t it count as my kill?

If I can’t absorb their souls, could they at least leave behind some ash?

The Void is too gluttonous.

Yes, it must be that the Dark Devourer isn’t strong enough. Its quantification is still underway. Once it’s completed, I’ll surely be able to snatch back what’s mine from the jaws of the Void.

Humph, humph.

By then, wouldn’t it be simple to self-destruct everywhere and take over Star Town? Would it be difficult to implement the Holy Fire Plan?

Ha, ha, ha.

The only trouble is that creating the Resurrection Stone requires divinity.

And now he only had 22 points of divinity left, enough to create just two Resurrection Stones.

Moreover, the Soul Firewood also demands divinity.

Until he acquired more divinity, this method could only serve as his last resort and must not be abused.

While Rod pondered, he and the others quickly completed an initial inspection of the giant pit.

The actual area of the entire Underground City was immense, with tens of thousands of rooms large and small, thoughtfully divided into accommodation areas, functional zones, storage areas, with complete drainage and ventilation ducts.

And on the side of the Underground City closest to the ground, the walls reinforced with Spiritual Energy were over fifty yards thick.

Clearly, it was nearly impossible for ordinary monsters to launch an attack from within the earth against the pit.

And fortifying with Spiritual Energy required a massive amount of resources such as Spiritual Energy and Spirituality.

One could imagine how much human and material resources the Starry Kingdom must have expended to build such a massive city underground.

Yet, it still met its demise.

In this ruin, Rod and others found numerous decayed supplies, many weapons that had long since lost their functionality, ores whose spirituality had completely drained away over the long years, and countless residues left behind by monsters.

From these relics of the previous generation of humans, Rod felt a sense of desolation and the vicissitudes of time; time had washed away all splendor and pride, all struggles, efforts, failures, and despair, until all that was left was this pile of unrecognizable decay.

But most people did not feel this bleakness.

They were bustling about, clearing away trash, and purifying contamination and corrosion.

Since the entire Underground City was so vast, they could only clean up a small portion.

And at the bottom of the large pit, there was a huge Sacrificial Altar.

In the center of the Sacrificial Altar, there was a semi-circular pit.

Clearly, this was where the Starry Kingdom used to ignite the Guardian Fire.

The Soul Device that held the Guardian Fire was long gone, leaving only a bare stone pit, with the Fire Spark also nowhere to be found.

Molly decisively ordered the Fire Guardian to root the Guardian Fire here, building a new Guardian Fire Sacrificial Ground.

The Fire Guardian was an elderly man whose Spiritual Energy had already declined, but his vast experience was still sufficient for him to perform this task.

He took out the lamp containing the Guardian Fire, inserted the prepared Soul Device into the stone pit, piled up the ash of the fire, laid the Fire Kindling, carefully took the flame from the lamp, and gently placed it in the center of the Soul Device.

The Fire Guardian injected his own Spirituality into the fire, piling a large amount of Fuel Element around the flame.

With his strange ceremonial movements, the fire rapidly grew fierce, bursting forth vigorously, emitting a brilliant golden light like the first light of the sun, illuminating the entire giant pit and the buildings in the walls.

The Black Fog was dispelled, the darkness evaporated, and this Underground City that had sunk for over a thousand years once again embraced the light.

Everyone gathered around the fire, following the Fire Guardian’s motions as they prayed softly:

"May the fire burn eternally, may the heroes be immortal, may the spirit continue, may humanity not perish."

The low voices echoed in this vast space.

Rod looked up, the area resembling a well brimming with golden light.

Outside the well, the sky was enveloped in deep darkness.

Just like a frog in a well, humanity hid in such a safe space, barely surviving; if someone were to climb out of the well, they would see that this small patch of sky was merely a miniature of a greater darkness.

This hostile external environment indeed made one want to stay in a room filled with warm light.

Rod suddenly understood those conservatives.

They weren’t all bad people; they were just terrified by the boundless darkness.

After the Fire Ceremony was complete, everyone felt an inexplicable sense of belonging, as if this place had become their home.

A warm current spread from their hearts to their limbs, dispelling the cold darkness.

The Deputy Commander, Conrad, remarked, "No matter how many times I see it, it feels like the first time."

O’Hara, a burly man, cried his eyes out.

"Wuwu, the fire is so warm, why is the world dark?"

The Fire Guardian, hunched and coughing, came over and said, "Commander, once the Guardian Fire is rooted, its power will stabilize and will not easily be lost; just make sure to add Fuel Element regularly, and it’ll be hard to extinguish."

Rod remembered what the King had previously told him and asked curiously, "The ceremony of the fire touching the ground, is it about rooting into the Sea of Source?"

