The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 572 - 347 Storm Castle

Chapter 572: Chapter 347 Storm Castle

Rod found himself dismayed to discover that his Black Battle Group couldn’t join him on his campaign, as Anna was receiving healing at the Church’s medical center. Her Spiritual Energy had been depleted too much, causing certain damage to her soul, while Mephit had returned to the Silver Oath for Curse Sealing.

Sigh.

Rod felt terribly disappointed, thinking that it was time to expand the battle group a bit, or else with just those two or three people, it would be hard to keep pace with him.

Who should he choose next?

There were many candidates, but very few could be called the "best partner."

Since he had returned from Star Town, the Royal City had imposed strict controls on the entry threshold for the Black Battle Group, and he couldn’t just add people as he pleased.

Rod had a few in mind and planned to apply to the Royal City upon his return.

It would be best to go directly to the King.

The King’s word was what truly mattered.

Before, when he had merely requested to enter the battle, there had been all sorts of prevarication and delays, but once the King gave the word, all obstacles vanished. Upon his return to the Fire Hall, the flame insignia began to flash, signaling that his battle sequence had been elevated from the second line to the front line.

As soon as he arrived at the outer hall of the Hall, an Envoy briefed him on the complete situation of the battle mission.

This time, the mission was to reinforce Storm Castle.

It stood at the outermost edge of the Royal City’s defensive circle on the southwest side, directly facing the external Dark World, with a straight-line distance of approximately 900,000 cords from the Royal City. The external environment was extremely harsh, making it one of Trolian’s most dangerous defense strongholds.

The regular troops stationed at the castle were elites from the City Defense Legion, and all kinds of defensive constructions and war machines were fully equipped.

In order to expand westward, the Military War Department of the Royal City had called back half of the troops, causing Storm Castle to shrink its defenses and evacuate the outposts to fortify the castle itself.

The plan was correct, and initially, there were no problems. Although the combat power was a bit stretched, the defense remained relatively stable.

But the problem arose from the Great Forest outside the castle.

It was an immense forest that spread from the northwest, passing over mountains and wetlands, extending as far as the eye could see.

Centuries ago, this might have been a thriving land of life, but now, it had become a ghastly, eerie Dark Forest.

Corroded by the Black Fog, the trees became rigid and dead. Their branches and leaves withered, leaving only pitch-black branches stretched towards the sky like the claws of devils.

The entire forest was like a vast territory of evil; the Black Fog accumulated here, breeding new monstrous creatures—Horror Demons.

It was an extremely twisted kind of monster, whose form resembled a twisted mass of darkness, with several pairs of slender, jointed, deadly claws. It was grotesque, like some kind of wriggler from damp, dark places, moving swiftly, its actions agile, and it had a strong effect of pollution.

Because of this characteristic, Horror Demons were very difficult to deal with. They were unhindered by terrain, fearless of walls, swarming in like black tides, and they had no fatal weaknesses, with strong life force and swift, ferocious attacks, along with the intense pollution making warriors suffer immensely.

The only method of dealing with them was to use effective large-scale attacks.

Therefore, Storm Castle was outfitted with sixty-two Spiritual Power Cannons and one main cannon.

Unfortunately, continuous wars had disturbed a gigantic Horror Demon slumbering deep in the forest.

They attacked Storm Castle, and in that battle, the main cannon and thirty of the Spiritual Power Cannons were destroyed.

Although the gigantic Horror Demons were eventually annihilated by the garrison, the castle’s defensive power plummeted, disturbances in Spiritual Energy continued, and Horror Demons from the Black Forest kept springing forth like water-fueled fleas, continually assaulting the largest stronghold in the southwest direction.

Dozens of days earlier, the Fire Hall had dispatched the King Candidate Xingge and her Battle Group to rush to the aid of Storm Castle, accompanied by more than one thousand senior engineers from the Mechanical Research Institute.

But the situation at Storm Castle didn’t show any signs of improving; the deluge of Horror Demons became more frequent, and the repair of the Spiritual Power Cannons faced severe interference.

Thus, under extreme distress, the Fire Hall dispatched the First Elder, Amendo, for assistance.

The situation improved somewhat, but it remained very perilous.

So, this time, after a slight easing of pressure, the Hall dispatched new reinforcements.

The newly risen genius, the dazzling black hole, Rod.

And the human prodigy proven through the years, the Great Sword Tai Luo.

——

Due to the urgency of the war, by the time Rod returned to the Fire Hall, Tai Luo had already set off on a Spiritual Horse.

The Envoy took him to the flight platform, where a Spiritual Horse was already prepared for him.

"My lord, please mount the horse. The route has been locked in, and the Spiritual Horse will fly on its own. Please do not interfere,"

Rod looked curiously at the horse shrouded in mist before him. This wasn’t his first encounter with a Spiritual Horse, but it was his first time riding one alone.

"Will it come back after flying there?"

"Rest assured, sir, the Hall’s Spiritual Horses are all specially trained; it will return on its own,"

Rod leapt onto the marvelous creature from the Spirit Realm, surprised to find that riding it felt almost like riding Anna.

With a neigh, the Spiritual Horse soared into the air and plunged into the Black Fog with a sudden burst of speed.

The Red Tear Stone started to take effect, casting a dim red glow over both Rod and the horse. The rolling Black Fog flew swiftly past his eyes, an indication of the Spiritual Horse’s incredible speed.

About a clock hour later, Rod finally saw a tiny speck of light in his field of vision.

In the midst of the boundless Black Fog, it appeared so tiny, like a single grain of dust.

But Rod knew that it was Storm Castle.

As the distance closed in, the light rapidly grew until it filled his entire field of view.