The Fire Guardian lifted his murky eyes to glance at Rod, coughing as he spoke:

"Commander, you are far more knowledgeable than you appear. Nowadays, young people feel that knowledge is useless, only knowing how to fight and kill. Half of them have never even heard of the Sea of Source."

Conrad smiled and said, "Isn’t that the truth? But our rising star is different."

"Right, he knows a lot of poses."

Rod ignored them and continued to ask, "Doesn’t the Guardian Fire lose its Source when it moves?"

The Fire Guardian looked up at the towering golden light, continuously injecting his spirituality into the flames.

"You are right; if the Guardian Fire is not rooted in the Sea of Source, its Source will continue to diminish until it completely dissipates. The fire in a dormant state must be stored in a special container."

Rod then asked, "Is the Source of the Guardian Fire also time, space, and the active domain?"

The Fire Guardian gave him a warning look.

"You know too much. The Source of the Guardian Fire consists of broken and lesser laws. It must undergo a transformation through the Primordial Sea before it can enter the domain of the three Primordial Pillars. Holy Fire is not simply an ultra-powerful Guardian Fire."

Rod instantly understood the meaning within the Fire Guardian’s words.

Clearly, he was also a member of the Holy Fire plan.

He was telling him that Holy Fire cannot compensate for its structural losses by devouring the Fire Spark of the Guardian Fire.

Aside from Molly, no one else understood what they were talking about.

O’Hara scratched his buzzcut head, asking in confusion, "What’s a Source? Is it tasty?"

Conrad poked him hard in the buttocks from behind, "Shut your mouth, fool!"

O’Hara swatted his hand away, "What are you poking at? Don’t you know you’re Burst? What if my buttocks burst?"

"Pfft! Can I even dent your pure steel body?"

The Fire Guardian ignored the bickering duo, squeezing out a wrinkled smile.

"Commander, if you have doubts, you can ask Miss Molly. She’s the most diligent girl among us."

Molly’s expression remained unfazed, tranquilly stating:

"Mr. Olma, please adjust the direction and coverage area of the light projection quickly. There’s only thirty yards left underground, but the radius above ground should exceed seven hundred yards, and the height must be over six hundred yards, covering the entire Underground City as much as possible."

"But not too much, to avoid attracting monsters. This stronghold is somewhat special, please handle it carefully."

The Fire Guardian nodded, "I understand."

"The Fuel Element needs to be reserved for at least ten days. A backup of the stable structure firewood is necessary. If any item is in short supply, please inform me immediately."

"Understood, Miss Molly."

"O’Hara, Conrad, move the wagons into the Underground City, block the other entrances, and minimize our presence to avoid unnecessary battles."

The two, who were still arguing about the possibilities of getting their buttocks poked, immediately stood attention and responded, "Yes, Deputy Commander!"

"Also, clean up our stronghold area quickly. It must be done by evening; today is Dark Moon Night, and there might be trouble."

"Yes!"

The two men complied, immediately leading the warriors towards the pit’s exterior.

Everyone busied themselves once again.

The two logistics personnel continuously purified the room from pollution, while the warriors rapidly cleared away the accumulated decay.

The wagons were also brought down, and the Underground City had plenty of large rooms.

The Spiritual Horse returned to its dormant state, morphing into a tiny sphere, all under Molly’s care.

The luggage from the wagon was moved out and laid out in the clean, purified rooms.

With everyone’s effort, the work was finally completed before evening arrived, and a preliminary stronghold was established.

Rod looked down from an opening on the upper walls of the massive pit at this huge space filled with golden light, hardly believing this was the stronghold they had established on their first day.

Behind him, the cleared lodging area was tidy and bright, the ground exuding a faint fragrance of elf grass juice and dragon spirit flower essential oil.

Golden light resonated in the air, and not a shadow was visible.

The light of the Guardian Fire was not ordinary; it was a projection of fire’s power into space, unaffected by ordinary materials.

Thus, even without lamps, the rooms were very bright.

The two logistics personnel had set up beds and simple furniture for them.

Apart from the temporary lack of a water source, this place could already be considered a human settlement.

A strong joy filled everyone’s hearts, and confidence in their success had never resonated so powerfully within their chests.

Many warriors were eager, itching to start the fight right away, even requesting to begin immediately.

But Molly vetoed it.

"Fighting at night is extremely dangerous and should be avoided unless necessary. Moreover, today is Dark Moon Night; the power of darkness will become stronger, and we need not waste our strength."

Her words were indeed correct, and everyone knew it, but they could not suppress their fervor.

After assigning guard duties, Molly then dismissed everyone, asking them to rest immediately and get in good shape for tomorrow’s battle.

The warriors, filled with excitement, returned to their rooms waiting for the moment to fight for humanity.

Evening.

After eating a can of clam meat for a makeshift dinner, Rod was about to arrange some things in the Dream Realm when Molly entered.

"Commander, I have a few things to report to you."